Torrio Empire Series by J.L. Beck – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read

Torrio Empire Series by J.L. Beck – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.ilovenovels.com Mon, 09 Oct 2023 12:39:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 http://www.ilovenovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png Torrio Empire Series by J.L. Beck – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.ilovenovels.com 32 32 Dark Knight (Torrio Empire #4) Read Online J.L. Beck http://www.ilovenovels.com/dark-knight-torrio-empire-4-read-online-j-l-beck Mon, 09 Oct 2023 12:39:43 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/dark-knight-torrio-empire-4-read-online-j-l-beck Genre: Alpha Male, Angst, Dark, Mafia Authors: J.L. Beck Series: Torrio Empire Series by J.L. Beck
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Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 764(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)

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Shattered. Broken beyond repair.

I’m the shell of the woman I used to be.
The deeper I fall from reality, the worse things get.
Only there’s one person who refuses to let me derail.

Romero Pierce.

Calloused. Sinister. Lethal.

He’s my father's second in command, and so goddamn handsome it’s disgusting.

Assigned the duty of being my babysitter, aka personal bodyguard, he thinks he can protect me, but I don’t want his protection.

What I want is security, safety, freedom. Everything changes when I choose to leave and find myself in the very town where my father grew up. Trying to heal is hard enough but it's nearly impossible with icy Romero watching my every move. Overtime he starts to make me feel things I thought I'd never feel again, reminding me I'm not broken, but in my journey to heal I also realize I'm helping him heal as well. It doesn't take long to discover Romero has deep, ugly secrets he's trying to keep, but nothing can remain a secret forever. When the truth's revealed will the man I consider my enemy become the only man who can save me? This is a dark bodyguard romance with enemies to lovers' vibes. It's a standalone and contains triggering content that might be difficult to read.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

CHAPTER 1

TATUM

Ten Years Ago

I blink my eyes open, a smile splitting my face because today is the first day of: summer vacation.

After nine months of school, it's finally summer break. Excitement would be an understatement to describe how I’m feeling. Knowing I won’t have to do a single sheet of homework, that I won’t have to go to bed early, and that I can wake up whenever I want, at least for the next three months.

Freedom, it's so pungent I can almost taste it. I already can't wait to spend the whole summer out by the pool soaking up every last bit of sun. I’m hoping to be a lovely tan shade come the fall once school starts up again, and not this ghostly pale white that I am now.

The reminder that Bianca, my best friend, will be here in a bit sends me over the edge. Her dad doesn't usually let her do sleepovers unless it's a birthday party or something else special. Bianca says he’s strict and likes to know what she’s doing and who she’s hanging out with. I’m sure it must suck having an overbearing dad. My dad always wants to know those things, too, but he still lets me visit with my friends and go shopping. Not alone, of course.

When I go out, I always have to take one of my father’s men with me, since he’s usually too busy to take me to activities or drive me to the movies. Maybe that's why Mr. Cole doesn't like letting Bianca come over...I mean, my Dad is here, but he's usually working in his office, so we have the whole house to ourselves. The only people to keep an eye on us are the guys my dad pays for security, and honestly, there’s not much they can do—so long as I'm not, like choking to death or drowning or something. Most of the time, they look the other way.

With Mr. Cole being a detective and all, he knows how messed up life can be. That's what Bianca tells me, anyway. The excitement of Bianca’s impending arrival is what gets me out of bed and into the shower, even though I could have slept another hour or two.

I didn't know kids had chores, not until I got to know Bianca better. I'm not stupid. Not everyone has staff hanging around the house to cook and clean for them. I figured parents took care of that stuff, but for Bianca, it’s different. She’s constantly cleaning the house, doing her own laundry, and even doing some of the cooking since it’s just her and her dad. Like me, she doesn’t have a mom in her life. Although, in her case, she can visit her mom in the cemetery.

I don’t know where my mom is most of the time.

