Off-Limits Read online

  Copyright © Terri Anne Browning/Anna Henson 2019

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Terri Anne Browning, except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976.

  Off-Limits

  Sons of the Underground Book 1

  Written by Terri Anne Browning

  All Rights Reserved ©Terri Anne Browning 2019

  Cover Design Cassy Roop of Pink Ink Designs

  Edited by Lisa Hollett of Silently Correcting Your Grammar

  Formatting by M.L. Pahl of IndieVention Designs

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  Off-Limits is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book can be reproduced in any form by electronic or mechanical means, including storage or retrieval systems, without the express permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  Table of Content

  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

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Epilogue

  Coming Soon From Terri Anne Browning

  Prologue

  Howler

  “Chin down, but don’t break eye contact. Always know where your enemy is,” I instructed, showing her the stance she needed to stay in.

  Her dark gaze was focused on Downtown, the “threat” I was training her against today. Not that Lyla Bennet needed me to train her. Between her brother and her cousin Barrick, she’d been taught how to fight from the time she could walk.

  No, this was for me. To keep me from losing my mind when she wasn’t an arm’s length away. Which was ninety percent of the time, meaning I was constantly worried about her safety. If I couldn’t have her for myself, I at least needed to know she would be okay when I wasn’t near her.

  Downtown kept his eyes trained on Lyla, making sure not to break eye contact, but I saw him shudder and knew he was scared shitless. Whether it was fear of the girl in front of him about to bring the pain, or me and the ass-kicking I would give him in a heartbeat if he hurt her, I wasn’t sure.

  Either way, he needed to be scared. Because whether it was Lyla or me, Downtown was about to get his ass beat.

  “You’re boring me, Downtown,” Lyla sassed, a smirk on her beautiful face. “We doing this or not?”

  For half a second, his eyes drifted to me, and I knew then he was more scared of me than her. As he should be. Because I would annihilate him if he harmed her, even if it was by accident.

  “Come on, pussy,” she snapped when he didn’t move, causing him to flinch and his face to turn red with both embarrassment and anger. “What? Are you scared of a little bitty girl? You should be. I’ll kick your ass and make you cry for your mommy. Boo-fucking-hoo. Downtown got dropped on his head by a girl. Bet they won’t ever let you in the cage again because you can’t even handle me, let alone another Son of the Underground.”

  With a growl full of rage, he charged her. She laughed, an evil, sexy sound that went straight to my cock, which instantly made me feel like a bastard. Lyla was only seventeen. Her birthday was just a few weeks away, but it still made me feel like a dirty creep for wanting her as badly as I did. I was used to that feeling, though. I’d been feeling it for a hell of a lot longer than I ever should have where this girl was concerned, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t stop it.

  In Downtown’s blind anger, he didn’t see the way she moved, and in the next moment, he was lying on his back on the mat, the air knocked out of his lungs. The sound he made as he tried to gasp for air was disturbing, but she crouched down beside him. “Remember this the next time I hear you talking shit about me being at the Underground. Because I will drop your ass in front of everyone if you ever say that about me again. Clear?” She gave him a little grin, patted him on the top of his dreadlocked head, and straightened.

  “What the fuck did he say about you?” I demanded as I followed her over to the bench where her gym bag and water bottle were.

  She lifted the bottle and took a thirty swallow. With a shrug, she sat on the bench beside her bag and grabbed her phone. “Not important. If he’s smart, he won’t ever say it again.”

  “If you tell me what he said, I’ll make sure he never speaks again,” I promised, sitting beside her.

  Lyla turned so she was half facing me, her bare knee brushing against my thigh. My cock jumped at the contact, but her eyes were on mine and thankfully not on my lap. “I don’t need you to fight my battles, Howler. Nor do I need your protection. I’m not fragile.”

  I rubbed my hand over my mouth, itching to just grab her and kiss her until she realized why I wanted—fucking needed—to protect her. “I don’t want to protect you because you’re fragile,” I whisper-growled at her, making her eyes darken. I clenched my hands into fists to keep from reaching for her. “I need to protect you because you are precious to me, Lyla.”

  “Howler…” she breathed, but I got to my feet and walked away before I did something stupid that I couldn’t take back.

  “I have to go. Picking Josie up from my mom’s, and if I’m late, she’ll bitch at me.” I threw up a hand, waving as I walked away.

  Even as my soul bellowed at me to go back and get that girl and take her with me.

  --

  Pulling up in front of the three-story house, I gritted my teeth. I didn’t want to come tonight, but Judge said it was important. When my best friend said he needed me to do something, I tried not to let him down.

  Judge was there for me when I needed him the most. Right after my dad died, leaving me in charge of my mother and sisters, along with his company, my ex told me she was pregnant. If it weren’t for my best friend, I would have lost my mind and maybe the construction company my father had spent his life building from the bottom up.

