by Marla Monroe
The Howling Death MC 1
Finding Love Between Terror and Rage
Mia knows they’re dangerous men, but Terror and Rage make her feel alive for the first time since her husband’s murder, where she nearly died. Though she carries the scars of the attack, she has moved on. One glimpse of the new bikers in town and she can’t stop thinking about them.
Terror and Rage are instantly attracted to the dark-haired beauty who serves them drinks. They try to stay away from her for her own protection while they rebuild The Howling Death M.C. When people start to die and a rival M.C. threatens their town, they can’t ignore the threat to her and intervene. They will do anything to protect her and make her theirs.
Mia has to decide if living a dull but safe life is enough for her, or if she wants to find love between the two men who make her feel alive.
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre
Length: 53,454 words
FINDING LOVE BETWEEN TERROR AND RAGE
The Howling Death MC 1
Marla Monroe
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
FINDING LOVE BETWEEN TERROR AND RAGE
Copyright © 2014 by Marla Monroe
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63258-578-3
First E-book Publication: November 2014
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
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DEDICATION
Though I love to write, I’m not very good at some things that are so important in life. I can’t talk on the phone like most people. It unnerves me. I don’t handle close relationships very well either, but I want all of you to know that I appreciate you from the bottom of my soul. Your support and encouragement mean more to me than I can express. I love to talk with you online and when we meet at conferences and hope I never seem distracted in your presence because you keep me focused on what keeps me sane in this life, writing. Thank you all.
I want to thank my brother and his wife for supporting me without censure. Thank you both for all of your support and for those dirty innuendos. No one could ask for a better brother or sister of my heart.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
About the Author
FINDING LOVE BETWEEN TERROR AND RAGE
The Howling Death MC 1
MARLA MONROE
Copyright © 2014
Chapter One
“Get your filthy hands off me, Teddy Gowen. How many times do I have to tell you I’m not interested?” Mia Peretti jerked at the hold the smirking man had on her upper arms.
“You’re just playing hard to get. I’ve seen how you look at me when you think no one’s watching. You want me,” he said with a disgusting leer.
Mia wanted to punch him in the face and wipe that leer right off, but unfortunately he was bigger and taller than she was. She couldn’t understand why he kept bothering her. She really wasn’t much to look at with her wild hair and the scars she bore.
“I’m trying to play impossible to get. Leave me the hell alone!” She brought her heel down on his instep and followed it up with a head butt to the bottom of his chin, snapping his head back.
Teddy roared in pain, letting go of her as he covered his mouth with one hand and hopped over to sink into a chair. Mia didn’t wait around to see if he was okay or not. Frankly, she didn’t much care. Teddy had been a thorn in her side for the last six months. She’d been back home in Settler’s Point, Oklahoma, for over two years now, and suddenly he couldn’t seem to leave her alone. Whatever had changed, she wished it would change back.
She needed her job at the Wagon Master Bar and Grill to keep a roof over her head. If Teddy kept on bothering her, she was afraid Scoot would fire her. He didn’t like trouble, and Teddy was most definitely trouble.
“What’s got your pants on fire, girl?” June Abeles was closing in on sixty but didn’t look a day over fifty. She did most of the cooking for the place and was as friendly as the day was long.
“Nothing. Just taking a quick break. I needed some water,” she lied.
“Tonight must be ‘I’m not cooking you anything till you cut the grass’ night,” June said as she arranged a hamburger on a plate piled high with fries. “I swear everyone in Settler’s Point is out there tonight.”
“I agree with you there.” She finishe
d up the last of the water she’d poured and grabbed up the plates June had finished.
Backing out of the kitchen area, Mia carried the two plates of food to the men sitting near the stage. Then she grabbed pitchers of tea and water and made the rounds on her side of the building, refilling glasses and clearing away dishes. For a Thursday, it sure was busy. What was in the air to have folks out in droves like this?
