Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 39540 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39540 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
Pippa -- My life has been shaped by some kind of underworld scheming I don’t really understand. Or maybe I don’t want to know. But now I’m living in darkness and violence, unable to break free but unwilling to succumb to the drug induced stupor my captives force on me. Then Gunnar, a fierce man with a dark relentlessness, charges to my rescue like a black knight, taking vengeance on those who have hurt me. Our first meeting isn’t a rescue out of a fairy tale -- it’s pure chaos. Gunnar may be an ex-con, but he protects me with a ferocity I never knew existed.
Gunnar – Pippa’s quiet resilience clashes with the violent life I know. With just a look, the woman claims my heart and life takes on a brand new meaning. I’ve done time -- fifteen long years behind bars, to protect my sister. Now I’ll protect Pippa with a ruthlessness she can’t even imagine.
My past is dark, my future uncertain, and every moment with Pippa makes me realize the lengths I’ll go to keep her. Fate has brought me to the one woman I know I can’t live without.
Gunnar includes scenes of graphic violence and adult situations including potential triggers for some readers. There’s also a protective hero, an intelligent, insightful heroine, and eventual happy ending. No cheating, as always.
Copyright All Changeling Press LLC publications and cover art are copyright and may not be used in any AI generated work. No AI content is included or allowed in any Changeling Press LLC publication or artwork
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Prologue
Fifteen years ago…
“No, Gunnar. You can’t do this.”
“It’s done, Hannah. Go home before anyone sees you here.” I tried to keep my voice soft, but there was an almost overpowering rage inside me threatening to explode. My sister, my twin, should never have to be exposed to something like this.
Hannah sobbed and threw herself at me. “Please don’t do this, Gunnar. Please. I can’t not have you with me.”
“I’m so sorry, Hannah. And no matter what, I’ll always be with you. Go home and clean up. Don’t say anything to Mom or Dad.”
“I can’t do that. Dad has to know.”
“NO!” I snapped the command hard at her. “This can’t come back on you.” I pushed her back slightly but framed her face with my hands. “Go clean up. Burn your clothes.”
“He was going to r-rape me, Gunnar.” Her voice was so soft I barely heard her. Had I not been looking straight at her I would have missed her words.
“I know. But he didn’t. Right?”
She shook her head. “No. I s-stopped h-him.”
“Good. That’s all that matters. Now go. Do as I say.” I tried my best to be gentle with her, but the fact was, this was really a shit show.
“Daddy told me he didn’t like him.” Now, Hannah turned to look at the man she’d stabbed to death ten minutes before. Thank God I’d been close when she’d called. Just like our father had taught us, Hannah’s blade had found his left kidney several times and he’d bled out. The result was a Godawful fucking mess. There was no way for me to clean it up without leaving evidence behind and the only way to ensure it was completely clean would mean getting Bones MC involved. Which I would never do. Not for this. Yeah, there was some sketchy shit going on from time to time in Bones, but Dad and Bohannon tried to keep it clean. This was anything but clean.
“I know. Don’t worry about that right now. Just go home and do what I told you. And not a word to anyone. Go home. Go to your room. Take a shower and scrub all the blood off. Don’t forget to get under your nails. Use peroxide on your hands. It will bubble if it touches even dried blood, so you don’t miss anything.” She held my gaze with her fearful, pain-filled one. “Burn all your clothes, Hannah. Take them to the woods deep inside the compound, away from everyone. Everything. Including your underwear and socks. Be careful, but use gas or lighter fluid. You have to get it all and sift through the ashes to make sure everything is burnt. Understand me?”
She nodded before hugging me once more. “I’m so sorry, Gunnar. So sorry…”
“None of this is your fault. He crossed a line and was asking to get killed. Just take care of yourself. I’ll talk to you soon.”
I watched her go. At sixteen, she should never have had to go through this. Now it was up to me to protect her, and I would. With everything in me. I’d give up everything to protect my twin. Even if I called my older brothers, I wasn’t sure they could fix this. Not without risking the club and I’d never put my dad in that situation. Every single member of that club was like family to me. I’d known them all my life. So, the only way to protect Hannah without risking any more of my family was to do this myself.
I gave Hannah a few minutes to get on her way. I spent that time getting my hands bloody. I had no intention of them doing a thorough job investigating this crime scene, but I wiped down the blade Hanna had used before covering it back in blood and making sure my own prints were on the knife.
By the time I’d prepared for my next call, I’d had time to think about what I was doing and consider the consequences. No matter which way I looked at it, the only path I could see to keep my sister, brothers, my father, as well as Bones MC and my father’s company, ExFil, away from risk was to take responsibility myself. My decision would probably cost me my relationship with my father and the club I’d grown up in, but Dad could take care of himself as well as mom and my sister.
The legal battle that followed was short and painful. Short because I pled guilty from the first and would not let anyone convince me to do anything different. I never wavered from my story that I’d killed the bastard, but I’d told them it was because he’d threatened my sister. I think even the judge was baffled by my refusal to allow my lawyer to negotiate for a lesser charge. Or go to a fucking trial!