Tangled up in Pain Read online

  Tangled up in Pain

  Charlotte Byrd

  Contents

  Don’t Miss Out!

  Also by Charlotte Byrd

  Chapter 1 - Harley

  Chapter 2 - Harley

  Chapter 3 - Harley

  Chapter 4 - Harley

  Chapter 5 - Jackson

  Chapter 6 - Harley

  Chapter 7 - Harley

  Chapter 8 - Harley

  Chapter 9 - Harley

  Chapter 10 - Harley

  Chapter 11 - Jackson

  Chapter 12- Jackson

  Chapter 13 - Harley

  Chapter 14 - Harley

  Chapter 15 - Harley

  Chapter 16- Harley

  Chapter 17 - Harley

  Chapter 18 - Harley

  Chapter 19 - Jackson

  Chapter 20 - Jackson

  Chapter 21 - Jackson

  Chapter 22 - Harley

  Chapter 23 - Harley

  Chapter 24 - Harley

  Chapter 25 - Harley

  Chapter 26 - Harley

  Chapter 27 - Harley

  Chapter 28 - Harley

  Chapter 29 - Harley

  Chapter 30 - Jackson

  Chapter 31 - Jackson

  Chapter 32 - Harley

  Chapter 33 - Jackson

  Chapter 34 - Jackson

  Chapter 35 - Jackson

  Chapter 36 - Jackson

  Chapter 37 - Harley

  Chapter 38 - Harley

  Chapter 39 - Jackson

  Chapter 40 - Harley

  Black Edge

  Chapter 1- Ellie

  Chapter 2 - Ellie

  Chapter 3 - Ellie

  Chapter 4 - Ellie

  About Charlotte Byrd

  Copyright © 2019 by Charlotte Byrd, LLC.

  All rights reserved.

  Proofreaders:

  Renee Waring, Guarding, Guardian Proofreading Services, https://www.facebook.com/GuardianProofreadingServices

  Julie Deaton, Deaton Author Services, https://www.facebook.com/jdproofs/

  Cover Design: Charlotte Byrd

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a word of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Visit my website at www.charlotte-byrd.com

  Created with Vellum

  About Tangled Up In Pain

  Everything comes at a price. What if this one is too high even for him to pay?

  * * *

  Jackson Ludlow, the recluse billionaire of New York, is beautiful and captivating but also damaged and alone.

  * * *

  He thinks he is the only one with secrets, but he’s wrong.

  * * *

  My past is coming for me. It’s forcing me back there: the place that ruined everything.

  * * *

  I don’t want to go. He can’t make me.

  * * *

  But there’s no way out.

  Praise for Charlotte Byrd

  “Decadent, delicious, & dangerously addictive!” - Amazon Review ★★★★★

  * * *

  “Titillation so masterfully woven, no reader can resist its pull. A MUST-BUY!” - Bobbi Koe, Amazon Review ★★★★★

  * * *

  “Captivating!” - Crystal Jones, Amazon Review ★★★★★

  * * *

  "Exciting, intense, sensual” - Rock, Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★

  * * *

  “Sexy, secretive, pulsating chemistry…” - Mrs. K, Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★

  * * *

  “Charlotte Byrd is a brilliant writer. I've read loads and I've laughed and cried. She writes a balanced book with brilliant characters. Well done!” -Amazon Review ★★★★★

  * * *

  “Fast-paced, dark, addictive, and compelling” - Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★

  * * *

  “Hot, steamy, and a great storyline.” - Christine Reese ★★★★★

  * * *

  “My oh my....Charlotte has made me a fan for life.” - JJ, Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★

  * * *

  "The tension and chemistry is at five alarm level.” - Sharon, Amazon reviewer ★★★★★

  * * *

  “Hot, sexy, intriguing journey of Elli and Mr. Aiden Black. - Robin Langelier ★★★★★

  * * *

  “Wow. Just wow. Charlotte Byrd leaves me speechless and humble… It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. Once you pick it up, you won't put it down.” - Amazon Review ★★★★★

  * * *

  “Sexy, steamy and captivating!” - Charmaine, Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★

  * * *

  “ Intrigue, lust, and great characters...what more could you ask for?!” - Dragonfly Lady ★★★★★

