Edge of Chaos Read Online Free PDF Page B

it’s
the way the clothes and furniture are strewn about in a way only a tornado or a
violent lover could make it. Kayla watches the change come over his face and
his expression returns to that handsome young man she fell for so long ago in
high school.
    How could that
young, ambitious son of a preacher be so rotten to the core? Maybe he wasn’t.
She remembers how he used to protect her like a fragile rose, lest a single
petal bruise. How exhilarating those days were on the back of his Harley Davidson
motorcycle. She would look down at the pavement watching those yellow strips
fly by, so close, so fast, and so electrifying.
    Dillon’s path from
preacher’s boy to outlaw biker had been so completely thorough and shockingly
fast that she’d been powerless to extricate her own life from his, as the young
man she once loved slid down that nightmarish slippery slope into life as an
outlaw biker in the Harbingers Motorcycle Club. And she has been trying to
disentangle herself from him, unsuccessfully, for much of the last year.
    The sound of
weeping, great gut-wrenching sobs brings Kayla back from the past with a
painful jolt. Her head aches and her insides feel ripped, torn into and from
the feel of it, she figures she is bleeding as well. Dillon realizes he has her
attention now and looks up at her with his large baleful dark eyes, tears
making tiny dusty tracks down his cheeks.
    For the first time
in a very long time, what she sees in those mirrors to the soul doesn’t terrify
her. Instead, all she feels is pity… and a little compassion, and that has
always been her downfall. She's too compassionate and empathetic for her own
good and others often take advantage of her.
    Suddenly, the
image of Luke pops into her mind. She remembers his fantastic body; his smooth,
muscular chest crisscrossed with scars acquired in the service of his country.
    Now there’s a
man with principles. He is someone who holds his country and fellow man in high
regard, she thinks .
    She recalls their
first playful exchange as she stitched up yet another wound and wonders why she
didn’t give him her number. Then she remembers that last tattoo she saw when he
rolled over on the table. Suicide Kings, was it? That’s the reason she didn’t
give him her number. How can she fall for yet another biker when she can’t seem
to shake the last one off?
    She looks up at
Dillon again. He’s apologizing, promising a life of gentleness and care, never
to lay a hand on her or anyone ever again. He begs her forgiveness and
professes to be glad that Luke woke him up with that ass kicking he’d received.
As she listens to his vows punctuated by sobbing, she wonders how he could have
even convinced himself of what he’s swearing on his mother’s grave. He’s
certainly not convincing her. But if he’s not, how’d she end up in his bed one
more time?
    What possessed her
to seek him out? She kept telling herself on the way there that she was just
stopping by to make sure Luke hadn’t permanently injured him. She would just
offer medical care if needed and then be on her way. That was two hours ago.
One more time she fell under the sway of an outlaw biker; never again.

Chapter Seven
Breakfast at Denny’s,
Lunch at Luke’s, and Dinner with a Harbinger

     
    The next day…
    Kayla attacks her
breakfast with gusto. It’s not often she eats at Denny’s, and for good reason.
But after the chaos in the ER, losing herself in syrupy pancake goodness is
just what the doctor ordered.
    “Hi.” Says a man's
voice behind her.
    She drops her fork
halfway to her mouth. It lands on the edge or her plate, rolls off and ends up
in her lap, pancake, butter, syrup and all in one gooey mess.
    “Does that happen
often?” Luke asks with a smile, as she tries to find her voice…and a clean
napkin.
    He swipes one off
the table next to hers and hands it to her. “Would you like some assistance, Doc?”
    She snatches it
out of his hand and proceeds to clean herself up. She