One Chance (Hogan Brother's Book 1)

by KL Donn

  He didn’t let her. He easily took all control of the act. Devouring every last inch of her while smoothing his hands up her back to grip the ends of her thick hair, he pulled her head back, exposing the length of her throat. His entire mouth landed wide over her pulse, sucking to the point she knew he was going to leave a mark.

  “Lennox,” she moaned, squirming in his tight embrace.

  “Damn, we got our very own pin-up girl.” A man’s voice broke the moment. Embarrassment seared her cheeks in flaming red.

  A deep growl left Lennox as he turned, blocking her from the other person’s view. “Watch your fucking mouth, Joey,” he snapped. So much anger in his tone.

  A pregnant silence ensued.

  “Girls don’t belong here,” the man, Joey, barked back.

  She was feeling uncomfortable as Lennox stepped forward, getting into the guy’s face. Before he said anything, one of his brothers, Lochlan, she thought, showed up, “Yo, Nox, what’s going on?” he tried to ask diplomatically.

  “Just Joey being a dick again.”

  “You forget who signs your paycheck, Joey?” Lochlan asked, still trying to keep Lennox from knocking him on his ass.

  “Whatever.” The man stormed off.

  “Sophia, happy to see you,” Lochlan greeted, walking to her.

  “Hi,” she whispered, her heart still in her throat.

  Leaning closer, he whispered to her, “Keep him in line, will you?” Kissing her cheek, he walked off.

  A soft hand wiping her cheek followed by a set of lips had her eyes widening at the bold move. “What was that for?” she asked Lennox.

  “Don’t need his lips on you,” he mumbled, walking over to the hood of the car he was working on.

  She had to stifle her laughter at the possessive move.

  Watching as he worked, she got to admire his methodical mind as he expertly and precisely put the car together. She had no idea what any of the parts were called, nor what they did, but she understood that each piece was like a puzzle. Needing to fit perfectly into certain spots or nothing would look right.

  Legs crossed, leaning back, her eyes searched the rest of the building they were in. Cars, some half-built, some in stages of dismantling, and others complete, were in three rows, and for the first time, she wondered about his marketing.

  She’d always enjoyed creating eye-catching flyers for school fundraisers. A picture was already forming in her mind about how to show the business aspect of his shop.

  Stupid Sophia.

  The images quickly died as the most haunted phrase of all time bit her in the ass. She knew it was dumb. He was obviously very successful if the shop’s fullness was any indication.

  The need to be a useful person in society was riding her hard, though. She was desperate not to go back home. She would do almost anything to stay away.

  “Soph?” Lennox’s voice pierced her out of control thoughts.

  “Yes?” She put a smile on so he wouldn’t guess where her mind had been at.

  “You wanna tell me what’s been going on with you?”

  Shaking her head, she contradicted herself by speaking anyways. “Braxton and I got into a fight this morning.”

  Wiping his hands, he walked over to her. “About what?”

  Quietly she answered, “My uselessness and stupidity as a person.” Shame shook her entire body.

  “Say what, now?” He sounded confused.

  Closing her eyes, she said louder, “My uselessness and stupidity.”

  He was silent for so long, she began to worry that maybe he agreed with everyone else.

  “I should go.” Her words were quiet as she slipped off the bench she was sitting on. He made no move to stop her as she went through the door they’d entered. Chancing a glance back at him, he was still in the same spot.

  As she walked into the front office, Mac and Joey were standing there as her tears threatened to spill. Mac smiled at her. Joey sneered, “He done with you already?”

  Her gasp was audible as Mac shot Joey a dirty look.

  Stupid.

  Useless.

  Whore.

  She was nothing.

  Rushing out the front door, she wasn’t paying attention as a car skidded into the parking lot and clipped her as they came to a stop. Hands on the hood, the breath stolen from her body, she eyed the man behind the wheel with a wild stare as he climbed free of the vehicle.

  “I am so fucking sorry. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she croaked, straightening up and walking away.

  She was ready to be done with people. She was tired of being hurt and used. Being no one was exhausting.

  It wasn’t until she was four blocks away that she realized she didn’t have her purse, her phone, no money. She was stranded. With her mind in complete and utter chaos, she hadn’t thought about them once she’d walked into the office and Joey had made his degrading remark.

  Searching around her, Sophia had no idea where she was. She hadn’t been paying attention while moving as far away from Lennox as she could. Church bells ringing from close by had her hustling in that direction. A block and a half later and she was standing in front of St. Catherine’s Cathedral. The sheer size of the building intimidating as she walked up the steps to the large oak doors.

  Opening them, she made her way inside quietly. Candles cast an ethereal glow around the large room as she was awestruck by the beautiful stained glass windows around the tops of the walls. The sun radiating through made a multitude of colors bounce off the sparkling surfaces.

  A fountain of holy water was to her right as she entered mass. Stopping to dip her fingers, she made the sign of the cross and said a Hail Mary before continuing to sit in the last row of pews closest to her.

  There were very few people inside the holy building as she sat for what could have been hours when another man came to sit in front of her. He was quiet while she thought about her situation, what she would do, where she would go.

