Resolute (Eternal Brethren Military Romantic Suspense Book 9)
Books by Shirleen Davies
Romantic Suspense
Eternal Brethren, Military Romantic Suspense
Steadfast, Book One
Shattered, Book Two
Haunted, Book Three
Untamed, Book Four
Devoted, Book Five
Faithful, Book Six
Exposed, Book Seven
Undaunted, Book Eight
Resolute, Book Nine
Unspoken, Book Ten, Coming Next in the Series!
Peregrine Bay, Romantic Suspense
Reclaiming Love, Book One
Our Kind of Love, Book Two
Edge of Love, Book Three, Coming Next in the Series!
Contemporary Romance
MacLarens of Fire Mountain Contemporary
Second Summer, Book One
Hard Landing, Book Two
One More Day, Book Three
All Your Nights, Book Four
Always Love You, Book Five
Hearts Don’t Lie, Book Six
No Getting Over You, Book Seven
‘Til the Sun Comes Up, Book Eight
Foolish Heart, Book Nine
Macklin’s of Burnt River
Thorn’s Journey
Del’s Choice
Boone’s Surrender
Historical Western Romance Series
MacLarens of Fire Mountain
Tougher than the Rest, Book One
Faster than the Rest, Book Two
Harder than the Rest, Book Three
Stronger than the Rest, Book Four
Deadlier than the Rest, Book Five
Wilder than the Rest, Book Six
Redemption Mountain
Redemption’s Edge, Book One
Wildfire Creek, Book Two
Sunrise Ridge, Book Three
Dixie Moon, Book Four
Survivor Pass, Book Five
Promise Trail, Book Six
Deep River, Book Seven
Courage Canyon, Book Eight
Forsaken Falls, Book Nine
Solitude Gorge, Book Ten
Rogue Rapids, Book Eleven
Angel Peak, Book Twelve
Restless Wind, Book Thirteen
Storm Summit, Book Fourteen
Mystery Mesa, Book Fifteen
Thunder Valley, Book Sixteen, Coming Next in the Series!
MacLarens of Boundary Mountain
Colin’s Quest, Book One,
Brodie’s Gamble, Book Two
Quinn’s Honor, Book Three
Sam’s Legacy, Book Four
Heather’s Choice, Book Five
Nate’s Destiny, Book Six
Blaine’s Wager, Book Seven
Fletcher’s Pride, Book Eight
Bay’s Desire, Book Nine
Cam’s Hope, Book Ten
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RESOLUTE
Eternal Brethren, Book Nine
Military Romantic Suspense
SHIRLEEN DAVIES
Copyright © 2020 by Shirleen Davies
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
For permission requests, contact the publisher.
Avalanche Ranch Press, LLC
PO Box 12618
Prescott, AZ 86304
Resolute is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is wholly coincidental.
Book design and conversions by Joseph Murray at 3rdplanetpublishing.com
Cover design by Sweet ‘n Sassy Designs
10-Digit ISBN: 1-947680-27-7
13-Digit ISBN: 978-1-947680-27-2
Visit my website for a list of characters for each series.
I care about quality, so if you find something in error, please contact me via email at shirleen@shirleendavies.com
Description
Two enemies. A woman with a guarded past.
One man determined to protect her.
Resolute, Book Nine, Eternal Brethren Military Romantic Suspense Series
Lucas “Gunner” Henson is ready for a change. Not with his role as an undercover Navy SEAL. Eternal Brethren Motorcycle Club and his brothers are his extended family, men he’d give his life to protect. As part of the Posse, an original member of the Brethren, he’s watched as one after the other tied the knot. He’s ready for that life. One woman, children, a home. All that’s missing is the one person who wants nothing to do with a member of what most believe is an outlaw MC.
Katrina Snowden is searching for peace. After six years of running, she, her mother, and brother have found their safe haven in Liberty Lake. Kat loves everything about her work at Maas Nursery, including her boss, Janie. And the scenery isn’t bad either, not with visits by one particular customer. Gunner ignites all her senses, but he also represents her past. As a member of a local MC, he’s way off limits.
The problem is, she can’t stop thinking about him. To make it worse, he’s hired her to design the landscape for his home.
As their friendship grows, so does the danger from not one foe, but two. The first they believe they know. The second is a mystery, until a man hooked on antacids provides a clue.
Relying on each other, they fight not only the unknown threats, but their developing attraction.
As the danger increases, can Gunner and the Brethren identify and eradicate the threats to Katrina and her family? And once accomplished, will she see past his MC cut and into the true heart of the man who’s come to love her?
