Torque

by Shauna Allen

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  My YA alter-ego

  On a serious note, as I said, I fell in love with Jesse and Rachel as I wrote their story. When I started out, I had no idea how dark and wounded Jesse really was. I’ve never shied away from writing about the “tough stuff,” but I hope I do it with honesty, integrity, and sensitivity. Abuse has touched my family in a very big way, so I have an idea of the pain. Please know, if you or anyone you love, has ever been abused in any way, you are not alone and you are not at fault. I encourage you to seek help from someone you trust, a counselor, your local church, and/or one of these organizations:

  RAINN

  Darkness to Light

  Stop It Now!

  Love and Blessings,

  ~Shauna

  So many people to thank, so little time. Forgive me if I forget anyone…

  Thank you, Lord, for it all. I am truly, truly blessed.

  As always, huge love to my hubby and kids. Your quiet support and love mean the world to me. (As does your knowledge of cars and guy stuff, babe!)

  To my wonder assistant, Kimberly Dawn, I’m not sure what I’d do without you. A simple dedication just doesn’t seem enough. Love ya!

  Thank you to my besties and support system, Susan Muller, Jan Nash, Jenn Uthoff, Selena Laurence, Sharla Lovelace, and Jamie Farrell. It’s something special when you have people who understand you and love you just as much when you’re up as when you’re down. Thank you for all you do. Always.

  Big love to my awesome street team, Shauna’s Angels, and fellow mancandy lovers at Divas, Ink. I’m constantly humbled by your love.

  T-H-A-N-K-Y-O-U to my beta readers: Sarah S., Donna F., Kenderly W., Megan W., Melanie H., and Kelly O. Your feedback and excitement made the torture, I mean work, of editing, so much more fun. Happy to make you swoon.

  A special thank you to Belinda “Leta” Joyner for allowing me to use her family name. I hope Jesse and his family make you proud.

  And to every reader, reviewer, blogger and friend who has accompanied me on this journey, your help is invaluable and more than appreciated. It’s been a rough year and I thank each and every one of you for your love, support, and prayers.

  I know you’re proud, Mommy, and I know you’re watching me from above. Miss you like crazy.

  Throttle: Book III of Jack ‘Em Up…

  Trace

  Being a single father is not for the faint of heart.

  “No!” my seven-year-old, Ryder, screeched high enough to break glass as I tried to wrangle him into bed. “I’m not tired!”

  Taking a deep breath, I tried to summon my waning patience. It. Was. Hard. “Come on, Ry. It’s been a long day. Plus, Aunt Rachel is here and I need you to be a big boy for her.”

  I’d tried the bedtime snack thing, the bedtime story, heck, even the bedtime tickle. They’d all bombed miserably. Apparently, my little guy was channeling the obstinance I knew he’d inherited from me and unleashing it at the most inopportune time.

  “Buddy—”

  “Ryder,” came Rachel’s soft voice behind me, “why don’t we go in the living room and watch that show you were telling me about?” Her deep eyes flickered to mine, silently asking permission.

  At that point, I was ready to hand over the reins and let someone else deal with him. I loved my kid, would gladly die or kill for him, but tonight I’d reached my limit. I stepped back and let him scramble out of bed and rush to Rachel’s open arms.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, I smiled. “Great. Have a good time, you two.”

  She winked and sauntered off with my son in her arms. I followed a moment later to find them already cuddled up on the couch. I froze and studied them, swallowing the usual bitterness that threatened to consume me when I thought of all that Kristi had denied our child when she decided to run off for greener pastures. Well, her next high, but what the fuck ever. Why she couldn’t clean up her act for her own son was beyond me, but I was just glad I’d been there to pick up the pieces. The fact that I knew about him at all was a small miracle, since she didn’t bother to contact me until she was in labor.

  Yeah. Surprise.

  I guess pain and panic make some people do crazy stuff like let the father of their baby in on the secret.

  Well, what was done was done. No sense crying about it now. Kristi was just a faint one-night-stand memory and long gone, and Ryder was mine. The way it should be.

  I leaned over and brushed a kiss to his head, ruffling his dark brown hair, so much like mine. “Love you, buddy. Have fun and be good for Aunt Rachel.”

  He mumbled something, his attention riveted on the television.

  Rachel grinned up at me. “Have a good time, but don’t let my fiancé have too much fun. He has to meet me at the altar tomorrow.”

  I winked. “I’ll see what I can do. A man only has one bachelor party, you know.” At the drop of her jaw, I relented. “Of course I’ll watch out for him. He loves you too much to screw this up anyway.” I grabbed my keys and faced her. “Thanks for watching Ry so I can go. I really appreciate it.”

  “Absolutely. You have to be there. Jesse wouldn’t have it any other way. I already had my fun with the girls last weekend, so it’s my man’s turn. Plus, who can complain about spending a quiet night alone with their second favorite man?” She waved a hand to shoo me. “Now, go, get outta here. We have junk food to eat.”

  I wasted no time. Offering a small wave, I ducked out and locked the door behind me, breathing in the tang of the late summer air. Sliding into my ’55 Chevy, I took a moment to relish the silence and the fun evening ahead of me. I rubbed my hands together then took off for the Funky Monkey.

