by Addison Jane
She chuckled softly. “I’m not sure if that makes me feel better or worse, but I’ll take it.”
“Guess you’ll just have to trust me,” I teased, shrugging my shoulders before I turned and walked away.
Casen and I were on okay terms. Things were still tense. I knew he didn’t think I was good enough, but I just didn’t fucking care. Thankfully, he was trying his best to make up for lost time with Laken, and putting his money where his mouth is, considering his father left Laken nothing in his will. She was okay with that, but what she wasn’t okay with was him opting to have her mother’s things sold to Hollywood collectors. Casen was paying the lawyer’s fees to try and overturn it, so she could have those few things left of her mother.
Trenton Clarke, even in death, still trying to make a fucking dollar.
At least she had one brother back, though. And I knew that meant a lot to her to have Casen in her life again, so I bit my tongue.
Atlas, on the other hand, hadn’t spoken to her since the charity ball.
Casen kept telling her it was going to take time, but as far as I was concerned, Atlas’ time was up.
She almost died because of him.
If he showed up here, I may just have to return the fucking favor. Big brother or not, that wasn’t how we worked here. Family are the people who have your back, and those aren’t always the people who share your blood.
“Brook coming back any time soon?” I asked, falling into a chair next to Repo and placing my beer on the table in front of us. Speaking of family drama, the kid ended up staying in Los Angeles after everything that happened, enrolling in some fancy-ass college prep school.
I wasn’t sure if it was seeing Laken being taken by Jester that did it, or just the entire charity ball fiasco, but we hadn’t seen her since she moved.
Kennedy said she’d been studying and working hard to get her grades back up to where they used to be, but Repo wasn’t one to bullshit around the details. “I dunno, man.” He shook his head, holding his glass in his hand and swirling the last bit of beer inside before throwing back the entire mouthful. “It scared her. All the shit that went down before she left. She won’t admit it, but it did. She keeps asking for us to go there and see her. Said it would be better.”
“So, she doesn’t want to be in Phoenix.”
“Doesn’t seem that way.”
I pursed my lips. “You don’t think maybe it’s something here?”
He paused, the glass pressed to his lips and a thoughtful expression. “You think she’s running from something else?”
I’d been working with Brook for a while. The kid was strong, she was resilient, and yeah, while I knew the club was a difficult place to be sometimes, she loved it here. At least she did before she started school. “I just think maybe there’s more to it. She watched her sister almost be killed, and not for a second did she ever say anything or act like she was scared to be here. It just seems weird to me.”
“Maybe I need to have words with her.”
“Or, maybe you need to let her figure it out for herself,” Laken interrupted, taking the seat beside me and scooting in a little closer to my side before she settled herself into it. “She’s trying to find her place and where she fits, and maybe in the end, she’ll realize it’s here with the club. Or maybe she’ll find a nice accountant, get married, have two point five kids and live a tamer, more bland life.”
Repo groaned, and I held back a chuckle. “Jesus Christ, I need another beer.” He shoved his chair back and stomped off toward the bar.
“That was cruel,” I teased, prodding her side and making her jump.
She huffed out a breath and shook her head. “I’ve talked to Brook. She’s fine. She just needs to find her place, and it sounds like maybe she has.”
I inhaled deeply, shaking my head as I let it out. “I hope so.”
“Trust me,” she urged, instantly making me laugh.
“Oh, how the tables have turned,” I joked, grabbing her around the waist and directing her to my lap. Laken sat across it, hooking her arm around my shoulders and pressing her forehead to mine. “I seem to remember using a similar line.”
“And now it’s your turn,” she murmured, dipping her head and pressing her lips to mine. It was a kiss I’d never get sick of, one that would never bore me.
Sure, she was chaos.
Her storm was fierce and unpredictable, but I would never try to silence or smother it. It was just who she was. It was how she got through the pain and those memories that still haunt her. She understood them better now. She knew in her heart that the choices she made hadn’t taken the lives of her friends, but she still felt it heavy on her heart because it was just too damn big for her not to.
Some days she was the strong one, trying to fix the broken.
Other days she was the broken, just trying to be strong.
And either was okay.
Because she didn’t have to be strong on her own.
The club and I would still be there, ready to hand her a sword if she needed it. Ready to be her alibi when she’d finally had enough and puts a shotgun shell through some dumb bastard’s balls.
I didn’t think that day would come so soon, though.
“Uh… there’s a car at the front gate,” Auron announced with a frown.
“Oh, hell, no,” Laken growled, jumping off my lap and snatching the shotgun from where it sat, unloaded, but not put away on the bar top. She managed to make it to the roller doors before I heard her curse. “Oh crap,” she hissed, rushing back inside and dumping the gun into the compartment before pushing the button frantically to hide it away.
