The Lost Boys MC: The Complete Collection

Chapter 1 Ella

ONE

ELLA

“But I don’t wanna, Mommy,” Keva said.

“Sweetheart, it’s a little chilly. You have to at least put on your sweater,” I said.

“No.”

“Keva.”

“No, Mommy. It itches. I don’t like it.”

“But your father got it for you. And it kind of looks—”

Keva shot me a look that reminded me exactly of her father.

A look that shivered me to my core. She might have looked like me, but she had the attitude of her dad.

Something that frightened me most days. I sighed and relinquished the pink ruffled sweater and opted for a long-sleeved shirt on top of the one she already had on.

Keva was always prone to being cold, so dressing her up to go outside was always a chore during the colder months.

Even just to go across the street to her babysitter’s house.

I took my daughter’s hand and walked her across the street.

Joanne Niles had been a saint all my life.

Always looking out for me and my brother Stone, especially after our parents were killed in that car crash a while back.

Stone took it much harder than I did. While I grieved, Stone became a recluse.

He did nothing but watch out for me, ride with his crew, and stay home at night.

I worried about him sometimes. I worried about the life he was missing out on by not putting himself out there. But I couldn't worry over him long.

I had my own issues to wade through.

“Thank you so much, Joanne. I know that sometimes this can—”

“Nonsense,” she said, holding out her hand for my daughter. “Keva and I have a good time. Don’t we?”

“Cookies!” Keva exclaimed.

“I’ve even got your milk set out already,” Joanne said, smiling.

I shook my head as the elderly woman looked up at me. Her thinly-framed glasses slid down the bridge of her nose as her white hair wafted around her face. The wind had picked up, blowing us around and shivering Keva even though she wore jeans and two long-sleeved shirts.

“I’ll be home in a few hours after work. I only work for six hours today,” I said.

“You know you can always take your time. Go treat yourself to something after work today,” Joanne said.

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll be back soon.”

“Yeah, Mommy. Treat yo self’,” Keva said.

My eyebrows rose up as Joanne giggled. I shook my head as my eyes rolled.

The things that woman taught my daughter rivaled the youth of today, and it made me wonder how she came up with such nonsense.

I was sure it was from one of those sitcom television shows she was practically addicted to.

But it warmed my heart to see Keva open her arms so easily to someone else other than myself.

Especially since she didn’t do that much with her father.

“Thank you. Again,” I said.

“You know you never have to thank me for watching my granddaughter,” Joanne said, smiling.

We might not have been blood-related, but it was moments like this where I wished we were.

Keva snuggled her head onto Joanne’s shoulder, and the older woman held my daughter close.

I always imagined my mother doing the same to her.

Kissing Keva’s forehead and feeding her milk and cookies until she practically burst.

I sighed as I watched Joanne start to sway my daughter side to side.

“You know, she looks just like you when you were Keva’s age,” Joanne said.

I smiled as I reached out and tucked a strand of loose blonde hair behind my daughter’s ear.

“I’ll be back soon, sweetie,” I whispered.

And with one last kiss, I headed back across the street.

My ears caught the sound of squealing tires as I got into my car.

I didn’t think anything of it as I cranked my car up, but the second I saw that candy-apple red flash in my sideview mirror, I froze.

I looked back over my car seat and saw him racing down the road.

Going way too fast and not giving a damn about what was in his way. Typical for Jett.

My asshole ex-husband.

I was going to be late if I stayed and talked with him.

And I really didn’t want to be late. Nor did I want to talk to the son of a bitch.

So, I threw my car into reverse and tried to get out of my driveway.

I gunned it, trying to at least get myself out onto the road.

But before I could, Jett’s stupid car came to a squealing stop at the end of my driveway.

Blocking me in completely.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I murmured.

I watched Jett throw his car door open and step out. Part of me wanted to run the damn man down. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw Joanne scurry inside with Keva in her arms, and it made me sick that Keva had even seen her father’s car in the first place.

I stepped out of the car just as Jett strode around to my side.

“You know, I wouldn’t have to come here in person if you’d answer—or return—my calls,” he said.

I closed my car door and leaned against it.

“Jett, we already talked about this—”

“It’s just a fucking vacation, Ella. Why are you being such a bitch about this?” he asked.

