A Twist of Fate Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Author’s Note

  Prologue

  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

  Epilogue

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  A Twist of Fate

  Aces High – Charleston #5

  Christine Michelle

  Copyright © 2019 Christine M. Butler / Christine Michelle

  All rights reserved.

  Scanning, uploading, copying, and/or any distribution of this book, either electronically or otherwise, is illegal and punishable by law without express written permission from the publisher.

  Help support authors you love by only purchasing legitimate copies of their work through trusted sources.

  Any similarities to persons, organizations, or places written about within these pages is purely coincidental, as this is a work of fiction.

  Smashwords Edition

  Author’s Note

  The Aces High MC – Charleston Series was originally slated to have only four books. As I was writing The Other Princess the men of Permanent Marks captured my heart, and a few new books were born, including this one. From the moment Toby saw Gretchen, and Kane first had feelings for Ever I knew exactly where this book would go. I stopped writing The Other Princess long enough to get A Twist of Fate started. I also knew that it was going to hurt, because you can’t have Gretchen’s story without Toby, and that means coming full circle, back to the beginning again. I apologize for what I’m about to do to you here, but you can’t have Gretchen and Kane without first having Gretchen and Toby. You’re going to hate me for a while! I’m so sorry! Trust me, I gutted myself just as much.

  For those who have asked, I’m also letting you know now that YES, the remainder of the crew at Permanent Marks are going to get their stories as well in a spin-off series. Thank you for sticking it out, and getting to this point. Thank you for taking a chance on a series that was unlike most others in its genre. Thank you for embracing the flawed characters and the realism that went into making them. No one is perfect. We all make decisions based on things that have shaped our lives. Sometimes, we make the wrong decisions. Becoming a parent doesn’t mean you will do everything right, it means you have a sharp learning curve to get through and sometimes people miss the mark. Life is about making up for the things we screw up, forgiving, sometimes just moving on and forgetting, but it is a constant growth process that we all must go through. The characters in these books are no different.

  Oh – and one more thing – for the naysayers out there who proclaimed loudly that an MC would never behave the way this one did… The Other Princess was based loosely on real events that took place within a club. The books you read are fiction (they’re not supposed to be real), sometimes that’s hard to separate from your ideal of reality after reading so many. The truth of the matter is, in real life, bikers are just people too. They have strengths, weaknesses, and because they are a brotherhood sometimes that mob mentality wins out in the worst ways. Sometimes it presents in the best of ways too. The human element is always present though – the one that means sometimes people screw up and they need to make amends. That is what these books have been about. Thank you for taking that journey with me!

  For those of you who always ask, you can check out the playlist I listened to while writing. I try to find “new to me music” mixed with some favorites as I listen, because there’s just so many talented artists out there who aren’t often heard! Hopefully, you find someone new to you that you can fall in love with too!

  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1bqDkkeHOeLZNYPjnBWuPn

  Books By

  Christine Michelle

  S.H.E. Series

  Angel-Girl

  JoJo

  Aces High MC – Dakotas Series

  Dancing With Danger

  Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

  Aces High MC – Charleston Series

  The Other Princess

  A Love So Hard

  The Princess and the Prospect

  The Killing Ride

  A Twist of Fate

  Aces High MC – Cedar Falls Series

  Redemption Weather

  Proven

  Smoke and the Flame

  T.I.E. (The Infinite Everything) Series

  The Infinite Something

  The Infinite Beat

  Letters Series

  Letters to Lily

  Books By

  Christine M. Butler

  The Awakening Trilogy

  Birthrights

  Revelations

  Incarnations

  The Ancients Series

  Shadows of the Ancients

  Falling into the White

  Branches of the Willow

  Bound by the Moon

  The Ancients Series (Complete Series)

  Death Viewers Series

  Breathless

  Vukodlak Brew Series

  Entwined

  The Voodoo Follies

  The Voodoo Follies

  Falling Star Series

  Catch a Falling Star

  Prologue

  The Beginning Again

  Kane

  My heart beat a rapid-fire dance in my chest, the warning it was sending out not going unheeded. They had rolled in here four-deep and not a single one of them looked happy. The fuckers all deserved an ass kicking from the way I saw it, but they seemed to all be ready to kick our asses instead, only I had no clue as to why. We’d been looking out for Ever since she came here begging for a job.

  “Zeke in?” The older man with the VP patch asked. I knew he was Ever’s father, and he set my nerves on edge. Still, I managed to keep my cool as I glanced over the other brothers too, assessing. I’m not ashamed to admit I was looking for their weak link. I’d use it if I needed to.

  “He’s here,” I stated coolly about the same time Zeke made his presence known.

  “What can we do for the Aces High MC today? I’m pretty sure you guys have your own shop, so I’m a little surprised to see you in mine.” Zeke didn’t beat around the bush. He said what he meant and meant what he said every damn time.

