Scandalous Series Starter Set: Books 1-3

by R. Linda

  Bailey stood back and watched as he scratched and carved what was clearly her name into the tabletop.

  “Hey, Johnny,” she called over her shoulder.

  “Yeah, pretty Bailey?”

  “I’m not working for this either.”

  Johnny laughed. “Noted.”

  Ryder finished carving Bailey’s name and dropped the knife on the table before grabbing her by the face and kissing her.

  “Told you this was real.” He winked.

  “Never doubted it.” She smiled at him.

  He picked up the knife and handed it back to a smiling Johnny. “Now, go back out there and make our food. I’m starving.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I might just spit in yours, kid.” Johnny elbowed him in the stomach and called back to us, “Don’t worry, I won’t spit in yours. I save that for the VIPs.”

  “VIP doesn’t mean what we think, does it?” Linc asked.

  “If you’re thinking it means Very Impatient Pricks, then you’d be right,” he said with a laugh as he walked back to the kitchen.

  “You guys are so gross.” Indie screwed up her face at Bailey and Ryder when they sat back down holding hands and kissed again.

  “You can talk…Ace,” was all Ryder said, using Linc’s nickname for her. Bailey laughed, and Indie blushed and shut up.

  The door to the kitchen opened about fifteen minutes later, and out walked Harper with a tray full of burgers.

  My jaw dropped. She did work here, and she was working tonight. For some reason, I assumed she worked with Kenzie at the hospital.

  Brody’s back straightened.

  And Linc tilted his head curiously.

  “Hey, guys.” Harper set the tray of burgers on the table in front us.

  Bailey and Indie smiled at her while Ryder lunged for the food.

  Harper glanced at Brody and then me before muttering, “Hi.”

  She whipped off her apron and flicked her eyes between the empty seat in the booth next to me and the lone chair at the table between Brody and Ryder.

  I choked on air when she chose to sit beside me.

  “Umm, how long have you worked here?” Brody asked, trying to sound casual, but I knew he was anything but. He had desperately been hoping for another chance for months.

  “Since I moved back to town.”

  “Tell your uncle his burgers are still crap.” Ryder smiled through a mouthful of food. So, he knew she worked here, which meant Bailey knew. And if Bailey knew, Indie knew. And if Indie knew…I looked at Linc, but he just raised his eyebrows and shrugged. He didn’t know.

  “He won’t believe that, you know,” Harper said, reaching for her own burger.

  “But you know it’s true.” Ryder was cocky as hell.

  “Your uncle?” I raised an eyebrow and reached for my own burger, wanting to know how bad they really were. Maybe last night was a fluke. Though I suspected it was just a long running joke between Ryder and Harper’s uncle.

  “Yep. Johnny is my dad’s brother. I moved here with him and Julie about two years ago. Transferred my degree here and…yeah.” She went silent and cast a nervous glance at Brody before she dropped her gaze to the table.

  I got the feeling the reason she moved to Blackhill with her uncle wasn’t something she talked about regularly. And I was sure whatever happened, Brody had no idea, judging by the stunned expression on his face.

  I took a bite of the burger and groaned. Ryder was wrong. They were still as good as last night. Best burgers in the state, for sure. “These are so good,” I said, shovelling more deliciousness into my mouth.

  “Wait until you try Ryder’s burgers.” Bailey nodded in agreement, a drop of sauce on her cheek.

  “You’ve…ahh…got some…” I waved a fry in front of her face to draw attention to the fact she had sauce there.

  “Thanks.” She wiped it with her napkin and gave me a sheepish smile.

  “Shouldn’t we wait for Kenzie?” Indie asked, drawing attention to the fact that Ryder’s twin sister still hadn’t arrived.

  “Nah, she’ll be here when she gets Cole sorted.”

  Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. That was how the saying went, right? Cole took that moment to come rushing through the front doors. Unruly blond curls matted to his face from the rain and green eyes wide with fright, he lunged for Ryder as soon as he laid eyes on him.

  “Whoa. Hey, buddy.” Ryder wrapped him in a hug. At five years old, he looked the exact image of his uncle, only with lighter hair. “What are you doing here?”

