Read Torn Online

Authors: A.F. Crowell

Tags: #contemporary romantic suspense, #betrayal lies secrets and dead bodies, #full disclosure has its price, #her safety means everything, #his deception tests her love to its core, #his life put hers in jeopardy, #pregnant and torn between two powerful men, #she must trust him to survive, #sworn to secrecy her great love must disclose the truth, #the love of her life has deceived her

Torn

BOOK: Torn
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PRAISE FOR THE
TORN
SERIES

 

“The chemistry between Brody and Lei is off the
charts.”

—L. Wilder, Author of
Combust

“A.F. Crowell writes a sassy and intriguing story of
lust, love, and heartbreak that will leave readers begging for
more!”

—USA Today
Bestselling Author
J.C. Valentine

FOREVER

For ER nurse Leila Matthews, life has never been
easy. Her father turned his back on their family and her mother
died young. Her cop brother’s near fatal gunshot wound brought
Brody Davis into her life, the handsome CEO who promised her the
world but left her pregnant with his child. Enter Jaxon
Henderson, the sexy-as-sin VP of the local MC. Friend first, he has
become the great love of her life. Tall, handsome, golden, his
passion is matched only by his possessive and protective nature.
But Jaxon has dark secrets, and his deception tests Leila’s love to
its core.

Jaxon Henderson knows three things: He loves Leila
Matthews more than anything, he’s lied to her, and he’s sworn to
secrecy about the danger and violence that gathers on the horizon.
To keep Leila safe, he must tell her all, but full disclosure has a
price, and that price may just be everything.

 

TORN

BOOK THREE IN THE TORN SERIES

A. F. Crowell

 

www.BOROUGHSPUBLISHINGGROUP.com

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places and incidents either are the product of the
author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual events, locales, business establishments or persons, living
or dead, is coincidental. Boroughs Publishing Group does not have
any control over and does not assume responsibility for author or
third-party websites, blogs or critiques or their content.

TORN
Copyright © 2015 A.F. Crowell
Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. Unless specifically noted, no
part of this publication may be reproduced, scanned, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
known or hereinafter invented, without the express written
permission of Boroughs Publishing Group. The scanning, uploading
and distribution of this book via the Internet or by any other
means without the permission of Boroughs Publishing Group is
illegal and punishable by law. Participation in the piracy of
copyrighted materials violates the author’s rights.

ISBN 978-1-944262-00-6

 

555

If you know what that means, then
this is for you.

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My husband, Mark—I love you, babe. Thank you for
supporting and encouraging me along this crazy journey. My boys
James & Chase—guys, Momma loves you. My mom—there really are no
words, 555. The rest of my family, I am blessed to have your love
and encouragement.

All of my Ride or Die girls! I love you guys. I would
not be where I am without each and every one of you! I am beyond
grateful.

My best friends Barb, Lois, Emmaly, Sara and Rosa. I
don’t even need to say anything, because y’all already know. I love
you.

There are few amazing authors who have taken me under
their gracious wings and helped me beyond words of thanks. J.C.
Valentine, Jordan Marie and Audrey Carlan, you ladies are truly a
special group. #authorlovin’

 

CONTENTS

Chapter
1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34

Epilogue

About the
Author

 

TORN

 

Chapter One

Leila

At thirty-four weeks pregnant, dancing to
the oldies was not on the menu. Neither was sitting at Brody’s
dining room table crying my heart out. Right after blasting
“Funkytown,” the DJ on WXLY said, “Now here’s a problem,” then
played “Torn Between Two Lovers
.

Like I needed to hear that
shit.

I’d spent the day contemplating how to tell
Brody – my baby’s father – what I was thinking, and where things
stood with my fiancé, Jaxon. Yeah, my MC VP and I had a lot of
outstanding issues, but it had come time to make a decision. Brody
kissing me the night before did nothing to give me clarity. I had
been doing a decent job of organizing my discussion strategy when
the damned song came on and sent me into a tailspin.

When I was not a blubbering mess, I had spent
the afternoon in the kitchen making dinner. By the time Brody came
home, I’d pulled myself together – mostly.

He stood before me, probably thinking my
hormones got the better of me - once again - when he asked, “What’s
up, Lei? We could’ve gone to dinner. You really didn’t have to
cook…but thank you.” He walked over and kissed the top of my head.
“How was your day?”

“Uh, fine, I guess.” I smiled halfheartedly,
lost in my own head.

“Well, it looks delicious.”

We ate mostly in silence as I screwed up my
courage to say what needed saying. “We need to talk, Brody.” I
looked down so I wouldn’t have to meet his eyes. The fork he was
holding made a loud clank as he dropped it to the plate.

“Yeah, we do.” He sighed. “Listen, I know
things are complicated and I’m making them worse. I wish, for your
sake, I could tell you that I was drunk last night and that I
didn’t mean to kiss you…. I guess I had hoped it would be the
beginning of us getting back together.”

