by HELEN HARDT
Runaway
Wolfes of Manhattan Three
Helen Hardt
Contents
Runaway
Dedication
Untitled
Praise For Helen Hardt
Prologue
1. Riley
2. Matteo
3. Riley
4. Matteo
5. Riley
6. Matteo
7. Riley
8. Matteo
9. Riley
10. Matteo
11. Riley
12. Matteo
13. Riley
14. Matteo
15. Riley
16. Matteo
17. Riley
18. Matteo
19. Riley
20. Matteo
21. Riley
22. Matteo
23. Riley
24. Matteo
25. Riley
26. Matteo
27. Riley
28. Matteo
29. Riley
30. Matteo
31. Riley
32. Matteo
33. Riley
34. Matteo
35. Riley
36. Matteo
37. Riley
38. Matteo
39. Riley
40. Matteo
41. Riley
42. Matteo
43. Riley
44. Matteo
45. Riley
46. Matteo
47. Riley
Epilogue
A Note From Helen
Acknowledgments
Also By Helen Hardt
About the Author
Runaway
Wolfes of Manhattan Three
Helen Hardt
This book is an original publication of Helen Hardt
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.
Copyright © 2020 Helen Hardt, LLC dba Hardt & Sons
Cover Design: Marci Clark, Nerdy Kat Designs
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic format without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-952841-01-9
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Created with Vellum
Dedication
For everyone who helped support my career in 2020.
Thank you!
Riley Wolfe is finally free from her past.
So why is she still running?
Coming to terms with her father’s death and her own implication in his murder has sent Riley reeling, so she does what she does best. She runs. Not only from her home but from herself, ending up in a small town in Montana
Matteo Rossi lives a modest life, doing construction, making silver jewelry, and renting out the cabin he inherited from his uncle. He’s happy and has no wish for anything else, until a beautiful renter from the east comes hurtling into his life.
Passion erupts between Matt and Riley, but Matt soon discovers his lovely renter isn’t who she claims to be. When she disappears, he’s determined to find her, even if it means walking through fire.
Praise For Helen Hardt
STEEL BROTHERS SAGA
“Craving is the jaw-dropping book you need to read!”
~New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones
"Completely raw and addictive."
~#1 New York Times bestselling author Meredith Wild
“Talon has hit my top five list…up there next to Jamie Fraser and Gideon Cross.”
~USA Today bestselling author Angel Payne
“Talon and Jade’s instant chemistry heats up the pages...”
~RT Book Reviews
“Sorry Christian and Gideon, there’s a new heartthrob for you to contend with. Meet Talon. Talon Steel.”
~Booktopia
“Such a beautiful torment—the waiting, the anticipation, the relief that only comes briefly before more questions arise, and the wait begins again… Check. Mate. Ms. Hardt…”
~Bare Naked Words
“Made my heart stop in my chest. Helen has given us such a heartbreakingly beautiful series.”
~Tina, Bookalicious Babes
WOLFES OF MANHATTAN
“It's hot, it's intense, and the plot starts off thick and had me completely spellbound from page one.”
~The Sassy Nerd Blog
“Helen Hardt…is a master at her craft.”
~K. Ogburn, Amazon
“Move over Steel brothers… Rock is everything!”
~Barbara Conklin-Jaros, Amazon
“Helen has done it again. She winds you up and weaves a web of intrigue.”
~Vicki Smith, Amazon
FOLLOW ME SERIES
“Hardt spins erotic gold...”
~Publishers Weekly
“22 Best Erotic Novels to Read”
~Marie Claire Magazine
“Intensely erotic and wildly emotional...”
~New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones
“With an edgy, enigmatic hero and loads of sexual tension, Helen Hardt's fast-paced Follow Me Darkly had me turning pages late into the night!”
~New York Times bestselling author J. Kenner
“Christian, Gideon, and now...Braden Black.”
~Books, Wine, and Besties
“A tour de force where the reader will be pulled in as if they're being seduced by Braden Black, taken for a wild ride, and left wanting more.”
~USA Today Bestselling Author Julie Morgan
“Hot. Sexy. Intriguing. Page-Turner. Helen Hardt checks all the boxes with Follow Me Darkly!”
~International Bestselling Author Victoria Blue
BLOOD BOND SAGA
“An enthralling and rousing vampire tale that will leave readers waiting for the sequel.”