  Laying her head on the back of the bench in front of her, she had no answers. Nothing forthcoming. All she wanted was to have an ordinary life. Being in danger from whatever ghosts her father was seeing, wasn’t going to help any.

  “Please give me insight, help me understand,” she whispered so quietly she didn’t think anyone would hear.

  “God is a mystery sometimes,” the man said. “Sometimes he’ll make you wait for his guidance. Sometimes his answers are right in front of you.”

  Her head popped up when he started talking. As he turned to look at her, she was shocked to see the white collar around his neck. She hadn’t expected to see or speak to anyone, let alone the minister of the church.

  His bright blue eyes met hers. “Sometimes we aren’t ready for the answers we often seek.” As he smiled, his eyes crinkled at the corners, and the candlelight shone off the gray hairs nearing his temple, giving him a distinguished look. “Are you alright, young lady?”

  “Yes,” she answered quietly. “Just trying to understand.”

  “Perhaps I can help?”

  A sad smile crossed her face as she replied, “I don’t think anyone can.” She got up to leave. No destination in mind.

  Uselessness.

  Stupidity.

  The words kept ringing in his head. When she’d spoken them, he’d been flabbergasted. Completely thrown off guard. He didn’t understand how anyone could say something like that to another person, especially someone as sweet as Sophia.

  “Nox!” Mac yelled from the door. It took him a moment to realize she was gone, and he was standing there like an idiot.

  “What?” he snapped, walking over to the man.

  “She’s gone, dude.”

  His words froze Nox’s heart. She couldn’t be gone.

  “Where’d she go?”

  “Took off out the front after Joey was a dick, almost got hit by a car.”

  “You let her leave?” he bellowed.

  Raising his hands, the man backed up two steps befor
e darting a look at the waiting customer. “She took off east on Fifth Street,” the customer answered him.

  “You hit her?” Nox snarled.

  “Whoa, no man. She came busting out the door like her ass was on fire and ran into the hood of my car. She walked off just fine.”

  Lennox wasn’t listening as he ran out the door, hoping to find her, knowing he wouldn’t.

  “I can’t believe I fucking hesitated,” he snapped at himself. He was going to kill Braxton when he got ahold of the man. Making her believe whatever cruel things he’d said.

  Going back into his office, he searched her purse until he found her phone. Turning it on, he prayed it wasn’t password protected.

  As the screen lit up, it started chiming with missed calls, texts, and voicemails as he swiped across the screen. Relief swamped him when it didn’t ask for a passcode. Seeing the angry texts from Braxton telling her to stop being a spoiled brat boiled his blood. Once he found Soph, he’d deal with whatever the other man had done to make her so upset that she’d essentially run away from home.

  Going through her contacts, he didn’t see more than a dozen numbers. His, his mother’s, Braxton’s, her parents’, and a few businesses’. Nothing personal. No friends or other family members. Nada.

  He knew she was sheltered, kept to herself, but he hadn’t thought it was quite that lonely. Seeing the evidence of it, he was a little sad for her. She had no one to go to when she needed a break from her home life.

  A quick decision had him entering Lochlan and Levi’s numbers just in case she needed an escape and couldn’t get a hold of him.

  Putting her phone back in her purse, he heard a car come screeching into the parking lot moments before the front door jingled. Walking into the reception area, he saw Braxton entering, his eyes narrowed as they landed on Nox.

  “Where is she?” the man growled.

  As he was about to answer, Rebecca walked in.

  “Nope,” his eyes bore holes through her, “get out.”

  “Excuse me?” Her fake innocence didn’t fool him.

  “You are banned from my property. Get. Out,” he spoke through gritted teeth.

  “I’m a paying customer!” Her outrage was unnecessary.

  “Not anymore you’re not. You have no open business with us. Now get out before I have you arrested for trespassing.” He threatened.

  “You wouldn’t!” She gasped.

  Mac picked up the phone, a smirk on his face. He’d never been fond of the older woman either.

  “You’ll regret this,” she shouted, walking out.

  “Pretty sure I won’t,” he commented to her retreating back. Turning his attention back to Braxton. “What do you want?” he feigned a bored tone. Even if Soph hadn’t run off, he wouldn’t give her up.

  “Where’s Sophia?” he asked again.

  Shrugging his shoulder, he told the man, “Out.” Not caring that he was, in essence, lying even though it was sort of true.

  He could see as Braxton processed his lack of a real answer and surveyed his shop before he spoke. “I’ll wait.”

  When he went to sit, Nox confronted him. “Why?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Why what?” Braxton matched his stance.

  “Why’d you say those things to her? You obviously know and have seen what goes on in that house, and yet you did it anyway. When we first met, you seemed to actually give a shit about her. Is that because she was a good little girl and did what you said?” His eyes narrowed to slits. “Or did you expect her to jump into your bed? When she didn’t do that, you decided to show your real colors?”

  There was a flash of emotion in the other man’s eyes at Nox’s words before he quickly masked it. “Mind your fucking business, Hogan, you have no idea what’s going on.”

  Curling his upper lip in disgust with the so-called bodyguard, he said, “I know enough that the chances are it’s her fucking mother that has her in danger and not her father. I know enough to know that neither of those people gives a shit about her, and you’re only there for looks.”

