Beautiful and right then, terrified out of her goddamned mind. Not hard to figure out why.
Ripper, a.k.a. Dickhead, was shirtless, smirking, and standing too close—so close if he bent over, he could reach her lips.
Trig hated it. His muscles tensed and throbbed in protest, the bitter taste of envy in his mouth. In that heated moment, all he wanted to do—tear Ripper to fucking shreds so he’d never have to see that terrified look on her face. He didn’t have time to wonder why, too consumed by the anger burning, too focused on not taking that anger out on his brother—Ripper, a dick, but his brother nonetheless.
She was that beautiful and classy, and he’d stake his life she was sweet as hell too, the perfect combo.
Her eyes, deadlocked on Army, softened and welled, and that deep burn inside him became a throbbing ache radiating out of his heart.
“Step the fuck away from her,” Army growled, and then scanned the room, meeting his eyes for a split second before he moved on and warned, “Off fuckin’ limits.”
His chest tightened. He held his breath, hoping the ache would subside. Fuck. Army’s girl? How the hell was it possible? The man fucked everything in sight.
Ripper crossed his arms over his chest, but didn’t step away from her. “Know the rules, Army. No one’s off limits unless it’s an old lady.”
The sudden urge to claim her as his own rose, but Army beat him to it. “Family’s off limits, fucker.”
Family? His heart hurt then. It hurt more than it had when his dad left, when his mom told him he was worthless, and when he’d left his sister behind to make something of himself.
Ripper took a menacing step in Army’s direction. “Immediate family.”
The air thick with tension. Army pissed, in the midst of one of his tempers, and Ripper fishing for a fight. Fists would fly. It would happen eventually, so Trig was trying to figure out how to whisk her away before all hell broke loose.
His gaze gravitated to her.
Jesus. How could anyone be that beautiful?
Army closed the distance between him and Ripper. “Yeah, fucker, she’s my sister. Now. Step. The. Fuck. Away.”
Shit. His sister. She looked familiar. Army had a picture of them in his room. In the picture, though, she was turned to Army, laughing. You could only see her profile. She being Army’s sister just amplified how fucked he was. If he didn’t stand a chance before because she was too beautiful, too classy, and too fucking perfect, no way in hell he’d ever have a chance now. His brother’s sister, she’d know what a piece of shit he was. No doubt Army would warn her, and she’d run in the other direction.
Prez pushed his way through the brothers. “Stand down.”
Maybe this shit wouldn’t come to blows.
The tension in his shoulders lessened. He forced himself to tear his gaze away from her and reassess the situation.
Yeah, he’d been wrong.
Army was fisting his palms, and he only did this when he was close to striking. Ripper still hadn’t wiped the smirk off his face.
“What’s goin’ on?”
“Family’s off limits,” Army snarled.
Prez’s gaze sliced to her. She cowered away. Prez then said what he’d hoped. “Family’s off limits.”
Ripper looked at her. His gaze traveled up and down her body, making his stomach knot, and then Ripper smiled. “Remember what I said.”
What had the bastard told her? He’d kill him. He clenched his jaw, taking a deep breath, and attempting to control his anger. It didn’t help. He took a step in Ripper’s direction.
“Off fucking limits, fucker,” Army barked.
Ripper smirked. “She wants to ride. She rides with me.”
That’s when all hell broke loose.
****
He held her tightly, one arm around her waist, the other cupping her cheek, pressing her against his chest, holding her captive, his deep masculine scent filling her. He was warm and strong, and it made her feel safe. That felt great after the dreadful week she had.
She didn’t know what he looked like. Her gaze had been glued to Tyler when the fight broke out. All she knew about this man—he was tall and big, smelled great, and he wore a white tank and leather vest.
“W-what?” she stammered. “Let me go!” She put her hands in between them and pushed with all her might.
He released her immediately. Her feet hit the ground moments before she put distance between them. She tilted her head back to stare into the eyes of the man who’d carried her out the door. It took a while because he was tall, as tall as her brother.
One look and a deep, startling feeling settled in her gut. That feeling knotting her stomach got worse each second. And she didn’t know what it meant.
