Read Biker Stepbrother - The Complete Series (Parts 1, 2, and 3) for Free Online Page B

anecdotes.
    So I did what I knew how to do. I kept a careful, emotional distance from women, never allowing myself to get too close like they were some kind of hot stove or something. I’d make it perfectly clear that I wasn’t the settling type. They could take me or leave me. I wasn’t changing. Most of the time, for whatever reason, they took me anyway. I supposed they always hoped they could be the one to change me.
    All I knew about love and feelings and shit was that the only thing I’d ever loved had been taken away from me when I was fifteen. It was funny how life brought her back to me though just when I probably needed her most.
    “Gray?” she asked.
    “Yeah?”
    “How long are you staying in Malibu?”
    “Not sure.” I’d been waiting to hear from my brother. He’d promised to keep me posted, saying he’d do his best to call off the dogs until he could find out who really killed Big Nash. All his life, I’d been the one to have his back, and it didn’t feel right that I’d been run out of town like some coward. It made my blood boil just thinking about it. Gray Daughtry wasn’t a runner. He didn’t run away from anything or anyone. Ever. “Why do you ask?”
    She shrugged a single shoulder and peered up at me with a hint of adventure in her brown eyes. “Take me with you when you leave.”
    “Everly…” I sighed. I couldn’t get her involved in my mess. As far as I knew fifty men wanted my head on a platter. She didn’t need to be caught up in any of that.
    “I’m not asking.”
    I smiled. The years had turned her into a persistent little thing.
    “You better not leave town without me. I’m serious, Gray. I’m coming with you.”
    “Something tells me you won’t take no for an answer.”
    She shook her head. “Promise you’ll take me with you?”
    I crossed my chest, making an ‘X’. “I promise.”

SIX – EVERLY
     
    I threw everything I could fit into duffel bag small enough to fit in Gray’s saddle bag. He said we were leaving town that night. He’d heard from Nash about how a couple guys were heading west in search of him, and given their extensive network, a few other clubs were keeping their eyes peeled for a man fitting Gray’s description.
    Maybe it was stupid to go with him, but I didn’t care. Anything was better than sitting around and living a life that made me feel dead inside.
    I slipped my bag over my shoulder and tiptoed down the hall, passing Mom and Sterling’s master bedroom where they were cozied up in bed. Sterling was passed out, snoring, and Mom’s glazed over expression was glued to the T.V.
    I thought about saying goodbye to her, but I knew she’d try to talk me out of leaving. She still hadn’t heard about the engagement being called off, though judging by the massive texts Holden had been firing off to me since the night before, he didn’t think we were over. Holden always got what he wanted. I was certain, in his monkey brain, that he figured we’d had a fight and we’d be back to normal eventually.
    I’d left a note on my pillow for my mom with a simple explanation:
     
    Mom,
    I’m leaving town for a while. I’m fine. I need some time to think. I’ll be back soon.
    Eve
     
    Mom would probably assume it had to do with the engagement, but my mind was made up. I wanted to leave town, make a new life for myself, and get to know Gray all over again.
    I journeyed across town, pulling my car next to his bike in his hotel parking lot. I trekked inside and rode the elevator to his floor. My stomach whirred with anticipation and the imagined sensation of the wind blowing through my hair and the vibration of the road beneath me as we traveled cross-country together.
    I rapped on his door, but it was already slightly ajar thanks to the position of the security lock lever, so I let myself in.
    “Gray?” I called out. His room was a hot mess, though it’d pretty much been that way since the day he stayed there. Sheets were twisted and lying on