Broken Beauty - Stella Andrews Page 0,1

now. I am almost tempted to sag against him and cling on for grim death because I need that more than life itself at the moment but instead, I stare at him with a hard expression and say, “Since a month ago. I work for Ryder and Ashton; I help out with the kids.”

At the mention of the man who rules this place with an iron fist should make him drop me like a hot coal, instead he leans even closer and growls, “Why should I believe you?”

“Because it’s the truth. Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to finish my run and grab a shower because I’m expected in just thirty minutes to help Ashton out with the kids.”

He steps back and takes a long, lingering look, causing the blood to rush to every part of me that has a nerve ending. His hand holds me in position as he takes his time and I snap, “What’s the matter, haven’t you seen a woman before?”

He smirks and I watch with interest as his eyes flash and I hold my breath. As moments go, this is the most interesting one of my life because I have never been treated like this before. The most interesting thing of all is that I am loving every minute of it and so, it’s with the icy bucket of disappointment that he releases me and says gruffly, “Then you won’t mind if I accompany you back. Call it your own personal protection.”

As he steps away, I long to pull him back and use him as a safety shield. Suddenly, the space between us is suffocating me because it proves that once again, I’m on my own. He doesn’t need to know that, so I shrug and start walking. “Suit yourself.”

I start to jog and try to focus on anything but him. He settles in behind me and the only sound we can hear is of the twigs cracking under our feet as we head for home.

The Rubicon.

Home of the Twisted Reaper MC.

A band of bikers who clean up the government’s pile of trash. Paid assassins who hide behind leather and steel and keep the world at arm’s length. Men that fight wars every day of the week as they struggle to keep the filth from the streets of America. I owe them my life because these men saved me from a certain painful death when they rescued me from the building where I was held captive and facing a painful end.

They brought me here to return home with my brother, but that was never an option. Nobody knows what I went through during the darkest days of my life and the secret I learned. The only solution was to hide and hope it goes away because the reality is not worth thinking about. I walked away from my family to hide in a place where tortured souls go to heal and up until now, I have kept away from everyone but the kids and the women. I’m not interested in the men; they scare the hell out of me and he is no exception.

We don’t speak all the way back. I try to empty my mind and forget he’s here because I need to pretend this is normal. I must build a new life for myself and this is the beginning of that process. There is no room for passengers on my journey, so my years of practice count as I slowly retreat into a shell I never really come out of.

2

Maverick

I’ve obviously been away too long. As I stare with a hunger at the sweet ass clad in lycra bouncing before my eyes, I make a fist. Fuck me, this woman’s impressive. It’s unusual finding anyone at this time of the day, let alone running through the forest that surrounds the compound. It’s why I thought she must be lost, but those green eyes that stared into mine had no fear in them, just a cold, dismissive superiority that instantly got my back up. It’s why I behaved like a prick and held her against that tree. The beast inside me roared as she dared look at me with contempt. An ice queen, a frozen fucking princess that I am so done with right now. Hell, for the past five weeks I’ve been guarding one on the instructions of her fuck-head politician of a father.

The past few weeks have severely tested my patience as she did just about everything to stop me