Resolute is book nine in the Eternal Brethren Military Romantic Suspense Series by best seller Shirleen Davies. It is a stand-alone, full-length novel with no cliffhanger and a guaranteed HEA.
Book 1: Steadfast
Book 2: Shattered
Book 3: Haunted
Book 4: Untamed
Book 5: Devoted
Book 6: Faithful
Book 7: Exposed
Book 8: Undaunted
Book 9: Resolute
Book 10: Unspoken, Coming Next in the Series
https://www.shirleendavies.com/books/character-lists/
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter T
wenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Epilogue
About the Author
Books by Shirleen Davies
RESOLUTE
Prologue
Las Vegas, Nevada
Katrina hurriedly packed the last few clothes into a backpack, her hand hovering over a small journal. It represented all that had happened since she was old enough to write. Reaching inside, she unzipped a pocket the perfect size to hold the leather-bound book that embodied her past.
Casting a nervous glance at the door, tentacles of fear clinging to her, she prayed her mother and younger brother were waiting downstairs. Their escape depended on the next couple hours.
Secure in another zippered pocket were three sets of fake IDs. It had taken over two months to obtain them through a friend of Kat’s. A friend with an uncle who lived a life decidedly outside the law. She prayed they were good enough to pass the scrutiny of airport security.
Kat’s father would never allow them to go, even though he’d taken up with another woman and no longer spared time for his daughter or son. Younger and already well-used, no one understood him giving up his still beautiful wife, a bright woman everyone loved, for a person nobody respected.
Quick to laugh and slow to judge, Teri had been the light of their father’s life since meeting her twenty-eight years earlier. Six months ago, and without explanation, he’d thrown clothes into a duffel and walked out, refusing to defend his actions or discuss a divorce.
In fact, he hadn’t spoken to his family at all since leaving. Phone, email, text, letters. His lack of communication shattered her mother’s heart. If it hadn’t been for friends, Teri wouldn’t have learned of his infidelity.
His behavior would’ve broken a lesser woman, but not her mother. Teri had cried the first three days before embracing the anger blooming within her. She’d loved her husband, been a devoted wife, taking care of all the details, which made his work easier. Teri trusted him implicitly, not once worrying about him coming home to her.
His answer to her devotion had been to take up with another woman. After two months, Teri’s anger had changed to rigid determination. Not to reconcile, but to leave. Over the last four months, she and Katrina had planned their escape.
Even though they hadn’t heard from her husband, it didn’t mean there weren’t men watching them. In fact, all three had seen the guards patrolling the property, making certain they couldn’t leave except for school, medical, and occasional shopping. They’d become prisoners in what had once been a wonderful, loving home on the outskirts of Las Vegas. Today, the prisoners were going to revolt.
Slinging the backpack over a shoulder, Katrina took one more look around her bedroom. The only pictures remaining included her father, a man she planned to forget and never speak to or see again.
Hurrying down the stairs, she let out a relieved sigh seeing her mother and brother, Brady, waiting in the kitchen. In five minutes, the van would arrive to unload the groceries they’d ordered the day before. This time, the van would be driven by Teri’s closest friend, with another friend riding shotgun.
Hearing the telltale sound of an approaching vehicle, the three waited, Katrina bouncing on the balls of her feet as the van backed up to the kitchen door. Tugging down caps to conceal their faces, the friends jumped out, opening the doors to retrieve several bags. While they set the groceries inside, Kat, Teri, and Brady slid into the van, hunkering down behind the front seats.
Kat’s heart thundered in her chest, breath coming in rapid gasps. Next to her, Teri appeared calm, showing no concern over what they were about to do. Brady glanced around, rocking back and forth in anticipation. To his eight-year-old mind, this was an adventure, not an escape from a life without freedom or a future.
Katrina jumped at the sound of the doors slamming shut, wrapping her arms about her. This was it.
In two hours, they’d board a plane taking them far away from Vegas. There’d be people waiting for them. Relatives Kat’s father knew nothing about.
The driver glanced over her shoulder, features tense. “Everyone ready?”
“More than ready,” Teri replied, reaching out to hold her children’s hands, and squeezing. “It’s all going to be all right. We’re going to be all right.”
Katrina leaned her head back, eyes closed as the van rolled along. Not until they boarded the plane would she relax. Once the seat belt clicked, she’d pulled out the new journal and started chronicling their future.
Chapter One
Liberty Lake, Arizona
Six years later…
“Janie!” Katrina waved a hand in the air, getting her employer’s attention. “Where do you want the latest delivery?”
