As Eric had expected, once all the evidence was presented and criminal negligence and medical abuse charges leveled against the hospital, they’d rushed to settle out of court, trying to avoid as much negative publicity as possible. They hadn’t kept their feet out of the fire, but the administrative directors had all resigned and been replaced once the eight million had been paid out.
Susan had, at first, been overwhelmed. She had no idea what to do with that kind of money; but, over time, she’d found her way. She’d paid for school, resigned from work, and enrolled in medical school full-time. Now, she was looking at starting her internship in another six months or so, and no one looked at her without vast amounts of respect. After all, she’d been the one with her eyes wide open to the mistreatment of her father.
Several other patients and their families had come forward, too, and the class action lawsuit was about to be settled. The hospital was almost bankrupt now. Susan had donated one million to a complete investigation and audit of the facility, uncovering a number of other problems, including employee theft of drugs for personal use and sales on the street. Another million had gone to research for her father’s condition, which was now getting national media attention. She’d replaced Jim’s bike…again. He was still upset over the loss of his last one, but this one was another upgrade, and she’d been on it with him twice now.
She’d also bought a new car and a new wardrobe—something she’d always dreamed of doing. However, that was the extent of her extravagance. She’d invested most of the rest of the money with the help of a financial advisor, and it was already growing. The rest she’d kept out in a savings account that would pay for her wedding to Jim and their honeymoon in the Bahamas. He’d asked her to marry him three weeks ago.
She also used it to pay for her own medical care, as well as that of the child on the way. Three days after Jim’s proposal, she’d realized she was late, and she’d discovered she was pregnant. It was a shock to her, and she was terrified of being a mother, especially since the example set for her was probably the poorest possible. However, she was also elated to be better than her own mother. With people like Bridgette and Elena as friends, she had the support system she needed to do right by her child, and the money in the bank would assure a bright future for the kid.
She’d never been able to reconcile with her mother or sister, but she’d heard that Emma had finally left her husband and was seeking counseling, as well as perhaps planning to go to school for one thing or another. Susan had hope that, one day, Emma would come around, and they could be real sisters. She was willing to be patient while the younger girl got herself together. However, she doubted her mother—who had fallen into a depressed funk and started drinking, according to some mutual contacts—would ever speak to any of them again.
That was alright. It made Susan feel sorry for her mother, but it was also poetic justice since the older woman cared about no one but herself. Plus, she had family. The club was welcoming her with open arms, and Boxer, Willie, and a couple of the others were starting to grow on her, like big brothers who teased and got in trouble all the time.
“Jim!” she called, breaking up some sort of hilarious conversation.
“Yes, dear?” he called back, his tone filled with joy and contentment.
It made her smile. “You should go light up the grill, and Eric can carry this out so the two of you can do your jobs before the rest of us waste away into nothing. I’m starving.”
Jim was behind her in no time, his arms circling her waist and caressing her stomach—which barely stuck out. “I know something that’ll feed your hunger,” he growled in her ear, nibbling at her lobe.
She batted him away with a smile before turning and wrapping her arms around his neck. Quietly, with a seductive smile, she said, “You aren’t pulling me away from the first party I’ve ever hosted. Save it for dessert.”
He waggled his eyebrows, kissed her soundly, and headed for the backyard. Eric came and took the platter piled high with basted meat from her, trailing after Jim. Bridgette shook her head, as Eric smacked Elena’s ass on the way by. “You two make me sick!”
“Just wait. Your day will come, and then we’ll all gag over you and your lover,” Elena told her.
Susan doubted it. Being in love was something she didn’t think she’d ever gag over. Plus, she had plans for Bridgette. She and Boxer were going to come face-to-face at her wedding, and it was going to be instant chemistry. As Bridgette had once said, she just had a sense about these things.
THE END
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OTHER BOOKS BY KATHRYN THOMAS
SHE SHOULD’VE TURNED ME AWAY.
I’m an animal who’ll break your heart.
She’s a good girl who took over her late mother’s boarding house.
She needed the money and I needed a place to stay.
But I’m the last person she should’ve let into her home.
Good girls like Isabel Bishop aren’t supposed to fall for animals like me.
She didn’t realize how hard things could get when she took over her late mother’s boarding house.
Tenants were few and far in between, and she was desperate for cash.
I was looking for a place to stay—somewhere to keep low and out of sight.
At first it was simple necessity.
But that was before I saw her delicious curves.
Before I tasted her sweet lips.
Before I felt her quivering underneath me.
She thought things were hard before?
I’m about to show her just how hard things can get.
Show her just how badly I will corrupt her.
How badly I will ruin her.