  Double-D took a quick glance around, taking his time, checking things out. “My daughter came to you for a job,” he stated easily while still ignoring the both of us and checking the place out. I wasn’t a fool though. He wasn’t ignoring anyone. He was aware of every little thing going on in the shop in that moment. I was also sure he was aware that Ever wasn’t around, and that was very much intentional. When he said no more, Zeke went on to confirmed his suspicions.

  “She did.” Again he didn’t give away details.

  Double-D stopped his perusal of the shop and turned his full attention back on Zeke. “What kind of grown man hires a little girl to work in his tattoo shop?” There was more than just the average amount of tension in his words now. He thought Zeke had another agenda. The idiot probably didn’t realize how talented his daughter was. I just shook my head and continued glaring at him in disgust.

  “The kind of man who was blown away by her art, as well as her desperate need to have her own money in her wallet,” Zeke confirmed as Double-D bristled.

  “She is given everything she needs,” he spat out.

  Zeke
just chuckled. “If that were the case, she wouldn’t be here looking for a job. I told her she had to wait until she turned 18 to actually start an apprenticeship, but until then, she’s cleaning up around the lobby and drawing some designs for us. She’s 17 so the job is solid for her age. She gets paid commission for any of her art that a client chooses to have inked. It’s not much, but seems to be something she needs in her life right now. No one here will treat her poorly.” He glanced at each of the men standing before us and squared his shoulders. “That’s a little more than I can say for some of the people she already has in her life.”

  “What the fuck has the little princess been saying?” One of the men, Crow, asked.

  “She doesn’t have to say anything,” I blurted out through clenched teeth. “She’s my little sister’s best friend. We already know plenty about Ever and why she’s no longer in high school.” I wanted to knock this asshole’s teeth down his throat, but a small hand placed on my forearm stopped me.

  “Kane?” My name was a question on her lips. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, G. How about you go straighten out the lounge while we have our little chat?”

  “You need me to call someone?” She asked, hesitant to leave the two of us with the four burly bikers.

  “We’re good, go on in back,” Zeke confirmed. The delicate hand left my arm as she moved to the back of the store where our employee lounge was located. Zeke and I closed ranks so that the two bastards staring after Gretchen couldn’t get any more of a look than they already had. Zeke cleared his throat and the younger kid removed his eyes from the little of Gretchen’s retreating form he could still see.

  “We’re just worried about my sister,” the younger punk told us.

  “Is this a new development?” I asked, not able to hide the scathing tone from my question.

  The younger man hung his head and shook it back and forth then. “Didn’t used to be,” he mumbled before standing straight again and looking me right in the eye. “I know you’ll do right by her. I’m counting on it, because I’ve already fucked up enough.” With that, the kid walked out of the shop leaving three men behind where there once were four. I knew it had been Ever’s brother because I’d only been a couple years ahead of him in high school. Even back then, Toby had already been starting to make a name for himself, both as a badass and a lady’s man.

  “My son seems to be convinced,” Double-D stated, clearly not sharing Toby’s opinion. “If I hear she’s had any trouble, or come to any harm while working here, we will not go easy on any of you.”

  “You have my word,” Zeke emphasized. “She will be safe and protected here.” He eyed Double-D a moment before tacking on, “From everyone.”

  Double-D nodded his head, not missing the message that Zeke was sending him. We would protect his daughter from him, if need be. He then turned his focus on me. “You keep that temper in check around my girl,” he warned.

  I scoffed at that. “Yeah,” I muttered the word in disbelief. This bastard had single handedly driven his daughter from his life by being so cool and callous toward her, by choosing his brothers over his daughter, and he was worried about my temper? Hell, I only had an attitude because I knew the harm they’d done to that girl, so it was rich of them to come trying to play protectors now. The three remaining Aces High members turned and left the shop. Zeke and I stood, watching them mount their bikes and get gone before either of us spoke.

  “She’s going to need more protection than we can offer from the outside looking in if things go to shit there,” he told me.

  I turned to get a better look at him. “Why do you care so much? You’ve only known her a short time.”

  “That look she carries, the sadness that eats at her soul, I’ve seen it before. Don’t want to be responsible for the road she may travel down if someone doesn’t look out for her.” Zeke was lost in thought then. “Her brother would probably do it, having learned a lesson, but she’ll never trust him again. Not the way she probably once did.”

  I agreed. “He was right about that. He fucked up.”

  Zeke nodded knowingly. “If it comes down to it, one of us is going to have to go in, and make sure she doesn’t drown in the damage they’ve caused.”

  I nodded my head. “I’ll do it, but let’s see how things play out for a bit first. I’m not real keen on heading down that road if I don’t have to.”

  “I know it, and I appreciate that sacrifice.”

