The Accidental Siren
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Synopsis
Gideon “Grim” Burch found a home with the Barnes-Fleetwood family when he desperately needed one. With support from his newfound family, Grim beat all the odds and became a veterinarian. In Willow Fork, however, there are still people who are suspicious of him and his past. When he sees Jo, he knows she’s the perfect woman for him and Josh, but he wonders if he has the right to bring her into his sometimes dangerous circle.
For Jolie Mason, Willow Fork is nothing more than a pit stop. Once she can save up the money to fix her car, she’ll do what she’s been doing for the last several years. Run. Framed for her husband’s murder, she can never stop looking over her shoulder. There’s always someone on her trail, and she can’t let them bring her back to the real killer. Getting to know Josh and Grim makes her dream of the life they could have together. If only she could trust them with her secrets.
When their past catches up to them all, they’ll find out that even a small town can be big trouble.
Release date: April 30, 2024
Publisher: DLZ Entertainment, LLC
Print pages: 392
Reader says this book is...: emotionally riveting (1) entertaining story (1) sex scenes (1) strong heroine (1)
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The Accidental Siren
Lexi Blake
Chapter One
Joshua Barnes-Fleetwood was only half listening to the argument currently going on between his sister and Dad. He was far too busy watching the brunette. She moved across the dining room floor with the grace of a woman who had never once before carried a tray of drinks in the midst of a rural diner where people let their kids run a bit wild.
She barely managed to stop when Austin Parker chased his brother across the room, nearly cutting her off and sending all of those drinks right to the floor.
Her jaw clenched, and she seemed to take a long breath before making the decision to continue her dangerous journey.
Damn, but she was pretty.
She’d started working at Christa’s Café a few weeks before, and Josh barely knew her name. Nicole. He only knew because a name tag was part of the uniform. His Aunt Christa called the fairly short pink dresses with a white apron retro chic, but Josh thought it was sexy as hell.
On Nicole. His aunt did not wear one, thank god.
“Dad, don’t be ridiculous.” His sister was using their weekly family outing to protest their father’s schedule.
His sister butted heads with their father from time to time. Dad, not Pops. Pops pretty much gave Livie anything she wanted. And him. And Grim and Mom. Sam Fleetwood was a sunny man who didn’t try to hide the fact he was a marshmallow on the inside.
Jack Barnes made up for it with loving authority and long discussions of discipline. His dad was big on discipline.
Josh was wondering if that pretty lady liked a little discipline.
He glanced over and noticed he wasn’t the only one looking. Grim’s eyes were on the brunette, and Josh knew that look. His best friend was hungry, and not for the chicken fried steak he’d ordered.
“Josh went out last quarter. He spent two weeks in Broken Bend at the Rockin’ R. One would think it’s my turn. It’s almost like you don’t want me to be the face of your company,” his sister complained.
“Baby, you know that’s not what the problem is.” His mother took a sip of her tea and shook her head. She sat where she always did. In between Dad and Pops. They had been together, living openly as a threesome, for his whole lifetime and people still stared.
The good news was, he didn’t give a shit what random people thought. He cared what his friends thought, what his family thought. But he couldn’t care about anyone who would judge his parents for loving each other. He’d learned that lesson at a young age, or perhaps he’d simply been born without the component for shame when it came to sex.
The brunette barely avoided tripping over a chair in her way. It made her twist slightly, giving him a nice view of her backside. She was slender but curvy in all the right places.
That fine ass was begging for a spanking.
Yeah, he might not have been born with a big capacity for shame, but he had come into the world with certain needs. He’d come by them honestly, and his father hadn’t made him feel bad about it. Nope. When he and Grim had gotten caught with their first woman—a college freshman when they were still in high school—her father had threatened to kill them both while Jack Barnes had sat them down and had the “talk.” And then when they’d turned eighteen sent them to Dallas for a summer where they’d trained at a place called The Club.
Him and Grim, not him and Ashley Hill. Her father had caught her in bed in between Josh and his best friend. It had been Grim who’d jumped out of the window with him and who’d had the foresight to grab Josh’s pants as he’d jumped so he wasn’t running across a pasture with his dick swinging.
