If business continues on this trend, soon I'll be able to hire additional help. Maybe one day in the far future I'll be able to buy a house somewhere in Pelican Bay. Put down roots. If I allow my mind to really wander, I picture Bennett in my future and giving Liam a little brother.If I bake enough cookies and bring people in the door.It's everything I hoped for and yet nothing I actually thought I'd get. I'm just a small town college dropout from Washington. This all seems way too good to be true. I can't help but question if some of it is fate. I help one nice guy find a place to stay for the night on his Christmas vacation with his girlfriend, which leads to an enormous tip. The money finishes off my savings and this place came on the market right as I began my search. It's perfect.Without the help of that stranger's money, it would've taken me years to get enough saved up. Pierce would've rented the place to a sandwich maker and the story would be completely different. The
"You did good things to the place. It's a little pink for me, but to each their own."I stay on the ground not moving as he continues to survey the kitchen almost like he's reminiscing. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long. At least not long enough for me to make it to the security panel and hit the panic button."I'm gonna need you to come with me," he says, his attention finally returning to me.I shake my head. "That's not a good idea."He sighs. "That's too bad, you looked nice. I thought I'd be able to do this without a lot of violence."Violence?He drops the hand from behind his back and I wish he hadn't. What is it with adults and the overuse of guns? I've seen so many the last two weeks, my reaction to another is totally out of character. Meaning I do nothing. There's no screaming, or flinching, nothing but a bunch of deep breaths."Okay." I stand up with my hands in the air.He smiles the same hole between his teeth standing out. "This is the kind of listening
At the end of the dirt track is a clearing with an obviously old and hopefully abandoned cabin. Ridge has commented about these old forgotten family hunting cabins that are scattered across the county, but this is my first experience seeing one firsthand. I'm not impressed."Time to go," Kevin says, not giving me time to object. Again, he's the one holding the gun. I guess he gets to decide when we leave and where we go.The wooden porch steps creak and moan as we walk up them. The middles bend and I worry about falling through, but Kevin runs up them directly behind me not at all worried. Inside the cabin is empty. Old dusty cobwebs have settled in all the corners, and our feet leave prints as we walk across the floor. At the end of the large open space I assume to be a living room is an open area leading to a small kitchen. To our right a set of steps leads upstairs."Sit."I don't ask any questions or argue but sit on the dirty floor. More of the deep breaths I've perfected
The sun is warm in the area on my cheek where my head rests on the pillow. It's my first clue something is not right. I haven't been able to sleep in long enough to have the sun wake me up in...too damn long.Another half a second passes and I remember it's Friday. Two days ago I survived a kidnapping. I'm allowed to sleep in today. Another stretch to fix the kink in my body so I can sleep longer, but the muscles in my back protest.The clock on Bennett's side of the bed reads 10:07.I retract my earlier statement. I haven't slept this late since high school.Another minute happens before my mind kicks in and realizes it's 10:07 in the morning and nobody has called me. That seems unlikely. Especially since I left Tabitha in charge of Katy while running my bakery. I spent all day yesterday in the bakery cooking. Everything from donuts in the morning to cupcakes, cookies and a few new items I wanted to try. Baking helped to work through the anxiety of my kidnapping. And while Rid
"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Bennett asks as his truck idles in the parking lot behind the bakery."Yes.""It's supposed to be a day off, Anessa.""Yes, but you need time with Liam." Bennett spent a lot of time the last few weeks saving me from bad guys and chasing down drug dealers. With Kevin on the run and none of Ridge's team or the local police departments able to track him down, there is still a lot of work to do. He should spend a day off with his son. "Plus I want to visually confirm that Tabitha isn't cooking.""I'll be back to pick you up in three hours," he says leaning across the cab to give me a quick kiss. "Three hours."When he deepens the kiss, it's time for me to go. Even after what we did an hour ago, kissing Bennett is never enough. Unfortunately, I have responsibilities and he has a child, so realistically we can't spend an entire day in bed having sex.I stop in my back door and turn, watching his truck in the parking lot before waving go
