Brawn (Book 1): Twisted Ghosts MC, #1

By APRIL LUST

This is book 1 of the Twisted Ghosts MC trilogy. Books 2 and 3 are available everywhere now!

I just kidnapped the mob boss's daughter.

The plan was simple:

Steal the girl. Get the money. Hit the road.

But then something unexpected happened…

I fell for her.

Her mafia daddy f**ked up when he double-crossed me.

So now she's gonna pay the price.

The boss's daughter is the finest piece of a$$ I've had in a long time.

And as long as she's tied up in my basement, waiting for her pops to pay the ransom…

I plan on having her again and again.

But calling Brittney a handful is an understatement.

The chick is feisty as hell.

She isn't gonna make this easy for me.

That's no problem, though.

Breaking her will be half the fun.

But then came the worst possible twist for a loner like me and a spitfire like her…

We fell for each other.

So now, I'm forced to choose:

Do I let her go to keep her safe?

Or do I start a war to keep her mine?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sopris Page Press
• Release date: Jun 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393294252

Book preview

Brawn: A Motorcycle Club Romance (Twisted Ghosts MC) (Book 1)

By April Lust

I just kidnapped the mob boss’s daughter.

THE PLAN WAS SIMPLE:

Steal the girl. Get the money. Hit the road.

But then something unexpected happened...

I fell for her.

Her mafia daddy f**ked up when he double-crossed me.

So now she’s gonna pay the price.

The boss’s daughter is the finest piece of a$$ I’ve had in a long time.

And as long as she’s tied up in my basement, waiting for her pops to pay the ransom...

I plan on having her again and again.

But calling Brittney a handful is an understatement.

The chick is feisty as hell.

She isn’t gonna make this easy for me.

That’s no problem, though.

Breaking her will be half the fun.

But then came the worst possible twist for a loner like me and a spitfire like her...

We fell for each other.

So now, I’m forced to choose:

Do I let her go to keep her safe?

Or do I start a war to keep her mine?

Prologue

Brawn

H ey, man, what’s up ? Usually Shift waited and caught up with me after work if he needed me for anything. What the hell was he doing at the jobsite first thing in the morning?

The last time he rode out to meet me that early, it was because our old VP had died. I dreaded to know what kind of news he had for me now.

I have a job for you, he said after we greeted each other with an embrace. He wasn’t even trying to keep his voice down. He didn’t care who heard him.

A job? I said quietly as I walked farther away from my boss’s trailer, making sure no one could hear us, especially not Mr. Kelly.

He laughed. It’s okay, Brawn. This isn’t an MC job. Well, it sort of is. One of the guys just bought a Cal King mattress and wants you to build him a nice frame for it.

That’s all you came out here to tell me, bro? That could have waited until the end of the day. I laughed, though I wasn’t amused. He didn’t have to come out and pull me away from my day job to tell me about a side project.

Yeah, it’s Brash. He says he’s willing to pay you a pretty good bit for it, too.

I could see in his eyes the real reason why he came out to my dusty old jobsite to tell me about the offer. It wasn’t because Brash had just moved and would probably need more work done. I had actually been waiting to hear from him about furniture for his patio and a few things he wanted done around his new house.

No, the reason Shift had come out was to offer me money for my side work. It figured.

Man, I can’t accept payment from one of The Twisted Ghosts. You know that. I was pissed he would even make the offer.

"Hey, you won’t let me give you any money, so I figured you’d accept some for a job," Shift said, trying to justify his dick move.

Look, I’ve already been talking to Brash about some of the stuff he wants done around the new house. I’ll get with him about the bedframe, but that’s it. I’m not asking him for money, and I’m definitely not accepting any, I told him and started to walk away.

Then, what the hell are you going to do? Shift called behind me.

He was right to ask. What the hell was I going to do? I hadn’t planned on working in construction as a carpenter. I had planned on opening my own place. That was why I stopped working for Mark. I didn’t want to accept anybody’s stupid charity to make it happen, though. I wanted to prove I could do it on my own, make my own calls.

I’ll figure something out, I told Shift.

Sure you will. You’ve been working for this dick bag for how long? he asked, stepping closer to me.

I shook my head. I don’t know, man. Why don’t you tell me, since you’re so worried about what I’m doing? You tell me how long I’ve been here. You tell me how broke I am and how I haven’t earned any money for the MC. You tell me, Shift. And while you’re at it, tell me how to fix it.

I’ve already told you how to fix it, bro, he said coolly, standing back and holding up his hands like he was giving up on talking anymore about it.

Cool. That’s all you got, though, isn’t it? Just loaning me the money or landing me some good charity work. I see. I nodded, trying to drive my point home with him and hoping my brother would finally understand where I was coming from. I didn’t want any charity work. I didn’t want any fucking handouts.

Come on, man, this is what the MC is all about. We help each other out when we can. You’re more than Ghost family, brother. You’re my real family. Let me help. I don’t want to see you doing something stupid like running a strip joint just to help with the money for the MC, Shift insisted. You still have a chance to follow your dream.

Carpentry to woodworking weren’t just dreams though. They were the only natural talents I had, other than getting women into bed. I could have any woman I wanted.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a whole lot of respectable work out there for a guy who could do what I could, sexually. My goal, instead, had always been to open my own shop and go into business for myself. But I was going to do it myself. I didn’t want to owe anyone any part of my business at the end of the day.

"I have time to follow my dreams is what you mean, I corrected my older brother. In reality, it takes money to do that."

Okay, it takes money. Funny how we always come back to that part of it. How much are you making here? he asked me. His voice was stern, as his question was rhetorical. He already knew I was only making pennies on the dollar working for Mr. Kelly.

Of course I didn’t answer. I looked down at the dry, dusty ground and kicked at the loose dirt with my work boots. The fact was I was making pennies on the dollar compared to what I could have been making on my own.

You’ve been working for him for how long now? It’s been a while hasn’t it? he continued his questioning.

I nodded. Yeah, it’s been a minute. I kept my answer short and quick.

How much have you been able to save up toward starting your own business?

That was the nail in the coffin. I hadn’t been able to save up any money. I barely made enough to keep my head afloat. All the while, everyone could see the dollar signs in Mr. Kelly’s eyes. He kept our hours long and our pay short. Didn’t want anyone doing better.

Listen, if you let the guys help you out and pay you for some of the work they need, you’ll have enough money to get off the ground. And you know how it works, Brawn. Once you get to where you can help the MC, you get a cut of the profits. Off the top. Payment for your service to The Twisted Ghosts.

What he meant was that once I was able to launder some of the MC’s cash and make it look legit, I was going to be able to make more money because some of that cash was going to be paid out to me for my service, basically hazard pay for risking everything for the MC. It meant letting Numbers handle my books – no, his name wasn’t obvious at all.

No thanks, brother. I grabbed Shift’s shoulder. I want to do this on my own.

And you can. I do, he said with a smug little grin.

You’re full of shit, too, I told him with a laugh. The only thing keeping the strip club off the ground was the money from the MC.

That may be, but at least Numbers makes all that extra dough look vegan kosher in case anyone comes looking, he reminded me.

I sighed and kicked around more dirt. Talking about the MC in front of my boss’s office made me nervous. Mr. Kelly wasn’t the most upstanding individual himself. There were stories. He was connected somehow, had ties to the mafia or some other criminal organization. Whether or not he did, I wasn’t completely sure, but he did seem to listen to our every word and watch our every move at work. He kept a close watch and tried to run a tight ship. It was like he was keeping an eye on his employees for someone else.