by Liv Brywood
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Renegade
Liv Brywood
Contents
Description
Excerpt
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Want a Bonus Chapter?
Wondering what to read next?
About the Author
Description
When her sister is shot by a crazed gunman at a mall, Violet drops everything to return to Lost Hills, Texas. She dreads small-town life and can’t wait to get to get back to her company in San Francisco. But when she runs into Aaron, her first and only love, she tries in vain to resist the sexy cowboy’s bedroom eyes and rock hard body. One night of unbridled passion leads to disastrous consequences and she’s forced to make an impossible choice.
Cowboy bear shifter Aaron Grant doesn’t care that Violet has a life in San Francisco. He wants her back. After spending a decade pretending to be content with their long-distance friendship, he’s ready to claim his fated mate. But before he can confess his love, he must find a way to tell her the truth about the big, furry secret and risk losing her forever.
Excerpt
As Violet fed the horse another carrot, Aaron carried the basket deeper into the barn. A low rumble of thunder rattled the doors. The horse stepped back into the stall and froze.
“We might have to cut the tour short,” Aaron said when he returned. “It’s starting to get dark outside.”
“I guess we should head back.” Her shoulders slumped.
“Hey, don’t worry. We can do this another time,” Aaron said.
“I love this barn.”
“A lot of hard work went into it. I like showing it off.”
“Do you bring a lot of people here?” she asked.
She only cared about one particular type of people: women. He hadn’t mentioned a girlfriend, but maybe he was doing it to be polite.
“I’ve brought friends here in the past, but no one special.”
“No hot dates?” she joked. Her clenched belly relaxed.
“Not since you.”
He turned and strode toward the door, leaving her standing there with her jaw hanging open. Her heart flip-flopped in her chest. What did he mean? Surely he’d dated someone in the last decade.
As she followed him outside, a crack of thunder pierced the air. The scent of ozone swirled on a gust of wind. She wrapped her arms across her chest. The temperature hadn’t dropped by much, but it was enough to give her a slight chill.
“We should hurry,” he said.
She nodded. But before she could take a step, fat drops of rain splashed into her hair. The sky broke open, unleashing a torrent of rain.
“Run for the cottages,” Aaron said.
Sheet lightning flashed to illuminate growing puddles of muddy earth. By the time she reached the closest cottage, her boots were soaking wet.
Aaron quickly ushered her onto the porch. The large overhanging roof protected them from the rain. Without thinking, she backed into his arms. He wrapped them around her like he’d done it a thousand times before. She snuggled against the warmth of his rock-hard chest.
“Do you remember that time it hailed?” she asked softly.
“The day after high school graduation?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll never forget it,” he said in a thick tone.
“We hid in the barn while all hell broke loose outside.”
“Hail the size of golf balls tore up part of the roof,” he murmured. He tucked her head under his chin and squeezed her tighter.
“I think about it a lot,” she admitted.
“You do?” He turned her around, still holding her firmly against him.
“I do.”
He brushed soggy strands of hair from her face and cupped her cheeks. The rough pads of his fingertips grazed her flesh, awakening it in a way no other man could. When he brushed his thumb across her bottom lip, she shivered with desire. She tilted her head and looked into his gray-blue eyes. Fire and longing burned in his gaze. He moved toward her so slowly that it felt like a dream. And when his lips finally met hers, she melted into him.
Renegade
Copyright© 2017 Liv Brywood
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Chapter 1
A hushed silence descended over the conference room as Violet paced behind the gathered executives. As CEO of TechStart, seventy-five employees depended on the success of her company’s upcoming IPO. She couldn’t fail them now.
“What do you mean Hastings quit?” she asked. “He’s been with us since our garage days. He’s managing the IPO team. The conference call with the underwriter is next week. We don’t have time to hire a new project manager.”
“I heard he went to PanMegaCorp,” Brad said. “He’d been complaining about the stress level for weeks. I think he finally snapped.”
“Seriously?” She narrowed her eyes at her CFO before turning to the rest of the team. “If anyone else can’t handle the pressure of this IPO, there’s the door. I don’t have time to deal with people who aren’t one hundred percent committed to this company.”
She stalked to the front of the room and crossed her arms. As she studied the faces around the table, she held her breath. If anyone got up and walked out right now, she’d scream. After everything they’d been through as a company, they couldn’t afford to crack now. They were so close to achieving the American Dream.
