Griffin Read online

  Table of Contents

  Griffin

  Copyright

  Extras

  Acknowledgements

  Note to Readers

  Synopsis

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Social Media Links

  OTHER BOOKS FROM MARIE JAMES

  Griffin

  Cerberus MC Book 8

  Copyright

  Griffin: Cerberus MC Book 8

  Copyright © 2019 Marie James

  Editing by Marie James Betas & JA Essen

  EBooks are not transferrable. All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded, or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Extras

  Cover design by: Essen~tial Designs

  Acknowledgements

  A huge shout out to Veronica Lee for helping with Military terminology!!

  Jo Adams thank you a million times over for skimming and getting all characters names since my boys were left alone for so long.

  Raquel Gamez, you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Thank you for helping with another book, which somehow revitalized my mojo that was missing for the last 18 months.

  My amazing BETAs, you ladies are the absolute best! Laura, MaRanda, Brenda, Jamie, Michelle, and Jo thankyou so much for the help on this book! Mary, you amaze me each and every time we work together! Thank you for your help and all of your support through this process!

  Laura Watson! Thank you! You keep my head on right. I couldn’t do this without you!

  Another shout out to RRR Promotions and Natasha for helping get this book out into the world. As always you nailed it!

  Readers, I can’t even begin to tell you what you mean to me. Without you, I’d have no reason to write these books. Thanks for your continued support!

  Until next time!

  ~Marie James

  Note to Readers

  Please keep in mind that there are places I’m unable to conduct research for my books. As I have never been inside the Brig at Camp Pendleton (the brig is the jail on a military base), I have no first-hand knowledge of the ins and outs of their daily routines. I have done extensive research and hope I give the Prison Services Unit justice.

  Also, I’ve changed the names of military staff, but not the name of the base. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale, or organizations is entirely coincidental and not based on any live or existing person, place, or situation.

  Synopsis

  I was the golden child. The one all the Cerberus guys looked up to. I was on my way to becoming the next career Marine.

  But after my last deployment to Syria, being a Marine was no longer an option.

  Unfortunately, my not so honorable discharge from the Corps didn’t get rid of the demons created while I was enlisted.

  Not even my childhood friend can save me. I’ll destroy her just like I destroyed everything else I touched.

  Prologue

  Griffin

  “Marine!” my lieutenant bellows from the safety of the north-facing wall, the pitch of his voice causes a shudder to race down my spine. It takes all I have not to pull the mic from my ear. “Do you understand your mission?”

  My mission?

  We’re supposed to be fighting for the good of the country. We’re here in this God awful sandpit to protect the people of this village. We’re here to make their lives better, not to cause them more pain. Genocide wasn’t on my list of things to do today when I rolled out of my rack, back on base.

  “There are civilians, Lieutenant,” I pant into my mic, my pulse increasing, becoming the only thing I can hear.

  He can’t see the two families, but I can.

  “They aren’t civilians,” he spits. The venom in his voice is so thick I can almost feel his words land on my overheated skin even though he’s twenty yards away. “They’re Haji, and it’s your job to arrange their meeting with Allah.”

  “Children, Lieutenant.” I straighten my spine, blaming the sand swirling around us for the burn in my eyes. “At least a half dozen of them.”

  “You have your orders.”

  Looking over my shoulder, I wonder where Bird, Killer, and Wooch went. They’d have my back, and four against one is way better than the shit I’m facing right now.

  “Just you and me, asshole.”

  “I can’t.” I beg him with my eyes even though I know he doesn’t give a shit.

  How the son of Morrison “Shadow” Griggs ended up with a commanding officer without an ounce of integrity and a broken moral compass, I’ll never know.

  “Squirt told me no once.” I don’t miss the warning in his voice.

  He’s just confirmed what I’ve suspected for the last month and a half.

  I fight for bravery, hands trembling as I stall for time, and I come up empty.

  “You have thirty fucking seconds, Griggs, or Long Shot will solve both my problems.”

  Risking another glance, I stare in the direction I know our sniper is planted. I can’t see him of course, and by the time anyone knows where Long Shot is, their brains are splattered on the ground.

  I’m a fucking coward — a selfish piece of shit.

  Those are the thoughts that echo in my head as I compress the trigger and screams ring out around me.

  The tears now streaming down my face don’t hinder me at all. Long Shot isn’t the only one true in his aim.

  Chapter 1

  Griffin

  “This food sucks,” the guy beside me in the mess hall complains as he pushes his tray away.