Whoever he was, he was hot, so hot he could’ve made a career out of it. He had dark eyes and dark brown hair the same shade as hers. Every feature on his face was chiseled as if carved from stone: a strong brow, a square jaw, and thick, sinful lips. The scar marring the side of his lip, the bulging muscles lining his shoulders, arms, and chest were well defined too, and she knew this with certainty. Not a minute before, her face had been plastered against his chest.
He crossed his arms and barked, “Stay here.”
God, his voice was hot, even laced with anger. The low rumble touched her in places she refused to put much thought into.
She was tired of being treated like crap by these men, but she didn’t want to fight Hot, Angry, Badass Biker. Not like she could fight any of them, anyway. At five-foot-six with a small frame, she weighed no more than a hundred and twenty pounds. Exhausted, moody, and now scared Dead Eyes hurt her brother, she didn’t have the strength to fight anyone.
“But Ty—”
He clenched his perfectly squared jaw. “He’s fine. It’s over.”
“W-what?”
He didn’t respond, instead he grabbed the duffel bag off her shoulder and set it on the ground.
At least this one was sort of nice. He kept his gaze on her face, and he relieved her of the little she brought. She looked away and sighed heavily. Her eyes watered. She met his gaze, curious to see if he noticed. Her luck, he had.
His expression hardened, a muscle in his jaw twitched. “Army’s fine. He can take care of himself.”
Army? What the…
He must’ve seen her confusion. The next second, he said, “Your brother. He’s fine.”
The door to the office slammed open. She angled her body to peek from behind him and saw her brother. His lip torn and bleeding, he gave her his million-dollar smile. She ran toward him, slamming into him, and wrapped her arms around his waist. He chuckled, placing his arms around her shoulders, and squeezed her tight.
She sighed. For the first time that day, a relieved sigh. She found her brother. She wasn’t alone in the world.
He cupped her cheeks and pulled away to look at her. “Missed your brother, eh?”
With tears brimming in her eyes, she nodded.
He kissed her forehead. “None of that. I’ve survived worse.”
Yes. He’d served in the military: two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, but she always worried about him and always would.
His gaze darted behind her. “Thanks for getting her outta there, bro. I owe you.”
“Naw, you don’t.”
She turned hesitantly, and Hot, Angry, Badass Biker’s gaze met hers for a brief moment. He picked up her duffel bag and handed it to her brother.
Feeling the heat of her brother’s gaze, she directed her attention to him. “Allie, this is Jace. Served together on our last tour.” Tyler then introduced her. “Jace, this is Allie, my baby sister.”
She glared at her brother, playfully. “Haven’t been a baby for twenty-four years, Ty.”
He laughed. God, how she’d missed him. She especially missed seeing him laugh. For so long, even before he enlisted, he hadn’t laughed. Even though they spoke on the phone and he often laughed, seeing and hearing were two different things.
Addressing Jace, he said, “How’d I know that was coming?” He chuckled, then faced her. “So you’ve come to visit me, finally.”
God, she should’ve called, should’ve given him a heads-up. She just couldn’t. “Um…well…” She hesitated, looking away from him. Those damned tears she held back clouded her vision.
Tyler’s face hardened. An angry look completely erased his earlier amusement.
“It’s…” She spared a glance at Jace. Her cheeks flushed, hating she couldn’t control her emotions. Her gaze darted back to her brother then she blurted, “I left.”
Her brother’s eyes widened. “You left? For good?”
She nodded. “I know I should’ve called to let you know, and I know you have your own life. I don’t mean to intrude. I know this is an inconvenience for you—”
His eyes narrowed. “Allie.” His voice firm. “Have you fuckin’ lost your mind?”
Fuck. Silent, but warranted. She never thought staying with her brother would be permanent, but she hoped to crash with him while she looked for a job and found a place of her own. She could’ve gone anywhere, but she wanted to be close to him, the only family she had left.
“Allie?”
Her gaze darted back to him. “It’s okay.” She reached for her bag. “I can go—”
He grabbed her wrist firmly, preventing her from getting her duffle. “Allie, you aren’t going anywhere. Why you think this is inconvenient for me, I have no fuckin’ clue. Remember, anytime, anyplace?”
She remembered. She’d never forget the words he ended each letter and call with.
“You’re my fuckin’ sister. When have I not been here for you?”
He didn’t wait for her to answer. “Never. I’ve always been here for you despite Dad’s fuckin’ threats.”
