Devil's Advocate: A BBW MC New Adult Romance Series - Book 1 (Devil's Advocate BBW MC New Adult Romance Series) Read online

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  Obsessed Bounty Hunter Romance Series

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  Fifty Recipes For Disaster New Adult Romance Series

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  This book is Part One of the “Devil's Advocate BBW MC New Adult Romance Series”

  Book 1

  When Kristie comes home from college, the last thing she is expecting is her world to be turned upside down by the appearance of her new step-father’s nephew, Gray. Gray is rash, impulsive and breaks the law. Kristie’s mom asks if she can try to befriend Gray, in hopes to get him on the straight and narrow. The plan backfires, however, as Kristie finds herself falling for Gray. Is it possible he feels the same way? The connection between them threatens to tear down everything Kristie has ever held dear.

  Book 2

  Kristie has finally graduated from college. With a new boyfriend in tow, Gray’s rival, Armand, and moving back into her mother’s house, it feels as if life might finally fall back into place. But Gray, the love of her life and her cousin by marriage, happens to return after hiding out of town. As Kristie and Gray are drawn closer together, both must choose the life they want – with each other, or alone. No matter what they end up picking, the risks in their lives can end up costing the two of them everything.

  Book 3

  It’s been six months since Kristie was taken down in a gun fight related to her husband’s gang activity. Despite Gray’s promise to leave the gang behind, he finds himself searching for Armand and a way to take out the Infernos. The cycle of violence continues but this time the stakes might be too high and the price to pay might only be one of blood.

  Book 4

  When Kristie discovers she is pregnant after thinking she cannot conceive, her world is flipped even more upside down. Her best friend had just been gunned down in a gang related shooting and her husband, Gray, is in a battle for his life with a rival gang. Gray has a plan to get their happily-ever-after life but it is risky. He puts everything at stake to get rid of Armand. But Armand won’t go quietly. As the fighting continues, Kristie and Gray realize that everything is at stake.

  Get the latest update on new releases from the author at:

  http://www.carlacoxwell.com/newsletter

  Devil’s Advocate

  A BBW MC New Adult

  Romance Series

  Book 1

  © Revelry Publishing 2015

  By Carla Coxwell

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

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  Chapter One

  KRISTIE LOOKED at the sky as she pulled up in front of the casino. The air was chilly and the clouds were dark and threatening snow, which was the last thing Kristie felt like dealing with. She had been in her car for over ten hours, driving home from college for the holidays. Her back was sore and her legs needed to be stretched out. She wanted a hot bath in a Jacuzzi tub. She’d settle for a hot tub. But who was she kidding? There was no hot tub to be found at her parents’ house and trying to have a hot bath without being interrupted was almost impossible.

  Kristie had approached the holidays with an ever-growing sense of dread. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see her mother, but every time she came home, it was like being suffocated. Her hometown had held more appeal for her when she was younger, back when her father was alive. Since he’d died and her mother had gotten remarried last year, Kristie had delayed going home at all. She had only met her step-father in passing and hadn’t met his nephew, who he tried to raise on his own.

  Kristie had saved up to stay at a hotel the entire break. It had made the most sense to her. It would cause the least amount of stress during her stay and give her space when she needed it. But when she had mentioned this to her mother, there was no way to mistake the sadness in her mother’s voice for anything else. Knowing she was upsetting her mother by refusing to stay at home with her new family, Kristie had cancelled the reservation and agreed to stay at her mother’s house instead.

  She looked up at the casino where her mother had worked the last five years. Her mother worked in the back offices, far away from the lights from the slot machines and the sounds of people winning money. The casino was a little run down but brought in a steady stream of people who could afford the middle-level slots and risks it provided in a town that was mostly quiet.

  The stale smell of cigarettes and alcohol hit Kristie in the face as she stepped inside. She looked around, seeing if anything had changed since the last time she had been here. Nothing jumped out of her. A few of the slots seemed to have been upgraded, but the carpet was still worn down and dirty and the place had an air of despair that made Kristie’s skin crawl. She had never been to Las Vegas, but she imagined that the casinos there weren’t as depressing.

  Kristie made her way to the back and asked for her mother through the grate where an attendant was standing, looking at her cellphone. The woman went off to find her mother, and Kristie was soon ushered into the back offices. The casino décor quickly ended back here. Her mother’s small office was near the back, shoved in a corner. The door was ajar, and Kristie peeked her head in.

