Reid (Angels Halo MC Next Gen #15)

Prologue

Reid

Getting out of my truck, I slammed the door.

A shower and a solid eight hours of sleep were what I needed.

Maybe some food and a few beers thrown in there somewhere.

I was covered in sweat and dust after being on-site from the crack of dawn.

My crew and I had been working straight through without a break for the past few weeks, but a patch of rain was moving in.

That would keep us from doing any exterior construction for a day or two and give us a break.

Working outside under the baking sun all day long was backbreaking at times, but I’d take it over being in an office, feeling as if the life was being drained out of me with every tick of the clock.

I’d left the designing part of Barker & Reid Construction to my little brother the moment he’d finished his education and had his license in hand.

Not a day went by that I missed drawing up blueprints or dealing with indecisive clients who changed their minds twenty times before the plans got officially approved.

I wasn’t even sure why I’d gone to the trouble of becoming an architect in the first place since my heart had always been in the actual building part of the company.

It had made Mom happy, though, and there wasn’t much I wouldn’t do to make that woman smile.

Lifting the bottom of my shirt, I wiped the sweat from my eyes and squinted at the noise coming from the apartment on the ground floor.

With the fall term of the university starting soon, I’d been aware that we would be getting one or two new temporary tenants, but it sounded like a fucking sorority had moved in to the place with all the squealing and giggling coming through the open door.

Two matching Jeeps had been parked close by the day before. Barbie-fucking-Pink Jeeps. Christ. That should have been my first warning, but I’d been distracted by a problem on one of my worksites. One Jeep towed a small U-Haul, while the other vehicle was overflowing with boxes, bags, and luggage.

Elias, Chance, and I had agreed when we first decided to build the apartments that we would have a strict rule limiting the number of college students we rented to, and they couldn’t be freshmen. We’d all promised we wouldn’t let any frat or sorority brats in. Especially goddamn sorority girls.

A dozen years ago, all three of us would have been salivating over them. Now, I valued my peace far too much to deal with the drama that came with loud, obnoxious girls who were learning their limits out from under Mommy and Daddy’s watchful eyes.

It was part of the application that the potential new tenant had to disclose if they were in either. They were subjected to immediate termination of their lease if we found out that they lied, and with housing already sparse in our small town, there weren’t many options other than the dorms.

As busy as I’d been with work, I’d barely had time to sleep and shower for the last few weeks.

Chance was just as busy, running between three different locations as our lead electrician.

Elias was the one who was supposed to vet the prospective new tenants, and considering his brand-new brother-in-law was a dark-web mastermind, I expected him to know every newbie’s vital statistics—bare minimum.

If they so much as mentioned a Greek house online, they should have been turned down.

My little brother could have been slacking on the job, though, and let someone slip through the cracks. It was understandable. If I had to chase after Samara every day, I would be just as distracted.

Shaking my head at the thought of my sister-in-law, I shot a glance up at the third floor. Samara wasn’t home yet, but her cat was sitting in the window, watching everything below her. That spoiled little fluff ball was judgmental as hell, but she gave good cuddles.

When Elias had been gone for a few weeks, dealing with whatever family drama Sammy had going on, they’d asked me to watch Daisy. She was fine on her own during the day. Turn on the nature channel, and she was content until the sun went down. Then she was greedy for attention.

Not gonna lie, I’d been sad when I had to start sleeping on my own again. I’d gotten attached to the cat during those weeks. Her little purrs had been calming in a way I couldn’t explain.

Another loud shriek came from the ground-floor apartment.

Muttering a curse, I picked up my pace. Each unit was the same basic layout, with an open kitchen and living area, one bedroom and one bathroom.

Simple, a little boring, but everything a person would need under one roof.

We took meticulous care of our property, ensuring our people didn’t have cause for complaint.

Reaching the open door, I stuck my head in for a quick appraisal.

There were boxes everywhere, but no sign of the cause of all the ruckus.

Those damned squeals and giggles hit me again, making me pause as I lifted my hand to knock, wanting to alert them to my presence.

From the sound of it, there were at least two girls, one laughing while the other was excitedly chattering, although I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

Then the laughter would cut off, and the other girl would say something that was muffled.

More giggling ensued, and suddenly, the noise wasn’t annoying.

Unconsciously, I took a step inside the apartment, my ears straining to catch more of that sound.

A burning sensation began to unfurl in my chest. Pressing a fist to the spot, I tried to rub it away.

Fuck, that was…different.

I was still standing there, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on with my body, when the sweetest goddess walked out of the bedroom.

Seeing me, she released a startled squeak.

My eyes traveled over her blond hair swept up into a cute, messy knot on top of her head.

She wore yoga pants that molded to her long, shapely legs, her oversized sweatshirt falling off one shoulder, exposing the strap of her sports bra beneath.

“Oh,” she murmured, rushing forward with a smile that sucker-punched me. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you. Can I help you with something?”

I couldn’t stop myself from scanning her from head to toe, taking in all of her with a slow breath.

