An Opportunity for Redemption

By Donna Gallagher

She kept his son a secret for years—she should pay for her deceit. Instead, he's fighting the urge to drag her back into his arms—and bed.

When ex-commando—and now owner of Haven Security—Nathan Haven discovers he has a son, it's enough of a kick to the gut. Learning at the same time that this child he's never met is losing the battle with leukemia—the last straw. He vows to make Rebecca Hammerton regret her decision to keep his son a secret from him. But first he is going to do everything in his power to help defeat the disease that threatens his boy's life. Then he will deal with the woman that walked away from him seven years ago without so much as a by your leave, turning his heart to stone.

He just has to suppress the constant urge to drag the damn sexy heartbreaker back into his arms—and his bed—first.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing
• Release date: May 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781784305154

Book preview

Page

A Totally Bound Publication

An Opportunity for Redemption

ISBN # 978-1-78430-515-4

©Copyright Donna Gallagher 2015

Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright April 2015

Edited by Sarah Smeaton

Totally Bound Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound Publishing. Unauthorized or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

Published in 2015 by Totally Bound Publishing, Newland House, The Point, Weaver Road, Lincoln, LN6 3QN

Totally Bound Publishing is a subsidiary of Totally Entwined Group Limited.

Warning:

This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a heat rating of Totally Burning and a Sexometer of 2.

Haven Security

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR REDEMPTION

Donna Gallagher

Book two in the Haven Security series

She kept his son a secret for years—she should pay for her deceit. Instead, he’s fighting the urge to drag her back into his arms—and bed.

When ex-commando—and now owner of Haven Security—Nathan Haven discovers he has a son, it’s enough of a kick to the gut. Learning at the same time that this child he’s never met is losing the battle with leukemia—the last straw. He vows to make Rebecca Hammerton regret her decision to keep his son a secret from him. But first he is going to do everything in his power to help defeat the disease that threatens his boy’s life. Then he will deal with the woman that walked away from him seven years ago without so much as a by your leave, turning his heart to stone.

He just has to suppress the constant urge to drag the damn sexy heartbreaker back into his arms—and his bed—first.

Dedication

To the wonderful Sydney ARRA ladies—Helen, Lyn, Laine and Barb—your encouragement, friendship and faith in me keeps getting me over the line. Thanks also to my editor Sarah, Emmy for the beautiful artwork she creates and Holly for answering all those emails.

Trademarks Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Mario Kart: Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Mario/Princess Peach/Luigi: Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Coke: The Coca-Cola Company

Skype: Microsoft Corporation

Maccas (McDonald’s): McDonald’s Corporation

Hummer: General Motors Corporation

The Batcave: DC Comics

Boy Scout: Boy Scouts of America Corporation

Vegemite: Mondelēz International

Corn flakes: Kellogg Company

Spider-Man: Marvel Comics

Lego: The LEGO Group

Nintendo: Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Chapter One

Dear Nathanial,

I’m sure you are probably shocked to be receiving this email from me after all this time. I’m reaching out to you out of desperation and fear, Nathan. My son is dying. His only hope is a transfusion of bone marrow from a suitable donor. I have exhausted every avenue in my search for that compatible match but have failed. It’s why I reach out to you now, with the hope that you might do me this huge favor and have your bone marrow tested. Not for me, Nathan. I don’t deserve any acts of kindness from you—but for the sake of my son.

The testing procedure is a simple one, requiring only a small sample of your blood to be taken and sent off for analysis, to determine if the HLA—Human Leukocyte Antigen—is a match.

Please, Nathan, I beg you. Get tested and ask your doctor to forward the results to Danny’s specialist, Dr. Gregory Parker, Head of Pediatric Oncology at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Hammerton

Still dressed in the wedding tuxedo that Antoinette Grimaldi—now Beck—had coerced him into wearing as Jason’s best man, Nathan Haven sat staring at his computer. His blood had turned to ice, frozen in his veins, as he stared at the image of the boy that filled the screen. He’d been staring at that photo for what felt like an eternity, recognized those dark eyes and the cut of the boy’s chin. It could have been a photo of Nathan himself at that age. It reminded him of the framed picture his mother still had sitting on her sideboard taken when he had won his first trophy for rugby league in the under sixes.

This boy was his son.

And his son was dying.

Nathan had not heard a word from Rebecca Hammerton for over seven years. Their last correspondence had been her ‘Dear John’ email, calling off their engagement.

He hadn’t laid eyes on her since the day he’d kissed her goodbye as he’d headed off to training camp for the Green Berets Commando Unit. That was until tonight when he’d opened the email marked to his attention, sent via the Haven Security website. Nathan clicked open his inbox and read Rebecca’s deceitful missive again.

The first time he’d read through the email, Nathan had known there was something important Rebecca was not saying. Like any good investigator would, Nathan had typed her name into the search engines of various social media sites, looking for answers.

