by Mallory Funk
Copyright
Copyright by Mallory Funk 2018
This book may not be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form (electronically, mechanically, by photocopying or recording), without written permission from the author.
This book is fiction, and created using the ideas of the author. Any names or places that are used are from the author’s imagination. This book is for your enjoyment only.
Edited by, Amber Gaida
Cover by, Kennedy Kelly @ K Creative Design, Crazy Cover Creations
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this book to my readers. I love you all! There was no second book until you guys put the thought in my head! Thank you so much for your support!
Prologue
Five years earlier
Olivia
I’m with my roommate Katy, and her best friend Danielle. They are the closest thing that I have to friends in college.
I never really got close with anyone in college. Instead, I focused on getting my degree and nothing else. All the friends I had in high school had moved to other schools around the country. Sure, I had kept in touch with them, but none of us had made much of an effort to see each other.
I went out on the occasional weekend to make sure that I had gotten my ‘needs’ met before locking myself away in my dorm until the urge to get laid hit again.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked sex; you could even say that I loved it. I just thought that my studies were more important than having a boyfriend or dealing with the drama of dating.
It’s not like my brothers would ever let a man get close enough to me to be called a boyfriend anyways, so I always went out to places or parties where I knew they wouldn’t be there. One day, I’m sure I will find a guy that will have the guts to stand up to them in order to date me, but I have a feeling that day is far away.
We had just graduated and were out celebrating before we started jobs or went back home. I was staying in town and starting up at the local hospital as a nurse. Katy and Danielle were both headed to their hometown a few hours away. We promised to keep in touch though.
My first day working at the hospital was in a couple days, so to me this was my chance to let go and have some fun before I was thrown out into the real world. I definitely didn’t have time for a relationship- not that I had time for it while I was in school either…
I had always placed my love-life on the back burner. I knew when the time was right that I would find someone to love and settle down with. I wasn’t in a rush to do just that. I wanted it to be just me for a little while longer.
We had already been to a couple different bars, but we had seen this one across the street and decided to try out one more. When we walked in, there seemed to be a mixture of different types of people, so we didn’t feel out of place.
I walk up to the bar to get a drink when I feel like there is someone watching me. I take a quick look around the room in case it was someone hot since I am out for the night to let loose and hopefully get lucky. A no strings attachment is just what I need.
When my eyes meet a pair of green ones, I can hear the own hitch in my breath. This guy is gorgeous. He is built from what I can see of him. I couldn’t tell if he was tall since he was sitting down, but height didn’t matter right now since everything adds up when we are lying down. The biker vest and tattoos made this guy the perfect candidate for the night.
When I take note of the cocky smirk on his face, I can’t help but lick my lips, and I decide to bite my bottom lip in a suggestive manner. It works like a charm almost every time.
That must have given him the green light because he got up and, oh yes, he was tall.
He was walking over to me and I had a feeling that I was in for a wild night. The guy screamed sex.
I just knew it was going to be a night that I would remember for a long time.
Chapter One
Olivia
“Mom!”
“Mom!”
“Mom, wake up!”
“MOOOOOOOOOOM!”
I feel little hands shaking me, and the bed moving. I reluctantly open my eyes. Some mornings are harder to get up than others, and this morning is one of them. Blinking, my eyes open slowly. I look at my four- year-old son and he’s smiling widely at me. His black hair is a mess and his bright green eyes look back at me. He gives a brief look that reminds me of the man who I had slept with almost five years ago.
I remember his face and his body, but I will never forget his eyes. My son has the exact same ones. Then there is the way his hands had felt all over my body. The only thing missing from that night was his name. I like to remind myself daily how stupid I was to not get his name, but how was I to know that my one night of amazing sex would turn into a life changing moment.
He was supposed to be that one fun thing I did before I went out into the ‘real’ world. I made a point to not find out his name. I wanted to look back and think of that one wild night I had. How wrong I had been to make that a goal of mine.
I had found out a couple weeks later that I was pregnant. I went to that bar night after night for a month straight, then once a week, and then once a month until I had stopped going all together.
I would have thought that I made him up if it wasn’t for the baby that was growing inside of me.
Each day that went on, I regretted not waiting until he woke up or just asking his name. The excitement of not knowing had been fun at the time, but now I have a four-year-old son and a man out there who has no idea he has one.
There are days I still search for his face everywhere hoping to run into him, at least in time for when my son asks if he has a dad. I’ve been lucky enough that he hasn’t asked yet.
My brothers have been a big help. I have two brothers and they have played the male role models for their nephew since our parents never cared to be in the picture. Once I had become pregnant, my parents refused to have anything to do with me. It probably made it worse when I told them that I didn’t know who the father was.
My brothers stuck by my side. No matter what our parents had said, they never left me. They were against my son Hale and I moving. We were only moving five hours away to a different town, but they still worried about me and my son living on our own.
