by Mandie Tepe
Sighing, he looked at the calendar hanging on the wall. Besides the things he wanted to do around the apartment house and his PT session there was one other thing scheduled for the day. And it was significant. The kid was coming by to serve a couple of hours of his court-appointed community service.
The sixteen-year-old boy had played a minor part in Axel’s shooting and was serving his community service under Axel’s supervision. It was twisted in a lot of ways. What was most twisted was that Axel had requested it and convinced the judge to agree. He hoped it wouldn’t turn out to be a mistake, but the boy owed something to the residents of the Crosswinds’ who had been victimized by his crew. And Axel believed that they all owed something to the kid—the previous building manager’s son, making him a fellow resident—who had lived a difficult home life. They’d all seen him wandering lost and did nothing to reach out before he got caught up with a bad crowd and swept down the wrong path.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Isla Cassel entered the front door of the 1950s-era apartment building and through the archway beside the staircase that led to the first floor hallway. She wasn’t a resident, but spent a lot of time at her best friend Jimi’s apartment the short time she’d been living there. She reminded herself that she wasn’t there for Jimi this time as she took a bracing breath and walked purposely down the hall in her spike-heeled boots as easily as if she were barefoot.
There were five apartments on each of the two floors . . . four two-bedroom units—two on either side of the wide hallway—and one larger three-bedroom at the far end. She drew to a stop at the second door on the left and took two more deep breaths to steady her nerves before reaching up to rap twice on the door.
The larger apartment at the end of the hallway should have been the occupant’s rent-free as one of the perks of the new building manager. But—since he was single, lived alone, and didn’t need the extra space—he had traded spaces with a young couple with a toddler (and another on the way) that used to live in this one. Maybe he has a heart after all, Isla thought. Before events took place that prompted him to take the job, he’d resided upstairs in the apartment directly above this one.
She heard a crash inside the apartment, followed by what was most likely a muffled curse. She was sure of that, even if she wasn’t able to make out the words. Butterflies took flight in her belly as she heard heavy uneven footsteps approaching the door. It swung open and there he stood. Taller, in her four-inch heels, her eyes were on a level with his. He wasn’t a very tall man, but he was well-built . . . his muscled frame made that way from hard physical labor and an incalculable number of hours he’d spent on the back of his Harley.
Axel Alexander. She’d known him since she was in seventh grade, he was in eighth, and she began her friendship with his cousin—Jimi. They’d had a dislike/hate relationship ever since. At the moment he was standing there scowling at her. In all the years she had been besties with Jimi, Axel had only ever had three expressions for her—derision, disgust and ridicule. Lately he just scowled. This stung, because Axel’s face was usually so openly expressive . . . for other people anyway.
It was probably because he was out of her league. It wasn’t that she thought he was better than she was, or vice versa. They were literally from different leagues . . . different worlds . . . different universes.
“Duchess,” Axel drawled in his gravely voice. His brown eyes raked over her slim black slacks and tight-fit chocolate brown sweater with the tiniest ruffle around the deep vee—worn under a Burberry cashmere wrap coat. His perusal stopped at her designer boots.
Isla had started her morning early by attending a networking breakfast, immediately followed that with two back-to-back marketing meetings at her office. She held the position of Vice President of Marketing at the family business. Cassel Insurance and Finance was the largest insurance and financial advisor multi-branched corporation in the county and staffed with dozens of employees and agents. Just now she was coming from a chamber committee lunch meeting. She had another appointment scheduled for late that afternoon, or she might have stopped at home and changed into something more casual before coming by to do this favor for her best friend. She knew Axel would look down on her customary business chic (with a bit of sexy flair), knowing he preferred full-blown sexy biker babe style with no sign of professionalism at all.
