Warnings and Wildfires

  She looked up at me and arched an eyebrow. I nodded and motioned my crew forward.

  “That’s acceptable. Thank you, your honor.”

  “Off the record,” the judge said to the court reporter. He looked back up at my attorney. “See, that wasn’t so hard, Miss Kendall.” The judge’s face lit up in a wolfish smile I didn’t take kindly to. Already in my head, I’d laid claim to this woman whose first name I didn’t even know.

  The sheriff came over and gripped my elbow.

  “Can’t you remove the restraints, now?” she asked the sheriff with wide, pleading eyes.

  To say her request stunned me would be an understatement. No one had ever given a crap about my discomfort.

  The sheriff did not look surprised. He answered her gently. “No counselor, not till he’s posted the bail money. You can meet us downstairs.” He nodded toward the guys standing behind the banister. “His posse can show you the way.”

  She hesitated, and I read the expression on her face loud and clear. She didn’t want to follow my crew anywhere. In fact, she looked like she wanted to run away.

  “Go ahead, I’ll be fine.” I appreciated that she’d given it a try. Sheriffs wouldn’t break protocol no matter how owl-eyed innocent she acted. It sure turned me on, though. Maybe that was the moment I fell in love with her.

  I couldn’t get my hands to stop shaking. It was just nerves from handling an on-the-spot arraignment for the first time. I could almost fool myself into believing it, but my hands betrayed me. The reaction I had to this guy was ridiculous—not to mention inappropriate.

  A career criminal obviously. Smooth talker. Sexy in the most obscene and dangerous way. The hideous orange jumpsuit did little to conceal the powerful body inside. Still, when my eyes traveled farther up, my breath caught in my throat. I’m not sure I had ever met such an exquisite example of masculinity before.

  Preoccupied with staring, I probably made a huge fool of myself. But I needed to take all of him in. Short, sandy blond hair, sharp cheekbones, a firm angular jaw, and perfectly straight nose. For some reason, I expected a man like him to have a crooked nose that had been broken once or twice in his life. He radiated power and barely controlled violence.

  I was in way over my head here, and not just career-wise.

  Our gazes collided, and I sucked in a deep breath. Deep, slate eyes bored into me. I had never seen anyone with gray eyes before, and I kept staring to see if the color would shift from a different angle. Tearing myself away from studying his unusual irises took some skill.

  I wrapped my fingers around the handle of my briefcase and took a step back. The last thing I wanted to do was follow his scary-looking friends anywhere. Wasn’t my job finished now anyway? Since I’d never done this before, I had no idea. I guessed if I wanted to get paid, I needed to follow.

  Instead, Judge Dane signaled me to come with him as he left the bench.

  “I’ll find my way down there in a minute,” I told the guys who stood there waiting for me. A nervous smiled tugged at my lips.

  “Ms. Kendall,” the judge called.

  I turned and scurried toward the ornate oak door that led to his private chambers. I’d been back here once or twice before for settlement conferences, but never by myself.

  I left the door open.

  “Have a seat.” He swept his hand toward the two chairs stationed in front of his wide desk.

  “Uh, I need to go follow Mr….” Crap! What was the guy’s name?

  “North. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. You did an excellent job. How would you feel if I appointed some minor criminal matters to you?”

  Like throwing up on a regular basis.

  “That might be okay,” I said.

  “I can assign someone for you to shadow for a couple cases, until you get the hang of it.”

  I interpreted that as I’d get to do all the work, while my “mentor” collected the fee. As if I needed any more complications in my life.

  Handcuff-free and back in my street clothes, I looked around for my new attorney. She hadn’t followed the guys downstairs, and I wondered where she could possibly be. I didn’t even have her card.

  “Prez, why you want to keep this snatch around? Glassman will take care of this,” Murphy asked, not realizing how close he was to an ass-kicking.

  I flexed my hands. “That fucker couldn’t be bothered to show up. With the amount of money we pay him, that’s bullshit. She did a fine job.”

  “You want to tap that? She’s a fine piece. I get it.”