~Kirkus Reviews
"Dangerous and sexy. A new favorite!"
~New York Times bestselling author Alyssa Day
“Helen gives us the dark, tormented vampire hero we all love in a sensual paranormal romance with all the feels. Be warned… The twists and turns will keep you up all night reading. I was hooked from the first sentence until the very end.”
~New York Times bestselling author J.S. Scott
“A dark, intoxicating tale.”
~Library Journal
“Helen dives into the paranormal world of vampires and makes it her own.”
~Tina, Bookalicious Babes
“Throw out everything you know about vampires—except for that blood thirst we all love and lust after in these stunning heroes—and expect to be swept up in a sensual story that twists and turns in so many wonderfully jaw-dropping ways.”
~Angel Payne, USA Today bestselling author
Prologue
Riley
The beauty of being my father’s daughter was that he’d taught me from a young age to be a proficient liar. I could convince anyone of anything. All I had to do was smile, flutter my eyes a little, and wiggle my ass when I walked away.
Worked great on the runway.
All eyes on me.
Except when I wanted to disappear.
My father had taught me that, as well.
Not only could I make the marks on my skin disappear, I could disappear wholly.
All me.
He was gone. Burning in the flames of hell, I hoped.
Still he saw me. I felt his nauseating gaze I felt his nauseating gaze on my body, his clammy touch on my flesh. That’s why I burned myself sometimes.
After all, I’d been taught well how to hide scars.
Sometimes, though, even burning didn’t help.
Sometimes, I wasn’t sure anything ever would.
1
Riley
I chose Montana because of Rock.
I had the address of his cabin, but of course I didn’t go there. That would be the first place he and Reid would look for me. No, I chose a cabin in a remote little town in big sky country. I paid cash for a week’s lodging.
I also paid cash for my rental car, and it was easy enough not to leave a trace. My father had outfitted me with two fake IDs as soon as I turned eighteen. He had his reasons.
His abhorrent, disgusting reasons.
As far as I knew, my brothers weren’t aware of my aliases.
Chloe Mansfield.
Today I was Chloe Mansfield.
The GPS in the car led me to the small cabin. I chose small for a reason. I wanted to escape my life, and part of escaping my life was escaping the glamour and glitz. This week I wasn’t Riley Wolfe, heiress and supermodel.
This week, I was Chloe Mansfield, regular woman.
I pulled my long dark hair back into a high ponytail, and I wore no makeup. My skin felt like it could breathe for the first time in ages. I liked the feeling.
I pulled up to the cabin and parked the car in the tiny driveway. When I got out, I looked up at the big blue sky and inhaled.
Not only my skin was breathing. I was breathing for the first time in what felt like forever.
My father was dead.
Dead and cremated.
At this moment, my brothers were planning his memorial service. I had no qualms about missing it. Oh, I kept up with the family news. I knew full well we had all been implicated in his murder.
I also knew full well that none of my brothers nor I had killed the asshole. We all had reasons, but we weren’t killers. Rock hadn’t even been in the state when it happened.
Roy, Reid, and I had been in Manhattan, and none of us had alibis. Of course, I knew where I’d been, and it wasn’t at my father’s penthouse murdering him, although the thought certainly had merit.
I had been in my apartment, coked out. Not my finest moment, but I wasn’t about to berate myself. My life, to this point, had been both blessed and cursed. To the outside world, all that was visible was the blessed part. I was born with beauty, brains, and a wealthy family. That was all most people ever saw. Even my brothers Roy and Reid only saw that part of me. They saw me as Daddy’s little girl. Daddy’s favorite. At least up until a day or two ago.
I was Daddy’s favorite, all right. It hadn’t cost me much.
Only my soul.
I inhaled again, relishing the clean air of mountainous Montana. Then I strode to the lockbox, used the combination sent to me by the owner, and let myself in.
A rustic little—and I did mean little—living room greeted me. It looked much bigger on the website, but that was okay.
I was here to disappear, and I didn’t need vast space to do that.
The floors were dark hardwood, and a faux bearskin rug sat in front of the fireplace. Yeah, it was faux. I’d asked when I’d seen pictures. Lying on the skin of a beautiful animal didn’t sound like relaxation to me. A few logs sat in a brass basket next to the fireplace. Strange, since it was summer. Part of me wished it weren’t, though, because I would’ve loved a fire.
