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  Once he got back to NOLA, he became a regular at a little dive bar in town called Tito’s and was prospecting to join the club that met at the bar—Perdition MC. Ringer even found a house to rent that wasn’t like the shit-hole motel he was in with Sophie. Staying in a motel only reminded him of the hot night they spent together and the fact that she so easily tossed him aside and went back to her life in New Orleans. It hurt and he wasn’t sure he’d ever get past her walking out on him, even with the countless women he fucked to occupy his nights. They were nameless, faceless bodies to lose himself in but he was never sated. Ringer was beginning to realize the only way to feel that again would be to find Sophie and demand to be a part of her life again and knowing Sophie, that wouldn’t work well in his favor. She was tough as nails and determined to shut him out of her life. There would be no getting through to her, even if he was up for trying.

  He couldn’t give her what he wanted either. That would mean letting her into his life and his secret. He wasn’t sure how she’d get past him being who he was and that realization was his biggest factor for keeping his distance. How could he explain that he was a shifter and with every full moon, he had to lock himself up in a storage container to keep from hurting anyone? He was a wolf—a lone wolf, destined to be by himself for the rest of his life, like it or not.

  Sophie

  Sophie Payton pulled into Reckoning’s parking lot, not sure how she was going to explain her bulging belly or the fact that she could no longer fit into any of her jeans, to her older brother, Reaper. Her OBGYN told her she was lucky that she hadn’t started showing months earlier. She was almost five months pregnant and one hundred percent positive that the baby was Ringer’s. When she agreed to one night with him, she never imagined it would lead to a lifetime commitment to a kid, yet here she was—pregnant and alone. She didn’t tell anyone about the baby; none of her friends and especially not her big brother. Reaper would want to find Ringer and tear him apart, but what good would that do? He’d feel better but she’d still be alone and facing the realization she was going to have to not only bring the kid into the world but raise him or her alone.

  Tonight was the night she faced the music. Tonight, she got dressed in the only thing that fit her—yoga pants, and an oversized t-shirt, and drove her pick-up to Reckoning. It was home to her brother’s MC and honestly, her home too. His club had adopted her as their own kid sister. She knew that sooner or later the overly protective bikers would all find out that she had gone and gotten herself knocked up. Telling Reaper was her first step and then she’d face the rest of them. Hiding in plain sight wasn’t an option for her any longer. This baby had other plans for her and forcing her hand to make an announcement she wasn’t ready to make, was a crap move. She’d blame Ringer for everything but honestly, none of this was his fault. She was the one to run away and that was the problem. Getting close to Ringer wasn’t a part of the plan and letting him in, for even a night, felt reckless and daring but she knew how it would end. Men left—all of them and she wasn’t about to sit around and wait for Ringer to change his mind about her. Better to get out before losing her heart completely to the guy.

  Besides, he didn’t come running back to town after her, when she took off. He even sold his half of the company to Reaper and that felt like the final slap in the face to her. If Ringer wanted to send her a message, she got it loud and clear. He didn’t want her and he proved that every day that he stayed in Texas.

  Sophie checked her reflection in the rearview mirror and sighed. “Whatever,” she mumbled and pulled free from her seatbelt. She had her mission—find Reap and break the bad news that she was carrying Ringer’s baby and beg her new sister-in-law, Beth to help her pick out some maternity pants that actually fit. Beth was pregnant too, as was her sister, Lyra. Between the two of them, she’d be able to get the scoop on where to pick up maternity clothes cheap. She also needed to start planning on what she was going to do once the baby got there. She worked alongside her brother, at their father’s textile company and she loved her job and working with Reaper. She hoped that after he got over the initial shock and anger of her pregnancy, he’d let her keep working there and maybe even bring the baby in with her, to avoid the costs of daycare. But, she was getting ahead of herself. Telling her brother was her first step and she just needed to rip the band-aid off and get this part over with.

  Sophie walked into the bar and nervously looked around for her brother, bumping into every big, tattooed biker along the way. She found Reaper sitting with Beth at the bar and she exhaled. She almost wanted to giggle at her own theatrics but finding her sister-in-law there was a good omen. Beth would be able to keep Reaper from flying off the handle and going off to do something stupid—like having a giant tantrum and going off to kill Ringer. If she was lucky, Reaper wouldn’t even ask who the father was, but she knew her brother well enough to know he’d ask. He made it his mission to know every bit of her business, claiming that’s what big brothers did. She liked to tell him that only nosey, older brothers butted their noses in where they weren’t wanted or needed and he’d usually roll his eyes and ignore her.

