by Tia Lewis
Reveal
A Blood Riders MC Novel (Book 2)
Tia Lewis
Salted Pen Publications
Contents
Mailing List
The Blood Riders MC Series
About This Book
1. Nicole
2. Nicole
3. Drake
4. Drake
5. Nicole
6. Drake
7. Nicole
8. Nicole
9. Drake
10. Nicole
11. Drake
12. Nicole
13. Drake
14. Nicole
15. Drake
16. Nicole
17. Drake
18. Drake
19. Nicole
20. Drake
21. Nicole
22. Drake
23. Nicole
24. Nicole
25. Drake
26. Nicole
Thank You
What’s Next?
Mailing List
Also by Tia Lewis
About the Author
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Copyright
Copyright © 2016 by Tia Lewis. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
First Published in October 2016.
First Edition.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please contact: [email protected]. www.AuthorTiaLewis.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is a crime punishable by law. No part of the book may be scanned, uploaded to or downloaded from file sharing sites, or distributed in any other way via the Internet or any other means, electronic, or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 (www.fbi.gov/ipr/).
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Published by Salted Pen Publications, Minnesota.
Reveal: A Blood Riders MC Novel (Book 2)
Edited by: Dawn Thompson & Donna Rich
Beta Readers: Stephanie McConnell & Yamina Kirky
Cover Designed by: Mayhem Cover Creations
The Blood Riders MC Series
Threat (Book 1)
Reveal (Book 2)
Creed (Book 3) - Available 11/1/2016
About This Book
Drake
Whoever thought they could mess with me doesn’t f*cking know who they’re dealing with. I’m the soon-to-be President of the Blood Riders MC, and I don’t take sh*t from anyone.
Sure as f*k not when it comes to Nicole. Every death threat they send only fuels my fire to find those bastards. She’s my ride or die. The only true love of my life.
They think they can tear us apart, but I’ll rip them to shreds before they can lay a hand on my old lady.
Nicole
They won’t leave us alone. I know my family thinks it’s best, but I love Drake. He’s my everything. He promised me happily ever after, but that’s not what this is.
My family can’t understand our happiness and has been trying to stick their nose into our life and turn everything upside down.
I thought we could survive anything and everything. But he’s acting increasingly distant. With everything trying to pull us apart, I don’t know if I can hold us together much longer.
Reveal is book 2 of the Blood Riders MC series.
Author’s Note:
Reveal is a motorcycle romance novel that contains explicit sexual content, violence, strong language, and intended for mature audiences only. This book is not intended for readers who are under the age of 18 and uncomfortable with the subject matter. Reader discretion is advised.
1
Nicole
Previously on The Blood Riders MC
“Come on! The rest of the Club will be here any minute.”
“Could you please calm down? Jesus Christ, it’s just a banner.” Drake tacked up the other end of the “Welcome Home” banner which hung over our brand-new front door. I clapped my hands.
“Perfect!” I declared, giving him a hug and a kiss. “I’m sorry to be such a pain in the ass about this, but I want the party to be perfect.”
“Will there be food, cold beer, and women? Then they’ll think it’s perfect.”
I laughed, checking the taps to make sure they worked. “And you reminded them this is a housewarming party, not a Club party, right?”
“Yeah, but I don’t know if they know the difference.”
“Oh, shit.” He laughed, putting his arms around me.
“It’ll be okay. They’ll be on their best behavior.”
I rolled my eyes, turning to wrap my arms around Drake’s neck. “I’ve seen their best behavior, and it’s nothing to write home about.”
“So, we kick them out if they get too rowdy.”
“How will they get home? We’re stuck with them until they’re sober enough to ride.”
Drake’s face darkened. “Maybe this was a big mistake?”
I heard the sound of engines roaring up the road. “Too late,” I murmured, kissing him once before going to see who was arriving. As it turned out, just about the entire Club had come at once. I could only imagine what the other drivers thought as a parade of bikers cruised down the highway.
I gave everybody a big hug, ushering them into the house so Drake could show them around. It was his first real house, and he was prouder than a new father to show it off. Tamara, Darcy, and Violet helped me in the kitchen, putting out food, plates, and napkins for our hungry bunch. I heard music coming from the backyard, so somebody figured out how to work the sound system.