  “Mumma said I could come. She needs you.” He sniffed.

  “What’s wrong? Where is she?”

  “Outside.” We all stopped to listen to the kid. What was wrong with Kenzie?

  “Is she hurt? Cole, tell me what happened,” Ryder urged, his voice laced with worry about his sister.

  “No, she’s okay. Just hurry, Unca. There’s a man out there, and he wouldn’t let us inside.”

  With that, Ryder passed his nephew to Bailey, who hugged him to her chest, and stood and stalked toward the door.

  “It’s okay, buddy. He’ll bring your mumma inside,” Bailey cooed in Cole’s ear, rubbing her hand up and down his back to comfort him.

  Linc looked at me with a slight tilt of his head. I nodded, and he stood, kissed Indie on the head, and followed Ryder out the door.

  “Harper?”

  She looked at me and waited for me to speak.

  “Can you move?”

  There was no way I was sitting in there when who the hell knew what was going on out there. But I knew one thing. I wasn’t leaving Ryder alone out there with whoever was harassing his sister.

  Harper slid out of the booth, allowing me to make my exit. I ruffled Cole’s hair in reassurance as I walked past and heard Bailey whisper to him, “See, they’re all going. It’ll be okay.”

  Pulling my jacket tighter around me, I stepped through the doors into the howling wind and needle-like rain. Squinting in the darkness of the parking lot, I could just make out four figures on the other side, so I jogged toward them. Kenzie appeared to be screaming and yelling, but I couldn’t hear her over the storm, and as I got closer, Ryder seemed to be struggling against Linc’s hold.

  Linc was arguing with Ryder, trying to hold him back from beating the shit out of some dude who looked vaguely familiar. Kenzie was still screaming, and this time I could hear the abuse she was shouting at the Ken doll wannabe getting in Ryder’s face.

  “Kenz.” I touched her shoulder, and she spun around so fast, her fist connected with my cheek. The crack of her knuckles on my bone echoed through the parking lot, even through the storm. Slightly disoriented, I shook my head and pulled her to me.

  “Nate, I’m so sorry. I thought—

  “It’s fine. You hit like a girl,” I laughed when all I really wanted was to ice my cheek because she hit nothing like a girl. “But you should go inside.”

  “I can’t leave Ryder out here alone with him,” she spat. The venom in her voice was jarring, and it dawned on me.

  “He’s not alone. Go to Cole,” I said. “We’ve got him.”

  She looked over her shoulder at her brother, who was still fighting Linc’s hold, and then to the diner where her son was inside worried sick about his mumma and his uncle. “Don’t let him do anything stupid.”

  “Of course not.”

  “Thank you,” she said and darted across the parking lot.

  “Linc,” I said standing just behind them with my arms folded and eyes narrowed on Barbie’s boyfriend. “Let him go.”

  “What? No.”

  “Let him go.”

  Linc looked at Ryder and must have seen something in his eyes because he listened and let Ryder go, stepping back to stand beside me.

  “It’s him, isn’t it?” he asked, folding his arms and watching as the fight unravelled in front of us.

  Ryder was kicking his ass.

  “Chace.”

  Chapter Four

  Harp
er

  No sooner had Nate stormed out of the diner in search of Ryder and Linc than Brody got up and followed.

  “What is going on?” I asked the girls, but neither answered.

  “I have a bad feeling about this.” Indie pushed her food away and reached out to brush Cole’s hair out of his face.

  “Shh.” Bailey glared at her then spoke to Cole, her eyes softening. “You hungry, buddy?”

  “Can I have a burger?” Cole straightened, his eyes widening in delight.

  “Sure.”

  “And fries?”

  “Absolutely. Want a milkshake too?”

  “Mum said I can’t have chocolate or sugar before bed.”

  “I think it’ll be okay. If she says anything, tell her it was my fault. Okay?” Bailey tickled Cole’s stomach.

  His laughter rang out through the diner.

  “I’ll go make you something special,” I said to Cole, getting up from the booth. Bailey thanked me as I walked past.