  “Hey guys,” she almost whispered. They didn’t hear her over the music, so Sophie tapped them both on their shoulders, getting their attention. “Hey.” She waved and Reaper stood to hug her. She had taken the last week off, claiming to be sick, but she was just hiding. Once she started showing, she panicked and hid away in her little rental house that belonged to Beth.

  “You feeling better, Sis?” Reaper questioned. She was careful not to let her little baby bump touch him when he pulled her against his body.

  “Yeah,” she lied. “Just a little bug.” If only he knew that her little bug was actually a baby, he might not be so welcoming. Beth smiled and grabbed her, pulling her into a bear hug of her own. As soon as her sister-in-law pushed her away, she knew that Beth had guessed her secret. She was a seer and had an uncanny ability to see anything and everything about Reaper and Sophie. It was how Beth and Reaper met—she had dreams about him her whole life and she found him. Hell, Beth saved Reaper and her and they were damn lucky to have her in their lives. Although, Sophie didn’t feel so lucky at the moment. Beth’s powers only grew stronger and she was starting to be able to get vibes from people just by touching them and Sophie could see it in her sister-in-law’s eyes that she knew about the baby.

  “Um, I need to talk to you both,” Sophie stuttered.

  “Shoot,” Reaper said. “We’re all ears.”

  “No,” Beth said. “I think we should talk about this up in our room.” Beth and Reaper kept a room over the bar, for nights that they wanted to stay in town. They also had a perfect little cabin just on the outskirts of town that Sophie considered to be paradise. Sophie wanted to just blurt out her news and get it over with, but Beth was right, some privacy might be the best call for telling Reaper.

  “Why do we need to go up to our room to talk?” he asked Beth.

  “Because Sophie has something she needs to tell us and it’s a private matter,” Beth said.

  “Hmm,” Reaper hummed. Whenever he made that noise in his throat, Sophie knew that he was sorting through things in his mind. It usually ended with a screaming match between both her and her brother and this time might be no different.

  “Please, Reap,” Sophie begged. He looked her up and down as if sizing her up and when his eyes got to her belly, they stopped. Sophie tried to cover her belly with her hands, turning away from his stare but it was too late—her brother had caught on and there would be no retreat or privacy for the conversation they were about to have.

  “You’re pregnant?” he growled. Her brother’s impeccable timing was spot on. The loud music, that usually filled the bar, had stopped and his shout was heard by just about everyone in the room. The dull hum of conversation ceased around them and Sophie felt all eyes on her.

  “Yes,” she murmured. “I’m pregnant.” Sophie closed her eyes as if she could hide that way but she knew that
as soon as she opened them again, she’d find Reaper staring at her with so much disappointment it would physically hurt her to look at him.

  “What the fuck?” She popped an eye open, knowing that wasn’t Reaper’s growly voice asking the question. It was a voice she had only heard in her dreams—Ringer. Sophie turned to find him standing behind her, his dark mohawk pulled back in a braid that ran down the center of his skull. She always liked when he wore his long hair that way; she could see all his neck tattoos. Was he really at Reckoning? It had been five months since she left him sleeping in that crappy motel room after they spent their night together. The only night that she was willing to give him—the only night he asked her for. Ringer was beautiful, angry and very much present and Sophie’s world felt like it was about to spin off-kilter. She couldn’t seem to find her balance and just before everything went dark around her, she heard Ringer’s soft promise.

  “I’ve got you, Honey,” he said.

  Ringer (Perdition MC Shifters Book 1) Coming in May 2020!

  About BE Kelly

  Paranormal MC Romance Writer

  Supernatural, flirty, and a little bit dirty!

  BE Kelly is a paranormal romance author who enjoys adding in her alter ego’s love of MC! She loves all things witches, shifters and you’ll maybe even find some vamps in her future! Check out other works by this author under the pen name K. L. Ramsey, for more MC, ménage, and even some contemporary romance.

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  More works by BE Kelly

  Reckoning MC Seers

  Reaper

  Tank

  Raven

  Coming Soon

  Hawk

  Perdition MC Shifters

  Ringer

  Rios