My Thoughts
One man is the father of her baby and the other is the one she is going to marry. They couldn't be more different, but she is only in love with one of them. If dealing with the challenges of these two men isn't enough, she has another that is trying to damage her to get back at Jax. All this while she only has a few weeks left before her baby is due to come into the world. Lei definitely has her hands full with Brody and Jax. I really loved her story.
I give Torn 5 hearts!
Synopsis
Torn between two powerful men who adore her, ER nurse Leila Matthews has found the love of her life...but the road to happily-ever-after is paved with betrayal, secrets, and dead bodies.
FOREVER
For ER nurse Leila Matthews, life has never been easy. Her father turned his back on their family and her mother died young. Her cop brother’s near fatal gunshot wound brought Brody Davis into her life, the handsome CEO who promised her the world but left her pregnant with his child. Enter Jaxon Henderson, the sexy-as-sin VP of the local MC. Friend first, he has become the great love of her life. Tall, handsome, golden, his passion is matched only by his possessive and protective nature. But Jaxon has dark secrets, and his deception tests Leila’s love to its core.
Jaxon Henderson knows three things: He loves Leila Matthews
more than anything, he's lied to her, and he’s sworn to secrecy about the
danger and violence that gathers on the horizon. To keep Leila safe, he must
tell her all, but full disclosure has a price, and that price may just be
everything.
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Excerpt
At thirty-four weeks pregnant, dancing to the oldies was not
on the menu. Neither was sitting at Brody’s dining room table crying my heart
out. Right after blasting Funkytown, the DJ on WXLY said, “Now here’s a
problem.” then played Torn Between Two Lovers. Like I needed to hear that shit.
I’d spent the day contemplating how to tell Brody – my
baby’s father – what I was thinking, and where things stood with my fiancé,
Jaxon. Yeah, my MC VP and I had a lot of outstanding issues, but it had come
time to make a decision. Brody kissing me the night before did nothing to give
me clarity. I had been doing a decent job of organizing my discussion strategy
when the damned song came on and sent me into a tailspin.
When I was not a blubbering mess, I had spent the afternoon
in the kitchen making dinner. By the time Brody came home, I’d pulled myself
together – mostly.
He stood before me probably thinking my hormones got the
better of me - once again - when he asked, “What’s up Lei? We could’ve gone to
dinner. You really didn’t have to cook… but thank you,” he walked over and
kissed the top of my head. “How was your day?”
“Uh, fine, I guess.” I smiled half-heartedly, lost in my own
head.
“Well, it looks delicious.”
We ate mostly in silence as I screwed up my courage to say
what needed saying. “We need to talk, Brody,” I looked down so I wouldn’t have
to meet his eyes. The fork he was holding made a loud clank as he dropped it to
the plate.
“Yeah, we do,” he sighed. “Listen, I know things are
complicated and I’m making them worse. I wish, for your sake, I could tell you
that I was drunk last night and that I didn’t mean to kiss you… I guess I had
hoped it would be the beginning of us getting back together.”
Just as I opened my mouth to respond my cell started
ringing. My BFF Barb. I hit ignore.
Brody raised an eyebrow.
“Barb.” I waved my hand in the air. “I’ll call her back
later.” Then placed the phone on the table. “So last night-”
My cell started ringing again. I glanced over, “Huh. Barb
again.”
“Answer it. Maybe something’s wrong,”
“Hey Barb, I’m with Brody. Can I call you in a little-”
“Leila, honey, where are you?” she sounded frantic.
“I’m at Brody’s. What’s wrong?” Suddenly, I had an awful
feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“I need you to come to the ER now. Can you get Brody to
drive you?”
“What the hell’s going on?” My eyes widened as fear tore
through my chest and crept up my throat.
“I’ll explain when you get here.” Barb stalled. “I don’t
want you freaking out on the way. It’s not good for the baby.”
“No way. What in the hell is going on? I’m not moving until
you tell me what’s wrong. What happened?” Full blown panic had set in. Worst
case scenarios ran through my head in rapid fire succession.
Brody grabbed the phone out of my hand. “Barb, its Brody.
What is going on? Leila is white as a sheet.”
I tried to grab the phone back, but he stood and began
pacing the room. Hearing nothing but watching his face turn into a mask of
stone, I felt the blood drain from my head.
“Fuck. Okay, we're on our way,” he hung up, stopped in front
of me, crouched down on one knee, but looked down at the hardwood floor.
Finally, he lifted his eyes to mine.
“What’s wrong?” The words were half stuck in my throat.
He clasped my hands between his. “I’ll explain on the way.
You need to grab your purse and use the bathroom. Just please try and stay
calm, okay?”
“Just tell me,” I whispered. I knew someone I loved was
dead.
He stood and walked to the doorway. “We’re wasting time. Go
to the bathroom, I’ll grab your purse and my phone and I’ll meet you in the
garage.”
Typical Brody, he walked away not giving me a whole lot of
choice but to do as he directed. When I met him in the garage, he had already
started the Viper, and had the garage door opened. Without a word, he helped me
in the car and we took off.
“Start talking Brody,” I demanded. “You said you’d explain
on the way.”
Staring straight ahead Brody finally spoke. “What I’m about
to say is going to be hard to hear, baby. You need to stay calm and think about
our daughter, okay?”
“Brody, please.” Tears pricked my eyes.
“Promise me. I need you to stay calm and be the ER nurse
right now.” He glanced over as we pulled onto the main road.
“Okay, okay. I promise. Now what’s happened? Is it my
brother?” I gripped the side of my seat.
“No. Drew is fine…,” he hesitated. “It’s Jaxon.”
For a moment I couldn’t process what I heard. “What? What
happened? Why is he in the ER?”
“I don’t know anything more than there was an incident with
the motorcycle gang-”
“Club,” I interrupted, correcting him.
“What?” He looked from the road to me for a split second.
“It’s a motorcycle club. Not a gang. They’re mostly military
vets, Brody, not thugs.”
“Okay. Whatever. Something went down and Jaxon was in the
middle of it. Drew is on his way to the ER. Barb said he’d meet us there.”
Brody eased onto the expressway and let the Henny do what she did best. She
rolled.
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About the Author
A.F. Crowell lives in Charleston, SC with her husband and two sons. They have two dogs, Diesel, a German Shepherd rescue and Dez, a black Labrador Retriever. She shares her love of books with her children, who have a head start on becoming life-long readers.
Romance fiction hit her radar when her husband forced her to watch Twilight one weekend when they were snowed in. That was it! From there her love grew; Contemporary Romance, Paranormal, YA and Dystopian are her preferred reads.
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