I step into the shower and quickly wash him away. The tears flood out of the one eye I can open while I lather layer upon layer of soap. Nothing can get rid of him. The bruises leave behind the memory of what he did, even if I can't remember it.
I wrap the shitty white motel towel around my body and slowly dry off every tender part of my aching, broken body; all while I wish I could wash off the damage to my soul. I can't kick myself over this for long because I am worried he is going to come back for me.
I've always lived as an honest person. I've paid my bills, and given what I want to get back from others. Karma ya know? But today, I am going to run for the first time in my life. I am going to bail on my bill and pray I have enough money to get to safety.
***
“Seven?” I whisper into my cell phone, as if someone is listening in to my call.
She is loud and commanding on the other end, brazen and bold like always. “Paisley, kiddo! I've missed you. To what do I owe this call?”
I can't tell her, so I sit in silence on the other end of the line. I feel fucking foolish. Why did I even bother to call her? Because I need a fucking place to live until I can get my pathetic excuse of a life together.
Just as I am about to end the call, she yells through the line. “What happened, Paisley? You fuckin' tell me now!”
The tears begin again. Just when I thought I was all cried out, somehow my body finds a tiny bit of hydration to squeeze out again.
“I need someplace to stay for a couple weeks.” I guess this is better than calling my sister. I don't know what Star would do, but she can hardly take care of herself, let alone her fucked up little sister. Jesus, when did I let my life become so fucking tragic? Paisley, it always has been.
“Where are you? I am coming to get you.” Yup, Seven is as bossy as I can remember. I am almost thankful for her commanding nature, because it is what I need. I need someone to take control of my life. I always have. Looking back I thought Star would always be there to help me, guide me, but she can't even do that for herself.
“Seven, I'm in Daytona Beach. I am going to get a flight today. I will call you when I land.” And like that I finally get the balls to hang the call up, and make a break for it. I grab the small bag I've been traveling with for the past year, and call a cab to meet me at the seven-eleven on the corner. Each step hurts. I press the small bag to my chest, while my other hand holds my gaudy black sunglasses in place praying no one can see the damage he has done to my pale skin. As if.
Fuck Florida. Fuck Daytona Beach. Fuck that hole in the wall strip club, and most of all, fuck bikers. I hope they all rot in the fucking depths of hell for eternity.
***
Twelve hours later I am tucked in under the plush down comforter in Seven's spacious spare bedroom. The red silk sheets caress my body with the gentlest touch I have felt. It soothes away the pain of the brutal assault only hours earlier.
Until I am left alone with my thoughts. The thoughts of him. The laid back, fun, and flirty evening we shared full of a lap dance and a hand full of drinks. All in good fun, I told myself repeatedly. I should have known that men like him don't do good fun. Men in general don't do good fun.
Seven did her best to drag the details of my injuries out of me, but I knew the second I told her anything that happened she would be on the phone to Star. The same sister who desperately needed to get her own shit together. I was barely a teen when Star got knocked up, she gave the baby away to another family our shit-tastic parents knew; that was about the same time she spiraled out of control. Either way, she has her own problems to wade through, and I won't be bothering her with my own. Call me the protective one in the family.
Yeah, Star... by the way I got raped by some biker after shaking my naked ass on stage. I deserved it, right? Not so much.
His name was Zane, or at least that is what he told me in between shots of vodka as he chain smoked a pack of cigarettes. His long dark hair was sexy, and I couldn't stop thinking about running my fingers through it. He was tempting, extremely tempting. But when you make it to twenty-three years old without fucking, you aren't about to let the first scarred biker you run into pound into you.
A chill runs through my body, and I shake it off. I'm not exactly sure how I am going to get through this, but I can tell you after my childhood, this isn't going to break me. Not by a fucking long shot.
BY JO-ANNA WALKER
Coming February 21st, 2014
CHAPTER 1
“What the hell do you think you’re doing here, Evvie?”
My back stiffened as I turned to the familiar but harsh deep voice of my best friend and roommate. Kane Stohl glared at me, his pale eyes hardening as they lowered to the bottles in my arms before meeting my gaze.
I shook my head. “What?”
“Why are you here?” He took the crate from my grasp.
I sighed. “I told you I was looking for a job and this place needed a bar tender so here I am.”
Kane narrowed his eyes and placed his hands on his hips. “What the hell do you know about bartending?”
A giggle escaped my lips. He didn’t look so big and tough when he stood in that prissy stance.
He glared.
I bit back a smile and calmed myself before I burst. “I used to make drinks at the parties in college, remember? It’s not that hard.”
His blue eyes softened, his broad shoulders relaxing. “Does your father know that you’re working here?”
My gaze snapped to his and I swallowed hard. “No and he’s not going to find out now is he?”
Kane rolled his eyes and scrubbed a hand down his face. “Who hired you?”
I moved to the counter and continued putting bottles away and shrugged. He was not ruining this for me. “What does it matter?”
“Evvie, who hired you?” he pressed.
I sighed and rose to my full height. “Jake. He was very nice. Said the owner needed some extra help around here now that business has picked up.”
Kane raised an eyebrow. “Did you actually meet the owner?”
