Rhys: Lost Breed MC Series: Book 7

by Parker, Ali

  Then he opened the door and vanished on the other side.

  I took a deep breath and mentally started counting to fifteen. My palms were sweaty. Really sweaty. My stomach was flipflopping around, and I was glad I hadn’t eaten anything all day. If I had, I was sure I’d be bent over a toilet right now, puking my guts out. Thankfully, I’d had the foresight not to put myself through that.

  I looked down at myself. I was wearing black jeans and my black combat boots. The toes were looking pretty scuffed. I was going to have to get a new pair one of these days. I also had on a black tee.

  Five more seconds to go.

  I closed my eyes.

  I wanted this. It was all I had ever wanted. And the moment was finally here. I thought of Max. I wondered what he would think of this. Would he be angry? Sad? Disappointed?

  Scared?

  Maybe he’d be a mix of all those things. I hoped that he’d be a bit proud, too. In the end, this was my decision. Nobody else’s. Not Rhys’s or my brother’s. Mine.

  And it felt really fucking good.

  I lifted my chin as both Rhys and Dani had told me to do and squared my shoulders. Then I drew open the sliding door and stepped outside into the dark night.

  Ryder’s backyard was full of men. Lost Breed men. They were standing in two groups. Some to the right and some to the left. They were all facing forward, so they had their backs to me. The yard was illuminated with warm amber light from the bonfire burning at the front of the pack of men.

  I put one foot in front of the other and stepped onto the grass. It had rained a lot this spring. The ground was wet. It squished under my feet.

  I kept walking to the back of the yard. As I went down the aisle between the Lost Breed men, those on the inside reached out and patted my shoulders. I smiled at them. I didn’t know what else to do. They gave me nods of encouragement. It kept me going.

  I spotted Ryder standing in front of the fire. He looked menacing as hell with his bare arms and dark tattoos. I couldn’t see his eyes as his face was cast into shadow by the fire burning at his back. He looked like a movie villain, but I knew his heart. I knew he was good. He’d shown me many times over the last couple of months who he was.

  All of the Lost Breed had.

  They were my home.

  I made it to the front. Rhys was there, standing off to the side. He gave me a thumbs-up and winked. He was standing beside Owen, who was with Aiden and Liam. On the opposite side, to my left, was another line of men that I’d been introduced to but didn’t know well yet. They were the other members and ran in Ryder’s close inner circle. I recognized Derek, whose teeth were bright white amongst his beard as he grinned at me. Beside him was a younger man named Caleb- Rhys had told me all about him being the one who was caught alone in the alley outside Kadia with Isaac Reed and his brother. Then there were the others: Axel, Jax, and Sabian. These men had all become Rhys’ family. And soon they would be mine, too.

  They all beamed at me as I stepped up and stood in front of Ryder. Silence wrapped itself around me as I waited. The fire crackled and spit sparks into the sky.

  Rhys stepped forward when Ryder gestured at him. He had a leather jacket over his arm, and he held it out to Ryder before falling back into place beside Owen. I licked my lips and stood tall as Ryder’s eyes slid to me.

  “You have something to give to the fire?” he asked.

  It was part of the Lost Breed initiation ritual to give something to the fire that represented your old life. It had taken me a long time to find something I thought was fitting. I’d asked Rhys what he gave. I was surprised to learn he’d burned his old Red Rogue jacket. But it made sense. He’d been starting fresh.

  I nodded to Ryder and pulled my old apartment keys out of my back pocket. I knew it was a weird thing to give. And if my old landlords had known I’d kept a copy of their key, they would have been pissed. But it didn’t matter. It meant something to me, and Rhys said that was the important thing. The keys symbolized my life in Chicago. My apartment. My home. The place I lived when I fell in love with Rhys. The place I made homecooked meals for my brother and Rhys and sometimes even Owen, Aiden, and Liam on Sundays.

  I was going to create new memories here in my new place.

  Ryder gestured for me to toss the keys. I did.

  The he unfolded the jacket Rhys had handed him. It was a woman’s size. It had been cut and tailored to fit me. The black leather was rich, and the Lost Breed emblem on the back was crisp and fresh. He held it out to me, and I slid my arms through the sleeves.

