Page 31 of Protected by the Biker (Grim Reaper MC)
“Man, relax,” Logan. “It was the only way for us to score on the discount on the vacation as well. The more people coming, the higher the discount. Besides you could use a vacation. Get yourself out of your head for a bit.”
It was true. Austin had felt it was harder to control his anger lately. He had always been able to hide it from his friends, but now he was starting to snap at them too and he was sure that they were getting frustrated with him. Austin had hoped it was just a phase, and deep down he agreed that a vacation or some form of relaxation would benefit him, but why the hell did they have to drag him into something like this?
While Austin was not always the sharing type, most of his friends knew that he had lost Callie and was not the same since. Hell, Logan even knew that Callie’s death was the reason why Austin was joined the Army.
The thought of Callie made Austin’s anger return in full force. Austin stormed out of the common room and went straight to his apartment, almost pulling off the doorframe from its hinges.
He let out a loud growl and fell down onto the bed. He needed to get a grip on his anger. He knew his friends were just trying to help him but he couldn’t stand the thought of having to interact with any of those idiotic girls. Not one of them would be able to hold a candle to Callie. Austin dropped his head into his hands as memories of Callie rushed into his thoughts.
Why can’t I just let her go? Austin thought. It had been so many years since her death, he should have been able to move on, but his heart wouldn’t let him. Every girl he saw was compared to her, and none of them stood a chance. Austin let out a long sigh. Callie would not have wanted him to be like this. He let out a small laugh at how she would have reacted if she saw him now. She would be dragging his ass to the plane and telling him to let someone else in. She would have wanted him to be happy.
But how could he be without her?
Chapter 4
Ella
A loud banging on Ella’s door jolted her awake. What the hell? Her eyes snapped open and she quickly looked around herself. She let out an audible sigh of relief when she realized she was just on her couch in her living room. She slowly sat up and pushed her tangled mess of hair away her face. The TV was still on, with the menu of the Blu-ray she had been watching frozen on the screen. She looked down at her watch and saw that it was ten in the morning. Awesome, she thought. The loud banging on her door started again, causing Ella to jump off the couch. She rushed to the door and looked through the peephole. She let out a sigh of relief when saw it was her best friend Sierra.
Ella opened the door and Sierra rushed at her with a big hug.
“Do you know that I have been trying to get ahold of you for the last hour?” Sierra asked. “I must have called your cell like twenty times.”
Ella loosened her arms around Sierra and looked at her friend’s face. She had beautiful green eyes and long, wavy brown hair. She was absolutely beautiful, and Ella had always wished for once she could look as good as Sierra did. Next to Sierra, Ella was always seen as just the girl next door. Sierra and Ella had become friends back in high school. Up until she had become friends with Sierra, Ella had been extremely shy. Sierra was a whirlwind that stormed into her life, and Ella was forever thankful for it. Sierra had pulled Ella out of her shell.
“I’m sorry,” Ella said. “I must have fallen asleep on the couch and didn’t hear my phone.”
Ella could feel Sierra’s eyes on her as she shuffled back towards her couch and wrapped herself up in a cozy blanket. Ella knew she looked like a pitiful mess, but she couldn’t truly bring herself to care.
“OK, Ella,” Sierra said. “Intervention time. You need to get up and get out of the house. We are meeting the rest of the girls for brunch.” Sierra walked over to the couch and started to pull Ella back up and shooed her into the bedroom.
Ella broke free of Sierra’s grasp and rushed back to the couch and pulled up the blanket over her face. Sierra let out an exasperated sigh, and Ella heard her heels click towards the kitchen. The last thing Ella wanted to do was to get out of her PJs, but the temptation of a good brunch was not something she ever turned away. The sound of the coffee maker and the delicious smell of freshly brewed coffee brought a smile to Ella’s face. Sierra always seemed to know exactly what Ella needed before she asked. Ella reluctantly pushed herself off the couch, grabbed her hot cup of coffee, and followed Sierra into the bedroom.
