My #MNGirl (Midwest Boys Series Book 2) Read online

  Copyright © 2020 A.M. Brooks

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination. Thank you for respecting the hard work and creativity of this author.

  Note: This story may not be suitable for persons under the age of 18.

  Cover: Amanda- Pixel Mischief Design

  Cover Model: Hagen Richter

  Formatting: Elaine York- Allusion Publishing

  Editing: Rebecca- Fairest of All Book Reviews

  Proofreading: Athena and Darlene - Sisters Get Lit(erary) Author Services

  Copyright

  Acknowledgements

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Playlist

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  More from A.M. Brooks

  Connect with A.M. Brooks

  Hearts and Bruises Sneak Peek

  Where Demons Hide Sneak Peek - Prologue

  Where Demons Hide - Chapter One

  My Husband - It goes without saying I owe you a huge Thank you for letting me live my crazy dream. Thank you for continuing to be a great dad to our babies while I’m working and being a boss. We’re lucky to have you! XOXO

  My Family - Thank you for continuing to be supportive and cheering me on. You guys are my #1 fans and your encouragement means the most to me. You’re my inspiration in so many ways. I love you!

  Kiki and the girl boss squad, Colleen, Nicole, Darlene, Athena, Jill and Kristina - The Next Step PR -Thank you for your hard work, dedication, and guidance. Thank you for working on my emails, sharing all my info and release materials, and creating eye catching flatlays and designs for my book. Thank you for listening to my random FaceTime calls when I’m freaking out. Thank you for looking at my endless parade of cover photos until we found our man! I appreciate all you do!

  Darlene and Athena - Sisters Get Lit.erary Author Services - Thank you for taking on the challenge of being my PAs. Thank you for answering all my random messages when I need to bounce ideas around. Thank you also, for ALPHA reading and proofreading this manuscript. It was the best experience and I truly believe this story became what it is because I have you both!

  Rebecca - Fairest of All Book Reviews - I can’t thank you enough for editing and helping me craft the perfect version of this story to share with my readers. Thank you for taking my words and ideas and talking them through with me. This story is even better because of your influence.

  Amanda Simpson - Pixel Mischief Design- Thank you for patiently working with me on this cover. I appreciate you more than you know. Thank you for answering me right away and trying picture after picture until I had what I wanted. You are amazingly talented. I’m so happy to be working with you!

  Hagen Richter - Cover Model - Thank you for working with me and my team on this amazing cover!

  My Readers - Thank you for your purchase and support. It is because of you that I can continue to write and live my dream. I love you all! I hope you enjoy the conclusion of Ciaran and Saylor’s story. Don’t worry though, the Midwest Boys aren’t over yet!

  XOXO Ashton

  For: You.

  You inspire me.

  You are strong and softhearted.

  You are powerful and self-aware.

  You are brilliant and honest.

  You are beautiful and respectful.

  You are effervescent,

  and I am lucky to call you my friend.

  Beautiful- Bazzi, feat. Camila Cabello

  I Fall Apart- Post Malone

  Lucid Dreams- Juice WRLD

  Hate Me- Ellie Goulding feat. Juice WRLD

  Do You Even Miss Me At All?- Gianni & Kyle

  Gone Girl- Iann Dior & Trippie Redd

  Can’t Shake You- Gloriana

  Cross Me- Ed Sheeran feat. Chance the Rapper & PnB Rock

  Feel It- Michele Morrone

  Ex’s & Oh’s- Elle King

  Fuck Love- XXXTENTACION & Trippie Redd

  What is Real- Iann Dior

  Like A Wrecking Ball- Eric Church

  Undrunk- Fletcher

  Don’t Check On Me- Chris Brown feat. Justin Bieber & Ink

  I’ll Stand By You- Natalie Taylor

  Bad- James Bay

  Best You’ll Ever Have- Inanna

  Hear Me Now- Bad Wolves feat. DIAMANTE

  Mask Off- Future

  Soldier- Gavin DeGraw

  See Me Fall (Y2K Remix)- Ro Ransom

  I See Red- Everybody Loves an Outlaw

  I Am the Fire- GhostMonroe

  The Hunted- The Rigs

  Call You Mine- The Chainsmokers feat. Bebe Rexha

  Magic in the Hamptons- Social House feat. Lil Yachty

  Singles You Up- Jordan Davis

  Come Over (Acoustic Mixtape)- Sam Hunt

  To Hell & Back- Maren Morris

  Those Kinda Nights- Eminem feat. Ed Sheeran

  Swish- Mike.

  Initiation- GeezyGoinHam

  Put On- Jeezy feat. Kanye West

  **Spotify Playlist AVAILABLE NOW!

  Ciaran

  You can’t make this shit up. Eight hours later and we’re no better or worse than we were previously. Matt can barely focus. Jason is pacing and twitching, and he looks ready to hurl something at the plexiglass window or, worse, to find a way to throw himself out of it. My gaze slides to Silas, who hasn’t taken his own off his dad. His jaw is clenched like his fists. His body is coiled and ready to jump at him. Kai is still staring frozen at the computer screen while he continues to dig, wipe clean, and reprogram, until he finds the answers we’re looking for. This is affecting all of us, in more ways than one.