“Josh doesn’t want to go to Colorado so he can chase after two boys.” Dad pointed out the problem he had. “You can take the California trip next month.”
His pops chuckled. “I never would have thought our baby girl would fall in love with a couple of nerds.”
Grim’s head turned, frowning Pop’s way. “That is not a good way to refer to people anymore, Mr. Fleetwood. I’m a nerd.”
His pops shook his head. “Now, see, maybe I no longer understand the definition of the word. In my day it was smart kids who studied too much and didn’t get laid. I don’t think that describes you, son. Now you’re real good at the studying part, but you’ve pretty much run through most of the women in East Texas, and a whole bunch of Dallas and Austin.”
Josh laughed as Grim turned a shade of pink. Grim had shame poured into his system at a young age, but they were working on the problem. And his pops’s description was wholly accurate. They might have had some trouble getting started, but they had the ménage thing down. He and Grim were practically a rite of passage for the women of East Texas.
“I’m only saying Livie has the right to pant after anyone she wants, even if they are kind of weird and scare me,” Grim admitted.
“I am not panting after Will and Bobby.” His sister was pretty much the spitting image of their mom, and when he looked at it from an outside eye, he could admit they were both gorgeous women. But she totally panted after the Farley brothers. She had ever since they were kids. She would see them once every couple of years and moon for months.
And his dad was right. They were kind of nerds. But Grim was wrong. Nerds were cool these days. The Farley brothers would be worth millions one day, or they would cause the end of the world. Or maybe get locked up because they became supervillains.
Josh wasn’t sure, but he was interested in the outcome. Of course if they ever gave in and allowed Livie to become their queen, they would definitely veer into supervillain territory. His sis could come up with an evil plan like no one else.
The trouble was, he kind of thought Livie might not be their type. But his sister didn’t listen to his instincts.
He breathed a sigh of relief as the brunette made it to the table and managed to get the heavy tray down.
Grim was back to watching her, too. Then he turned, and a brow rose over brown eyes.
Josh grinned and slowly nodded.
And that was that. Nicole was on their radar, but then he’d known she would be the minute he’d caught sight of her weeks before. Grim had been in Dallas attending a conference. This was the first time he’d had a chance to see the woman Josh had been thinking about. He wouldn’t approach her without Grim.
Begin as you mean to go, but it looked like he was going to get his shot.
“Besides,” his sister was saying, “the last I heard Bobby and Will are working on their doctorates at MIT. I’m not offering to go to Massachusetts to explain our new accounting software to the physics department. I’m offering to go to Bliss and spend way too much time teaching an ex-football player how to use a spreadsheet. I say that because I know James Glen will run the minute he sees me and I’ll end up hanging out with Trev and the girls the whole time.”
Because his sister could be a bit much. The Circle G was run by the Glen brothers and Trev McNamara and his partner Bo O’Malley. The G was a partner ranch in his fathers’ organic cattle collective. They’d started out just the two of them—Jack Barnes and Sam Fleetwood—and now they represented the interests of over twenty independent ranches across the country. Josh split his time between actually working the ranch, running the day-to-day business of the company and traveling around to train their partners on everything from new accounting software to all the legal crap Uncle Lucas could come up with.
“That’s because you scare the crap out of Mr. Glen, Livie.” Grim might still call their parents Mr and Mrs, but he did not have the same issue with their sister.
Grim treated Olivia like the sister he’d always wanted after being raised the youngest of a brood of asshole brothers. Years later and Grim still went quiet when one of them walked into a room.
“I do not.” Olivia’s green eyes rolled, and she sipped on her Dr Pepper. “I’m perfectly nice.”
She was. Olivia could make a room light up with her smile, but she could also tear a strip off anyone who got in her way. She had a zest for life that drew people to her. He liked to say she was all the best parts of their parents. She had their mom’s kindness, their pops’s joy, but knew when to bring out Dad’s ruthless will.
Josh himself was all about ruthless will, and if he got sent off to Colorado, he wouldn’t be able to solve the mystery Nicole presented. She had a certain look about her.
