Hidden Betrayal (O'Connor Girls Book 1) Read online

  Book 1

  O’Connor Girls

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my granddaughter Emma. She makes me smile every day with her energy and giggles.

  Acknowledgements

  With so many people in my life to thank for making publishing this book possible, I could almost write another book on that alone. However, a simple thank you never seems like enough to convey my gratitude but I will try to do that the best I can with this acknowledgement.

  First thank you belongs to the many authors who have become both friends and mentors to me. Then there are the amazing ladies who help with editing and errors. A very special thank you goes to Michelle Eriksen, Abbie Zanders, and Amabel Daniels for their constant support and keen eye. To my dedicated betas and dear friends, Jackie Dawe Ford, Nancy Arnold-Holloway, and Karie Deegan thank you so much for the support and constant encouragement. To my readers, you are the reason that I can continue to do this.

  A very special thank you to my husband, Danny who gives me the inspiration for the romantic heroes I write and encourages me every day. To my two children Laura and Colin, both of you show me everyday how proud you are and how much you love me. To my beautiful granddaughter, Emma. You may not be old enough to read yet, but your smile gives me inspiration to keep going. I love all of you.

  This book is fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be taken as real. Any resemblance to people living or dead, events, location or companies are purely coincidental.

  This is the original work of Rhonda Brewer.

  All rights reserved. No part of this work can be reproduced in any way without written permission from the author.

  HIDDEN BETRAYAL@2018 Rhonda Brewer

  All Rights Reserved

  Cover Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  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

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Coming Soon

  Also Available

  Chapter 1

  Dean ‘Bull’ Nash must have been a terrible person in a previous life because it was the only explanation. There was no other reason to torture a man with such a formidable weapon.

  Kristy O’Connor was too young or at least it was his excuse to avoid her. The truth was, he was ready to cave but family shit brought that to a grinding halt. It was the number one reason he needed to stay away from the auburn-haired angel who drove him to the brink of insanity.

  To further complicate things, the blue-eyed beauty was his best friend and business partner’s cousin. Keith O’Connor and his six brothers were protective of all four female cousins. Kristy didn’t seem concerned about any of them, and she’d made it very clear she wanted Dean.

  He almost throat punched his friend when Keith paired him with Kristy for the wedding. Since Keith’s new wife, Emily wanted the bridal party to dance together for some silly song about friendship. Dean was forced to be closer to Kristy then he’d ever allowed himself to get since the first day he met her. She smelled like apples and even eating the damn fruit made him hard because it reminded him of her.

  “I know you’re not gay.” She gazed up at him with a flirty smile and nodded to the photographer behind them.

  “Never said I was.” Dean forced a happy face for the picture.

  “I also have it on good authority you aren’t involved with anyone.” Kristy pressed her body closer to his.

  “And who’s authority would that be?” Dean didn’t need to ask because he knew the source.

  Sandy Churchill O’Connor was married to Ian, another of the O’Connor brothers, and she was one of the best computer analysts in the country. Newfoundland Security Services was damn lucky to have her, but she pissed Dean off when she gave Kristy information about him. Sandy seemed to think it was her duty to get him and Kristy together.

  “That’s not important. I just wonder why you won’t go out with me.” Damn the woman was direct and it was one of the things he respected about her.

  Kristy didn’t play childish games, but it was uncomfortable when she made her thoughts known no matter who was in ear shot.

  “Maybe I’m not interested.” He glanced down.

  Huge mistake. Kristy's beautiful blue gaze met his, and it became hard to breathe. His heart pounded, and his cock had a mind of its own.

  Every fucking time.

  “I can feel your interest. That’s not a gun in your pants, Dean” She swayed her hips against him and smirked when a curse escaped under his breath.

  “Don’t. Do. That.” He growled through clenched teeth.

  “Give me a good reason why and not the bullshit about the age difference. That’s crap because six years is nothing.” She grazed her nails across the back of his neck. His eyes closed involuntarily, as he struggled to control the shiver her touch caused.

  “Kitten, you might think I’m interested, but I’m not. You’re beautiful, and you’ve got an incredible body. I’m a red-blooded man. When you press yourself against me, it’s gonna affect any man. That doesn’t mean I’m looking for anything more than sex.” Dean wanted to kick himself in the balls when pain flared in her eyes.

  “What makes you think I want more than a good fuck?” Kristy stepped back as the song ended. “But I guess you’re too old and probably wouldn’t be able to keep up. Maybe I need to check out some of the younger hotties around here.” Kristy spun around, took two steps away from him and turned back.

  Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, and it was the same as a knife to his chest. No matter how much he wanted to take everything back, He couldn’t give in. Not now. It was the way it had to be.

  “Thanks for the dance, Bull.” For her to call him by his nickname drove the knife deeper. She’d told him once Dean suited him much better. “I guess I’ll see you around.” Then she was gone.

  Dean stomped toward the bar because he needed to drink away the emptiness in his heart. With the pain in Kristy’s eyes, he knew he’d finally pushed her away. He almost made it to the bartender when a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

  “You look like you need this.” Ian held out a shot glass filled with a dark liquid.

  “Thanks,” Dean took the glass and gulped it down his throat without a second thought.

  “You okay, Bull?” Ian glanced toward the dance floor.

  “Tired, it’s been a long week.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the truth either.

  “No shit, but I’ve never seen Keith smile like that.” Ian nodded toward the middle of the room where Keith and Emily waltzed around the dance floor as if they were the only two people there.

  “It’s good to see him happy.” Dean and Keith had been friends more than ten years. He met the rest of the family when he and Keith moved their security firm back to their home province of Newfoundland.

  “Something on your mind, big guy?” Ian had become a good friend
as well. All the O’Connor men were like brothers to Dean, but he still wasn’t ready to discuss his secrets with Ian. Keith was already concerned, and Dean didn't want the entire O'Connor clan pulled into his drama.

  “Lots but nothing I care to talk about.” Dean didn’t mean to sound rude, but from Ian's grin, the doctor was about to be dragged away by his hot little wife.

  “Hey, Chrome Dome, can I steal this sex on a stick for a dance.” Sandy sidled up next to Ian and pinched her husband’s ass. He didn’t mind that Sandy continued to call him by that ridiculous nickname. He was bald after all.

  “Good luck with that, Ian.” