Not a Chance in Hell (Navarro Triplets Book 3)

  Not a Chance in Hell, A Navarro Triplets Novel

  Copyright ©2022 by A. M. Madden

  First Edition

  All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The use of locations and products throughout this book is done for storytelling purposes and should in no way be seen as advertisement. Trademark names are used in an editorial fashion, with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment. This e-book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  FBI Anti-Piracy Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  A. M. Madden

  Email: am.madden@aol.com

  Twitter: @ammadden1

  Facebook: facebook.com/ammadden

  Website: ammadden.com

  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

  Epilogue

  One last short Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  More from A.M. Madden

  About A.M. Madden

  To my three kings, you rule my world.

  “Okay… next up is…” I glanced down at the clipboard and read, “Jeff and Sandy, who have chosen the song ‘Endless Love.’” Hearing another couple butcher yet another sickly-sweet duet forced me to suppress an eye roll. Would it hurt any of them to choose Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”?

  The giddy pearl-wearing redhead came center stage with a tall skinny blond dude who looked as though he’d parked his retro Volkswagen van outside. They exchanged dumbfounded looks while no doubt sizing the other up.

  I gave them a 20 percent shot at connecting.

  This real-time dating game called Kismet Karaoke may have been my idea, but it wasn’t because I was a romantic at heart. Nope. As the karaoke couple that I’d randomly paired began to sing their hearts out, I stared at the mass of bodies celebrating Valentine’s Day in my bar and saw one thing beyond all the red and pink articles of clothing.

  Profits.

  Some encouraged with smiles, others ridiculed good-naturedly… and while they all drank and ate, I made money.

  Yes, Valentine’s was a day I made serious bank, but it needed to be said that I also did well every other day of the year. Normally, Brad’s Tavern—I’m Brad—was the place young professionals came to de-stress after a long day, watch a game, or hook up. Whichever way, whether on a holiday or a Tuesday night, owning this hot spot in Manhattan afforded me a very comfortable lifestyle.

  But it all came with hard work. From the hours I put into the marketing plans to get people through my doors to the decision to offer three different cheese options for their burgers, these were all calculated measures toward success.

  Tonight, however, it was the calendar date that had the single people coming in, hoping to make a connection. And if they already had a significant other, then they were there to validate the day.

  What a crock of shit.

  It pained me to say that my own brothers had fallen for the ruse. We may have been identical in looks—yes, we’re triplets—however, personality-wise, we were on completely different points of a triangle. Aside from our mirrored images, in my opinion, Max was the sensitive one, Nate the brain, and me the stud. Although those two would contradict my assessment.

  Still, combining strengths and adding our “model-worthy looks” (a label many have used regarding our faces) meant the Navarro brothers did really well with the opposite sex.

  Out of the three of us, Max was the first to have found love on this very stage while singing karaoke with a stranger. That night, he had come to help me out when one of my bartenders called out sick. As a thank-you, I rigged the contest and paired him with the brunette beauty he’d kept staring at from across the room. My mission was to get him laid after a breakup. Long story short, those two had a one-night stand that turned into forever and were now pregnant with their second child.

  Then there was my other brother, Nate, the divorce attorney… a damn good one, in fact. The man spent most of his professional career helping to end marriages and making a fortune doing so. And then the ass forgot all about his convictions by jumping off the single man’s ship headfirst into love-infested waters… without a life preserver.

  Shit, he’d fallen hard, belly flop–style. In just four months’ time, he’d gone from being a serial bachelor to a sap in love. And about an hour ago, there he was dropping on one knee, in front of all these people, to propose to his girl, on Valentine’s Day!

  Who did that?

  Idiots did.

  Me, I preferred enjoying the bevy of beauties this city had to offer. It was the constant stream of women who came and went that frosted my red velvet cake.

  Speaking of… my focus landed on a stunning blonde standing alone at the bar. Big green eyes that I could see from clear across the room, hair that looked like spun gold, and from what I could tell, a rockin’ body. She wasn’t wearing red or pink or a variation thereof. Maybe the sheer turquoise blouse was what had caught my attention to begin with, and I loved how wearing it was a symbolic fuck you to the holiday.

  I’d never seen her here before; I would’ve remembered. Delicate fingers gripped the stem of a martini glass, the lemon peel curled over the rim giving away her drink choice. She watched the singing on stage, unaware most of the men nearby were staring at her. Meanwhile, I observed for a while to see if her date was in the restroom or getting himself a fresh drink. But when minutes went by and she remained alone, hope bloomed in my gut.

  Her eyes cut to mine, and it took a few seconds for me to realize that everyone else’s had as well. I twisted to look at the couple a few feet away, and it only then occurred to me their song was done. Stepping toward the microphone, I gave a tight smile and said, “Well… okay, thank you Bill and Julie.”