***
The sweet smell of French toast wafted into Ella’s nose, and she couldn’t be happier that Sierra had dragged her out of the house. Sierra had taken Ella to their favorite brunch spot a few blocks away from her Charlestown apartment in Boston. Sitting around the table with them were her three best friends, Maggie, Amanda, and Rebecca.
“So Gavin was a douchebag yet again?” Maggie asked. Maggie had been the first girl Sierra and Ella met when they went to college in Boston. She had long, stick-straight blonde hair and flowing curves that she was always able to make look great in anything she wore. She had a spitfire personality, which was what made Sierra and Ella quickly become friends with her.
Sierra shot her a stare across the table. It was sweet of B to try and be protective of Ella, but she was fine talking about him. Ella gently touched Sierra’s hand to let her know it was all right.
“Things with Gavin are finished,” Ella said. “He stood me up for dinner, and when I called him he was obviously at a club with friends.”
Maggie scoffed.
“I am happy things with you and Gavin are finished,” Rebecca said. “He was a tool, anyway.” Rebecca had been Maggie’s roommate in college. She had brown curly hair and light brown eyes. Where Maggie went, Rebecca came along, which was fine with Ella because she was the sweetest girl Ella had ever met.
“Yeah he was,” Amanda agreed between bites of her pancakes. Amanda and Ella worked together at the banking firm. They had instantly bonded over work stress, and Ella quickly brought her into their friend group. Amanda had shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes.
Ella smiled at her friends. It helped that they all lived so close to one another. Without them, Ella didn’t think she would have had the guts to move away from home in the first place.
“So we had an idea,” Sierra quickly cleared her throat.
“What kind of idea?” Ella asked. Sierra looked at the other girls and they smiled and nodded at her to continue.
“Well, we thought that since things are finished with Gavin, that now would be a great time for all of us to go on a vacation together,” Sierrae said.
A vacation? Ella closed her eyes and thought about the spring break trip that they all had gone to, minus Amanda, on their senior year of college. It had been a mess of drinking, dancing, and eye candy on the warm beaches of the Bahamas. She smiled at the memory. A vacation with just the girls would be amazing, Ella thought. It would be the perfect way to get Gavin out of her head.
“Just us girls, right?” Ella asked.
Sierra looked at the other girls with a bit of hesitation that Ella only caught because she had known her for so long. Sierra quickly recovered and smiled.
“Of course,” Sierra said. “Just us girls.”
I must have read Sierra wrong, Ella thought. A girls-only vacation would be the best thing for her.
“I’m in!” Ella said.
Chapter 5
Austin
Austin’s stomach lurched as th
e ferry rocked back and forth next to the dock. He couldn’t tell if it was the boat ride itself or his nerves about being trapped on this island for the next week. After an hour of calming himself down, his friends had finally convinced him to go with them to Mystic Breeze Resort. As the ferry was tied to the dock and Austin and his clan waited to disembark, Austin took in the sights. As much as he hated to admit it, the island was beautiful. Perfect white sand beaches lined the shoreline. The island itself was shaped into a private cove, creating a picturesque backdrop that Mystic Breeze Resort was now famous for. Austin smiled hesitantly. If he could avoid all of the relationship-building activities, and all of the women, he might actually like this place.
Austin’s smile faltered when his eyes left the beautiful scenery of the cove and focused on the beach near the dock. Several towels were laid out, and what looked like hundreds of women in skimpy bathing suits were lying out in the sun. The ferry’s horn sounded, and all of the women had turned to see the guys arrive. Austin looked at them and breathed in a heavy sigh. Callie’s face pushed its way into his thoughts. How could he open up to any of these women when all he could think about was her?
With the ferry finally tied to the dock, Austin and his clan walked off and into the beating sun. Austin took a deep breath in and smelled the salty air. Just concentrate on the little things, he thought. The ocean breeze calmed his nerves slightly, and he followed his friends towards the resort. At the end of the dock stood a petite brunette with a pixie cut. She looked to be in her mid thirties, but her beaming smile helped mask her age. When Austin reached her, she quickly extended her hand.
“You must be Austin Donnelly,” the woman said. “I’m Pearl, the owner of Mystic Breeze Resort. We are so excited to have your clan stay with us this week.”
