BREAKER (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 14) Read online

  The diner was all lit up despite the sun still shining, and Ashley felt positive and confident as she strode toward the doorway and climbed the steps on the side of the building.

  The music from inside blared out to meet her. She could see the flashing jukebox through the window and she couldn’t believe how perfect it all was. It was so fifties and so corny it was hard to believe that places like that still existed. And yet, there it was, in the middle of nowhere, right by this small town. She smiled as she pushed open the door, stepped inside and felt a room full of eyes land upon her.

  She stood there shifting from one foot to the other and the truckers sitting up at the counter swiveled around on their stools and stared her up and down. They were checking her out with lustful eyes, but not in a nice way. In a lecherous way. In the kind of way that no woman ever wants to be looked at. The kind that says… you are a piece of meat.

  She scowled at them all until they turned back around.

  A waitress who was chewing pink gum and had her curly blonde hair piled high on top of her head stepped over and grinned. She was older, faded and creased looking, but she was wearing a shock of blue eye shadow and it was so bright it made Ashley wince.

  “Can I help you?” she smiled as she popped a bubble. “Food or drinks?”

  “Just drinks please,” Ashley said nervously as she played with the hem of her top just so she had something to do with her hands.

  “Sure,” the waitress smiled. “Pick a table.”

  She motioned behind Ashley and then she walked back toward the counter and disappeared behind it. Ashley waited for a moment before she looked around and moved slowly toward a booth by the window. She slid down on one of the seats and exhaled, steadying her nerves.

  After living in a city for so long, she had forgotten what it was like to walk into a place like that. And for such a small town, she certainly stood out as being an outsider. She set her purse down and flipped open the menu, not wanting to look up and at all the people who were sitting around her until she had a drink in her hand.

  Luckily for her, the waitress was back over to her within a few moments and she poised her pen over her notepad.

  “Okay hun,” she said as she smacked her lips. “What can I get you?”

  “Just a beer,” Ashley said shyly as she closed the menu and slid it back across the table. “Thank you.”

  The waitress nodded and turned to head back to the counter and Ashley finally let her eyes travel away from the table and flit around the room. When the waitress came back with her drink, she wasted no time in bringing the bottle to her lips and taking a long, drawn out swig. She sighed as she instantly started to feel more relaxed, and after she had drank some more, she heard the ting of the bell over her shoulder and smiled at the expectation that it may be Kady.

  She turned and looked toward the door and in an instant, her heart almost stopped. She had been expecting to see Kady walking in, but instead, it was another familiar face…

  It was Breaker.

  And he was grinning from ear to ear and heading straight for her.

  6.

  Her heartbeat was so hard she could feel it thumping right through her. She had turned and was no longer looking over her shoulder and she didn’t want him to see her. All she could do was just wish he hadn’t been smiling at her but someone in front of her, and that he wouldn’t recognize her after seeing her all covered in blue hair lightener earlier in the day.

  But she was shit out of luck.

  “Hey, Blue.” His deep, gruff voice cut through the music and she could feel him right behind her.

  The hairs on her arms prickled and she had to stop her arms from shaking by gripping onto her beer bottle and holding it so tight she wasn’t sure whether it was about to break.

  She decided to ignore him and lifted her bottle to her lips and took another calming sip. The more she drank, the more her nerves would subside.

  “Ouch,” he said as he stepped around the side of her booth and then leaned his bulging arm on the opposite seat. “Ignoring me? That hurts…”

  Ashley breathed out deeply and let her eyes scan up to meet his. She tried not to notice, as she was trailing the length of his body from his knees, right past his belt buckle, up his muscular chest and to his incredibly squared off jaw and intense green eyes, just how perfect he was. How godlike and how strong he appeared.

  He flashed her a wicked grin and she clenched her teeth together, closing her mouth into a tight slit. She couldn’t even force a smile. She was stone cold and terrified.

  “It is you, isn’t it?” he asked again as he bit the side of his mouth through a grin.

  “Yes, it’s me,” she said coldly. “Come back to laugh some more?”

  She sipped her drink and eyeballed him suspiciously. He held his hands up in surrender and then burst out in laughter.

  “You looked like the kind of girl who could take a bit of playfulness,” he said. “Guess I was wrong.”

  He was goading her, but she wouldn’t let him win.

  “Yes, I guess you were,” she smiled sweetly as she raised her eyebrows.

  A look of mischievousness flashed across him and she had to admit it was kind of endearing. How come it was always the naughty boys that caught her attention?

  “So, Kady said you’re new in town?” he asked as he looked down at her. “What brings you to Slate Springs?”

  For a moment, she didn’t know what to say or how to answer. She didn’t know if she should be honest and tell him who her brother was or to just keep quiet. Either way, she wasn’t going to get this guy to leave her alone if she sat there mute with her mouth half gaping open.

  “Why did you just come over to talk to me?” she asked almost suspiciously. “Are you and Flash on a dare, or what?”

  Breaker raised his eyebrows with intrigue.

  “So you know our names?” He had to hold in his laughter. “I like it, Blue… You’ve done your homework.”

  She felt her face begin to flush red again, but she looked down at the table and sipped from the bottle nervously.

