Tangled up in Lace Read online

  Tangled up in Lace

  Charlotte Byrd

  Contents

  Don’t Miss Out!

  Also by Charlotte Byrd

  Prologue - Jackson

  1. Jackson

  2. Jackson

  3. Harley

  4. Harley

  5. Harley

  6. Harley

  7. Harley

  8. Jackson

  9. Jackson

  10. Jackson

  11. Jackson

  12. Harley

  13. Harley

  14. Harley

  15. Harley

  16. Jackson

  17. Jackson

  18. Jackson

  19. Jackson

  20. Harley

  21. Harley

  22. Harley

  23. Harley

  24. Jackson

  25. Jackson

  26. Harley

  27. Harley

  28. Harley

  29. Harley

  30. Harley

  31. Harley

  32. Jackson

  33. Harley

  34. Jackson

  35. Jackson

  36. Jackson

  37. Harley

  38. Jackson

  Black Edge

  Chapter 1- Ellie

  Chapter 2 - Ellie

  Chapter 3 - Ellie

  Chapter 4 - Ellie

  About Charlotte Byrd

  About Tangled Up In Lace

  Our love isn’t like everyone else’s. I used to be a recluse, but no more.

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  She helped me fight my dark past.

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  Now, it’s my turn to help her fight hers.

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  But she’s not here.

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  I have to find her and show her what I’m willing to do for her.

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  This is one thing I can’t buy.

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  Am I willing to give up everything to have her?

  Praise for Charlotte Byrd

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

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

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

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

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

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  “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 ★★★★★

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

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

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

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

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

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  “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 ★★★★★

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

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

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

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  “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 ★★★★★

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  “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

  Prologue - Jackson

  When the past crashes into the present…

  Nostalgia is a mind fuck.

  It messes with your head.

  It makes you believe things that aren’t true.

  Sitting here across from Aurora, my ex-wife, I suddenly forget things.

  It feels so good to be with her again, so comfortable that the memories of everything bad that happened suddenly floats away and is replaced by everything that is good.

  I remember the way her head felt laying in my lap as we read books under a big tree in Central Park that summer when we first met.

  I remember the way her hair bounced from side to side as she walked in front of me, holding my hand.

  These memories aren’t solitary, they are more like a flood.

  One memory replaces another and another, leaving me with a general feeling of well-being. She is my past and sometimes it’s nice to go back there.

  I stare into her eyes. She only looks a bit older than she did back then, but it’s her eyes that remain ageless.

  They are the same exact ones that I fell for back then.

  Aurora wraps her hand around mine and gives me a little squeeze.

  There’s nothing romantic about it at first, and then…the mood changes.

  It’s as simple as a look.

  One moment she is holding my hand as an old friend, and the next…it’s more than that.

  I linger in the moment, wrapped in an aura of nostalgia.

  She gives me a little smile and reaches up to my face.

  She runs her hands up my face and buries them in my hair.

  Then she pulls me closer to her.

  Our lips are about to touch, but before they do, the past comes crashing into me.

  The memories that flood my mind are no longer the nice, comforting ones from the beginning of our relationship.

  No, they’re the hurt and the pain that came with the end. She is the woman who broke my heart.

  I could get over that. I already did. But more importantly, she is the woman who broke my daughter’s heart.

  When she left me, she also left my daughter.

  She left her as a baby never to return.

  Being a mother is hard, I understand that.

  But she didn’t even want to have shared custody.

  She didn’t want anything to do with her.

  I pull away
just before our lips touch.

  “What’s wrong?” Aurora asks.

  “I can’t do this.”

  “Oh, c’mon, it’s just for a bit of fun.”

  “I have a girlfriend and even if I didn’t…you and I…no.”

  Aurora shrugs her shoulders and takes another sip of her water.

  “You know, it takes some guts to do that,” she says, smiling.

  “What?”

  “Turn me down when I’m the one here trying to save your company.”

  “That’s not something that I even considered,” I say. “Listen, let’s just forget that ever happened.”

  “Fine by me.”

  I can tell that her ego is a bit bruised, but there isn’t much else that I can really do.

  There was a time when we were first together that I loved her very much.

  I thought that my life would end if anything ever happened to us.

  But it was a quick burning kind of love.

  It was fueled by so much accelerant that it stopped me from seeing how wrong we were for each other.

  And just as quickly as it started, it disappeared.

  Looking at the woman who is standing before me now, I find it difficult to comprehend that we ever had anything to do with one another.

  “I’m sorry that I did that,” she says after a moment. “I know you have a girlfriend and…I’m just feeling so shitty.”

  “Can I ask you something?”

  She nods.

  “I don’t want this to come out as some misogynistic comment or anything like that. And I would ask you this if you were my guy friend.”

  “Okay…” she says, bracing herself for what’s to come.

  “But have you ever thought about not jumping from one relationship to another?”

  “I’m not jumping from one relationship to another. I’m jumping from one bed to another,” she says, crossing her arms. “That’s very different.”

  That’s sort of what I meant, but it’s not exactly what I wanted to say.

