Sky Thomas yearns for something more out of life than running from one screw up to the next. She wants stability and structure something she hasn’t had her entire life. Unfortunately, that is not what she gets. No, instead of those things, she gets assaulted, grabbed, chased and ultimately jumps out of a perfectly good plane. She also meets the most infuriatingly handsome man on the planet. She holds on to him as tightly as she can but will it ever be enough to hold the stubborn Shifter.
**Content Warning: If you’re opposed to men that swear like they are supposed to, along with the women they are with, then this is not the book for you. If you don’t like hot and steamy sex scenes, then I suggest you move on to the next book. But if you’re willing to take a chance, the world of the NAC & Holly Group might surprise and delight you. This book does contain explicit love scenes, naughty language, and lots of sexy secrets. Intended for mature audiences.
Chapter 1
Walking down Main Street in Defiance, Kentucky, Skylar Thomas couldn’t help but think it wasn’t all that bad of a town. It was actually quaint if you looked beyond the imperfections. It was a place a person could put down roots if they wanted, and that appealed to her, not ever having anything like that in her life before. The town center consisted of a couple of restaurants, a garage, bank, gas station, and a church; nothing major, but just enough. The homes that lined the streets off of the main drag were older Victorians or farmhouses painted in various bright and brilliant colors. Most of them were in need of serious repair, but Skylar could still see their potential.
Like many small Appalachian towns, Defiance showed its wear. Several businesses had failed due to economic setbacks. Many of the storefronts were left with empty windows or planks covering places which once held wares and offerings. The lack of employment in the area was also a problem, but the place still held a certain appeal. Those brightly colored homes might have peeling paint and worn wood, but the original architecture held a creepy cool kind of vibe, and Sky liked it.
The people were friendly. One could even say downright intrusive. At times, Sky felt all eyes were on her regardless of what she was doing, but it also gave her a weird sense of safety knowing someone was always watching. Sky wasn’t dense; she knew being new in town afforded her closer scrutiny. The townsfolk observed strangers who came to town cautiously until they became regulars. It was just part of small town USA culture. Sky accepted that. She also knew she would never reach that regular status.
Having grown up in one of Chicago’ toughest neighborhoods, Sky experienced her fill of urban living while growing up. As a result, Sky realized she preferred the quiet of rural life instead of the hustle and bustle of living in the city. It didn’t offer as much, but it came with some added bonuses. Trash didn’t line the streets. You could walk out the door of your house and breath in fresh, unpolluted air. Another bonus was you could smile at a stranger on the street, and it wasn’t considered an invitation to get mugged or worse. This was something which wouldn’t have happened on the streets of Chicago.
Sky and her cousin Shelby had arrived in Defiance two months ago. Sky had been commissioned to build a motorcycle for Tuck, the President of the Ruthless Bastards Motorcycle Club. Tuck had been a family friend of her Uncle for years and had asked her to come down for the build. The bike Sky was creating for him wouldn’t be the first Junkyard Hog Tuck owned, but it would be the first one Sky entirely designed and built herself. Her builds and designs were gaining a reputation of their own, having completed over a hundred bikes in the last seven years. But Tuck’s was different; he was a friend. Sky wanted it to be something uniquely hers, but also a representation of what he wanted and requested.
Working with bikers didn’t often offer a woman the chance to fully express herself. They were men’s men with cavemen mentalities and ideas. Most felt that a woman’s place was having babies or in the kitchen. Others had more carnal thoughts and ideas. Breaking through the gender lines, gaining and keeping a good reputation were hard won feats for Sky. In the beginning, she relied on her Uncle’s name. Now Sky’s name held just as much credibility. Tuck had always encouraged her to strive for what she wanted.
The Club had put them up in a small studio apartment over a defunct bookstore on Main Street for as long as it took to finish the job. Room and board were often a perk when doing these types of builds. It also helped that Sky didn’t have to sign a lease or worry about things like utilities. She simply came to town, took up residence, did her job, and moved on to the next one.
But this place was one of the better ones—exposed brick walls, original hardwood floors, and open concept floor plans ideal for Sky. She didn’t like the hemmed-in feeling she got with small rooms and spaces. She didn’t even care that the appliances and tile in the bathroom had more than likely originated in the nineteen fifties. To Sky, it was cute. The other bonus was the place was clean, bug-free, and since the MC owned the apartment, safe.
Too bad she hadn’t been able to spend much time there. Sky spent all her time at the shop space the Club provided for her to finish the custom bike. Had she been on her own without the responsibility of her cousin, Sky would have been able to enjoy the little apartment. As it was, it was better for her to stay away. Shelby was trouble with a capital T, and the quicker Sky completed her task and got paid, the better. Staying at the shop also offered her some peace. To say she felt ill will towards her cousin was an understatement. Shelby was bad news.
Of course, for all the things Sky found to like about the place they were staying in, Shelby had twenty things she hated about it. To her cousin, both the apartment and town were worse than living in hell, her exact words. The woman never appreciated anything that didn’t directly benefit or enhance her life in some way. The other unfortunate problem was those friendly, nosey townies. Shelby drew attention wherever she was due to her good looks. However, her horrible attitude would surely cause problems.