  Taking a step closer to Nox, his voice was filled with menace. “You’re pushing it, boy.”

  “No. I’m right on the fucking money. Now get the hell out of my shop before I have you thrown out. Soph won’t be going back.” He vowed. She wouldn’t. Her home was toxic, and he was pissed at himself for allowing her to stay to begin with.

  Braxton was torn, he could see it in the man’s eyes. They were waging war with what he was paid to do, and what the right thing to do would be.

  While Nox had no doubt the bodyguard cared about Sophia, he doubted the man knew how to actually show it. He’d spent a good chunk of his adolescence around people like Braxton. Closed-off. War-torn. Fighting to free themselves from the gilded cages in their minds.

  He refused to let Sophia be a causality of the man’s inadequacies.

  If only Nox could find her. Figure out why she took off.

  He knew that she misunderstood his quietness, and that was on him. He had every plan to grovel, to tell her he’d been so shocked he couldn’t comprehend what she was saying until it was too late.

  Love is when the other person’s happiness is more important than your own.

  The cool breeze had Sophia shivering as she sat on the front steps leading into the church. She’d figured out that she was quick to jump the gun when she’d run from Lennox. A fact she was regretting the colder it got.

  It felt like her emotions were controlling her every thought and move. Whenever Sophia felt like she was getting a handle on someone, her common sense went out the window. While she contemplated how she was going to get home, she heard it. The svelte rumble of a familiar engine she’d only been acquainted with one time.

  As the red beauty rolled around the corner, she watched as he searched the street slowly passing any place she could be hiding. When he came to a stop in front of the church, he didn’t notice her at first. She could see the wildness in his gaze, the messy tousle of his hair like he’d been pulling on it. Stress lined his mouth with a frown as he looked in every direction.

  As their eyes finally collided, she saw a multitude of emotions work through him. Relief that she was safe. Anger that she’d run. Happiness that she hadn’t exactly left.

  His door opened without a sound as he exited the beautiful machine. His steps were purposeful as he walked towards her. His gaze intent as he searched her for injuries.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered when he was close enough to hear her.

  Sitting beside her, he didn’t hesitate in gripping her small hand in his calloused one. “Me, too.”

  “I shouldn’t have left.”

  “You shouldn’t have.” He agreed.

  “I wish I knew why I am the way I am,” she admitted. Having never said it out loud before, she did wish she knew why her emotions were always so close to the surface. She wished she understood why she couldn’t let someone in without having so much overwhelming doubt that she was often left hurt more from her own actions than theirs.

  “Soph.” The single word was full of so much emotion. “There’s nothing wrong with you.”

  Her head swiveled to find him watching her carefully as she processed his words. “Of course, there is. How can there not be? I’m so overly emotional I think I’m stunted. I’m sure there’s a word or phrase or something for it, but I don’t know it because I’m just too dumb.” Her heart rate was skyrocketing as she stressed over it.

  “Sophia,” he responded. This time he was full of rage. She could see the way his pulse flickered in his neck, the way his brows furrowed, and he clenched his free hand. “You aren’t fucking stupid. You have to stop thinking that.”

  Not wanting to anger him further, she thought her words through carefully before answering. “I don’t know how to be anything else.”

  “Christ, sugar.” He sounded so frustrated. “She really fucked you up.”

  And what was she supposed to say to that?
The she was clearly her mother.

  She didn’t have an answer for him. How could she deny it when she was so irrevocably screwed around in the head she didn’t know how to defend it.

  Standing, she honestly thought he was giving up with her. She wouldn’t blame him, either. She was contradiction after contradiction and not necessarily in a good way.

  “Let’s go home, Soph.” His words shocked her.

  “Home?” she questioned, unable to hide the fear in her voice.

  “Mine,” was the only answer he gave.

  Following along behind him, she hoped he wouldn’t give up on her. She knew she was a hot mess but couldn’t help it. It wasn’t like she could just erase nineteen years worth of degrading remarks. Much as she’d like to.

  The cool leather of the seats soaked through the coveralls she was still wearing as they left the church. She didn’t pay attention during the drive, yet again, until fifteen minutes later when they pulled into the picture of every middle-class American home.

  She felt him watching her as she ate up every small and large feature of his house. She knew he thought she would be upset or disgusted by the modesty of it, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. It was a perfect two story structure. Not so big you couldn’t find someone, not so small that you would run over each other while going from room to room.

  As she watched the door lift, he slowly rolled the vehicle into the open space. The garage was undeniably his baby. It was like a lover for his car. All the tools and materials he would need to make just this one vehicle to his every specification were organized here. Or so she assumed as she knew nothing about cars.

  “I know it’s no mansion,” he said as the car shut off.

  Without looking at him, she replied honestly. “It’s better.” Climbing from the car, she walked to the door leading into the house. As he unlocked it, she preceded him, with his hand on her back, into a large mud room filled to the brim with more jackets than she was sure he needed.

  Smiling over her shoulder at him, he had a sheepish look on his face. “Let’s get you out of these, shall we?” He helped her slip free of the coveralls.