by Jessie Lane
He can’t change the scars on her body…
but fate will give him a second chance to mend the scars he put on her heart.
Riley Sullivan and the Ex Ops Team are headed to Miami undercover… as bikers. Following up a lead, the men will perform their investigation acting as members of the Regulators Motorcycle Club with the club’s permission. Surrounded by hardcore bikers and investigating missing strippers, Riley finds the last person he ever expected to see again—his ex-wife.
Kara Sullivan left the man she loved after a tragic accident cost them their unborn son. After years of therapy, she’s come to grips with the loss and has re-emerged from the pain a brand new person. That doesn’t mean she’s ready to face the man who inadvertently broke her heart, and who she’s hurt in return.
Riley has never stopped loving her and he never will. He’s ready to fix their marriage and move on with their lives, however Kara’s reluctance to renew their relationship isn’t their only problem. Danger lurks just around the corner… and there’s a chance she could disappear permanently.
Raves for the novels by
JESSIE LANE
Walk On The Striped Side
“Fans of outrageous, snark filled, sexy paranormal will enjoy Jessie Lane’s latest release-Walk on the Striped Side-book two in her Big Bad Bite series. A lightweight paranormal filled with lots of action, sarcasm, threats of bodily harm, and that’s just in the first few pages. Heavily character driven, our hero and heroine go balls to the wall as they fight their way through love, loss, reconnection, and annoying siblings. Per usual, Lane offers the reader a crisp, fast paced writing style that flows smoothly through the story. Humor, action, and romance all mix together for a laugh out loud story that keeps you hooked to the very end.”
- Smexy Books
Big Bad Bite
“Big Bad Bite was one of those books that was hard to put down. There was action, mystery and plenty of heat. There were also more than a couple of tense moments along with even a few tears. I love a book that keeps me on the edge of my seat and this one definitely did that. The world building was also great. Just the way I like it… familiar enough to make ‘sense’ yet unique enough to make it the authors’ own.”
- Creative Deeds Reads
Secret Maneuvers
“…I couldn't put it down. It’s not just the love story between Belle and Bobby, the suspense, the action, the drama, the friendships, the loyalty... I could go on and on. There is relatability to the characters, it’s a well written, well thought out and developed plot… I loved this one, by far one of my top ten reads so far this year!”
- Chelsea Camaron, author of One Ride
“The author manages a lightness and humorous atmosphere, even though the story is highly emotional at the same time… Not only does it have bone-melting romance but thrilling action scenes as well. The writing is, as always, engaging and draws you in on page 1. I’m excited to find out who is next in the Ex Ops series! If you haven’t read Jessie Lane yet, what are you waiting for?”
- Swept Away By Romance
The Burning Star
“Fans of Julie Kagawa’s dark YA Iron Fae series will enjoy Jesse Lane’s debut novel, The Burning Star. Not as dark or emotionally heavy, Lane takes the basic mythology behind the fae stories we’ve all read and adds their own twists to the story… I enjoyed the crisp writing style that flows through the story. Often, paranormal stories, especially involving fae, are interjected with flowery prose and emotional angst that leaves you feeling worn out once you’re finished. Lane doesn’t go that route. Within here, humor, action, suspense, and romance, all circle around normal teenagers.”
- Smexy Books
The Frozen Star
“Jessie Lane has done it again… While the first book was filled with romance and happy thoughts, this story got dark. On more than one occasion I found myself yelling at my Kindle or desperately trying to find a way to put my hand through the screen and strangle a few characters… I could swear I was in the room with the characters as the story unfolded. I have not felt this many emotions while a reading a book since the last Quinn Loftis book was released and I couldn’t be happier!”
- Books, Brownies and Barkers Blog
Stripping Her Defenses
Ex Ops Series #2
By Jessie Lane
Copyright © 2014 by Jessie Lane
Published by Whiskey Girls Publishing
All rights reserved.
Edited by C&D Editing & Asli Fratarcangeli
Cover Design by Jessie Lane
Cover Images by: © Igor Kireev | Jaroslav74 | Shutterstock
Copyright © 2014 by Jessie Lane
The purchase of this e-book allows you one legal copy for your own personal reading enjoyment on your personal computer or device. You do not have the rights to resell, distribute, print, or transfer this book, in whole or in part, to anyone, in any format, via methods either currently known or yet to be invented, or upload to a file sharing peer to peer program. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. If you no longer want this book, you may not give your copy to someone else. Delete it from your computer. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Coming in 2014 & 2015!