“Okay,” she said. “Brad, please call the recruiter today and get us a new project manager. We need someone with IPO experience. I don’t care how much they cost. Get a body in here.”
“I’ll set up a group interview tomorrow,” Brad said.
“Good. Now, let’s move on to the financial reports. Claudia, what do you have for us?”
The VP of Accounting passed copies of the company’s financial statement around the table.
“We’re close to completing the risk assessment, but we ran into an issue with real-time reporting. I—”
The glass door to the conference room swung open and Violet’s assistant raced into the room. Twin pigtails of faded purple and black hair bobbed against her cheeks. The swish of her 50s-style dress continued even after she’d stopped walking.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Ivy said. “But there’s a call on line one and
I think you should take it.”
“Tell them I’ll call them back in thirty minutes when the meeting’s over,” Violet said.
“It’s your father,” Ivy said. “He says it’s an emergency.”
“Okay.” Violet turned to her staff. “Please discuss solutions for the accounting issue. I’ll be right back.”
Violet stepped into the hall. She didn’t have time for this, but her dad hardly ever called her at work. He’d never interrupted a meeting before, so the call had to be important.
When Ivy handed her a phone, she turned her back to the glass wall that separated the conference room from the lobby.
“Hi, Dad. I’m in the middle of a meeting, so please make it fast.”
“It’s your sister…something’s happened.” The strain in her father’s tone sent icy fingers walking down her spine.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“There was a shooting in Houston. They rushed Nicole to the hospital, but it’s not looking good,” he said. “You need to come home as soon as possible.”
“What?” She tried to process everything he’d said. “How? What happened?”
Ivy peeked over the reception desk with wide eyes. Violet rarely raised her voice in the office. She prided herself on maintaining a cool exterior even when she was racked with worry.
“A gunman shot up the mall. Three people were killed. Several others were injured, but they’re still alive. I wouldn’t be bothering you at work if it wasn’t urgent, but the surgeon said we should call any out-of-state family.”
“Surgeon? Dad, you’re not making any sense.”
“Your sister was shopping. He shot her. She fell down an escalator. It’s…it’s bad.” Her dad’s voice cracked.
Her mouth went dry as her stomach somersaulted. Shot? Nicole had been shot?
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” she said.
“You need to come right now.”
“She’s in surgery, right?”
“Yes, but you need to get on a plane. She might not make it.”
Violet glanced at the waiting executives. She should be running out of the front door right now, but the meeting was vital to the fate of the company. Everything she’d worked for over the last ten years would be destroyed if her execs didn’t follow every single IPO regulation to a T.
“I’m in the middle of an important meeting. I’ll leave the second it’s over. I should be able to make it out on the next plane,” she said.
“Are you serious?” her dad snapped. “Your sister is on an operating table about to die and you’re talking about work? You care more about that damn job than you do about your own family.”
“Calm down.” She didn’t have time to listen to another one of his “family comes first” tirades right now. “The meeting’s almost over. There are only a few planes to Houston out of SFO anyway. I don’t think thirty minutes will make a difference.”
“You always do this. You care more about strangers and money than you do about your own sister.”
“That is not true,” she hissed as she covered her mouth to muffle her voice. The whole office didn’t need to hear this. “I love Nicole and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
She disconnected the call without waiting for a response. Arguments with her father always descended into pointless fights about her work. Why couldn’t he understand how much her career meant to her?
“Is everything okay?” Ivy asked.
“I need to get on the next flight to Houston. I’ve got thirty minutes left in that meeting, so book it for at least two hours from now. Call the car service and get a driver. Book him for the whole afternoon. I’ll need to stop at my house and get clothes. I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone.”
“Houston? Did you hear about the shooting? It’s on every channel right now.”
Ivy pointed at the silent television on the wall in the reception area. A ribbon of breaking news streamed along the bottom of the screen.
“Turn it up,” Violet said.
The newscaster’s voice filled the room.
“A horrific scene unfolded earlier today at the Greenside Mall in Houston. A lone gunman opened fire in a busy food court during the lunch rush. Ten people were injured. Three died at the scene. Two are in critical condition and are being treated at local hospitals. We don’t have any information on the shooter, but we expect to be briefed by the chief of police within the next few minutes. We’ll stand by to bring you all the news as it unfolds.”