  The hard plastic screeches on the stainless steel table, but I don’t give the asshole any attention. He’s as green as they come, probably picked up a charge for punching his drill instructor in the face because he couldn’t handle the first week of basic training. He doesn’t have a damn clue what it’s really like in the Corps. If he thinks the food sucks here, he’s better off being discharged. He’ll never make it out in the field.

  “Griggs!”

  I turn to look in the direction my name has been called, to find one of the correctional officers skimming the room trying to find me. Although I’m in the brig at Camp Pendleton
, I respond the way I’ve been trained. I stand the way I’ve been taught, and I walk toward him with my head held high like I’ve been instructed even though I’m filled with more shame than anyone could imagine.

  The guard turns without a word, knowing I’ll follow him. My feet move of their own volition, but we don’t leave the facility as I expected. Instead, I’m escorted to an office near the reception area, and it seems I’m the last to arrive. Both Diego and Dominic Anderson are in the small waiting area with displeasure marking their faces. I avoid eye contact with them, not surprised my own father couldn’t make it. I’m actually glad he’s not here, but my shame is renewed knowing that Dominic is the substitute. He spent twenty years in service to our country, gave me tons of advice prior to my enlistment, and here I am in trouble for selling drugs on base.

  The door to one of the inner offices opens, and I’m slow to look up. I react on instinct when both Diego and Dominic snap to attention. I’m already in proper formation when my eyes actually communicate with my brain. Before me is Brigadier General P.A. Holstead, the highest-ranking man on base. Surely this man isn’t the one who handles mundane cases like my own. He’s in command of nearly two hundred square miles with just this base alone.

  “Dom,” the general says, holding out his hand after he snaps his return salute.

  “General,” Dominic responds with a quick grin on his face. “Get that out of here.”

  To my surprise, Dominic slaps the general’s proffered hand away and wraps the officer in a hug. I wait for the guard who escorted me here to lay my mentor out flat, but it never happens. Like old friends, they slap each other on the back before they untangle themselves from each other. General Holstead next offers his hand to Diego, whereas I merely get a quick nod.

  “Let’s head back to the office for a little privacy,” the general offers.

  A private reprimand is also different. Not once in my four years in the Corps has a superior bothered to care where they ripped into a Marine’s ass before.

  As we head to another office, I’m the last in the line of Marines, the one who shouldn’t even be considered a serviceman for the humiliation I’ve not only brought to the Corps but also to the Corpsmen in my family.

  “I didn’t get much from the MP on the phone,” Diego says as he takes one of the chairs across from the desk the general is settling behind.

  Dominic takes the other chair, and I stand off to the side since I’ve been given no direct instruction.

  “Sergeant Griggs was caught selling marijuana outside of the PX two days ago,” General Holstead says, reading directly from a file in front of him. “He’s facing discharge.”

  “Any chance at the Correctional Custody Unit?” Dominic asks.

  General Holstead is shaking his head before the question is finished. “That’s for Junior Enlisted only.”

  I keep my eyes trained above Holstead’s head, the whiteboard behind him attracting all of my interest.

  “He also spit in the MP’s face when he was being detained,” General Holstead says as he continues to read from the report.

  I feel rather than see Diego’s and Dominic’s eyes turn toward me, but I keep mine straight ahead.

  “That’s conduct unbecoming.”

  “Paul,” Dominic almost begs, but I don’t miss the resignation in his voice either. “He’s a non-commissioned officer.”

  “Officer nonetheless.”

  “He’s given four good years. Awarded several meritorious promotions. He’s a solid Marine.” A lump forms in my throat hearing Diego go to bat for me. I don’t deserve it, and more importantly, I don’t want them to fight for me. My actions have a purpose even though no one in this room will ever know why I’ve done what I’ve done.

  The general sighs as he closes the thin folder in front of him. “Listen, I can try for no court-martial. Possibly cut him loose with an other than honorable discharge rather than a bad conduct discharge. It’s the best I can do.”

  “And what does this mean for his VA benefits?”

  I just want to get out of here. I need these men to stop talking as if I’m not in the room. I should be transported to Fort Leavenworth, where I would wait to be sentenced to death for the things I’ve done.

  “His VA benefits are going to be void no matter which outcome,” the general reports.

  My eyes burn with the news. A complete separation. A disgrace to every man and woman who has ever laced up their boots to fight for our country.

  Dominic sighs, running a hand over his head of gray hair. “What’s next?”

  “Take him home. I can take care of everything in his absence.” General Holstead doesn’t even look me in the eye when he stands and leaves the room.