Shelby always got into trouble in some way, shape, or form, and Sky was always left holding the bag, then rushing to get them the hell out of Dodge. Or worse, heading off the storm that was Shelby Thomas before it could brew to hurricane levels. That was the life Sky lived, and at twenty-seven, she was thoroughly sick of it. She prayed, one day, Shelby would decide to take off on her own.
Even now, Sky had to stop working to hand deliver Shelby’s weekly allowance. This little ritual happened without fail every single week regardless of where they were or what they were doing. Sky gave, and Shelby took. Sky rarely stayed in the same place as her cousin anymore if she could find alternative living arraignments, like a cot in the back of the shop, then she quickly jumped on it. Shelby caused problems, always had and always would. It was her only talent. Something else she excelled at was her complete lack of will to lift a finger to provide for anything in either of their lives.
Shelby couldn’t be bothered with mundane things like working, cleaning, or cooking. Her parents had raised her to expect those things to be done by others. As a result of a deathbed promise to Sky’s Uncle, Shelby’s father, those things were now firmly planted on Sky's shoulders. The weight of her added responsibilities had been wearing her down each and every day for far too long.
Skylar craved something normal like nobody’s business. All she wanted out of life was to build her custom motorcycles and live a more traditional life, one where she could finally be happy. She wanted to work, go home, sleep, and not worry about what was going to happen next. To simply sit down and read a book or watch TV. To most that would sound boring, but to Sky it was nirvana.
Walking down the sidewalk, Sky wondered what it would be like to live in a town like this permanently, without her cousin. To have the American dream—white picket fence, two-point-five children, a husband who loved and cared for her to come home to every day. Do the normal stuff in life—making dinner and sitting down at the table as a family to eat, then maybe cuddling up with a hand knitted Afghan on the couch to watch some television.
That stuff was
so far out of her life, it wasn’t even funny. She lived the life of a virtual vagabond; going from town to town to build bikes for badass bikers. There was a time Sky had a shop and a home, but that all changed when her cousin decided to date and ultimately screw over one of the local mob boss’ sons in Chicago. Her business, the garage, and all her hard work went up in smoke, leaving her with nothing but her reputation. Thankfully, that was enough to get her and her cousin out of town before something worse happened than just losing the shop.
Now they stayed on the move, going from one Motorcycle Club to the next so Sky could get up enough cash for them to take off to their next destination or Sky's next build. The money she made provided for both of them, so she went where there was work regardless of where that happened to be.
Life on the run forced Sky to cut her prices, selling herself short just to make ends meet, all the while trying to keep her cousin Shelby out of trouble long enough to move on before the backlash hit them. It was a never-ending circle. The only thing keeping them above the water right now was, ironically, that Shelby had an intense dislike for anything biker, because, as the saying went, “you never bite the hand that feeds you.”
It was honestly kind of funny to think about Shelby’s total dislike of bikers. Her own father was a biker, and he bent over backward to please and overly accommodate his only child. But for some reason, Shelby shunned the lifestyle, stating the men and woman involved were beneath her or that no filthy fat-assed biker could provide her with the things she required in life. What it boiled down to was most men involved in the MC lifestyle would never put Princess Shelby on the pedestal she thought she deserved.
In some Clubs, women were nothing more than a wet hole for the men to sate their urges in, then move on to the next willing orifice. If a person wanted wild, no-holds-barred sex and a massive party, but nothing else, you were good to go, the MC lifestyle would take care of you. For someone like Shelby who was materialistic as hell, she didn't have a chance. Although the men in the Clubs took care of their women, it was for the small price of those women taking care of them in return. They reserved the pampering for their ‘Old Ladies’. These were women they chose and kept around for more than a hole to wet their dicks in. The ‘Old Ladies’ were either wives or just-as-good-as-wives. They wore their property patches with pride and lived and breathed the club as much as their men. Since Shelby didn't have a loyal bone in her body, she would never make the cut.
None of it made sense to Sky. Most of the men she had met associated with MC were good people as long as you didn’t screw with them and showed them the respect they deserved. In turn, the guys left you alone. Being a woman, you also had to have a thick skin and realize to some of them you were just a vessel with tits and ass for their personal pleasure. There weren't many of those assholes, thank goodness. It was all part of the job. To each their own. Sky honestly didn’t care as long as she got paid, and the guys paying her left her to it.
Sky had a firm rule, never party or get overly involved with any of the MCs they encountered. It was a recipe for disaster, and she had enough shit to deal with in her life as it was. She did her job, made sure her customer was happy, and if they weren’t, she worked her ass off till they were, plain and simple.
Thinking about Shelby, Sky thought it was pretty amazing her cousin had some lines she wouldn’t cross, given her total lack of morals. In Sky’s opinion, it seemed like there were only two lines she wouldn’t cross—dating bikers and refusing to lift a finger for anything which resembled work of any kind. Her cousin had once told her she envied hookers because they got paid for what most people gave away for free. That statement right there explained more about her cousin than anything she could ever say herself.
