Midnight Rose (Rose Series Book 1)

“Saaaammmm get the fuck out of bed!” I groaned loudly, pushing away whoever was waking me from the first decent night’s sleep I’d had in weeks.

Between working, packing to move back to my hometown and some grief-filled events it had been a busy few months, very little sleep had consumed me.

“Go away” I groaned, curling myself back into the covers as I pulled them over my head.

“No Sam, up now, don’t you remember what day it is!? Time you get your fat ass home!” My best friend smirked as I suddenly appeared out of my covers.

Today would be the day that I would be going back home to my family in ten years. Ten, very long years.

“One, I don’t have a fat ass, two, I don’t know if I want to go home, what about you, I will miss my best friend and three what’s back there for me, nothing but harsh memories of my mothers’ death, a father who booted me to a boarding school, a brother who hasn’t once visited me out here and my grand-father is here, I don’t want to leave him here on his own again,” I said as I pulled my long chestnut coloured hair into a messy bun.

“Are you seriously worried about me, I’m a big boy Samantha, I can take care of myself. The only thing I will miss is my wing-woman to help me find a boy toy” He smirked. He was a big boy, as in muscle, he was ripped, toned abs, perfectly formed muscles, gorgeous golden locks, and blue eyes to die for, just a shame he didn’t swing my way.

Taylor had been my best friend since I was ten years old and had turned up to the hell, we called a boarding school.

Both of us were new and had turned up to the lunch hall, alone, when I had seen him from the other side of the canteen, he was being pushed around by a group of older guys, I couldn’t stand for it, I hated bullies.

So, I did what any very angry, emotional girl who had grown up with boys would do, I knocked those guys on their arses.

So, then it became history, Taylor and I spent as much time as we could together over the years, becoming the best of friends.

His being gay was never a problem, I never understood people who would go out of their way to interfere with peoples love lives. Why should it matter who you loved? Boy, girl, trans or anything at all! As long as it wasn’t an animal...Ewww.... it was all good by me.

“Did...did you do that for me?” Taylor stuttered.

“No one deserves to be bullied. What did they say to you?” I asked taking him over to the table, he was an extremely timid child as he barely even looked at me as we sat in the canteen, I offered him half my lunch as he had had his strewn all over the floor.

“I... I ...I’m gay, they called me a faggot” he murmured timidly.

“You guys are pathetic!” I sneered as I kicked one of the guys laying on the ground again. He grunted in pain.

“Samantha Jones! To the office now!” one of the teachers shouted storming into the canteen followed by one of the guys I had taken down.

“Only day one and I’m in trouble already, see you later bestie!” I smiled while waving as the teacher gave me an evil glare.

The memory of how we met always made me smile, gone was that timid little boy, now he was a strong independent man. He no longer cared what others thought of him, his only care in the world were his friends.

“Also, what did we talk about when it came to your family... your father won’t stop apologising, your brother didn’t know how to deal with it so of course the other boys you knew just followed suit. They lost your mum too Sam. I will come visit as soon as I can I promise. You miss them, you just don’t want to admit it, otherwise, you wouldn’t talk to them every bloody day” Taylor smiled taking me in a hug to reassure me.

“I know, I’m just nervous you know, ten years is a long time” I answered.

“You will be fine. If you need me, I’m a phone call and a few hours’ drive away. But Jon needs you to go back home too” He smiled as he mentioned my grandfather, my mother’s father.

He took me under his wing as soon as I was put into that horrid boarding school, giving myself and Taylor extra lessons in business, security, and fitness. If those boys on day one thought I could fight, now I was a lean mean killing machine... if I had to be.

Grandpa Jon was sending me home with the strict orders I was to run his brand-new security enterprise, Lou’s Security, named after my mother.

“I know, Grandpa said he bought me the house I wanted too. But apparently Dad said under no circumstance was I staying alone in a house and I’m to stay in their house.” I said getting up and dressed into my jogging bottoms and sports bra.

“So, what are you doing with the house?” Taylor asked.

“Keeping it, Dad doesn’t need to know, and it means I have a place to chill if it all gets too much” I smirk.

“Good idea. One last jog around the trail?” Taylor said with a frown. I was going to miss this guy so much.