His calling her “duchess” was typical. He never, ever used her name. She was always “duchess” with a sneer in his voice. She’d understand it if she treated people like she thought she was better than everyone, but she never did. It had taken her awhile to realize that he did it to both irritate her and to keep them at a distance. It was his way of holding them squarely in their separate leagues . . . he the self-professed peasant and she the rich girl. She suspected he used the word “duchess” instead of “princess” because the latter seemed more like a term of endearment, while “duchess” was cold. She hated his doing it and usually snarked at him over it to keep him from seeing that it hurt her feelings.
Because of his current situation, she decided to cut him some slack and not take the bait. “Axel,” she murmured, her eyes raking over him in much the same manner his had her.
He looked hot, if a bit scruffy with his full beard—as usual—standing there in jeans, his scuffed biker boots and his Vagabonds MC cut. Instead of the ubiquitous t-shirt underneath, he wore a black hoodie with the hood pulled over the cut’s collar due to the cold windy day. The hoodie had a Huckleberry’s Saloon logo on the front. Huckleberry’s was a local bar that his MC frequented.
That was his league. It wasn’t better or worse than hers . . . just as different as it was possible to be. He—like Jimi—had grown up in the biker culture. Their fathers were brothers, both of the blood and Vagabond MC variety. The cousins were trailer park born and raised. While Isla’s childhood was privileged and her family vacations were often exotic international excursions, Axel, Jimi and their siblings spent their school breaks camping out at bike rallies.
Axel had always embraced the lifestyle. Jimi had rebelled against it. She loved her family and was tolerant of them, but she had decided early on she wanted something different for her life. She and Axel—her entire family, including the Vagabond one—remained close. Axel liked to say that their clan was made up of varying shades of dark, and that Jimi was the white sheep of the family.
At the present, he gave Isla one of the looks he reserved for her—derision this time maybe?—and shook his head, “I don’t need you to take time away from your obviously important schedule. I can get myself to PT just fine.” He tossed his head, throwing the hair he wore too long in front out of his eyes. “I could call for an Uber,” he added on a murmur, “or threaten the docs to clear me for driving again.”
Isla ignored the last part. “Jimi’s afraid you’ll ditch the apointment.”
Axel scoffed, “Maybe—if she was afraid of that—she should have stayed in town and taken me herself instead of running off for a long weekend away with her new husband.”
Isla blinked in surprise. Sure Jimi and Chance had only known each other for a short while, but as soon as she’d seen the two of them together she knew they were meant to be. She’d never seen her sister-of-the-heart as happy as she was with Chance.
“You’re mad that she and Chance got married?” Isla asked. “I thought you liked Chance.”
“I do like him. But Vagabonds don’t get married on the sly without the family around and without telling anyone until it’s a done deal. Vagabonds do it up big.”
“Whatever,” she said dismissively. She was well aware of the way the club partied.
“You don’t have a problem with their private wedding because she included you,” he accused.
She looked down the hall toward the exit, not meeting his eyes when she answered, “Look . . . they had their reasons. Besides, Jimi’s parents and Chance’s mom and brother were there too.”
He knew t
hat Isla had acted as maid of honor and that River—Chance’s brother—had stood up for him as best man. But Isla—no blood relation at all—being included only gave Axel more fuel to pile on the bonfire of resentment he already had for her.
She stepped back and changed the subject. “Are you ready to go?”
He walked through the door and turned to lock it with his key, mumbling about needing to install the units’ new updated locks.
“How’s the new position going?” she asked.
“It’s a job and a paycheck,” he bit out.
The New Beginnings Series by Mandie Tepe
– Evolving Dreams (New Beginnings Series – Book 1)
A beautiful and talented dancer and a tough American hero who have both fulfilled their dreams… only to find that in each other their dreams have evolved. Can Meg and Trace allow themselves to fulfill their new dreams together?
– Mended Hearts (New Beginnings Series – Book 2)
A woman who has been through hell and back is ready to rebuild her life. A wounded warrior at his own crossroads longs for his new mission to be helping her do that rebuilding. Will Gracie and Sonny be just what the other needs?
– Tangled Affections (New Beginnings Series – Book 3)
A caring woman who struggles with her own worthiness is blindsided by her best friend’s brother’s sudden interest. Can Kelli ever come to see herself as worthy of love as Mathias sees her?
