by L. P. Maxa
LOVE ETERNAL
Ten years ago Baze Carter fell irrevocably in love and knew he'd found his forever only to have her ripped from his arms, never to be seen again. Broken, and unable to find her, he made a life for himself as a baseball coach at St. Leasing School for Boys. Their secret, hidden for centuries, has been in peril for the past year, and now more than ever, Baze and his pack need to end the evil that plagues them. When Penelope Sutton is discovered bruised and battered lying in the road in front of his home, Baze is elated and murderous in equal measure. Anyone who dare harm his long lost mate will be made to pay, but not before Baze and Pen find their way back to each other.
HEART STOPPING
St. Leasing – Book Four
L.P. Maxa
ALSO BY L.P. MAXA
St. Leasing
Mouth Watering
Breath Taking
Jaw Dropping
RiffRaff Records
Royalty
Legacy
Infamy
Loyalty
Sanctuary
The Devil’s Share
Play Nice
Play Dirty
Play Fair
Play Softly
Play Hard
Play For Keeps
Other Novels
Happy Place
www.BOROUGHSPUBLISHINGGROUP.com
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Boroughs Publishing Group does not have any control over and does not assume responsibility for author or third-party websites, blogs or critiques or their content.
HEART STOPPING
Copyright © 2018 L.P. Maxa
Smashwords Edition
All rights reserved. Unless specifically noted, no part of this publication may be reproduced, scanned, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Boroughs Publishing Group. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or by any other means without the permission of Boroughs Publishing Group is illegal and punishable by law. Participation in the piracy of copyrighted materials violates the author’s rights.
ISBN 978-1-948029-28-5
E-book formatting by Maureen Cutajar
www.gopublished.com
This one is for Gig. I’m equal parts honored and disturbed by how excited you are for Baze.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I always thank my husband and daughter first, and there is a reason. Writing a book takes a lot of patience. I have to be alone to write, and that means that every word I type keeps me away from my family. And the fact that they are so understanding and supportive warms my heart and proves how lucky I am. Thanks to my mom for hanging with my daughter so I could spend time with Baze and Pen. Thank you to Amy S. for helping get this ball rolling. It wasn’t an easy one. She had to help me push it, up hill. Susan, I hope Baze doesn’t disappoint. Your love for these guys makes me smile. Amy H. Thank you for all your support and for always knowing where my forms are when I lose them. You are such an inspiration and we are all in awe of your strength and kickass-ness!
I have the best readers, and I am always blown away by the outpouring of love and support I receive.
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
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Epilogue
HEART STOPPING
But for those who love time is eternal
~ William Shakespeare
Chapter One
Baze
Baze stepped back, plucked a towel from the table and wiped his hands until the white terry cloth turned red. Then he grabbed the large bottle of rubbing alcohol and poured it over his knuckles, wincing slightly at the pain. It’d been one week since they’d captured Ox, Franklin’s second in command, and brought him to an old warehouse. Three days ago, Baze and Jace had started in on the torture. Initially, they’d starved Ox of food, water, and sleep. All things Baze knew would work in theory, and all things Jace had seen to be effective firsthand.
Over the last several days Baze had learned more about what Jace had gone through as a child than Baze could stomach. The fact that the kid could smile at all was a testament to his strength. Jace had been raised by a cruel bastard of a father, and he’d been taught at a young age how to exploit a man’s weaknesses. How to break someone down until there was almost nothing left.
Baze hated that he needed Jace’s help, and hated that he was letting a seventeen-year-old kid relive his worst nightmares. But Jace had insisted; he’d been adamant that he be part of breaking Ox and destroying his father.
The detectives who were still camping out at Baze’s apartment had been told that Jace could give them a list of laws his father broke a mile long. But everyone knew that without proof, without witnesses, Franklin’s lawyer would laugh in their faces and he’d walk. He’d get away with every vile thing he’d done, and that simply couldn’t happen.
They needed irrefutable evidence, and they were hoping Ox was their golden ticket. Which was why Baze and Jace had traded out fall training for hand-to-hand combat and shock therapy.
“Let me take over.” Jace came into the room, the dark space flooding with light momentarily. Ox grimaced at the bright invasion, his eyes no longer accustomed.
Baze shook his head, draining a bottle of water. “No.”
He tried his best to keep Jace’s involvement to a minimum, plus he knew the kid had a big chemistry test on Monday. Corey was already beyond pissed that Jace was even part of what was happening here. If he started flunking out his senior year, she’d go full mama bear on their asses.
“He needs a break anyway. I’ve been at it for an hour this morning.” Baze tossed his mostly empty bottle at Ox, watching him fumble with his bound hands to try to get a small sip. They needed to keep him alive, for now.