He had found one, in the photos posted on her page.

A mother-fucking, mind-blowing, unbelievable omission from Rebecca’s plea for his help. Her son was, without doubt, Nathan’s progeny.

A son she had kept hidden from him for over seven years and one that he might never get the chance to meet if he didn’t get his act together—and fast.

His contacts were far and wide, and Nathan was going to call on every one of them he thought could aid him in this battle. First on his list was Martin Shore, a medic who over the years had patched him up on many an occasion, and who was now a doctor of emergency medicine at the local hospital. Marty had once found himself trapped behind enemy lines, caught there as he’d tried to save the life of a soldier who had taken a bullet. Nathan and his team had gone in, found Marty still working valiantly on his patient and got them the hell out of there. Since then, whenever Nathan had needed medical assistance, Marty had been happy to help.

It was only four a.m. but that didn’t stop Nathan from reaching for his phone. The guy’s probably up to his elbows in blood and guts this time of the morning anyway. He punched in the numbers that would connect him to Dr. Shore. Even though Nathan knew weekend mornings in hospital emergency rooms were usually overrun with men and women suffering the effects of alcohol-related injuries, he didn’t feel guilty distracting Marty from his workload.

Shore, said the gruff voice on the other end of the line after no more than three rings.

Marty, it’s Nathan Haven. I need your help.

Where are you? What are your injuries? Martin Shore’s no-nonsense take-charge voice exacted, without hesitation.

No injuries. I need information and I need it yesterday. Nathan had never been known for his cordial phone manner and he wasn’t going to change that now—not when every second he wasted could be the difference between his son’s life and death.

You coming to me or me to you?

Are you at the hospital? I can be there in ten minutes. You might need to use the hospital resources for this.

Where else do you bloody think I’d be on a Saturday night? Scratch that, Sunday morning, Marty replied with a hint of weariness to his voice that Nathan had not heard before. Come to the clerk’s desk. I’ll let her know I’m expecting you.

See you in ten, Nathan confirmed as he disconnected the call before immediately punching in more numbers. He needed to contact Chris.

This better be fucking important, dude. It’s just gone four a.m.

Nathan didn’t bother with a reply to Chris’ statement. He figured Chris to be balls-deep in some woman that he’d picked up at Jason and Toni’s wedding reception. He’d noticed the attention from the single ladies—and some of the married ones too—that Chris had received.

I need you to hold down the fort here for a few days, Chris. I have some personal business that needs handling and Jason’s on his honeymoon. I’ve left a file on my desk with the details of all our current assignments. I’ll call you back in a few hours after you’ve had a chance to go through the file.

Nathan hung up before Chris had the chance to reply. He took time to print off a copy of Rebecca’s email to show Marty and a copy of the photo of Danny, for himself, before heading to his car.

There was more soldier than man in Nathan now and it was that dominant side that took control of the situation. A battle plan was needed. Every soldier knew that. Strategy and intel were what gave you that edge over your enemy. The more you knew about your foe, the terrain you were headed into, the types of challenge that might arise, the more chance you had of returning safely with the mission completed. That was what Nathan intended to do—form a strategic battle plan to give him the best advantage in combat, to claim victory in this war. And it was a war, of that he held no doubt. His enemies, a damn disease that was killing his son and the woman who had deprived Nathan of the chance to develop a relationship with him—one he may never get the chance to experience.

* * * *

Nathan strode through the automatic opening doors of the emergency room ten minutes later. The hospital waiting room was nearly deserted. A few people were seated in the plastic chairs, no doubt waiting to be seen or to hear news on a loved one, but Nathan didn’t pay any of them more than a glance as he headed for the reception desk.

Nathan Haven for Dr. Shore, he’s expecting me, he told the tired-looking brunette that sat behind it.

He told me to page him when you arrived, the woman replied, and Nathan didn’t miss the once-over she gave him, the way her eyes moved so she could take her fill of him from head to toe.

Women had a tendency to react like that around him. Usually they got the hint quickly if he wasn’t interested in reciprocating their intent. When and if Nathan felt the need to fuck, he made sure the woman knew the score—no emotional attachment or promises made, just a night or two of good old-fashioned, fun-filled, orgasm-inducing action in the sack. At the moment, getting down and dirty with a willing recipient was the last thing on his mind.

Take a seat. He should be with you soon, the clerk finally responded, her tone curt, signifying that she’d gotten the message Nathan had intended.

He didn’t sit. He took a few steps away from the desk and waited for Marty to appear, his mind retreating to a memory from the past, back when Nathan’s heart had still been involved in his choices, to a time when Rebecca had still meant something to him—a time when he had thought he loved her.

You spilt some ice cream on your boob. Want me to clean that up for you, baby?

Well, finally you notice! I was trying to be sexy, but it’s frickin’ cold, so could you hurry it up, Nate? Rebecca giggled as she held her tits