Jackal (Heartlands Motorcycle Club Book 12)

By Frankie Love

There’s only one girl I want. And she’s way too good for me.
Lydia is the sweetheart of the Heartlands and she’s nothing but innocent.
And me? I’m nothing but trouble.
As a teenager I did time for a crime I don’t regret.
Killing my stepfather was the only the way to protect my ma.
When I meet the bikers of Heartlands Motorcycle Club, it was like I’d finally found my people.
But I’m keeping a secret. When our new club rivals, the Burning Devils, find out where I’ve been all this time, I can’t keep hiding the truth.
They want to avenge my stepfather’s death. And kidnapping Lydia is their idea of payback.
I’ve been to prison once — I’m not scared of going back.
But I’m goddamn terrified of losing the girl I love.

Dear Reader,
Jackal is a wild-at-heart hero, ready to show Lydia what it means to be his woman. She’s ready to take a leap of faith if it means jumping into his arms ... and his bed. This double virgin romance is nothing short of filthy-sweet.
xo, frankie

The alpha males of Heartlands Motorcycle Club are the most possessive, devoted, and territorial men in the country when it comes to the ones they love.
Heartlands is a rough and rugged new series of standalone stories. Written by four of the most trusted names in short and steamy romance, each book will get your motors revved and your hearts racing. Guaranteed.
Make sure you check out the other books in the Heartlands MC Series:
Ranger by Frankie Love
Chain by Dani Wyatt
Killian by Olivia T Turner
Saint by Hope Ford
Jaxon by Olivia T. Turner
Gage by Hope Ford
Hammer by Dani Wyatt
Conley by Frankie Love
Hammer by Dani Wyatt
Beckham by Olivia T. Turner
Ryder by Hope Ford
Jackal by Frankie Love

• Language: English
• Publisher: Frankie Love
• Release date: Dec 1, 2021

Frankie Love

Frankie Love writes filthy-sweet stories about bad boys and mountain men. As a thirty-something mom who is ridiculously in love with her own bearded hottie, she believes in love-at-first-sight and happily-ever-afters. She also believes in the power of a quickie. Get ready to fall in love … you deserve it! **Frankie also writes under the name Charlie Hart!

Book preview

Jackal

This isn’t how I spend my Friday nights. Ever.

Usually it’s me going for a long ride after work, grabbing a beer at the bar, then heading home early to chill out to some music and unwind.

I know, pretty tame for a badass biker — but I keep to myself. It’s how I spent my childhood. And now, as a twenty-three-year-old man, it’s how I relax. I sure as hell don’t do parties.

Yet here I am. I’m at the big end of summer party at Hollow Oak Hill, and everyone's having a good time down at the lake. The guys I work with are giving me a hard time for being here. Not because they don't want to see me, but because I never come out. I'm no damn recluse, but I keep my head low. And I have my reasons for that.

Maddox hands me a beer. It's good to see you out, man, he says with a grin. Damn, what made you decide this party was the one you'd actually come to?

We look out over the lake. There are a bunch of the younger Heartlands members here. Maddox and I work at the garage together and there are some other guys we ride with, but lots of townies too. And while a lot of the women are ones we know from the Ride or Die bar, there are a lot of new faces too. I see a few guys I recognize, but I don’t know from where. It gives me a bad feeling. If shit went down here tonight, I wouldn’t know who it was with, or why.

Maddox whistles. There's some fine ass here tonight. Right?

I clench my jaw, running a hand through my hair. I shrug. I don't know, I say. It's just really not my scene.

So why are you here at all? he asks.

Again, I shrug. It's not that I don't want to tell him the truth, but if I do, he's going to razz me about it. Maddox is that kind of guy. He likes to joke around. Always the charmer and always with a new girl. We couldn't be more different. It's not that I'm not likable. It's just, well, okay, I’m not exactly likable.

You see that girl, Peaches? he asks. She just got hired at Ride or Die, and look how good she looks tonight. Maddox grunts. Damn.

I laugh. Why don't you go talk to her? She's with a group of women that I don't recognize. They're in bikinis and cutoff shorts. Everyone's been jumping in and out of the lake, but now it's getting colder out and someone's making a big fire.

The plan is to hang out here all night, drinking beer, maybe sleeping under the stars. I see a few tents have popped up already. Me, I'll ride home before then. I like to sleep in my own bed, with a roof over my head. And I like to be able to see the doorway. See who's coming for me.

My time in prison taught me that, to always be on the lookout.

And sleeping out here with a bunch of strangers? Hell, that's dangerous. And I don't do danger, not anymore.

Which is why I usually stay away from parties, and stay put at the mechanic shop. An engine I understand. People, not so much. They're complicated in ways a piece of machinery isn't. I can read an instruction manual and understand how pieces fit together. But human beings aren't like that. There's always a curve ball you don't expect. Alliances made you don't understand, and contradictions that break your heart.

I tense my jaw, hating where my mind is going. But that's the thing about me. I'm not exactly the most fun to be around, way too serious for my own good. Maddox knows that. He understands me, even if he doesn't like me being a buzz kill.

I take a drink of the beer, wanting to loosen up, have a good time. There you go, buddy, Maddox says, clapping me on the back. Okay, you ready to be my wingman?

I chuckle at that. Even though I try to keep a straight face all the time, it's impossible not to laugh at this jackass. God, I love him like a brother, but we couldn't be more opposite.

Sure. I'll be your wingman. Not sure what I can offer, exactly.

Just talk me up, Maddox says as we walk over to the group of women. You know, say something nice about me.

Nice about you? I laugh harder now. I don't know about that, Maddox. What's nice about you? You get in bar fights most weekends. Conley threatens to throw you out of the Heartlands because you show up drunk to meetings. And last time I accidentally walked in on you at the mechanic shop, you had two women over your knees. Not exactly dating material.

Maddox laughs. I know, but maybe Peaches will see through all that and give me a chance.

I shrug. Maybe.

And surely one of her friends is to your liking.

I look over at the three women Peaches is with. There's nothing wrong with them, exactly. They seem nice enough, or at least like they like to have a good time, but they're not why I'm here. Neither is Maddox. There's only one reason I came out tonight, and I can't tell a soul.

I swallow hard as I look across the lake at the party in full swing, looking for her. Her. Always her. But before I can find the girl who I can't stop thinking about, we've reached Peaches and her crew. Maddox is introducing himself and me, and I jut out my jaw trying to think of something to say to make Maddox seem like the catch he wants Peaches to believe he is.

I just got here with my girlfriends, Peaches is explaining. But where did Lydia go?

One of her friends speaks up. She said she was going to get a drink.

Satisfied, Peaches turns to Maddox, asking him what he does, but my eyes are roaming the lake, looking for her. Now that I have confirmation she came, I won’t be able to relax until I see her.

I work at the mechanic shop, he says, and I know you just got hired at Ride or Die. I thought maybe after work sometime we could get together and hang out.

Peaches smirks. Oh yeah, you thought so? She raises an eyebrow. And why would I go out with you? I've heard of your reputation.

I clear my throat, knowing this is the time I'm