“Race you!” I said grabbing my keys and phone.

After taking in the last few sights of the place I had called home for the last few years we started shoving each other playfully weaving in and out of the trees until we stopped, gasping for breath due to the excessive laughter we ended up in as we arrived back home.

“I’m going to miss you and this place,” I said looking at our little cabin in the woods.

Ever since we finished school and went to work for my grand-father full time he had asked if we wanted to live at his home, but myself and Taylor had both decided we wanted to live together, somewhere cool, somewhere new and our own.

We searched for a year before we found the perfect two-bedroom cabin in a local woodland and Grandpa decided he would buy it for us both, under strict instruction we would pay him back and work hard for him. So, we did exactly that, we worked our way up the ranks, no special treatment and paid him back. It was ours.

Now it would be our holiday home, a place we could go when visiting Grandpa or just wanting a break.

Taylor was moving back with his parents in a few months too, although he was dreading it. They claimed they were sorry for abandoning him at boarding school for, in their words, ‘Not being enough of a boy’, they branded him as a camp gay kid, a shy little wreck. They were homophobic and I hated every second of when he told me he was going back home to them.

“I still think you should come with me instead of going home or stay here! Why on earth would you go back to your parents?” I grumbled after we had showered and were getting the last of my stuff together.

“They’re my parents Sam, one more go I told them. If they fuck up again, I’m gone” He replied, chucking my phone at me as it vibrated with a text.

UncleK: 5 Minutes Kiddo, hope you’ve got your shit together x

Sami: Just putting a few last-minute bits in boxes and then done, see you in a few! X

“Five minutes... Nearly time to go” I said as a tear escaped my eye, grabbing onto Taylor in a huge bear-hug.

“Gonna miss you bestie” Taylor sniffled, trying not to cry.

“Promise me you will come visit and message me every day” I jabbed him in the ribs with my finger.

“Ow! Of course, I will! You can’t get rid of me now. You best make sure you keep me updated on everything. Including that hot brother of yours”, He winked as I shoved him playfully.

“Ew! That’s my brother sleazeball! Wrong team!” I laughed as we carried out the last of my boxes outside as my uncles’ truck rolled into the drive.

“Hey, Taylor! Samantha, please hurry up; we haven’t got all day and we need to get to the firm to finish up the paperwork!” Karlos shouted as he grabbed a few boxes from the drive.

Taylor and I grabbed the last boxes and had a last hug goodbye as I jumped into the truck and watched as my best friend got smaller in the mirror.

“He’ll be fine kid, you’ll see him soon enough, he’s strong now, just like you,” Uncle Karlos said smiling at my sad face. I nodded in reply before turning on the music and letting myself drift off into sleep.

“Mummy! Mummy! Where did you go?! Take me with you!” My ten-year-old self screamed in her sleep.

“Wake up Sam! Wake up!” My Grandpa’s voice woke me, Taylor, by my bedside, the school had called him to yet again to talk about my excessive fighting with a group of boys who had continuously kept trying to beat on Taylor.

“Mummy?” I woke up in tears, the memory of my mother still lingered from her death.

“It’s ok my little Sam, she’s in heaven now and big ole’ Grandpa’s here. It’s time we had a little chat” He stroked my hair as I sat in his lap and he told me all about the secrets in our family, every single one. That day changed Taylor and I’s life forever. From that day, Grandpa trained us on top of our schoolwork.

“Sam, wake up, we’re nearly home” Karlos shook my shoulder waking me as I took in the sites of the town, I used to call home.

It looked the same, same shops, same houses, all except the brand-new state of the art complex that stood in the middle of town. Lou’s Security, my new workplace.

Before we had left the cabin, I had showered and got dressed into my skinny black jeans, with my red shirt tucked into the waist and my cropped black waistcoat over the top with our new branded logo on the breast pocket, knowing we would have to deal with some business first.

“So, who are the team we have in?” I ask as we park the truck in the private garage after getting a snide sideways look from the guard, obviously not knowing who I was.

“Brand new team, no idea, Jon dealt with the details” Karlos grumbled, he hated not knowing the team inside and out, how can you put trust in a team you don’t know?

