Living

LIVING MFM Why Choose Romance RUINED BOOK 5 T.O. SMITH Copyright ©April 2023 by T.O. Smith 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. Formatting: Tiff Writes Romance Cover Design: Tiff Writes Romance Editing: Tiff Writes Romance Proofreading: Kimberly Peterson Created with Vellum For Riley, my reason for everything that I do. For every reader who has been waiting for a glimpse into Alejandro and his dynamic with Elaina, this is for you. CONTENTS 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 Epilogue Also by T.O. Smith About the Author CHAPTER ONE Joey Alejandro eased open the door before silently stepping in and shutting it behind him with a barely audible click. He’d been gone for a couple of weeks now to deal with some shit in Mexico, which he was being a bit close-lipped about, and he’d called me a few hours ago to let me know he was coming back home. Still felt a little weird that this was home for him now. He still ran the cartel down in Mexico, but for him, home was now wherever Elaina and Antonio were. And usually, that was here in my clubhouse. Elaina liked being surrounded by this big family we had. We weren’t connected by blood, but we were family regardless. Things weren’t always like this between us. In fact, at one point in time, I did everything I could to avoid Alejandro Garcia. He was too powerful and had his fingers dug into too many pies. He wasn’t someone you wanted to cross. But then Elaina showed up at my clubhouse, needing help and safety, covered in bruises. And she was pregnant with Alejandro’s baby. I knew if I wanted any chance of keeping her, I had to break my rules and reach out to him. And honestly…it had gone a lot smoother than I’d thought it would. He was willing to just about give me everything, including Elaina, as long as he got to be part of their son, Antonio’s, life. And while that had been a tough pill for Elaina to swallow at first, now I knew it was one of the best decisions she’d ever made. She and Antonio had around-the-clock protection. And Alejandro’s drastic ass had even put tracking devices in both of them, which he replaced every few weeks to make sure they stayed live on his feed. The process to remove the old one and replace it with a new one was quick and painless, and neither of them could feel it was there. Elaina and Alejandro at first coexisted as friends, and Alejandro and I put up with each other for her sake. But then, a few years ago, I noticed Elaina had grown feelings for Alejandro. It wasn’t hard to tell—not to me, anyway. I didn’t think the rest of the club really picked up on it. But every time Alejandro left for a little while, she would withdraw from everyone, even me, like she wasn’t sure if she was even supposed to be feeling the way she was. And finally, I confronted her about it. It took a bit of coaxing, but she finally opened up, spilling everything she felt for Alejandro, even though she thought it was wrong. She cried, breaking my fucking heart because I hated to see her be anything but happy. And that was when I made the decision to allow her to be with him, too. Sure, their past was fucked up. He bought her for three million dollars from her father and knocked her up, but I understood trauma bonds. I mean, fuck, me and Adelaide—the first woman I ever loved—had a fuck ton of trauma between us, and yet we still loved each other. Granted, our loved paled in comparison to the love we felt for our significant others, but we did love each other. And if there was one thing I’d learned about myself over the years, it was that I was not a selfish lover. I wanted my woman to have everything she needed, and I was okay knowing I wasn’t enough. I gave Elaina everything, just as I knew she gave me everything in return. But that didn’t mean she still didn’t hold love for Alejandro. Besides, seeing the way she glowed when both of us were with her? Fuck—it was worth every bit of any second-guessing I might have had once upon a time. And the club never blinked an eye when they figured out she was with Alejandro, too. I was pretty sure that when they sat down to really think about it, them being together was inevitable. That was how it felt to me, anyway. “How is she?” Alejandro whispered as he toed out of his boots, bracing his hand on the wall so he wouldn’t accidentally fall over or trip. I ran my fingers through her blonde hair, looking down at her peaceful, sleeping face. Fuck, this woman of ours was beautiful as hell. “You know how it is when you’re not here with her, too,” I quietly reminded him. It had been hard. She did her best though. Besides, she turned stage five clingy when he wasn’t around, but I didn’t mind. I loved it when Elaina constantly sought me out. He grunted and finished unbuttoning his shirt, dropping it to the floor before he undid his slacks, dropping those too. A moment later, he slid into bed behind her, sandwiching her between us. Her eyelids slowly fluttered open, looking up at me with a deep frown. “Joey?” she whispered, her voice scratchy and husky with sleep. I smiled down at her and ran the tips of my fingers down