Unexpected Love (South Coast Brothers Book 5)

  Unexpected Love

  (South Coast Brothers #5)

  Kacey Hamford

  Text copyright © 2016

  Kacey Hamford

  All rights reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are the products of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any other means without permission from the Author

  Table Of Contents

  Text copyright © 2016

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Epilogue

  About the author

  Acknowledgements

  I really enjoyed writing this book and there are a few people who made it possible.

  Firstly my better half, for allowing me the peace and quiet to write and not complaining when I wake up in the middle of the night to jot down ideas as the book characters just won’t let me sleep.

  Stef, for always telling me she needs to read more after I’ve sent her a few chapters and for helping me write my fabulous synopsis.

  Lucii, my PA and friend, for always encouraging me.

  Amy, for always telling me ‘You can do it’ and helping with all the many names I needed.

  Bonnie, Kathleen, Emma, Donna, Ash and Michelle for supporting me in my writing and for giving me honest opinions on the book when Beta reading.

  For the girls in my street team, Kacey’s Kick Ass Crew for helping get my name out there and always supporting me.

  Finally, thank you to you, the reader for buying this book. I hope you enjoy the fifth instalment of the South Coast Brothers.

  Happy reading

  Prologue

  Jasmine

  “Come on, Nathan. If you want to go to the park before we see nan and grandad then you had better hurry up!” I called out to my three and half year old son. He was small for his age, I was told all through my pregnancy that he was on the small side, it didn’t help that for my entire pregnancy I was grieving the loss of his dad. Nathan’s dad, Harvey, was the love of my life, we had been together for two years when I found out that I was pregnant. We were both happy about it and had just moved into our small house together. Then one day, he was walking home from the pub he worked at in the evenings and was the victim of a hit and run. I was told that he died on impact.

  “I’m coming!” Nathan called back, snapping me out of my daze. He looked just like his dad with his light brown hair, dark brown eyes and button nose. He ran out of his bedroom towards me with one trainer on and one in his hand, his zip up hoody was hanging off his shoulders and the collar to his t-shirt was sticking up at the back.

  “Come here, handsome.” I smiled as I crouched down on the floor to straighten out his clothes. “Why have you only got one trainer on?”

  “Because you were yelling at me to hurry up.” He sat on the floor and pulled his other trainer on, fastening the Velcro strip.

  “Here, put this on and we can go.” I smiled as I held out his blue coat. He rushed over to me and shoved his arms inside. I zipped it up and we left the house to head to the park.

  “Mum?”

  “Yes, Nate,” I answered while checking for cars as we crossed the road. I could see the park up ahead of us and it was surprisingly busy. Kids running around everywhere, so much for it being quiet so Nathan could play and I could read more of my book. I enjoyed our Sunday mornings at the park before we headed to my mum and dad’s for our Sunday roast.

  “Where’s my dad?” His question shocked me, he had never asked about his dad before now.

  “Ummm…” I wasn’t really sure how to answer him, I wasn’t sure how much he would understand.

  “Does he not want to see me?”

  “No, Nathan. Listen to me.” I stopped him walking and crouched down in front of him. “Your daddy loves you very much, he was taken away from us before you were born. He is with the angels in the sky.” He looked up at the sky and sighed, his shoulders dropping. “You know how I tell you not to run away from me as the cars are dangerous?” He nodded his head. “The cars took your daddy away. They hurt him.”

  “Oh.” There was silence between us for a few short minutes. “Can I play on the swings please?”

  “Yes, handsome. Of course you can but only for a little while. Nan and grandad are waiting for us.”

  We got to the gate of the park and Nathan ran in ahead of me and straight towards the swings. I glanced around to see that all the picnic benches were full. I walked over to a group of the mums from school and we chatted about family life for a few minutes. I was nodding along while trying to pay attention but I just couldn’t get my mind off of Nathan asking about his dad, I knew it would be coming I just didn’t think it would be this soon.

  After half an hour had passed, I was calling out to Nathan to go, he waved bye to his friends and I told my mum-friends I would see them tomorrow at school.

  “Did you have fun in the park?” I asked him as we walked down past the shops.

  “Yeah, Jason told me he was getting a snake as a pet. Can I have one, Mum, please?”

  “No, I don’t think so.” I stopped walking as my phone started ringing. I pushed my hand inside my coat pocket to pull it out and it wasn’t there. I slipped my bag off my shoulder and began routing around inside of it. Shit, where was it?

  “Mum, can I have one, pleeease?”

  “No.”

  “But…”

  “Nathan, stand there and be quiet,” I said as I stood us over to the side of the pavement so I could dig through my bag. I crouched down and dug through my bag again, the phone went quiet and then started up again. “Oh, I got it.” I pulled it out of my bag and it stopped ringing again. Two missed calls from an unknown number. That was strange. I looked up to grab Nathan’s hand and my blood ran cold, he wasn’t with me. Where the hell was he? I jumped to my feet and looked around, there was no sign of him.