  * * *

  “An awesome book. Extremely entertaining, captivating and interesting sexy read. I could not put it down.” - Kim F, Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★

  * * *

  “Just the absolute best story. Everything I like to read about and more. Such a great story I will read again and again. A keeper!!” - Wendy Ballard ★★★★★

  * * *

  “It had the perfect amount of twists and turns. I instantaneously bonded with the heroine and of course Mr. Black. YUM. It's sexy, it's sassy, it's steamy. It's everything.” - Khardine Gray, Bestselling Romance Author ★★★★★

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  Also by Charlotte Byrd

  All books are available at ALL major retailers! If you can’t find it, please email me at [email protected]

  * * *

  Black Series

  Black Edge

  Black Rules

  Black Bounds

  Black Contract

  Black Limit

  House of York Trilogy

  House of York

  Crown of York

  Throne of York

  Standalone Novels

  Debt

  Offer

  Unknown

  Dressing Mr. Dalton

  Chapter 1 - Harley

  Twilight…

  New York has been my obsession and passion since I was a little girl.

  It is easy to fall in love with a city from afar, watching movies and television shows that glorify different aspects of it to suit its own purposes.

  Some focus on the dirt and crime, others on wealth.

  What they all had in common was change.

  New York is the city that can accept the old with the new, where the poor can mingle with the rich, and where everyone has the same opportunities to make their dreams come true.

  As any viewer, I was convinced that some of this was, of course, exaggerated for dramatic effect, but that did not stop me from believing the story as a whole.

  I came here for its pulsating energy because it’s what I thought my life was lacking back home in Montana.


  But the truth was that I had underestimated my own interest in that pulsating energy.

  I am not someone who will stand outside of a club for hours waiting to get in, wearing four-inch heels, a minidress, and a shawl in the middle of the winter.

  I wouldn’t even do that in the middle of summer.

  That’s Julie.

  I’d rather make myself a cup of tea and curl up on the couch with a good book.

  In fact, before I met Jackson, I’d only been to a handful of parties, most of them back in college and I’d never been to anything as formal as this fundraiser.

  The stylist who came to our apartment brought five ‘pieces,’ her words not mine, for me to try on and a tailor who made adjustments on the fly.

  The material was nothing like anything I’d ever felt at a store; it was so light and effervescent.

  It felt like powdered sugar in between my fingertips.

  And when I looked in the mirror after my hair and makeup was finished, I had never felt so beautiful in my entire life.

  Until Jackson looked at me.

  His eyes opened wide and his lips parted.

  He licked his plump, luscious lower lip slowly as his gaze went up and down my body and then focused on my face.

  And now, that dress is laying in a little circle on the floor in the living room, where Jackson took it off me.

  I walk over to it, pick it up, and hang it in the closet.

  I didn’t bring anything else to wear, but luckily the penthouse suite is well stocked with robes and clothes for our use.

  Brand new of course.

  Just like there are pots, pans, and utensils in the kitchen, the closets are also full of the basics that someone who didn’t pack a bag would need.

  I put on a pair of black leggings and a loose-fitting long sleeve gray shirt.

  Fluffy socks and a pair of slippers complete the outfit and are a nice change from just the sheet, which I had been walking around in ever since I heard the news.

  “Talk to me, please,” Jackson says, coming out dressed in a dark dressing gown which makes his blue eyes look gray.

  His dark hair is tossed and crumpled from our night of passion, but no less gorgeous.

  Even in this twilight, his skin isn’t sallow, but its usual warm olive color.

  “I’m going to make some tea,” I say instead.

  I go to the large, spotless, white kitchen that looks like it’s straight out of a modern living catalog and fill a tea kettle with water from the tap.

  When I was a little girl, I loved going through my mother’s magazines and making scrapbooks.

  You know, cutting out all of these images that struck a chord with me and pasting them into journals.

  One was devoted entirely to houses and there was a big section on kitchens that I would have when I grew up.

  The appliances are a bit different, but otherwise this kitchen looks exactly like the one I had cut out.

  “I’ll have a cup.”

  “What kind do you want?” I ask, going through the wooden box of assorted teas.

  “Earl Grey.”

  “I’ll try this Green Tea Mint.”