A bit haunted. A lot innocent.
If he left, he worried she might move on, and any chance to peel back her layers would be gone because he was also almost certain Nicole was in trouble, and he intended to see if he could help.
And also if she needed an orgasm. He’d found sex was excellent at clearing a person’s head and helping them think straight again.
“Livie should do the Bliss run,” he said, sitting back and picking up his burger. It had been his turn to choose their Saturday night dinner spot. It was something they’d done since they were kids, not that there was much to choose from. Willow Fork, Texas, was a town of roughly three thousand people, though it served a larger rural community. There was a honky-tonk with some great bar food, a nice Italian place, two fast food joints, and Christa’s. Sometimes they splurged and went into Tyler.
He remembered the first time Grim had come with them. He’d sat in the booth at the honky-tonk staring down at his burger. He’d eaten it like he was starving, and Josh had realized his friend was.
Starving. For food, for attention, for affection and friendship.
Grim had come a long way under his parents’ loving care. He no longer shrank back when the old biddies of the town sent them all the stink eye or turned their noses up. And by old biddies, he didn’t mean merely old or female. There were plenty of middle-aged male biddies in this town.
“And why is that?” Dad’s brow had risen in that “you better have an excellent explanation since it’s actually your turn to do training and you doing your job might save my precious baby girl from those ravenous nerds who likely want to eat her up” way.
Yeah, he spoke Jack Barnes well, and he had an excellent excuse. “Grim and I have a trip planned for next week. We’re going to Austin.”
They were going to spend the weekend at a club there. A BDSM club. They’d started regularly attending a club called Subversion. It was further away than Dallas, but at least there weren’t people there who had once changed his diaper. It was a real mood killer as a topic of conversation, and it came up way too much at the decadent palace known as The Club.
His dad sighed and sat back because he knew those weekends were sacred. “All right, then, but Olivia, I better not get a call from the sheriff about you swimming naked in ponds you do not own.”
Like he’d said, his sister could be a little wild.
She grinned. “It was hot, and the pond looked nice and cool. How was I supposed to know that Max guy would freak out?”
Because that Max guy freaked out about everything, and his daughter, Paige, was one of Olivia’s favorite people to plot with. Maybe sending his sister to Bliss was a bad idea.
“Oh, no,” a feminine voice said, and he looked up. Nicole slid across a massive pile of ketchup some kid had dropped on the floor.
Josh was up and out of his chair in a second, reaching out and letting her fall into his waiting arms.
Big brown eyes stared up at him as she slowly realized she hadn’t hit the floor and likely come out of the whole escapade ruining her not-so-pristine uniform. “Sorry.”
She was even prettier up close. She had big eyes and brown and gold hair that looked wavy despite the fact she had it scooped up in a bun on top of her head. She looked at him for a long moment as though seeing him for the first time.
And then she was scrambling up. Grim had gotten out of his chair and picked up the notepad she’d dropped. He helped her find her balance, and she stared up at him, too. This was right where Josh wanted her. Small and soft and in between them.
“No need to apologize,” Josh said with his most charming smile. “We’re happy to help.”
Grim said nothing, simply handed her back her pad and watched her with hungry eyes.
Her breath hitched, and she smoothed down her skirt. “Thanks, again. I’ll go clean that up.”
She hustled away, and they both watched her.
“Yes, we need to worry about Olivia,” his mom said with a sardonic twist of her lips.
“Well, I’m not worried about her,” his pops countered. “Now Josh and Grim looking at the new girl like they could eat her up when she’s obviously a woman on the run, that’s something to worry about.”
If Pops had heard gossip, he wanted to know. He sat back down.
“Why would you say that?” Grim got to the point first. His plate was already empty. Sometimes Grim still ate like someone would take it away from him if he didn’t hurry.
Dad sighed. “Because we’ve seen it a time or two, and there are already some rumors about her. She talked Christa into giving her the job with only one reference, and convinced her to pay her wages in cash. She’s staying at the motel that rents by the week, and she pays cash for that, too.”