Ice – Regulators MC Series #1 – Dec. 2014
(co-written with Chelsea Camaron)
The Demon Who Loved Me – Big Bad Bite Series #3 – Feb. 2015
Hammer – Regulators MC Series #2 – Mar. 2015
(co-written with Chelsea Camaron)
Coal – Regulators MC Series #3 – Jun. 2015
(co-written with Chelsea Camaron)
Sweet Recovery – Ex Ops #3 – Sept. 2015
(or sooner if I can work it in!)
For more information on Jessie and her books check out the following links!
http://jessielanebooks.com/
Sign Up for Jessie’s Newsletter
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Or you can send Jessie Lane an email at:
[email protected]
Other Titles From Jessie Lane
Secret Maneuvers
Big Bad Bite
Walk On The Striped Side
The Burning Star
The Frozen Star
Also From Whiskey Girls Publishing
By Chelsea Camaron
One Ride
Forever Ride
Merciless Ride
Maverick
Crash and Burn
Restore My Heart
Salvaged
Full Throttle
Beyond Repair
Stalled
Stripping Her Defenses
Book 2, Ex Ops Series
Jessie Lane
Dedication
To anyone who suffers from depression. This book is for you. To show you that there’s always hope no matter your struggle.
Also, this is lovingly dedicated to my parents, who unfortunately know how it feels to lose a child. I love you both.
Acknowledgements
This book wouldn’t have happened without Chelsea Camaron. Frank
ly, there were days when I wanted to say “eff it” and kill everyone off. Everyone should thank her that I didn’t do just that.
That being said, Kara and Riley’s book turned out to mean a lot to me. I hope you all enjoy it!
Table Of Contents
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
Epilogue
Note From The Author
About The Author
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Lights To My Siren - by Lani Lynn Vale
Kale - by Chelsea Camaron & Theresa Marguerite Hewitt
Ice - By Chelsea Camaron & Jessie Lane
Chapter
1
Kara
Life was good. I’m talking about, can’t stop smiling, singing in the shower, and an added bounce in your step kind of good. Ever since I’d told my husband, Riley, the news five months ago—that we were unexpectedly pregnant—the problems plaguing my marriage had seemingly disappeared.
I couldn’t help smiling down at my small, protruding belly. He was the reason everything was better, after all. Little Riley Sullivan Jr. wasn’t going to be here for another three months, but he was already a miracle baby.
Hearing a sound from the direction of our kitchen, I looked back over my shoulder. Riley was walking towards where I was sitting on the living room couch, with two glasses of sweet iced tea in his hands. When he saw me watching him, his lips spread into that boyish grin of his that had always melted my heart since the first day of our junior year of high school.
Setting our glasses down on the coffee table, he eased down on the couch, trying not to jostle me too much, and then slipped his arm around my shoulders. I cuddled into my husband’s side so I could lay my head on his chest. While the movie we’d been watching started to play again, Riley started running his fingers through my short hair.
Yes, life was practically perfect now. Perhaps Jr. was an ‘oops baby’ because the condom broke, but he was still very much wanted by his parents. This was a relief because my husband had planned our life out before he’d shipped off for Navy boot camp, and a baby at this point in our lives had not been in his grand plan. He’d wanted to be further along in his military career and expected me to at least have graduated from college before we started trying to have children.
Therefore, when my period had never shown up, fear had hit me like a ton of bricks. Not because I was afraid my husband would ask me to do anything drastic, like get an abortion, but because, as far as I was concerned, our marriage was already in the danger zone. A baby could metaphorically shoot us from the level of ‘rocking the boat’ to proportions similar to that of the Titanic hitting the iceberg.
Riley never said anything about the precarious state of our relationship, but his actions had been the reason I knew we had problems. He didn’t cheat. He didn’t lie, steal, or abuse me in anyway. He just left all the time. He was never home.
As a military wife, especially one of a Navy seal, it was expected of me to understand that when my husband had to go, he had to go. It wasn’t his assigned missions that bothered me, though. It was the unassigned ones. The missions he volunteered for. seals deployed for six months and then came home for a period of time between six and eighteen months, depending on when they were needed.
Being back in the U.S. didn’t always mean that he was home with me, though. Some of that time was spent training elsewhere. So, in other words, Riley was gone a lot for his job. Add in the missions he volunteered for, and Riley was gone all of the time. And if a man was happy at home, would he really want to be gone from his wife? This led me to start to wonder, is my husband no longer happily married to me?
I had thought I was a good wife.
After growing up with a single mother, who was a Vegas showgirl, I’d been determined to be everything my mother was not. Instead of my mom’s sassy, free-spirited attitude, I’d strived to have a more conservative outlook on life. Mom showcased her pinup girl body, loving the way men followed, begging for a few seconds of her time, while I worked my butt off to fight her sultry genetics. I constantly watched what I ate, exercised religiously to keep my weight as low as possible without looking like a walking skeleton, lifted light weights, and bent myself into sideshow carnival contortionist yoga positions to try and keep my breasts and hips small instead of the hourglass figure they wanted to be. Mom was Ginger from Gilligan’s Island, and I’d forced myself into a Mary Ann mold to avoid becoming her.
