Lily – It's taken me a long time to love my curves. Even though I've embraced who I am, I still find it unbelievable when a man like Hunter Blake asks me out. No, even worse… He wants me to pretend to be his fiancee! Has the man lost his mind? I have to admit, his touch sets me on fire, and I'm having a hard time keeping my distance. It won't hurt to play along for a little while, right?
Hunter – Everyone on Oak Island knows me as a millionaire playboy. They have no idea who I really am – the son of an MC President. My dad got mixed up in something bad, and now his entire club has been wiped out. Changing my name and taking on this persona is the only way I can survive. I never thought I'd find an irresistible woman. One I want to make mine in every way possible. But how can I ask Lily to spend the rest of her life with me when I can't even tell her who I really am?
Three Years Ago
Jake
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I knew my father was into some bad shit, and he’d been slowly dragging his club down with him, but this was insane.
“I don’t see a way out of this. They’re going to come for us. All of us.”
Yeah. I got that part. Which meant he’d put me, and the families of the other members at risk too. I knew what came next. The monsters he’d done business with would hunt all of us until they’d killed every single person related to my dad’s club.
“I’m going to walk out the door and never see you again. If you try to find me, you won’t be able to. I’m going to vanish as if I never existed.”
He nodded. “I expected as much. Honestly, I want you to live. Jake, you’re my only son. Go make a new life for yourself. Find a woman. Raise some kids. Forget I ever existed.”
“Why did you phrase it that way?” I asked. Only son. I closed my eyes. Please, fuck no. Tell me I didn’t have a half-sister out there somewhere.
“I’ve never been in touch with them,” he mumbled. “I only know because I saw them by chance one time. Girl has to be mine.”
“Your eyes?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yeah. She has one blue and one green. Hair is between mine and her mom’s in color. She’s a lot younger than you. Only twenty-two.”
“Where is she?” I asked.
He slipped me a piece of paper. “Don’t open it now. Take it with you. If you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you at least kept an eye on her. She doesn’t know me. Doubt her mom said anything.”
“You’re a pain in my ass, old man,” I muttered.
“I’m aware. Been damn proud of you, Jake. Sorry you have such a fuck up for a father. I know it hasn’t been easy to be related to me. I do have one last gift for you.”
“And if I don’t want it?” I asked.
“Same paper has an account on it. No one knows it exists. Over the years, I’ve hidden half a million in that account. Use what you need, invest a chunk of it. You’re a smart kid, Jake.”
I fisted the paper in my hand, wanting to throw it in his face. But I held back. Being on the run wouldn’t come cheap. The fact he’d given up his nest egg meant he was giving up his life for mine.
“I’ll take it. I’d say be careful, but…”
My dad gave a sad smile. “End of the road for me, Jake. Love you, kid. Always have, even if I didn’t know how to show it. Now get out of here.”
At least my mother wasn’t alive any longer to deal with this shit. I walked out, got my Harley Davidson SuperLow. Fucking hell. I’d have to ditch the bike and get a new one. I shoved the paper into my pocket and started up my bike, pulling away from my dad’s clubhouse for the last time. I glanced at it in my sideview mirror. The fact I felt a twinge in my chest told me enough. I might be pissed as fuck at the man, but I’d miss him. He’d done his best. At least he’d kept me out of the life as much as he could.
Time to start over. Reinvent myself. I had some fake I.D.s already set up. Now I needed to pick one, figure out my backstory, and get my hands on that money. I’d always wanted to go to the beach. Maybe I’d find some quiet town along the Atlantic. Doubted anyone would think to look for me there.
Jake Donelson was no more.