I didn’t want to rely on them anymore and wanted to get out on my own. When the opportunity came up for a job, I decided to take it.
I’ve been a nurse at the local hospital for years. It wasn’t until recently that more nurses were requested in another town. I ended up getting a pay raise if I accepted the position. With a four-year-old son to take care of, taking the job was a no brainer. I looked into houses around town that would be available and found plenty in my price range.
Hale wasn’t happy about leaving my brothers, but I had to do what was best for us. Raising a kid alone hasn’t been easy and I refuse to take any money from my brothers. They tend to grumble to me about it a lot.
My brothers started searching for work in the town I was going once they knew that I wasn’t backing down.
I figured that it would be a couple months before they found work and then found a place to live, so I was glad to have some time for just me and Hale. Don’t get me wrong, I love my brothers, but they can be a handful themselves.
They are extremely overprotective. It seems to have gotten worse now that I have Hale.
Since I became pregnant, I haven’t been on a date or with a man. It’s not for lack of trying either, but my brothers still scare away any man who comes near me.
Last night, Hale and I stayed in a motel since we got into town late. I didn’t want us to have to worry abo
ut finding the bedding before we went to bed. The movers were meeting us there in an hour so I had time to wake up my little man and then get us a quick breakfast.
Once we woke up and got ready, we ended up going to a diner called Hole in the Wall and had some bacon and eggs. Hale had pancakes since he loves them so much; I swear that kid could live off them. The thing is that he will only eat them from scratch. I had tried to make him some from the mix in a box, but he wasn’t having any of it. I don’t know how he could tell the difference, but I know the recipe by heart now.
After we finished breakfast, I took us to our new home. Our house was right beside a decent sized apartment building. It wasn’t huge and there were probably only ten apartments in the building, but since this was a small town I guess they didn’t need a big apartment complex.
There were bikes around the building and more bikes lined up across the street.
When I looked at the bikes and thought that the apartment might be a motorcycle club, I didn’t know why I wasn’t scared; but I never had a problem with bikers before, so I figured that as long as I stayed out of their way that I should be fine. It probably helped that I knew Hale’s dad was a biker. I know not all bikers will be like he was, but I felt more comfortable around them than some of my friends.
Hale was excited to see all of the bikes when we pulled into our driveway. He kept pointing them out saying, “momma look”. He always had an obsession with bikes since he was a baby. My brothers love their bikes too. They weren’t part of a motorcycle club, but they helped feed Hale’s obsession with their own love of bikes.
Once we pull up, we head to the house. I see the landlord, Joanne, standing outside smiling at us. She seems to be happy to be having this house filled. Joanne quickly shows us around and hands me the keys to the house. The house is nice and a perfect size for me and my little man.
It’s a two-bedroom house with one bathroom, living room, kitchen, and a nice backyard that I’m sure Hale will love playing in. I think about adding a sandbox in the backyard and start calculating how much that would cost me. The woman doesn’t waste time and leaves with a relieved smile when I tell her that everything looks great. If I didn’t know any better, I would think she practically ran out of here.
Just after she pulls away, the moving truck pulls up and a few guys from the moving company start unloading our stuff.
I had labelled most of the boxes so that they knew where to place them. I show them where to put most of the furniture while Hale runs around pretending to boss them around pointing with his finger like it gives him authority. The small smiles they send him lets me know that they don’t mind at all.
Once everything is put where it should be, and all the movers have everything out of the truck, I sign the papers and they take off. I close the door and look around my new home with a small smile on my face. I can’t believe that we are here and we did it.
This change is scary but I’m excited about it. I can’t wait to see what it will bring.
I start by helping Hale unpack his room. He will need everything soon, and this way I’m not looking for anything when it’s time for him to go to bed. He can also play while I unpack the rest of the house. It doesn’t take us long. I move the furniture around his room so that it would fit everything nicely. He organizes his toys since he has two toy boxes, and I unpack a small table so that he can colour. I put all of his clothes away and make his bed.
He starts going through the living room boxes and was proud to be ‘mama’s little helper’ for the day. I let him put the DVDs away on the shelf we have. I get my room organized a little bit so that I could at least go to sleep and have some clothes out for tomorrow.
With most of the morning and part of the afternoon gone already, I order us pizza since I haven’t gone near the kitchen yet. We still need groceries anyways- something we will have to do tomorrow.
After we eat, Hale goes off into his room to play and says he’s tired. I don’t blame him; it’s a lot of work for me, let alone a little kid.
While he is in his room playing, I start unpacking some of the bathroom so that I can give Hale a bath before bed and have a shower from this long day.