The bite in his voice threw me back. The flash of anger in his eyes made the skin prickle on the back of my neck. And as I stood there, gazing up into his mean brown eyes, an image popped up into my mind.

It was the last time he’d ever cracked me across the face with his hand before I decided to pick up and leave for good.

My heart raced and my palms became sweaty.

I refused to show that fear on the outside any longer like I had for so many years with him.

But I was scared. Very scared. Petrified that he’d crack me across my jawline again with that massive hand of his.

My eyes fell to his clenched fists. I looked back up at his flaring nostrils.

All the signs were there. Signs that he was itching to show me exactly where my place was.

On the ground at his feet.

“I’m not changing our visitation schedule to accommodate a sudden vacation. You know I need at least three weeks’ notice for changes like that. Both for Keva’s schedule and my work schedule,” I said.

“Well, if you hadn’t fucking left in the middle of the night, you wouldn't have to work. I was a damn good provider for both you and Keva. You and I both know that,” Jett said.

“You and I both also know why I left. You don’t get to come onto my property and intimidate me any longer. Per our court orders, you have to notify me when you come over.”

“What did you say?” he growled.

He took a step toward me, and I cowered against my car.

I hated it. I hated that it was my immediate reaction to him approaching me.

But it was involuntary, and even after two years of divorce, it still happened.

I drew in a sharp breath and looked over to Joanne’s house.

I hoped to God on high Keva wasn’t watching right now.

Then, the sound of a rumbling motorcycle caught my ears.

I turned along with Jett and watched it roll up the street.

It sputtered down to a slow pace then eased into the driveway next to mine.

I saw the confusion on Jett’s face as he took a step away from me.

I watched him flex his fingers and crack his neck as I pushed off my car.

I swung open the door and stepped between it and the frame of my car, trying to put some sort of barrier between myself and the hulking man before me.

But once my eyes fell back onto the man on the motorcycle, something tighten in my gut.

Even in his leathers and his helmet, the man was hot. Long, strong legs clad in tight black jeans. A leather jacket zipped up over his broad, chiseled torso. The man reeked of masculinity, but I had no idea who he was. I had a new neighbor, and I didn’t even know it. When the hell had he moved in?

“Texas,” Jett murmured.

I squinted my eyes as the man put down his kickstand. He slipped off his bike and removed his helmet, and those bright brown eyes came into view. Texas shook his head lightly, spraying around that disheveled brown hair of his.

Texas Bronson was my brother’s best friend.

And I’d never been so glad to see anyone in my life.

“Everything okay over there?” he asked.

He propped his helmet underneath his arm and walked toward us.

“Yep. Everything’s good. I was just leaving,” Jett said.

He shot a look back at me that made me curl my toes in all the wrong ways.

“Is that right?” Texas asked.

His eyes burned into mine as I looked up at him.

It had been a while since I’d seen Texas.

A couple of years, give or take. Jett isolated me from my brother’s crew—The Lost Boys—even though he had once been part of it.

After I left and admitted to my brother what all had occurred in our marriage, the guys had thrown him out of the gang.

And rightfully so. If there was one thing they didn’t tolerate, it was hurting women and children.

Texas looked a lot different than I remembered him, but I’d never forget those eyes of his. Those light brown eyes speckled with flakes of blue that had never quite changed over for him as a child.

“Ella?” Jett asked.

The bite in his voice pulled me from my trance and I cleared my throat.

“Yes. Everything’s good. Jett was just leaving,” I said.

“Uh-huh,” Texas said flatly.

“I’ll call you later,” Jett murmured.

I ignored his statement as he walked off, leaving Texas and myself behind.

I white-knuckled the door of my car until Jett squealed away in his apple red convertible he had bought after trading in his motorcycle.

I breathed a sigh of relief when his car disappeared around the corner, but Texas’s lingering presence over my shoulder was still there.

“Thank you,” I said breathlessly.

“No problem. I’m here to keep an eye on you anyway,” he said.

I furrowed my brow as I turned around to face him again.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

Texas grinned. “Means I’m your new neighbor.”

My lips parted in shock. So, my assumption was correct. Mr. Sex On Wheels was my new neighbor. Mr. Bronson, clad in his leather and donning that mischievous grin, lived next door to me. My brother’s best friend was only feet away. And he had a body I wanted to feel underneath my fingertips.

But that didn’t stop me from being absolutely irate at the situation.