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Chapter One

No one else in town knew just how precious Emily Miller was James Stork watched her from where he sat in his office She was the only person he allowed to work in his bar, but he hated seeing her do any kind of work She was young, only twenty years old, sweet, and precious

He’d watched her flourish for the past couple of years now He’d known fro to him, but there had been a pain within her that he couldn’t fix right away Her parents were killed in a rando She’d been hit but survived, and now, she lived by herself, struggling through Only, she didn’t struggle Hewith any outstanding debts

Her car, which had seen better days, had needed a whole new radiator and pipes, and he’d taken care of the bill Everyone in town knew to keep away from Emily

He’daround watching her be sad There was no roo, and seeing her now, like this, it tore him up

Getting to his feet, he watched, wondering if she had any idea of the manipulation he’d used to keep her in his world It hadn’t been easy None of it had been fun either Fighting to keep her in his life was one of the hardest things When she’d wanted to leave town, he’d been there to stop her, to convince her to stay

He folded his ar him a smile

“You weren’t kidding about a party,” she said “I think whoever was here um everywhere”

There was a party, and the next tium was allowed on his premises He would have invited Ee crowds After being bullied through high school, she kept to herself mostly He still didn’t have all the details on those bullies, but they better give him a wide berth

He had a reputation in town, and it wasn’t a good one Not when it caht to look at her the wrong way

No one messed with him It hy Stork’s Bar and Grill was one of the most popular places across three states He had a whole lot of visitors, even froh-powered MCs, and he had no proble business with them Whenever two of the If they started to fight, he got involved, and it never ended well

For the ht side of the law, but when it cahty