I check on Hale every now and then. The last time I check, he is asleep on his bed. I never got to give him a bath or anything, so I just change him into his pajamas. He barely moves, so I know he’s out for the night. I tuck him into bed and kiss him on the forehead.
I hear the rumble of bikes and look out the window to see some pull up to the place across the road. I check on Hale again but he doesn’t stir. That part makes me glad that his uncles love their bikes as much as he does so that he won’t wake up to the sound of them.
I decide to keep unpacking. I know that I will crash the second I relax, and I want to get as much done as I can. I have a week before I start work and, in that time, I have to make sure that Hale is okay with school and daycare for when I’m working. The sooner I unpack everything, the sooner I can relax. My mind won’t relax knowing that I have all of this left to do.
Chapter Two
Aiden ‘Steal’ Knight
The club seems to have settled down now that there isn’t a threat of the Devil’s Souls MC or their president, Demon, around. We are still working on ensuring that the club is prepared in case of another attack. When Ella was pregnant, some of the Devils had shot up our clubhouse in hopes of kidnapping her. I’m so glad that we had Shield and Trigger to protect her that night even if they were only prospects then. Their actions that night proved their loyalty to the club and earned them their patches.
Everyone was more than excited that they would be able to go home and not have to be at the club twenty-four-seven. We were on lockdown for a long time because we didn’t want to risk anyone getting hurt, or the Devils using any of our woman and children as leverage. After what they did to two previous club whores, I have no doubt that they wouldn’t have hesitated to mess with anyone in the club: women, brothers, or children.
I didn’t have a house outside the club. I lived with my parents until I moved into the clubhouse, and I haven’t planned on buying a place yet. It feels like I’m settling down when I think about it, so I haven’t bothered. I haven’t wanted to settle down and, to be honest, the thought of doing that gives me hives.
My brother, Torch, has already settled down with Stacey. She is the best friend of my long, lost sister, Ella. Stacey tried to deny it at first because she didn’t trust bikers, but with everything that has happened in the last couple years, I can tell she changed her mind. We did everything we could to protect her best friend, and you can see the relief on her face that there isn’t the threat of Demon around anymore.
We had only found Ella almost two years ago when she got pregnant with Damien’s baby.
It was a big mess with a mix up at the fertility clinic. Damien was pissed when he found out, but when she turned out to be my dad’s long, lost daughter that he hadn’t ever met- well, there was a lot of relief in the club.
I could see throughout the years that it tore my dad apart, not knowing where his other kid was. I could always see the sadness in his eyes when he got older. He was messing around with Ella’s mom before he met mine, and they both got pregnant around the same time. Ella and Torch are only a couple of months apart in age, but Ella’s mom had taken off while she was pregnant with her and we were never able to find her. It was a huge coincidence that she was carrying Damien’s baby. My mom had always told us that everything happens for a reason and, in this case, I guess it was true.
Ella became a part of our lives, and it finally feels that, after all this time, our family is finally whole. It didn’t take us long to come into the protective roll of brothers. From what I had learned around the club, she was nothing like her mom. She did get crazy about food when she was pregnant, but she is a good person and I can’t believe that I had missed out on knowing her all these years.
Last year, Ella gave birth to D.J. and he has been good for the club and my fa
mily. D.J is the first kid that was born into the club in a long time, so everyone takes him from Ella every time she comes over. Mostly, my dad tries to steal him from Ella any chance he gets, but it’s his first grandchild and I think he loves that he gets to experience something he couldn’t from Ella since he missed out on so much.
Tomorrow is D.J’s first birthday, and we are celebrating with a big BBQ at the club.
I am having a cup of coffee with some brothers when we hear a truck outside. It isn’t exactly quiet, so I head to check it out with some of my brothers following.
A moving truck was pulling up across the street to a house that had been empty for over a year.
After everything with Demon and the shooting at the club, the previous tenants across the street moved out. No one has moved into that place since. They had trouble finding tenants to rent the house because everyone in town had known what went on down here. People also tended to be scared to move across from an MC clubhouse as they thought that it was a dangerous place to live even though it usually wasn’t.
I saw the lady Joanne who owned the house run out of there like her ass was on fire. She had to have gotten someone from out of town to rent the place since I don’t see any “for sale” or “sold” signs outside of the house.
The person who is renting must not be from around town and not know anything that happened here over the last couple years.
I don’t know why I kept watching, but I will admit that I was curious to see who the new neighbours are.
The movers bring furniture in and out of the house. Then, a woman walks out with a little boy beside her. She looks like she is telling the movers where everything goes, and the little boy is pointing at everything she is with the other hand on his hip. The brothers and I let out a chuckle at the sight of a little boy trying to be bossy.
I can’t see the woman or boy clearly from here, but my eyes zero in on her body right away. I have a feeling that I’m not the only brother checking her out. It won’t be long until there is a line of brothers at her door, that’s for sure.