* Bennett *I swipe my thumb across the print scanner and, when it beeps, open the door. The heavy steel door opens with a squeak. Behind it Ridge's private office. The one he doesn't show anyone else. This is where the real action happens and where he keeps all his private files on our high profile clients."I thought you were gonna do something about that?" I ask taking a seat in front of the large desk in the middle the room. Papers and manila folders are stacked in tall piles on either side of Ridge.He looks up from whatever he'd been working on with flattened lips. "The door? I'd have time to take care of the door if I wasn't always chasing someone's girlfriend around.""Hey, Anessa was not my girlfriend when this whole thing started. And the first time it was your girlfriend." I laugh, stretching back in the metal chair. He can complain all he wants, but the truth the matter is Ridge lives for the kind of excitement we've had the last few months. We all do. "Doesn't your
VOLUME THREE: HOLIDAY RISK* Spencer *Every once in a while, life takes a crazy, random array of events and turns them into something wonderful.Other times, she takes your life, spins you around, throws you in a new direction, and then kicks you in the balls.I've obviously pissed her off. There's no other explanation for why I'd find myself in this tiny apartment on the outskirts of small town USA, Pelican Bay. With a boss whose brain has been overrun with testosterone after finding what he considers his soulmate. Or the roommate who sees it as her life mission to eat every single thing in my apartment.The smell of fried chicken permeates the second floor hallway, and increases as I walk past the Johnson's apartment door."Boss, Tabitha will cut off your nuts and serve them to you as supper if you put a camera or GPS in her car."Ridge, the owner of Pelican Bay Security and my delusional boss, laughs at my reasonable assessment. I don't know how he's survived the grow
* Joslin *LOCAL MAN BRINGS RESCUE DOG HOME TO PELICAN BAYEight men celebrating a bachelor party in Kentucky each went home with a surprise—puppies!This past October, Kenny Jacobson and his groomsmen got together at a cabin in southern Kentucky to celebrate his upcoming nuptials. On their third morning, they noticed a stray dog outside their rented cabin."She was scrawny and shaggy-looking, but a sweetheart," said Will Perkins.Swayed by her soulful eyes, the men gave her food and water. They were soon rewarded with her wagging tail.Later that evening, Lucas Hewitt heard whining in the woods. He followed the sound to where he found six hungry pups.Their beer fund quickly turned to dog food money as the men worked to clean and care for the mother and her babies. They washed, fed, and prepared beds for them in the already-crowded cabin.But the rescue didn't stop there. When the bachelor party was finished, the groom and groomsmen all took home a puppy. Seven dogs fo
ElliotFive years later"No, sweetie, we only get one puppy today." I squat getting on the same level as my daughter, Brandise.The round ball of fluff she squeezes onto with all her might so he doesn't run away licks her across the face and she giggles. "Daddy, they're twins just me and Bray. They have to stay together."My eyes flick back and forth between each dog. One held in the tight grip of Brandise and the other being sized up by my son. Their mother, Harley, a woman who took too long for me to figure she meant everything stands between the two of them with her lips pinched together not helping me in this situation. She's left me out in the cold on my own.The two puppy siblings look alike, but in my eyes every Yorkie looks the same. How can you tell them apart? The puppies my babies held both had a lighter colored face than Rocky, but other than that they were big puffballs of fur."Sweetie, Rocky only needs one brother," I try again hoping to talk sense into her.
Elliot's steps are slow but sure as I hold open the bakery door to let him get through the space. Once he's cleared the way, I stand beside him in case he needs me for support as he makes his way to the first table in the busy sitting section. You wouldn't expect a shoulder injury to cause issues walking, but with each movement his body makes, his shoulder sways with the force and his face grimaces.It's too soon for him to be up and moving, but I couldn't make him listen to reason.He finds his seat and plops in it heavily, the chair legs scraping on the tile. The people around us stop what they're doing and turn before a small round of applause starts from behind the bakery counter and then picks up including people from every space in the bakery. Elliot turns to the noise, catching everyone in their adoration, and scowls until the clapping fades."Cupcakes for everyone," Anessa says smiling from her spot at the counter. "Especially for our new hero."Elliot's scowl deepens.