“Another round over here, Mia!” one of the men near the bathrooms called out. She checked the table and nodded before heading to the bar for their refills.
“Hopping tonight. You doing okay?” Duke, the bartender, asked. “I saw Teddy messing with you again. You handled him like a pro.”
“I don’t get it. Why won’t he leave me alone? I’ve told him no and that I have no interest in him, but it doesn’t seem to faze him.” She watched as Duke loaded her tray up.
“You’re a desirable woman, Mia. He’s enamored, but he’s a bully, too. So watch out for him. Don’t let him catch you alone anywhere.”
Mia hefted the tray to her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m doing everything I can to stay out of his way.”
She carried the tray to the table in the back and distributed the mugs of beer. They were all nice guys for the most part. Sure, they were bikers, but they’d never caused any trouble and kept to themselves. There had been some trouble a couple of years back, right around the time she’d moved back to Settler’s Point, but it hadn’t leaked into town really. Now all they seemed to do was work their bike shop and the garage outside of town.
She didn’t mind serving them since the other waitresses were too scared. They were polite enough and left good tips. They didn’t hit on her or feel her up like some of the men that hung around in the bar, but then she wouldn’t have expected them to considering how she looked.
She picked up their empties and turned to walk back to the bar. The door opened, letting in a gust of colder air along with two men she’d never seen before. They were both big men, taller than anyone there, at least six and a half feet. Their shoulders were broad, with wide chests that narrowed at their waists. She’d never seen anyone like them before. Their thighs were as big around as tree trunks, and they had thick, muscular arms, as well as huge hands.
The similarities continued in their stances and on up to their faces. They weren’t identical but mighty damn close with features that were similar enough to assure her they were brothers if not twins. They both had the same strong chin below full, kissable lips and wide cheekbones. Where one of them had a slight crook to his nose, the other one had a slight bump. It was obvious they’d been broken at least once. She couldn’t help but wonder if they’d done it to each other, or if it had happened at the same time.
It was their eyes that stopped her breath. They were the brightest blue she’d ever seen before. The man with the slight crook to his nose had eyes just a shade lighter in color than the other man’s, but both of them had a stare that would make a man piss his pants if there were any chance they were looking for him. She had no doubt they were hard men from the way they held themselves and the cold, slightly bored expressions as they looked around the room.
Mia slipped behind the counter and emptied her tray as they seemed to be memorizing everything and everyone in the bar, along with all the possible exits. She rinsed the mugs and set them in the dishwasher that was behind the bar before adding detergent and turning it on. When she stood back up, they’d crossed the room and were pulling up chairs to sit with the bikers at the back table.
Damn! I just served them.
Mia didn’t mind taking care of their drinks since no one else wanted to, but she didn’t want to spend too much time around them either.
When she stepped out from behind the bar, Scooby, one of the guys from the table who she’d been told was a prospect for the club, met her with a nervous expression on his face.
“We need two more beers at the table, okay?”
“Sure. Coming right up.” She turned from him and held up two fingers to Duke before picking up empties from another table.
The prospects were those who wanted to join but had to sort of try out first. They were responsible for a lot of the grunt work like watching the bikes and making beer runs. She felt kind of sorry for Scooby. He seemed like a good guy.
When she exchanged her empties for the two beers, Duke lifted an eyebrow at her in a silent question if she was okay with the table of men. She just nodded and walked to the back. The closer she grew to them, the tighter her lungs felt. It was as if the two newcomers were sucking up all the oxygen out of the air. Mia made herself continue to the table and set the mugs of beer in front of the two additions to the table, then turned away and returned to her customers.
Twice more she ran beer back to the bikers with no problems at all. She could feel the stress and strain leeching off the other men at the table, and it seemed to affect everyone else since the crowd began to dissipate earlier than normal.
“Mia, darling. We could use a round of shots over here,” one of the men called out. She thought it was the leader of the club but wasn’t sure.