“Yeah well, you need to check your messages.” Jace grabbed Ox by his restraints, causing him to spill what was left of the water as he hauled him back to his makeshift holding cell. “Your phone has been vibrating on the counter for the last five minutes.” He hooked the chains over the catch hanging from the middle of the ceiling, then kicked Ox’s legs out from under him for good measure.
The kid was cold. And tougher than any man Baze had ever known. Not to mention well connected
in odd ways. He’d found the warehouse they were using, already equipped with the small cell and wired to handle insane amounts of voltage.
Baze walked out, knowing that Jace would secure the area as well as he could. Over the last week, something had shifted between Baze and Jace. For the past year or so, the twins had been pack adjacent, on the outskirts of the group. But now? Baze thought of Jace as a brother. He felt like they’d been in the trenches together, like they were a team. Both of them were the type of man who would do what needed to be done. No matter the cost. No matter the toll it would take on their sanity. Or their souls.
Baze cracked his neck, picked up his cell from the counter where he had left it a couple hours ago. He had ten missed calls, all from Linc. Ten missed calls? It could be something serious, or it could be that Linc was out of beer and he wanted Baze to pick up some on his way back to campus. You never could tell with Linc.
“Baze. Fuck, man, where have you been?”
He pulled the phone away from his ear, not expecting Linc’s shouts. “I’m with Jace. We’re working. What’s up?”
“Uh, this is going to sound real fucking weird, but there is a blonde chick passed out on my couch. She asked for you before she lost it.”
“She asked for me?” Baze wrinkled his forehead. “I know a lot of blonde chicks who live in Haxton, bro.” They all did. There wasn’t much to do in their little town besides play ball and drink beer at Moon Bar. “And why the hell does it sound like you’re watching a telenovela?”
“Oh that’s Matias. He and Madden are in the kitchen; apparently my mate speaks fucking Spanish. Did you know that she spoke Spanish? Because I sure as hell didn’t.”
Baze chuckled silently at how annoyed Linc sounded before sobering. “Wait, who the hell is Matias? What’s happening over there? I literally saw you guys last night, how could so much have happened in such a short amount of time?”
Linc sighed heavily into the phone. “This morning a Spanish god with a man-bun comes waltzing into our house carrying an injured lady. He’s one of Madden’s friends from the Spanish pack. And this girl? I have no fucking clue. She looks like she’s seen better days, and man, he found her lying in the street.”
“In the street? Like in front of your house?” Great. Another dose of stress to add to their pile, as if they didn’t have enough already. “Why haven’t you taken her to the hospital? Or called an ambulance?”
“Madden won’t let me.”
“Madden, the nurse, won’t let you take an injured woman to the hospital?” That made zero fucking sense, which was par for the course in their current conversation.
“Well, the girl asked for you, like by name. And she smells like shifter. Right now she’s in a bit of a healing sleep.”
Healing sleep? It was rare for a female to carry any traits from their shifter fathers. But if they did inherit some, it was typically advanced speed, healing, or agility. Not as magical as male shifters, but it still worked to their advantage. “Okay, let me get Jace and we’ll head over.”
The fact of the matter was that finding someone injured on their street couldn’t be coincidence. Not after everything that had happened over the last couple weeks. Whether Baze knew her or not, they needed to meet as a pack to figure out what to do with her.
“She has long blonde hair, and she was only awake for a second, but her eyes were this super light brown color. I’ve never—”
Baze froze mid-step. “Wait, what?” His heart stopped in his chest, and suddenly the world felt like it was starting to close in on him. Like the walls and ceiling were in a perpetual motion to squeeze him out of existence. “Light brown?”
“Yeah, like almost honey-colored or something. I know I’ve never banged her, I would have remembered those…Ow, baby, fuck. Why did you hit me? I’m not in there giving you a hard time for man-bun.”
“Linc.” Baze interrupted his packmate, his patience wavering. He took a deep calming breath. “Lift her shirt and check her right hip.”
“Dude. I’m not undressing this poor girl, I think she’s already—”
“Do it. Now.” Baze put a command in his tone that he rarely used, making sure Linc knew without a doubt Baze wasn’t asking.
“Okay, um, yeah. There is like a symbol there or something. It’s that same light color, like her eyes. It’s another language maybe?”
“It’s Hebrew.” Baze closed his eyes, memories already starting to flood his senses. He pushed them all away; he didn’t have time to fall apart. He didn’t have time to reminisce or hope or mourn. “I’m on my way.” He hung up, not letting Linc ask any of the hundreds of questions Baze knew were on the tip of his packmate’s tongue. He strode across the room, knocking loudly on the large metal door to the space that housed their prisoner. Jace wasn’t allowed to be here by himself, and Baze needed to leave, now.
