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HERE COMES TROUBLE!
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Ellie Hunter wasn’t looking for a protector, but she definitely wanted a place to lay low and hide. Divorced from her abusive husband for over six months, Ellie goes to Trouble’s gates as a last resort after her ex pays her a "final" visit.
Allister McCall, Ryan Thomas, Derek Swinney, and Bradley Powers have known Ellie for the better part of their lives and the memory of sharing her is stamped in their minds. When Ellie arrives in small town Trouble, the men jump to all sorts of illicit assumptions.
Once Ellie reconnects with Allister, Ryan, Derek, and Bradley, Ellie’s life is seemingly complete, assuming her ex-husband will let her live in peace. With Navy SEALs training behind them, Ellie’s men are confident Ellie’s ex will finally let her go but if he refuses there will be hell to pay. One way or another, four men will ensure Ellie is protected, loved, cherished, honored, and adored.
Story Excerpt
“Markie’s story is Markie’s story,”
Draegan said, forever protective of him. He and Markie were like brothers. “The
only reason I mentioned him is because he has been known to go on shopping
trips with some of the women. Ellie, he is
trained. He can fire any weapon and put a man down quicker than I can.”
“If he’s trained, I imagine so. Tough
guys probably never suspect Markie as a threat.”
“That’s the understatement of the year,”
Derek mumbled. “He can bring me to my knees without so much as breaking one of
his manicured nails.”
Bradley chuckled. “If he takes you to
your knees, he probably wants you there for another reason.”
“I heard that.” Markie’s high pitched
voice filled the room.
“That was quick,” Allister grumbled,
never really a fan of Markie’s, but obviously willing to pull out all the stops
to keep Ellie at Trouble.
Markie and his flamboyant self sashayed into the room. His white-cotton
colored hair was stacked in soft pink curlers and he wore a short burgundy silk
robe with a bold floral print and a sash tied in the front. “I was up. Met
Harley in the hall and sent him for breakfast.” Markie’s southern drawl was
Alabamian overkill. “Oh my!” He went to the glass and cried out, “Oh boys. Just
you look at my baby girl.” He covered his mouth and muted a cry. He dropped his
hand and waved his arm. Turning to the others with marked rage in his red
cheeks, he quickly asked, “So when do we kill that despicable bastard?”
“If I could, I would,” Derek said. A
real brute of a guy, if Derek made a threat, he generally followed through.
Fortunately, Derek also played by rules, too. Unless a child was endangered,
the founding fathers did not leave Trouble to go and rectify a problem.
Generally, the exes showed up at their gates anyway.
Markie turned to Allister and frowned.
“I ought to fuck that son-of-a-bitch up with Allister’s gun.” He fluttered his
eyelashes, clearly taunting Allister. “Fuck
means beat and gun means weapon in
this case, sugar.”
“I assumed.”
“Don’t assume, sugar. In my world
assuming is nothing more than an ass shared between you and me.” Markie waggled
his brows and growled. “Now that’s a picture I could paint with all sorts of
good—”
“Markie, please.” A peace maker with
little patience, Bradley often stepped between Markie and Allister. Known for
saying off-color remarks, Markie seemingly stepped things up a notch whenever he
thought he could devil Allister.
“Where does he come up with this shit?”
Allister asked, going to the coffee pot.
“Let’s focus on you for now, Ellie,”
Draegan said in an elevated voice.
“Keep it down guys,” Bradley said. “Too
much commotion in here. I’m guessing Draegan can hear us.”
“Ellie, be honest with me,” Draegan
continued. “I know this is very difficult. Coming here couldn’t have been easy.
Yes, we know one another and I hate this is uncomfortable for you. Since I also
know Denny personally—and it’s fair to say I’ve heard about his recent
activities—what’d ya say I make this part easy for you?”
“Okay.” Ellie nervously swiped her hair
from her face and then jerked as if she’d thought of something. “I uh…I
um…didn’t know where else to park…my car that is. It’s mine. I paid for it with
my own money. Denny, he’ll, uh, see my car.”
“We’ll talk about your car in a minute.” Draegan emphasized her ownership in the
vehicle since she seemed to take genuine pride in owning something of her own.
He took a seat on the edge of the table. His hips were parallel to her coffee
mug and she quickly picked it up and took a sip.
Draegan stared at her full lips and Ryan
could only imagine what he might have been thinking then. Draegan and Allister
were brothers, so Draegan definitely knew about the group romp he’d missed.
Ryan could only hope he wasn’t
entertaining his own ideas for Ellie. She wasn’t exactly Draegan’s type. Then
again, he wasn’t exactly hiding the fact that he took a minute to body surf.
Damn cocky bastard.
Allister returned to his chair with a
Styrofoam cup in hand. “What the hell is he doing?”
“If you ask me, sugar, he’s trying to make her feel comfortable.” Markie rested
his hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “Don’t you boys go and get any foolish suspicions
now. Ellie doesn’t look the least bit interested.”
“I know Ellie a little better than you
do, Markie,” Allister said. “And if that’s not a look of interest, I haven’t
seen one.”
“Then work the brother angle, if ya know
what I mean. Tell Draegan to do a brother a favor and keep it zipped.”
“As if—” Ryan deliberately trailed his
voice and caught a scowl from Allister. Yeah, he was thinking along the same
lines.
Hell’s fires wouldn’t stop him and the
devil wouldn’t detain him. If Draegan had set his mind on Ellie then they’d
have to make a little room in the bedroom, assuming they could ever lure her
back to their beds in the first place. The only ace they were holding was a
high one indeed. By his own countless admissions, Draegan wasn’t through
playing the field.
“Here’s what I think happened. Tell me
if I’m right.” He hopped off the table and went into detective mode, not that
he had any legitimate experience, but he’d watched enough movies. Draegan had
just stepped into his swagger when he stopped in front of Ellie. Apparently
noticing another shift in her expression, he knelt in front of her.
Tears slipped from the corners of her
eyes and Draegan cupped her hands with his. “Look, Ellie. I’m not judging you.
I’m the last person on this earth who would judge anyone.”
She thinned her lips, setting them in a
tight line. “I know.” Her voice cracked and she ducked her head. Then, she
added, “It’s just—so—hard—you know?”
“Yeah, honey. I do.” He stood up and
grinned at the glass.
“Fuck him,” Allister grated out. “He’s
making a play for her.”
“Nooooo! Surely not! Are you absolutely certain we’re talking about
the same Draegan McCall?” Markie snapped his tongue and his wrist at the same
time. “And here I’m just full of disappointment now. I had my eye on Draegan.”
“If you had your sights on Draegan then
your disillusioned self deserves to be disappointed.” Harley thrust his arms
forward. “Donuts are hot. Pass ‘em around.”
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