Seeing how Bianca’s good and pure, she’s really rubbed off on me. It made me realize that I could at least make my bed and clean my bathroom. So after I'm done in the shower, I tidy up my bedroom. Once I move my things to the unused wing of the house, like Dad promised I could once I start high school, I’ll have more responsibility.

It’s one of his rules: If you want more from me, you have to show me you’re responsible enough to have it.

I might as well get in the habit of showing him I’m serious about wanting to take care of myself. I want to prove to him that I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m getting older, and I want him to see that.

Once I’m finished, I have the rest of my day to look forward to. It's already almost eight-thirty, and Mr. Cole needs to be at work by nine, so Bianca will be here any minute. I grab a green one-piece suit that matches my eyes—Dad won't let me wear a two-piece yet, no matter how many times I beg him.

“I'm paying for it, so you're going to wear what I think is appropriate.” It's during those times I wish I had a mom willing to step in and take my side, yet I can't even get her to answer the phone when I call, much less defend me against Dad. I'm pretty much on my own most of the time.

I can feel the sticky misery and sadness that clings to me when thinking about my mom, so I squeeze my eyes shut and push the thoughts away.

I pull on the suit and add a pair of cutoffs before pulling my blonde curls into a bun on my head. Perfection. I give myself a once-over in the mirror. I’m tall, and thankfully, my body is finally filling out more. I was worried for a little while that my arms would always be longer than my body. But luckily, I grew into them. My skin is pale and sickly looking, and since Dad hardly ever lets me wear makeup – which will change this year – I always look this way. A Casper The Friendly Ghost look-alike.

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Empire of Pain (Torrio Empire #3) Read Online J.L. Beck http://www.ilovenovels.com/empire-of-pain-torrio-empire-3-read-online-j-l-beck Sat, 24 Jun 2023 21:47:39 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/empire-of-pain-torrio-empire-3-read-online-j-l-beck Genre: Alpha Male, Billionaire, Crime, Dark, Mafia Authors: J.L. Beck Series: Torrio Empire Series by J.L. Beck
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Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 131455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 526(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)

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The cost of love has never been higher.
Will Bianca and Callum get their happily ever after?

*Full blurb to come*

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

CALLUM

“What's in the crate?”

I can hardly hear Romero's voice over the thundering beat of my own heart. My fingers grip the edge of the box for dear life as I stare down at the contents.

Words refuse to come.

My brain short circuits. I can't comprehend what I'm seeing.

Images come to me in flashes, one piece at a time.

Green eyes that once flashed dangerously, that used to burn with contempt. Now they see nothing, their vacant stare looking right into the deep confines of my soul. A bullet hole is directly between them. I force myself to look away from Amanda's face, and down to the body in her arms. In her arms is my daughter—our daughter. Her head rests against her mother's bloody shoulder, appearing as if Amanda had rocked her to sleep.

It's a grotesque parody of motherhood that only a truly sick, heartless cretin could put together. Amanda is seated with her back against the inside of the crate, with her head tilted backwards and her eyes staring lifelessly at the ceiling. A trickle of blood trails from the hole in her forehead and down her nose before drying there.

I've seen many terrible things in my life. Images that have haunted me for days after, robbing me of sleep. The result of violence brought on by greed. The aftermath of explosions, gun battles, death. But this? This is unfathomable.

I can't accept it. Something inside me refuses to accept what I'm seeing as one precious second after another passes by. I can't move. I can't breathe. It's real, even if I don't want it to be. Amanda is dead. It's only when Romero jostles me and reaches into the crate that I snap back to reality. Every ounce of information comes rushing in, assaulting me from all sides.

Tatum.

They might have killed her too.

Romero's choked cry rings in my ears. “No!!” He reaches into the crate, taking Tatum's limp body into his arms. Her skin is pale, a drop of dried blood trails down her temple from a patch of blood-matted hair on the side of her head. The ugly bruises circling her arms portray someone bigger and stronger holding her tight. I have no doubt she would've fought.

