Broken Angels MC Book 2

HANNAH

Two years ago, when I packed up my life and moved here, I didn’t anticipate falling for a biker. Heck, I didn’t plan on falling for anyone. I was fresh out of a relationship and all I wanted was a clean slate.

Aliana and I became fast friends in college. We were practically joined at the hip. I was there when she and Alex started dating.

I didn’t know all the details, but I knew something was off when she vanished. I felt helpless, unable to do anything.

I even tried talking to my father about it, but he’s not the kind of man who acts on hunches. He needs solid proof before he puts his men at risk.

My dad is Travis Mason, the head of the Mason Family Mafia. He runs the biggest, most feared mafia in the United States.

But his need for proof didn’t mean he didn’t try to find her. We have one of the world’s best hackers on our side, but even she couldn’t locate Aliana. Whoever hid her did a damn good job.

When I decided to move here and open a clinic with Ali, I wasn’t looking for love. I was nursing a broken heart and just wanted to have some fun.

Then, I saw him.

His gaze felt like it could see right into my soul. His green eyes, his blond hair that always falls into his eyes, his tall frame.

We’ve been sleeping together for over a year now, and I’ve been battling my feelings for him. I don’t want to risk getting my heart broken again.

I don’t think I could handle it, especially not from him.

Just ask the last guy how that worked out for him. My dad wasn’t pleased, and I don’t want anything bad to happen to Jackson.

For the past few months, I’ve been trying to avoid the clubhouse and Reaper. Every time we’re together, I feel the pull towards him growing stronger.

It’s been almost two years, and I’m amazed I haven’t given in yet.

I keep thinking about how my last relationship ended and, even though I know he wouldn’t hurt me like that, I still find myself listening to my head instead of my heart.

I’ve become an expert at self-sabotage over the years, and I have no one to blame but myself.

Today is the twins’ birthday, and I’m running late. I’m stuck at the clinic with one of my regular patients.

I know there’s something wrong at home, but there’s not much I can do if she won’t open up. I’ve promised her confidentiality and offered to help, but she remains silent.

This time, she’s here with a broken arm and several broken ribs. She’s covered the bruises with a ton of makeup, but I know what to look for.

Ali used to try and hide her bruises too, but I grew up around violence. I know what it looks like when someone is trying to cover up abuse, but that’s a story for another time.

I finish setting her arm in a cast and once again, I plead with her to let me help. “Please, talk to me.

“We both know that I know what’s happening. I can’t do anything until you want help. I’m bound by patient-doctor confidentiality, but I know people who can help you. Do you still have my number?”

She nods but doesn’t say anything more. Her husband walks into the room, acting like he’s not the one hurting her.

“Oh, honey! Are you okay?” he asks, feigning concern. “I got a call at work from the maids saying you fell down the stairs.”

I can see right through him. He’s not worried about her.

His face might show concern, but his eyes tell a different story. He’s warning her to stay quiet or face the consequences.

He doesn’t even let her answer. “Thank you, Dr. Mason. Is there anything else that needs to be done? I’d like to take my wife home so she can rest.”

I shake my head, hand them the paperwork, and watch them leave. I hang my head in frustration. I hate feeling so helpless, only able to treat her injuries.

The last time I felt this helpless was when I discovered my older sister was being abused.

I walked into her room to borrow something and was shocked to see her covered in bruises. They were all over her torso, and one on her cheek.

I told her I was going to tell dad, but she begged me not to. She pleaded with me, and I knew I couldn’t betray her trust, but I wanted to help her.

I needed to do something.

I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing, but I was only fourteen at the time so my options were limited. I should have gone to my dad when I found out.

Maybe she’d still be here if I had.

She was good at hiding it, and I knew she’d deny everything if I told. So I kept quiet and helped take care of her when she was beaten so badly she couldn’t move.

That’s when I decided I wanted to be a doctor.

One botched mission was all it took for my sister’s husband’s anger to explode.

I lost my sister that night, and my family lost an incredible woman.

He beat her until she drew her last breath. When my dad found out, he went on a hunt to find out who killed his daughter.

