Summer Storm (Satan's Fury MC, #0.5)
L. Wilder
Maverick
There are things that happen in our lives that mark us forever. That change us in ways that we don’t even understand. One chance meeting and fate casts her irrevocable spell. They say what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, and that God doesn’t give you more than you can handle. Unfortunately, those are just words, and they don’t change shit.
I thought I had a good life, one I could be proud to call my own. My club meant the world to me, and I was proud to have them as my family. I knew I could depend on my brothers, and honestly they were really all I’d ever needed…. until I met Hailey. She was beautiful, smart, and sexy as hell. The woman captivated me…. Then she ripped my beating heart from my chest.
The hurt she caused cut me to the core. Her web of lies had had a catastrophic effect on my life and everyone else’s she had come in contact with, but she wasn’t around to see it. She wasn’t around to see how her choices had affected so many people. No… she was gone. Gone from all of our lives forever, leaving me and mine and everyone that loved her in her wake, picking up the pieces of her betrayal.
This is my brother Guardrail’s story. As VP, he was the one chosen to rectify the damage Hailey and her deceit had caused the club. He thought it would be simple – find the culprits and deal with them accordingly. He wasn’t prepared for the storm that ensued… none of us were.
*
Chapter 1
Allison
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“Parker, any leads on a contractor yet?” My boss asked gruffly as he leaned against the doorway of my office.
I jumped in surprise, torn from my wayward thoughts and flustered by the sudden unwelcome intrusion.
“I have several I’m looking into now, actually,” I replied with feigned confidence. It wasn’t entirely true; I had really only focused on one.
“Well… let’s get a move on it. The plans should’ve been finalized weeks ago,” he said with a heavy sigh. I could tell he was guarding his words to hide his frustration. Normally it drove me nuts when Neil micromanaged me, but this time even I had to admit he had good reason. He had finally agreed to let me take the lead on a major project, and I had lost my focus. It was so unlike me. I normally got totally lost in my assignments. It was always so liberating. I loved putting my all into a worthy cause, and I had finally gotten the perfect opportunity to do just that.
“I need to have a full proposal with your chosen contractor by the end of the week,” he asserted. He was done being polite, and I knew I’d be in hot water if it wasn’t done on time.
“It will be ready, Mr. Yates. You know I wouldn’t let the kids down.”
“I know. I know. I’m just ready to get things started. Thanks for everything you do, Ms. Parker,” he said as he walked out of my office. My mind started reeling as reality set in. The project was my chance to make a real difference. I needed to stop acting like a foolish teenager and pull my shit together. I couldn’t afford to screw it up.
I knew firsthand how difficult being raised in the foster system could be. After my parents died when I was six, my older brother and I were put into foster care. Unfortunately, we were separated, and our foster families couldn’t have been more different. Tony was placed with a family that already included four other foster kids, and their backgrounds were nothing like ours. He was surrounded by troubled teens and rebellion during his most formative years. Sadly, it became difficult for us to keep in contact as the turmoil took its toll and engulfed his home life.
My foster life wasn’t filled with chaos and anarchy, though. Mine was… lonely. I was placed with a kind couple named Tom and Wendy who hadn’t been able to have children of their own. They were nice, but not nice enough to take on my brother. In the beginning, after relentless pleading, they let him visit on several occasions, giving me vague hopes we could be reunited. When that didn’t happen, I pulled away from their love. I didn’t want a new family. I had a family, and I wanted them back.