Worth The Battle (Heaven Hill Series)
Read Worth The Battle (Heaven Hill Series) Online
Authors: Laramie Briscoe
Tags: #love, #motorcycles, #mc, #outlaw, #romance, #Suspense
Book #4 of the Heaven Hill Series
By Laramie Briscoe
Copyright © 2014 Laramie Briscoe
Kindle Edition
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or any events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.
Edited by:
Lindsay Gray Hopper
Cover Art by: Kari Ayasha,
Cover to Cover Designs
Proofread by: Dawn Bourgeois
Formatting: Paul Salvette,
BB ebooks
Cover Models: Rainey Wilson and Justin Hadden
Cover Photo: Mandy Hollis of
MH Photography
To the readers who love the Heaven Hill boys as much as I do. To the amazing people I’ve gotten to meet so far this year and the great times this journey has taken me on—I have all of YOU to thank! Thank you!
Movie star running from her life.
Secret writer of erotic romance.
Trusts only Layne O’Connor of the Heaven Hill MC.
When Jessica Shea fears that her privacy is in danger, she takes the drastic step to leave her life behind and escape to the only person who’s never treated her like the movie star she is. He’s the one person who’s never sold a story to the tabloids and who knows the real Jessica, the one underneath the makeup and high-gloss shine of Hollywood.
Their friendship has stood the test of time. Now, someone has stolen private photos and writings from her home. Things that she doesn’t want the public at large to see. There’s only one place she knows she can go to be under the radar and lick her wounds.
That place is wherever Layne O’Connor is.
War Veteran.
Striving to live a normal life.
Member of the Heaven Hill MC.
Layne left a piece of himself in the war zone. Fighting PTSD and demons that he can’t explain has left him tired and changed from the man he was before he went overseas.
The only thing he feels like he excels at anymore is being a criminal, and he gladly does it for his brothers of the Heaven Hill MC. The only people who took him in when no one else knew what to make of his anger and frustration.
When Jessica arrives, however, she’s a trigger for everything he’s trying to forget. She makes him remember who he was before his life went to hell; she makes him want to get himself back. While working through those issues, he and Jessica are racing against an unknown enemy.
As they both work to trust each other and figure out just who her enemies are, they learn that love is never easy. They have to decide if the victory is worth the battle.
Chapter One
N
ashville traffic sucked a big one—especially when it kept Layne O’Connor from getting to the one person in the world who had the power to make him drive seventy miles without questioning why. His fingers beat a rhythm against the steering wheel in time with the rock station he listened to. Today, the music that normally calmed him down set his nerves on edge.
“Move your ass,” he shouted as the person in front of him tapped their brakes. It was times like this he wished he could always drive his motorcycle. If he had been on the back of his bike right now, he could have maneuvered through this mess in ten minutes flat. Instead, he had been sitting in almost gridlock for over an hour. He’d also been flipped off more times than he cared to count, what he wouldn’t give to show these drivers the kind of artillery he carried with him.
A trip that should have taken an hour and a half at most was well into its second. Cursing loudly, he picked up the phone that sat in his cup holder and dialed Jessica Shea’s number. The fact that she was on his speed dial was telling. The only other people on speed dial were Liam and Jagger. He refused to look deeper into that as he waited on the ringing of his phone.
“Hey,” he forged ahead when she answered. “I haven’t forgotten you. This traffic is a motherfucking mess. I’m tryin’ to get there, but there’s a shit ton of Sunday drivers,” he yelled for good measure.
“I know.” Her voice was soft and understanding on the other end. “I figured you were on your way.”
“You’re okay, right?” He had to ask her because something didn’t sit right with him. They were friends, great friends, and at one time—lovers, but never in the way that you just show up at each other’s home. In the past when they had gone to see each other, it was planned well in advance. His intuition and instincts were on high alert.
The silence was deafening. “I’ve been better, but I’ll be fine until you get here. I’ll just find a place to sit. Let me know when you’re close.”
A harsh laugh escaped from his mouth. “I’ve been close for over an hour, but this damn traffic won’t move.” He honked his horn and disconnected, throwing the phone back into the cup holder.
Traffic made him twitchy. In his time in the Army, he had seen more than one roadside bomb on a highway as congested as this. Another reason he loved his bike, he wouldn’t be on this congested road if he was on the back of that thing. He would have easily taken the emergency lane and gotten to his destination. Finally inching up so that he could see the exit he needed to take, he noticed there in fact was an emergency lane. Using his training from the military to his advantage, he looked behind him, noting there was just enough room for him to back up. Throwing it in reverse, he jerked the wheel hard, ignoring the horns honking at him, and then maneuvered the front end of the car so that he had enough room to jockey it out of line. Clear of the car in front of him and the car behind him, he checked his rearview to make sure no cops were around. Once he saw he was in the clear, he used the Dodge Charger (thank you Uncle Sam for your disability compensation when medically discharged honorably) to its full capability, blowing past the line of vehicles.
Now on a clear stretch of road, he could breathe easier. The hair on the nape of his neck didn’t stand on end; his palms weren’t sweaty, his stomach not rolling with awareness. He took a deep breath as he eased his foot off the accelerator. He didn’t need to get a ticket—not after everything he’d already gone through to get to the airport. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he saw his destination and picked up the phone, once again calling Jessica.
“I’m almost there. Where are you?”
She rattled off a coffee shop inside the airport, one he wouldn’t have to pass through security to get to while he went to find a parking spot.
“I can come out to you,” she offered.
“I’ll be damned. You aren’t carrying your luggage through that place. I’m parking right now. See you soon.”
He got out of his car, leaving his cut inside for the time being. Airport security tended to get nervous when they noticed the leather and patches that showed his membership into the Heaven Hill Motorcycle Club, Bowling Green Chapter. Going through the automatic doors, he took his sunglasses off and let his eyes adjust to the muted light inside the building. Quickly reading the signs, he made his way towards where Jessica had indicated she would be.
Jessica sat in the corner of the coffee shop, her head down, bent over her phone. A couple of people had recognized her, even with the changes she had tried to make to her appearance. A hat covered her tell-tale red hair, and plain jeans and t-shirt didn’t do the trick on this day. What she wanted was to be out of this place and soon. Glancing up, she caught sight of Layne making his way towards her. Tamping down the urge to run to him and throw her arms around his waist, she quickly got up from the table and slowly walked towards him.
“Layne,” she called out to him once she was close enough.
The smile that spread across his face told her more than words that she had taken the right chance. She had come to the only person that could help her, that could make her feel like she was home.
“You wanna get outta here?” he asked, as he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tightly to him.