  Her mother was looking at the computer, squinting through her glasses to whatever was on the screen. When Kristie knocked on the door gently, her mother looked up and smiled. Kristie was startled to see she was going gray. The last time she had seen her mother, she had been a brunette. It was odd to see age creeping up on her. She came over to her and hugged her tightly.

  “It’s so nice to see you again.”

  “You, too, Mom.”

  Her mom urged her to sit down as she sat across from her at her desk. It made Kristie feel odd, as if she was interviewing to be her mother’s daughter. Her mom didn’t seem to notice, however, and smiled again. They made small talk for a while, mostly talking about Kristie’s experiences at college. Kristie felt tired. She knew her mom m
eant well, but she really wanted to go home and nap. She was only here to get the address to her mom’s new place.

  “How are things with Lionel?” Kristie finally asked, feeling as if she didn’t bring up her mom’s new husband, she would never get out of the tiny office.

  Her mom seemed to relax now that Kristie had brought him up, “He’s great. Really, we’re just wonderful. There are some issues, though…”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, it’s actually one of the reasons that we wanted you to stay with us instead of a hotel. See, Lionel’s nephew, Gray, is a bit of a handful. Lionel still feels responsible for him since he became his legal guardian when Gray was just a little boy.”

  Kristie wasn’t following, “Okay…”

  “He tends to run on the wrong side of the law, and we thought it’d be so great if you two could meet and maybe hang out.”

  The words hung in the air. Kristie felt a twinge of annoyance. She had thought her mother wanted her at the house because she had missed her, not because she wanted her to play nice with her new step-father’s nephew. They weren’t in grade school anymore. Trying to change someone set in their ways by sticking them with a goody-goody was a useless attempt.

  Kristie took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds, letting the air out slowly. Her mother watched, a worried expression on her face.

  “What do you want me to do with him?” Kristie finally asked.

  Her mom, taking the fact that Kristie hadn’t said no as a good sign, started to ramble. “Well, maybe just hang out with him. Show him what you do for fun. Maybe you two can go to the movies or something.”

  Kristie raised an eyebrow, “Go to the movies? What does this guy do for fun anyway that has you two so stressed out?”

  Her mom avoided her stare and sighed, looking tired. “He runs with a bad crowd and doesn’t like to listen. He’s a good kid though. He’s just lost.”

  “And you think I can fix him?”

  “It wouldn’t hurt to try, would it, Kristie? For me?”

  Kristie sighed and nodded in agreement. How could she say no to her mother? She would always wish that her mother hadn’t gotten remarried, but she didn’t want her mom to be unhappy either. Her mom got up and walked over to her, hugging her tightly. Her mother’s hugs had always reminded Kristie of being a little kid, outside playing till the sun set and running back inside for dinner. Back when her father was alive. Kristie shut her eyes tightly, willing the memories to leave her. She didn’t want to think about her father right now.

  Her mom finally pulled away and looked at her, smiling, “We’ll have to really talk, you know, all about college and everything.”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  Her mom’s eyes swept down her quickly, so fast that if Kristie wasn’t used to it, she never would have picked up on it. She steeled herself.

  “Maybe you and Gray can go to the gym. It’d get him out of the house and you could lose a few pounds at the same time,” her mom said cheerfully.

  Kristie mumbled in agreement and gave her mother one last hug before leaving the office. She should have known that there wasn’t going to be any way in hell that her mother would have let an entire conversation go without making some sort of remark to her about her weight.

  As she trudged through the casino, her mood lowered with every step. She regretted coming here for the holidays. Before her, they spread out in a bleak landscape. Dealing with her mother’s ‘helpful advice’ in regards to her weight, and trying to show her loser relative by marriage around town. At the very least, she should have kept the hotel reservation.

  Kristie dragged out the drive toward Lionel’s house. Her mother had given her the address and it was close to the casino. A ten-minute drive didn’t seem like enough time to prepare for whatever she was going to walk into. As she turned down the street where her mom’s new house was, she found herself taking a deep breath. The first time, she just drove past the house. It was non-descript and had nothing of worth showing that made Kristie even notice it. Her mom had stopped gardening after her father died, and the front yard of this house was plain and dull.