“No, Tatum, wake up. Wake up.” I manage to rouse myself in time to take her legs and lift them over the edge of the crate before Romero lowers her to the floor.

I take a knee beside them and press an ear to her chest, listening for a heartbeat or any sign to let me know she is still alive. Everything moves in slow motion. Countless moments flash before my eyes, as fresh and clear as if it was only yesterday they took place.

Her first steps, toddling across the floor with her chubby arms extended outward, reaching for me. She knew I would catch her and hold her when she fell.

Her first dance recital, wearing a pair of angel wings with glitter in her hair, and the way she smiled at me that day was like I meant the world to her.

There was glitter stuck to her skin for days afterwards.

The one year for Halloween when she insisted on dressing as a pirate even though all the little girls her age wanted to be princesses.

My daughter wanted me to black out her teeth and draw stubble on her cheeks, and I did it. I did it even though I had a hundred other things to handle. I did it because even then, I was all she had and because she captured my heart the second we locked eyes for the first time, and as her daddy, it was my job. I would have done anything for her.

Her chest is barely moving, but I hear the soft intake of air in and out of her lungs. That's all I need to know to keep me motivated.

“She's breathing,” I announce, and the touch of my fingers to the inside of her wrist reveals a shuddering pulse. All the air leaves my lungs, the pressure in my head making me light-headed. Relief floods my veins. She has a pulse, but that doesn't mean anything. “We need to get her to the hospital now.”

I couldn't keep her safe, could I? The one thing she needed most, it was beyond me. I let her down. Failed her. What kind of father was I if I couldn't even protect my own daughter?

Romero's gaze collides with mine, eyes wild, his features frantic. Placing his trembling hands on both sides of her face, he peers down at her. There isn't so much as a fluttering of her eyelids to show she feels his touch. My thoughts are everywhere, my mind an endless fishbowl. There's something missing. Something that bangs like a gong, vibrating at the back of my skull.

Bianca.

“Where's Bianca?” I yell into the vast space. My head swings back and forth, my eyes searching in vain for her. The sick fucks who did this cleaned out the warehouse, taking everything besides the bloody crate and the bodies of a few of my men who are now being gathered, together, and dragged across the floor.

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Empire of Lies (Torrio Empire #2) Read Online J.L. Beck http://www.ilovenovels.com/empire-of-lies-torrio-empire-2-read-online-j-l-beck Thu, 01 Jun 2023 11:54:21 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/empire-of-lies-torrio-empire-2-read-online-j-l-beck Genre: Alpha Male, Billionaire, Dark, Forbidden, Mafia Authors: J.L. Beck Series: Torrio Empire Series by J.L. Beck
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Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 115619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 578(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)

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My life used to be simple. Quiet. Safe. Until I fell in love with the dangerous billionaire arms dealer Callum Torrio. Our love story was doomed from the beginning. Forbidden . A temptation we couldn’t touch. His secrets have the power to kill me, and when I discover the hidden truth and the part he played in my mother’s death, I have no choice but to run. But nothing will stop him from keeping me by his side. A king needs his queen. Where do you hide when the pain becomes suffocating and the man you thought you knew turns out to be the villain?

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

BIANCA

Blinking my eyes open, I stare up at the popcorn ceiling as the shock from my father's confession still rattles me.

Callum murdered Mom.

It’s not like I expected or even hoped to wake up this morning with anything else on my mind. The sort of bombshell Dad dropped on me last night isn’t something a girl forgets.

It makes no sense. No matter how many times I thought over the situation while nervously cleaning the house last night—because I needed to do something with the energy churning in my gut after I put Dad to bed— I couldn’t figure out an answer to the single most important question that kept coming up. The key to everything.

Why?

Why would Callum want to murder my mom? Outside of being my mother, she wasn’t anyone special—just your everyday average person. Nothing my father told me would lead me to believe she had anything to do with his business. They didn’t even know each other—Tatum and I hadn’t even met until middle school, which was well after Mom died. My frustration mounts. I can’t figure out a way to connect them to make it make sense.

