Love Damaged: Rock-N-Roll Heiress Book 2 Read online

  Copyright © 2018 by Kelli McCracken

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Cover art by Susan Garwood with Wicked Women Designs.

  Created with Vellum

  To all the rock stars I’ve ever loved.

  Thank you for the inspiration.

  Contents

  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

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Afterword

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Contact Information

  Also by Kelli McCracken

  Prologue

  Two-weeks prior

  ~Mia~

  The morning sky greeted me as I opened my eyes and gazed around at my surroundings. It had been late when I arrived in Death Valley, and without a moon to provide light, it was impossible to see the scenery.

  Adjusting my seat into an upright position, the view outside my windshield was as breathtaking as I remembered. It had been a while since I’d come here. Had Ayden and I not had a huge fight, I doubt I’d be here now.

  I shook my head and rubbed my face. I had been awake five minutes, and the first thing on my mind was the man who broke my heart. How was I going to get over him?

  As I pushed the thoughts from my mind, I opened the door and released the latch on the convertible top. Within a few minutes, I had it lowered. Then I opened the trunk, hoping to find some clothes I may have left inside the last time I took my mother’s car on a trip.

  Thankfully, I’d been right. I found one of my duffle bags with a fresh set of clothes. As I pulled them out, I made a better discovery. At the bottom of the bag was a bottle of whiskey.

  Having a drink first thing in the morning didn’t seem like a wise choice, but I needed something to numb me. Whiskey would do the trick. It always had in the past.

  Staring at the bottle, I made my way back to my seat, but instead of sitting in it, I climbed into the back and sat on the compartment where the top was stored. The cap twisted with ease as I cracked open the bottle. One quick sniff and I contemplated my decision again.

  Ayden’s face played through my mind. Then the bottle touched my lips, and I accepted the liquid into my mouth. I didn’t think about the burn I’d feel until I swallowed. Still, it was better than the ache pulsing within me.

  No matter how much I tried to focus on something else, Ayden was branded into my brain. The look he had given me when he realized I was going to peel out of the parking space spoke of his fear as much as it did his frustration.

  If he had calmed down and spoken to me rationally, I may have reconsidered leaving. After the way he acted in the arena, the last thing I wanted was to stick around and argue more. He wanted me to admit to something I couldn’t. I was telling him the truth. Wesley was the one who’d lied.

  I regretted not telling Ayden the full story behind my breakup with D. If I had, maybe we wouldn’t be going through this. He would have recognized the same thing Andi and I had. Izzy and Wesley were working together, and depending on the results of my test, Wesley may have taken it a step further this time.

  My stomach rolled. I waited for it to subside then I took another drink from the bottle. This time, it was a bigger drink. I struggled to swallow it all, but I enjoyed every second the whiskey burned through me.

  Coming to Death Valley was fitting, considering it was the place where my life first went to hell. I glanced around at the rocks and dirt, curious about the things that had gone through my mother’s mind when she’d met Izzy’s mom here, seventeen years ago.

  It was the last place she stood. Maybe that’s why I always came here. Whenever I was here, I felt connected to her. She’d had her heart broken in this same place where I was salvaging what was left of mine.

  A few more shots of the whiskey soothed me enough that I didn’t break down in tears. I could have easily, but crying solved nothing. It didn’t convince Ayden that I was telling the truth.

  Leaning forward, I turned the knob on the radio until music filled the empty air around me. The song playing was by a band that got their break at Music Haven. It was one of the last groups my grandfather signed before he passed away.

  No matter where in this world I went, I would never escape who I was. It was a curse and a blessing at the same time. I would never have a normal life. For me to think I would just confirmed how delusional I was. It also proved that Music Haven wouldn’t exist past me.

  The whiskey bottle met my lips again. I took a few more long drinks, desperate to erase the memories from my mind for a few hours. I’d never do it permanently.

  I felt the buzz of the alcohol, enjoying the way it eased the tension tightening my muscles. Why couldn’t I find this level of peace any other time? I loved my life at Music Haven, but I wanted to share it with someone. Wesley was determined it would be him, but that would never make me happy. I despised him, wouldn’t piss on him if he were on fire.

  Chuckling at the thought, I realized how much I was losing it. Drinking at six in the morning. Thinking about pissing on my ex. Contemplating my existence. I went from one extreme to the next. Was I having a mental break down?

  Perhaps I was. Good. Maybe then Wesley would leave me alone, though I highly doubted it. Just the thought of his smug face was enough to stoke my anger to life. I gripped the bottle of whiskey, jumped out of the car, and walked back toward the trunk. Instead of putting the bottle inside, I neared the guardrail overlooking the valley below.