Dad’s threats? She meant to ask, but he looked beyond pissed and continued to ramble, so she let him.
He stuck his finger in her face. “You’re fuckin’ staying with me, Allie.”
Chapter Three
His fingers on her wrist tightening, Tyler hauled her through the garage doors and into a long, narrow hallway.
The garage was much bigger than she’d thought. It went for what seemed like a mile and led into a large living room with several haphazard couches, where several men were seated, drinking beers, and watching a game on a big screen TV. Tyler didn’t stop and introduce her. He didn’t even look their way. He continued dragging her into another long hallway lined with doors and up a flight of stairs. At the top, he made a right into another hallway. Opening the last door at the end, he allowed her in first.
It had to be Ty’s room. Everything in its place. In the middle, the made, cherry wood, king-size bed with a navy-blue comforter. To its left, a dresser topped with several colognes and a picture frame. In the frame, a picture of Ty and her. He had his arm around her shoulder, staring into the camera with a big smile on his face. She was smiling too, but her face was turned to him. To the right of the bed, a closet, an armoire, and a door that probably led to a bathroom.
Ty unceremoniously dropped her duffel on the floor, the sound resonating around them. She faced him, then, and finally, let herself cry. The next instant, her head lay against his chest, and his arms wrapped around her.
He ran his hand up and down her back in a soothing motion. “Shh…It’s okay, Allie. Your big bro is gonna fix this.”
She pulled away to look at him and shook her head. “I don’t want you to fix anything, Ty. I want to start over. I have money saved. I could’ve gone anywhere, but I wanted to be near you.”
He sucked in a breath, trying to stay calm.
Tyler and their dad didn’t get along. In fact, they hadn’t spoken since her father disowned him eleven years ago. Even before, Tyler and their father hadn’t gotten along. She had no idea why. Neither one of them ever told her. When he’d turned eighteen, he joined the Army. Her father disapproved. He wanted Tyler to follow in his footsteps and become CEO of his real estate company, Holden Holdings, LLC.
She’d been fourteen at the time and kept in the dark about much of it. What she did know, she’d learned from hearing her parents fight after they thought she’d gone to bed. Much of that fighting was her father forbidding her mother from contacting Ty. She didn’t know if her mother followed through.
Ty never mentioned if he still spoke to their mother, but their mother gave her the letters Tyler sent her. She always wrote back and gave her mom letters to send off. She knew he received them because every letter he wrote he told her so. This went on for two years. She never learned why her mom continued to disobey her dad, but she didn’t care. She had Ty.
Two years later, she saw Tyler again. On leave at the time, he surprised her by showing up at her school. With their mom covering for her, they’d spent the entire week together until he had to go. Before he left, he bought her a prepaid cell. After, they communicated when he wrote and when he called.
She graduated from high school a year and a half later. Their mom had just died, and their dad had been stuck in a meeting at work and unable to attend, but Ty had gone to her graduation. They continued to call and write throughout her college years and after, when her dad hired her right out of college. By then, Ty had been out of the military for a year.
Allie still had that prepaid cell and all his letters. They were the first two things she’d packed when she decided to leave.
“Tell me what happened.”
She wiped her face and took a deep breath. “I hate my job,” she blurted for some insane reason. True. Her dad had practically forced her into the accounting profession, but it wasn’t the point. “You know Wyatt?”
He nodded. She’d told him about Wyatt and talked about him often though they’d never met.
“He’s a lawyer, handsome, well-off, and from a prominent family. We’ve been dating for a long time, and well…he proposed, and I said yes because I loved him …” She paused, gathering the strength to admit what she had to. “What you don’t know is that he’s a cheater, too.”
Tyler’s eyes narrowed. “He cheated?”
She nodded.
The muscle in his jaw jumped. “On you?”
She nodded.
“Fuckin’ bastard.”
“About two months ago, I caught him cheating, confronted him, and broke off our engagement. I didn’t tell you. I was…” She shrugged. “Devastated, and he kept sending me flowers and saying how sorry he was. I gave him another chance. I…” She looked away from him, and then met his stare again. “I know this sounds crazy, but I didn’t trust him after what he did, so I hired a PI and caught him cheating again. I sent him the pictures and broke it off.”