“I love what you did with the kitchen already,” Darcy said, nodding her head in approval. It had taken six months, but I’d finally convinced her to start culinary school after walking her through the financial aid process. She’d fixed most of the dishes for the party.
“Thanks. I love it. And so does he. That means everything to me.” I couldn’t express it in words, the feeling of knowing the man I loved was happy where I was happy. That we were building a home together. I’d finally gotten over my fear of being in my father’s house overnight, and it had taken nearly two years to work through boxing up his things, donating other items and throwing out years’ worth of stuff I would never use. My therapist had encouraged me to take my time, which was what I did. Drake had moved in around three months after the events of that horrible day and had helped me through everything that came
up as a result of that and my father’s death.
In the end, we’d gotten a nice little sum of money for the house, and the money made in the sale had gone toward the house of our dreams on Long Island. Big, bright and sunny with lots of windows. A finished basement for Drake’s man cave, a big room upstairs for me to hang out in and read or do whatever I wanted to do. Three bedrooms including our own. A massive kitchen big enough to entertain a crowd—which we were doing—and a backyard where Drake hoped we would one day install a pool.
He was like a kid in a candy store when we shopped for furniture. He’d never had the chance to do that before, so it was all new and fresh to him. I humored him as we went through the process, reminding myself that most men would probably rather go in for a root canal than help their girlfriends shop for furniture, draperies, and the rest.
Eventually, we’d put together a home that reflected the both of us … even if I asked that he keep all neon and bike-related memorabilia in the man cave. I thought about that as I carried a tray of mini cheeseburger sliders out to the guys in the backyard. They descended on me like vultures. He smiled at me from over their heads, and I shook my head in mock frustration. They would never learn any manners, but I didn’t expect them to.
An hour or two into the party, I stepped inside for a much-needed break. It took a lot of energy to keep up with the Blood Rider’s crew. I sat at the kitchen island, sipping a glass of Merlot, listening to the sounds of music and laughter coming in from outside. This is what it’s all about, I thought, saying a silent prayer of thanks for the blessings in my life. It hadn’t been an easy road—after those first few weeks of bliss wore off, Drake and I had done the hard work it took to create a relationship—but it was a rewarding one. I picked at a sandwich, thinking back on where we started. He had an Italian hoagie with oil and oregano.
“Hey, you,” I smiled at the sound of his voice, and the man of my dreams crossed the big, cream-colored kitchen. “I was looking for you.”
“You found me,” I grinned, kissing him. After two years, it still felt good. There was still a spark.
“You okay?” He looked closely at me.
“Absolutely fine. Tired, but that’s to be expected. All the commotion and loud music—I just needed to take a breather, is all.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “I was hoping all night to get you alone, anyway.”
“You’re so bad,” I grinned. “Didn’t we already christen every room in the house?”
“That wasn’t what I meant,” he said, smirking. “Although I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t re-christen, that’s for later. No, right now, I wanted to ask you something. With all of them out there—everybody I care about is here, you know? So it felt right.”
“What do you mean? What felt right?” He reached into the pocket of his black jeans and pulled out a black velvet box. I gasped, looking at him. “Are you kidding me? Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been surer. I only need you to say ‘yes.'” He looked so hopeful. I knew that no matter how long I lived, I would remember the bright look on his face.
“Yes! Yes, of course!” I didn’t even look at the ring as he slid it on my finger. I could only see him. I took his face in my hands and kissed him, tears flowing down my cheeks.
“You haven’t even looked at it,” he whispered, grinning.
“I don’t need to. I don’t even need a ring.”
“Then I’ll take it back.”
“I’ll break your neck.” He laughed, and when I finally got a look at the three-carat diamond, I gasped. “Oh, Drake. It’s beautiful.”
“You like it?”
“Yes, baby. Thank you.” I pouted.
We heard a roar of laughter and applause in the backyard. “Oh, I think Creed just broke his record for the most hot dogs he could eat in five minutes.” At the look of horror on my face, he held up a hand. “Don’t worry, I gave him a trashcan, just in case it didn’t go well.”
I giggled. “How about we go out there and give them something to really cheer about?”
2
Nicole
“You’re doing what?”
I closed my eyes as Aunt Karen’s screeching voice burned a hole in my brain. I’d known she’d be unhappy when I announced my engagement, but the screech surprised me. It wasn’t like I’d just met Drake, for God’s sake. She knew we were together. Two years. Where did she think our relationship was headed except for the altar?