  Handing him his cup, we sit down at the dining room table.

  I take a sip and let the warm water run down my throat, warming me from the inside out.

  Jackson is waiting for me to say something.

  Anything.

  But no words come.

  I’m in shock.

  I haven’t talked to my father much over the last few years, just an occasional phone call on his birthday and major holidays.

  I haven’t talked to my mother since we had that fight when I was still in college.

  She is as stubborn as I am and so we have just communicated through my dad, even though they are now divorced.

  I haven’t seen either of them since I left Montana.

  And now, suddenly, in the middle of the night, I find out that my mother has been in a car accident and her condition is critical.

  My father is begging me to get on the next flight out, but I can’t.

  “You have to go, Harley. You know that, right?”

  “I haven’t talked to them in forever. I haven’t seen them in a very long time.”

  “That doesn’t matter. Things are different now. If you don’t go there and make things right, you will regret it for the rest of your life.”

  He’s right, of course.

  Everything he is saying makes sense.

  On the surface.

  But something is holding me back.

  For some reason, I can’t bring myself to do it.

  “Whatever hesitation you feel right now, it’s just fear.”

  I look up at him. His face is stoic, calm. It’s comforting. He isn’t freaking out. He’s just here…for me.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Are you sure?”

  I inhale deeply. I haven’t told him much about my life back home.

  I haven’t told Jackson why I left.

  I haven’t told Jackson about him.

  “You don’t know anything about this,” I say, putting a wall up.

  “That’s true. So, why don’t you fill me in?”

  Chapter 2 - Harley

  When I bring myself to go…

  When I look up at Jackson, our eyes meet and neither of us look away first. We remain locked until I ask, “Why do you even care?”

  “You’ve seen me…without my armor,” he says slowly. “You’ve seen my scars. You felt them. Telling you about that was the hardest thing I’ve had to do in a long time. If ever.”

  I nod.

  “Now, it’s your turn. I want to know you, Harley.”

  I take a deep breath and launch into my past.

  My parents dream of building a ranch that would be their home for generations to come.

  The fire that incinerated it and everything along with it.

  The trial that resulted in nothing, leaving my parents with nothing.

  I save the worst for last.

  “I think that my family would’ve survived the fire though. I mean, we lost everything but if we hadn’t lost him, then it would’ve been different.”

  “Who?”

  “Aspen. My little brother. He was five.”

  The fire started in the middle of the night when we were all sleeping.

  It spread quickly, consuming everything in sight.

  The house was full of smoke when I woke up.

  Aspen’s bedroom was on the other side of the hallway.

  We were separated by a wall of fire.

  I couldn’t get to him.

  All I could do was open my window and climb out.

  I didn’t know if anyone else was going to make it.

  I tried going in another way, but there was nothing but fire everywhere.

  Then my parents came staggering out.

  But Aspen wasn’t with them.

  They couldn’t get to him either.

  When the firefighters came, they had to physically restrain my parents from running back in to get him.

  Later we found out that he had died of smoke inhalation long before the flames ever reached him.

  So, that was something, I guess.

  Tears well up in my eyes.

  I’ve never told that story to anyone before.

  My parents tried to make me go to see a therapist, but I refused.

  It was easier to just bury it somewhere deep inside of me and never think about it again.

  And now, with Jackson, the words just pour out of me.

  They come like an avalanche as if they were waiting for this moment all along.

  He wraps his arms around me and brings me close.

  As I cry, I listen to the beating of his heart.

  It thunders in my ears and relaxes me.

  I don’t know how much time passes as he holds me, but he doesn’t push me away not once.

  Eventually, no more tears come.

  They simply dry
up as if there were nothing else in the well.

  My parents paid off the house we lived in before to buy the Burke Ranch, and then my dad forgot to pay one of the insurance payments.

  The fire happened soon after and the insurance company used that as an excuse to deny their claim.

  They took the matter to trial but lost the case.

  “After losing Aspen and all of their retirement savings, they

  couldn’t deal with life anymore. I found my mother texting with an old high school boyfriend and she was having an affair with him. She and I had a huge fight and we never spoke again. They eventually divorced but stayed on somewhat amicable terms, I guess, since they still talked.”

  Jackson nods and takes another sip of his tea.