The laughter in my gut was instant as I slowly climbed out of my chair. “You decide against piercing big brother’s balls today?”
“It isn’t him.”
I raised my brow, pausing for a second to take in the nervous look on her face before I made my way to the exit. I stepped out as Shotgun ducked out of the garage next door, wiping his hands on a dirty rag.
His eyes met mine, the both of us confused at what the hell was going on when Tyler pulled the gates open, and two police cars and an old Toyota cruised into the lot.
They drove around in front of the doors, the Toyota rolling right up close to the garage while the cop cars hung back a little, parking a few feet away.
The entire clubhouse was outside now, everyone watching on nervously. Especially Laken, who stepped up behind me, hooking her finger through my belt loop and tiptoeing up to my ear. “You think big brother tattled on me?”
“I don’t think that’s it,” I reassured her as two older women climbed out of the white Toyota, one carrying a black file in her hands, and walked around the front to where Shotgun was waiting patiently. The cops did the same but still held their distance, obviously not here to arrest anyone, just an escort.
But for what?
“We’re looking for Marcus Hall,” the driver of the car announced. She was shorter than the other lady and sported a pixie styled haircut that was dark with streaks of blonde and red through it. She pulled at her blazer, tugging the rich blue-colored jacket down over her straight-legged black suit pants.
Everyone looked to Shotgun as he took another step forward. “That would be me.”
The lady looked around, pausing for a second. “Is there somewhere we could sit and talk?”
“You can talk right here and tell me what the hell is going on.”
She didn’t seem shocked or fazed, holding out her hand and letting the other lady place the file into it before walking back to the car. “My name is Cara Wellington,” the lady with streaks announced, opening the file and pulling out a piece of paper. “This is Miss Emma Drake’s last will and testament. In it, you’ll fi—”
“Emma died?” Shotgun spat, pulling his shoulders back. I nudged Laken back and stepped forward with the rest of my brothers.
He and Emma had something going a while back. She was training to be a doctor, or a nurse, I couldn’t re
member. But she cut things off with Shotgun telling him she needed to focus on work, and she couldn’t keep risking her career to come to the clubhouse and help out when people got hurt.
He understood.
Well, he tried.
“Yes,” Cara responded with a heavy nod. “I’m sorry for your loss. But this is important, and I need you to hear me. Miss Emma Drake’s last will and testament specified precisely that if anything were to happen to her, this was what was to happen. Right now, this is a temporary ruling from a judge. There will have to be appearances in court, I imagine her husband may try to challenge this.”
“Her husband?” I muttered through a laugh, thinking things couldn’t get much worse. “Oh, Jesus.”
Shotgun stood still and silent, his hands clenched into fists, and his chest was heaving.
He was trying to keep it together.
And we all knew that at any moment now we might have to step in.
But when I saw the other lady reach into the car and pull out a tiny bundle, I was in such shock I wasn’t even sure I would be able to.
“The hell is that?” Shotgun growled, his eyes flicking between the two women.
Cara frowned, standing a little taller. I had to give the woman credit, she sure as hell wasn’t about to back down, and I’d seen this man stare down a guy twice his size and have him running within seconds.
“That,” Cara hissed sternly. “Is your son.”
Coming soon
Avery
The Phoenix Club Girl Diaries Book 3
***
If you enjoyed this book, you will love:
Harmony
The Club Girl Diaries Book 1
Click here to purchase
BLURB
I was a club girl.
I made no excuses for who I was or what I've done.
We had our purpose--to cook, clean and keep the men happy.
After a lifetime of watching men walk in and out of my life, it was strangely comforting, and feeling I'd grown accustom to.
All I wanted was to have fun, play my music and finish college.
At the club, I could do that.
No strings attached, no risking my heart.
At least, that was the plan.
I was born to be president.
The Brothers by Blood MC was my family--my home.
The club ran in my veins.
I wasn't looking for much more.
The last thing I expected was to find Harmony--a club girl with all the makings of a perfect old lady.
She was beautiful, strong and fiercely independent.
The walls around her heart were up, but the fire in her eyes and her love for the club fueled my need to have her by my side.
And on the back of my bike.
When her safety is threatened, I'll do everything to protect her and get her to trust me. But after a lifetime of broken promises, will it be enough?