  I did indeed want to tap that, but something about Wrath—probably my oldest and closest friend—speaking about her that way pissed me the hell off.

  “Shut the fuck up.”

  His eyes widened, but his mouth snapped shut. Zero and Wrath exchanged glances, and I glared at both of them in response.

  A gentle clicking against the concrete floors sounded a few seconds before she poked her head around the corner. “Sorry, took me a minute. Everything okay?”

  I finished signing the last paper, collected my wallet, and nodded. “I’m good.”

  Her gaze roamed over my brothers, a mildly freaked out expression forming.

  “Come ’ere, doll.” I motioned her over to the exit. I wanted to get the fuck out of this building and out of downtown Ironworks. I never shoulda been over the bridge anyway. If I’d stuck to my own damn territory, this bullshit wouldn’t have gone down.

  But then I wouldn’t have met the pretty counselor.

  I gave the guys my “get the fuck lost” face, and they beat feet ahead of us.

  “Can I have your card?”

  “Oh, of course.” She stopped and fumbled with her briefcase for a few seconds. Flustered, she huffed a bit of air up, ruffling her bangs. Cutest damn thing I’d ever seen. Tossing her head side to side, she marched over to a bench and set the briefcase down. Bending over to flip open the bag, I bet she didn’t realize I got an eyeful—a nice, straight shot down her cleavage. I’d known a lot of women who did this exact thing looking to get a response like mine. But this chick, she had no idea. Holy hell, this girl was dangerous.

  I shifted my weight from side to side while I contemplated circling around to check out the back view when she straightened up and thrust a bright green and off-white colored card at me. Unique and pretty, just like her.

  “Sorry.” She flashed a nervous grin.

  “No problem.” I took the card. Hope Kendall, Esq. God. Damn.

  I flipped my wallet out of my cut and fished out five hundred-dollar bills, curled them over, and handed them to her.

  She protested immediately. “Oh my gosh, Mr. North, I can’t take that much. One hundred would be fine.” She thrust the cash back at me.

  I couldn’t remember if I’d ever heard anyone over the age of five say “gosh” before. It was really fucking cute coming from Hope’s mouth. I also didn’t think I had ever known a person to turn down money when offered to them.

  “No. You did an excellent job, considering it was sprung on you at the last minute. You earned it.”

  She blushed and looked down at her shoes. “Thank you.”

  Damn, she was sweet. She had this bright, wholesome thing going on. Why it got me so fucking hard, I had no idea. I usually didn’t do clean. I liked my hookups nasty and dirty.

  “No problem,” I said. “Now, I’m starving. Let’s go grab some lunch.”

  She hesitated, which was why I hadn’t asked her to lunch.

  “I should really…”

  “You have to be in court somewhere else?”

  “No.”

  “So let’s go eat.”

  “Don’t you want to join your friends?” She gestured to the corner where Zero, Wrath, and Murphy had stopped for a smoke.

  I wasn’t used to girls trying to get away from me. Usually they jumped at the chance to, well, jump me. This one was twitching to ditch me. It made me want to pursue her even harder.

  “Nah, they can come back an
d grab me later.”

  “I’m married,” she squeaked out.

  Well, fuck me.

  Slow Burn is available here.

  A NOTE FROM AUTUMN

  Thank you for reading Warnings and Wildfires! I hope you love it as much as I do!

  If you read my author notes in Bullets and Bonfires, you know I was working on that book long before I started the Lost Kings MC series. This book was just a thought, an idea sprouted from the scene of Aubrey taking lessons with Sully and “accidentally” kissing him at the end of the lesson. I knew Aubrey had an unusual past and I knew Sully was a good guy whose reputation was very important to him. I also knew from Bullets and Bonfires that he was unusually sensitive to women who come from abusive relationships.

