That night, we sat out on the cabin’s porch looking up at the stars. Both of us were naked, our bodies still heated from sex but cooling in the night air. Annabelle was between my legs, her ass against my groin and her back pressed to my chest. I had a blanket wrapped around our shoulders to keep the chill off. Through the trees, I could just catch glimpses of the lake, a million points of light reflected in its surface.
I was thinking about family.
Not starting a new one with Annabelle. Maybe kids would happen, someday, but that was a long way off. And not the family I’d reconnected with here in Haywood Falls: Mac and Hunter, Ox and Mom.
My first family.
All the mistakes I’d made with the club—hell, everything since I left Chicago—had happened because I’d been trying to make up for running out on my brothers. There was only one way to really put things right.
“How would you feel,” I asked slowly, “about a road trip?”
We took it slow, stopping at motels and enjoying the scenery. It took us almost a week to reach New York. And then it took us another few days of asking around before we found the underground fighting circuit where I thought Aedan would be.
But everyone we asked shook their heads. Aedan was gone.
We eventually got the story from a guy called Connor at the gym Aedan used to train at. Maybe he took pity on me because I was a fellow Irishman. He said Aedan had gotten into trouble with a shady fight promoter. There’d been a woman, too, a blonde named Sylvie and her brother, Alec. And when it was all over, Aedan had left town for good. No one knew where he’d gone.
I turned to the punch bag that was hanging next to me and slammed my fist into it. I wasn’t there for him. I’d been off on the other side of the country when he needed me most.
Annabelle thanked Connor for me and towed me away. At the diner across the street, she bought me coffee and got me calmed down.
I glanced moodily around. The place was some sort of haven for boxers: there were photos of guys in gloves all over the walls, some of them black and white. It was the sort of place Aedan had probably come, when he was here. Fighters, just like bikers, are predictable.
I stared into my coffee, seeing my reflection in the surface. Aedan had skipped town because he was in trouble. But wherever he wound up, he’d still be a fighter and he’d still join the local circuit. I could find him, if I prowled places like this for long enough. But only if I knew which city to look in.
That’s when Annabelle squeezed my hand. “You came here because, the last thing you heard, he was in New York...right?”
I nodded.
“So...doesn’t it make sense that he might go where he thinks you are?”
I thought on that for a while. I hadn’t talked to Aedan since I left Chicago. As far as he knew, I was still there. Would he have fled to Chicago in the hopes of finding me? It seemed like a long shot. But it was all we had.
“Okay,” I told Annabelle. “Chicago.”
Four days later, we were at a tiny little boxing place in the heart of the city. It had less than a hundred seats around the ring: the equivalent of playing in a dive bar. But it was a legitimate fight, not an underground one. There were even posters.
And the posters showed my brother.
I drew in my breath as I watched Aedan step into the ring. When he turned to put in his gum shield, I saw the tiny shamrock tattoo between his shoulder blades. He’d picked up a few new scars since I last saw him but if anything he was bigger and more muscled than I remembered. He’d been training hard.
And something else had changed, too. I saw a woman hug him just before he stepped into the ring: a tiny, blonde thing. Sylvie?
For the next three rounds, I watched him stalk his prey, learning the other guy’s weaknesses. His opponent was good: fast and strong. He even got a few good hits in.
But he didn’t stand a chance. Aedan waited until the third round...and then he annihilated him. It was like watching a town be swept away by a tidal wave: the guy was driven back, back, and then lifted right off his feet by the final punch. The crowd cheered so loud that we couldn’t even hear the ref count the guy out.
We pushed our way backstage: when security tried to stop us, I growled in their faces. And in the dressing room I found Aedan.
He was sitting on a table and the blonde was between his muscled thighs, kissing him, her hands running up and down his sweat-slick back. Neither of them saw us and Annabelle and I were left standing in the doorway, unsure whether to interrupt. I’ll just wait until they’re done, I decided.
Then Aedan’s hands slipped under the blonde’s top.
Annabelle coughed to announce our presence and the blonde spun around. Aedan looked at us over her shoulder...and his jaw dropped.