  “Kady obviously told me,” she said. “I didn’t ask.”

  “Cranky,” he raised his eyebrows. “Me thinketh the lady doth protest too much…”

  He was so full of it… and it was making her blood boil.

  “Can I help you?” she asked him with wide, angry eyes. “Are you lost?” She said it with such a patronizing tone even he had a flash of anger behind his eyes this time.

  “No need to be so hostile,” he said. “I’m just welcoming the new girl to town, that’s all.”

  “Well, I don’t need a welcome,” she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. “My brother is perfectly capable of showing me around and helping me settle in.”

  “Brother?” Now he seemed even more interested. “And who might that be?” He leaned in a little closer and Ashley instantly wished she hadn’t opened her mouth. Now she was going to have to fess up and she had no clue what his reaction would be.

  “My brother is an Iron Rider,” she said sternly, but at the same time, she wished she wasn’t saying those words. “Tyler. I came to visit him but now I’m sticking around for a while.”

  A dark cloud seemed to pass over Breaker’s face and he straightened up before he nodded his head slowly. All mischief and amusement had gone from him and he looked at her in the same way she assumed she was looking at him.

  “I could tell there was more to you than met the eye,” he said finally, never letting his gaze break hers. “But I can’t say I was suspecting that one.”

  She felt exposed and raw, she sipped her drink again just so she wasn’t fidgeting and thinking of how she could change the subject.

  “He’s a good guy, your brother,” he said finally. “It’s good to have him around here. I think we’re all going to work things out all right.”

  He nodded and then turned on his heel and began to walk toward the back of the room to a corner booth.

 
“Have a good night, Ashley…” he called over his shoulder as he climbed into the seat so his back was to her.

  She wanted to call after him and ask what he meant, but he was too far away and he clearly wasn’t interested in talking to her anymore. She looked down at the table and felt somewhat bereft. She had been so standoffish with him and now she had pushed him away not only with the facts of who she was but also her shitty attitude.

  She sighed and ran her hands through her hair. How had she already made an enemy when she hadn’t even been in town twenty-four hours?

  The bell behind her tinged and this time, she didn’t dare turn to see who was walking into the diner, but she was relieved when she recognized Kady’s laugh. She breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed her purse.

  “Hey, doll!” Kady called as she ran up to her and the two girls hugged.

  Ashley was already downing the rest of her drink and pulling her toward the door.

  “We can’t stay here,” Ashley hissed as Kady looked at her as if she was insane. “Come on, let’s go somewhere else.”

  She threw some money down onto the counter for the waitress and then the girls shoved their way out the door and into the setting sun.

  “Okay,” Kady said. “You’re going to have to explain what the hell just happened.”

  “I will,” Ashley panted. “Let’s just get to the nearest bar. I need a strong drink.”

  Kady nodded her head and saluted her before the two girls linked arms and began to walk down the highway toward the center of town.

  7.

  The Jazz Club had its doors thrown wide open and the enticing scent of whiskey and cigar smoke drifted out onto the street. Even though Ashley hated smoking indoors, there was something different about it when it was in bars and mixed with alcohol. Not that she would ever smoke herself, but she enjoyed the way it flitted around the room and the way it hung heavy in the air.

  As they walked inside, Kady smiled and waved to the woman behind the bar who was serving some customers, and Ashley smiled nervously too. It had been such a hectic day, she honestly didn’t know how she was going to keep up with all the people she was meeting.

  “That’s Faith,” Kady said as they sat down on a small circular table in front of the low stage where a man was playing the saxophone like an absolute dream. “It’s her bar.”

  Ashley looked up and watched how the woman glided around the place with grace and ease. She was older than they were. She must have been in her late thirties or maybe even early forties, but she was still attractive and clearly had the personality to match as she made every customer laugh who approached her.

  “I still can’t believe that just happened,” Kady said and interrupted Ashley’s thoughts. “They are all so full of themselves. It’s no wonder they get such a bad rep.”

  She was referring to Breaker and what had happened back at the diner. Ashley had filled her in on their walk over to Main Street and she too was still having trouble processing the whole thing. She had no idea how it had all escalated so fast.

  “And your brother…” Kady continued. “He’s the only reason you’re here in town?”

  Ashley shrugged.

  “I’ve just gone through a terrible break-up,” she confessed. “And Tyler and I never had much of a home life. Our parents cared more about getting wasted than taking care of us. I went back but I just couldn’t stay there… I had to get out.”

  Kady smiled sympathetically.

  “My mom died when I was little,” she whispered. “I don’t talk about it much, but I know what it feels like to be without a parent.”

  Ashley smiled back and felt the tears prick the corner of her eyes. Even though they had only known each other for a day, she could already tell that Kady was going to be a friend for life.

  “Hey, girls,” Faith said as she swaggered over and placed two leather bound menu’s down on the table in front of them. “What can I get you, or do you need a moment to peruse?”

  Kady snapped out of her trance and grinned up at her.

  “Well, I know what I’m having,” she beamed. “Same as ever, double vodka, soda, and a dash of lime.”