Dominick releases a breath and sucks in another one as if preparing himself for this new life. "Are you positive? Because there are very eligible bachelors in my club. A brother could keep you safe."I don't argue with him that Elliot kept me safe. Well at least until he got shot, and no one can blame a man for that. He literally stuck his body in between me and a loaded weapon. How much more could he have done?Plus I could never live life in the club again. Now after experiencing life on my own. "Yeah, and then they'd cheat on me or go to prison."Dominick shakes his head. "My men aren't that way. They love hard and deep. I changed the club here, Harley. It's different from how we grew up in Colorado."There's honesty in his words, but it will never be enough to bring me back. "Elliot is mine."Dom shakes his head once, admitting defeat. "Fine. Onto topic two. I met your father," he says father accusatorily like I've been keeping something from him.Which, in a way, I hav
Without warning there's another harsh pop in the air like someone shooting off a firecracker, and then red blossoms in the middle of Pete's forehead. His body falls back hitting the ground once again. The thud is too far away to hear, but I swear my body feels the vibration.Holy fuck.My ears ring from the gunfire as men pool around us each of them yelling things back and forth. It's coordinated chaos. An ambulance with its lights flashing speeds over the highway."That man took three bullets to the chest," Huxley mutters to himself shaking his head. "I haven't seen anything that crazy since Thailand."... The steady beat of Elliot's hospital machines lulls me into a restless sleep as my head rests on Elliot's hand."Harley," a deep voice whispers in my ear, shaking my shoulder. "Har."In a start my head pops up and my eyes search Elliot's face, but his hand still rests underneath my head, a pool of my drool sticking between his fingers."Still drool, huh? I wouldn't
"Dominick won't pay anything for me," I lie.Pete laughs. "Don't want money. I'm looking to trade you for a free get-out-of-town card. If he won't offer me his protection, you'll be a going away gift to my men. They're upset with having to leave. I'm sure you understand.""What?" Fear causes me to choke out the word as a hundred images flash through my brain of what he could mean, but only one is sick and depraved enough for this man.He smirks. "They'll love you if the Impaler doesn't."I fall to my knees against the back of his seat. "No, please don't." I'd rather he shoot me now than do what his smile promises. He means I'm to be a sexual gift given to his men and passed between them. I'd never survive. Sure, Dom trained me in basic self-defense skills, but my mother sheltered me from club life so I only heard the evils of the world through others. Until now, I never once felt concern for my safety. Not the way I do now.The cargo van travels on the highway, passing a bill
"Stand up, Fucker."Elliot scoots away from me as I claw deftly on his leg trying to hold on and keep him close. He turns, not making any sudden movements and puts his body in front of mine to shield me once again from the nasties of life."Let's not do anything drastic, Pete." Elliot takes a step forward with his hand held out defensively.I twist seeing the old man wearing a pair of board shorts, a blue Hawaiian shirt with palm trees, and flip-flops on his feet standing in the middle of the beach. He resembles a tourist who belongs in Florida not a man running a drug ring in Pelican Bay. He sneers at me taking the tension from Elliot for just a moment and waving the gun in his direction as if either of us could forget it's there."She's the only one who can name me. Without her I can pick up shop and start somewhere fresh and there's nothing you can do about it. You guys don't have shit on me.""You're standing in the middle of a public beach during the day, Pete," Elliot t
He flinches as of my question has hurt him, but I'm the child who didn't have a father. "I got out early for good behavior and I looked up your mother. I learned what happened. Sorry about your loss," he says. The words are stagnant as if he knows what he's supposed to say but struggles with the meaning. Yet, something in the inflection makes me believe he means each one. His eyes turn soft, possibly remembering his time with my mother.My life has never been cupcakes and cookies, but the last month has been indescribable except for the word surreal. First, I had no father, then I picked up a club president for a stepdad, lost him, and now gained back the original. What is happening to my life?"What will happen now?"My father shakes his head and stares at me with a touch of a smile tweaking his lips. "I'm out of the club life. Plan to take the straight and narrow from here on out."I hold back the cringe at his promise. It's one I've heard from club brothers my entire life. E
Elliot shakes his head, his fingers curving around the handle of his gun. His face pinches together as if he has so much to say, but is staying silent for me.Until he doesn't anymore."Would someone mind telling me what the fuck is going on?"He's not the only one looking for answers. "Me too. Mom said you died in a motorcycle crash. Drove your bike over a mountain ledge one night." She hadn't said he'd been drinking, but I've filled in the blanks for myself as I aged.My father's teeth come together hard making a gnashing sound I hear even from my position. "Yeah well. She thought it would be better than the true story. Easier for both of you to move on rather than wait around on me living only a half-life.""Then what is the true story?" After my mom left Dominick's dad, it was the three of us together. I always believed we never hid any secrets from one another.My father shakes his head and stares at me but looks past me as if he's reliving the memories himself. "She s
My gaze and thoughts flip to the back door, but I'm too far away to reach it before he could shoot me.The man is younger than Pete and not the person I saw put a bullet in someone earlier this month, but he's old enough to be my father. His skin is leathered and wrinkled as if he's spent a lifetime in the sun. His jeans are loose and a leather jacket lacking any MC cut is wrapped around his body. Not a Bloodhound.I stand next to the kitchen island breathing heavily while trying to come up with an escape plan as the two of us stare at one another unmoving.He speaks first. "Now, Harley, is this any way to greet the old man who named you?"His words scatter in my brain, startling me into paying attention, all my plans of escape lost. "Excuse me? My father named me."It was one of the few stories I had of the man who shared such a brief relationship with my mother. "He wanted to pay homage to the best...""Damn motorcycle company the US has ever seen," he finishes my sentenc