  Why was that, I started to wonder. We’ve only really seen Sully briefly mentioned in the Lost Kings series, so I had to take some time to discover who he was. Children in romances is usually something, I’m not eager to read or write, but something about Sully being shut out of his daughter’s life really got to me. I figured there were dozens of ways I could’ve gone with that story line. His ex was a shrew who’d object to him having a relationship with Aubrey and do something dramatic about it; conflict could have arisen from Madison hating Aubrey and Aubrey having to work hard to make Madison like her, or Aubrey being jealous that she doesn’t come first for Sully. But those storylines seemed tired and felt like the expectation in a single-parent romance.

  Instead of Madison being a cute toddler or baby, I liked that she was a sassy, but sweet twelve-year-old. Teetering between childhood and adulthood, with Sully not knowing how to deal with her growing up when he’s already missed so much of her life.

  I didn’t want to paint Lauren as a complete villain. What she did was wrong, but I’m sure she had her reasons. So while, she was short with Sully at times, I didn’t want her to be “The Evil Ex.”

  I knew Aubrey had been involved with her teacher in high school. And I thought about making it some sort of romanticized relationship like you’d see on television or we read about in “taboo” romances (which I love sometimes. I’m not knocking those at all here.) But the reality is relationships like that fall under abuse and are usually incredibly destructive. They happen more often than people think. Worse, more often than not, the victim is blamed for the crimes committed against them. Even the people closest to the victim place blame to protect themselves. Aubrey even blames herself. I thought Sully was in a unique place to point out that what happened to her was not her fault, as well as accept her for who she was, something Aubrey wasn’t even able to do.

  We could all use a sister like Celia. I loved that she didn’t use Aubrey’s experience against her and how supportive and encouraging she was. We could all use a sister like Celia, because let’s face it, ladies, we can be harsh on one another. Sometimes quick to judge and blame when we should be listening with empathy and compassion. Someone struggling with something you’ve overcome deserves support not scorn.

  If you’ve read me before, you know I’m not a fan of prolonged, angsty conflicts. I prefer a couple fighting together against the world, rather than fighting each other. I could have dragged out Sully’s anger with Aubrey over the destruction of the gym. In fact, in my very first version, I did. And you know what? It made him a dick and not a romance hero in my eyes.

  I love a “bad boy” as much as the next reader, but—You know what, scratch that, I don’t like bad boys at all. I want a strong man who has his shit together and puts his woman first.

  Actually, I want both my hero and heroine to put the other’s needs first. And I think (I hope) I accomplished that here. I loved Aubrey taking it in stride when Sully said he wasn’t ready to introduce her to Madison yet. And I loved her desire to help him with Strike Back. Sully, well, as much as it pained him, he wasn’t going to stop Aubrey from going to the Castle if she wanted to, but he was going to make damn sure she was safe. Aubrey needs a ride to school? Sully’s giving it to her. I loved their willingness to help each other.

  Where am I going next? Well, I’d really like to see Jake have his own book. There’s something about him. I loved him back when he was in Tattered on my Sleeve, and kept needling Wrath to pull his head out of his ass about Trinity. I loved him in More Than Miles when he tells Murphy he’ll kick anyone’s ass who messes with Heidi. Yes, Jake definitely needs a strong heroine who can put him in his place. Now where will I ever find one of those…?

  But next, I have two Lost Kings books to finish. I’m legit scared for my safety if I don’t get Z’s book into some specific hands soon. And to finish Z’s book, I need to finish After Burn. Mr. Lake is so excited about After Burn he’s been asking me for my word count almost every day when he comes home from work. It’s going to be a busy couple of months.

  And I’ll love every second of it. My worst day as an author is still better than any other job I’ve ever had. So for that, I thank you so much for reading my work and allowing me to share my crazy ideas with you.

  ALSO BY AUTUMN JONES LAKE

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  SLOW BURN (LOST KINGS MC, BOOK #1)

  Forced to represent an outlaw biker, a married attorney must come to terms with her feelings for her client while avoiding the danger he brings into her sedate life.

  CORRUPTING CINDERELLA (LOST KINGS MC, BOOK #2)

  Love is the ultimate outlaw.

  Although widowed attorney Hope Kendall cares deeply for President of the Lost Kings MC, Rochlan “Rock” North, the truth is they come from completely different worlds. Add to that the fact that they are also both headstrong people, and they have a very rough road ahead of them.

