Ruthless Protector
Lawless Kings #4
Sherilee Gray
Copyright © 2018 by Sherilee Gray
All rights reserved.
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Editor: Jenn Wood, All About The Edits
Proofreading: Keyanna Butler
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Visit my website at: www.sherileegray.com
Contents
About This Book
Also by Sherilee Gray
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Epilogue
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Also by Sherilee Gray
About Shattered King
About This Book
The first time I saw my landlord Jude Wayland, with his gentle brown eyes and a body built to do damage, I knew he was trouble. Sure, he has the nice guy routine mastered, but I’m not buying it. In my experience, no one does a good deed for free.
Now that he’s seen me at my lowest, the sexy P.I with a white knight complex wants to uncover my secrets. He also has me craving more of his sizzling kisses. But I can’t give in to my feelings for him. I promised my sister that I’d raise her daughter without a man, and I won’t let her down again.
Yet as my past catches up with me, bringing danger to our door, I’ll have to make a choice—let Jude in and betray my sister, or run, leaving behind the only man I’ve ever loved.
Ruthless Protector is the fourth book in the Lawless Kings series, but each of these sexy, gritty contemporary romances can be enjoyed as a standalone.
Also by Sherilee Gray
Lawless Kings:
Shattered King
Broken Rebel
Beautiful Killer
Ruthless Protector
The Smith Brothers:
Mountain Man
Wild Man
Boosted Hearts:
Swerve
Spin
Slide
Axle Alley Vipers:
Crashed
Revved
Wrecked
Black Hills Pack:
Lone Wolf’s Captive
A Wolf’s Deception
Stand Alone Novels:
Breaking Him
Prologue
Willa
One year ago
Ashwood Falls, Ohio
I turned onto my sister and no-good, piece of shit, brother in-law’s, street, and my stomach sank. There was a cop car in the front of their house, lights flashing. The neighbors were all out on the street, watching the drama unfold, enjoying every damn bit of it. I pulled up behind Landon’s patrol car and climbed out, slamming the door behind me. I’d known Landon since high school; he was a good guy, was good to me. He understood the hell I was going through with my sister, how my hands were tied where my niece Tilly was concerned, and thankfully had always let me take her without involving child protection.
Unfortunately, my niece’s distress call tonight was not the first, but it was going to be the goddamn last. Rebecca had shot up, smoked, and snorted shit up her nose for the last time. My older sister was going to rehab again and this time, she wasn’t discharging herself. She was going to leave that worthless asshole Trent for good, and I was taking Tilly, and I wasn’t giving her back until she had her life sorted out.
A muffled yell came from the patrol car. Trent was cuffed in the back, eyes wide and glassy, face red, screaming my sister’s name. The idiot headbutted the window when he saw me.
I flipped him off, pushed open the weather-beaten gate, and strode to the front door. It opened before I could get out my key.
I looked up at Landon. “Just let me grab Tilly and I’ll get out of here. Tell Rebecca I’ll be back to talk to her in the morning.” No way could I deal with her tonight. I was too pissed off, and after seeing Trent, I could guess the state she was in. Attempting to have a conversation with her would be pointless. “She promised,” I said to Landon. “She promised me she was staying clean this time, that she was done with Trent…well, I’m done. I’m so goddamn done…”
“Willa…”
“No, Landon, I mean it this time. I’m going to…”
“Willa…”
“Just let me get Tilly…”
“Willa,” he said, stronger this time, stopping me mid-tirade.
As soon as I took a good look at him, I knew something bad had happened. Not the usual bad, like Tilly left alone, or freaking out because her parents were passed out, or they forgot to pick her up from school because they were too wasted to drive. Which was all seriously bad stuff—unforgivable—but this was worse. My hand shot out, grabbing for the door frame, my legs suddenly weak. “Tilly?”
“She’s fine. She’s with Mrs. Jones next door.”
Okay, Tilly was fine. She went to Mrs. Jones’ a lot. I’d told her to go there if she was ever frightened and to call me. I trusted Mrs. Jones; she’d known Rebecca and I since we were little. In fact, this had been our family home once upon a time. We’d lived here with our mom. Our dad had decided he didn’t want a family anymore, that he had better things to do. So, Mom had raised us on her own.
I dropped my hand. “Okay, good. Let me pack Tilly a bag and take her to my place. Are you taking them both to the station? Are they being charged with anything?” I tried to move past him, but he blocked my way.
“You can’t go in there, Willa.”
I met his eyes and he shook his head. “What are you…what’s going on…”
“Rebecca OD’ed.”
My fingers dug harder into the doorframe. “Is she…”
Landon expression turned sympathetic. “Bob’s working on her, an ambulance is on the way.”
I shoved him aside and tore down the hall, ignoring his startled call. I found her on her bedroom floor, skin a weird color, vomit and other shit on her face and clothes, the carpet beside her. Bob, Landon’s partner, was doing chest compressions.