“What’s up?” Jace came into the room, wiping his hand on a towel the same as Baze had earlier.
“We’ve got to head to Linc’s.” Baze grabbed his keys and wallet, leaving Jace to lock up the rest of the place.
Baze felt like he was walking under water, like his body was made of lead and his brain was full of bees. Nothing made sense, but at the same time, everything made perfect sense. How could it not? Franklin wanted to hurt them, hurt all of them. He wanted to send them a message and scare them into relenting. Why wouldn’t he go after the one person no one in Baze’s life even knew existed? Why wouldn’t things go from trying to downright difficult?
“Linc’s? Why?” Jace quickly climbed into the passenger seat of Baze’s truck, trying to keep up and buckling his seat belt. “He run out of beer or something?”
“My mate is there.”
Chapter Two
Baze
Ten Years Ago
“You’re outta my league, bumblebee.” Baze ran his fingers through Penelope’s long blonde hair, letting it fall from his grasp to tickle his bare chest. Afternoons like this were his favorite—lying out in the sun, no one else around. Just him and his girl, his hands on her skin and her head on his heart.
Penelope moved onto her stomach, a smile lighting up her beautiful honeycomb eyes. “Outta your league? Not a chance.” She dipped down, playfully biting at his ribs. “You’re too good for the likes of me.” She licked to take away the sting, her smile turning wicked, knowing she was working him up.
“That’s not what your daddy thinks.” Baze sent her a smirk, trying to keep the mood light even though his words carried heavy weight.
Penelope was the love of his life. His forever. He knew it with every fiber of his being. But her father hated him, thought he was trash from the wrong side of the tracks. It was cliché as all fucking get-out. Baze lived ten minutes from them, and yeah, his house could fit in their entryway. But his mom worked three jobs to make sure he could stay in school, could keep playing baseball. They weren’t trash; they simply didn’t have it as easy as Pen and her parents.
She sighed, rolling her eyes. “You know I don’t give a damn what my stuck-up family thinks.” She climbed up his body, resting her chin on his chest. “I love you, Baze Carter.” She smiled, once again making her stunning eyes dance. “Forever.”
“Forever is a long time.” He cupped her ass, giving it a squeeze through her cutoff shorts.
She shook her head. “Not nearly long enough.”
He turned them over, hovering above her, grinning like a boy in love. And he was, he was completely in love with the girl underneath him. Her soft hair spread out like a blanket on the green grass of the outfield.
Baze put one hand on her cheek, and his lips on her jaw. He kissed her neck, he nipped at her ear. He made her giggle and then he went in for the kill, kissing her with everything he had.
She moved her thighs out from under him, her bare foot digging into his ass, asking for more. He ground into her core, giving her what he could. Her little whimpers were driving him wild; his cock was so hard it was bordering on painful. He rested his forehead aga
inst hers, trying like hell to get himself under control. Usually he had his shift down pat, but when Penelope was under him like this? He started to lose it a bit.
He wanted her so fucking badly; he wanted to claim her, to own her. It took everything inside him to hold back, to stop things when she started to spiral out of control.
Her hands moved to the button of his shorts, her palm finding his rigid cock. His breath came out shaky to his own ears, his resolve wavering.
“Make me yours, please.” Her words stopped him, bringing him back to his senses. This wasn’t the time, nor the place. He’d be damned if he took her virginity in the middle of the afternoon on the ground. He wasn’t trash, no matter what her family thought. He knew she deserved more. His girl deserved the best.
Baze shook his head, smirking. “You are relentless, you know that?” He got to his feet, reaching down and helping her up before rebuttoning his shorts.
“And you are a cock tease.” She put her fists on her slender hips, a scowl on her perfect angelic face.
He let his head fall back, his laugh filling the empty field and bouncing back off the steel of the bleachers. He threw his arm around her tan shoulders, pulling her close and inhaling her sweet scent. “I will make you mine, one day.” He kissed her temple. “I promise, bumblebee.”
Baze knew that Penelope was the girl for him, the one person he was supposed to spend the rest of his life loving, protecting. His mate. But he was still seventeen, and the bonding wouldn’t work until after his eighteenth birthday.
He had ten days to go, and then he’d take her. She would be his, and there would be nothing her family could do about it.
Baze lay awake at night, planning. He had a full ride to play ball at the University of Arizona and Pen had already been accepted there too. They’d live together off campus, and he’d get a job. Things would be tough at first, he knew that. But as long as they were together, nothing else mattered.