  I owed him my loyalty because he’d always had my back. But my feelings for Lyla constantly kept me at odds with myself. I wanted her so fucking badly, but I knew I’d never get to call her mine because of Judge. He’d made it clear years ago if anyone so much as touched his sister, they would lose his respect, his friendship, and any chance of being a part of the Underground ever again.

  Stepping out of my SUV, I opened the back door and reached for the baby’s car seat. Josie was sound asleep, so I grabbed the diaper bag and walked up the steps to Judge’s house. Before I could ring the doorbell, the door swung open and the housekeeper smiled fondly up at me.

  “Hello, Mr. Bronson.”

  “Mabel,” I greeted.

  “Everyone is in the family room,” she informed me, eyeballing the car seat longingly. Ever since Josie was born a year ago, everyone who saw her fell in love with my daughter. Myself included.

  When her mother told me she was pregnant, my first thought was to pay for an abortion. Gwen wanted one, and at the time, I was more than happy t
o pay the exorbitant amount of cash to get her and the baby out of my life.

  Then my mother found out and stepped in. She moved Gwen in to her house, made sure she stayed healthy throughout the entire pregnancy, and forced me to be in the delivery room when Josie came into the world.

  I was thankful my mom did all that. Because the instant my baby girl was placed in my arms, I knew what love at first sight was. She ruined me, destroying any and all reservations I had about being a single father.

  There was no way in hell I was letting my psycho ex have full custody, and because I had friends like Judge, I’d been awarded primary custody, while Gwen was only given a few days a week with our little girl.

  I knew it made me look like a bastard, keeping a mother away from her baby, but I also knew in my heart Josie was better off with me the majority of the time than when Gwen. I didn’t regret taking Gwen to court, and I didn’t feel a lick of guilt for pulling out the big guns with my connections to ensure Josie remained with me. I would do it all over again. Fuck, I would do worse, if that was what it came to, just to keep my precious little baby with me.

  Nodding at Mabel, I carried Josie down the hall to the family room. The house was huge, much too big for Judge and Lyla alone. But Lyla loved this house, so Judge had never even talked about moving after their father died. As I walked in, I saw Judge and his sister sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace, their heads bent together as they spoke to each other in hushed whispers. My eyes lingered on Lyla, who looked pissed at her brother as she shook her head adamantly at him.

  “Howler,” a voice I wasn’t expecting called out.

  Turning my head, I found Barrick walking toward me. Known as Beast in the Underground cages, Lyla and Judge’s cousin looked exactly like he was some kind of good-looking beast from a fairy tale, with his long mahogany hair, thick beard, and dark eyes. The female population went crazy for him in and out of the cage, and all of his groupies always wore Beauty and the Beast-themed shirts whenever he had a fight.

  Lyla was beside me before her cousin could get halfway across the room to shake my hand. But it wasn’t me she was excited to see. Instead, she pulled the car seat from my hands and placed it on the floor. Crouching down, she unclipped the straps and pulled Josie easily from the seat without waking her.

  My eyes were glued to Lyla’s every move, still amazed even after seeing her do that a hundred times, that she could so effortlessly handle my daughter without disturbing her sleep. I’d never been able to accomplish that maneuver and doubted I ever would.

  It took everything in me not to gather them both in my arms and just hide. I wanted to say to hell with everything and everyone else, and just keep Josie and Lyla locked in my house away from the world, have a stolen little piece of paradise for myself.

  Straightening, Lyla cupped the back of Josie’s head and placed her against her shoulder, still without waking the baby. “Hello, sweet Jo-Jo,” she murmured softly.

  Josie yawned loudly then opened her eyes and smiled right at Lyla. With her chubby little hand, she tried to grab at Lyla’s long dark hair. Laughing, Lyla easily evaded the little grasp, kissing the baby’s hand instead and getting a giggle as her reward.

  “There’s my girl,” Lyla cooed. “What have you been doing, Jo-Jo? Has Daddy been taking good care of you?”

  Josie started jabbering and gurgling, and Lyla pretended like they were having a full conversation.

  It always hurt me to watch them together. Josie never smiled as big for anyone as she did with Lyla. And Lyla always lit up the brightest when Josie was in her arms. I ached to make us a family, to give in and say to hell with everything else, but Judge’s friendship was too important to me.

  “See?” Judge grumbled as he walked over to stand beside his sister, but even though his tone was anything but happy, he still smiled at his goddaughter. “Won’t you miss this if you go?”

  I zeroed in on that immediately, and for some reason, I felt a flash of panic hit me hard. “Go? Go where?”

  Lyla turned away without meeting my gaze and walked over to the couch to sit with Josie in her lap. I focused on Judge instead. “Go where?” I gritted out.

  Barrick cleared his throat. “I need a partner in a new job I’m doing for my stepfather. Lyla is going to help me.”

  “Help you on a job?” I shook my head. “No. She’s only seventeen. She can’t be helping you on a security job. No way.”

