Rough Around The Edges Read online

  Rough Around The Edges

  Brotherhood Protectors World

  Jen Talty

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Epilogue

  Also by Jen Talty

  About Jen Talty

  Original Brotherhood Protectors Series

  About Elle James

  Copyright © 2018, Jen Talty

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  © 2018 Twisted Page Press, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this book may be used, stored, reproduced or transmitted without written permission from the publisher except for brief quotations for review purposes as permitted by law.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase your own copy.

  Brotherhood Protectors

  Original Series by Elle James

  Brotherhood Protectors Series

  Montana SEAL (#1)

  Bride Protector SEAL (#2)

  Montana D-Force (#3)

  Cowboy D-Force (#4)

  Montana Ranger (#5)

  Montana Dog Soldier (#6)

  Montana SEAL Daddy (#7)

  Montana Ranger’s Wedding Vow (#8)

  Montana SEAL Undercover Daddy (#9)

  Cape Cod SEAL Rescue (#10)

  Montana SEAL Friendly Fire (#11)

  Montana SEAL’s Bride (#12)

  Montana Rescue

  Hot SEAL, Salty Dog

  To Stacey Wilk. Thank you for carrying my books. For believing in me. For supporting me. And especially for making me laugh. Your friendship over the years has meant the world to me! You rock, sister!

  Chapter 1

  “That bullet had your name on it.”

  Piper Morgan checked her pulse for the fifteenth time in the last few hours. It was still over eighty beats per minute. She’d never been the type of person who let her nerves get the better of her, but she knew her father’s assistant and longtime friend, Derek Goldwell, was right.

  Her father had only been gone for four days. The only clue the cops had as to who killed the mega singing star, Cowboy Cal, were a couple of threatening emails sent by typical stalkers who generally meant no harm. The lead detective had promised to check into every overzealous fan they were aware of, but he also kept mentioning motive, asking who would benefit from her father being dead.

  She nearly laughed when she had to tell him that she would benefit the most.

  The question now was why would someone take a shot at her?

  She flattened her hands on the top of her father’s cherry oak desk, running her fingers over the fine wood. As a little girl, she loved to sit on her father’s lap and listen to his conference calls regarding CC Music or negotiating his latest tour, making sure all the up-and-coming stars would have at least one chance to play on his stage.

  Cal loved to give young musicians a chance at the big time. He believed that so many of them quit before they have got that one break.

  Her dad promised she could stay in his office as long as she was quiet while he talked business. Once he finished with his tasks, he’d toss her up on his big, broad shoulders, and they’d go off to play.

  Or sing.

  Or both.

  It was always about music. It never really bothered her, except she didn’t want to be a star like her father. She preferred writing songs and helping to run the record label. She enjoyed finding new talent as much as her father did, but she didn’t want to tour with them.

  Now that her father was dead, she held controlling interest in CC Music at the tune of sixty percent. That hadn’t been a surprise, but what had shocked her was who her father had left thirty-five percent to.

  “Are you listening to me?” Derek asked with concern laced on every syllable. He’d been by her side since her father had been murdered, tending to her every need as if she were still his girlfriend. She knew Derek meant well, but he was driving her bat-shit crazy.

  “Someone tried to kill you today,” he said with a raw edge.

  She didn’t need him reminding her every five seconds. Her trembling hands did that for her. “I know.” She swallowed the thick lump in her throat that tasted like garbage left out on a hot summer day.

  Three hours had passed since she lay her father to rest.

  Two hours since someone took a shot at her as she stood over her father’s grave, needing a few more minutes to say goodbye. The only thing that had saved her from taking a bullet in the back had been a bird that flew in its path, sending the bullet to the right, missing her by a scant three inches, hitting one of the chairs near her father’s grave.

  “Are you sure asking the cops to keep the attempt on my life quiet is such a good idea?” she asked.

  “I told you, the detective thought it would be best. They have so many whack jobs coming out of the woodwork, telling them they know who did it, or they saw something, that if it got out someone tried to kill you, it would be mayhem, making their jobs that much harder. Not to mention, they are hoping it upsets the attacker, forcing them to make a mistake.”

  Making her a sitting duck.

  Derek strolled around the desk and stood behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. Immediately, she tensed as his fingers dug into her aching muscles, while his thumbs glided gently across the back of her neck. “I’m worried about you,” he whispered in her ear. Derek’s lips were so close to her skin, it made her shiver. His heavy aftershave assaulted her nose. When she swallowed, she could taste the combination of musk and alcohol. It had always made her slightly sick to her stomach. For a while, she tried to get him to wear something a little less subtle, but he always fell back on his usual crap.

