Chasing The Limelight

CHASING THE LIMELIGHT THE LIMELIGHT SERIES BOOK TWO LONDON GATES Copyright © 2023 by London Gates All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The following story contains mature themes, strong language and sexual situations. It is intended for mature readers. CONTENTS NEWSLETTER Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Epilogue NEWSLETTER CHASING THE LIMELIGHT Leah Marco is coming back to Los Angeles… I loved him once, and maybe I still do, but it wasn’t meant to be. Now I have my job, my family at Club Limelight, and the power to fight for those I care about. While Hunter might not always be on the right side of the law, I will always be on his side. When an injured girl shows up on my doorstep in the middle of the night, I need Hunter’s help more than ever because I’m not sure what I’m getting myself into… Marco I’ve spent years trying to avoid The Raven, my father, and I’ve made a good life without him. He’s not someone you can say no to, and now he’s ordering me back to Los Angeles, where Leah is. That would be complicated enough, but Leah works for Hunter, the man my father wants to do business with, and my father’s business is always bad news. NEWSLETTER Get All Updates Find out when new books release, and get periodic free stories! >>CLICK HERE << CHAPTER 1 LEAH The picture is faded, crinkled around the edges, worn from the oils of my fingers caressing it for all these years. I set it back down on my desk and take a swig of vodka. It burns my throat as it goes down, but it’s a good burn. Sort of like my relationship with Marco… until the end, anyway. Sighing, I open the top right-hand drawer of my desk and slide the picture inside. I’ve stared at it long enough. It’s been years since I’ve seen the man I once loved in person. Now he’s heading back to town. What will I say to him when we are face to face again? What will he say to me? I don’t have an answer. Spending more precious time going over scenarios in my mind isn’t going to do me any good. I’ll find out when I’m looking into his dark, chocolate eyes. A clumsy knock on my front door has me leaping out of my skin, grasping at my chest. It scares the fuck out of me. I am definitely not expecting anyone out here this late at night. It’s past 11:00 p.m. No one comes out here to this area of the countryside this late unless they know you or they’ve got a flat tire and no cell phone service. Unless… “No,” I whisper aloud to myself. It can’t be Marco. If he’s back in town, he’s sure as fuck not coming here looking for me tonight. Not after the way we left things. No, when I see him, it’ll be at the club. He’ll probably come in on his father’s heels to speak to my boss, Hunter, The Fixer. I’ll be going about my regular workday, not realizing he’s there until I walk into a room and see him sitting at one of the tables. That’s the way I’ve imagined it unfolding a million times. Me, shoving some file off on Hunter, murmuring a quick hello to the Velascos and their henchmen, and then running back to my office, my heart pounding in my chest. Not Marco showing up on a weeknight at my place in the country, way past the time any reasonable person would drop by unannounced. So who the fuck is at my door? I work with some dangerous individuals. There’s never any reason to do anything stupid. Hearing another light knock on the door, I pull a gun from my desk, making sure it’s loaded before I head to the locked barrier. The knocking isn’t loud or demanding. It sounds like a child or someone messing around, but people have been fooled and killed before. It doesn’t hurt to be prepared. In a deep, growling voice, I ask, “Who’s there?” I’m doing my best to be intimidating, and it helps that I’m still more curious than scared at this point. I’ve been around some tough-ass motherfuckers since I started working at Club Limelight, so I’ve learned how to handle myself in some scary-ass situations. The answer I hear is not at all what I’m expecting. “H-Help,” I think I hear a young woman say. The voice is so faint it’s hard to tell. Another knock hits the door. This one is low, like she’s sitting on the porch. Tales of caution my parents used to tell me about never opening the door for strangers spring to mind. One in particular about an old woman who opened the door because she heard a baby crying stands out in my memory. It didn’t end well for the old woman. Nevertheless, I’m not going to stand here when there could be a lost kid on the other side of my door. Checking the peephole and seeing