“I chose to keep you when she threw you away.”
“That you did Dad, but you didn’t give a shit about your son and don’t think I’ll ever forget that.”
Epilogue
A few days later, Liam and Denise sat on the sun porch of what she’d finally started to call their house. It was late, almost midnight, and the kids had finally gone to bed. This had become their favorite time of day. Late at night after everything had settled down, they’d taken to coming out on the porch and discussing their day. Sometimes it was just a discussion, sometimes it led to more. Whatever it ended up being, Denise loved it no matter what.
“Anything interesting happen today?” he asked, pulling her close to his chest, relishing the way her head fit under his chin.
“Your mom called. She said they have a job opening at the courthouse in the same department she’s in.”
It hadn’t been a bad idea when Lauren pitched it to her, but Denise had been unsure of how Liam would take it. She still wasn’t very sure what her role in his life was besides companion.
“The courthouse, huh? With my mom? What do you think about that?”
“I dunno,” she shrugged. “My first thought was maybe I could help the club. Ya know? There’s a lot of things I can find out in that office,” she laughed.
“You so deserve what I’m about to give you,” he laughed along with her. That was the hallmark of a good woman in his circle. Always thinking about what she could do to help the club.
“A good hard fucking?” she asked cheekily.
“And such a dirty mouth on you, too? What happened to the meek woman you were when I first met you?”
“You brought out her wild side,” she whispered, running her tongue along his jawline.
“I’m glad, but sit tight right here for just a second.”
He got up from where they sat and made his way into the house. She twirled her thumbs, wondering exactly what he was doing. Listening carefully, she heard him open the closet door in the hallway where the jackets were kept. It was a warm night, she wasn’t sure why he would need a jacket.
“Close your eyes,” he called as he made his way back out onto the porch. His voice was pitched high, obviously excited to show her what he had brought her.
She did as he asked and sat, waiting for whatever it was he was going to give her. For some reason her heart beat wildly against her chest. Nobody had ever given her anything before. He sat something gently beside her, and then the couch dipped as he sat on the other side.
“Open ’em up!”
It took a moment for her eyes to re-adjust to the darkness. When she saw a pink box, wrapped in a bow, her hand flew to her mouth. “What’d you do?” she asked, suspicion in her eyes.
“Guess you’ll have to open it to find out won’t you?”
Not wanting to admit that she’d never had a gift from another man before, she took her time. She savored opening the bow and then the paper. She could see the excitement in his eyes, and it made her want to just tear into it. He held his hands in his lap, almost like he was trying to keep himself from tearing it open for her. As she took the lid off the box, the musky smell of leather hit her nostrils, and she inhaled deeply.
“Seriously?” she asked as she moved back the tissue paper.
“Just wait until you see it,” his grin was contagious, and she knew she wore one that matched.
She gasped as she finally pulled all the paper back, revealing a bunch of black leather. She wasn’t sure if it was a jacket or chaps or what, but her hands shook as ran her fingers over the smooth material.
“Pick it up and get a good look at it,” he instructed her.
What she thought was a leather jacket was actually a cut. It had her name stitched into it and below it sat a property patch. She sat it down on her thigh and ran her hand over the patch, trying to hide how much it shook.
Property of William Walker Jr. “Liam”
“Wow,” she whispered as she turned it around. The cut had its own colors and patches. It almost made her look like a full-fledged member.
“I also got you some leather chaps to wear. I’m hoping maybe you’ll wear nothing but those one night,” he teased, popping his eyebrows up and down.
That little shot of humor was needed. A property patch – from what she had seen – was a big deal, but she still needed him to explain to her exactly what he wanted.
“We’ll see,” she grinned at him. “So what does this mean?” she asked, holding the cut up.
“That you’re mine, and no one’s ever going to take you away from me. It means when the time is right I’ll get you a ring, and we’ll make it official in front of God and everybody. How does that sound?”
“Sounds amazing,” she breathed deeply, finally content with the direction her life was taking.
Wordlessly he opened his arms to her, and she went into them, settling back against his chest. She could feel the steady beat of his heart, the warmth of his body, and she could feel his hands as they stroked her body. It was the quiet moments like this that she loved the most. The wild man who had turned her on to her own wild side. The man who had accepted her kids as his own and the man who had completely changed her life.
“I’m really lucky that Sharon asked you to work for her,” he whispered softly in her ear. Their lives could have gone so much differently had she not answered that call or refused to help out a friend.
She giggled softly. “You don’t know how happy I am that I answered that phone call because I almost didn’t. I thought it was a bill collector and came pretty damn close to rejecting it, but something told me not to. It was obviously meant to be.”
The End
Acknowledgments
There are so many people who helped me on the journey to seeing this project through and I’m going to try and thank all of them. If I forget you, it’s because there have been so many, not because I meant to forget you!
My beta readers: Allison, Shellie, Sue, and Amy. Thank you for being honest – even when it may have hurt my feelings – and loving my characters as much as I do!