  “Jeff and Sandy,” the woman corrected.

  “Oh, sorry.” To the crowd, I grinned. “Didn’t Jeff and Sandy kill it, everyone?” In the true sense of kill. Polite clapping ensued, and I waved impatiently to stop them. “Okay, folks. That was the last of our couples tonight. It’s time to vote. Be sure to use the ballots on your table to choose your favorite duo. If they win, they’ll share a thousand-dollar prize… and you all know the rest.” I lifted a palm as the entire room yelled, “Free drinks for a year!”

  “Correct… provided they prove they are still dating thirty days from now, and every month after!” While the room erupted in chatter, I cut my eyes toward the bar, only to find that the gorgeous blonde was gone. Trying to hide my disappointment, I wrapped things up, saying, “The winners will be announced on our website tomorrow. Good luck to all those who participated in Kismet Karaoke.”

  I jumped off the stage, still bummed the blonde was gone, and headed to the bar. After greeting some of the regulars that I knew well and dodging some of the women I’d had a short thing with who wanted more, I announced to my main bartender, Bobby, “I’m taking my break.” He gave me a salute as I grabbed a bottle of champagne and a nonalcoholic seltzer with lime.

  More interruptions came from customers while I backtracked toward the stage to where my brothers sat with their girls. Jade, the preggo, and Amy, who was newly engaged, happened to have been best friends. That now made the quartet thick as thieves and me the outsider.

  “Time to celebrate,” I said, placing the bottle of bubbly and seltzer down before snatching a chair from a nearby table. I filled my brothers’ and Amy’s glasses and poured Jade her drink.

  “The attendance is unbelievable, Brad,” Jade said in her sweet way.

  “Yeah… give away some money and free booze, and all hell breaks loose.” I had expected the crowd based on the success the first time we held this contest.

  “Speaking of, you owe me and Jade many cocktails for
winning this thing two years ago.”

  I glanced at his beer, the champagne beside it. “Have you ever paid when you come here?”

  “This is true.”

  “These people aren’t here for the prize alone. Love is definitely in the air,” Nate said, putting his two cents in. When seeing the exaggerated roll of my eyes, the fucker leaned over to kiss his girl for my benefit.

  Once they separated, Amy gave me a toothless smile while Nate full on grinned. Asshole.

  There was a time I’d had a thing for my future sister-in-law. She was a brunette, and I preferred blondes. She did have a smoking-hot body, though. In my defense, it had to have been her profession as an erotic-romance author that intrigued me. If she could write filthy shit, then I suspected she could do filthy shit.

  Regardless, it had never gone anywhere. It couldn’t have been my looks, because she’d ended up with a duplicate. It had to have been my winning personality that she saw as a threat. In any case, my brother put a move on her, probably to spite me, and I had to train myself to stop envisioning her naked… which was hard as hell. Again, in my defense, I had been doing that for two years before they even hooked up.

  “Well, better you all than me,” I said, grabbing the bottle and lifting it. “Congratulations on the many more sleepless nights coming your way,” I directed to Max and Jade. “And here’s hoping you two don’t become a statistic,” I then said to Nate and Amy. While four pairs of eyes stared at me, I took a long swig of the champagne. But when the rest of them didn’t follow through, I said, “It only brings luck if you actually drink.”

  Max frowned. “You call that a toast, jackass?”

  “Just keeping it real.”

  My brothers and the girls were long gone, but the party kept on going. I’d been so busy at the bar I’d barely had time to take a piss. The kitchen was also overwhelmed with orders now that the munchies had kicked in for most of my customers. And with a few hours left before closing, the crowd showed no signs of calling it a night.

  That didn’t matter. I had off the next day and could sleep in. When a small lull hit, I walked down to Bobby’s end of the bar, smacked his shoulder, and said, “I’ll be back.”

  “While you’re back there, I need more grenadine.”

  “You got it.”

  But before I could beeline for the bathroom and then the stockroom, a sexy, raspy voice asked, “Can I please get a lemon drop martini?”

  I twisted around, prepared to delegate her order to Bobby until I saw it was the blonde wearing turquoise. As I stared at her like a creep, full, pouty lips pressed together just as a line creased between her brows and she followed up with, “Hello?”

  “Oh yeah… coming right up.”

  Bobby came beside me and said, “I got this, boss.”

  “No, it’s fine.” My gaze flipped between the task at hand and her, while she looked everywhere but at me. Once I topped her cocktail with a lemon peel, I placed it on a napkin but kept it on my side of the bar. “I haven’t seen you here before. New in town?”