  Parking next to Micah’s black Jeep, I pocketed my keys and bounded for the door. There was a lot of fun to be had and not a lot of time to squeeze it in.

  The loud music, bustle of people, and scent of beer greeted me as I pushed inside. Scouring the bar, I immediately spotted my friends at a table near the back. I made my way through the maze of people and snuck up behind the man of the hour, my buddy, Jesse Joyner.

  “Happy Ball ‘n Chain Day, man!” I smacked him on the back as he rounded on me, pure joy on his goofy ass face.

  “Thanks, dude!” He stood and moved over so I could squeeze a chair in. “My lady doing all right at your place?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes. She’s watching one of Ryder’s shows and tanking him up on junk food.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  Reaching for the pitcher of beer, I poured a glass and took a long pull. Tonight was about my friend and his wedding. And getting some free time out of the house. Couldn’t forget that.

  Blake leaned over and began talking shop with Jesse as our other buddy, Micah, made his way back from the pool tables, a crisp new twenty dollar bill pinched between his fingers, a grin on his face. He slid into the chair next to mine. “Next round is on me,” he said triumphantly.

  Pool shark.

  We laughed and drank and shot the shit as a few more of Jesse’s friends and family members trickled in. I’d given him lots of shit for refusing the whole stripper thing, but I kinda got it when his dad and older brother, Dwayne, showed up. After spending five years behind bars and two on parole, he was more interested in family time than a good time, and I couldn’t begrudge him that.

  Pitchers of Budweiser flowed freely and we were getting a little loud and rowdy, but it was all in good fun. Jesse’s free laughter and infectious grin made it all worth it.

  “Care to dance?”

  I glanced up at the sultry voice to my right, letting my eyes focus on the dark-haired girl with huge, surgically-enhanced assets. “Uh . . .” I moved to stand, figuring why the hell not, but then I froze as my world came to a screeching halt.

  It was her.

  The girl I’d been dreaming of for freakin’ months.

  My chair skidded behind me as I uncoiled to my full height. I gave the barfly in front of me one mor
e cursory glance. “Maybe next time.”

  Her mouth sagged open in shock as I made my way across the bar, my eyes glued to my prey. She’d disappeared without a trace several months ago and I’d been kicking myself ever since that I’d never made a move. The girl had a way of tying my tongue, that was for sure.

  The crowd parted as if by divine intervention and my eyes ate her up from head to toe. Plenty of long leg, encased in cowboy boots, showed beneath a short pink sundress that did amazing things for her breasts. Her normally short hair had grown out to her shoulders and I found myself a little disappointed that she didn’t have her normal bold streaks of color highlighting her honey blond. But she was stunning either way.

  I was within feet of her, my heart beating a wild tattoo, when her gray eyes, the same color as the stormy ocean, found mine. Recognition flared to life between us.

  Then she glanced away with a smile for the dorky guy on her left, taking his hand as they headed out to the dance floor.

  No. Way.

  I’d screwed up and lost her to a Waldo wannabe? Frowning, I stood on the periphery of the floor and studied them. She seemed . . . comfortable . . . with him. Nothing more.

  He seemed a little bit more into her though, his eyes hooded as he stared down at her, his hand sliding down her back, getting dangerously close to her ass.

  For a split second, I wrestled with what to do. But the caveman in me won out and I stalked toward them, pissing off a few couples that had to shuffle around me.

  I tapped Waldo on the shoulder. “Can I cut in?”

  Her big, surprised eyes flew to me as he let her loose to gape. “Uh . . .”

  “Great. Thanks.” I grabbed her from his hold and spun away.

  Good God, she fit into me like we’d been carved from the same mold, her sweet curves heavenly to hold. I breathed in a deep breath of her scent. Liquid gold was the only way to describe it. Sexy and dark, alluring as hell.

  “Um, excuse me,” she murmured, stopping us mid-turn.

  I met her pissed off eyes. Uh oh. “Hi,” I said, offering my most charming smile.

  She wasn’t buying it. “Are you always that rude? I was dancing with someone else.”

  “But you didn’t look very happy doing it.” My gaze flicked to the little diamond stud in her nose, down to her succulent lips, then back up. “I thought I’d save you.”

  “Save me?” Her brows thundered down. “Did I look like I needed saving?”

  Fuck. I was screwing this up. What to do. I debated between laying on the charm and just telling her the truth. Something in her eyes told me I’d better go with truth.

  Read other books by Shauna Allen

  Copyright © 2015 by Shauna Allen

  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.

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  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Books by Shauna Allen

  About TORQUE

  Dedication

  Prologue

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-one

  Twenty-two

  Twenty-three

  Twenty-four

  Twenty-five

  Twenty-six

  Twenty-seven

  Twenty-eight

  Twenty-nine

  Thirty

  Thirty-one

  Thirty-two

  Thirty-three

  Thirty-four

  Thirty-five

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader,

  Acknowledgments

  Coming Soon: Throttle

  Copyright Notice