  Ashley winced at the thought but her nerves were still rife and she was also trying on her new persona for size.

  “Why the hell not,” she laughed as she looked up at Faith. “I’ll take one of those too.”

  Faith clapped her hands, turned back to the bar and went to fix their drinks.

  “You’re going to be a bad influence on me, I can tell…” Ashley laughed as she flipped through the menu and scanned all the different whiskeys and bourbons listed.

  “I will take full blame,” Kady said as she held her hand to her heart. “But only because I can tell you need it.”

  Faith returned with their vodkas and the girls chinked glasses and sipped them slowly. Ashley felt a warm wave run right through her and she relaxed her shoulders for the first time since she had set foot outside the motel that evening.

  But her comfort was short lived… Because barely even a moment after they had begun to drink and gossip, a shadow appeared at the door and it instantly caught her eye.

  It was silhouetted against the doorway, the setting sun blaring behind him, but Ashley could tell who it was without being able to see his face. She had only been face to face with him half an hour before and he was already back there again. Ready to taunt her and make her life hell.

  Breaker.

  She wanted to snarl but it would have been too obvious.

  “Oh here we go,” she whispered to Kady as she rolled her eyes.

  Kady looked up to the doorway and a wide smile spread out across her lips, her eyes twinkled and Ashley wanted to reach out and slap her to stop her from encouraging him. But instead of walking over as she had anticipated, he just nodded his head and cast his gaze down to the floor before he went straight to the bar and turned his back on them.

  Ouch, Ashley thought. You’re not supposed to ignore me. It’s supposed to me ignoring you.

  She felt the irritation pulse through her and she gripped her glass tight, not even aware she was stabbing the pieces of ice with a straw.

  “What are the chances,” Kady said. “Do you think he’s following you?”

  Ashley stabbed even harder and then took a sip of her drink to calm her nerves.

  “No.” She shook her head. “He’s just completely ignored me, I very much doubt he wants to run into me like this. Especially so soon.”

  “But you said he was playing with you in the diner? Being flirty and trying to get a reaction?”

  “He was,” Ashley admitted. “But then when I told him about my brother, he instantly went cold and dismissed me.”

  She was even surprised herself at how much it had bothered her. She couldn’t believe she was telling Kady a blow by blow account as if it was a big deal.

  But it felt like one.

  She had no idea why, but it really did.

  “Well, at least he’s out of your hair,” Kady offered. “I mean, you even said earlier you didn’t like him. He was rude and immature.”

  Yes, but it got my attention…

  “Yeah, I know,” Ashley falsely agreed. “He’s a jerk, it’s obvious.”

  She looked up at him again and the way his shoulders spread out so broadly, she couldn’t even begin to imagine what it must be like to grab onto him and feel completely at his mercy. She felt a rush of heat in her chest and a wicked betrayal between her legs.

  Stop it, Ashley… Stop it right now…

  But she couldn’t look away. Even though his back was to her, she found herself memorizing each strand of hair, the way each layered over one another and the way his muscles dipped and grooved and made him look so masculine and strong it almost took her breath away. How had she not fully noticed earlier how manly and intense he was? She had been pulled in by his eyes, but looking at him from that angle, where she couldn’t even see his face, only heightened his appeal. There was more to him than good loo
ks and an incredible physique, he had a mystery that was going to keep pulling at her until she finally gave in and begged him to show her more.

  But you can’t, she told herself. You can’t be that girl.

  She was so engrossed in watching Breaker she didn’t notice Kady boring holes in the side of her head, or the figure approaching their table silently to their left. It gave her the biggest shock when a big, heavy set of hands patted down on her shoulders and Kady squealed with laughter as Ashley jumped almost as high as the ceiling.

  “What the hell!” she wailed as she spun around to see Flash standing behind her.

  “So this is Blue sans hair colorant?” he asked with a stifled laugh. “I love it, she’s even easier to goad now that we’re not on your turf, Kady.”

  Ashley felt her face blush bright red and her anger rising. She hadn’t moved to town to be mocked by anyone, and most certainly not a man. She rose to her feet with rage behind her eyes and when she picked up the drink, she didn’t even really believe she was going to do it. But it was already too late for her to stop it. As she threw the entire contents of the glass over Flash’s head, she heard the stunned gasps of everyone else in the Jazz Bar, and she was even aware of Breaker turning to watch the scene unfold.

  “Fuck you,” she said sternly as she slammed the glass back down on the table and reached down for her purse. “Seriously, fuck you, Flash.”

  She stormed toward the door as she felt her lip tremble and she instantly regretted being so predictable. A million thoughts were racing through her mind and she knew the tears were about to burst free, but she had to stay strong. She had to make it out of there and back to the hotel before she lost control.

  The fresh air hit her and she took a deep breath before she started to half run and half walk toward the park in the center of Main Street. She held her bag close to her chest as she walked on and she wished she hadn’t just ran out and left Kady, but in the moment, she had been so mad she hadn’t been able to think of what else to do.

  She reached the park and pushed open the gate and rushed to the first bench in the most sheltered corner. The park was deserted and she put her head in her hands and breathed in deeply as she tried to calm herself down.