  “Excuse me.” I grabbed the hand of a man that was walking by. “Have you seen a little boy, brown hair and a blue coat?” He shook his head and pulled out of my grasp.

  “Nathan!” I screamed frantically. Where had he gone? I had only looked away from him for two short minutes.

  “Miss, are you ok?” I looked up into the eyes of a handsome man, he had his hands on a twin pushchair, a gorgeous woman stood beside him with a small girl.

  “My son, he was here and now he’s gone. I can’t…” I shook my head, not quite believing that I had lost my own child; my baby boy. “Nathan!” I screamed again as I saw him standing in the middle of the road. I froze in fear and the man in front of me shouted out something.

  “Solar!” My head snapped up and just as I was about to dart out into the road a large man, with brown hair and a beard, began running towards my son. He scooped him up in his arms seconds before a car came barrelling around the corner blasting his horn. The man passed him to me. Nathan was crying a
nd I held him tight to my chest as my own tears fell. I looked up into the eyes of my hero, they were a mesmerizing green colour.

  “Thank you, thank you! Thank you so much.”

  “Is he ok?” the woman asked.

  “Yes, I think so.” I pulled Nate away from me slightly and looked him over, there wasn’t a mark or scratch on him.

  “I’m Heather, this is Blade.” She pointed to the guy that had his arm around her waist. “And Solar.”

  “Hi, I’m Jasmine and this is Nathan.”

  “You need to keep a better eye on him,” Solar grumbled at me.

  “I do, it was only for a minute. This is the first time this has happened,” I said in defence as I clutched him closer to me.

  “Where’s his dad?” Solar questioned. I was taken aback. Why was he asking about Nate’s dad? He came across angry and concerned.

  “Not that it’s any of your business but he died before Nathan was born.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Heather said.

  “Well, I had best get him home. Thank you again… Is there any way I can repay you for your kindness?”

  “Well…” Solar smirked. Blade slapped him on the back of the head and he growled.

  “We’re just glad he’s safe,” Blade said. I nodded my head and hurried past them and down the street; I was close to my mum and dads house. I didn’t let my grip on Nathan ease up, I could have just lost him as easily as I lost Harvey.

  I ran up the steps that led to mum and dad’s front door and banged on the front of it, I couldn’t bear to let Nathan go to search for my keys.

  “Forgot your keys?” Mum asked as she came into view. I shook my head, my bottom lip wobbled and the tears escaped again. “Oh my, what’s happened?”

  “Mum, wanna get down,” Nathan mumbled against my shoulder as I held on tight to him. I shook my head.

  “Jasmine, let the boy go,” mum insisted. I loosened my grip and lowered him to the floor. “Grandad is in the kitchen reading his paper, go and ask him for a drink.” Nathan ran down the hallway towards the kitchen and we heard his excitement when he saw my dad. My mum led me into the living room and we sat down together on the sofa.

  “Tell me what’s got you in this state.” My mum was a great woman, we looked alike with our long dark brown hair, hazel eyes and slim figure. She was the only person who kept me going when I lost Harvey. I felt like an awful mother when Nathan was born at only five pounds ten ounces. I hadn’t looked after myself well when I lost Harvey and as a consequence, Nathan was the one who suffered because of it. I explained to my mum about Nathan disappearing from me and how he had almost got run over, how my life would have been the end if I had lost Nathan too. I wouldn’t have been able to survive that.

  She made me clean myself up and then led me into the kitchen to show me that Nathan was in fact fine. As we rounded the kitchen, we saw Nathan sitting on my dad’s lap and they were reading the newspaper together.

  Chapter 1

  Jasmine

  I had to go to the motorcycle club, I was desperate. I had heard the other mums talking at school about them. The Cornish Crusaders were a hot but dangerous group of men apparently. I had heard rumours that they had taken out other biker groups and had women that they kept there and used for sex.

  “Oh, thank God, Solar.” I threw myself at him outside of the club, the guy on the gate wouldn’t let me in. He caught me and I held on tight, hoping that he would help me.

  “Listen, lady, I don’t know what you want or who you are but…”

  “Please, you have to help me. The police aren’t doing a good enough job, I don’t know what else to do,” I cried.

  “Do I know you?” he asked, sounding confused. I probably didn’t look the same from when he first met me over a year ago. My hair was a mess, my eyes were red and puffy and my clothes were rumpled from sleeping in them.

  “Not really, you helped me a little while back. You saved my son from being run over in the road.”

  “Jasmine?” He frowned. I nodded and sighed with relief, he remembered me. “Where’s your son?”

  “That’s what I need help with. He was kidnapped over a week ago and the police can’t find him. Please,” I begged, holding on to the front of Solar’s leather jacket. “Please, help me find my son.”