To the right of the living room was the kitchen, also small but perfect. Not that I had ever cooked a meal in my life. I laughed out loud. I’d have to go into the small town and hit up the tiny grocery store for some frozen entrées. Lean Cuisine, probably, and of course some brown rice and vegetables.
My mother had trained me well from the beginning. Only good fats, and we kept those to a bare minimum. No dairy, no fatty meats, and no white flour or white rice. Whole-grain breads only, and again, at a minimum.
I'd grown used to brown rice and quinoa. Used to celery, carrots, and spinach. Used to tilapia and cod braised in lemon juice. Not the tastiest fare in the world, but it kept my body thin enough for the runway.
Which meant, of course, I could see my ribs and my abdomen was concave. The camera truly did add ten pounds.
I walked out of the kitchen and into the bedroom. The king-sized bed took up nearly the entire room. Only a three-drawer dresser and mirror completed the ensemble. Off to the side was a small bathroom with a toilet, sink, and shower. No bathtub, but that was okay, because there was supposed to be a hot tub in the back. I planned to do some significant relaxing here, and that hot tub would be a big part of it.
Speaking of the hot tub, I left the bedroom and found the back door. There it was, tightly ensconced on the redwood deck. The low whir of the motor drifted over to me. You know? Right now might be a great time to test it out.
I was in the middle of nowhere, and though it was summer, a refreshing breeze blew around me. Perfect for the hot tub.
I removed the cover, which was more difficult than I’d anticipated. But I got it off and was mesmerized as I watched the steam rise from the water. I hadn't even brought my bags in from the car, and my bathing suit was buried somewhere. I didn't want to bother with it. Who would see me? I walked back into the kitchen, stripped down to nothing, and then walked barefoot across the redwood deck to the hot tub.
I stepped in, and when the warmth and hydration enveloped me, I closed my eyes.
Oh, yeah… This was heaven. I seriously might never leave this place.
I breathed in and out slowly, letting the steam moisturize my face and penetrate my lungs.
“Yeah,” I said aloud. “I could get used to this.”
“So could I.”
2
Matteo
Chloe Mansfield jerked out of the water, arms around her breasts, and then submerged herself quickly.
Too bad. Already I could see she had a gorgeous rack. Her frame was a little thin, but still, I’d have liked a better look.
“Who the hell are you?” she demanded.
“I didn’t mean to startle you, ma’am.”
Her eyes widened at my use of “ma’am.”
“I’m Matteo Rossi.”
“And…you’re here because…?”
Because I’d really like to get a better look at you.
“Because I own this place.”
Her eyebrows nearly flew off her forehead. “Well, I rented this place for the week, so you have no right to—”
“Hold on, hold on,” I said. “I just came to make sure you have everything you need. I brought you some groceries, in case you haven’t had a chance to stock up.”
“I was planning to go into town later.”
“Honey, it is later. This is a small town. Everything closes at five o’clock so folks can get home to dinner.”
She opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it once more. “Oh.”
“Where are you from, anyway?”
She wrinkled her forehead for a minute, which made her look adorably cute. “Pittsburgh.”
“A big city girl? You’re used to grocery stores that are open twenty-four hours, no doubt.”
“Well…yeah.”
I couldn’t help a laugh. “We do things here a little differently in Sumter Falls, Montana. Everything opens at eight and everything promptly closes at five, whether it’s the grocery, liquor store, or the apothecary.”
“Apothecary?”
“Pharmacy, druggist. Whatever.”
“I see.”
“Except the movie theater, but it’s only open on weekends. Last show’s over by eleven.”
“Oh,” she said again. Then she looked around tentatively. “Could you get me…a…”
; “Towel?”
“Yeah, that would be perfection.”
“Seems a shame to cover you up, speaking of perfection,” I couldn’t stop myself from saying, “but sure. Hold on.”
I walked back into the kitchen and then to the bathroom, where I grabbed one of the fluffy white towels. I brought it back to Chloe.
“Thanks,” she murmured. “Now, do you mind?”
Took a lot of energy for me to turn around and look away. I really wanted to get a good look of that dark-haired gorgeousness. Her face was so beautiful it could’ve been carved by gods.