  It was nothing. The poor kid looked terrified when he walked in, so I was going to make him a monster chocolate shake with extra cream and ice cream. Whatever was going on outside, it couldn’t have been good for them all to go storming out there.

  As I approached the counter, the door opened, and Kenzie rushed in. “Where’s Cole?” Her voice was panicked.

  “He’s okay,” I said and nodded in the direction of the table where Bailey was drowning her fries in ketchup for him.

  Kenzie touched my shoulder softly and hurried over to Cole, scooping him into her arms, and sat in the booth with him.

  “He what?” Indie yelled. “Let me out. I’ll—” She snapped her mouth shut after Kenzie said something to her, her eyes focusing on Cole, and she apologised with a wince.

  “Harper, honey, everything all right?” My aunt came out to see what the commotion was.

  I shook my head. “Can you make Cole a chocolate milkshake? Extra everything. I need to go make sure Kenzie is okay.”

  “Sure.” Her smile dropped and her eyes narrowed, focusing on something over my shoulder. I looked behind me and gasped as she called out, “Johnny, you better get out there. Kid’s gonna get himself in more trouble.”

  Nate was there. So were Linc and Brody. But it was Ryder who had my full attention. He had some guy by the scruff of his shirt and was punching him in the face repeatedly. Uncle Johnny came hurtling out of the kitchen and through the front, cursing as he went. Bailey, noticing Johnny’s rush and me and Julie staring out the window, got up and ran out after him.

  I wasn’t sure what I could do, but I thought I should go out there and see what was going on.

  “Harper?” Kenzie called.

  “Stay there. I’ll check it out,” I urged her and followed Bailey outside.

  Johnny shoved his way through the guys and was trying to pull Ryder off Chace. I knew it had to be him because she’d described him to me before and shown me old yearbook photos, and no one else could cause such a reaction in Kenzie or Ryder. Johnny was struggling to hold Ryder back as he swung his arms and kicked his legs in Chace’s direction. He eventually broke free and lunged for Chace again.

  Bailey ran around the guys and tried to insert herself into the middle of the fight, but Linc was quick enough to grab her around the waist and pull her back. Ryder was furious, and if she got in the middle, she’d likely get hit.

  “What the hell is wrong with you guys, letting him do this? Let me go,” she shouted and fought Linc’s hold to get to her boyfriend.

  I went and stood beside Johnny, who was still trying to call out to Ryder and get him to stop. Nate and Brody both tried, but each time they stepped close, Ryder shoved them out of the way. There was no stopping him. Good thing Linc held Bailey back. Ryder would never forgive himself if he accidentally hurt her. Chace danced on the balls of his feet, wiping the blood from his mouth as he tried to block Ryder’s punches and get in a few of his own.

  “Jones!” Bailey called out to Ryder, breaking his concentration for a moment and allowing Chace to get in one punch. And all that did was anger the already ferocious bull that was Ryder. He charged for Chace and knocked him to the ground.

  “I swear to god, Lincoln, if you don’t let me go, I’ll hurt you,” she hissed, but he just barked out a laugh.

  “It’ll be over soon. Just stay here or you’ll get hurt.” He tried to placate her, but it didn’t work.

  “One,” Bailey said in warning.

  “Bailey.”

  “Two.”

  “Don’t be stupid,” Linc argued.

  “Three.”

  “Ow. Shit.” Linc whooshed out a breath, let Bailey go, and pressed a hand to his side right where she elbowed him.

  She crouched on the ground beside Ryder, who was preparing to hit Chace again, and touched his arm softly. “Jones, baby.”

  Ryder looked at her, the anger in his eyes dimming.

  “Enough.”

  Ryder dropped his gaze to Chace—who was almost unconscious.

  “One more?”

  Bailey watched him carefully for a moment and raised her hands in defeat. Ryder grinned and punched Chace one more time.

  “It’s like déjà vu,” Bailey mumbled as she helped Ryder up.

  “Great, kid. Thanks. What do I do with him now?” Johnny asked, curling his lip in disgust at Chace.