How badly I will devour her.
SHE WAS OFF LIMITS, UNTIL I PUT HER ON MY LEASH.
She’s like no other women I’ve had in my bed.
Too innocent to just defile.
Too good to just ruin.
But that was before I found out who her mother’s marrying…
She was the biggest mistake that I never should have let go.
I’ve left plenty of broken hearts behind me…
But I’ll be goddamned if April wasn’t the first one that made me care.
Made me feel.
I never thought I’d have her hair between my fingers again.
Never thought I’d fill my lungs with her scent again.
Watch the way her curves sway with every step.
I never thought that I’d get a second chance with her.
A second chance to right the wrongs of the past.
Until I found out who her mom’s marrying.
Until I found out that she’s off-limits in every way possible.
I’ve spent my entire life defying the rules.
And no rule--is going to keep April away from me.
I WON'T STOP UNTIL SHE'S BEGGING ME ON HER KNEES.
She’s a Fed looking to make a difference in my town.
So innocent. So naive. So inexperienced.
But she’s my enemy.
And I’m going to enjoy destroying her.
In this town, my word is law. It’s quite simple: You pay your dues to my club—the Seven Tribesmen MC, and we keep you safe from people just like or worse than us.
This has been my life, my pride, my passion.
Until now.
The last person I expected the Feds to send after me was a woman like Stella Holmes. Big chocolate eyes and full soft curves--she looked like she belonged somewhere else, somewhere far away from a place like this.
For the first time in my life, she woke something in me that I didn’t think was possible.
Something that begs me to lose control.
Something that demands her in my bed.
Her petite body pinned under me.
&nbs
p; I didn’t count on things to spiral out of control like this.
Now, our enemies are on the move.
And the only person who can keep her alive is the devil in her bed.
***
SHE WAS AN ANGEL THAT WAS ALMOST TOO GOOD TO BREAK
She’s too good for me to take.
Too good for me to corrupt
Too good for me to claim.
Too good for me to make her mine.
Everything shattered in my world the day I lost my old lady.
When I watched them lower her into the ground, I swore off love for good.
I lived for my club—the Steel Talons MC.
Filled my life with bikes, ink, and endless parties.
Until Susan came along.
She was a paramedic who thinks I’m just another dumb biker.
But her touch leaves me rock hard and demanding release.
When I see every curve of her body up close and personal.
When I look into those innocent eyes.
I can practically taste her innocence.
She’s too pure. To good.
Too proper for me to corrupt and ruin.
But each time I feel her soft hands on me, the beast in me comes to life.
She saved me.
But I’m going to break her.
***
She was an innocent—so good, so pure, so inexperienced. It’d almost be a shame to break her.
I was a monster who didn’t believe in love.
She’s the kind of girl who’s so good it hurts.
So good that I had to claim her.
Make her beg, hear her scream.
Again and again—until she can never leave.
I was the worst thing that happened in her life.
She’s the kind of person who stayed in the lines—played by the rules.
I was not.
There are things that you just don’t get in between.
Abbie made that mistake and now she’s at my mercy.
She thought she knew what she was doing.
She thought she could handle me.
Once I had her in close, once I got a good look at her tiny body.
Her delicate hands.
Her full lips screaming to be kissed.
It’ll take everything for me to not lay my hands on her.
It’ll take everything for me not to break her.
To teach her.
I can’t wait to get started.
Can’t wait to unload.
Over and over again until she won’t stop screaming my name.
***
She found a bomb in my exhaust pipe.
But that’s not the only pipe I want her hands on.
They say business comes before pleasure.
But I’m going to make her business MY pleasure.
I believe in repaying people back for favors.
Luna did a big one for me when she found an incomplete bomb in my exhaust pipe.
But helping me meant putting a target on her own back.
I have to keep her safe—make sure nobody lays a finger on her.
But when I’m by that tight little body of hers and staring into her innocent eyes—I find it almost impossible to keep my hands off her.
I have to keep reminding myself that she’s innocent in all of this.
That she trusts me to keep her safe.
But every once in a while, I see the lust in her eyes.
I catch a glimpse of the hellcat prowling just below the surface.
It’s getting harder and harder to hold myself back.
I want to do terrible things to that pretty little body of hers.
And leave her screaming for more.
***
NO ONE TAKES WHAT'S MINE
I didn’t mean to make my trouble become hers.
She didn’t need my protection, that’s for sure.
But everything was different once I tasted her.
Ate her alive.
Made her the core of my world.
Now a madman from my past is on our tail.
He wants us dead.
But no one takes what’s mine.
Not without a war.
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Prince: Devil's Fighters MC Page 46