Other books in the series:
Chelsea – The Club Girl Diaries Book 2
Blizzard – The Club Girl Diaries Book 3
Hadley – The Club Girl Diaries Book 4
Family – The Club Girl Diaries Book 5
Wrench – The Club Girl Diaries Book 6
Skylar – The Club Girl Diaries Book 7
Shake -The Club Girl Diaries Book 8
Meyah – The Club Girl Diaries Book 9
The Defiance MC Series
K E OSBORN
Resistance
The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 1
Click here to purchase
BLURB
Life can alter in the blink of an eye.
My club – constantly under siege by the Italian mafia.
My city – in a war lasting two generations caused by our fathers.
Yet, in amongst the turmoil, I met her.
In a froyo store.
This sassy woman who’s ready to throw down and defend her friends against my brothers and me.
But we aren't the enemies in this story, and little did she know our chance encounter would set us along a different path.
This story isn't full of partying and fun – it's chaos, carnage, deception, and lies.
War – it's brutal.
Can you resist?
In this gritty MC romance, it's a fight for their city, their club, and above all, their women. Enter the world of Chicago Defiance MC by internationally bestselling author, KE Osborn.
Find out more in the Chicago Defiance Series Books or Box Set Part One.
Resistance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 1
Penance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 2
Deviance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 3
Sufferance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 4
Acceptance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 5
Balance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 6
Defiance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 7
Allegiance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 8
Chicago Defiance Box Set Part One
Like your books in audio?
Resistance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Audiobook 1
Penance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Audiobook 2
Deviance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Audiobook 3
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Addison Jane and KE Osborn
Deceit (The Vindicated Series Book One)
Addison Jane and KE Osborn
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Covert, stealthy, cunning—I’m trained as a weapon. A lethal killer. I do what needs to be done in order to protect those who can’t protect themselves.
I’m never the same person twice.
It’s never been an issue.
But I underestimated her.
The beautiful woman next door. There’s something sexy about the way she watches me, eyes wide with an innocent curiosity. I find myself aching for her attention. I want her to look at me but not when I’m covered in the blood of the man I just killed.
I live in the dark. She could be my light. I want her. And I know she feels it too.
When what I do puts her life in danger, everything changes. And I start to realize that maybe not all is as it seems. Every part of me screams to save her...
But what if I’m wrong.
What if she’s the one saving me?
This novel ends on a cliffhanger.
Liberate (The Vindicated Series Book 2)
Addison Jane and KE Osborn
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Lies, deceit, betrayal—everything has changed from the life I had. From the life I knew. I lost my team. I lost my livelihood. I never thought it could come to this.
I vowed to protect her.
I failed.
But it’s not over yet.
The agency made a mistake when they decided to take my life. Now I was free, and a man who answers to no one is a man who should be feared. I’m fueled by revenge, seeking justice for her, for me, and for the innocent lives I unknowingly destroyed.
Lily drew me from the shadows. She burned so brightly. She made me see clearly and filled me with warmth. But her flame was smothered, and she was cast into the darkness.
I won’t let that be her end. I need retribution. I will take nothing less.
They may have won the battle, but I’m about to start a war.
Revive (The Vindicated Series Book 3)
Addison Jane and KE Osborn
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Cocky, sarcastic, broken—I grew up in hell and was tossed to the curb by the woman who was meant to love me unconditionally. Humor is my go-to, the thing I use to protect the already shattered pieces inside me.
I fought damn hard to get to where I am today.
I have everything I’ve ever wanted.
Except maybe her.
When she strolls into The Agency with a confident smirk on her face, she doesn’t even give me a second look. She’
s sexy, sassy, and refuses to fall for a single one of my lines which only makes me want her more. What starts as a challenge quickly changes when I realize she isn’t like other girls.
She’s got fire in her eyes—a fire that I see in the mirror every single day. It’s born out of loss and a refusal to settle for just being broken.
She sees me, she hears me—she understands me.
But when a mission doesn’t go as planned, and things begin to crumble around us, my first instinct is to protect her, to push her away, and make sure that she isn’t dragged into the chaos that swirls around me.
But what if I’m wrong?
What if instead of protecting her, I’ve left her defenseless.
Making her a target.
*** NOTE - Revive can be read without reading Books 1 and 2 in the Vindicated Series. ***
Perhaps you prefer a box set?
The Vindicated Series Box Set Books 1-3
Click here to purchase
Here are all the amazing people who I need to thank!
To my baby girl, this year has been crazy, and we got through it. You and me, kid. You and me.
As always, my family away from home Kay and Kim for just everything. I don’t know where I’d be without you both to keep me focused and curb my stress.
Thank you to Chicki who has had my back through this one like no other! If it wasn’t taking the kid so I could write, it was listening to me blab on and on about plot points and characters like they were actually people who were driving me crazy. Not just figments of my imagination.