  It fit me perfectly.

  Ryder put his hands on my shoulders and turned me to face the men who were all watching us. Their eyes caught the amber glow of the fire behind me. Ryder’s voice cut through the crackle of flame with power and I almost flinched. “"We ride for the lost. The left behind. The abused. The abandoned. The forgotten. We ride for each other."

  Then Ryder grabbed my hand and lifted my arm up. All the men burst into cheers and applause. I found myself smiling so hard, my cheeks hurt.

  Rhys rushed forward to gather me up in his arms. He spun me in a circle and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. When he put me down, Ryder prodded him roughly in the shoulder before announcing loud enough for everyone to hear, “Let’s drink!”

  More cheers and applause ensued.

  “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Rhys asked.

  I shook my head and tucked my hair behind my ears. “No, not so bad. Still super nerve wracking, though. Holy shit.”

  Rhys threw his head back and laughed. “Don’t be overdramatic.”

  “I am not being overdramatic!”

  “Children, children,” Owen said as he came up behind us and wrapped an arm over each of our shoulders. “Do the two of you ever just, you know, let things go? It’s a party, after all. No arguing tonight!”

  “We weren’t arguing,” we both said in unison.

  He looked from me, to Rhys, and then back at me. “You are two of the most stubborn people I’ve ever met. I’m gonna go get a beer. You want one?”

  “Sure,” I said.

  “Likewise,” Rhys agreed.

  Owen stalked off through the crowd, stopping to talk to some of the guys, and I knew it would be a while before we got those beers.

  Rhys grabbed the front of my jacket and tugged me close to him. “This jacket looks so fucking hot on you.”

  I grinned. “You think so?”

  “Hell yeah, I do. And you’re the first woman to ever wear one. It’s an honor.”

  “I know,” I said, looking down at my jacket and running my fingers down the leather.

  “How do you feel?”

  “Invincible,” I said. My tone was light, but I meant it. I really did feel like I could take on the world. Maybe that was because I finally felt like I had a family again—something I’d been yearning for since Max died.

  Rhys slid his hand inside my jacket and rested it on my waist. “Max would be proud of you, Quinn. I mean it. He’d be proud, and he’d be happy for you.”

  “For us,” I whispered, cupping his cheek with one hand.

  He kissed my palm.

  “Are you happy, Rhys?”

  He smiled at me. It was that genuine smile of his—the one that made the corners of his eyes crinkle. The one I loved so much. He nodded. “Hell yeah, I’m happy. I’ve got everything I need right here. In these two hands. And she’s part of my MC now. A guy couldn’t ask for more than that.”

  “How about a girl who could ride circles around him?”

  He chuckled. “Don’t push your luck.” He kissed me. It was soft and tender. It was the sort of kiss you wouldn’t expect a man to give you while you were both surrounded by about fifteen or so other men. But he didn’t give a damn. “Are you happy, Quinn?”

  He blurred in my vision as tears bloomed in my eyes. I nodded and wiped them away. “Yes, I am.”

  Rhys pressed his forehead to mine. “That’s all I care about, ba
by.”

  I sighed. We’d made it. We were here. Home.

  And we were together at last.

  The End

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  About the Author

  Ali Parker is a full-time contemporary and new adult romance writer with more than a hundred and twenty books behind her. She loves coffee, watching a great movie and hanging out with her hubs. By hanging out, she means making out. Hanging out is for those little creepy elves at Christmas. No tight green stockings for her.

  She’s an entrepreneur at heart and loves coming up with more ideas than any one person should be allowed to access. She lives in Texas with her hubs and three kiddos and looks forward to traveling the world in a few years. Writing under eleven pen names keeps her busy and allows her to explore all genres and types of writing.

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  The Parker’s Wicked Playground

  Rhys

  Lost Breed MC Series Book 7

  Copyright © 2018 by Ali & Weston Parker

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  The novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and plot are all either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons – living or dead – is purely coincidental.

  First Edition.

  Editor: Angela MacCallister

  Designer: Kellie Dennis, Book Covers By Design