I ran over and dropped to my knees. “Goddamn it, Rebecca, wake up. Wake the hell up.”
“Stay back,” Bob said and carried on trying to save my sister’s life.
She suddenly took a deep, rattling breath and her hand shot out, grabbing mine in a grip so tight it hurt. She said something.
“Don’t try and talk, Becky…don’t…”
“Pr-promise me,” she choked out. “Tilly.”
“You’re going to be okay, you’ll be okay…”
She squeezed my hand tighter, nails digging into my skin. “Promise,” she said again.
I blinked and a hot tear streaked down my face. “I promise,” I whispered.
As soon as she had the words she wanted, her head rolled back so she was staring straight up, another rattling breath passed her lips…then nothing. I shook her. �
��Rebecca…Rebecca! Do something!” I screamed at Bob. “Fucking do something.”
He reached over, placing his hand over mine. “She’s gone.”
I yanked my hand from his. No. No, she couldn’t be gone.
I stared down at her, waiting for another one of those rattling breaths, waiting for her to fight, to stay with me.
But she didn’t.
Her eyes were wide open, staring straight up. Eyes that were the same shade of green as mine, and there was nothing there. Nothing.
Images of when we were kids flashed through my mind like a movie reel. The two of us laughing, playing, fighting. The day she gave birth to Tilly, me by her side, holding her hand. Just like I was now. We’d been best friends once, we’d been inseparable.
Now she was gone.
Bending low, I pressed her cool fingers to my forehead as excruciating pain flowed through me, the likes I had never felt before, searing a mark on my soul that I knew would never heal. God, I thought…I truly thought I’d get her back one day. That she’d get straightened out, off the drugs, and I’d have her back.
I started to rock, great wracking sobs jarring my whole body.
Her voice echoed through my mind, a promise she’d made me make the last time she was in the hospital, the last time she’d nearly OD’ed.
“Don’t let a man fuck up your life like I did, Willa, like Mom did. I…I need you to promise me you’ll take care of Tilly if anything happens to me. Promise me you’ll raise her right. No man. You’ll look after my baby, you’ll keep her safe, and you’ll do it on your own.”
“I promise,” I whispered, still clutching my sister’s lifeless hand. “I promise.”
1
Willa
“Willa! Get your skinny ass over here. Jesus, woman, I’m not paying you to stand around twiddling your damned thumbs.”
Cindy, one of the other waitresses, glanced at me over her shoulder and smirked. Bitch. She’d hated me since I walked in here six months ago. I ignored her and turned to Alf, my large, hairy, extremely rude, boss. He was scowling at me, meaty hands on his hips, flashing impressive pit stains, even for him.
I walked over and dumped my tray on the bar. “My shift just finished, I’m taking off.”
He scowled harder. “Why the fuck did I agree to this again?”
I’d been finishing at ten since I started, but even I could see it wasn’t working. “I need to get home to my little girl, remember?” I needed this job. I needed things to stay as they were, but looking at Alf now, I got a feeling he was done letting me have my way.
“Cindy has a kid, she doesn’t ask for special fucking treatment.”
My fingers tightened around the edge of the bar. Nope. I didn’t like where this was going, not one damned bit. “You agreed to it when you hired me, Alf, remember?”
“I’m not fucking simple. Of course I remember. You got all that pink hair, that little frame, that nice round ass. I thought you’d be good for business, now I’m not sure you’re worth the extra hassle.”
I bit back my snarky comment. “Look, Alf…”
“This ain’t working for me anymore, girl. Letting you leave at ten throws my roster out. I’m having trouble getting girls to cover you, and lately, we’ve ended up short a waitress.” He shook his head, his jowls wobbling with the movement. “It ain’t fair on the girls willing to do a full shift, Willa.”
Fuck. As shitty as it was, I couldn’t lose this job. “Alf, come on…”
“Hot as you are, I’d hate to let you go, but I need you to do a full shift or find another job.”
“You can’t do that…please, Alf…”
“I’ll give you this week to sort out childcare or whatever, but starting next Saturday, you’re here until closing or you’re out.”
I opened my mouth to say something, to plead my case, but he turned his back on me and got back to filling drinks orders. Conversation over.
What the hell am I going to do?
Quickly making my way to the break room, I grabbed my bag, slung it over my shoulder, and left out the back way, not wanting to look at Cindy’s smug damn face again, and out to the bus stop.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long.
I rented a brownstone in Brooklyn. The place was real nice, nicer than I ever thought I could afford; well, right now, I couldn’t afford shit. But the house was way cheaper than anything else I could find in a neighborhood like that. It was the kind of place that young couples moved to when they were ready to have kids and settle down. There were also older people who had been there their whole lives. Like my neighbor, Fay. She reminded me a lot of Mrs. Jones, back in Ashwood Falls. Sweet, but also no pushover. Accept Fay Esposito wasn’t some sweet, cardigan-wearing old lady. She was in her early sixties, with long wavy gray streaked black hair, and the figure of a woman half her age. She told it like it was, but she always meant well and she loved Tilly. We’d become friends and I appreciated that friendship more than she’d ever know.
