by Erin Osborne
There’s waterfalls, trees surrounding us, and a ton of people. I’m not usually one to be around a lot of people I don’t know, but this is something my wife really wanted to do, so I’m going with it. My cut is in the car because I haven’t worn it the entire time we’ve been in town.
I don’t know what clubs are around, and I know there could be trouble if we were to identify our club affiliation without any warning or notice to whichever club is here. I’ve heard bikes as we’ve sat outside, but I haven’t been close enough to see who was going by the house.
I’m thinking that we’re about halfway up this place when we come to a waterfall that we have to walk under. Axle squeals in delight as the mist from the falling water hits him in the face. Hadliegh and I laugh at him when he tries to stick his hand out farther to reach it. I inch closer to the water so that it hits him a little more since it’s hotter than hell out here. He squeals again as the people around us laugh along with us.
Finally, we begin to make our way up the rest of the path until we hit a massive park. There are several areas for cooking out, a playground, and families enjoying their day all over the place. I see a bus off to the side on the road leading in and out of the park and direct Hadliegh over to it. There’s no way in hell I’m going to let her walk back down this thing when she’s pregnant, and the heat is going to be getting to her no matter how much water she drinks along the way.
“Thank you for today,” she tells me, snuggling into my side as we sit on the bus that will take us back to our car.
“Anythin’ for you, Bright Eyes,” I tell her, kissing her on the temple as the bus comes to a stop just past the parking lot we left the car in. “Now, let’s make our way back to the airport and find a diner on the way. I know you’re gonna be hungry by now and you’re gonna need to feed Axle too.”
She nods her head in response to me while we get off the bus and make our way to the car. We bought so much shit while we were here that we shipped that home two days ago. Yesterday, I kept her at the house so she couldn’t buy more for us to send home or try to fit in our luggage for the plane.
Hadliegh wasn’t happy, but I made sure to keep her occupied for most of our trip. Now, I’m ready to go home. I want to get back to work and make sure my wife gets to the doctor to make sure everything is okay with the baby. I miss our family, and I’m sure she does too. No matter how bad we needed this little vacation, we need to be home more. Especially with Phoebe showing up and telling us she doesn’t want to go back to school. Not to mention I have one more fight before I officially retire and open my gym.
Epilogue
Cassidy
I’LL NEVER BE able to thank Hadliegh and the club enough for getting me away from Craig. I haven’t heard from him since the day the guys came and picked me up from Ink. Honestly, I don’t know how to act since I’m not in constant pain and I have feelings for not one, but two guys. Hawk and Chains consume my thoughts, and I know I’m not ready to go there with either one of them; much less both of them.
Chains and Hawk have made it very clear they both want me as their ol’ lady, and that they’ll wait until I’m ready to take that step with them. We’ve had conversations about what that entails, being with both of them, and I know that I want them. They’re each good to me in their own way. Hawk is sweeter while Chains leaves me feeling safer. That’s not to say that either one of them wouldn’t lay down their lives for me because I know they would.
There are only two things that scare me right now. The fact that I know Craig is not done with me, and the way I feel around the two men from Satan’s Anarchy MC. Craig was never one to like to lose anything that he thought of as his. He married me when my world was falling apart and made me feel like the most important person in his life.
That all changed when I told him I was pregnant. He knew I wasn’t using any birth control, but he refused to wear a condom. I don’t know what the fuck he thought was gonna happen when we had sex with no protection. Anyway, that’s the day he started beating me and made sure I knew having a kid wasn’t in our future. No, a child would only take my attention away from him and that couldn’t happen.
Whenever Hawk and Chains are near me, I feel like a puddle of goo. If one of them touches me in any way, it’s like a fire is lit in my stomach and spreads throughout my entire body. Nothing like I felt with Craig or anyone I dated in school.
Each man is different in their own way, and they both look like Greek Gods. They both have tattoos over most of their bodies that I want to trace with my tongue. Hawk is tall and slender with dark hair that he wears in a faux-hawk. His chocolate brown eyes make me want to melt into him whenever he turns them on me.
Chains is taller than Hawk, and his body is filled with muscles from hard work and time spent in the gym. He’s got dark blond hair and startling blue eyes that make me feel like he can see directly into my soul. It’s an unnerving feeling, but one that I relish in when he looks at me like I’m the most important person on Earth to him.
I’m on my way out to my car that’s kept parked by the gate surrounding the clubhouse when I see a note plastered to my windshield. I immediately look around to see who put it there and don’t see anyone. As I grab it off my car, I carefully open it to see that it’s a note:
I’m watching you. You disgusting pig fucking around with gang bangers. I’ll have you back and I’ll retrain you the way that you know you need to be. I’m coming for you!
My insides quiver as I know that Craig found me. It’s not like we were hiding me that good. I mean, I cover the days that Hadliegh takes off at the tattoo shop, and I haven’t had to remain locked away from the world. My only stipulation is that I have to have Hawk or Chains with me when I leave the compound. I want to run right back inside right now, but I’m not going to let Craig make me hide away from my life or shy away like a scared little bitch. No, I’m going to go into work, and I’ll talk to the guys when I see them again.