  “Hell if I care. Leave him,” Ryder said, throwing an arm over Bailey’s shoulder. “I need to check on my sister.”

  “You might want to get Linc some ice for his ribs, though.” Bailey smiled at Linc, who scowled back.

  “What is with you girls knowing how to throw a punch better than us?” Nate chuckled, touching his cheek and following Bailey and Ryder back inside, with Linc muttering to himself.

  “Bloody kid. He’s back for one night.” Johnny shook his head and leaned down to pull Chace up to a sitting position.

  “I’ve got some gear in the car. I’ll check him out and get him home,” Brody offered dutifully and ran across the lot to his car.

  “You wanna give him a hand?” Uncle Johnny asked me.

  “Me?” My eyes widened in shock. That would be incredibly uncomfortable. After everything Chace had done to Kenzie and Cole, and Bailey and Ryder, the last thing I wanted to do was help him out. I was quite happy to leave him there in the rain like Ryder suggested.

  “You are the nurse.”

  “…sing. Nursing student,” I reiterated.

  “I don’t want some little shit bleeding out in my parking lot. And don’t you have to swear an oath to serve and protect or something?” Johnny raised his eyebrow at me.

  “That’s police officers.” I folded my arms, just now feeling the sting of the icy cold rain on my skin.

  “Just do it, or you’re cleaning the grill for a month.” Johnny sighed and walked away.

  With his back to me, I stuck out my tongue and turned to face Chace, who was leaning against the wooden barrier of the parking lot with blood gushing out of his nose.

  “I think he broke my nose again.” His voice was thick and pained, but he earned no sympathy from me.

  “You deserved it.” I crouched in front of him and inspected his face. “How many times has he broken it now?”

  “This would be the fourth.” He winced when I pressed my fingers into his cheeks.

  “You don’t think maybe that says something about you?”

  “No, I think Ryder has an anger problem.”

  I laughed humourlessly and intentionally put too much pressure on his swelling nose. “Does this hurt?”

  “Ow, fuck. Yes,” he hissed and swatted my hands away. Good.

  “Ryder doesn’t have a problem. You do. You hurt everyone around you and don’t care. All he’s doing is protecting the ones he loves.” I tilted his head to the side and inspected his face for any more cuts or possible broken bones.

  “I do,” he said softly, so softly I barely heard him through the wind.

  “What?” I pressed my hands
into his ribs to see if Ryder had broken anything there too, but Chace didn’t even flinch.

  “Care.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “I do care.”

  “Yeah, right,” I scoffed and stood back because Brody had returned with a small medical kit and began cleaning Chace’s face.

  “Why do you think I’m here?” Chace mumbled behind the cloth Brody was using to wipe away his blood.

  “I don’t know. To be a pain in everyone’s ass? To cause more trouble and pain?” I tapped my foot impatiently, waiting for Brody to finish.

  “I want to make things right.”

  I barked out a laugh. “A bit late for that, don’t you think?”

  “I can try.”

  Brody remained silent. I wasn’t sure whether it was because he wanted to avoid any further disagreement or just didn’t know the full story of how Chace got Kenzie pregnant at fifteen and told her to terminate the baby, and then went on to date Bailey and break her heart by cheating on her with her ex-best friend.

  “Good luck,” I muttered. There was no way Kenzie would forgive him, and Ryder wouldn’t let him anywhere near his family again.

  “He needs to go to the hospital and get his nose reset,” Brody said as he packed away his things.

  Great.

  “You can drive him.” I wasn’t sitting in the car with him. “I’ll follow and bring you back.”

  Brody nodded. “Let’s go,” he said to Chace and held his hand out.

  “What?” Chace groaned and pushed himself to his feet.

  “Your keys. I’m not getting your blood in my car.”

  Chace huffed and handed Brody his keys. “Watch the paint.”

  I shook my head and walked over to my car. He was such a douche.

  Chapter Five

  Nate

  Kenzie was a wreck when I walked back inside. “Oh, my god. You said you wouldn’t let him do anything stupid.” She jumped out of the seat, a hard edge to her voice, leaving Cole sitting beside Indie.