  Those damn lips quirking up into a smirk held my attention before she said, “You know everyone who comes in?”

  “Yep. It’s a talent, and my job as owner. I’m Brad.” As our eyes remained tethered, I swear she had magical powers. Usually it took a touch, a kiss, an invite to catch my libido’s attention. This chick accomplished that with her eyes. Fucking mesmerizing. Unlike mine that were just bottle green, there had to have been six different shades of green in her irises. Using that as an opportunity, I said, “You know, we’re meant to be.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Our eyes. Only two percent of the population has green eyes.”

  The longer she pinned me with those magnetic orbs, the more turned on I became. And when she licked her lips seductively, I leaned on the bar in anticipation of what she’d say.

  “Um… can I have my drink?” was her response, and in my mind, I heard the sound bite used in video games when you lost a life.

  “Sure.” I slowly slid the glass toward her and then shamelessly watched as she perched her perfect pink lips on the rim and sipped.

  Fuck. Me.

  Having forgotten the need to pee, and even Bobby’s request for grenadine, I leaned my forearms on the polished wood and stared. The more I did, the rosier her cheeks got. This was a good girl, shy even… a challenge and major turn-on for me.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Sheena.”

  “Do you have a last name, Sheena?”

  “Yes.” But that was all I got as she drank more of her martini.

  “Can I get your number?”

  She graced me with a demure smile, and when she began to dig through her purse, I assumed it was to retrieve a card or something to write her contact info on. Instead, her pink-tinted fingertips pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and dropped it on the bar.

  “Thank you,” she said, swiveling on her stool, prepared to leave.

  “Wait. Did you not like the drink?”

  “It’s a bit too strong for my liking.” The narrowed gaze I received gave her admission a double meaning. And while I fumbled with something a bit more clever than my last line, I watched her slip off the barstool and stroll away. Long legs in painted-on denim, carried by high heels that would look amazing wrapped around my back, along with a spectacular ass, all put me into a trance. The farther away she got, the harder my internal devil tapped my shoulder to chase her.

  “Bobby, take over,” I said hastily, pushing my way past those who refused to call it a night. I ignored my name being called and caught the heavy wooden door before it slammed shut behind her. There she stood at the curb, poised and ready to hail a cab, when I came to stand beside her. “Why the quick exit?”

  “It’s late.”

  “Nah… the night is young. Come back in. I’ll make you a new lemon drop.”

  She seemed to be having an internal debate as her green eyes held mine. “I don’t sleep around.” That statement was as hot as if she had palmed my hardened cock, and it made me determined to see her again.

  “It’s just a drink… at the bar. I promise not to trick you into my bed.” Her eyes widened enough for me to amend: “I’m kidding. Although…” I glanced up at the building’s facade and pointed to the corner windows. “It is right up there if you get tired.” I licked my lips nervously and caught her attention in the process.

  She stared at the apartment I referenced before stepping closer to place a hand on my chest. “I have to go…”

  She left the tiny word hanging enough for me to insert, “Brad Navarro… of Brad’s Tavern,” while trying not to appear insulted she had forgotten already.

  “Right… Brad.” And then, shockingly, she slid her hand around the back of my neck, pressed her mouth to mine, and kissed me. At first, I froze, caught completely off guard. But it took mere seconds for my body to take the wheel from my logic, and I hastily wrapped an arm around her slim waist, pulling her closer. Her intoxicating scent, one I wouldn’t soon forget, added to the mix of intrigue. And when I licked at the seam of her mouth, and she opened up for me… well, damn.

  The more I stroked my tongue against hers, the more it stoked a flame within me. It was all so confusing, and thrilling, and a fucking tease.

  Especially when she broke away, smiled, and said, “Good night, Brad.” With those devastating words, she raised a hand and a yellow sedan swerved to the curb. My eyes fixated on the curve of her ass as she climbed in. And while she slammed the door shut and spoke to the driver, I debated ditching my business and taking off with her. At that moment, after that kiss, I’d probably follow her into hell.

  But as the cab slowly pulled away, and she stared into my eyes through the window, a part of me knew it was best to let her go… because Sheena was trouble for a guy like me.

  I stared out the window, waiting for my bestie. But the pedestrians walking by on a picture-perfect southern California day went unseen as regret monopolized my thoughts.

  The trip to Manhattan had one purpose: to see my father and ask him every question that had plagued me my entire life. Why did he care so little? How could he ignore the fact that he had a daughter? Why didn’t he love me?

  Except for the child support check he religiously sent to my mother, he had not been involved in the person that I became. I had booked and canceled trips to New York four times over the past year. As much as I couldn’t seem to come to terms with his absence in my life, I’d lose my nerve each time.