“I can’t believe this, Nikki. How could you do a thing like this?”
“I haven’t done anything yet, Aunt Karen.” I sat on the sofa, tucking my feet underneath me. I’d learned to deal with stress, hadn’t I? Being involved with the club had taught me that much.
“No, but you’re going to. I thought it was bad enough when the two of you were just living together …”
“We bought a house,” I reminded her. “You knew about that, and you knew it was serious.” I took a deep breath, getting a hold of myself. It wasn’t easy. “I’m not asking you to be happy about this.”
“Well, good. Because I never will be.”
I gritted my teeth, my fingers gripping the cell phone so hard they hurt. “I only wanted to tell you because I thought you deserved to know. You’re my aunt, after all.”
“I suppose I won’t even be invited to the wedding.”
I laughed. “I didn’t think you’d want to come. I’d planned to invite you.”
“You did?
“Of course.” Everybody had at least one of those invitations for their wedding, didn’t they? The person in their life they invited because they figured they didn’t have a choice? Karen was mine. In her world, the past two years hadn’t happened. It didn’t matter that Drake had saved my life, or that his club had nothing to do with my father’s death. She saw the Blood Riders the way he always had—outlaws. Bad guys. Trash.
She didn’t know them like I did. No, they weren’t good guys—far from it. I did my best to keep my nose out of their business because I thought it best I didn’t know everything. I didn’t need to worry about Drake any more than I already did. He liked it better that way, too—me not knowing the details of his business. It was safer for me, he’d say. If he ever got picked up, I could be honest when I said I was unaware of his activity.
She didn’t know they were a family, or that they’d welcomed me with open arms. She didn’t know the affection I’d developed for the guys or the way the girls had become my closest friends and confidantes. How they’d helped me over the hump of adjusting to my new—the MC life.
“I hope you’ve given this a lot of thought,” Karen muttered. “It’s one thing for you to play house with him…”
“We aren’t just playing house. I’m just as committed to him now as I will be once the ring is on my finger.”
“Nicole. I need you to be realistic—and I would give you this talk no matter who you planned to marry. You believe that, right?”
No, not for a minute. “Okay, sure.”
She sighed, my response was not good enough, but went on. “Living together and being married are two very different things. Once you’ve signed your name to a marriage certificate, there’s no going back. It’s very serious.”
“I get it.”
“I don’t think you do. You can’t decide one day that things aren’t working out, and you want to leave. Getting out of a marriage and out of a cohabitation aren’t the same at all.”
“Listen, Aunt Karen, I don’t intend to do any of that.”
“Nobody ever intends to do it, Nicole. Everybody walks into marriage thinking it’s all cupcakes and rainbows and will last forever—and people with far fewer obstacles than the two of you have found themselves unable to stay the course.”
It was my turn to sigh. I knew she was right. But she didn’t understand us. I stopped short of giving her that argument, as I knew how lame it sounded. Every pair of misunderstood lovers in history, from Romeo and Juliet on down the line, had repeated those very
words. You don’t understand us. We’re different. We’re better than that. Our love will stand when the pyramids are dust.
There was nothing else to do but agree with her. “I see your point. I understand everything you’re saying—trust me. You know I’m not stupid enough to walk into this with my eyes closed.”
“I didn’t think you were stupid enough to walk into it at all.”
“Aunt Karen…” There was a warning in my tone. The only reason I felt it necessary to stay in touch with her was the fact that she was my only living blood relative. If it weren’t for the memory of my father, and the knowledge that he’d want me to stay in touch, I would have erased her number from my cell phone and forgotten she ever existed. All I ever got from her was negativity and pushback on my relationship with Drake. I didn’t need that in my life.
“Look, I’m sorry.” She didn’t sound sorry, but things were already tense enough. I didn’t want to continue a fight.
“Me, too. But you’re just gonna have to trust my judgment on this.”
“I know, I know. I just can’t help but wonder what your father would think.”
“We both know what my father would think if he didn’t know Drake. If he did, he might feel different.”
“I doubt that.”
“Well, who knows. It’s a moot point. I do know he’d want me to be happy.”
A pause. “Yes, you’re right about that.”
“And I am happy. I am. Really. If not, I wouldn’t be with Drake in the first place. You can believe that at least, right?” She made a sort of grunting noise, which I took as a yes. I wasn’t going to get much more than that out of her.