Waving back, Janie jogged toward her, stopping to speak with a customer before closing the distance between them. At fifty, the always upbeat owner of Maas Nursery looked and acted as if she were twenty.
“What do we have?” Janie took the packing slip from Kat’s outstretched hand, scanning the list of perennial flowers in the current shipment. “Are we missing anything ordered?” She handed the list back to Kat, bending to scrutinize the plants.
“One flat of Echinacea and two flats of Campanula.” Coneflowers and Bellflowers were two of their most popular plants. “They’ll get them to us in the next delivery.”
Straightening, Janie glanced at the dozens of new flats. “Did you have the cost deleted from today’s shipment?”
“Always,” Katrina smirked. “They burned me once. It won’t happen again.” The phone in her pocket vibrated, signaling a customer had been sent to her. Shielding her eyes from the afternoon sun, Katrina tensed, spotting a man walking toward them.
Following her gaze, Janie put a hand on her shoulder. “Relax. It’s that nice boy you introduced me to at Robbie’s.” She mentioned the bar and restaurant owned by the Eternal Brethren.
At least once a month, Janie, her niece, Val, plus Teri, Kat, and other friends met there for dinner…and to enjoy the male eye candy. The men showed up around six, not long after the group of women arrived.
Katrina knew the nice boy she referred to was Gunner, a member of Eternal Brethren. A virile, sexy man she’d crushed on since meeting him not long after arriving in town with her mother and brother.
They’d thought living with family in Omaha would keep them safe from her father. After almost four years, they’d begun to relax. The letter arrived on the fifth anniversary of escaping Vegas.
Teri knew right away it wasn’t from her ex-husband. Other than allowing the divorce to go through less than a year before, Steve had never corresponded with the family he’d left behind.
She didn’t know who had sent it. No return address and a cancellation stamp from Chicago. Teri guessed it was from one of his associates wanting them to believe they’d been found. The letter had triggered their search for a new place.
A great deal of discussion ensued, this time including Brady, who’d celebrated his twelfth birthday the day the letter arrived. They’d narrowed their choices down to three possible locations, settling on Liberty Lake, where Teri had a friend from high school. A woman who knew what Kat, Brady, and Teri had been through.
Janie walked to meet him. “Hi, Gunner. What brings you in here today?”
His gaze landed on Kat. “Time to do a little outdoor work around my place.” He flashed a smile guaranteed to get anything he wanted. “I’m thinking bushes that bloom and lots of flowers.” Gunner used his hands to illustrate as he spoke, causing Katrina to hide a grin. “I don’t know what colors, but bold enough I can see them from the porch.”
Katrina had heard he’d built a beautiful home not far from Ghost and Rock, movin
g in a year ago.
“You’ve come to the right place.” Janie motioned toward Kat. “She’s great with preparing layouts and selecting the perfect plants for our customers. If you’d like to get started, I believe she has some time right now.” She raised a brow at Kat.
“Uh…yes. If this works for you, Gunner.”
“Now would be great.” He looked around. “Where should we go?”
“There’s a small office on the other side of this greenhouse.” Katrina began walking, nervous energy eating up the distance between the unloading area and what she and Janie generously called their working office.
Opening the door, she stepped in ahead of him, feeling the space shrink when Gunner joined her. “I usually start by visiting your property and taking pictures.”
A slow smile curved his mouth. “That can be arranged.”
“Whenever it’s convenient for you. Daylight is the best. I mean, well…of course daylight is best.” She winced, feeling her face flush. Gunner chuckled, eyes glistening with humor.
“How about late afternoon? I’ll show you around, let you take all the pictures you want, then you can stay for dinner. Nothing fancy, but I can grill up something.”
“Dinner isn’t necessary.”
Reaching out his hand, he tucked a strand of wavy auburn hair behind her ear. Something he’d wanted to do for a long time. “Maybe not necessary.” He shrugged, his grin widening. “I’d like time to get to know you, Kat. Unless you’re seeing someone.” Tilting his head to the side, he lifted her chin with a finger. “Pictures and dinner. Nothing nefarious. What do you say?”
Biting her lower lip, she gave a slow nod. “Only if I can bring dessert.”
“Great. How about Saturday?”
She bent down, lifting a thick book onto the desk and opening it. “I can be there about three o’clock.”
Crossing his arms, Gunner’s face sobered, brows drawing together. “With dessert? Not just those store bought cookies or cakes, right?”
Her gaze shot to his. Seeing the mischief in his eyes, she laughed. “If that’s the ticket to dinner, then absolutely. I’ll bring a fruit pie.”
“Glad we’re on the same page.” Dropping his arms, he looked down at the open pages.