Hawk
From the second Chains and I saw Cassidy for the first time, we knew she was the one that was made for us. It’s not about her looks; even though she’s the most stunning woman we’ve ever laid our eyes on. Cassidy is short, just a little over five foot with curves in all the right places. She’s not stick-thin but has meat on her bones the way that we like.
Her eyes are almost a navy blue that sucks us in and makes us get lost in her gaze. I’ve never seen anyone with such dark blue eyes as our Cass. They’re absolutely stunning. She’s strong and sometimes feisty but lets us see the more timid side when anyone mentions her ex, Craig. He did a real fucking number on her, and I can’t wait to meet him in a back alley somewhere.
I’m in the middle of helping Psycho tear apart the building he bought for his new gym when my phone goes off. Looking down, I see it’s Ink. So, I look at Psycho before walking away to see what’s going on when I know that Cass is working today.
“Hey Ink, what’s up?” I ask.
“Somethin’ wrong with your girl. She’s been a wreck since she walked through the door and won’t tell me what’s goin’ on. All I know is that every time the door opens, she looks up with a panicked look on her face,” Ink tells me, shuffling some papers on his desk.
“She won’t say anythin’?” I ask, walking closer to Psycho so he can hear the conversation.
“No. I was gonna call Hadliegh but I know she had a doctor’s appointment today. That’s why Cassidy is here instead of her,” he tells me.
“I’m stoppin’ at the clubhouse and then I’ll be over. Give me an hour. Keep an eye out,” I say, knowing what I’m gonna do now.
“What’s up?” Psycho asks, putting his tools down and letting me know he has my back.
I briefly explain what Ink said and what I need to do now. There’s no way in hell I’m leaving her at the clubhouse if Craig is brave enough to get to her car there. We’ll make sure no one knows where our house is, and keep her there for a little while. Chains and I want her living with us; her asshat of a
n ex just pushed up the timetable for us.
Chains meets me at the clubhouse and helps me gather Cass’s things before loading up one of the SUVs. As soon as we have it all unloaded at the house, we make our way over to Anarchy Ink to pick her up and find out what’s going on. Ink hasn’t told her that we’re picking her up early or that we’re even going to show up. He agreed he’d keep an eye on her and make sure that she is okay until we could show up.
Walking in the shop, we see Cass look up and I notice the fear in her eyes as her entire body trembles. It’s not the first time she’s trembled in our presence, but this time it’s not in a way that we want. Then, we watch as she completely relaxes and walks around the counter toward us.
“Let’s go. You can tell us what’s goin’ on when we get to the house,” Chains says as she wraps her arms around both of us and buries her head.
“Ink knows your leavin’, babygirl. We’ll figure this out and make sure that you’re protected,” I tell her, needing her to realize she’s not alone and we’ll do everything in our power to protect her.
We lead her out to the SUV and help her in the back seat before climbing in ourselves. As soon as Chains takes off, Cass begins to tell us about the letter she found on her car. Cass hands it over and when we read what Craig wrote, Chains almost drives off the side of the road he’s so pissed off right now.
“Don’t worry, babygirl. We got you, and we’ll make sure he never touches you. From now on you’re stayin’ at our house. It’s not in town but still close to the clubhouse. The only ones that know where we live are club members. Even the Prospects don’t know where we live,” Chains tells her.
“I— I can’t stay with you guys. What will people think?” she asks, her voice timid and scared.
“Who the fuck cares what anyone thinks. Cass, we told you what we want, that we’re gonna take it at your pace. The only ones that matter to us are the three of us and the members and ol’ ladies of the club. Not a single one of them gives a fuck what we do with our cocks or who we take as our ol’ lady,” I tell her, needing her to understand we don’t care what anyone thinks about us.
“O— okay,” she stammers, letting her gaze drift out the window so she can take in the scenery as we make our way to our house.
Chains
When Cassidy handed over the letter she found on her car, I was more than ready to turn the SUV around and go find her disgusting excuse of an ex. I grew up with an abusive dad and I’ll never let anyone else suffer at anyone’s hands. Yeah, we dish out punishments, and I’ve taken my fair share of lives, but they all deserved that shit. They weren’t innocent or a victim. These people were the ones harming innocent people and they deserved to die at our hands.
Instead, I’m going to help Cassidy feel like she has more control than what she does now. We have a gym set up in our basement that’s finished. I have mats down there where we can workout and I can help her learn some self-defense moves. I’d rather her be confident and know she can take her ex down if she has to. Not that we won’t protect her with everything we have, but there’s always a slim chance we won’t be there when she needs us.
As soon as we get to the house, I go up to my room so I can change into workout clothes while Hawk shows Cass around. Once I know the tours over, I tell her to change into comfortable clothes and meet me down in the gym. She nods her head in understanding as a smile covers Hawk’s face. He knows exactly what I have in mind, we’ve already talked about it.
I’m down in the gym when Hawk leads Cass down to me. She’s wearing tight shorts that barely cover her ass and a form-fitting tank top. It’s the kind that has a bra built in and I can see her nipples pebbled under the fabric. Fuck! This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought it’d be.