Gorgeous. Her hair was platinum with cooler highlights, and I couldn’t tell if they were natural or the work of a stylist. Her nose was slightly upturned, her lips having that perfect bow top and puffy on the bottom.

As she neared me, I found myself drowning in her eyes.

Fuck, those eyes.

They were like rich, golden honey right in the center, blending outward to green and then light blue. Like some lagoon on an undisturbed island. Warm, clear, and bright. Peaceful. Right around the rim of her irises, they were dark blue. I couldn’t make up my mind which color I loved more.

With each passing second, I fought with myself not to reach out and grab her. I wanted to lock my fingers around her. Never let her go. Emotions I wasn’t familiar with stirred inside me, snapping something loose.

Soft fingers touched my arm, sending a jolt through my entire body. She gasped and I watched her eyes widen, her mouth falling open in shock as she experienced it too. She jerked back, and I stepped forward, following her, refusing to let her put even an inch of extra space between us.

“Um, hi?” she breathed, her cheeks filling with pink.

Innocence flooded off her, kick-starting my brain. That blush was so damn pretty, but it highlighted how young she was.

Ah, motherfucker, was she young.

Realizing that my intensity was probably freaking her out, I forced myself to rein in the overwhelming possessiveness rattling around inside me.

My fingers contracted around hers for a moment before I slowly released the grip I had on her hand.

Unable to help myself, I skimmed my knuckle up her arm. “Hi.”

“Reid!”

Hearing Elias bark my name, I groaned. “That’s me. I’m Reid. And that’s my annoying baby brother, Elias, shouting for me.”

Amusement lit up those amazing eyes. Fuck, I just wanted to stand there and drown in that warm glow of honey in the center. That was my favorite color, I decided.

No, fuck that—it was the hint of green before it melded into the blue.

Was that navy or midnight blue around the outer rim? That was my favorite color.

“Evy!” someone called from the bedroom, frustrated and slightly out of breath. “SOS. I need assistance. This sheet won’t stay on the bed.”

“That’s me. I’m Evy. Everly,” she amended, nibbling on the corner of her bottom lip, causing a ragged groan to rumble out of me. “Only my sister calls me Evy.”

“Damn, that’s pretty. What do you want me to call you, sweetness?”

“Yours,” she whispered.

Ah, Christ. What little hold I’d gained over my self-control began to slip. I was one frayed thread snapping before I tossed her over my shoulder and carried her up to my apartment. Tying her to the bed would ensure she was never able to leave me, right?

Her blush burned brighter. “Damn it, I did not just say that aloud.” She pointed a finger toward my nose, her glower causing her nose to scrunch up in a way that was beautifully adorable. “You heard nothing.”

Taking her hand, I brought her finger to my lips, kissing the tip. Her mouth dropped open, a soft little whimper wrapping around my cock like a physical touch. “Too late. You don’t get to take that back, darlin’.”

“Reid!” Elias yelled again. Gritting my teeth, I debated how I could get away with murdering my brother without breaking our mother’s heart.

“I know you’re here somewhere, asshole. Your truck is in its normal spot.

I need an extra hand with this clogged pipe in unit eight.

It’s already causing backflow. Gotta take care of this now, or we’re going to have multiple apartments flooded. ”

That was right above my girl. I would have helped my brother, regardless. Eventually. But knowing the mess might leak down into her apartment and ruin any of her things had me reluctantly stepping back from her. “Gotta go, sweetness.”

Disappointment flashed in her eyes for a moment before she blinked it away, giving me a smile. “See you around, Reid.”

“Very, very soon, Ev.” I grabbed the door handle. “And then we’re gonna talk about you leaving this door open. That’s not safe.”

“I researched Creswell Springs’s crime rate before I picked this area. This place is Mayberry compared to Seattle. Or Los Angeles,” she said with a shrug, making me smile.

Creswell Springs was safer than Mayberry.

On paper. Online statistics wouldn’t have flagged the turf war between my MC and Fontana when I was a kid.

Or that fucker Santino. Or half a dozen other monsters who had tried to tear up our town and take over in the last three-plus decades.

That wasn’t something that was public knowledge.

But she didn’t have to worry about those fucks.

No offense to the sheriff, who was married to my cousin, but Ben wasn’t why people stayed on the straight and narrow in our town. That was all the work of the Angel’s Halo MC.

“Besides, my sister needs the door open. It helps.”

Something in her voice had me hesitating, wanting to ask her a million questions all at once. I wanted to hear her entire life story, but I especially wanted to know why her voice held so much sadness.

“Helps with what?” I figured that was the most important question, for the moment.

“Reid!”

“Evy!”

Their insistent shouts had her taking a step back. I tightened my grip around the knob and reminded myself that her stuff was at risk. That was the only thing I was concerned about. “I need to go take care of the pipe situation and then kill my brother. In that order.”

Her laugh did crazy shit to my chest again. “Let me know if you need assistance.”

“With moving a dead body? You got experience with a life of crime, sweetness?” I teased.

“It’s a crazy world out there. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”

Fuck, I was already in love.

She wiggled her fingers at me in a flirty wave. “Later, Reid.”