Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

JJ (JAXON)

I adored Shepard Saint. I really, really did. It had been two and half years since he'd entered my world and the second I'd laid eyes on that man, I'd known my life would never be the same.

Granted, we'd met under serious duress. My best friend forever, Mason, had been assaulted, and the five Saint brothers: Shep, Angel, Noel, Nick, and Gabe—now his forever love—had come to his rescue. Then they'd kidnapped him.…People are weird. Anyway, turned out the Saint brothers had been righting a lot of wrongs. Some seriously high-powered people had killed their foster parents and sister, and by happenstance, we'd later found out that the fire Mason's folks had been killed in was set by these bigwigs who'd wanted to own the whole town.

Of course, drama breeds drama—and that had ended up exposing a human trafficking ring, and again Mason had been taken and hurt so badly. My sweet friend was never the same after that, but the light was slowly returning to his eyes.

We'd rescued two amazing kids from the clutches of their parents and these disgusting assholes. Heather and Andrew Gilly were happily living with their aunt Tessa and in the two-years-plus that had passed, they'd made huge strides.

Every person responsible for the pain they'd caused…well, they were dead. Weird, right? Don't answer that—plausible deniability!

When we left that town of nightmares and moved across the country, Mason bought a plot of land and built a big house on it so we could all live together while not being on top of each other. If you hadn't guessed, my BFF was loaded.

We started a business to protect and help people. Angel was very passionate about it and while Gabe and Mason took part, they didn't have too much on their plate with regard to clients. Business was slow, and that had a lot to do with the fact that we weren't advertising. I mean, it wasn't like we could say, "Want someone dead? We're here for you."

So, Shep, my hunk of a man who loves to cook, opened a bakery, which was also a front for our murder-ish business. This past year with no drama had forced Shep and me to really see who we were and if we could be something without all the gunfire and mayhem.

It was challenging, but like my dad always said, "If you can take all the parts you don't like about someone and say the good far outweighs the bad, it's worth fighting for."

That was what we'd been doing, fighting for each other. A day at a time. I mean, the good did outweigh the bad. The sex was… amazing . See, Shep was a big guy in all areas: Six foot three, he was broad with mouthwatering muscles. Brown hair with hints of red adorned his beard, and his Viking hairstyle was to die for—shaved on the sides and long and thick down the middle. And those eyes, blue like the most gorgeous sea. Whenever his gaze met mine, I turned to goo. And that whiskey-rough voice…

More than that, he was a good man. He cared about me a lot. He was ridiculously observant, and all I needed to do was sigh, and he'd be like, "What's up, babe?" He was also my first-ever boyfriend. I didn't commit, but with life being what it was…two years had sped by, and here we were. Together. Why was I afraid of us, when at the same time I couldn't imagine us not being together?

I'd have to figure this all out, and soon. Shep was getting antsy with my odd mood swings, and that wasn't fair to him. He knew I wasn't sure what the future held, and all he wanted was a future with me.

I pulled the covers off my body. It was morning, and I'd promised Shep I'd run to the store and pick up the flour and eggs he needed for a wedding cake he was making. I stared at the empty side of the bed, which was cold to the touch. He'd been up for hours, unable to sleep past six. Not me—I'd sleep all day if you'd let me.

The clock read eight thirty, so I had to shake my butt. He was getting started on the cake at ten. Fortunately, the store was only two blocks from his bakery, and the weather appeared to be perfect, so I'd be able to park and walk it.

After a quick shower, I brushed my teeth and combed my blond hair out of my face. I needed a haircut. I wasn't ugly; I was good-looking, actually. But very different from Shep. I was blond with green eyes, five foot seven, and while I wasn't lanky, I didn't have muscles. I had defined skin…sure, we'll go with that.

I left the bedroom and the house was quiet, which meant everyone was already out for the day, because no one in this house slept late. Did nobody appreciate sleeping in?

In the kitchen, Mason sat at the table with his laptop open.

"Morning," I said as I went straight for the coffeepot.

"Hey, you're up early for you."

I rolled my eyes and poured the sweet nectar into my mug.

"I see you woke up and chose sass for the day." I moved over to the table with my coffee and sat with him.

"Always." He smiled and went back to whatever was pulling his attention to the screen.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing really. Angel, Nick, and Noel left to help some client and they can't find any decent lodging, and then the twins started fighting and Angel called me."

I nodded into my cup. Sounded right. Noel and Nick were identical twins with similar personalities, but boy could they fight. Poor Angel for being stuck with them.

"You're trying to find a place for them?"

"I am."

"You're kind." I drained my cup and brought it to the sink to rinse out.

"I just don't want Angel to drive the car down an embankment and kill them all. We just bought the thing."

Chuckling, I opened the pantry and grabbed the reusable bags for shopping. "I love how your concern is for the car and not the lives."

He shrugged. He adored the brothers, as did I. No one would ever question that.

"I'm off to go get my man some flour and eggs."

"Have a good day." He was distracted, so I kissed the top of his head and left.

We had several cars, which was nice. Nothing ostentatious, thankfully. I often opted for one of the SUVs, and today it was the Traverse. I'd drive to the bakery and walk to the store. While the bakery was close to where I had to shop, it was a good twenty minutes to get there, and I wasn't one of those "Exercise is fun," kinds of people.

As I pulled the SUV up next to his motorcycle—because my boyfriend, he was that kind of guy—I noticed the bakery was buzzing. I was thrilled it was doing so well. He'd even had to hire someone to man the register, and I knew he'd need more help soon. I loved assisting him, and I'd continue to do so until then.

I bypassed going in, knowing he'd distract me, and walked along the street toward the little mom-and-pop grocery store.

The day was really perfect, and I couldn't help but smile as the sun shone, the birds chirped, people laughed, the boy stared at the dumpster, the… Hold on a moment.

I took a few steps back and double-checked the alley. Yep, there was someone leering at the dumpster. He couldn't have been very old, maybe sixteen. He was filthy, no shoes or socks on his feet, rags for clothes. He was covered in dirt, and I couldn't tell much else about him.

I looked up and down the sidewalk, and while I should have texted someone something like, "Hey, guess what? I found a dirty man who might be insane and eat my face, but I decided to take a chance. Pray for me," I didn't. I just took a few steps closer.

"Hey."

Nothing. Not a twitch, nothing at all.

"Are you okay?" I asked a little louder.

Still no movement. "My name is JJ, what's yours?"

Okay, was he a lifelike mannequin or something? That would be so embarrassing. No, I was able to see his chest rise and fall.

"Are you hungry? I was just going to the grocery store; I can get you something."

Shit . I was going to have to nudge him. I put my bags on the ground, slipped my hand into my pocket to grip the knife Shep demanded I carry at all times, and stepped a little closer to the man.

"Hello, can you hear me?" Maybe he was deaf. I poked his arm with my finger and he did a slow pan, stopping when he met my eyes.

"You don't look so great. Can I help you?"

He cocked his head but still didn't talk. His eyes were brown—that much I could tell. And vacant, like the lights were on but nobody was home.

I held out my hand to him, silently praying he didn't attack. "Come on, I can get you some food."

He stared at my hand for a beat then back at me. I watched as he lifted his arm and placed his— oh Lord —bloody hand into mine.

"There's a bakery right over here, has cupcakes and muffins, whatever you want."

I started to walk, glad that he came with me. Maybe once he sat, ate, and got cleaned up, we'd be able to figure out what was going on.

One thing I was sure of was that Shep wasn't gonna be happy.