“Cass, I’m gonna teach you some self-defense moves,” I tell her as she steps on the mat in front of me.
“Okay, Chains. I’m ready,” she answers, waiting for me to tell her what to do.
I turn her around to face Hawk and act like I’m coming up behind her. Wrapping my arms around her body, the only thing she can do is kick me. Her arms are wrapped up under mine. Cass freezes as her mind takes her away and to another point in time. I guarantee that it has something to do with Craig.
“Come on, Cassidy! Do somethin’,” I tell her, sounding harsh enough to piss her off and lash out at me.
"Get off of me!” she screams out!
I feel her feet trying to land purchase anywhere she can on my body. Looking at Hawk, I smile because this is exactly what I wanted to happen. We want her to know she can beat anyone’s ass that tries to hurt her, instead of thinking she needs to take whatever is dished out her way. Fuck that! We can all see how strong she is, now it’s time for her to see it too.
For the next hour or so, we work on different tactics for her to use if anyone ever tries to hurt her or take her. She asks questions and follows my instructions perfectly. By the time that we’re done, she’s covered in sweat and I can see the excitement in her eyes. Cass likes that she’s learning these moves, and I can see that she wants to learn more and more.
“Every day we’ll be down here for an hour. We’ll go over everythin’ that I’ve taught you so far, and I’ll add a new move every single day,” I tell her, knowing that there are only so many moves I can teach her, but I’ll figure out new ones if I have to. I just want to feel her body against mine and watch her triumph when she gets a move right.
“Go get showered and dressed. Dinner will be here in a few minutes. We’ll meet you in the living room. You get to pick the movie,” Hawk tells her, watching her ass run up the stairs before he moves closer to me.
“Did you see her light up when she started getting the moves down? That was fuckin’ amazin’!” he tells me while handing me a towel so I can wipe down before going to take my own shower.
“I did. That’s why we’re gonna work every single fuckin’ day. Let’s get up there,” I tell him, ready to spend the rest of the night with Cassidy on the couch.
The End
Hadliegh’s Desire Playlist
If I Told You The Truth – Randy Rogers
Oh, Tonight – Josh Abbott Band
I am The Fire – Halestorm
I Miss The Misery – Halestorm
Break In – Halestorm
You Call Me A Bitch Like It’s A Bad Thing – Halestorm
Crazy Girl – Eli Young Band
Hard To Love – Lee Brice
Boy – Lee Brice
Cold – Crossfade
Hemorrhage – Fuel
Demons – Imagine Dragons
Before He Cheats – Carrie Underwood
Purpose For Pain – Scott Stapp
In Case You Didn’t Know – Brett Young
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I’d like to thank my kids. You have unbelievable faith in me and your support means more than you’ll ever know. I love you all to the moon and back!
To our beta readers. Thank you for your hard work and dedication. Your willingness to help us put out the best book possible is amazing.
Kim, thank you for everything. You’re not just a friend, you’re a member of my family. Love ya loads!
Courtney, you not only are our cover model, you’re our editor, and a friend. Thank you for everything you’ve done and continue to do. It’s an honor to have your help on this project and to have you as a friend. Love ya!
Shelly, thank you for everything. You’re amazing work continues to blow me away and make our books look amazing. Thank you is never enough!
Reggie, thank you for the amazing pictures!
To our fans, thank you for the continued support on this journey. Without you, our dreams wouldn’t be possible.
~Erin
This book would never have happened without Erin Osborne. You are my biggest cheerleader. Ashley Taylor, you always tell me that I am doing well and that you are proud of me. It means the world to me. Whitney Rapp thank you having my back in this new journey. M
ike Stotts you are the world’s greatest son and I love you forever. Thank you for helping me with whatever I ask. To the readers, you make this so worthwhile, your messages asking for more make me smile. Thank you for going on this ride with us.
~JC
About The Author
Erin Osborne
Growing up, I was constantly reading anything I could get my hands on. Even if that meant I was reading my grandma’s books that weren’t so age appropriate. I started out reading Judy Blume, then graduated to romance, mainly historical romance, and last year I found an amazing group of Indie authors that wrote MC books. Instantly I fell in love with these books.
For a long time, I’ve wanted to write. I just never had the courage to go through with actually doing it. During a book release party, I mentioned that I wanted to write and I received encouragement from an amazing author. So, I took a leap and wrote my first book. Even though this amazing journey is just starting for me, I wouldn’t have even started if it weren’t for a wonderful group of authors and others that I’ve met along the way.
I am a mother of three children. Only one girl in the bunch! My family and friends mean the world to me and I’d be lost without them. Including new friends that I’ve met along the way. I’ve lived in New York my whole life, either in Upstate or the Southern Tier. I love it during the summer, spring, and fall. But, not so much during the winter. I hate driving in snow with a passion!
When I’m not hanging out with my family/friends, reading, or writing, you can find me listening to music. I love almost all music! Or, I’m watching a NASCAR race.
I look forward to meeting new friends, even if I’m extremely shy!
Here are some links to connect with me: