Her Valentine

Her Valentine

A Defenders MC Novella

AMANDA ANDERSON

Copyright © 2016 by Amanda Anderson

All rights reserved, except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976.  With the exception of quotes used in reviews, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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This book is a work of fiction and any similarities to persons living or dead, places, incidents are completely coincidental and not intended by the author.  The characters and events are productions of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.

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Printed in the United States of America

Other Works by this Author

Full length Novels

Christina’s Chance

Mystery Lover

A Beautifully Normal Life

In Love With The Wrong Cowboy

Reclaiming Life

Too Much Trouble

Life, Love, and Second Chances

The Tiger Series

The Tiger Within (Book 1)

Highland Tigress (Book 2)

Captive Tigress (Book 3)

Stripes (Anthology Containing Books 1-3)

Freeing the Tiger’s Soul (Book 4)

Big Sky Series

Books 1-3

Defenders MC Series

Shadow

Lawless

Rider

Ace

Mike

Spec

Tommy Rich

Choo-Choo

Defenders MC Novella

Her Valentine

Novellas

     Taming a Montana Maverick

One Good Cowboy

Vengeance

Nicholas Love was an asshole.  It wasn’t news to him.  He had lived with it all his life and he was pretty secure with it, except when it bit him in the ass.  Then he wished he could have been born a nice guy with lots of friends that would give a shit about his problems and be willing to help him out.  Instead he had no one and more people that would like to see him dead than people who would care if he was.

Well, he’d made his bed, but he refused to let others suffer for his bad choices.

He drove his big black truck up to the gate and waited to have a gun shoved in his face.  He knew he was hated here, but he needed to see someone.  The only person that might help him.  The only person who would even consider it.

A tall, lanky man with a mess of curly, blonde hair stepped up to his window.

“What the fuck do you want here man?”  He asked as he crossed his scrawny arms over his chest.

Nick was honestly glad to see someone he’d met before and who wouldn’t just shoot him on sight.

“Just need to see Choo-Choo.  Not looking for trouble.”  His cousin was a member of the Defenders MC.  Some of these guys would shoot him on sight, no matter who he shared blood with, but he had to take the chance.

“I’ll let him know, but I can’t let you in.”

“I know.”  The guy, Lambhead, was just a prospect, a lackey and if he stepped out of line the club would put him in the ground with little thought.  This was a tough world and the men had to live by tough rules to survive and earn a place in it.

Nick pulled his truck into a little turn around spot and waited.  It was a nice day for January in West Virginia.  He shut off the engine and rolled his window down.  He had no idea how long it would take Choo-Choo to come out to see him so he might as well get comfortable.  He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.  His stubbled head scratched against the headrest reminding him that it was past time to shave, but he had been kicking around the idea of letting his hair grow again.  Maybe the change would make him feel something different.  He wanted that.  He wanted to feel something other than the bone deep emptiness that filled him most days.

It seemed like only a few seconds before he heard a distinctive click at his temple.  He stayed still and didn’t even open his eyes.

“Hello Lawless.”  He said as if making polite conversation with a friend.  He had no idea how he knew the man standing at his window was the same man that had put a six inch gash in his arm a few months back, but he knew.

“What the fuck do you want Valentine?”  The man’s icy voice slid over Nick’s skin and caused chills to run up his arm.

“Just a friendly visit with family.”  Nick said in a steady voice that showed no fear.  Fear was something he couldn’t show around men like Lawless, they fed on it.

When Lawless said nothing Nick opened his eyes and turned his head to face the man and the barrel of the gun pointed at his head.

“Care to move that thing or use it?”

Law studied him for a moment longer before lowering his gun and sliding it into the holster at his back.   Nick didn’t feel any better though when Law slid a wicked looking blade from a sheath at his hip.

“Choo-Choo ain’t here right now.  Would you like to leave a message?”  Law said with a cocky tilt to his head that made Nick want to gut him.

“I’d like to wait.  It’s important.  Family.”

The man dropped his cocky demeanor and straightened. 

“Everything alright back home?  You look like shit.”

Nick wanted to grin.  The club had met most of his family a few months back and had inadvertently caused a hell of a lot of trouble, but they also cleaned it up and placed Granny P. under their protection.  That meant something to a man like Nick.  His grandmother was the woman who had taught him everything about life that mattered.

“Granny is fine.  It’s something else I need Choo-Choo for.  I’m not here to cause trouble.  My line of work has recently changed.”

“Must be big to risk coming here like this.”

Nick hated it when Law studied him.  This whole club was filled with men who could almost read your damned mind.  He forced himself to meet Law’s eyes.

“It is.”

Law rubbed his jaw as he studied him until Nick fought the need to squirm.  He knew his former job as a bounty hunter for the highest bidder had made him more than a few enemies, but being shot and almost dying had changed his way of thinking on a few things and he needed a change.  He wanted a change.

“It may be a few days.  If you need help, some of us might be willing to give it after what happened out there.  We can sit down anyway.”  Law said and his icy, blue eyes met Nick’s darker blue ones.