I frowned. “No. He’s on vacation or something.”
“Brett doesn’t take vacations,” Kane laughed.
“I dunno. I haven’t met him yet though,” I huffed.
“I’m going to have to talk to Jake,” he mumbled.
I turned to him and placed a hand on his arm. “Kane, don’t you dare mess this up for me. I need this job.”
“Darlin’, there are a million other jobs—”
“What’s wrong with this one?” I asked, placing my hands on my hips. “My father won’t know I work here.”
“What about your brothers?”
My stomach churned. The overprotective men in my life didn’t need to know my every waking move.
“You don’t know the kind of douches that come in here...”
My heart swelled and I wrapped my arms around his middle. “Kane, you’re my best friend and I love you like a brother but sometimes you’re a pain in the ass.”
“Who the hell are you?”
We jumped apart at the hard voice as I saw a tall man approaching us with ease. The air around us became thick as confidence bled from the guy’s pores.
His light brown hair was cut short. My fingers twitched, wanting to run them through the no doubt soft strands.
Our gazes locked and he smirked, making my stomach flip. Oh this guy was dangerous and I had no idea who the hell he was.
He crossed his arms under his chest and glared at me with deep blue eyes. God, he was gorgeous.
“I asked you a question.”
My heart stuttered and I frowned. “I…I’m...”
Kane cleared his throat but the guy ignored him and took a step closer to us.
“Speak up,” he snapped.
Wow...okay... I lifted my chin and took a deep breath. “I’m Evvie Neal. The new bartender.”
The guy’s gaze flicked to Kane’s and he shrugged. Thanks a lot bestie.
; “Who the fuck hired you?” the man asked.
My blood boiled at the tone this guy was taking with me. Who the hell did he think he was? “I don’t know what your problem is asshole but—”
“Welcome to The Red Love, baby.” The guy smirked and with that he walked away.
I gaped. “Who—” My mouth opened and closed and I couldn’t form the words on my tongue.
Kane clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Ignore him.”
“Who the hell was that?”
Kane looked away. “That, darlin’, was Brett MacLean.”
My eyes widened. Brett’s tailored suit hugged curves of a hard body. My stomach twisted at the unexpected flush that ran over me completely. “The owner?” I whispered.
Kane nodded.
I had heard that he had become an asshole but had no idea that he was that bad. Maybe my choice of working there was not a good thing after all.
***
As I wiped the bar down, the hairs on the back of my neck tingled. I knew Brett was watching me. I had been working at The Red Love for weeks, not talking to him again really since the first time we had met. I tried to stay clear of him, which was hard to do since he was the boss. He got under my skin and he damn well knew it too.
The way he studied me and his dominating air, left me shaking with need. I tried to deny it but a deep rooted part of myself wanted him. A darker part. A part that had laid dormant. It left me breathless that a man could actually make me feel this way even when they were being a dick.
I wanted to experience what a night with Brett MacLean would be like. Women paraded in and out of his office on a revolving door. Beautiful models that were slender with silky legs that stretched well over my five-foot-nothing head.
He ran his business like he did his women. With control.
My body hummed and I wanted him to appease the ache that had slowly formed in my belly but I wouldn’t let him know it. He was dangerous and he would probably break my heart without even thinking twice about it.
“Evvie,” Brett barked.
I took a deep breath and turned around, leaning against the counter. “What?”
His blue eyes darkened, boring into mine. “My office. Now.”
I ignored the way my heart fluttered at the demand in his deep voice and rolled my eyes before turning my back to him. “I’m busy.”
“It wasn’t a request,” he snapped. “Jake take over.”
I gaped at Brett over my shoulder as I watched him walk away. His black tailored suit fitting the hard contours of a body that I would love to sink my teeth—
“Evvie.”
The sound of Jake’s deep voice behind me made me jump and I took a breath, easing my racing heart. I smiled up at him. His perfectly arched brows furrowing as his eyes darted around the room.
“Don’t keep him waiting,” he said, chewing his bottom lip.
I looked into Jake’s warm brown gaze and sighed. He was probably right. I patted his arm reassuringly. “I’ll go see what the Master wants.”
I walked through the dance floor and down the long hall. I had learned very quickly that most people who came back from Brett’s office, unless they were one of his whores, didn’t come back happy. He was a hard ass who loved his job. It was a part of him. Anyone with a pair of eyes and a brain could see that.
Once reaching his office, I took a deep breath and knocked, my nerves kicking into overdrive.
“Come in.”
My skin tingled unexpectedly and I opened the door. Two black leather couches sat in the middle of the office with a table in the center.
The door shut behind me making me startle and I leaned against it. My gaze instantly meeting Brett’s, my stomach flipped at the heated stare behind his blue eyes.
His big body sat behind an even larger cherry oak desk. He leaned forward and rubbed his chin, his dark navy eyes boring into mine. He motioned to the chair in front of his desk. “Sit.”
“Brett, why—”
“Sit.”
I huffed and crossed my arms under my chest but didn’t move. I wasn’t his pawn to do with as he pleased. “Not until you tell me what you want.”
The corners of his mouth turned up as he sat back in his chair. “We’ll get to that.”