Riley thought all of it was ridiculous, but told me he understood my fear of turning into my mother. With the way he’d been acting the last couple of years, I wondered if he really did understand, or if he was simply telling me what he thought I wanted to hear.
Honestly, I thought the two of us had been on the same page about all of my hang ups since we’d started dating in high school. Riley had even helped me pick out a career to pursue when I’d explained to him that I wanted: something as far from my mother’s profession as possible. He’d suggested I be a kindergarten teacher because, as eighteen-year-old Riley had put it, “Seriously, babe, what’s more wholesome than being a kindergarten teacher? You can work with little kids and that will keep you busy while I’m deployed. It’s perfect for you.” Then with an eyebrow wiggle, he’d added, “And we can play teacher. That’s hot.”
After I had smacked him for his joke, I’d realized he was right. It was perfect for my goal to be as normal as possible, compared to the insanity my mom had raised me in behind the curtains of her Vegas shows. Therefore, after the two of us had moved to his first duty station, I had started college. It had ended up taking me six years to complete a four year Bachelor’s Degree in Education, due to moving from one base to the next, but I was almost done.
My final exams were tomorrow, and then I would finally graduate in a week. The fact that Riley would actually be here to see me walk across that stage for my diploma, instead of on a mission, was like a dream come true. Even my mother was flying in two days from now so she could see me accept my diploma, which was like icing on the cake for me. I might be determined to not be my mother, but that didn’t mean I didn’t love her.
My mom was an amazing woman. At forty-five, she was still drop-dead gorgeous. She was also intelligent and resourceful. I loved that she had raised me with an abundance of affection, always making time for me when I had needed her. I just hadn’t loved growing up behind the spotlights of Vegas with half-naked dancers and the revolving door of men who followed them.
Men, such as my father, who were attracted to the Sin City living that was abundant under the bright lights of Vegas. The problem with men like my father: they were never happy. They were also looking for more. More good times. The next big gamble that could pay off. The newest gorgeous showgirl. And men who liked living like that didn’t want to stick around with a wife and a kid.
After growing up with that, I wanted a normal life. I wanted any future children of mine to have the kind of family life you saw on Leave It To Beaver. Add in my hidden fears of Riley leaving me, as my father had left my mother, and you could say I was determined to be the next June Cleaver. I hadn’t realized that might bother anyone until Riley had started acting funny, which, unbeknownst to him, had only caused my fear of him leaving me to worsen.
Over time, he’d volunteered for more and more missions until, finally, he was gone all the time. On several occasions, I tried to talk to him about it, but if he didn’t brush off my concerns, we ended up in an argument.
The day I h
ad heard him mutter under his breath that I was acting crazy and too obsessed with my appearance and our lifestyle, my heart had broken in two. Why would he say those things after I’d explained to him about how I felt? Didn’t he understand how lucky he was to have a solid home life? Didn’t he understand my desire for trying to create that for myself? For us? Was he that unhappy with me?
Did he not love me anymore?
His love for me used to be such a tangible thing. I felt it every time he touched me, stroked my body with his hands, kissed me in slow, worshipping sweeps of his lips, made love to me with such a sweet tenacity that every inch of me tingled from his possession. All of those beautiful validations of his feelings for me had been lacking lately. I missed those displays of affection. I needed my Riley back, desperately. I felt lost.
In fear of losing my husband, the man I loved beyond measure, I stopped asking questions. Even though every mission he took, that he didn’t have to, broke my heart a little each time, I didn’t say a word. Instead, I kissed him goodbye, told him I loved him, and said I’d be waiting for him to come back to me. I carried on with school, kept up with some of the other military wives on base, and continued my workout routines to stay busy.
If I was lucky, Riley would come home only weeks later, but it usually ended up being months. I would tell him how much I missed him, using my hands, mouth and body to show him. Hoping that, if I stayed quiet—didn’t voice my displeasure over his missions or bring up any of the topics that he’d dubbed my ‘craziness’—Riley would eventually give up the voluntary missions.
But he didn’t.
Over time, my hope was smothered. I woke up each day knowing that I was one step closer to losing my husband forever, to being a failure as a wife. One day closer to the point that he wouldn’t come home to me at all. It didn’t matter if it was because he was killed in the line of duty on some mission or because he wanted a divorce. Either way, I would know that I had driven him to that point. When my husband left me for good, it would be my fault. I would have nothing but an empty existence before me as a consequence of it. I slid into a depression that eventually led me to my doctor and prescriptions—all of which I hid from my husband.