My dear friend April who has listened to me talk about this for years! She’s always there when I need someone to talk to or when I need a traveling partner. Everyone truly needs a friend like her!
My family who is nothing but supportive!
The co-workers of my day job. For a long time none of them had any idea what I was doing, but when I finally told them, they have been nothing but sweet and supportive. They have no idea how much I appreciate it!
Lindsay Hopper and Kari Ayasha: I’m so lucky to have found some amazing people to work with. I’ll never forget the chance you took on me and I hope that sometime in the future I am able to repay you for all your kindness.
Fellow author Allison Jewell: We talk about some of the craziest things that no one else but us would understand (usually involving our ‘fake’ characters). I couldn’t have decided to do this with anyone else. We’ve been through a lot in the last year and a half trying to get this going – personal and professional. Thank you for never letting me give up when I really wanted to and continuing to encourage me, even when I felt like everything else in my life was bigger than this dream.
Everyone else that encouraged me in some way: Anicee, Becky, the KIW, DJFFO, Lesslie, Carol, and Pam – thank you!
Book Two
Out of Darkness
Heaven Hill Book #2
By Laramie Briscoe
Dedication
This is for anyone who’s coming out of a bad place in their lives. No matter how dark the moment seems – there will always be a way out of it.
To my family, friends, co-workers, and fans…thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Summary
Ex-news reporter.
Rape survivor.
Former enemy of the Heaven Hill MC.
Meredith Rager’s life completely changed the night she was attacked by an unknown person. Once a vibrant force that thre
atened everything about Heaven Hill, she is now under their care. The only place she feels safe is inside their compound. When she decides to take back the part of her life that her rapist took away, she discovers secrets that once again could tear the club apart.
Orphan.
Formidable force of nature.
Loved member of the Heaven Hill MC.
Tyler Blackfoot came into the world a John Doe. An orphan from the moment that he took his first breath, the only thing anyone knew was his Native American heritage. For most of his life, he’s been alone – except for the club that has taken him in as their own. When he rescued Meredith, a protective side of his personality came out that he never knew he had. Protecting her means everything – even when he discovers danger might be closer than either of them thought possible.
Together, the two of them are trying to make a life for themselves. Against everything they have, they’re hoping to see the light that will lead them out of darkness.
Chapter One
For services rendered.
Meredith jerked awake as she remembered the dollar bill hitting her back. It was the same dream every night. She always woke up when he said those words and threw the money. Sleep never came after one of her nightmares, even when she took the pills the good doc had prescribed. Carefully, she pushed back the covers of Tyler’s bed and slid her legs to the side. Her heart caught, the way it always did when she saw Tyler asleep on the floor. Maybe one day she would be able to invite him into this bed. Quietly, she dressed and grabbed her running shoes. If she couldn’t sleep, she may as well get something accomplished.
Making her way to the kitchen of the clubhouse, she smiled and waved at those who had come to know her in the weeks she’d been staying here. It was easy to pretend with these people that nothing really had happened to her. She’d taken a leave of absence from her job and moved all her belongings into storage. Meredith had known without a doubt that she could never go back to the life that she had lived before. Any of it. Now her time was broken into two points – before the rape and after the rape.
“Going for a run?” Liam asked as he spotted her running shoes.
“Yeah, is Denise up yet?”
The look that overtook his face when she mentioned his woman made Meredith sad. At one time that was what she wanted, and she wasn’t sure she’d ever get back there again.
“Sure is, she was on her way up here. Just text her. I know she’d love to run with you.”
It went without saying that Meredith didn’t like to run by herself, and Denise usually went along whether she wanted to or not. Meredith was beginning to understand that it was a sign of real friendship.
“Will you let Tyler know where I am?” she asked, grabbing a couple bottles of water.
“I will, but you and I both know that he always knows where you are.”
Not long after her attack, Tyler had installed a special tracking program on her phone. Before, it would have freaked her out. Now though, it made her feel safe.
“See ya,” she called to the VP as she made her way out the back door.
Stepping out into the sunlight, she looked up. It was coming upon mid-October in south central Kentucky and it should have been at least a little bit chilly, but they were in the grips of an Indian summer. For reasons she couldn’t understand, Meredith was glad. She wasn’t sure she could face a winter being cooped up right now. Being outside in this protected place was the only way she felt safe. The only time she felt alive other than when she wrote.
Writing had become her solace. She wrote something every day. The therapist had suggested it, and she had been amazed at how much she enjoyed it. Although she’d been a reporter, she’d never really been a writer. Now she was finding that on some level, she loved it even more than the news.
“You ready, girlfriend?”
Meredith smiled, the first genuine smile she’d had all day, as she spotted Denise walking towards her, pulling her hair into a ponytail.
“I don’t know why you do that. You always end up taking it down because it gives you a headache.”
Denise grinned. “Makes me feel like I’m a real athlete.”
