Exhaustion weighed heavy on my shoulders, but I couldn’t even think of going to sleep. Not knowing Alder was out there doing something that would certainly bring hell to his front door. Not with how worried I was that things would go wrong and I’d never see him again. The Soul Suckers could have booby-trapped the woods. They could have been lying in wait. Alder had said I didn’t need to worry, but without him…
I couldn’t think of that, so instead, I lifted Alder’s heavy mug and took a sip of the coffee I’d brewed for him before he’d left with Bishop. I sipped, I worried, and I stared at the front door, willing Alder to walk through it, sitting in that silent house and waiting for some sort of news. Waiting through the torture of not knowing anything.
The first sign that I was about to learn what happened came in the form of a rumble. A truck driving on the road, moving closer, and finally turning into the driveway. Then footsteps on the porch as Finn moved in front of the door. I kept my seat, too afraid to hope that Alder had pulled up. Telling myself that it would be Bishop or Gage instead, coming to tell Finn and me that something had happened and Alder wouldn’t be coming home. Fearing it.
Seconds dragged, every sound heightened and making my head throb. Voices, more footsteps, and then nothing. Silence for several long minutes. I finally stood, still staring at that blasted slab of wood keeping me away from the outdoors. Still waiting.
But then Alder opened the door and walked inside, and the world righted itself. I had a brief moment of relaxation before I took a good, hard look at him. Relaxation gone. I’d never seen him look so…mean.
I couldn’t move, standing still even though I wanted to run to him. Fearing how he would react. He looked bigger and rougher than usual, more military than I’d ever seen him. I’d always known he’d been in the Army, and he’d definitely acted like a soldier at times, but this was different. The man before me was all business, completely focused and ready to destroy anything in his path to complete his mission. From his heavy brown boots over his jeans to the neckline of his black T-shirt, he looked every bit like a man who would sooner take your life than listen to you mouth off. And he couldn’t’ take his eyes off me.
“All done?” I finally asked when the silence grew too heavy.
He nodded, still staring. His body tense and his eyes devouring me with a fierceness that made goose bumps appear on my arms. I didn’t know whether to be aroused or scared—maybe neither. Maybe both. I fidgeted with the coffee mug, bouncing slightly on the balls of my feet but not moving. The prey to his predator, too afraid to make a mistake and end up in his jaws. Too afraid not to.
But even prey had to take a chance at some point.
“Alder,” I whispered, my entire body trembling with the warring desires of safety and lust. One said to run away, the other to run toward. I couldn’t decide which instinct to follow, so I needed him to tell me. To give me some sign of what he needed. What he wanted. I set down the mug.
Alder cocked his head, probably at the plea in my voice. Watching me. Waiting for something. An animal finally off his leash. My dragon at the gates set free and hungry for me. I whimpered at the thought, and he finally broke.
“You going to get over here and love me, honey? Or am I going to have to bend you over that counter and eat your pussy nice and slow to remind you that you’re mine?”
And just like that, my choice appeared. The only one that made sense. I was in motion before I could even think of moving. Running toward him in my bare feet, eating up the space between us, and jumping into his arms. He smelled of the forest and smoke, a harsh reminder of where he’d been and why. But when he grabbed me, when he picked me up off the floor and carried me as if I weighed nothing, I simply melted into his strong body and let him.
His, indeed. “I was so worried.”
“No need. I can handle this—my team and I can handle this.” His eyes burned with the fire of a confidence I’d never known but that he obviously had in spades. “You’ll be safe. Just stick with me, Shye, and we’ll pull through. I promise you that. We will destroy this club. No one will hurt you ever again.”
And as much as I knew they were just words, I had to believe him. Because he’d never given me any reason not to. Because he was still the biggest, strongest man I’d ever seen. And I had faith in him.
“I love you, Alder.”
“I love you too, honey. So fucking much. Now, let’s get back to talking about how I’m going to eat that sweet pussy of yours.”
My sweet-talker, my protector, my dragon at the gates. It didn’t matter what I thought of him as, so long as he was mine.