  The next twenty minutes are blanketed by fog. I’m offered a set of nondescript sweats and required to hand over my utilities. I don’t even get to keep my dog tags, and I’m anxious knowing I won’t feel the metal under my shirt. I’m told that my holding cell has been cleared of my personal belongings and that my possessions from my apartment have been recovered. I try not to flinch when I’m informed that all evidence of Marine Corps life has been removed from my belongings. One lonely duffel tossed without a care on the sidewalk is all I have to show for the last four years of dedicated service to my country.

  I’m seconds away from spinning around, tracking down the general, and explaining what is actually going on but as luck would have it, my eyes snag on the man I never thought I’d see again. The very man responsible for my nightmares and the tremble in my hands.

  To an outsider, my brief eye contact with Lieutenant Bradley Novo would go unnoticed, but every atom in my being is well aware of his proximity.

  “Captain,” Novo says with a nod in Dominic’s direction. Dominic returns his nod, a small grin on his face. He’s not alarmed. Every Marine is a little narcissistic, even more so a man who spent the first twenty years of his adult life in the Corps. Dom doesn’t think anything of it because deep down he kind of expects people on base to know who he is even though he’s in civvies, but I’m well aware of the warning Novo just issued. He’s letting me know that he can reach me no matter where I go. Even my discharge won’t keep him from getting to me if I open my mouth.

  “Let’s go,” Diego urges as he tosses my bag in the back of the SUV. “We have to swing by SDSU and grab Cannon.”

  “Great,” I mumble as I climb inside. My little brother bugging the shit out of me while we drive twelve hours back home is just what I need after being fired from the only job I ever wanted.

  Chapter 2

  Ivy

  “What do you think?” I twirl in front of my roommate and close friend Melissa, trying my hardest not to knock anything over in the limited space of our apartment. The flare of my skirt catches on my bedside table, and I grumble as I free the fabric.

  “I think John is going to jizz in his jeans at the sight of you,” she answers.

  My nose crinkles at the crude answer, but my lips still turn up in a smile. I love the way the lace overlay hangs just an inch or so lower than the dress shell underneath. The brush of the soft fabric on my legs feels amazing, mildly erotic, even if I let my mind wander in that direction.

  “You think he’ll like it?”

  “Of course he will,” she assures me.

  Melissa is always the boost to my self-esteem I can’t seem to manage on my own.

  “The man is a second-year law student. He didn’t even know women existed until you poured soup in his lap three weeks ago.”

  She has taunted me relentlessly since I accidentally bumped into his table while we were out to lunch. His bowl of soup somehow managed to land in his lap. Being the helpful person I am, I freaked out and tried to help him clean it up. Apparently, swiping paper napkins on the groin area of a virile man complicates things more than it helps.

  “I can still see his red cheeks,” Melissa says with a loud laugh as she falls back on my bed. “I think he was close to—”

  “Enough
,” I warn without venom in my voice.

  She’s teased me numerous times about how two virgins are going to fumble through every first together. She finds it humorous. I’m honestly terrified. I don’t know that he’s a virgin for a fact, but it’s clear from the conversations we’ve had that he’s been focused on school since he was in junior high. He hasn’t allowed for much else in his life. It makes me feel special that I’m the one he noticed, the one he pauses his studying to chat with.

  “What exactly are the plans tomorrow?” she asks as she lifts her hands to inspect her fingernails.

  “Dinner and a movie, I think.” Since the semester is over, we both have a little more free time, and we have the ability to see each other in person rather than quick texts and late-night video chats.

  “Lame,” she responds, before she has a burst of energy that has her flipping over and staring back at me. “I say you go for it.”

  “Go for it?”

  “You’re heading into your senior year of college. It’s time to pop the cherry.”

  “It’s way too soon for that,” I argue.

  “It’s been three years.” I know she’s referring to college, but Melissa and I don’t have similar goals in life.

  “I’ve only known him a few weeks.”

  “It’s just sex.”

  “And have you forgotten what happened when my sister had sex the first time?”

  I’ve only been back on campus for a week and a half, having spent the time prior, back home with Gigi and the baby.

  “So be smart and use protection.” She rolls her eyes before flopping back over on her back.

  “I’m not ready for that.” I frown and turn back to the mirror. “Do you think he expects that from me?”

  “John?” She chuckles. “Probably not, but he’s not like any other warm-blooded male. He’d probably wait until your wedding night.”

  I grin at the possibility before catching myself. I’m not thinking of marrying John. I hardly know the man, but the prospect of being a wife is thrilling to me. Call me old-fashioned, but I’d love nothing more than to keep a home and take care of my husband after a long day’s work.