Her husband was on a “mission” the night she was murdered, so my dad didn’t suspect him until he returned, but it wasn’t my dad who killed him.

I was so devastated by the loss of my sister, I shut everyone out. I didn’t talk to anyone. I just waited and planned my revenge.

When he returned, my dad told him about my sister, and he had the audacity to fall to his knees in fake grief.

I lost it when that happened.

I darted over to my father, snatched the gun I knew he kept tucked in the back of his pants, and fired a bullet into the bastard’s shoulder, then his stomach, and finally, after I’d told everyone what he’d done…

I shot a bullet right between the eyes of the murderous bastard.

I shook myself out of my thoughts and glanced at the time. I still had to get home, shower, and change for the birthday party, and I was already behind schedule.

I hurried to tidy everything up before locking up and heading to my apartment.

Luckily, I lived just a few minutes from the clubhouse, so I wouldn’t be too late. Once I got home, I dashed into the shower to wash off the day’s work.

I spent about five minutes cleaning up before I hopped out of the shower and into my room, my hair wrapped in a towel.

I pulled on a pair of jeans and a snug shirt before letting my hair out of the towel and tying it into a messy ponytail. I slipped on my shoes, and five minutes later, I was on my way to the clubhouse.

I waved at the guard at the gate as he let me into the compound. There wasn’t much around here because the Broken Angels MC practically owned the town.

Westyn, and Robert before him, never ruled the town through fear. They might be involved in some illegal activities, but that didn’t make them bad people.

They ensured the town had what it needed, and they even hosted charity events at least once a year.

I drove past one of their garages and parked next to Ali’s car. I’d be seeing Reaper after a few months of avoiding him.

Was it really avoiding him if I’d been busy at the clinic? Maybe, but my head told me it was necessary, while my heart told me something entirely different.

I mean, it’s not like we’d just met days or months ago. It had been over a year since we first met.

Ali had warned me that if I wasn’t looking for something serious, I should stay away from Reaper, but being me, I didn’t listen to a word she said. I found myself in bed with the sexiest man I’d ever seen in my short life.

I just wished I could get my head and heart on the same page.

We’d started this thing as sex, but we’d talked afterward. I knew him better than he knew himself and vice versa.

Well, mostly. I hadn’t told him about my family or why I’d moved here. I needed to, but I was scared.

That’s what it all came down to. I was scared to trust another man after what I’d been through with my ex. I was scared of what he’d think of me being a mafia princess and whether it would discourage him from being with me.

I knew he was part of an MC club, but the mafia was a bit different from a biker club. My fears were preventing me from fully committing to him.

I needed to decide what I wanted—and fast. I was running out of time.

He wasn’t going to wait around forever, and I wasn’t sure what I’d do if he decided to walk away and never look back.

I got out of my car and grabbed the presents I’d bought for the girls. I adored all of Ali’s kids.

She hadn’t been in the office for a few days now; even when she was coming into work, Axyl would make a big fuss about it because she was pregnant.

She had to reduce her hours the further along she got in her pregnancy. It was draining her, and she needed more sleep.

I understood Axyl’s worry because of what had happened during her pregnancy with the girls—I’d feel the same way if I were Axyl. But it’s not like she was due any day now. She still had three months left.

I heard Axyl grumbling about her not sitting down when I reached the door.

I tried my best not to look for Reaper when I entered the building. It seemed that whenever we were in the same vicinity, my eyes always sought him out. I hurried past him and straight to my best friend.

It amazed me that I knew exactly where he was in the room when we were in the same area. Why couldn’t I just get out of my head and follow what my heart wanted? I mean, it had been almost two fucking years, for Christ’s sake!

“Hey, Han! Glad you finally made it,” Aliana greeted me when I reached her.

“She came back again.” I didn’t need to say anything else because she knew who I was talking about. I’d had her talk to her as well, but nothing seemed to work. She’d ask for help—hopefully, before it was too late.

I could see in her eyes that she felt the same way I did. She knew what had happened with my sister. She was more than my best friend—she was one of my sisters. My family loved her, and her family loved me.

