#NYGirl (Midwest Boys Series Book 4)

  #NYGirl

  By A.M. Brooks

  Copyright © 2021 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 Simpson- Pixel Mischief Design

  Formatting: Elaine York- Allusion Publishing

  Editing and Proofreading: Rebecca- Fairest of All Book Reviews

  Acknowledgements

  Playlist

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Four Years Later...

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Reader's Choice Bonus Scenes

  More from A.M. Brooks

  Connect with A.M. Brooks

  Hearts and Bruises - Chapter One

  I am forever grateful for my husband, my kiddos, and my parents for baring with me, and giving me my weekends to finish writing. I love you all!

  I want to thank, Kiki, Colleen, Jill, Kristina, Megan, Emily and Anna - 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. I can’t say it enough how happy I am to be working with this company. You are truly a great group of women!

  Jill - Thank you for stepping in and helping me figure my life out! Thank you for always taking the time to talk through any problems and cheering me on when I need it the most. The past few months were possible thanks to your help and guidance.

  Rebecca - Fairest of All Book Reviews - I can’t thank you enough for editing and proofing this manuscript. We made it happen! Thank you for putting up with me. I’m forever grateful for you!

  Amanda Simpson- Pixel Mischief Designs- Thank you for working with me on this cover and for all the work you did in this series. I appreciate you!

  Elaine York- Allusion Publishing- Thank you for fitting me into your schedule, no matter how many times I have to change my dates. I appreciate it so much! Thank you for making this book beautiful from the inside-out.

  My Readers – I’m so sad to see this series come to an end. I’ve loved hearing from you and talking with you about my boys and Rogue. This series will always hold a very special place in my heart. Thank you for choosing to take this ride with me. I truly hope you enjoyed the Midwest Boys.

  XOXO Ashton

  Lose You To Love Me- Selena Gomez

  Make Up- POORSTACY

  Salt- Ava Max

  Moonlight- Ali Gatie

  You Made a Monster- Nick Kingsley, Hannah Hart

  Do It Again- Pia Mia, Chris Brow, Tyga

  Float on the Sound (Ey)- Tiagz

  Jealous- Lennon Stella

  Before You Go- Lewis Capaldi

  Purple Rain- Prince

  All My Friends- AJ Mitchell

  Phases- PRETTYMUCH

  Mommae- Jay Park ft. Ugly Duck

  Selfish- Madison Beer

  What if I told You That I Love You- Ali Gatie

  Stay- The Kid LAROI ft. Justin Bieber

  Monster- EXO

  More Than My Hometown- Morgan Wallen

  Better- Khalid

  Venom- Eminem

  Missin’ You- Trey Songz

  I’ll Make a Man Out of You- Peyton Parrish

  Boy With Luv- BTS ft. Halsey

  Drop The World- Lil Wayne ft. Eminem

  Heat Waves- Glass Animals

  Follow me on Spotify for the #NYGirl Playlist!

  Dedicated to:

  My Readers…thank you

  The first phone call, Kai’s POV from #MNGirl

  Kai

  “Love you, Crazy.”

  “Love you, Wild.”

  I silently listen to the end of the girls’ conversation, wanting to jam a pencil in my eardrum to erase everything I just heard. I could kill Ciaran for making me do this. After how many months we’ve kept Saylor from communicating with anyone, he now is on board with Saylor having these conversations with her bestie, as long as they continue to be recorded. The first time she managed to slip past us with Reed’s help, but I found out, because I monitor her phone. The fact that I just had to listen to a two-minute conversation, where these two talked about how much Saylor is in love with Ciaran, is challenging my gag reflex. Of course, he’s just as into her as she is him, even though he likes to pretend he has more control of the situation. It’s become more apparent lately that he most definitely does not.

  I shake my head, wishing I could bleach my memory, groaning while I send a text to Ciaran that it’s over. I save the conversation, upload the file and text him a copy of it once it’s on my computer.

  “I knew there was someone else on here.” I hear her voice and freeze. Shit. There was only one click. I was so lost in my own thoughts that I totally missed the buzz of a line still open.

  “Oh, don’t pretend like you weren’t eavesdropping just now,” she goads, taunting me. Her usual silky tone is almost condescending. My mind spins through the two ways I can play this right now: continue to ignore her or say something to throw her off.

  “Coward,” she huffs, and I’m instantly angered.

  “It’s not like it seems,” I tell her, my voice darker, a little more intense than I mean it to be.

  “You don’t always eavesdrop, you mean? Is she not allowed any privacy?”

  I roll my eyes at her dramatic tone. “I’m keeping her safe.”

  Silence follows for a few minutes, and I almost think she hung up until I hear her exhale loudly. “She’s really safe there?”

  “Yes,” I respond. “That’s why I’m doing this. It wasn’t a treat for me either to listen to you two gossip.”

  She laughs quietly into the phone, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I like that sound; it stirs something inside of me that I can’t name. My chest squeezes and I find myself on edge, waiting to hear what she has to say next.

  “I just want her to be safe. She’s my best friend, the only one who really knows me. As long as you can do that, I’ll pretend you aren’t listening.”