  No one has the balls to confront it out loud yet, even when the evidence is right in front of us. This wasn’t a random hit on a house. It was deliberate. Our houses and community follow standard military protocol, and they do so because every member knows what they can and cannot do. We’re well hidden, we blend. Rogue has created a society built on the idea of protecting those who are not safe anywhere else. We have hubs all over the country, and we have extensive training in military combat, surveillance, and cyber warfare. It’s why we excel the way we do. It’s why the United States government gives us the cases they know no one other that Rogue can handle. When witness protection isn’t enough, the government reaches out to us. Rogue is well-oiled machine that leaves nothing to chance and has a contingency plan for all situations. Which means this job, this hit, was done from the inside.

  It’s been eight hours, and the house is almost all swept. A report from the hospital came in that the minor child was in surgery with a collapsed lung, bullet to the shoulder and a bullet that was lodged in her spine. They fixed the lung and were waiting to continue with another surgery until her vitals stabilize. According to inside sources, she’s being kept in a medically induced coma. They also aren’
t sure if she will walk again.

  “We have to make some decisions right now,” Jason finally speaks. His eyes swing to Matt, who hasn’t looked away from the screens, long enough, to take in the way his team is falling apart. The casualties at that safe house are the worst in Rogue history. Because Rogue handles high-profile and high-risk cases for the FBI, CIA, and even the military, extensive searches are done on new employees, and through the vetting process, background checks, alias checks, and homeland security checks, we focus on potential Rogue team members who show a sense of justice and a need to protect those who can’t protect themselves.

  Matt has never taken a chance on an employee until he has researched them thoroughly, so the fact that this attack was, most likely, an inside job has Matt struggling to find necessary answers. When Matt finally looks to Jason, pain and devastation is etched across every line of his face. I’ve never seen my uncle look so torn. He’s never looked anything less than professional. His eyes flick briefly to Saylor, who has her back to us, while she studies the screen. Her body vibrates from crying, and anger is written in the robotic way she holds herself. My heart squeezes in my chest. I want to hold her, run my fingers through those purple strands that I used to find obnoxious, and just let her settle against me.

  “This,” Matt’s hand comes up gesturing to the screen, “is going to take longer to clean up. Mobilize the next closest unit to help. Leave nothing. I want screens, cameras, their laptops, and any security footage inside or outside that house. Get me the footage from the schools and where Kelly was working.” His face becomes expressionless the more I watch him.

  “As soon as...as soon as Mila has her surgeries and can be moved, I want her here at the Mayo. Make that happen,” Matt directs, looking to Kai, who nods his head and goes back to typing on the keyboard. Saylor’s shoulders hunch when she hears her sister’s name.

  “I can help,” Reed speaks up, his gaze trapped on the screens as well. Kai’s head bobs, and he waves him over to the other screen.

  In all the chaos, I almost forgot that Reed and Bentley were also here. If it had been my choice, I wouldn’t have brought them. When the alarms went off, we had no idea what was going on. Since our largest targets were these three, we had no choice but to bring them along. Now Saylor, Reed and Bentley are aware that each of them is hidden. Worst of all, they will have intimate knowledge of exactly what happened to Saylor’s mom and sister. A large stone of regret settles in my stomach. This scenario was unavoidable, but, for her sake, I wish it could be different.

  “What do you think that means?” Jason nods toward the screen where the ominous message on the wall is shown. “Eye for an eye.”

  Matt tenses, and our eyes meet. We both glance at Bentley who, surprisingly, hasn’t talked much since we got here. He sits on the edge of the desk, head bowed, as his fingers tangle together in his lap.

  “You okay, Rhodes?” I ask, keeping my face passive. His gaze is haunted when he lifts his head toward me. It’s written all over him just how not okay he is. I’ve seen Bentley’s file. I wasn’t officially part of Rogue when he was brought in. My grandpa still ran the family biz at the time. Matt and my mom had been on the run to pick him up. I was told by my mom, the next day, that a new kid would be in school, a grade below mine. She asked me to watch out for him. That was it. I was still too young to be an official Protector, but I was learning, and all I could do was watch. After she left for her shift at the hospital, I snuck into the basement and read more about the new kid.

  Bentley’s biological family was a well-known and powerful crime family in the Boston area. His mom had ran away with him when she found out she was pregnant, effectively giving up her spot in her family’s business and was disowned by her parents. Apparently, Bentley’s grandfather was a shady SOB and either gave orders to have his only daughter killed or he leaked her whereabouts to their rival crime family so that they could take care of her. The end goal was for Bentley to be raised by his grandparents, and eventually, marry into their rival family for more power and money. Bentley escaped the night of the murder and entered Rogue. The report didn’t detail his mom and dad’s deaths. There was one single photo, though, on the wall in his room...eye for an eye was written on it in blood. Judging by the pale, greenish hue of his face, he’s made the same connection.

  “I’m fine,” he grits out, and I don’t miss the subtle way his gaze flicks over Saylor quickly.