  “Let’s get inside,” he said as he took a step back and walked beside me with his hand on my back. The heat that radiated from his hand was enough to warm my frozen body.

  He pushed open the large door and we were met with loud music, smoke and the stench of stale and fresh alcohol.

  “Wait here,” he demanded. I nodded my head and wrapped my arms around my body, I felt like all the eyes in the room were on me and my self-confidence shrank away. I had never stepped foot inside a motorcycle club before, was it like a sex club? There were strippers up on the stage and women were giving some of the guys lap dances and some were almost having sex where they sat.

  “Jasmine.” My head shot to the side when I heard the familiar gravel of Solar’s voice. “This is my club president, we need you to tell us what you know about your son’s disappearance.”

  “Ok,” I whispered. They led me over to a table in the back of the room where it was quiet. Another man joined us too, he was tall with dark hair and wore a leather jacket too. I looked at him hesitantly and Solar introduced him as Holes, the clubs vice president.

  “How old are you, Jasmine?” the President asked me.

  “Twenty-four. My son is four, he’ll be five next week,” I answered as I fiddled with my fingers.

  “When did he go missing?”

  “A week ago…”

  “Tell us everything you know,” Solar said, giving me a reassuring squeeze to my knee.

  “It was just like any normal Wednesday night. We had tea, I gave him a bath, read him a story and he went to sleep. I checked on him before I went to bed, like I do every night.” My eyes scanned across the three guys that were seated around the table with me. “I’m a good mum…” My voice caught in my throat and I had to clear it.

  “We’re not judging you,” the Vice President said.

  “Carry on,” Solar encouraged.

  “Umm… I did hear a noise out the front of the house, the bin was knocked over, but I just assumed it was our neighbour’s cat. It was always fighting and causing noise. I woke up in the morning, earlier than normal, I didn’t want to wake Nate, so I showered and went to the kitchen to make crumpets; they’re his favourite.” I smiled. “Once I had breakfast ready, I walked to his room and eased the door open, his bed was empty. I turned towards the bathroom and the door was wide open, I could see that he wasn’t in there. I frantically began searching the house and outside. He couldn’t get outside, I have a bolt on the inside of the door and he can’t reach it.” I sobbed into my hands.

  “His dad? Could he have come and taken him?” the President asked.

  “No, he died before Nate was born.”

  “Is there anyone that you can think of that would have wanted him? Anyone that you owe money to? Any enemies?”

  “No, no one. I’m a good person, a good mum. I don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t party. I’ve never even left him with babysitters. I’m a school teacher, I don’t owe money and have no enemies.”

  “What have the police said?” Holes asked me.

  “Not a lot. They say they’re looking into it, they have photos of him. I done a press conference but they aren’t telling me much at all. It’s already been a week too long, I need him back. He needs me.”

  “Do you have a photo of him with you?” Holes asked.

  “Yes.” I opened my bag and pulled out a handful of photos of him. “These have all been taken over the last year. He went to bed in his red Spiderman pyjamas.”

  All three of them nodded as they climbed to their feet.

  “Church!” The President yelled. The music was cut off and the room started emptying. I followed behind Solar, they were all heading into a room. Jus
t as I was about to follow them in a hand grabbed hold of my elbow. I looked behind me to see a blonde woman.

  “You can’t go in there.” She tried pulling me away and I stood my ground.

  “But it’s my son they’re looking for. I need their help.”

  “And you will get it but you can’t go in there. No one apart from the brothers are allowed in that room, unless invited. Even the prospects aren’t allowed in.”

  “Prospects?” I frowned.

  “Yeah the guys who want to become brothers. They have to earn it. They are the prospects.”

  “Oh.”

  “Come and get a drink while we wait for them. I’m Ashlyn. Iron’s Old Lady.”

  “Old Lady?” I asked.

  “Yeah.” She laughed, heading over to the bar and taking a seat on the tall stool. She patted the one next to her and I sat down. “Do you want a drink?”

  “No, thank you.” I glanced over my shoulder at the door, how long would they be in there?

  “They may be a while. Do you know how an MC works?” I shook my head.

  “This is the first time I’ve been here. I don’t plan on coming back once my son is found.”

  “Well that’s gratitude for you,” a girl behind the bar scoffed.

  “Missy,” Ashlyn scolded her before she looked back at me. “Look, the basic rules of an MC are as follows; you don’t disrespect the brothers or their Old Ladies. You don’t get to go into that room or know anything about what is said in there…”

  “But it’s about my son,” I cut her off.

  “It doesn’t matter, when they find your son, you won’t be a part of it. You will not be involved.”

  “But…”

  “And most of all, don’t ever question them. They will help you. Got it?” I nodded in understanding.

  Solar

  We all settled into our chairs and waited for the Prez to slam the gavel down to start the meeting.

  Bang.

  “So, we have a situation that needs our help,” Prez started explaining as he looked around at us all. “This girl…”