  I looked over the edge as far as I could, curious about how much of a drop it would be. No one would survive a fall from here. Heights didn’t scare me, but they sure as hell bothered my ex, which is why Wesley never came with me to this spot. D had, not long after I brought him to Music Haven. I had planned to bring Ayden, but now . . .

  The searing pain in my heart made me wince. I didn’t think when I slammed my hand against the guardrail post. It took a few minutes for me to realize why I heard a high-pitch cracking. Neither the red splatters on my shirt nor the blood trickling down my hand made sense until I saw the broken whiskey bottle.

  “Great,” I mumbled. Inspecting my hand, I found a large sliver of glass in the center. Once I eased it out, the blood flowed faster.

  Going back to the trunk, I searched inside again for something I could use to wrap around my hand. The first aid kit I kept in most of my vehicles had somehow disappeared from this one.

  When I came up with nothing, I glanced at my shirt. The frayed edges would be enough to make a decent bandage. Besides, the shirt was already ruined from the blood I’d managed to get on it.

  Within a few minutes, I had the shirt in my hand, a few of the edges ripped off, and the best bandage I could make with the material I had. The whiskey was good enough to clean the woun
d, and once I wrapped the cloth around my hand, it felt ten times better.

  After removing the rest of my clothes and changing into the clean ones, I slipped my shoes back on then shoved the old clothes into the trunk, closing it when I’d finished. Now I had to make a decision on where to go from here.

  As I climbed back into the car and sat near the trunk, I debated my options. I could go back to Music Haven, deal with the situation, and hope for peace while Breaking Silence was on site. After they were established, they would have the money to buy their own homes wherever they chose to live.

  Or, I could take a break from the insanity and find someplace to lay low. Andi was more than capable of running things in my absence. I still had my phone and could answer work-related calls, if I chose to do so. I would have to keep in contact with Andi, and doing that meant she’d beg me to come back every chance she could.

  The thought of returning had my heart racing, much like it had the night before, during my argument with Ayden. I struggled to fight back the tears forming in my eyes. This wasn’t my first argument in a relationship, but I’d never felt fear the way I did when Ayden was in screaming in my face.

  An unmistakable sound of a motorcycle engine roared in the distance. I glanced in the same direction, curious who would be in Death Valley this early in the morning.

  The deep rumble increased as the bike grew closer. Once it did, it took me five seconds to recognize it. I knew that black and blue Harley Davidson—had been on the back seat many times. Still, seeing it here, in the middle of nowhere, made my heart pinch. He promised to always be here for me, and he was living up to his word.

  D had found me, and yet I didn’t know how he’d managed to drive from Florida to here in such a short time. It was impossible, which meant he hadn’t been in his home state. He had been somewhere close.

  He pulled his motorcycle beside my car. Then dark eyes found mine. No words were exchanged. Instead, I stood on the trunk of my mother’s car and took his hand when he offered it to me. Then I placed my foot on one of the pegs before easing onto the backseat.

  As soon as I was seated, I drew in the scent of his cologne. The familiar notes comforted me. When he peered over his shoulder, the smile lifting his lips made me sigh. I wrapped my arms around his waist. Wherever he was taking me, I was ready to go, so long as it wasn’t Music Haven.

  “Ready to get out of here?”

  I nodded. Pressing my chest to his back, I leaned closer to his ear and whispered, “Promise you won’t take me back.”

  He didn’t hesitate on giving me an answer. “I promise.”

  “Good,” I whispered and pressed my cheek to his shoulder. “I don’t care where we go, as long as it’s not back to the hell I just left.”

  “Don’t worry, baby girl. I have the perfect place in mind.”

  Chapter 1

  ~Ayden~

  Emptiness. It’s what I found when I stared at the bottom of my glass. The bourbon Max had poured me was gone. In its place was a void that matched the one I felt in my soul. I knew my heart was still beating because I was alive. I could breathe, move, and go through every physical motion.

  What I couldn’t do was feel. My emotions fell silent on a heart that had shattered. Forming a logical thought was impossible. My mind remained numb.

  The alcohol came in handy with the crushing pain in my chest. I always thought a broken heart was just a metaphor. I didn’t realize it was a physical possibility. It had to be. I’d never felt this type of pain.

  “Need another one?”

  I kept my eyes on the glass as I repeated Max’s question in my mind several times. “Yeah. I need another.”

  “Coming right up.”

  Instead of taking the glass in my hands, he used a new one. I saw him grabbing for it in my peripheral. At least he was willing to serve me whenever I was over the limit, unlike Shawn. Of course, I wasn’t drinking Tequila like I was the night the other bartender cut me off.

  His actions caused a chain reaction that led to the worst argument between Mia and me. Then she left. Now she was . . .