  “Look, I know that you are married to a real asshole who treats you like shit. But there are nice guys out there. Really nice ones. Woodward isn’t one of them.”

  “Who is? You?”

  “No, I’m not really one of them, either.”

  She shrugs. “I like men. I like sex. What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing, nothing at all. Except that, it sort of feels like you are searching for something. And I’m not sure you’re going to find it doing what you’re doing.”

  Aurora inhales deeply, and for a moment it looks like she’s holding back tears.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask.

  “Nothing,” she lies.

  I don’t believe her, but I don’t push.

  “It’s just that recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about you and me. I think that you might have been the best relationship I’ve ever been in. And I totally fucked it up.”

  “Yes, you did,” I say.

  She looks away.

  “Aurora, you fucked it up but you weren’t wrong to leave. You were just wrong about how you left.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We weren’t right for each other. I know that now. We had all of these…cracks. There are better people out there for each of us and I know you will find him.”

  Before I can get all of the words out, I hear a gunshot.

  It comes right from outside the front door and Aurora jumps.

  I get startled, too, but I remain calm.

  “It’s probably just a car backfiring,” I say. “But I’ll go check it out.”

  When I run out to the stoop, someone’s being pushed into a van. A large man is pushing her in against her will. She’s shouting. Kicking. Fighting.

  “Help!” Her voice cracks as she screams.

  “Hey, stop!” I yell, but the man jumps into the van and slides the door shut.

  I grab the door handle and try to open it, but the van speeds away.

  Without wasting a moment, I fly up the stairs and grab my car keys off the console table in the foyer.

  “What are you doing?” Aurora asks. “What’s wrong?”

  She runs after me to my car, parked just a bit down the block.

  “Jackson! What are you doing?”

  “Call the cops! Someone took Harley! They forced her into a van. I have to find her.”

  Jackson

  When I follow them…

  The white van turns right at the corner and I follow a few cars behind.

  There’s a lot of traffic and he can’t go that far or that fast.

  I dial 911 on my phone and tell them what happened exactly as I saw it.

  “What’s their license plate?” the operator asks.

  His voice is monotone and without much expression, and I wonder if he’s bored or just not supposed to get excited because of his job.

  “No, I can’t see it. I’m following them right now—“

  My own voice is rushed and out of control.

  I’m actually out of breath as if I’m running.

  Suddenly, the operator perks up.

  “You’re following them?”

  “Of course.”

  “No, please don’t do that, sir.”

  I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Is he serious?

  “They kidnapped her. No one knows she’s in there besides me. I have to follow them.”

  “That’s against policy, sir. Please, leave that to the professionals.”

  “How the hell are you going to find this van if I can’t give you their plate number?”

  There’s a pause. Instead of answering me, he again pushes me to stop the chase.

  “Listen, I’m not going to stop fucking following them. They have my girlfriend. You get that?”

  “Sir—“ he starts to say, but I cut him off.

  “Listen, I’m about a second away from hanging up. Drop it.”

  “Okay…tell me what’s going on. Where are you now?”

  We pull up to an intersection and I rattle off the cross streets.

  Traffic is winding down.

  One car turns left and another turns right.

  There’s only one car in front of me now, yet I still can’t make out the license plate number. Shit.

  “C’mon, c’mon, move out of the way,” I say to myself.

  “The police will be there soon,” the operator says.

  As we come to a stop at a red light, I debate whether I should get out of the car and try to break into their van.

  I don’t know how long the light will last and there’s a large SUV in front of me.

  If they see me, then they’ll take off and I’ll have to run back to my car.

  Despite all of this, I’m itching to go for it.

  I wrap my hands so tightly around the steering wheel that my knuckles turn white and then, just as I’m about to reach for the door handle…the van takes off.

  “What the fuck?” I step on the gas and swirl around the SUV in front of me.

  I veer into oncoming traffic, but luckily that car swerves out of the way.

  Surrounded by a cacophony of horns, I chase after the van across the intersection.

  But instead of going straight, he suddenly turns left, nearly colliding with a moving truck.

  I’m not so lucky.

  The truck misses him but runs straight into me.

  The world starts to spin and there’s nothing I can do to make it stop.

  With each rotation, Harley is getting further and further away from me. And then, it all goes black.

  Where is she?

  Why is he doing this?

  Where is he taking her?

  I don’t need the answer to who took her.

  It’s him.

  Parker Huntington.

  It’s the same guy who attacked her on my doorstep.

  It’s the same guy who crashed her into my life.

  It’s the same guy who I should’ve killed right there and then and
made the world a better place.

  But I didn’t.

  It’s easy to imagine that you would be capable of killing someone in particular circumstances.

  We have all watched those movies or television shows where the character hesitates, when we all know that they shouldn’t.

  Some people think that makes them weak.

  But I know better.

  That hesitation makes them human.

  Because it takes a special kind of inhumanity and callousness to take a life without a second thought.

  When Parker first attacked Harley, I didn’t know anything about him. I didn’t know their history.

  I didn’t know that he had stalked her and that he was obsessed with this person he thought she was in her writing.