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Thank you for taking the time to read this book from Kristin Harte. Reviews are greatly appreciated! And make sure to keep an eye out for RETALIATE, the second Vigilante Justice novel.
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A Note From Kristin
As an author, sometimes a book or a character speaks to you. Alder Kennard screamed.
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This book began with a simple idea—what if all those motorcycle club guys we romance authors and readers love so much really were the bad guys? That brought about a group of men—almost all former military—working together in a little town without the benefit of things like a fire department or police. The men and women we in the cities and suburbs rely on to keep us safe. Who would you call on if you lived without those first responders and needed backup? That’s where Alder Kennard appeared. He’s the type of person I’d want to have with me, the sort of person you want to have your back.
It was a song lyric—I'm a mama's boy, I'm a fist fight from Dustin Lynch’s Small Town Boy—that brought Alder to life, though. I heard that line and immediately had Leah’s funeral scene in my head. I saw a big, burly solider of a man watching a petite, shy blond woman. The same way he’d been watching her for years. His obsession with her, the depth of his feelings and level of his restraint, became the very foundation of PAYBACK.
That was supposed to be the start of the book, but Alder wouldn’t let me drop him and Shye together like that. He wanted more, so the chapters leading up to that funeral came about, but he still wasn’t done with me. What started off as a 35,000 word novella quickly morphed into a 55,000 word novel—the story of Alder Kennard and the shy woman he’d spent three years pining for.
I hope you enjoyed Alder and Shye’s love story. I’m not done in Justice yet—not by a long shot. I’m not even done with Alder and SHye, who will feature in another novel in the series at a later date. What? Did you think I forgot about the stepbrother who needs to be taught a lesson? Not likely. Alder wouldn’t allow it.
Bishop and Anabeth are up next, and if you think three years is a long time to want someone you can’t have, just wait for RETALIATE.
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Also by Kristin Harte
Justice, Colorado
Where the vigilantes have all the legal authority.
In Justice, Colorado, the Kennards run everything, including the only big business in the area. Their sawmill employs most of the town, and the Kennard brothers live up to a long family history of keeping their neighbors and coworkers safe—until a motorcycle club comes to town and starts causing trouble. Big trouble.
The kind that ends in funerals.
The kind no law enforcement can help them with.
PAYBACK
RETALIATE
JUSTIFY
Have you met Ellis Leigh?
All the suspense of Kristin Harte but with a paranormal twist.
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Feral Breed Motorcycle Club
Wolf shifters, motorcycles, witches, and a threat lurking in the shadows.
&
nbsp; Novels
Claiming His Fate
Claiming His Need
Claiming His Witch
Claiming His Beauty
Claiming His Fire
Claiming His Desire
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Collections
Claiming Their Forever: A Collection of Shorts
The Feral Breed: Volume One
The Feral Breed: Volume Two
The Feral Breed: The Complete Series
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Feral Breed Followings
Stand-alone stories of characters first met in the Feral Breed Motorcycle Club series. Featuring cage fighters, dragon shifters, second chances, and young love.
Claiming His Chance
Claiming His Prize
Claiming Her Heart
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The Gathering Tales
Come and enjoy tales from the biggest shifter event of the year as wolves from around the country fall in lust, in love, and in fate at The Gathering.
Killian and Lyra
Gideon and Kalie
Blasius, Dante, and Moira
Homecoming
Also available in one convenient anthology in both electronic and paperback formats.
The Gathering Tales
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The Devil’s Dires
There’s no escaping a Dire Wolf on the hunt…
Savage Surrender
Savage Sanctuary
Savage Seduction
Savage Silence
Savage Sacrifice
Savage Security (Coming Spring of 2018)
Savage Salvation (Coming Fall of 2018)
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Motor City Alien Mail Order Brides
Where the men aren’t human and the women are uninformed.
Cutlass
Hudson
Maverick
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Stand-Alone Romance
Bearly Dreaming: A Southern Shifters Worlds Novella
Masterson: A Vampire Sons Story
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Free Reads…News…Good Stuff!