Just as I opened my mouth to respond, my cell
started ringing. My BFF Barb. I hit ignore.

Brody raised an eyebrow.

“Barb.” I waved my hand in the air. “I’ll
call her back later.” Then placed the phone on the table. “So last
night—”

My phone started ringing again. I glanced
over. “Huh. Barb again.”

“Answer it. Maybe something’s wrong.”

“Hey, Barb, I’m with Brody. Can I call you in
a little—”

“Leila, honey, where are you?” She sounded
frantic.

“I’m at Brody’s. What’s wrong?” Suddenly, I
had an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“I need you to come to the ER now. Can you
get Brody to drive you?”

“What the hell’s going on?” My eyes widened
as fear tore through my chest and crept up my throat.

“I’ll explain when you get here.” Barb
stalled. “I don’t want you freaking out on the way. It’s not good
for the baby.”

“No way. What in the fuck is going on? I’m
not moving until you tell me what’s wrong. What happened?”
Full-blown panic had set in. Worst-case scenarios ran through my
head in rapid-fire succession.

Brody grabbed the phone out of my hand.
“Barb, it’s Brody. What is going on? Leila is white as a
sheet.”

I tried to grab the phone back, but he stood
and began pacing the room. Hearing nothing but watching his face
turn into a mask of stone, I felt the blood drain from my head.

“Fuck. Okay, we’re on our way.” He hung up,
stopped in front of me, crouched down on one knee, but looked down
at the hardwood floor. Finally, he lifted his eyes to mine.

“What’s wrong?” The words were half stuck in
my throat.

He clasped my hands between his. “I’ll
explain on the way. You need to grab your purse and use the
bathroom. Just please try and stay calm, okay?”

“Just tell me,” I whispered. I knew someone I
loved was dead.

He stood and walked to the doorway. “We’re
wasting time. Go to the bathroom, I’ll grab your purse and my
phone, and I’ll meet you in the garage.”

Typical Brody, he walked away, not giving me
a whole lot of choice but to do as he directed. When I met him in
the garage, he had already started the Viper and had the garage
door opened. Without a word, he helped me in the car and we took
off.

“Start talking, Brody,” I demanded. “You said
you’d explain on the way.”

Staring straight ahead, Brody finally spoke.
“What I’m about to say is going to be hard to hear, baby. You need
to stay calm and think about our daughter, okay?”

“Brody, please.” Tears pricked my eyes.

“Promise me. I need you to stay calm and be
the ER nurse right now.” He glanced over as we pulled onto the main
road.

“Okay, okay. I promise. Now what’s happened?
Is it my brother?” I gripped the side of my seat.

“No. Drew is fine…” He hesitated. “It’s
Jaxon.”

For a moment I couldn’t process what I heard.
“What? What happened? Why is he in the ER?”

“I don’t know anything more than there was an
incident with the motorcycle gang—”

“Club,” I interrupted, correcting him.

“What?” He looked from the road to me for a
split second.

“It’s a motorcycle club. Not a gang. They’re
mostly military vets, Brody, not thugs.”

“Okay. Whatever. Something went down and
Jaxon was in the middle of it. Drew is on his way to the ER. Barb
said he’d meet us there.” Brody eased onto the expressway and let
the Henny do what she did best. She rolled.

Brody dropped me off at the ER entrance and
Terri, a tech, came running out but didn’t recognize me.

“Ma’am, let me get you a wheelchair.” She ran
toward the row of wheelchairs and hollered back, “How far apart are
the contractions?”

“I’m not in labor, I don’t need a wheelchair.
Terri, it’s me, Leila.” I walked through the doors with her
following.

“Oh, hey girl. Whatcha doin’ here?”

“My fiancé was just brought in. Barb called.
Can you buzz me through?” I started toward the back. “Oh, and my,
uh, my friend will be here in a minute. Can you send him to the
waiting room? Tell him I will be out in a few minutes, once I find
out what’s going on.”

“Sure thing, honey. Barb’s in trauma three
with the patient.” Terri slid her badge on the keypad, allowing us
to slip through the secured door.

“Thanks.” I rushed to the back in search of
Jaxon.

I rounded the corner and saw the MC’s
Sergeant at Arms, Viper, standing in the hallway, his cut on full
display. He was a beast of a man, standing about six feet six
inches and built like a brick house. He looked over as I wobbled
down the hall toward him.

“Viper, what happened?”

“I don’t know, it all went to shit so fast. I
don’t know what the fuck happened.” He ran his large palm over his
face.

“How was he hurt? Nobody will tell me
anything.” I looked toward the drawn curtains. I could see a flurry
of activity under the pale blue sheet.

“What? Barb didn’t tell you?” He looked
shocked. “Babe, Remi got shot twice in the chest.”

I heard the words, but it took several long
moments for them to settle in and for me to fully understand their
meaning. They washed over me like a rip current, pulling me under.
I gasped for air, fighting to catch my breath as the shock took
hold.

BOOK: Torn
10.34Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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