It’s funny how you can be planning a moment in your head for weeks—maybe years—and yet, when it finally arrives, you have no idea what to say.
The blonde glanced at Aedan and something in his expression must have told her what was going on. She nodded and stepped aside. She knows who I am, I realized. He’s talked about me.
Aedan slid down from the table and walked towards me. He was still fresh from the fight, sweat rolling down him, muscles pumped and hard. I wasn’t sure if he was going to slug me for abandoning the family, or for being out of touch for so many years. But I was ready to take it, whatever he had for me.
He stepped closer...and suddenly grabbed me and pulled me into a bear hug to rival any of Ox’s. I could hear his breath shuddering as he held me. I realized I was doing the same thing. I wasn’t ready for the sudden upwelling of emotion.
I had my family back: the first member, at least. And as soon as I thought that, I knew what I had to do.
We had to find the other two: Kian and Sean. And then, together, we had to find out what happened to Bradan. If he was dead, we needed to bury him. If he was alive somewhere, maybe still with the cult...then we had to get him back.
It was time to put our family back together.
THE END
Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed Outlaw’s Promise, please leave a review. It really helps me out!
All four O’Harra brothers have now had their stories. But what now? What happens when they all meet up? Will they find their missing brother, Bradan? What about Alec, Sylvie’s brother from Punching and Kissing? Will he find love?
I want to write that story. And I want to give you something special for supporting me.
So in 2017, I’m going to release an ebook novella that will bring all four O’Harra brothers together. But instead of putting it up on Amazon for sale, I’m going to give it to you free. Everyone who gets my newsletter will get a copy and it won’t be available anywhere else.
I do this because I have the best readers an author could ask for.
If you don’t already get my newsletter, make sure you sign up now so you get your copy of the novella when I finish it: http://list.helenanewbury.com (you’ll also get Losing My Balance, my free novella about a ballerina who falls for a biker, immediately).
If you’ve missed one of the four O’Harra books, catch up now before the novella!
Punching and Kissing
When an illegal underground fight leaves my brother in the hospital, I make a desperate deal to save his life: I volunteer to fight in his place. To survive, I need a fighter who can teach me to be as tough as him. I need Aedan O'Harra, the blue-eyed, Irish beast of a man who everyone fears.
But training together means getting close. Every touch of his hands makes it harder to control my feelings. I begin to see the man inside him, the one no one else can. Can I help him break free of the dark secrets that haunt him and can we save each other, or will we both be defeated? Because neither of us is ready for how dark and desperate this fight will become. Get it now
Growing and Kissing
Louise - I need $500,000 or my sister dies. My only chance is to use my skills with plants to grow weed...but I know nothing about being a criminal. I need Sean
O'Harra, the sledgehammer-wielding enforcer everyone fears. He's the last person I should get involved with...but I go weak every time I'm near him.
Sean - I know I should stay away. She's too feckin' innocent to get involved in my world. But as soon as I see her, I have to help. I have to protect her from the cops, the rival gangs...all while resisting the urge to grab her, kiss her, and show her what bad really is. Get it now
Saving Liberty
She's the President's daughter. I'm the last guy she should get involved with, a tattooed former Marine with a bad rep. When I see her in danger, the urge to protect her is stronger than anything I've ever felt. I save her life...but when she asks me to become her bodyguard, I know I should refuse. I can't guard a woman I'm this attracted to. But when I see how scared she is, I can't turn her down.
Now I have to wear a suit and call her ma'am when all I want to do is slam her up against the wall and tear her clothes off. Neither of us can resist...but I can't let her get close, not with what's lurking in my past. And the danger is far from over. The White House is under threat...and I'll do whatever it takes to protect the woman I've fallen for. Get it now
Read all of the O’Harra books? Try Lying and Kissing, the story of how Arianna, a shy CIA agent, is sent to Moscow to spy on and seduce a powerful Russian mafia boss...only to fall for him.
See you all in 2017! :)
Helena
Outlaw's Promise Page 25