“Not everyone has a bank account. There are any number of reasons she doesn’t.” Josh didn’t judge a person. Hard times hit a lot of people and in different ways. He’d been lucky enough to not need money, but he had friends who did.
Grim nodded, obviously taking the cue. “Yeah, she could be down on her luck. It could be anything.”
“Or she’s on the run from something,” Pops said, putting an arm around Mom’s shoulders and leaning in. “Speaking of, darlin’, I think you’re in some trouble.”
Olivia made a gagging sound, but Josh liked that his parents were still all over each other.
Dad grinned and whispered something in Mom’s ear.
He wanted a similar situation for himself someday. For him and Grim. Oh, he likely wouldn’t get it from Nicole, but they could have a nice time.
And if he could help her out, he would do that, too. He glanced to his left, where she was walking into the kitchen.
She didn’t know it yet, but they were coming after her.
* * * *
Nora Holloway liked being Nicole Mason for the most part. Mostly because no one wanted to put Nicole in jail or in a grave to hide their secrets. Of course, Nora hadn’t spent her days and nights wearing a uniform that made her look like she was on a seventies sitcom and carrying trays of sloshing liquids through a moving obstacle course.
She’d started to think of herself as Nicole. There were times when Nora and her problems seemed so far away.
And then there were times when she was absolutely certain law enforcement was standing right behind her, ready to take her in for a crime she hadn’t committed.
“You okay, honey?” Christa Wade looked up from the deep fryer. They were light on staff this evening, so she was helping out in the back. Her current employer was an older woman with what seemed like endless energy and enthusiasm. And kindness. “I sent Lance out to clean up. I’ll have a talk with Sharla Simmons. Her son cannot use my condiments for impromptu art projects.”
It was so different from the cities she’d lived in. “The kids are feral here. They scare me.”
That got her boss smiling. “Oh, a lot of our children live a bit of a free-range experience.”
“Are they like wild animals? More afraid of me than I am of them.”
Christa’s head shook. “Nope. Country kids fear nothing except their momma’s wrath. You’ll get used to them. The good news is when they’re misbehaving, their parents will take care of it if you point it out. Now you didn’t answer my question. Are you okay? Milly said you slipped.”
Oh, yes, and she’d seen a broken bone in her future. Or at least a lot of humiliation.
And then all she’d seen were deep green eyes and a jaw made from granite. It wasn’t like she hadn’t noticed the gorgeous cowboy. He’d been in a couple of times, and it took a lot to not drool over him.
But she was smarter than the average girl because she’d been way stupider in the past. She knew exactly what a man could do to a woman.
But they weren’t all alike, and you’re not going to be here a month from now. What would it hurt to blow off some steam? It’s not like you’ve been to bed with a man in…years. God, it had been years. Her life was getting away from her, and she wasn’t enjoying even the smallest part of it.
Her heart ached because it wasn’t like she could go out there and flirt with him.
Or his incredibly intense and hot brother. He hadn’t said a damn thing, but the look he’d given her had told her all she needed to know. Or maybe they were cousins. She wasn’t sure. It was the first time she’d seen the mystery cowboy with his family. The dark-haired older man was definitely his father, and she thought the red-haired woman was probably his mom, making her younger version his sister. But she wasn’t sure where the gloriously gorgeous blond man fit in. He was older, too, but those two men were timeless.
“I’m fine. I didn’t fall or anything. And I know I’m clumsy, but I’ll get better.” She had to. She couldn’t afford to lose this job because her car was in desperate need of repair. She’d had to dump her original car and pay too much for a piece of crap since she’d had to find someone who would take cash and not request the normal paperwork.
Now the car needed work or it would break down entirely, and she was stuck in Willow Fork. That was sort of good and kind of bad. In the weeks she’d been here she’d discovered the town was split in two. One side was friendly and welcoming, and the other looked at all strangers as potential…she wasn’t sure. Enemies. Criminals. Women who might lead the men astray. It was weird.
Christa was definitely part of the good side of town. She put a hand on her shoulder. “I know you will. You’re already better. You handled the dinner rush this evening with ease.”
