Becoming Juliet
© 2020 Paula Marinaro
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written consent from the author, except in the case of a reviewer, who may quote brief passages embodied in critical articles or in a review.
Trademarked names appear throughout this book. Rather than trademarked name, names are used in an editorial fashion, with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.
The information in this book is distributed on an “as is” basis, without warranty. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the author nor the publisher shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.
The characters, locations, and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity or resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.
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Dedicated with much love to CL and BI
Two beautiful souls who had the patience to wait for true love, and the courage to fight for it. May your union be forever blessed.
Title
Dedication
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Author's Note
Books by Paula
Associated Press: Federal officials report numbers in the thousands attend Prosper Worthington’s Memorial Service.
The service for Prosper Worthington, founder and international president of the Hells Saints Motorcycle Club was held on Saturday, April 7. An Army veteran and recipient of the Purple Heart, Worthington was best known as the founder and president of the Hells Saints, an international motorcycle club whose connections to syndicated crime are well known.
Although the event was marked with a heavy federal and state law enforcement presence, no incidents of unrest were reported. Sources say that Worthington’s grandson, Prosper McCabe, will follow his grandfather’s legacy and will be appointed by the HSMC’s executive board as Worthington’s successor.
P.J. McCabe sighed, stubbed out his cigarette, folded up the yellowed newspaper article and put it carefully back into his wallet. Although it had been several years since his grandfather’s passing, P.J. read the obituary every day. It had become a ritual, a meditation of sorts, and a way to pay homage to the greatest man who had ever lived.
Prosper Worthington was the hero in every one of P.J.’s stories.
Sure, P.J.’s dad, Reno, and his uncles all wore the patch. They all had their place in the dark underbelly of society; Reno had raised P.J. to love, honor and respect that world.
But it was Prosper who had created it.
He had taken a handful of lost, dangerous, depraved souls, and banded them together to form a brotherhood. That brotherhood existed on the margins of society and now numbered over a thousand strong.
Prosper had been a complex man, who ruled with a steel spine, a strong heart, a fierce will, and a complicated sense of honor.
And when Prosper died, he had left big shoes to fill.
P.J. had stepped into those shoes determined to live up to the legacy. However, he had been quick to realize that building an outfit from the ground up and growing along with that organization was one thing. But, stepping into the leadership role of a vast, lucrative, and largely criminal enterprise with widespread law enforcement and political connections? That had been an undertaking of massive proportions.
But P.J. had risen like the leader he had been groomed to be. He had answered the call with ferocious pride and strength of purpose.
Under Prosper Worthington’s rule, the Hells Saints Motorcycle club had grown to become a fierce lion in the outlaw underworld. Under his grandson’s leadership it continued to dominate and control that world.
Now, several years after Prosper’s death, the HSMC had become a veritable giant. It was richer, fiercer, and better connected than ever before. The tentacles of the club’s influence were strong and far reaching. The symbol of the broken winged angel was widely recognized and highly feared.
P.J. had lived up to the legacy of the club.
But he had not lived up to the legacy of the man.
P.J. found that he did not have the strength of conviction, the depth of character, or the innate sense of justice that his grandfather had had.
Prosper had always been able to separate the good man that he was, from the bad things that he did.
So, while his grandad had been able to rise above the muck and mire of an outlaw lifestyle, P.J. found himself drowning in it.
The never ending stink of corruption.
The deep, penetrating stain of blood on his hands.
The target on his back.
But worst of all, P.J. had lost his perspective. He had lost sight of the message and was blinded to the vision that his grandfather had once held most dear.
The violent acts, the lack of humanity, the depths of depravity, and the heinous crimes that P.J. had commanded, committed, or bore witness to, had taken their toll.
P.J.’s moral compass no longer existed. It had been smashed to smithereens and lay in glittering shards of sharp glass on the side of destiny’s road. Compassion, empathy, grief, guilt, and sorrow were all heaped together in a pile of dust and rubble.
P.J.’s spirit had crashed and burned. Now it lay at the crossroads.
One