  Having a short-lived affair with him had been the biggest mistake of her life, and one she would not repeat. She patted his hands, glancing over her shoulder, trying to be kind, even though he’d been relentless since their breakup. When his gaze locked with hers, he narrowed his almond eyes. He drew his lips into a tight line that gave away his anger.

  Their relationship had ended six months ago, but it remained clear that he had every intention of pursuing her even though she had told him flat out, they were done.

  Without saying a word, he backed away and made himself comfortable on the other side of the desk, glaring.

  She still couldn’t understand why she gave in to his advances. It wasn’t as if she’d been hurting that badly over her breakup with Steve. However, her step-mother’s illness and death had sent her and her father off a cliff. The only difference was Piper found comfort in Derek’s arms and in writing songs.

  Her father spent his time gardening and tending to all those things his beloved wife enjoyed, and making music seemed to have become a faint memory. However, in the last couple of months, he’d begun to come out of his depression and went back to work at the label. They were working on a new album together, and he’d agreed to a short tour of fifteen venues across the country, the first one being a local performance riverside on the day a sniper hit him with three bullets. One to his head, and two to his chest.

  Ten other shots had been fired. Two of the band members had been injured an
d one of the backstage crew members, who had pushed Piper to the ground.

  “I’ve given the police a list of business associates both past and present that might have had a beef with Cal. They have all the letters, emails, and voice messages. But we’ve been dealing with those kind of whack jobs for twenty-five years,” Derek said.

  “Well, one of the crazies killed my father, because I can’t imagine anyone who worked with him would. He always treated people with respect.”

  “Darlin’, you know that just isn’t true. Cal could be a brutal man to work for, and I can think of at least six people who left his employment with revenge in their eyes.”

  “He could be intimidating, and he demanded those around him to have the same work ethic he had.” She searched her brain for the name of every person her father fired, or who quit because he’d been too demanding. “This business is riddled with jealousy, but everyone loved my dad.” She sucked in a breath, swallowing the sob that had built up deep in her gut. “He had no real enemies. Not the kind that would want him dead.” Nor did she.

  “Except your mother,” Derek said. His lame attempt at a joke actually made Piper laugh for the first time in days.

  “I can’t believe she didn’t come to the funeral.” Piper leaned back in her father’s big, leather office chair. His musky aroma still clung to the fabric. She ran her fingers over the rough material, remembering how he used to tell her to always stay humble and that as fast as one can rise to the top.

  One can be crushed at the bottom.

  The music business tried to make him out to be a bad boy during the first half of his career. Other than his public divorce from her mother, her father had always been about family.

  He didn’t drink to excess.

  Never did drugs.

  Didn’t gamble.

  “Not even when I asked her to do it for me.” For the most part, she’d gotten over her mother’s inattention a long time ago. However, in a situation like this, it not only squeezed her heart, it reminded her that her genetics were part her mother, and she always worried that those negative personality traits would rear their ugly head at some point.

  “Rebecca Forester knows how to hold a grudge, and she’s still bitter about your dad. She was pissed he left her nothing but the five percent of the business that she’d gotten in the divorce.”

  “If she were a decent human being, she would have come to hold her daughter’s hand.” It had been a long time since her mother had disappointed her, but this just reminded her of every time her mother broke a promise or made her feel as though she was the reason that her life hadn’t turned out as she’d planned.

  Her father had thought Piper made a huge mistake by giving up singing to be a songwriter. He’d always thought she would follow in his footsteps. He believed she would have an even bigger career and that she had the kind of voice that made hearts stop.

  She argued it wasn’t her voice, but her songs.

  The ones she wrote.

  But even during that time, her father never made her feel inadequate, or as though she’d disappointed him, especially when she took charge of CC Music.

  “She believes your father tanked her career and then kicked her out for another woman.”

  “He did the latter, but the former my mother did all on her own.” She shook her head. All her mother had ever done had been to complain about everything. She treated the staff as if they were below her and demanded the outrageous on the road. But when Piper was born, and her dad went solo, that’s when her father hit it big.

  Real big.

  CC Music had been created, originally, so that her parents could continue their duet career, only no one wanted to hear them anymore.

  Only Cowboy Cal.

  So, her mother left.

  Piper begged to live with her dad, and her mother called her a little traitor and didn’t speak to her for three months.

  Piper had only been four years old.

  Eventually, Piper stopped going to see her mother, and her mother didn’t fight too hard to have her around.

  Piper let out a long, slow breath as an image of her step-mom, Regina Flint, popped into her head. She’d been a trip and a half. Sweet. Kind. The funniest woman Piper had ever met.

  But she died of cancer a year ago, leaving a big, gaping void in her and her father’s hearts.