Which is why I refused to take advantage. I paid her for her time as was only fair. What I couldn’t do, was afford to leave Tilly there overnight, four nights a week, and that’s what I’d have to do if I worked until closing. The bar closed when the customers left; some nights, that wasn’t until two or three in the morning.
My phone buzzed in my bag, and I quickly pulled it out and checked the screen. I’d missed five calls and a text. Three calls from Fay. The rest from an unknown number.
Shit. My heart plummeted to my feet as I hit reply. I usually kept my phone with me when I worked, but Alf had been cracking down and he’d made me leave it in the break room.
“Is everything all right? Is Tilly hurt?” I asked as soon as Fay answered.
“She’s fine. Tils is fine,” she said quickly. There was a pause. “But a man came by earlier. He was knocking on your door. Stayed for a long time.”
Maybe it was Evan? Maybe he wanted to talk…maybe he’d changed his mind? I gritted my teeth. Well, too bad. I had nothing to say to that asshole. Not one damn thing. He’d made the right noises when Rebecca died, played the doting boyfriend, pretended he gave a shit, then left me as soon as soon as he realized I’d be raising Tilly.
I clutched the phone tighter. “Did you get a good look at him?”
“Brown hair, average build. Couldn’t see much else. It was dark outside.”
Trent had brown hair as well.
“You know who it could be?” Fay asked.
“Maybe.”
Silence. “You okay, honey?”
I ignored the nervous flurry that started up in my belly. “Yeah, of course. I’m fine.”
“I’ve got your back, you know that. Do we need to be worried about this guy?”
I bit my lip when it started trembling. “Really, it’s fine, nothing to worry about. I’ll be home in a few minutes.”
I disconnected and stared at the unknown number on my phone. If it was Trent, how the hell had he gotten my number, my address? The asshole wasn’t that clever. My heart was hammering as I clicked open the text. Please let it be Evan. At least he was predictable.
You have something of mine. You want to keep her, answer your damn phone when I call tomorrow.
I shoved my phone back in my bag and stared out the window. Trent. God, what if he’d gone next door to ask after me? What if he’d seen Tilly? What if she’d seen him? I was shaking by the time I’d walked home from the bus stop. I rushed up the stairs to Fay’s house, stumbling on the last, and going down on my knees hard. There was a burning pain as my skin scraped against concrete.
I hissed. “Shit.” Stumbling to my feet, I ignored the sting and knocked softly, in case Tilly was asleep. She usually was when I came to pick her up.
The door opened and Fay motioned me in silently. “She’s only been out for a few minutes.” She grabbed my arm when I started toward Tilly. “What happened to your knees, girl?”
“It’s nothing, I tripped.”
Her fingers curled aro
und my mine, keeping me where I was. “Willa, honey, are you okay?”
She was watching me closely. I was positive the woman could read minds; she always seemed to know when I was hiding something, if I was having a bad day or whatever, and called me on it. “Yeah,” I lied. “All good.”
She frowned, lips thinning. “Willa…”
“I promise, everything is A-okay,” I said, even as panic began to rise again.
I turned away from Fay before she saw right through me, and I quickly went to Tilly who was asleep on the couch, and carefully scooped her up.
Eight year olds weren’t light. Tilly was small for her age, but with the way my limbs were still shaking and my knees throbbed, it was sheer determination that had me moving through the living room and out the door.
I glanced back. “Thanks, Fay.” But she wasn’t looking at me, she was looking over my shoulder, head tilted back.
I turned and was suddenly eyes to monster-chest, staring down some impressive pecs. I gritted my teeth. I knew who it was without having to look up. The way the black t-shirt stretched over…well, everything. Every muscled inch, there was no mistaking who the torso belonged to.
My landlord.
Jude Wayland.
The guy was a human bulldozer.
I forced myself to look up and meet his eyes, because the guy owned the roof over my head and that meant I had to be polite, right? As always, as soon as I lifted my gaze I felt the impact of those gentle brown peepers staring down at me like a wallop to the sternum. My reaction annoyed the hell out of me, like it always did. Kind eyes or not, he couldn’t be trusted. No man could. Behind those eyes could lurk the mind of a sexual deviant or a serial killer. Just because he seemed nice, was kind to older ladies and desperate women with children, didn’t mean jack shit. I’d thought Evan was a super nice guy when I met him. My mom had thought the same about my Dad, and somehow Trent had convinced Rebecca he wasn’t the slimy asshole that he was. People pretended all the time to get what they wanted.
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