– Armored Soul (New Beginnings Series – Book 4)
A strong but solitary man is captive by his painful past. A beautiful and nurturing woman wants to set him free from his self-imposed isolation. Will Remy be able to reach out, take Stevie’s outstretched hand and step into the bright future he deserves?
– Shattered Destiny (New Beginnings Series – Book 5)
A woman climbs out from under a heartbreaking loss to set her feet on a path to a new life. She’d like fun and easy going Charley to be a part of it. As Pepper realizes she has more hurdles from her past to get over before she’s truly free, does she really want to drag him through it with her?
– Stolen Hopes (New Beginnings Series – Book 6)
After growing up with wealth enough to give him everything he could ever want, all he hopes for is a loving family and a simple life. Just as he finds a way to that dream, it is stripped away. Will Jamey ever find his way back to the promise of Izzy from so long ago?
– Lifting Shadows (New Beginnings Series – Book 7)
A tragic mysterious loss casts a shadow over and changed the course of her life. Quinn is struggling to cope with the emotional upheaval he brought back from a foreign battlefield, but hopes to solve the mystery and lift the shadows from Tangie’s life.
– Wandering Home (New Beginnings Series – Book 8)
Running from the outlaw biker club that had become a nightmare instead of the refuge he needed, Hart lands in yet another small town. When he rents Willa’s garage apartment, she shows him what family really is. And he gives her everything she thought was lost to her forever.
– Odd Serendipity (New Beginnings Series – Book 9)
Astrid—the very image of American royalty—has the world at her feet. When she met Jase she found a man of character unlike anyone she’d ever met. Her tabloid life becomes a distraction he doesn’t want, but having her in his world might be exactly what he needs.
– Perfectly Flawed (New Beginnings Series – Book 10)
Tucker was a farm boy who lived an uncharacteristic life on the road. Family and friends were after him to settle down with a nice hometown girl, but Dolly was the furthest thing from that. She was a bold, quirky, square-peg-in-a-round-hole British transplant . . . and all he wanted.
The Crossroads Series by Mandie Tepe
For the most part, the souls that live in the Crosswinds Apartments building in Carrefour—a small town located on the Missouri bank of the Mississippi River—form a tight knit diverse community . . . some living transparent lives while others have secrets to hide. And then there are those who have found themselves at a crossroads.
– CrissCross (Crossroads Series – Book 1)
A couple of years after resettling in his hometown, retired Navy SEAL Chance “Lucky” Loughlin meets Jimi Alexander—his quirky new neighbor and the “white sheep” of her rough-and-tumble biker clan. Working their way through family drama and a crime spree that seems to be focused on their apartment building, will Chance and Jimi find a fork in the road leading to destinations they can embark on together?
– CrossWise (Crossroads Series – Book 2)
Axel Alexander’s life has been run off in a ditch after he was sidelined by a violent crime and finds himself unable to do the things he loves… including riding his beloved Harley with his MC brothers. But suddenly he’s noticing unexpected side roads and new paths. Could it be that Isla Cassel-—a familiar one-time rival—riding shotgun could make his new journey more fulfilling?
– CrossLines (Crossroads Series – Book 3)
Setting off on a new career path, River Loughlin—the closest thing to a rock star the little town of Carrefour had ever seen—would keep him closer to home. What he didn’t know was that his life would evolve into an unrecognizable one when Daisy Alexander returns to town broken. Together they would do their best to keep her father’s biker clan in check as they create a life full of blessings neither of them expected.
– CrossOver (Novella)
Coco Lane’s past was about to come back to haunt her… the past she’d hoped her own personal miracle—Runner Alexander—would never find out about. As it all came crashing down around her she’d find that, as alone as she’d always been, she might not have to stay that way forever. Now that he had her, even in the limited way she gave herself to him, he’d fight tooth-and-nail to keep her… no matter how violently the storms of her life buffeted them.