  “Have you talked with my mother?”

  “I have,” Derek said, nodding his head. “Just trying to keep the peace. And before I forget,” he flipped open a stack of papers and set a pen on top, “I need you to sign Benny’s contract. It was supposed to have been done two weeks ago.”

  “No more changes?”

  “Nope. He’s happy with it.”

  She scribbled her name across the line. Running the company without her father would be difficult. While he trusted her to make all the necessary decisions, and she never had to run anything by him, it still wouldn’t be the same.

  “Now. I want to discuss another issue.” Derek arched his brow. “I want you to rethink calling—”

  “I’m not contacting Jaden.” She closed her eyes, letting the memories flood her brain. Jaden had walked into her life when she’d been a mere ten years old and he only fourteen. But damn, a very grown-up teenager with a set of pipes that made girls drop at his feet.

  And they sure did. Left and right, women of all ages hit on Jaden. He had a sweet mixture of clean cut, and bad boy, that made him a near perfect specimen of a man. However, in the eight years she’d known him, he had very few girlfriends, though one in particular stuck out in her mind.

  Andrea.

  Bitch.

  Piper had always thought it funny that Andrea blamed her for the breakup. The only thing Piper had done had been to tell Jaden about Andrea’s extracurricular activities with the base player. Of course, Piper had taken the opportunity to toss herself at Jaden, which didn’t go as planned.

  He turned her down flat.

  Two months later, he’d enlisted in the Army.

  “You’re going to have to call him sooner or later. Your father did leave him a substantial stake in CC Music.” Derek’s lower lip twitched. “Your father left thirty-five percent of the company to Jaden, among other things.”

  “The lawyer can call him for that.”

  “You might consider asking Jaden if he wants to sell. I know your father meant well and wanted to take care of him, but he’s not going to come back, and you and I make for great partners.” Derek’s mouth curved into a half-smile. Even though he said he understood why Cal had left a large portion of the business to Jaden, he still hadn’t taken the news well.

  “Another thing I’ll let the lawyer ask. I haven’t talked to him since Regina died, and I don’t want to talk to him now.” Jaden had made very little effort to contact her over the years, leaving her to wonder how much of her throwing herself at him might have caused his sudden departure from not just the stage.

  But her life.

  “He should have come to the funeral.” She folded her arms across her chest.

  “Now who’s holding a grudge?” Derek asked.

  “I’m pissed. He hasn’t even called me.”

  Derek cocked his head. “What really happened between the two of you all those years ago? I know he hurt you, but you have never told me how.” At fifty-five, Derek still had a thick head of dark hair with only a few gray hairs at the temples. His silver-blue eyes twinkled like stars, and his naturally tanned complexion had only a few wrinkles around the eyes. His young demeanor had been one of the things that had attracted her to him right after she and Scott broke up.

  In hindsight, she’d only been using Derek, and for that, she’d always have a fair amount of guilt, especially after the night he’d told her that he loved her and wanted to tell Cal about their relationship. It was in that moment, she realized she had no real romantic feelings for Derek.

  To say the least, the breakup had been difficult for Derek. He had a hard time letting her go, and it
caused a rift in his and her father’s relationship, especially after she’d told her dad she’d had an affair with Derek. Her father hadn’t taken that news as well as she thought he would have, and at one point she worried he might actually fire Derek. She had to convince her father that Derek had in no way acted inappropriately.

  Of course, she never did tell him how Derek still constantly tried to woo her back into his arms, which would never happen.

  “I’ve told you a million times. There has never been anything between me and Jaden.” That certainly wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the absolute truth either, but Derek had a bit of a jealous streak.

  Another reason she couldn’t stay with him.

  “I know you had a wicked crush on him before he left. I watched how hard it was for you when he’d call Cal and not you. I can’t help but wonder if it’s always been Jaden, even when you were with Steve. Or with me.”

  “Do we really have to go down this road? I was never hung up on Jaden. I’m not pining over him, or anyone, so drop the jealousy thing. It’s not very becoming on you. Besides, I thought we were past all that.”

  “We are. Why the hell do you think I’m pushing you to call him? Hire him? In the last four days, every time I bring up Jaden, you snap at me, so I can’t help but think—”

  “I’m torqued he didn’t make an effort to be here, that’s all.”

  “Jaden didn’t even know Cal had died until yesterday,” Derek said.

  “Right. Some mission of some kind. Who the hell has missions when they are no longer in the military?”

  “The Brotherhood Protectors, that’s who. And Jaden is one of them. Until the police catch whoever killed Cal and is trying to kill you, I’ll take care of everything here. You know I would never do anything to hurt you, or the business, but I can’t protect you like Jaden can.”