Don’t forget London Hale
Filthy, taboo, smart erotic romance is what you get when Ellis Leigh/Kristin Harte and Brighton Walsh team up. Are you ready for a little extra heat?
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The first three books in the Temperance Falls series feature taboo relationships and May-December romances. After all, it’s summer on the island, and these couples are out to get a little sweaty.
Daddy’s Best Friend
Amazon US * Amazon UK * Amazon CA
Amazon AU * For Other Links
The DILF
Amazon US * Amazon UK * Amazon CA
Amazon AU * For Other Links
Nanny With Benefits
Amazon US * Amazon UK * Amazon CA
Amazon AU * For Other Links
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The second trilogy in the Temperance Falls series feature taboo relationships of a different sort. On the island, the business of selling sex in all its forms is thriving, and our couples give a whole new meaning to opposites attract.
Sinner (formerly Sinful Temptation)
Amazon US * Amazon UK * Amazon CA
Amazon AU * For Other Links
Cuffed (formerly Sinful Attraction)
Amazon US * Amazon UK * Amazon CA
Amazon AU * For Other Links
Talk Dirty To Me (Sinful Distraction)
Amazon US * Amazon UK * Amazon CA
Amazon AU * For Other Links
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The brewery duet features two of our favorite businessmen on Temperance Falls. One has been waiting for the right time to make his move, the other gets blindsided by the woman of his dreams. Together, they’re brewing trouble along with their amazing craft beers.
Friends to Lovers Romance
Reunion
Amazon US * Amazon UK * Amazon CA
Amazon AU * For Other Links
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One Night Stand to More Romance
Tapping That Asset
Amazon US * Amazon UK * Amazon CA
Amazon AU * For Other Links
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Outside of our miniseries titles, we also have single-title romances based on Temperance Falls to fulfill your needs.
* * *
Teacher/Student Romance
Seducing His Student
Amazon US * Amazon UK * Amazon CA
Amazon AU * For Other Links
* * *
Stepbrother’s Baby Romance
Knocking Her Up
Amazon US * Amazon UK * Amazon CA
Amazon AU * For Other Links
* * *
Billionaire Boss Romance
Bedding The Billionaire
Amazon US * Amazon UK * Amazon CA
Amazon AU * For Other Links
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Acknowledgments
Writing can be solitary, so I will always be thankful for the crew supporting me through this job.
To Brighton, who held my hand and pushed me through one of the hardest years of my life. She’s got a great rack—you should read her books.
To Lisa Hollett with Silently Correcting Your Grammar. She’s been my editor from the start, and I don’t like publishing my words without her approval first. She called me an asshole for killing Leah—she’s probably right.
To Franci Neill, who caught those final mistakes and made sure this book was as polished as could be. She also made a couple of teasers for me—how cool is that?
To my bitches—Jen, Helen, Elizabeth, Esher, Ann, Melly, Laura, and Suz. You ladies keep me sane while making me laugh. I wish for nothing but good things for all of you. Bitches forever.
A huge thank you to my husband and daughters. They take the brunt of my stress when deadlines loom or words don’t flow, and they do it with smiles and hugs and more support than I could ever have thought possible.
About the Author
Kristin Harte started off as a chemistry major in college but somehow ended up writing romances featuring ex-military heroes and the women who knock them to their knees…literally and figuratively. She likes drinking in the shade, snuggling under a warm blanket on a cold evening, and researching how to blow things up. Her children know nothing of what she writes, and her husband just hopes he’s not at their Chicago-ish home the day the government shows up to confront Kristin about her Google search history.
When not writing good men doing bad things, Kristin can be found writing paranormal romance as Ellis Leigh or co-writing naughty novellas as London Hale.
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www.kristinharte.com
[email protected]
Payback: A Vigilante Justice Novel
Copyright © 2017 by Kristin Harte
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Paperback ISBN: 978-1-944336-47-9
EBook ISBN: 978-1-944336-48-6
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 author or publisher except for the use of brief quotations in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.
Edited by Silently Correcting Your Grammar, LLC
Cover by Jay Aheer of Simply Defined Art
For inquiries, contact [email protected]
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