  “She’s going to be eighteen in less than a month,” her cousin reminded me. “And yes, she can. Lyla wanted the job. I’ve already gotten it sorted with my stepdad, and Aunt Brenda gave her permission.”

  “Where is it?” I asked, glaring at the man who wanted to take Lyla away from me.

  “California,” he answered with a casual shrug. “Look, it’s nothing dangerous. She’s just going to help me keep an eye on a spoiled little college girl for a few months. I’m not taking her to some war-torn country or having her go undercover with the cartel. Jesus, relax. Both of you.”

  “But she’s only seventeen,” I muttered, rubbing my hand across my mouth.

  “So you keep reminding me,” she said with a grunt, then smiled down at Josie. “Daddy is never going to let me forget that, is he, Jo-Jo?”

  “I don’t like it,” I told Barrick, taking a menacing step in his direction.

  Barrick only smirked, ready to take me on, but it was Judge’s voice that kept me from putting my fist through the other fighter’s pretty face. “Howler, rules,” he said, but his tone was laced with frustration, as if he wanted to punch his cousin just as much as I did.

  But he was right. There were rules. No fighting outside the Underground.

  That was just one of many rules Judge had for the Sons who fought in his cages. Fighting anywhere else was the quickest way to get you kicked out of the Underground. The second was trying anything with Lyla. From the moment she grew tits, Judge had set that rule in stone. No one was allowed to date his sister. Fuck, they weren’t even allowed to think about her.

  I’d done plenty of thinking and fantasizing, not that I would ever admit it out loud. But touching her, making her mine, wasn’t possible. It would mean choosing between her and Judge—and the Underground. As long as I kept myself in check, I wouldn’t lose anything.

  But if I gave in, I could lose everything.

  Including my best friend.

  “Let’s grab a bottle of wine to go with dinner,” Judge suggested, already walking out of the room.

  Following him, I stomped down the hall to the door that led into the wine cellar, knowing this was why he’d asked me to come tonight. This was what was so important.

  Lyla was going to leave, and he wanted me to know.

  We were both quiet until we got to the bottom of the stairs. Then my friend turned, a look of misery on his face. “Talk to her,” he ordered. “Tell her not to go. Convince her Josie needs her to stay close. Anything. I don’t care at this point. Whatever you have to do, just get her to stay.”

  I gave him a long appraisal, seeing the desperation in his dark eyes. A desperate Judge was an unpredictable Judge, and that was dangerous. His sister, however, was his lifeline. If I were honest with myself, she was mine too. But for Judge, it was completely different. For so long, it had just been him and Lyla. After his bastard of a father died, their mother went MIA, spending more time with her boyfriends—who were younger than her son—than her children. Judge was left to raise Lyla on his own because of it, which made Brenda Bennet giving her permission for this job seem laughable.

  “You realize we’re talking about Lyla, right?” I reminded him. “She’s so damn stubborn, Judge. If she has her mind set on this, nothing will dissuade her. Especially not me.”

  “Well, figure something out. I want my sister to stay here, not go to fuck-knows-where with Barrick. Look, I trust him with her, I do. But he can’t predict what she will do if she gets in one of her moods. You can. Just…do something, Howle
r.”

  I knew what I wanted to do to convince her to stay, but Judge would kill me if I did it.

  Fuck.

  “I’ll do my best,” I assured him, not the least bit confident that I could accomplish this task he’d given me.

  --

  “Don’t even say it,” Lyla growled in a quiet voice as she placed Josie in her car seat and fastened her in.

  “I didn’t even open my mouth.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I watched her with my baby daughter, wishing more than anything she were Josie’s mother instead of Gwen.

  Once Josie was secured, Lyla stood and placed her hands on her narrow hips. “You didn’t have to. I know you too well, Graham Bronson.” I flinched at her using my real name. “Judge told you to talk me out of going with Barrick, didn’t he?”

  “No comment,” I muttered, glancing around the family room. Barrick had left, and Judge had gone to his den to return some phone calls in an attempt to give me a chance to talk to Lyla.

  Her mouth tilted up on one side, and she shook her head at me. “It’s cute that you’re both so worried about me, but I’m a big girl now, Howler. I can take care of myself.”

  “I know that,” I grumbled. “But maybe I want to take care of you anyway.”

  She inhaled sharply, her eyes lighting up as she stepped closer to me. “Then you know what I want.” Her hand flattened against the center of my chest, and she looked up at me through her thick, dark lashes. “I will let you take care of me, Howler. I’ll even stay here with you and Josie. All it’s going to take is for you to say the words and give me what I want the most.”

  My heart thudded loudly in my ears. Clenching my eyes closed, I covered her hand, pressing it harder against my chest and savoring her touch. Three words, that was all it would take, all I would have to utter and she would be mine. She would stay, and Judge would be happy. We all would.

  But those three words would change everything.

  Making her mine would get me kicked out of the Underground.

  I would lose Judge.

  I’d already lost so much; I wasn’t ready to lose either of those. Not now. Not ever.