Page 1 of Best Laid Plans

Prologue

Then

LIL

The moon is full, casting an eerie glow across the former ghost town. Though it leaves me unsettled, I know there are worse things to fear than ghosts.

I hesitate before I knock. Every time I come here, I risk exposing more of myself than I can afford to. Yet here I am anyway.

I’m just making things harder for myself in the long run. The man I’m falling for will never be able to love me back because the woman he sees is a carefully crafted lie. I can’t tell him the truth, so it sits between us like a bomb ready to explode. In my head, I swear I can even hear the tick tick—the countdown that would mark the end of us, before we ever really had the chance to begin.

Shuffling from foot to foot, I keep my emotions locked down before they bubble up and spill over. All these doubts and worries have me twisted up inside so much that I swear I’m going to give myself an ulcer. I’m just about to turn around and head back to the saloon when the door opens. And there he is, standing in the doorway, the light behind him acting like a spotlight, highlighting all the reasons I can’t bring myself to walk away.

“Lil? Everything okay?”

I swallow, suddenly feeling tongue-tied, which isn’t like me. I’ve had to talk myself both into and out of so many situations over the last few years that words rarely fail me, but something about this man always leaves me feeling off kilter.

“Everything’s good. I’m just at a loose end and wondered if you wanted to watch a movie or something.”

As a club girl, my job is pretty much to be at the brothers’ beck and call, except when it comes to prospects. Prospects are not allowed to sleep with the club girls until after they’ve been patched in. Not sure if it’s supposed to be an incentive for them or a layer of protection for us when seventy percent of prospects fail to earn their patch.

It had never been an issue with me. I was not one of those girls with stars in their eyes who thought one of these rough-and-tumble men would fall hopelessly in love with them, claim them as their old lady, ensuring they had the club’s complete protection. I watched it play out with Legs, one of the other club girls. She loved Midas so much it hurt to watch sometimes. The light in her eyes dims a little more each day as he chips away at her happiness. Things had turned around a lot for them lately, so I was holding out hope that if nothing else came of this shitstorm that was brewing, she’d at least get the happily-ever-after she deserves.

I could want that for others even if I’d never have it for myself. I’d fucked up too many times, made too many stupid decisions, caused too much pain. Girls like me didn’t get happily-ever-afters, and I was okay with that. All I wanted was a place to call home and somewhere to lay my head at night without fearing what might be waiting for me in the shadows.

“A movie sounds good. How about you come in and make yourself comfy, and I go raid the kitchen for snacks.”

I smile, relieved he didn’t turn me away, and head inside. I make it a few steps in before Lucy, Power’s German shepherd, greets me. I hold out my palm and wait for her to approach. Lucy doesn’t come around the saloon much. She’s not much of a people person, preferring to stay next to Powers. I can respect that. As a K9 explosives detection dog, she’s learned to always be on guard, which makes her wary of people in general. As much as I get it, it makes me sad too. I’m one of the lucky ones that she seems to like, though, and I don’t take that lightly.

When she sniffs my hand and leans into me, I drop to my knees and give her a good scratch. “Hey, pretty girl. I missed you.” She licks my face, making me chuckle. When her tail starts wagging, I press a kiss to her head.

I look up and see Powers watching us with a look on his face I don’t even try to decipher. “Something wrong?”

“Not a thing. Are you in the mood for something sweet or savory?”

“Eh, both?”

He chuckles. “I don’t know why I even ask anymore.”

I shrug. I’m an equal opportunities snacker.

“TV’s still not working in the living room, so head on up to the bedroom. Take Lucy with you.”

“Alright. You sure you don’t need any help?”

“Nope, I’ve got it. Help yourself to a T-shirt or a pair of sweats. You know where they are.” He heads to the kitchen before I can say thanks. I watch him leave before making my way upstairs, with Lucy walking up behind me.

I take a deep breath when I push the door to his room open, letting his unique scent wrap itself around me. I don’t know what it is, but whenever I breathe it in, I feel my whole body settle. Lucy jumps up on the bed as I move over to the dresser, pulling out a soft T-shirt that looks like it’s been worn and washed dozens of times. I lay it on the bed as I strip out of my tank top and bra. I pull the shirt over my head before slipping off my short cargo shorts and kicking my flip-flops aside.

The T-shirt reaches me mid-thigh, which actually makes it longer than my shorts, so I don’t bother with sweatpants. I crawl onto the bed, grab the remote from the nightstand, and turn on the TV. Lucy lifts her head and lays it in my lap. I stroke my fingers through her fur as I flip through what’s on.

Powers walks in holding a tray of food and pauses for a second, his eyes moving up my bare legs to the hem of his T-shirt. “That’s my favorite shirt.”

“I’m guessing that means I can’t keep it?”

“You keep stealing my shirts, you won’t have anything to wear when you come over.”

I swallow, picturing myself sprawled out naked on his bed, his powerful frame looming over me.