A laugh bubbled up from deep within Meredith, and she put her hand over her mouth to cover it up.
“Don’t,” Denise admonished. “It’s good to hear you laugh.”
It went without saying between the two of them that Meredith hadn’t had much to laugh about for a while.
“It feels good to laugh,” she admitted softly.
The moment got a little heavy, and Denise did what she’d gotten best at with the other woman, turned the attention away from her.
“So how far are we going to go today? Heart attack level or irregular heartbeat?” she joked.
Meredith knew just how much Denise hated exercise, and that said a lot about the person that Denise was. That she came out here every day, huffing and puffing her way through whatever run Meredith mapped out for them.
“Maybe an irregular heartbeat. I don’t wanna kill ya yet.”
“Thank God for small favors.”
With that, the two took off, jogging slowly, but Denise groaned because she knew that soon they would really start running, and that just plain sucked.
“Meredith go for a run?”
It unnerved Liam how quiet Tyler was when he wanted to be. Sometimes he could come in and out of a room and no one knew it, even if the room was full of people.
“Yeah, you could track her, you know.”
“I know,” he said, grabbing the handle of his skull coffee cup. “But then I feel like I’m stalking her. It’s not a good feeling.”
“She still having trouble sleeping?” Liam asked his friend as he took a seat across the table from him.
“Yeah, she thinks I don’t know, but I hear her every morning when she wakes up. She’s having nightmares, but she won’t talk to anybody about them. I keep hoping she’ll talk to Denise.”
Gently, Liam reminded the other man. “She had a horrible thing happen to her. Maybe she doesn’t want to talk to anyone about it.”
“I want her to talk to me about it. That way I can figure out who the fucker was and then scalp him like my ancestors would have.”
“You know how scary you are saying that as you drink from a skull coffee mug?” Liam deadpanned.
Tyler grinned. “I know. Keeps you on your toes don’t it?”
Denise gulped water from the bottle that Meredith had given her. “You love this don’t you?” she panted, putting her hand at the stitch on her side.
“Not at all. It’s sad that you’re having such a hard time with a simple run,” Meredith taunted as she grinned.
“Simple my ass, Rager. These are fucking hills. Hills, I say!”
“I know, and you’re doing a really good job. I really am proud of you.”
Denise took a moment to get her breath. “I’m proud of you too.”
The moment became awkward, and Meredith turned so that Denise couldn’t see her face. “Don’t turn away from me. I am proud of you. You’ve found something that you like doing and you’re doing it.”
“Only because I know I’m safe here,” Meredith argued.
“I worried about you that week after it happened. I didn’t think you were ever going to get out of that room. You’ve made great strides.”
“But I still can’t let Tyler sleep in his own bed.”
Denise cautiously put her hand on Meredith’s arm. “Trust me, when you’re ready, he’ll be ready. No one even looks at you wrong for fear of him.”
“I feel like I’m using him,” she admitted.
“You’re not. You’re living your life the only way you know how at this point, and truthfully that’s all you can ask for. I can’t imagine going through what you went through, and I’m not saying that out of pity. It’s the truth.”
But that was the problem wasn’t it? All Meredith could feel, when she could actually feel, was the pity. The fear. The emptiness. When would it ever
change?
Chapter Two
I wonder what I did to deserve this? Was it my fault, playing two clubs against one another, searching for the truth? Did I deserve to be raped? I think I did, and that’s probably the worst thing. I try to make myself feel better, I really do, but then I realize that maybe I did ask for this.
“What are you writing?”
Meredith slammed the leather journal closed and glanced up at Tyler. The man was beautiful. He stood easily 6’3, though with his motorcycle boots he probably topped 6’5. The Native American heritage was apparent in his high cheekbones, the long, straight black hair, and the suntanned tone of his skin. His brown eyes burned intensely as he watched her.
“Just journaling like the therapist suggested I do.”
“Speaking of, are you ready for your appointment?”
She nodded. “I am, just gotta grab my backpack.”
Silent as ever, all he did was nod. He was so good to her, taking her wherever she needed to go, never asking for more than what she was willing to give, talking to her only when she spoke to him. It was everything she needed, and she counted on him more than she’d ever thought she would count on another human being. Grabbing her backpack, she put it on and went to stand beside him.
“Ready when you are.”
He ushered her out of the room, past the people gathered in the clubhouse, and out to where he parked his bike. Once there, he got on and handed her the helmet that he’d bought for her, waiting for her to hop on the bike.
This was his favorite part of the day, when she would wrap her arms tightly around his waist and hang on for dear life. It was the only time she allowed him to touch her. Sometimes at night, he would watch her sleep. Very rarely, he would carefully perch himself on the edge of the bed and lightly run his fingertips over her cheek. Everybody thought he was a saint for trying to help her through this time in her life, but he truly was a bastard because of the thoughts he had about her when she would subconsciously nuzzle closer.
Heaven Hill Series - Complete Series Page 20