My body heated under his scrutiny. Suddenly feeling exposed in the tiny uniform, I tried covering the cleavage that sported from the vee of my shirt. The plaid red and black skirt barely covered my ass. Curvy girls like me were doomed in these stick-like uniforms.
“Look, if you’re not going to tell me what you want, then I should get back to work,” I croaked.
“I want to talk to you about your job performance.”
“My job performance?” I frowned.
He raised an eye brow. “Are you going to sit?”
“No.”
He smirked, making my heart skip a beat. “Didn’t think so.”
“What the hell’s wrong with my job performance?” I cringed. He’s your boss, Evvie. Be nice.
He rose to his feet and walked around the large desk and leaned against it, mirroring my pose. He nodded at the chair. “Sit.”
Finally giving in, I huffed and pushed off the door, walking to the chair. I slumped down on the arm and crossed my legs, sighing loudly. “Will you please tell me what you want?”
His eyes roamed down my body, stopping at my feet. The corners of his lips lifted.
I followed his gaze and looked back up at him. “What?” My red flats weren’t standard uniform attire but they were easier to walk in than the fuck-me shoes the other girls wore.
He smiled. An actual smile on Brett McLean’s face. I would have made a smart ass remark about it too if I didn’t feel like I was sitting in the hot seat.
“Now Evvie, I don’t think those shoes are appropriate work attire,” he chided.
My back stiffened. “Have you tried walking back and forth behind the bar in six inch stilettos?”
He didn’t respond. Just continued to stare at me. God, he was infuriating.
I let out an exasperated breath while twitching in the chair. “Fine. I’ll get new ones. Are we done?”
His jaw tensed. “No, we’re not.”
It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. “Brett, you obviously didn’t bring me here to talk about my shoes. What’s wrong with my job performance?”
“Nothing.”
I shook my head. “Then why—”
“I have a proposition for you,” his voice lowered.
“Um…what kind of proposition?” My palms went clammy as my heart thumped hard.
He smirked. “I think you know.”
I shook my head.
He closed the distance between us and wrapped his hands around my wrists, pinning them to the arms of the chair.
My mouth went dry and my core clenched at being restrained by him. Oh God, this was not good.
Brett leaned in, his hot breath scorching my neck. The scent of musky cologne invaded my nostrils, making my mouth water.
His lips grazed my ear before he bit down gently. “I want to fuck you, Evvie.”
BY DAWN ROBERTSON AND JO-ANNA WALKER
PROLOGUE
One Year Ago...
(Lori)
I sat on the couch watching some bullshit reality show. Alexander kicked, hard this time, and I couldn't help but giggle. So strong. Just like his father. I let out a sigh and stood up for the bathroom when I heard the doorbell ring.
Half past nine in the morning, maybe Felicity next door ran out of coffee, again. I waddle to the door of the small two bedroom apartment Garrett and I share on Fort Bragg, where he is stationed. Even with him a million miles away in Afghanistan, I can feel his presence all around me in our home. The home I am preparing each day for our growing family.
With a hand on my stomach, and another on the front door I open to greet whomever was on the other side. But my heart sinks to the ground when I find two Army officials, and a Chaplin at my door. They don't need to say a word. I already kn
ow what has happened.
My legs give out, and I scream. The cries echo through the courtyard parking lot in front of the apartment complex. Neighbors slowly make their way out to see what the commotion is all about, but when they spy me laying on the ground in full blown hysterics, their tears and sobs join mine. Garrett is gone, and the only piece I have left of him is safely growing within my womb.
My mind scatters through the usual questions. How? Why? Why me? What did I do to lose him at such an important part in both of our lives? How did it happen? When would his body be returned for burial? God, how can I even be thinking of his funeral, when the Chaplin hasn't even spoken a word to me.
“Mrs. Williams, we are sorry for your loss.”
***
(Jude)
“Look at you being a big boy now,” my step mother crooned.
My body stirred, aching for the woman standing before me in a way I never thought was possible. I was sixteen. What the hell did I know about women? All I knew is that I wanted this one. I wanted her to teach me. Show me what it was like to be treated like a man.
“Are you ready to learn, Jude?” She licked her cherry red lips and sauntered towards me.
My cock lengthened. Oh yeah, I was more than fucking ready.
I startled awake, my body damp with cold sweat.
Fuck me. The nightmares. They came and went like movie reels. I wanted them to end. I wanted to end. God, what the fuck was wrong with me? I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself and get my shit together. I knew that but why couldn’t I change my ways? Oh yeah. I almost killed someone. Lori. Without her, nothing mattered. I didn’t care anymore. I lost everything. Jenny. Lily and now Lori too.
Would I ever get my head on straight? Would I ever be enough?
My stomach rolled and I shot out of bed.
Running to the bathroom, I landed hard on the tile floor and spilled the contents of my stomach into the toilet. I flushed it once my gut settled and groaned. Tears dripped into the large basin as I wished my life could be erased just as easy. If I could go back and change at least one thing, it would be the night I took that first drink. The night I almost drove Lori into the grave.
Uncomplicated: A Vegas Girl's Tale Page 18