“Great, they better be trained, I am not training another set of newbies” I rolled my eyes. The last guys we had trained wouldn’t take to their boss being a woman, that was until I proved to every single one why I was the boss.

“Who is this bitch? She’s what? 12?” The guys had all laughed, sniggering at me, looking me up and down looking at me like a piece of meat.

“I would tap that ass any day” Another sleaze added.

I saw my Uncle ready to grind them into dust, but I held up a hand and he backed off, my grandfather watching every move I made.

“Gentlemen, I would kindly ask you all why you think I am unable to do this job?” I got their attention.

“You’re a girl for a bloody start” I smirked as I took him down in one swoop.

“Next” I smiled, daring them to say more.

“Too Young” That guy went down twice as hard as the first.

“Look, babe, just cos you got a lucky swipe at those two blockheads don’t mean we all as thick. Your ass, however...Mighty thick”

“Thank you, I do have a very toned body, I worked hard for this....” I punched him square in the nose, a loud crack was heard before blood spurted out of it.

“Fucking bitch!” he shouted angrily.

“Anyone else who wishes to degrade me and try to prove that they are better than me are welcome to give it a try, but I warn you, you will go down, each worse than the one before, need I make a point of this?” I shouted as they all shook their heads and got back in line in front of me. Even the guy whose nose I just broke.

From that day on, I proved my strength as a leader and they became the best team I ever had, until grandpa sent them off to another firm.

“I.D please” Another guard asked at the front doors, passing our badges to him he looked twice at them, getting flustered.

“You’re Jonathan Jones family” He gulped.

“Yes, and we have a lot to do, so do you mind letting us through?” Karlos grew irritated at the man.

“Of...Of course Sir, Madam” He buzzed us through.

“I do hope he’s not our best, did you see all the crap behind the desk, take away boxes, doughnuts, guys like him give us a bad name” I snapped, my uncle, looked at me grimly.

“I’ll deal with it” he nodded as we got to an elevator, pressing for the top floor.

The top floor would be my uncle and I’s office, desks sat either side, computers and all our gear had been set up. All the latest tech surrounding us, cameras, weapons to name a few.

“Very nice” I smirked at the new computer system.

“Sign these Sam” My uncle said walking over to my desk bringing a mound of paper for me to sign, contracts and the deed for my new house.

“Oh, how I do love paperwork,” I said sarcastically as my Uncle snorted at me, signing his mound of paperwork.

“I’ve been at this longer than you kid, I’m forty-five and been at this since I got out of school, you should see all the paperwork I’ve done over the years” he smirked.

Half an hour later we had finally finished.

“Now to meet the team” my Uncle grumbled, neither of us were looking forward to training recruits.

We went back down to the lower floors to the gym where our new team would be waiting.

“Here goes nothing,” I said pushing open the doors.

“Well if it isn’t little miss plump bottom” a voice sounded from inside the gym.

“Bradley!” I stood shocked, the very guy whose nose I had broken was standing in front of me with the rest of the team.

Bradley, James, Shaun, Brian, Wayne and Rob had been my best of the best after they had gotten over the fact; I was a woman and so young.

My reserve and perfectly business-like-manner left me as I bound up to them jumping to hug them.

“Missed you too kid” Bradley smirked letting me down. These guys had become like a second family to me and it had been so long without them.

“What are you doing here? We were expecting to have to repeat our last encounter” I smirked as I tapped his nose knowingly.

“Never quite healed properly young lady, I’m blaming you that it’s wonky” He smirked.

“That will teach you to respect your boss and any ladies out there” I smiled as the guys sniggered.

“Jon thought you could do with a decent team and seeing as we had finished our last job, he let us in on the job. It’s much closer to most of our families too” Wayne replied.

“I hope you don’t mind princess?” Bradley smirked.

“I am so happy we don’t have to train more idiots” I smiled, I punched him playfully on the shoulder for calling me princess.

“Anyone know who the guy on the desk is?” My uncle asked and Shaun grimaced.

“That would be my cousin” He murmured.

“Really? Well, he’s got a month to pull himself into gear or he goes” I state.

“I’m on it. He just wanted to be part of the great job I had, and I asked Jon for a favour and he let him in. I will get him sorted I promise” Shaun replied.