“Skylar Thomas?”
Sky heard the pounding of heavy feet on the sidewalk and someone calling her name. Turning around to see who was calling her, she was surprised when a large man in a police officer’s uniform barreled into her, pushing her into the small alleyway between the two buildings on the street and knocking her to the ground. Sky could feel the sting of her skin breaking upon impact. Damn, that was going to leave a mark. Expecting an apology or something, she was shocked to see the look on his face; the disdain and menace oozing off the man currently straddling her prone body was alarming.
Skylar wasn’t easily intimidated by much, having grown up the way she had. Her childhood revolved around bikers and other unsavory characters who came into her life because of her Uncle’s association with the Club or his business. However, having a huge ass cop glare down into your face wasn’t something she knew how to comprehend at the moment. Sky didn’t know anyone in town besides the MC members, and she didn’t even really know all that many of them. She spent eighteen to twenty hours a day working, and what time was left, she slept or at least tried to if she wasn't running some fool errand like she had been today. What this man could want with her was beyond her comprehension, but something niggled at the back of her mind; Shelby.
“I asked, are you Skylar Thomas?” the man demanded.
Dumbfounded and not knowing what to say, Sky just nodded. The man’s face turned into a scary shade of red with his apparent anger. He brutally yanked her from the ground and pushed her face up against the brick building in front of her, jerking her arms behind her back at the same time. Sky felt cold metal hitting her wrists. What came next should have surprised her, but it did.
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can’t afford an attorney one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights, Ms. Thomas?”
What the hell! Sky didn’t know what was going on. She was apparently being arrested, but what had she done?
“Ms. Thomas,” the bastard said as he ground her face further into the building, causing her cheek to ache and scrape across the unforgiving brick surface “do you understand these rights?”
Before she could get a word out of her mouth, Sky heard the footsteps of someone else running up to them.
“Dad, that’s not her, that’s not Skylar,” a young man pleaded.
The man holding her loosened the pressure he had on her head. But that was only a short-lived reprieve because he yanked her around so violently that with one hand to her chest, he knocked her back into the wall with a force that took Sky’s breath away.
“David, I told you to wait in the car. You have done enough damage. Don’t add to it by trying to protect this piece of trash,” the uniformed man barked.
“But Dad, you’re not listening. That is not Sky. I don’t even know who this woman is. Look.”
The kid, a gangly looking teenager, was holding up his cell phone and showing the jerkoff currently manhandling her, a picture on his phone. Sky’s face hurt. The strain from her cuffed hands being bent unnaturally against the unforgiving wall and the fuzziness she was experiencing from the blow to her head were all taking a toll. She was having a problem figuring out what was going on. That was until she got a glimpse of the picture the kid was holding up. None other than her lovely cousin Shelby. The teenager had his arms wrapped around her chest and shoulders, and Shelby was smiling for all she was worth, holding up some purse with little letters all over it. Son of a Bitch!
“Give me that damn phone and go back to the car, David,” The disgruntled cop yelled at the kid.
“But Dad...”
“No, get moving.”
Yanking Sky's arms once again, the cop released her from the way too tight cuffs. Unfortunately for Sky, the man stayed within her personal space, crowding her body. The cop was so close to Skye's body and face, she could smell the coffee on his breath and see the remnants of his breakfast still plastered on his chin. He gave her a small reprieve by leaning back just enough to shove the cell phone in her face.
“Do you know this woman?”
Sky knew better than to say anything. She was in town working for the Ruthless Bastards, a
n Outlaw Motorcycle Club. Bringing any unwanted attention to them was a death sentence. She had been around the MC life long enough to know you kept your shit straight and your head down. She didn’t know what Shelby was up to, and she didn’t care. All Sky knew was she needed to get out of this mess and get her cousin out of town before everything blew up in both of their faces.
“No, Sir,” trying to sound respectful, truthful, and confident, she lied her ass off, “I have never seen that woman in my life.”
“It seems we have a problem, Ms. Thomas. Someone using your name is going around town using underage boys, promising them sex and other favors for expensive gifts. I don’t know about you, but I have a major problem with women who prey on little boys in my town. Especially when it just cost me twenty-five hundred dollars. It further pisses me off when I have to explain those charges to my wife. So, if you know this person, Ms. Thomas, or if you’re in on this little scam she’s pulling, I suggest you get the hell out of my town. If I see you again, you won’t be treated as nicely the next time we meet. Do you understand me, Ms. Thomas?”
Sky wasn’t going to give this man anything.
“Understood, Sir. If there isn’t anything else, I’ll just be on my way.”
“See to it that you stay out of trouble, Ms. Thomas. Bad things can happen to pretty little girls when they bite off more than they can chew.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Sir,” Sky said as she walked away.
Maybe small-town life wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. That man had assaulted her right on the street in broad daylight, and not one of those people lifted a finger to see what was going. Sky was pretty sure they all watched. Something was sincerely wrong with the people in Defiance Kentucky.
NAC & The Holly Group - Box set: Alpha Team Page 82