My muscles ache, and I groan as I sit up and throw my arms over my head to stretch. Why did I bother trying to sleep? I spent the majority of the time tossing and turning. I might have gotten a few hours of fitful nightmares, yet no sleep. The nightmares mostly circulated around mom. Before today, I dreamt of her once every few months or so.

They’d always been dreams of ordinary, everyday things like making dinner together or going shopping. I’d wake up and wish I could hug her and tell her how much we both miss her. They were never nightmares. Not until now.

Dad continuously said she died in a car accident when I was eight years old, too young to ask questions. Too busy trying to get over the idea of never seeing her again, of never hearing her voice or smelling her perfume when she hugged me.

You don’t question what your dad tells you at that age, especially when he’s the only person you have left. If there was more to it and he didn’t want to tell me since I was too young, I get it. You don’t convey to a heartbroken little girl that some monster murdered her mom.

Thirteen years have passed since then, and not once did the man think to mention she was murdered.

A look out the window tells me his car is still in the driveway. His bedroom door is still closed when I open mine and peer out into the hall. He’s in there, sleeping off his drunken state. Until last night, I don’t think he’s ever been drunk in front of me. Buzzed, maybe, but never that far. Practically falling asleep sitting up at the edge of the bed, talking nonsense. I genuinely want it to be nonsense. A particular kind of nonsense.

Otherwise, Callum isn’t just the murderer I fell in love with. He’s the murderer who destroyed my childhood and crushed my father’s heart in his fist, changing the entire course of our lives forever.

And worst of all, he lied about it. To think he’s been lying about it the whole time. Unless he’s killed so many people, he can’t keep track of the bodies anymore. I guess that’s seemingly possible. The very idea makes me shudder in revulsion as I wash up, then get dressed.

Not for work, however. I can’t possibly go in today, even if I’ve already missed so much time. I don’t want to lose my job, and I can’t afford to, either. Only there’s no way I’d be able to sit all day and focus on anything except Dad and his confession.

“I'm sorry,” I mumble into the phone, speaking into Sam’s voicemail while setting my toiletries up in the bathroom. “I thought I was ready to return by now, but I'm still shaky. I could always log in from my laptop if you need me today, but I think it's better if I try to work from bed.” I doubt Mr. Adams will expect me to work, but I do want to leave the offer out there. I don't know how much longer I will be able to get away with this. That's the thing about a situation like this: you don't know you've pushed too far until you've already done it, and somebody's pissed at you. I don't want to be the problem child in the office, and if I'm ever going to get a place of my own, I need to stay employed and keep putting those checks away.

I just can't do it today, is all. And not only because I still have to put a little bit of makeup on my cheek to hide what's left of the bruising from the accident that wasn't an accident. It's a good thing I woke up before Dad and got in here before he could see my clean face. I can already imagine his reaction. He’d never let me leave.

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Empire of Lust (Torrio Empire #1) Read Online J.L. Beck http://www.ilovenovels.com/empire-of-lust-torrio-empire-1-read-online-j-l-beck Wed, 12 Apr 2023 20:59:25 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/empire-of-lust-torrio-empire-1-read-online-j-l-beck Genre: Alpha Male, Billionaire, Dark, Mafia, Taboo Authors: J.L. Beck Series: Torrio Empire Series by J.L. Beck
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Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 113464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)

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I made a mistake.

At sixteen years old I fell for the wrong man.

Callum Torrio.

Ruthless billionaire. Dangerous villain. My best friend's father.

At twenty one I gave up hope that he would ever notice me.

He’s twenty years older than me, and an arms dealer for the mob.

The smart choice would be to forget he ever existed.

But that’s not possible.

His icy blue gaze, sculpted physique, and huge rough hands play a vivid part in my dreams.

Then one night everything changes

Every fantasy I ever had he brings to life.

Dominant and possessive he praises and worships me.