  “What about the bodies?” Jason asks, his voice quieter, thoughtful and so damn angry.

  “We need to bring them back,” Matt replies, his head bowing.

  “I’ll go,” Jason responds instantly. His posture changing to acceptance. “I’ll go to Wyoming and bring them home.”

  “No!” Silas jumps to his feet, facing off with Jason.

  “Si.” Jason looks over to his son, his eyes glassy.

  “You promised,” Silas continues, his face contorting in anger and sadness. “You promised her you would change.”

  “It’s going to be okay.” Jason moves to comfort him, but he’s already too late. Silas’ defenses are up.

  “Yeah, until you get home, if you even come back,” my friend’s lips twist, “you’ve always been holding on by a thin thread. Holding onto her, your history, and using it all to justify that it would be okay if you left me. Don’t think I haven’t noticed the dozens of times I’ve come home to find you drunk, passed out, with your Glock loaded and sitting right in front of you.”

  Nothing out of Si’s mouth is news to me. The look of devastation and guilt on Jason’s face, however, is like taking a bullet, and I can only imagine how Silas feels.

  “You don’t understand,” Jason breathes out, his shoulders slumping. Si’s head shakes in denial, before a broken laugh is pulled from his chest.

  “Fine,” he sneers, “Go then.”

  “Knock it off, both of you.” Matt’s voice cuts the air. My head snaps back to my uncle, who is leaning on the desk now, hands in fists. His body rigid. His eyes focused now on Saylor, who is watching him with pools of liquid in her eyes.

  “Ahh boss,” Randy speaks up, his eyes flicking to the outside the building, “Someone just drove up.”

  My neck strains to look over to where Randy is watching. Sure enough, an idling dark green car sits in the lot. Kai’s fingers scramble over the keyboard to bring up the live feed.

  “Just your mom,” Kai lets out a breath, right as my mom’s face turns to the camera, and she waves.

  “Let her up,” Matt directs Kai to unlock the doors. A few minutes pass before she taps on the glass, and Randy lets her in.

  “Is this related to us?” Her eyes dart around the room, counting everyone and taking in the screens. The minute they land on what’s left of the cleanup at the house, tears flow down her cheeks.

  “Matt,” she breathes out.

  “It’s not good, Moll,” he answers her unspoken thoughts.

  “Were you in the area?” I ask, when she makes her way over to me and wraps her arms around my waist.

  “I was headed this way when the news started broadcasting that schools all over the country are in lockdown. It’s an absolute mess. Some states are still in lockdown mode, until all the students can be accounted for. What about here? I didn’t even check.” She looks to me, Matt and Jason.

  “Lockdown ended a few hours ago. They did a count of the students and any that were gone for the day had to be visually seen and spoken to by law enforcement. After that, I told the principal to lift it.” Matt gives her the run down, his phone twisting in his hand.

  “Cover up?” Mom asks him, her voice volume dropped. Matt nods, his eyes glance from the screen to Saylor.

  “Oh, no.” My mom’s frame trembles, and more tears spring to her eyes. She slides up to Saylor and wraps her in her arms, whispering words too quiet for us to hear. To my surprise, Saylor sinks into my mom’s hold, her fingers tightening around the fabric of her jacket. Silently, my mom lowers them both to the couch. Saylor’s gaze
is still zoned out, as if her body is acting only on autopilot.

  “We know of two casualties, and Mila has been taken to the hospital. I sent another crew to help clean up. I’m making Jason and a team mobile for recovery.” Matt’s voice falters for the first time, while he gives her the full update. I watch as her fingers flick tears off her lashes, and she works to pull her face back to a mask.

  “And then?” Her head tilts, and I see her gaze land on Bentley and Reed as well.

  Matt sucks in a deep breath, before blowing it out. The calm on his face is replaced instantly with disdain. “I have to call her, Molly. At this point, I need more information, and she needs to know what we’re dealing with here.”

  “You can’t be serious?” My mom’s face reddens. I’m thankful as fuck that her glare isn’t directed at me.

  Matt’s mouth opens to defend himself, at the same time his cell phone vibrates loudly against the table. “Fuck,” he mutters under his breath, before swiping right and putting his phone on speaker.

  “Erika,” he clips out.

  “Matt,” the very cold and firm, but feminine voice answers.

  Kai’s fingers dance around the keyboard again. “Line secure,” he mutters, before swinging his body around to face the drama that is about to unfold. Silas’ head whips to me mouthing, Aunt Erika.

  “She is not your aunt,” Mom mutters, from where she is now perched on the end of the couch, still cradling Saylor.

  I shrug, even knowing it will piss her off. “Close enough.” Erika Bordeich is a legend among Rogue and also a huge pain in Matt’s ass. She was smuggled out of Russia as a pre-teen and would have been sold into human trafficking here in the US if it hadn’t been for my grandparents. They took her into Rogue. Needless to say, Matt fell in love with her, and they both enlisted in the military after graduation. My mom will forever hate Erika for what she did to Matt. The two had planned to revamp Rogue together, and Erika cut and run the first time she landed in trouble, not even bothering to rely on Matt.

  “They’re still married,” I remind her.