“I’d appreciate that.”

XXXXX

Storm sat at the table in the tiny apartment she shared with her father behind the bar he owned just over the border.  She had lived with him since she was a child.  He wasn’t her real father, but he was all she had in the world and he had always been enough, but now he was sick and she was terrified of losing him.

She looked up when he sat heavily in the chair across from her.  His skin was damp with sweat and his skin was pale against the black t-shirt he word.

“Papa, you need to see a better doctor.”  She pleaded for the hundredth time.

“There are no good doctors down here that I’d trust to do anything for me.  I’ll be fine.”  He wheezed.

“Go over the border and see a doctor.  Please.”  She had begged him almost every day since he had started failing.  He always offered the same answer.

“You know I can’t do that.”

He met her eyes.

“Because of me.  You can’t go see a doctor who can help you, because of me.”  She fought tears, but they swam in her grey eyes just the same.

He let out a heavy sigh.  “I made my choices.  They aren’t your fault Storm, you are a perk.  The only thing bright in this shithole.  I’m only sorry I couldn’t do better for you.”

“I’m happy here.  I don’t need anything else.”

He scrubbed his hands over his face.  “Hell Storm, you live in a hole in the wall bar.  You have grown up with drunks and whores.  This is not the life you were meant to have.”

“I’ve grown up with a loving father and a warm home.  That’s more than many kids have.”  She hated when he did this.

“Things aren’t good here Storm.  I’m going to call Preach and get you out of here.”

“Like hell you are.  You need me.  Call in Preach and get him to send you a doctor.  We both know he’s not above kidnapping if he has to do it.  I’m not leaving.”

He took her hand in his strong grip.  “Listen to me and don’t be a fool right now.  Flores isn’t going to go away.  He isn’t one of these stupid boys that hang around hoping to get a look at you.  This man is dangerous.  He takes what he wants and he wants you.”

“Let him try.”  She frowned.

“The rumors Law started won’t protect you from these people.  They will take you and I will have no way of getting you back.  Just listen to me for once in your damned life.”

“I’m listening.  You want me to leave you here to die alone.  You want me to just leave the only family I have because what?  I’m too weak to take care of myself?”

“Anyone would be!  These people are dangerous.  I can’t protect you from them.”  He said in a broken voice.

That was the most heartbreaking sound Storm had ever heard.  This man who had always been so strong was telling her he couldn’t protect her.  Her world shattered in that moment.  She was a grown woman, but she had clung to the beliefs of her childhood.  This man was invincible and nothing could hurt her because he wouldn’t allow it, but as she looked at him there at the tiny table she realize, he was only a man. 

Tears blinded her and she knelt at his feet and hugged him.

“I’m so sorry.  I’ll do anything you think is best.  You don’t need to worry about me.  You need to take care of yourself.”

He cupped her face and looked down into her face.  “You are a precious woman Storm.  You need to find a life out of this place.  Go have babies and bake cookies.  Have a kitten of two.”  He took a deep breath.  “It’s time for you to move on little storm cloud.”

“We can see about that call tonight, but it won’t matter.  You will always be my Papa and I will always love you.”

“Hell Storm, I’ve been so greedy.  You should hate me for keeping you locked up all these years.”

“I’ve never felt locked up and you are not greedy.”

“I’ve kept you from living a good life because I wanted to keep you.  You are the only thing soft I’ve ever had and I stole you from your mama.  That was wrong honey.  It was wrong.”

Storm shook her head.  “You saved me and I have never been anything but happy here.”

She stood and walked to the refrigerator.  “Let me fix you some breakfast.”

“That sounds good to me.  I want you to stay back here today.  Just stay out of sight until we get this figured out.”

“Ok Papa.  Don’t worry about it.”

Storm wanted to kill Flores.  He was driving her from her home when her Papa needed her most and she hated him for it.  If that man laid a hand on her she would cut it off.

She heard a knock at the back door.  She knew what that meant and she had never answered that door.  Apparently the ladies that lived in the rooms out back were getting an early start today.  She was old enough to understand what happened in the bar and out back.  She understood that her father ran a whorehouse and made a profit off the women who spread their legs for the men in town.  That had bothered her once.  Once she had wanted to help those women, once she had thought of them as poor souls, but she had learned that they were not.  They were there of their own free will and they were doing what they chose to do.  Life was all about choices.  That is what her Papa had taught her all of her life.  Sometime the choices made life harder, but were worth it and sometimes they made life easier, but made your life unhappy.

Storm hadn’t understood any of it until now.

Papa had made a choice to save her and he had given up everything to do it, but he said she had been worth it.

Could she ever be that strong?  Could she ever find the strength to walk away from the safety of her life and take a chance on something so fragile as happiness?

The noises that came from the other side of the kitchen wall were no longer uncomfortable.  She and Papa ignored the grunts and moans as they enjoyed their breakfast of eggs and toast.

Maybe this was a strange life, but it was happy and it would kill her to leave it.