He makes me feel like a woman when all my life I’ve felt sheltered and controlled.

But Callum has dark secrets, and a past that refuses to let go.

I knew he was a bad man but I never would have anticipated this…

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

BIANCA

“Let me get this straight.” My best friend Tatum leans over, her elbow squeaking on the leather seat of the town car while a glass of champagne teeters in her hand. Gently, she brushes strands of her sunshine-blonde hair from her heart-shaped face.

“You graduated from college today, and your boyfriend of five fucking years couldn’t bother to attend the ceremony or hang out with you after?”

I grind my teeth. Does she have to be so honest? Her bluntness is nothing new, even if she’s slurring her words after all the alcohol she’s consumed today. There were five graduation parties at which we absolutely had to make an appearance. Her words, not mine.

And sure, it was fun, but it might’ve been better if I’d felt like I was actually there. Present. Instead, all I could do was watch everyone else celebrating their next step in life while I remained apart, wondering what was broken inside me.

I guess my absent boyfriend is as good of an excuse as any, even if it doesn’t ring entirely true. There are deeper issues, but I’m not ready to face those yet.

“Unfortunately, he has to work early in the morning.” I feed her the lie he’s given me one time too many. “I can’t blame him for trying to be an adult.”

“An adult would’ve requested the day off. It’s not like he hasn’t known the graduation date for months.” She offers a blithe shrug. “I don’t buy it for a second, Bianca.”

Like always, she’s calling my bluff.

All I can do is shake my head.

“The only thing that matters is that it’s important to you,” she continues. “If he really wanted to be here, he would be. He’s treating you like you’re an afterthought, and it’s bullshit. If he was a real man, building a future with you would be the most important thing to him. I know you don’t want to believe it, but you don’t mean shit to him, and that makes me want to slash his tires and tell him what a stupid fucker he is.”

Sigh. I wish I knew what to say, but there is no response that will make her happy with my choice to stay with him. Lucas has burned me so many times it’s impossible to see the good that may or may not be left in him. I don’t know why I stay.

Maybe it’s the fear of being alone? Or maybe I’m hoping he’ll come around. The truth is, I don’t know. It’s not like there’s a ring on my finger or a family that we’re planning.

I can’t spend the rest of the night listening to her say things I’ve already heard—and told myself—a million times, so I grasp at something to divert her.

“Hey, it’s not all bad.” I smile. “Him blowing me off means we got to spend the entire day together and the rest of the night, too. And last time I checked, your devoted boyfriend couldn’t be bothered to hang out tonight, either.” I cringe as soon as I say the words out loud. Regret is a shot I didn’t prep a chaser for when I see the smug grin on her full lips slip.

“Yeah, well, I guess we’re both unlucky in love. He had other things to do, too.”

She won’t say what, and I wonder if he bothered to tell her. You would think she has the perfect relationship with Kristoff from how she talks, but the truth is clear, no matter how she tries to spin it to others. It must be the world she grew up in that leaves her wanting to keep things to herself, to put on a brave face and toss her hair over her shoulder like nothing matters. The Torrios deal in secrets, and a powerful man like her father can’t afford to let his true feelings show. I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Our driver, Romero, turns onto the road that holds the front gate of the Torrio compound and my stomach flutters. Callum Torrio is both dangerous and alluring. A man like him has not gathered as many enemies as he has by sticking to the right side of the law. I know the type of man he is, and so does my father. Which is why he lectures me about how dangerous it is to still be friends with Tatum.

The guard at the gate of the Torrio compound waves us forward as we approach. We continue through the gate and up the long, wide, winding driveway that cuts through the heart of the enormous property.

There’s enough land that even Callum’s trusted bodyguards live in small homes positioned near the twenty-foot-high stone wall which encloses the compound.

Tatum gulps down the rest of the champagne in her glass and looks at me with glazed eyes. “What were we talking about again?” She taps her chin with a manicured finger. “Ahh, right. Luke the asshole.”

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