She wouldn’t say ease, but she was going to get through it. Of all the jobs she’d had over the last two years, this was the one she felt safest at. She’d bartended at a couple of places in LA where they were willing to pay her under the table. She’d done a lot of housekeeping work, but she’d been surprised to find exactly how many people thought the women who scrubbed their floors were less than human.
All in all, Christa’s Café was a good place despite the feral children. It had nothing to do with that freaking gorgeous cowboy because that was going nowhere.
She looked out over the counter to where the cowboy was pushing back his chair. The auburn beauty—the younger one since the older one was stunning, too—rolled her eyes at something he’d said. Definitely a sibling.
“That’s Josh,” Christa said quietly. “He’s a good kid. Though I guess he’s not a kid anymore. I love Josh. He calls me Aunt Christa, but you should know he’s a little on the wild side.”
“He’s mean?” Her brain went there. Immediately. Every single time she thought of a man, her first question was would he turn into a freaking monster. She knew that wasn’t what wild meant, but the words were an impulse.
Christa frowned her way, though it wasn’t an irritated expression. It was more curious, and that felt dangerous. “No, honey. Josh is the least mean kid I know. However he has been known to go through women. And he has some…nope. I’m not talking about that. You should know that he and Grim are both lovely men, but they have bad reputations when it comes to the amount of women they can run through, though I’ve also heard no one’s complaining. And that is my lecture since you are obviously a whole-ass adult woman who likely can spot a charming player from a mile away, no matter how good intentioned he might be. You seem a little fragile.”
She was beyond fragile. She’d been broken and put back together so many times she wasn’t even sure where her original parts were. It didn’t matter because she couldn’t exactly start a relationship with anyone. Not when there was a warrant out for her arrest. For murder.
Once her car was fixed up, she was going to finally make her way to Mexico and then further south. She would lose herself in a big city and try to find some kind of a life.
The cowboy named Josh looked her way as he held the door open. Their eyes met, and he tipped his hat toward her. He was big and broad and now she understood the phrase sex on two legs.
What would it hurt to be the next in line to try this Josh guy out? It wasn’t like she was going to be here in another two weeks. Three, tops.
Then the other guy looked her way, his dark eyes finding hers, and she swore she could feel the man’s hunger. It didn’t scare her the way it should have because she was apparently extremely horny and incapable of behaving like the walking Dateline episode she was.
Nicole forced herself to turn, picking up her notepad. The last thing she needed to do was get in between two relatives and potentially start a fight that would bring a whole lot of attention her way. It was one thing when she’d thought she could hop in and out of Josh’s bed, but another when his brother/cousin/relative to be discerned later also made her heart pound and looked at her like he could eat her up. Still… “Why do they call him Grim?”
Christa waved at the woman who was likely Josh’s mom, and then leaned over as the door closed behind them. “His real name is Jared, but I’m afraid he got that nickname in school and it stuck. His stepfather is a bit of a fire-and-brimstone type, if you know what I mean. He’s happier where he is now. But he’s still got some family around I would tell you to stay away from.”
She felt her eyes widen. “Like the ones who stand in front of the library at the community college and call all the girls who walk by whores? I took that catering order out the other day and they were obnoxious.”
Christa’s eyes rolled and her head shook. “That sounds like them. Look, hon, this place is full of church folk, and like all folk there’s good and bad. Most of the churches here are loving and kind. One is a little snooty, but the one Jared was raised in is dangerous, in my opinion. He got out, but they’re still around. Be careful around Ezekiel Smith and his boys and anyone in his church.”
Nicole huffed and looked to her boss. “Ezekiel? Did his mother want him to become a weird cult leader?”
Christa shrugged. “It’s fitting and honestly, Grim is, too. I love Jared. My best friend took him in years ago, but there’s still a darkness about him I don’t know will ever go away.” She sighed as one of the line cooks announced an order was up. “That’s all the maternal warning I’m going to give you today. I think that’s Jimmy’s chicken fried steak. I wish he would eat a salad every now and then.”
“I’ll take it.” Salads weren’t big at the café. She grabbed the plate and started for the dining room floor.
Just a few weeks more and she would start a new life.
Copyright 2024 Lexi Blake
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