  Real love isn’t a fairy tale.

  For Rock, that means introducing Hope to what it really means to be part of his brutal and shady world, where the Lost Kings Motorcycle Club is his main focus. For Hope, it means accepting the things she can’t change, and understanding that Rock is a man who will do anything to keep her safe.

  Love doesn’t follow any rules.

  As Rock continues to draw Hope deeper into his world, painful misunderstandings, past relationships, and opposition from the members of his club will threaten to drive them apart.

  How do a lawyer and a badass biker with a heart of gold keep their love alive while their opposing worlds collide?

  THREE KINGS, ONE NIGHT (LOST KINGS MC #2.5)

  A collection of three short holiday stories set in the Lost Kings MC world.

  Heidi and Murphy.

  Wrath and Trinity.

  Z and Lilly.

  STRENGTH FROM LOYALTY (LOST KINGS MC, BOOK #3)

  Strength from Loyalty is also available as an audiobook from your favorite audiobook retailer!

  As a dark cloud descends over Hope and Rock’s already precarious future, will a long-hidden secret push them both past the point of no return?

  TATTERED ON MY SLEEVE (LOST KINGS MC #4)

  I had her first.

  I fell in love with her.

  Then we fucked everything up.

  Lust.

  Eight years ago, the Lost Kings, MC was recovering from turmoil within the club Wrath and Trinity met. Their connection was instant and explosive.

  Fury.

  Wrath and Trinity’s story is a heart-breaking, soul-crushing, tear-your-heart-into-pieces story. The way they hurt each other over the years is intense, raw, frustrating and sometimes dark.

  Forgiveness.

  Can they move past their horrible pasts to become better people and ultimately forgive each other?

  They’ve wasted too many years. Once Wrath learns the dark secret that’s been fueling Trinity for years, he’ll stop at nothing to prove they’re meant to be together and that she’s worthy of the love she keeps denying.

  WHITE HEAT (LOST KINGS MC #5)

  The queen
always protects her king.

  For straight-laced attorney, Hope Kendall, loving an outlaw has never been easy. New challenges test her loyalty as she discovers how far she’s willing to go to protect her man.

  If you have hope, you have everything.

  MC President, Rochlan “Rock” North finally has everything he’s ever wanted. Hope as his ol’ lady and his MC earning money while staying out of trouble. The only thing left is to make Hope his wife. But as their wedding day nears, an old adversary threatens Rock’s freedom, the wedding, and throws the Lost Kings MC into chaos.

  Love makes the ride worthwhile.

  While the club waits for Rock’s fate to be decided, Wrath has to balance solidifying his new relationship with Trinity and fulfilling his president’s orders.

  Loyalty gives an outlaw strength.

  Threats from unexpected places will challenge every member, but in the Lost Kings MC, brotherhood isn’t about the blood you share. It’s about those who are willing to bleed for you.

  BETWEEN EMBERS (LOST KINGS MC #5.5)

  This collection of short stories is intended to be a fun, companion to White Heat. If you were wondering what the other guys were up to during Rock and Hope’s wedding, here’s your chance to find out.

  Short stories include:

  Teller

  Murphy

  Zero

  MORE THAN MILES (LOST KINGS MC #6)

  Sometimes the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.

  Blake “Murphy” O’Callaghan, Road Captain of the Lost Kings MC, has the world by the balls. Money. Women. The wide-open road. It’s all his, everything he wants…except the one girl he loves, the one girl who’s off limits. His best friend’s little sister, Heidi.

  Abandoned by her mother when she was only eight, Heidi Whelan’s familiar with heartbreak. Especially the heartbreak of falling in love with her big brother’s best friend. When Murphy pushed her away, it broke her heart. Now, on her eighteenth birthday, he claims he loves her? Growing up around the Lost Kings MC, Heidi’s witnessed his manwhoring ways. He’ll never give that up for her. Besides, he’s too late: Heidi’s in love with her high-school boyfriend Axel.