“Anyway, where are my nieces and nephews?” I scanned the room and admired the decorations while looking for the twins, Murdock, and Danny.

My gaze landed on where Jackson was standing, and I couldn’t seem to tear them away from his green eyes—the eyes that had captivated me since the first time I met him.

“Just go talk to him,” Ali urged. “It’s been a year and a half. I told you before you started this that if you weren’t looking for something serious, don’t start anything with him.

“You did and now you’re running from your feelings for him.

“I can see the way you look at him. You look at him exactly the way I look at Axyl. Don’t let your fear prevent you from being happy.”

She was right. I knew she was, but that didn’t make this any easier. I nodded and walked over to Jackson. “Hey, Reaper,” I said shyly when I reached his side.

“Jackson. I’ve told you to call me Jackson, Hannah.”

I tried—and failed—to suppress the shiver that ran through my body as he said my name.

He was right—he had told me to call him Jackson since the first time we were together intimately.

The only time a biker lets a woman call them by their real name is if they’re serious about said woman. It said a lot about how our relationship had evolved over the past couple of years.

I only use his real name when it’s just the two of us. It feels more personal, using a biker’s given name instead of their road name.

“Can we have a private chat?”

He gives a nod, and I trail behind him to his room at the clubhouse. He holds the door open for me to enter first, then follows me in, closing and locking the door behind him.

“What’s on your mind?” he asks.

I pivot to face him, taking a deep breath. I take another breath, perch on the edge of his bed, and glance up at him through my lashes.

“Whatever it is, you can tell me,” he assures me. “I know you wanted this to be just about sex, but you know how I feel about you. I’m here to listen to whatever you have to say.”

He settles down next to me on the bed, waiting for me to speak.

“I like you, Jackson. Initially, I was just looking for a casual fling, but every time I’m with you, it’s harder to resist this attraction I feel for you.

“There are things about me you don’t know, and I’m not sure how you’ll react when I tell you.”

“Hannah, I’m not here to judge you. You should know that by now. You should’ve known that since our first time together, nearly two years ago.”

I let out a sigh, preparing to reveal my family background and why I’ve been resisting these feelings. The only ones who know about this are my family, Aliana, and Axyl.

“My family is the Mafia. My dad is the head of the Mason Family Mafia. The biggest and most feared mafia in the US,” I confess.

He looks taken aback. I would’ve thought he’d have figured it out, but apparently, he hadn’t.

“I chose to become a doctor after my sister’s husband beat her to death. I killed him in revenge when I was fourteen. I’ve killed people before, and I don’t regret it.

“I did it for my family.

“I served as the family’s personal assassin until I left for school.”

I can tell he wants to interject, but I cut him off and continue. “When I left for college, I had a boyfriend. We’d been together since I was fifteen. He was my brother’s best friend and his right-hand man.

“I returned for my brother’s birthday a few years before I met you and found him in bed with my sister, Sierra.”

“I’m sorry, Hannah,” he murmurs when I pause to take a deep breath.

“It’s okay. When I discovered them together, I lost it. They were in my bed—the bed we used to share when I was home. We were supposed to get married someday.

“When they realized I was there, they didn’t even stop. They just stared at me while he kept thrusting into her from behind.

“I pulled the gun from my thigh holster and shot him in the thigh. My sister screamed, and I shot her in the shoulder.

“I’m a good shot—I knew I didn’t hit anything vital. My brothers and parents came running. If my dad hadn’t taken the gun from me, I would’ve killed my boyfriend and my sister for their betrayal.

“I fought my dad because I wanted them both dead. I was hurt. They shattered my trust and my heart.

“The point I’m trying to make is... I don’t trust easily, and I’m scared to fully commit to you because I don’t want to be hurt again.”

We sit in silence while he processes everything I’ve just revealed, but I haven’t told him everything yet. I may be a doctor, but I can kill and torture better than some of my dad’s best men.

I just hope he doesn’t see me differently now. If I’m being honest with myself, I’ve already fallen for him. I fell for him last year when our eyes first met. I was just too scared and hid it well.