  “She’ll be fine. We won’t let anything happen to her.” I make her a promise, something I swore I’d never do in this business.

  “You didn’t see that house.” Her words are barely above a whisper, but I hear them anyway. She’s talking about Saylor’s home and the shape it was in after the incident that occurred there where Saylor’s mom was attacked. Only she doesn’t know that I am well-aware of what the scene looked like.

  I stay silent and let her work through her own thoughts. I feel the need to throw in a joke or make a sarcastic comment after a while, because I don’t handle silence well.

  “Thank you,” she says suddenly, “I’d add your name on that, but I don’t know what it is.”

  “It’s better if you don’t know.” I keep my answer short, and to the point. The fact that I’ve kept this line open past the two minute time-limit is already dangerous enough.

  She snorts. “Right, I forgot. You’re all as secretive as
witness protection.”

  My body tenses. If only this girl knew just how close to the truth she really was. “We’re not like anything. You said you saw the house then you know it’s important that Saylor is kept safe.”

  Silence meets me on the other end, again, and I find myself straining to hear what she has to say next. The last thing we need is her blabbing to anyone who will listen that Saylor is in hiding, let alone alive. It’s better people think she’s dead and completely off their radar.

  “You’re right,” she finally says, her breath blowing into my earpiece. “Well, until next time then.”

  I wait and I wait, finally there’s a dial tone on the other end, right before my phone goes dark, signaling the call ended. I slump in my chair, hands moving to cradle my head. This could have been so bad. I don’t want to think about what Matt would say about us bending the rules for Saylor. She isn’t supposed to have contact with her old life for our safety and for hers. I replay the conversation over in my head, while I check for any breaches or security slumps during the past five minutes, but find none. I quickly pull up social media next and search for a face to go with Saylor’s mystery friend, to see what kind of person she actually is. This is the first time I’ve heard her voice, and the girls are already planning to communicate again in the future. I should be prepared, in case she decides to corner me again and ask questions.

  I search through Saylor’s old accounts and am able to pull up the girl’s name who comments most often. #NYGirl. Not very original. Her profile picture is her side profile, wearing a short, long-sleeve dress, her hand raised in the air, holding a peace sign against the city skyline. It has to be recent, since she’s also wearing a school backpack. I click her account and open it, finding more pictures of desserts than anything else. For the first time since I picked up the call, I have to fight back a smile. Her profile isn’t as stereotypical of a teenage girl as I would have imagined. Only a few pictures are selfies and none of them are of her face. Her back is either to the camera or it’s a side view. I scan her biography next and can’t understand why my chest squeezes with every word I read: Oaklynn...seventeen, New York girl, who loves standing at the edge of the ocean, Atticus poetry, and karaoke nights before walking home in the rain.

  I’m interested, and this is not a good thing. She’s absolutely the worst person for me to be intrigued by, but for some reason, it feels right. Slamming my laptop shut, I lean back in my chair, throwing my arm over my face, wishing I could stop the obsessive thoughts running through my mind. I need to know what she looks like, what her favorite dessert actually is, after all the ones she’s tried, and why she walks home in the rain. The questions keep coming, and my compulsion to search and dig grows stronger the longer I sit in this room. She doesn’t know it yet, but sooner or later, Oaklynn will give me all her answers, even if I have to break every rule I live by to find them out.

  Kai

  Through the dark, my eyes strain to see what is happening around me while Silas speeds down the main highway. I can barely keep up with the miles we’ve traveled or the check points. If it wasn’t for the tracking device on my phone, I’d be unable to update Randy on our location. My fingers flex against the material of my jeans, wishing again that I had my own vehicle right now. It nearly killed me to give it to Jason. Not that I don’t trust Silas driving, but I need to have the control of knowing I can get away if I need to. It’s been programmed in my brain for too many years, by Rogue and my mom, to always have an escape route and a way to make that happen. Flashes of my childhood and fleeing in a rundown car tease my mind, and I’m really close to asking Silas to change places with me. Only the knowledge that we’re on a time crunch keeps my mouth shut.

  After Erika’s building exploded and was all over the news, Matt and Jason took off and gave us explicit instructions to get to Savage Lakes, with the targets, as soon as possible. With all-hands-on-deck needed, Matt’s original plan to leave a few of our targets guarded up north was changed. I piled into Silas’ truck with him, Ciaran, Saylor and Reed, while the Saffrans offered to take Bentley with them, as their SUV could fit seven.

  For the hundredth time, I look over at Saylor, who’s been quietly crying, with her head pressed to the glass window. I can see Ciaran’s reflection, watching her from the front seat. If I didn’t know how deep his feelings ran for her, I’d almost say he looks obsessed by how intently he is watching her. Sighing, I lean my head back against the seat and my gaze collides with Silas’ in the rearview mirror. There is no remorse in his eyes when he finally looks away to focus on his sister. “Say, don’t worry. You have an actual excuse. Plus, you’ve been friends for years. Unlike this idiot.” He points at me.

  Saylor keeps her gaze diverted out the window and I can feel the tension radiating off of Ciaran as he gets more wound up, thinking about her being upset.

