Lock and Key

By Ellen Graves

Sarah Locke has had a bad couple of months.

 

After walking in on her boyfriend in bed with another woman, then getting laid off from her well paid, comfortable advertising job due to cut-backs, and finally watching her high-end apartment building burn down with all of her worldly possessions, she decides to walk away.  She finds a small carriage house for rent out of the city, in a small town at the base of the mountains, and she transplants her life and tries to start over.

 

Kane Myers has had a bad couple of years.

 

Being the strong arm for the president of the Black Devils MC used to be a better gig.  But once the president started sampling more of the product than he was selling, the club’s name was trash, and his job got tough.  Really tough.  The old prez was out but rebuilding a brand took time, and until that happened, Kane needed cash flow.  Which is why he decided to sublet his carriage house.

 

It was hate at first sight.

 

Sarah is equal parts fascinated and repulsed by Kane’s mixture of tattoos and the collection of scars that cover his body, and she’s only mildly offended by his “couldn’t care less” attitude, but she really can’t stand the way he affects her.  Kane loves pushing her, and more than that, he loves seeing her react.  Soon they’re crossing lines they can’t step back over. But there’s a thin line between hate and love. And they might find, that’s a line they just don’t mind crossing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: eBook Publishing World
• Release date: Mar 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781507016343

Book preview

LOCK AND KEY

I think it’s time for a fresh start, Sarah began and swirled the coffee in her cup as the ruddy glow outside bathed in warmth.

You’re right, Her best friend, Kate agreed. Why don’t you do some research and see where you can find another job in your field? There must be advertising positions elsewhere; start job hunting and see what you can find.

But Sarah had a different idea.

She'd been through a great deal of personal issues lately. The day she was laid off from her high-end advertising job, she walked in on her now ex-boyfriend with one of his colleagues in their bed. He tried his hardest to reason with her, but she closed the door on that relationship—and his apartment—that day.

She'd lived for her job then, having worked her way up from the bottom while going through school. Her boss told her he was sad to see her go, but there was nothing he could do. The whole department had to be let go due to cut-backs within their company.

Now, two months later on the exact day of losing her job, she found herself in a coffee shop across the street from her old condo-building, watching it go up in flames from the inside out. She had a hard time working through the loss. At first, it felt like she lost everything—job, boyfriend, and ease of mind. But now it was all of her possessions, including mementos from her childhood and the last remaining pictures of her great-grandmother too.

What are you going to do? Kate asked, face scrunched up in confusion.

Move to the countryside. Sarah shrugged. I’ve always wanted to live away from the cities since I was little. She finished the coffee and pointed at the flames with the empty cup, smiling tiredly. If there's any time to do it, it might as well be now.

It must be hard to live of your savings.

You have no idea, Kate.

You're always welcome on my couch. Kate offered.

Thanks, but I think it's time, don't you? She couldn’t bring back her possessions, but she could restart her life completely in a new part of the country. Besides, it wouldn't be fair for Kate. Maybe she'd be able to stay there for a week, maybe even two, but sooner or later, the cost of living in the city will catch up to her and she'd have to face the inevitable moment.

Setting the empty coffee cup down on the table, Sarah Locke decided that for once, she's going to be in control of her own life.

***

It’s small, but it'll work. You did a good job at keeping it functional, even though you haven’t been using it, Charlie said as he looked around the carriage house, taking in the details with a practiced eye.  Still concerned, he continued, Are you sure about this, Kane? You'll have a stranger living fifty feet from your house.

"You know how it is, Charlie. Business has dropped at the club since James skipped