“He can start with that desk of his. Junk food is a treat, not a staple” I answered. Shaun nodded in agreement.

“So, princess, fancy an old-fashioned sparring match?” Bradley smirked egging me on with hand gestures.

“Bring it,” I said as I readied myself before Karlos put his hand on my shoulder to stop us.

“I’m afraid I have to take Sam home, her family are waiting,” He said, I groaned.

“Another time Sammy, you can count on it” Bradley smirked with a wink.

The guys followed us out but not before stopping at Shaun’s cousins’ desk.

“What’s your name?” I ask. He looks up panicked from his desk, stuffing a doughnut in his mouth.

“Ben, Ma’am” he mumbled through the doughnut.

“Well Ben, I expect you to know that we have a level of standard here, and you currently do not hold this standard. Your cousin has assured me he will help you in following my standard. You have one month to make some changes, I do not expect things to be done in an instant, but I expect it done soon or you will lose your position, understood?” I say sternly.

“Yes Ma’am” he nods enthusiastically saluting me.

“No need to salute Ben” Shaun smirked. I giggled.

“At least he’s got respect for me” I poked out my tongue at him.

“Put that tongue away young miss or I might do something with it” Bradley growled in my ear.

Bradley and I had always flirted with each other and there had always been a bit of sexual tension there but neither of us acted on it. I was still a virgin after all.

“Try it old man” I smiled playfully.

Suddenly he picked me up swinging me around and around as I screamed that he let me go.

“Just because you’re the boss doesn’t mean you should always be in control” He smirked playfully.

“Put the girl down Brad” Wayne placed a hand on his shoulder pulling him back.

“She called me old!” Bradley moaned like a child.

“You’re eight years older than her! You are old in her mind!” James called out from a few feet away.

“Don’t worry grandpa Bradley, you’re only as old as you feel” I smirk.

“If you’re not careful I will be feeling you” He growled in my ear again.

“You wish” I murmured in his ear so close he would have felt my lips against his ear.

“Bye guys!” I laughed giving them all a quick hug before jumping in the truck, watching a sexually frustrated Bradley.

“You really need to stop teasing the guy, he’s too old for you” Karlos smirked at me with a knowing glance.

“It’s just harmless flirting, it’s not like I’m losing my virginity to the guy” I reply, my eyes widen in realization that I told my uncle I was still a virgin.

“Virgin still huh? Good, any guy that touches you will die by not only Jon’s hand but mine and your fathers” He answered

“I’m going to lose it one day and I couldn’t give a shit what you do, I’m a twenty-year-old grown-ass woman” I growled.

“You’re right, just don’t want you to get hurt kid, especially by a man eight years older than you” He sighed as we left the car park, beeping at the other guys before turning off.

“Never going to happen” I murmured. I liked Bradley but I wasn’t sure if he was the one to give my self to.

The rest of the ride was quiet, making our way back to the house I once called home.

“Can…Can we go to the grave first” I stammered as I recognized the graveyard ahead.

“Sure” he answered turning in.

We walked through the beautiful flower-filled graveyard until we got to my mums’ grave, Karlos kneeled patting the stone before mumbling an I miss you sis.

“I’ll meet you at the truck” He whispered softly with a hand on my shoulder, I nodded.

I sat in front of it.

“I miss you mum, it’s been so crazy without you, Grandpa has taught me so much, it’s crazy. How were you mixed up in this world, how did you never tell us, not even Dad? I hope I’m making you proud Mum I love you. I will visit more now I’m home, I promise” a tear slipped from my eye as I wiped it from my face with my sleeve.

I got up heading back to the truck as my uncle embraced me with a quick hug.

“Sometimes I forget how old you are. You had to grow up too quickly. You shouldn’t be dealing with all this. I wish it was different kid” He said as he rested his head on top of mine.

“Too late now, I am what I am now. I’m glad Grandpa taught me everything he did, a little scared, but who wouldn’t be?” I replied giving him a quick squeeze before jumping back in the truck.

“Let’s go see your Dad, shall we?” He smiled softly.

“Let’s go” I nodded wondering what was going to come next. How would I react back in my old home having not seen my father and brother in the flesh in years?

Then we stopped, my home, I missed it.