  “Thanks,” I tell Silas, unable to keep the sarcasm out of my tone. He shrugs.

  “It’s true. Oaklynn will forgive her. They have a history and Saylor was in danger. Same with Lux. You, on the other hand…” He shrugs.

  “Yeah, Si, I get it.” I shoot him a look in the mirror. My body tenses and all the anger I’ve been pushing down threatens to bubble up.

  Saylor finally breaks her silence, turning to look at me. My own heart wants to crack, seeing her brown eyes swimming with tears. “Do you care about her at all? Are you going to explain?”

  I swallow and look past her, out the window into the darkness. Care about her? I’ve never felt for anyone the way I do about Oaklynn. I also never thought I’d have to explain the life of a Rogue operative to her. Now, just hours ago, she saw me kill men in masks, who were hunting us, and learned that everyone in her life has been lying to her. I don’t know what my plan was, or how long I planned to carry on the charade of just being a normal guy, but I also didn’t think it would come down to her finding out before I could be the one to tell her or that our relationship could end this soon because of it.

  “Yeah.” I turn to Saylor, swallowing against the emotion lodged in my throat.

  Her eyes scan my face, but I keep my mask in place, not allowing her to see just how much I’m reeling from everything and how completely lost I feel. “You have to talk to her soon. You need to fix it. If you don’t, you will lose her, Kai. Oaklynn is…” She stops and sighs, her eyes filling back up with more tears. I hold my breath, desperately hoping she doesn’t start crying. I can’t handle it. “Oaklynn may come across as an ice queen, but she is the softest person I know under all that armor she wears.” Bang. Dead. I fight against every instinct to drop my head and break down. Ciaran and Silas were right from the beginning; I didn’t know what I was getting into and I sure as hell didn’t handle this whole situation well at all.

  I barely manage a nod, before turning my concentration back out the window. Thankfully, this time, Silas drops it. Ciaran also doesn’t comment but that could also be because Saylor stopped crying and is leaning against his seat with her arms wrapped around his neck. Jealousy pings in my subconscious, but I push it back. If I can fix everything, then maybe Oaklynn and I can go back to how things used to be, and things will be better because she will know everything about Rogue and who I really am.

  Due to the nature of our job, we’ve taken many long road trips and flights but never have I been more agitated than during this drive. By the time we get back to Savage Lakes, the tension in my muscles is making my back sore and my eyes feel blurry. The streets through town are empty, given it’s the early morning I’m not surprised. The only vehicle we see is the Sheriff’s car, parked on a side road. He flips his lights as we pass, and Silas flicks his high beams in return.

  Silas turns off the main road and onto the street where Matt and Ciaran’s house is. Hard to believe that just a few short months ago, we were here, packing everything up for the summer. It is only the end of August, but the evenings are already chillier than most when we step out of the truck.

  “Mom?” Ciaran says, rig
ht as Molly heads down the front steps and wraps her arms around her son. He hugs her back, his eyes growing even wider in surprise when he looks behind her. “Grandpa? Grandma?”

  “It’s a real family reunion.” I whistle under my breath, as Molly finally lets go of her son and starts handing out hugs to the rest of us.

  “We saw the news,” she replies then adds, “Matt called shortly after, but we were already on our way.”

  “You must be Oliver and Valerie.” Molly makes her way over to the Saffrans and wraps her arms around Mrs. Saffran. “I don’t know if you remember me. I was a little older than Matt and Kelly and not really around much.”

  “I remember seeing you every once in a while, when you were home, and, of course, in pictures,” Mrs. Saffran answers, the smile on her face genuine.

  “Perfect,” Molly steps back, “and these are your children?”

  “Yes. This is our son, Ollie, and our daughter, Oaklynn.”

  Since she stepped out of the vehicle, I’ve felt every movement Oaklynn has made, but I’m too afraid to look and see, yet again, the disappointment in her eyes or the permanent thinned line of her lips. I see Saylor watching her best friend and the look on her face is enough to know that nothing has changed during the drive home. Lux or Raina…whatever name she is going to go by, steps up beside Silas, who automatically wraps his arm around her. I find myself jealous once more and shuffle my feet, keeping my gaze averted.

  “We should all get inside,” Mike, Ciaran’s grandpa, says from the steps, even while his eyes are scanning the road behind us. Even though he is ex-Rogue, some things must never leave you. Everyone moves and shuffles inside. Mike claps me on the back, all the while giving me a look as if he can read my internal thoughts and knows I have one hell of a screw-up on my hands. Once we’re all inside, I take the chance and gaze around the room. Everyone looks tired, wary, angry and just overall resigned to the shitstorm we are in. Bentley and Reed sit on the couch next to Saylor, who is holding Mila’s hand while Ciaran stands firmly behind them. Silas and Lux stand off to the side, Silas leaning against the wall. The Saffrans are huddled off to the side as well. For the first time since we left the cabin, I let my eyes drift over Oaklynn. Dark smudges stand out against her ivory skin, deepening her blue irises. Her teeth pull her pink lips between them, and her arms stay wrapped around her middle protectively. I can tell she senses my gaze on her. Her eyes take in every part of the room, but refuse to look at me.