  “Fuck,” I hissed out. “You know they’ll give me all kinds of hell after the way I just treated them over a girl.” Zeke grinned at me.

  “That should make the transition from tattoo artist to club member all the easier. You were willing to take all four of them on to protect their princess. They might think it doesn’t matter if people on the inside of the club hurt her, but they’d protect her from us – seeing you do the same – that probably went in your favor more than against it.”

  “Fuck!” I hissed again, shaking my head back and forth.

  “Just thought about the ink you’ll have to get, didn’t you?”

  “You know what happens to that ink when you leave a club, right?”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll pick a good spot and do some glow in the dark work over the blackout ink. It’ll be sick as fuck.”

  “Great,” I murmured. “My sister is going to owe me big for this shit.”

  “No, she isn’t. You’re going to keep your mouth shut, and they’ll never know how far out on a limb we went for her friend.”

  “I think it’s sweet that you two are helping her out. She always looks so sad, even when she’s trying to hide it.” Gretchen had apparently come back into the lobby since the bikers left the building. She held up her hands in surrender. “Don’t worry, my lips are sealed. I just wanted you guys to know how awesome it is. Neither one of you has to help her, but you’re doing it anyway. That’s something special.”

  Chapter 1

  The Crush

  Gretchen

  Kane. Kane. Kane.

  The damned infuriating man was always on my mind these days. When he stepped into the shop, I actually caught myself leaning in to sniff that incredible scent of his. It was sandalwood and leather, mixed with the salty sea air that seemed to cling to him. I knew it was because on warm, sunny days he enjoyed driving the long way to work on his motorcycle. No, I wasn’t a stalker, not really. I was just a girl working in a tattoo studio, with some of the hottest men in Charleston slinging ink on people all day. And let me tell you, when I say hot, I mean smokin’ hot. Like, the sun gets jealous in their presence kind of hot. It’s not just their looks. It’s their everything.

  Kane, for instance, is a gorgeous man; he’s sweet, kind, funny as hell, and completely oblivious to the fact that I have had a fool’s crush on him for the better part of a year. The last part is not factored into the attractive equation. I wish he’d see me, but I think I’m more of the annoying chick who schedules his appointments and takes payments for him instead. I’m the job. The women he goes home with, well, they’re so much more than I could ever hope to be. I don’t mean to sound down on myself, but I know that I’m not fancy in the way they are. I’m more of what you might call quirky. Sometimes, that works for guys. Unfortunately, it’s usually the type of guys that later get classified as idiot posers. They try to be edgy by dating me, and then soon realize I’m just a big nerd in pinup style clothing who won’t put out for just anyone. Then I get dumped, rinse, and repeat. Sigh.

  “Whatcha day dreaming about over here, sweetness?” Sully asked me. He was one of the resident artists at Permanent Marks Tattoo Studio. Usually, he handled the piercings, but Sully also did crazy cool anime and manga style art. If that’s what someone was looking for, I’d book him over everyone else. It was his specialty. I glanced up to see the blue neon light from one of the signs hanging over us, giving off a soft glow on his cleanly shaven head. I wasn’t sure why he kept it that way because the man could grow a thick head of hair, bu
t he seemed to like it. He rocked the look too. If I didn’t already have such a huge crush on Kane, Sully would be a close runner-up for my affection. I know, all the gushing I do about my boys at Permanent Marks probably makes me sound like an ink groupie. I’m not. They’re just all such good guys spun up tightly in bad-boy wrapping. It’s enough to make any girl salivate all over herself.

  “I’m just…”

  He cut me off with a sigh. “How many times do I have to tell you, sweetness, I’m too much for you. You are a forever girl, and I’m….”

  I threw my pristinely pointed, yellow, number two pencil right at his shiny, bald head. “Hush your mouth, Mr. Clean! You wish I was daydreaming about you!”

  “Yo! Kane!” He called, while wiggling his eyebrows at me. Then, in a whispered voice he continued, “I think someone has a crush on you!”

  I huffed, grabbed my purse, and stomped past the infuriating bastard of a man. “I’m going to lunch!” The announcement was unnecessary since it was actually my lunch time, but whatever. I still gave it, with a side of attitude.

  “Hey, can you pick me up a…”

  “No, Sully! I can’t pick you up anything, because you’re being a giant cock weasel today!”

  Sully’s head tipped back as a howl of laughter escaped him. “Oh, sweetness!” He called out. “What in the ever-lovin’ fuck is a cock weasel?”

  “You, Sully! You’re the cock weasel!” That’s how I left my boys at the studio in peals of laughter as I went to go get a sandwich from the deli down the street. At least I was no longer thinking about Kane, and how much I’d like to lick that confusing conglomeration of scents right from his God-like body! Damn it! The Sully distraction was short lived.