Images of overturned tables and shattered glass filled the screen. A cell phone video played. People covered in blood raced out of the food court while the pop-pop of gunshots pierced the air. Her legs wobbled but she steeled her spine. She didn’t have time to collapse.
“Was your family involved?” Ivy asked.
“What’s going on?” Brad poked his head out of the conference room.
“My sister was shot. We need to wrap up the meeting as quickly as possible.”
She couldn’t leave until each department finished giving their weekly report. Her sister was already in surgery, so there wasn’t anything she could do to help. A stampede of adrenaline pounded through her as she brushed past Brad and took her position at the front of the room.
“Did you come up with a solution to the accounting problem?” she asked thorough tight lips.
Brad stood in the doorway with a stunned look on his face. “If you need to leave right now, I can take over.”
“Ivy’s booking a flight. If everyone can focus for ten minutes, we can get through the rest of this meeting.”
“Why don’t we postpone for now,” Brad suggested. “We can conference you in once you get to Houston.”
“We’re on a strict deadline and we’re already behind. I want people moving today, not sitting around while I’m on an airplane,” she snapped. When she spotted Brad’s disapproving frown, she lightened her tone. “Every department has one minute to brief the room including action items. Go.”
As her team rattled off challenges and solutions, she glanced at the clock. It was almost noon. Three hours since the shooting. She should have asked her father for more details, but she’d been too shocked to think. She tried to focus on her employees but couldn’t. Brad was right. They could conference her in once she landed.
“One moment,” she interrupted. “Brad, take over. Email me a summary of the meeting. I’ll read it on the plane.”
“All right,” he said. “Let us know if you need anything.”
“Thank you.”
She turned on her heel and left the room just as a driver walked into the lobby. Ivy raced toward Violet with her coat in one hand and her briefcase in the other.
“Should I reschedule the meeting with the tax firm?” Ivy asked.
“Damn. What time was that? Three?”
“Yes.”
“Reschedule for tomorrow,” Violet said.
“What about the conference call with the ad agency?”
“It’s at nine a.m. tomorrow, right?”
“Yes,” Ivy said.
“Keep it for now. When I get to Houston I’ll let you know if I need to reschedule,” Violet said.
“Anything else?”
“No, thank you. Keep an eye on your email. As long as the Wi-Fi’s working, I’ll be able to work from the plane,” Violet said.
Brad walked out of the conference room. “If you need anything, call me. I’ll keep everything running while you’re gone.”
“Thank you.”
“We’re all here for you,” he said.
“You guys are amazing.” Violet smiled at everyone before turning to follow the driver into the elevator.
The second the doors closed, she dropped the façade. She needed to be in the office, not trapped in a tin can flying six hundred miles an hour toward the one place on earth she swore she’d never go back to: Lost Hills, Texas.
After packing an overnight bag, she sat in traffic for forty-five minutes. The driver pulled
up next to a curb at San Francisco International Airport. She hopped out of the car and ran through throngs of people. She reached the gate just as they were closing the door.
“Wait!”
She thrust her phone at the airline attendant who rolled her eyes before scanning the barcode on her e-ticket.
“Have a nice flight,” the attendant muttered.
After locating her seat, she grabbed her laptop out of her briefcase. She waited until they were in the air to open the tray table. Her computer loaded quickly, but no new emails arrived. She checked her Wi-Fi connection before pushing a button to call the flight attendant.
“Excuse me,” Violet said. “But the Wi-Fi doesn’t seem to be working.”
“Unfortunately it’s not working on this plane.”
“What? But I need it.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. We don’t guarantee availability because it’s not always available,” the flight attendant said.
With a huff, Violet snapped her laptop closed.
“Is there anything else I can get you?” the attendant asked.
“Coffee… please,” she added through gritted teeth. It wasn’t the flight attendant’s fault the Wi-Fi wasn’t working. This was the universe’s way of preparing her for small town, Podunk, Texas.
Good God, would they even have Wi-Fi there? She hadn’t stepped foot in her parents’ house in a decade. They seemed to abhor all things techie, so they might not even have wireless internet access.
She should have let the IT department turn her phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot, but she’d been rushing around for weeks. She didn’t have time to stop for anything. The entire fate of her company depended on having a successful IPO. Employees who’d been with her for years were counting on her to make good on all the promises she’d made.