None of them had ever appeared to be completely in charge before. She’d assumed they were less structured than some of the other MC clubs, but maybe they’d just been waiting for the right man—or men— to show up.
When she brought back the tray loaded with ten shots of tequila, they all grabbed one except the two newcomers. She wasn’t sure what to do, so she held the tray in front of them and waited. One of them looked up at her and cocked his head to the side, studying her like she was a bug under a microscope. Now more than ever, the scar on her cheek bugged her. She resisted the urge to cover it. Instead, she stood her ground and stared at the shot glasses on the tray, willing the two newcomers to take them so she could leave and clean up her tables.
Finally both men took the glasses off the tray. That was her cue to hightail it back across the room. Even though she could hear them murmuring together at the table, she refused to look in that direction the rest of the night. She bussed her tables and filled lingering drink orders before everyone except the bikers left the bar.
“That’s everything except the guys at the last table. Want me to start sweeping, Duke?” she asked. It was nearly midnight, and that was closing time on weekdays.
He nodded and walked over to where the bikers were still talking. Mia didn’t hear what he said, but the bikers nodded and began to stand up and stretch. She continued sweeping and putting the chairs on the tables as she did. For some reason she was very aware of the two new men in the group. She knew every step they took and how far from her they were with each of those steps. For a brief second, Mia felt a pull from their direction, as if they’d called her name and asked her come over. It was unnerving to say the least.
Once everyone had filed out the door, Duke locked it and sighed. “Strange night. Started out so busy we couldn’t keep up, and then it all sort of petered out. Like I said, strange night.”
She watched him finish wiping down the bar then start on the cash drawer. Though Duke wasn’t the owner of the bar, he kept it running smoothly. The owner only showed up two or three times a year to tour and observe. He’d always been pleased with their work, according to Duke. Since she was new, she didn’t have any experience with the day-to-day operations of the place. She’d worked in enough bars and restaurants to know that there was always some type of trouble surrounding a bar, but since they didn’t allow the strippers, hookers, or druggies to hang around, it was a much nicer place with very little drama where parents could take their children for lunch or early afternoon treats. After four, though, the bar was off-limits to anyone under twenty-one.
Scoot, the general manager, seemed to be an okay guy as well, but he’d made it plain the day he’d hired her that he didn’t allow trouble of any sort to interfere with business. It had been an easy enough rule to agree to since she didn’t want any trouble either. She’d had her fill of that and had the scars to prove i
t.
As she finished up for the night, Mia couldn’t stop her thoughts from returning to the two men who’d seemed to change everything around them when they walked into the building. As much as she hated it, they’d stirred her hormones into waking up for the first time in over two years. It scared her to suddenly be able to feel arousal and attraction again, especially when it happened to involve two very dangerous bikers, because she knew without a doubt that they were dangerous—especially to her.
With all of the hustling around the first part of the night, Mia’s leg hurt more than usual. Normally she managed to walk without a limp, but tonight, as one a.m. rolled around, she couldn’t hide the slight hitch to her stride. If Duke noticed it, he didn’t comment. He was good that way—kept out of anything that didn’t involve him and wasn’t one to question or pry. It was one of the reasons she liked him. If he wasn’t already taken and she was looking, he’d be the kind of guy that might attract her.
“I’m heading out, Duke. See you tomorrow night,” she called over her shoulder as she walked toward the back door.
“Did you park that piece-of-shit car under the light like I told you?” he called back.
“Yes, and if anything looks odd, I’ll come back in and get you. I know the drill.” More than likely, he felt a little uneasy with the two new guys showing up. Well, so did she, but it was a small town and nothing really ever happened there.
Mia clocked out at the back door, then pushed it open and stepped outside to look around before she let it ease close behind her. Everything looked normal, and her little beat-up import was right where she’d left it with the ground around it bathed in the light from overhead. When she scanned the parking lot, she didn’t see a soul or even a stray cat slipping around. The door closed behind her with a soft click that echoed in the darkness.
