Ride or Dies (Hot Mess Harems #1)

1. Chapter One

Chapter One

Evie

I checked my makeup in the rearview mirror even though I’d just looked at it a minute ago. My stomach was a knot of nerves and excitement as I let out a slow breath. I’d planned to come back to my hometown for the wedding of my best friend, Jenna Bradshaw, but I always imagined other circumstances. The kind where I had a fiancé of my own—or at least a boyfriend—and maybe a couple awards sitting in the back seat.

“You’ve had eight top ten country songs in five years, three of which held the number one spot for more than a month,” I reminded myself sternly. “You’ve had three crossover hits making the top ten, and one that stayed at number two for six weeks. You’re not a failure just because you don’t have a man.”

Done with giving myself a talking to, I got out of my car and smoothed down my favorite sundress. There weren’t many places in Bedford, Kentucky that had dress codes, and Rocky’s Road Bar definitely wasn’t one of them, but I still wanted to look nice. It was, after all, the first time I’d been back in town since I left shortly after graduation.

I put on my best smile and started up the sidewalk, telling myself that everything was going to be fine. This was a birthday party for my best friend’s fiancée. All of the attention was going to be on the happy couple. I’d fly right under the radar, and I doubted anyone would even notice I was here.

Suddenly, the door to the bar slammed open as a body flew out and hit the porch railing before flipping over and landing in a giant bush with wicked-looking thorns. I winced in sympathy, but it was just a flash, because an angry sort of laughter had me turning to look back at the doorway.

I caught my breath as three men came out onto the porch.

The first was over six feet tall and solid muscle. Arms that were almost as big around as my legs and covered with tattoos. A black t-shirt stretched across a massive chest. Dark brown hair and scruff on familiar features. Too familiar.

No. Fucking. Way.

I looked to the second man, as if that would tell my brain I was mistaken. This one was a little taller, maybe an inch, but just as broad, with dark auburn hair that was longer than the last time I’d seen it. The third man was lean, but I could see the clear cut of his muscles under his t-shirt. His golden blond hair was the same, and he was still shorter than the other two by an inch or so, but the moment I laid eyes on him, I knew I hadn’t been wrong.

Levi, Mason, and Tucker Bradshaw.

The banes of my childhood and adolescence.

And, oh, the naughty fantasies I’d had about all three of those men.

They hadn’t seen me yet. Their attention was fixed on the man trying to get himself out of the bush.

“I’m gonna call the cops,” he sputtered.

“You’re not gonna do anything but fuck off,” Levi said, his voice even despite the anger on his face.

“You can’t—”

“We can.” This time it was Mason who spoke, and his voice was the same rumble that I remembered.

The same rumble that made my insides twist in a way I hadn’t felt in years.

Five years, to be exact.

“You’re not welcome here.” Tucker’s dark brown eyes sparked with an anger I’d seen before.

“It’s a free country.” The man was on his feet, but he didn’t try to come back up onto the porch. “I can go where I want and say what I want.”

“Not when you’re slinging homophobic shit at my sister and her fiancée,” Mason warned, taking another step forward. “You’re just lucky we don’t want to get blood all over when we’re trying to have a party.”

“Try to come back and we’ll deal with the cleanup,” Levi warned.

The man stared at the three Bradshaw brothers and then decided to be smart. He walked away, trying to look casual about it, but the brown stain on the back of his pants made me laugh.

Three sets of eyes turned my way and my stomach flipped, a new set of butterflies taking off. Heat licked over my skin as I watched their gazes run down my body and up again. Then I watched as they realized who I was.

Levi’s light blue eyes went from flame to ice, and his mouth flattened into a hard line, making him look more dangerous than the tattoos did. Knowing he was president of the Thunder Riders Motorcycle Club only added to the image.

The desire in Mason’s eyes shifted from something primal into the lighter humor I’d always known from him. Even when he was a total jackass, there was that spark of laughter, as if he just couldn’t help himself.

And Tucker. Three years older than Jenna and me, he was the closest in age to us, but he’d still been untouchable. The warmth in his dark brown eyes made me wonder if he remembered all the times he’d picked on me, done the sort of shit that’d made my crush on him that much more painful.

All of this flashed through my mind in seconds, and then Mason was bounding down the steps to where I was still standing.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t little Evelyn Hayes, all grown up.” He grinned as he circled me. When he let out a low whistle, my cheeks flamed. “You sure do fill out that dress way better than you did as a kid.”

“Hey, Mason.” I was shocked to hear my voice sounded normal.

“I see how it is,” Tucker said as he strolled down to where Mason and I stood. “Just standing around, letting the three of us take out the trash.”

“You seemed like you could handle it.”

Mason smirked at me. “Oh, Miss Hayes, you have no idea what we can handle.”

“I’ve heard you handle yourself more than anyone else,” Tucker said.

Mason flipped his brother off without taking his eyes off me. “At least I have something worth handling, little brother.”

Tucker’s ears turned red, and I felt a surge of affection at how someone who was definitely all man now still had a bit of the teenager I’d known.

“That’s not what your girlfriend said last night,” Tucker shot back.

My eyebrows shot up. “Mason, you have a girlfriend? Don’t tell me you’ve traded in your manwhore ways.”

He put his hand on his chest. “You wound me, Evie. Really. Wound me.”

I was surprised at how easy it was to fall back into the way I’d bantered with the guys when we were younger.

Well, most of them.

“I’m impressed.” Levi finally spoke, and I gathered my courage to look up at him. His expression was unreadable. “I really didn’t expect the Queen of Country to take time out of her precious schedule to come back here.”

I ground my teeth together, hating that physical jolt of desire that hit when I looked at him, no matter how pissed his comment made me. And the worst part was, this wasn’t anything new. Mason and Tucker had been assholes to me at times when we were growing up, but it wasn’t all the time. Levi, however, never cracked a smile when I was around. Unless he was making fun of me, of course.

And that had still never stopped my treacherous heart from wanting to leap out of my chest whenever he looked my way. Based on how it was pounding against my rib cage, it seemed like that hadn’t changed. All of the Bradshaw brothers were hot, but there was something about the edge Levi carried with him that kept drawing me to him, even when he said shit like that to me.

Something else that hadn’t changed was the way that, the moment Levi spoke, Mason and Tucker took a step back, their playful teasing replaced by something sharper. Something their brother would be more likely to approve of.

While my brain attempted to come up with a witty response, I tried to pretend that hearing Mason and Tucker laugh at Levi’s comment didn’t sting.

“Levi Bradshaw!”

The voice came from behind him, but it didn’t stay there. A second later, a tall, slender figure moved around him, those light blue eyes, so much like his, snapping with irritation. Completely ignoring the fact that he could probably snap her in half if he wanted to, she poked him in the chest.

“Behave yourself.” She spoke to this massive biker the way only his baby sister could, and it was something I’d always loved about her.

Then she turned to me and beamed. Squealing with excitement, she ran my way, arms wide. “You’re here! I’m so happy you’re here!”

The instant her arms closed around me, all of the stress and anxiety I’d been feeling faded into the background. I closed my eyes and hugged her back, the scent of her coconut body lotion taking me right back through the years. She hadn’t changed much physically, with her strawberry blonde hair and perfect skin, but it was good to know that the years hadn’t changed who she was either.

I’d come home for a few reasons, but this right here was the main one. Jenna had been my ride or die since we were twelve, and I needed that solid foundation right now.