  I refused to think it was possible that I could have lost her for good. The thought of never seeing her again . . . It’s why I was drinking. I had to numb my mind so the memories would fade. They tormented me every minute of the day because everywhere I looked, I saw Mia.

  “Here you go.” Max set my glass in front of me. When he didn’t step away, I forced myself to look at him. “I’m here if you need to talk.”

  Shaking my head, I grabbed the glass and drew it closer. “I don’t want to talk. That means I have to think. Thinking would be a terrible waste of this bourbon.”

  Nodding his head, he tapped his fingers against the bar. “I understand, but you shouldn’t keep it bottled up. It’s not healthy.”

  I raised my glass to him. “My mouth is what led to all of this. I’m the reason Mia’s gone.”

  “No, you’re not. Sure, she left that night to get away. That’s what Mia does. She has to have time to process things, and when something dramatic happens in her life, she doesn’t rush into a decision until she’s had time to think.”

  “It’s been two weeks since she left. No one has heard from her, not even Andi who swears Mia always keeps in contact regardless of what’s occurring in her life. Something’s happened to her. There’s evidence, Max. I saw her clothes. The blood covering them tested positive as hers.”

  He looked away from me and shook his head, refusing to believe the possibility that someone had hurt Mia. Denying it didn’t mean it didn’t happen. Something had. I saw the proof.

  “Until I see for myself that Mia’s been harmed, I won’t accept her being dead. I know Mia. She’s easily hurt, but she’s not a delicate flower. The girl can take care of herself.”

  There was no point in arguing with him. He wouldn’t allow himself to consider anything negative. I wished I could say the same. It made me envious. “I hope you’re right, Max.”

  “Have faith, Ayden. Without it, life is just chaotic.” He stepped back from the bar. “I’ll check in with you in a bit. Yell if you need something before then.”

  “Thanks, Max.”

  I couldn’t look at him. My mind was already filtering through everything he’d said. I didn’t doubt Mia’s resilience any more than I did her ability to take care of herself. Still, things happened. The fact that Wesley broke into her suite with some guy was proof.

  While we didn’t have evidence that Izzy had tampered with Mia’s drink, it was more indication that things could go wrong no matter how tough a person was. What worried me was that Mia had been alone in Death Valley of all places. She could have come across anyone, including someone depraved enough to take her life.

  Wesley still wasn’t off the hook as the lead suspect. The local sheriff, Gary, had been back to interview him at least once this week. He warned him and his friend, Eddie, not to leave the vicinity.

  At least he was able to get Eddie’s DNA to test against Mia’s rape kit. We still had a few days before the results came in, but Gary assured Andi he’d have the results of Mia’s blood work by tomorrow. Then we would know if she’d been drugged the night Wesley broke in.

  It all made sense, and knowing as much only increased my suspicion. Izzy was just as involved in this as Wesley. They had a history of working together to hurt Mia. This time, they’d taken it further.

  “Ayden?” A male voice came from behind me, one I’d heard several times while out on tour. Before I could turn on my stool, someone sat beside me. “It is you.”

  “In the flesh,” I answered, doing my best to adjust my eyes.

  “And drunk as hell.” He picked up my half-empty glass and brought it to his nose. “Bourbon. Just what I thought.”

  Once he set it down, he slapped his hand against my shoulder and shook it. Then he chuckled. I still couldn’t believe he was here.

  “Darius Stone.” I extended my hand toward his and shook it. “It’s good to see you, man.”


  “You too. I didn’t think I’d see you this soon after the tour ended.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  Max approached us a second later. When he saw Darius, he leaned over the bar and gave him a hug. “Damn, man. I never thought I’d see you around here again.”

  Darius patted his back then broke free. “That makes two of us. It’s good seeing you too, Max. How’s life treating you?”

  “I’m good for the most part.” Max glanced in my direction then refocused on Darius. “Can I get you something?”

  “I’ll take a beer, long neck please.”

  “You got it,” Max said as he walked toward the cooler.

  Observing Darius, I assumed he had been a guest at Music Haven in the past. A lot of great bands came through here, even ones that didn’t get their start through the Brooks family.

  I wanted to ask him questions, see if he knew Mia or had worked with her in the past, but I didn’t want to bring anything up until Max left. As soon as he placed a beer in front of Darius, he leaned on his elbow as if he were going to stick around for a conversation.

  “I want to catch up before you leave, but I have to work. Let’s get together for a beer later.”

  “You got it, my man.” Darius gave Max a fist bump before he turned to leave. Once he was out of sight, I thought about ways of bringing up Mia to Darius. It would be best to slowly work up to that point, so I’d start with the obvious.

  “What brings you to Music Haven?”

  Darius scratched the back of his head then raised his beer toward me. “Let’s have a drink first.”