Authors: Helen Grey
Tags: #hot guys, #dangerous past, #forbidden love, #sexy secrets, #bad boy, #steamy sex, #biker romance
Rising Heat
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ONTENTS
FREE BONUS NOVEL - “H
ARD
I
MPACT
”
FREE BONUS NOVEL - “M
Y
H
EART'S
D
ESIRE
- T
HE
C
OMPLETE
S
ERIES
”
Shame and regret hold enigmatic Ash Bascom to his past, a past he can’t stop running from. He thought he’d found solace with some biker friends. He was wrong. He found something very different, very dangerous instead.
Kathy Mason just wants to live her life, finish school and do the work that she loves caring for the animals at the local pet shop. She’s alone, but that’s the way she likes it. Because alone, she can’t be hurt.
She thinks he’s hot, charismatic but full of dangerous secrets. He just can’t get her out of his head. When their lives collide, they’re soon caught up in a web of uncertainty that neither can escape. For the Outlaw Biker Boys, it’s not called blood ties for nothing. Can Ash cut the bonds to save Kathy? Because she’s counting on him to save them both.
FOR A LIMITED TIME: “HARD IMPACT” and “MY HEART'S DESIRE - THE COMPLETE SERIES” are also included in this book as a FREE BONUS!
HAPTER
1
Kathy
“L
ove me! Love me! Love me!”
“Oh, I do love you, Charlie,” I said with a laugh, sticking a cracker into the beautiful boy’s cage. The Yellow-fronted Amazon looked at me in total adoration before hopping closer and taking the treat from my fingers. “See you tomorrow, pretty boy.” The parrot preened, uncannily human in his reaction, making me laugh again.
As I passed the puppies, I had to harden my heart to their yipping pleas for one more cuddle as I turned off their lights for the night. I tossed them all a little treat too, treats I paid for out of my own pocket because my disgusting ass of a manager refused to provide one single morsel of food or fun outside their “minimal care plan.” The bastard.
The kittens were next and they all got treats too. So did the pair of ferrets who stopped running in their tubes just long enough to indulge. I walked past the snakes, wrinkling my nose at the slithering reptiles. No treats for them. No way was I sticking my hand in their cage. Not very pre-veterinary school of me, I knew, but I hated them. Spiders and bugs too.
When I finally received my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and opened my own clinic in a few years, there would be a strict “fur only” policy. If I suffered through eight years of school, I didn’t think it was asking too much to only care for the animals that didn’t make me want to run screaming from the room.
“Kathy, you sure you don’t want us to stay?” Frank called out, but his hand was already on the front door, the little bell over it already ringing. Emily was right behind him, shoving him a little.
I rolled my eyes, wondering what they would do if I asked them to stay, maybe scrub a fish tank or two. “Go ahead and have fun tonight,” I said instead. “See you Mon—” They were already out the door. “Day,” I finished, grumbling, and watched them run out to the parking lot.
My heart squeezed just a little when Emily flew into her boyfriend’s arms, kissing him passionately, not caring that there were people still around. Frank jumped into a car with a bunch of his friends. They were heading to a concert. Me? I’d be spending my Friday night on my ratty sofa eating whatever frozen dinner was in my fridge. I’d love to stop and pick up a pizza, but I had to save my last few dollars to buy gas. I didn’t get paid again until next Friday, and this week’s paycheck was already spent, rent devouring most of it.
I turned away from the window, from the evidence that everyone in Denver had a more exciting life than me. I was only a couple years older than those two, twenty-three for goodness sakes. But going to school full time and working two-part time jobs made me feel older, as if the stress of making a living and keeping my head above water had added twenty years to my life.
Heading back to the checkout counter, I grabbed the cash box to take to the safe. Oh what I could do with the hundreds of dollars in this box, but I’d never take it, couldn’t deal with the guilt. Because I, Kathy Mason, was nothing if not a good girl.
Thinking about money made my heart skip a little in my chest. I didn’t know what to do. I would make rent this month, but would be short on utilities. Of course, I could completely skip going to the grocery store, live on ramen noodles and water for the week. I sighed. Been there, done that. I could do it again.
Maybe I should call Mom and Dad, ask for a little loan. No. I stomped on that thought as soon as it crept into my brain. Although I loved them very much, I couldn’t deal with them right now. Mom would cry and beg me to come home. Dad, if he was sober, would only rant. No, I wouldn’t, couldn’t call them. Because right now, I might actually pack up what little I owned and drive straight back to San Diego. And if I did that, I’d be sucked back into their lives, their drama, their
need
for me. I might never escape it again.
Six months ago, I did the only reckless thing I’d ever done in my life. I purchased a map of the United States and spread it out on the floor of my bedroom. I sat down cross legged in front of it, closed my eyes, then passed the palm of my hand over it, around and around several times. When I was ready, I extended my index finger and simply used it like a dart, dropping it to a point on the map. When I open my eyes, my finger was pointed at Denver.
And tada. Here I was. On the verge of starving to death.
Shoving the box of cash into the safe, I turned off the lights of the office and glanced at my watch. Five till six. Five minutes until I could officially close up Jolly Pets. But seriously, what did five minutes matter? We hadn’t had a customer in well over an hour.
Making my first executive decision as newly promoted assistant manager, I went to the front of the store and turned the sign to “closed,” shoving the niggling bit of guilt away. Patting my pockets to make sure I had my keys and phone, I reached for the door knob and…
Briiing.
Drat!
Checked my watch again, four minutes until six. I wavered a moment, wondering if I should answer, then decided that if it was my manager and no one picked up the call, I’d be in big trouble and that extra dollar an hour I’d received with my promotion would be gone. Because he would fire me. With glee.
Sighing heavily, I ran for the phone. “Jolly Pets, how can I help you take care of your best friend today?” The corny slogan rolled off my tongue with ease.
“By helping me fucking find her,” an angry voice shouted.
“Excuse me?” I asked, startled. How rude! I did my best to keep my voice calm in return.
“Your store sold me a faulty tank! The piece of shit’s broken and my snake got out. What the hell do you mean, selling me a shitty tank?”
“Sir,” I stammered, alarmed by the vehemence in his voice. “I’m not sure — can you tell me when you purchased it?”
“Day before yesterday. Morning,” he growled. “I still have my receipt. Now my snake’s gotten out, the side of the tank is in pieces, and there’s no way in hell I’m going to try and get it back to your store on my motorcycle.”
I hadn’t been here the day before yesterday, having been scheduled to work my other job that morning. “Sir, if you can take a picture of it and come by tomorrow, I’m sure you won’t have any trouble getting a refund—”
“What the hell am I supposed to do about my snake in the meantime?”
“Sir, we’re just about ready to close—”
“Let me talk to the manager!”
“I’m the assistant manager,” I said, trying to sound firm. “If you would just calm down, sir—”
“Don’t tell me to calm down!” he snapped. “I paid good money for the snake
and
the tank. I expect your store to replace it. Now.”
“It’s closing time, sir—”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what time it is. I need this taken care of
now,
not tomorrow, but now. Do you understand me?”
I’d taken care of difficult customers before, but this guy took the cake. I tried again. “Sir, I’d be more than happy to refund your money or provide you with a replacement tank, but—”