  Kristie pulled into the driveway. The garage door was open and a man was underneath a truck, working on it. She could only see his feet. Kristie got out of her car, grabbing her bags, and looked inside the garage. The man didn’t look up when she shut the door of her car.

  “Hello?” Kristie called out toward the man under the truck.

  He didn’t answer. Heavy metal was blasting out of a stereo nearby, but it was such an old stereo that the music sounded tinny. Kristie called out again, but the man still didn’t answer. She knew that he heard her because he stopped working at one point and went still before resuming. She hoped this wasn’t Lionel, because the guy was an asshole. Probably his fantastic nephew. Kristie trudged toward the front door, leaving the other guy behind. What a fantastic trip this was going to be.

  Chapter Two

  Gray had heard someone trying to get his attention when he was working on his uncle’s truck. Truth be told, he didn’t care who it was enough to answer, although he suspected it was his new aunt’s daughter. His uncle and Pamela, his new aunt, had been talking this Kristie girl up for a solid week. Never-ending tales of how fantastic she was and how much fun the two of them would have if they decided to hang out together. Fat chance. Gray could see right through the two of them. They thought pairing him up with someone who was a drab would make him want to reform. Joke was on them.

  Gray wouldn’t have even bothered fixing his uncle’s truck if he hadn’t owed his uncle for not telling Pamela he had stolen a twenty out of her purse the other day. But he also liked fixing cars. There was something he could get lost in when he worked on them. There was nothing confusing about cars. It was a different language, but one Gray could always understand. So he would fix his uncle’s truck, but he wouldn’t be playing nice with his aunt’s daughter.

  Pamela seemed more concerned with him than she needed to be. Gray didn’t need a baby-sitter. He had nothing against Pamela, per se, but she tired him out with her constant questions about his life. Gray, lost in thought and not paying attention, slammed his finger against something and cursed out loud. He pushed himself out of the bottom of the truck, staring at the top of the garage, holding his finger. Careless. Now he was slamming his own fingers against the bottom of the truck like some sort of amateur.

  He decided that he’d had enough for the day and would go shower. Gray had gotten roped into some stupid family dinner because Kristie was here and if he didn’t shower, he would have to hear another well-intentioned lecture from Pamela. Groaning, he marched inside the house. He could hear Kristie talking to Lionel in the living room, introducing herself. He wondered what she would make of his uncle and then decided he didn’t care.

  He went upstairs to clean up for dinner.

  ***

  Kristie finished making small talk with her step-father and decided to go upstairs to her room. He seemed nice, if a bit nervous to be talking to her without her mom around. Kristie knew that her mother was smitten with him and that was all that mattered. Her mom deserved to be happy. The second floor of the new house had her room and her parents’ at the other side plus a living area in the middle. Gray apparently lived somewhere else. It was a different style of house than she was used to, but she liked it – it matched her mom’s desire for change after her father had been killed.

  Kristie walked into her room. It was decorated neatly, looking more like a hotel room than anything else. Lionel had told her she could add anything she wanted to the room to make it hers, but she kind of liked the hotel vibe it had. Kristie liked when rooms felt like hotel rooms. For some reason, it always made her think of comfort and relaxation. Her dorm room, cluttered with her own things, didn’t make her think of that – she only felt stressed.

  Kristie threw her bag on the bed, realizing the door shut next to it was an en suite bathroom. Score. Kristie gleefully began to tug off h
er clothes. This might look like an older house on the outside, but some serious renovation had been done inside. The cool air made her skin prickle and she sighed, feeling a little relaxed for the first time since she pulled into town. She went over and opened the door to her bathroom – and screamed in surprise.

  A man was getting out of the shower, completely nude. His hair was cut close to his head and he was in incredible shape, with a strong-looking chest and arms. He had tattoos all along his arms and down his back and was grinning at her. Kristie stammered and yanked a towel off the rack nearby, covering herself quickly. She was blushing hard as the man let his eyes roam all over her, clearly drinking her in.

  “You must be Kristie,” he said in a tone that meant he was Gray.

  Kristie took a step back to let him pass her. Gray was still fully naked, and she couldn’t stop looking at him, her breath caught in her chest. He looked amazing. She felt a stirring in her hips that took her by surprise.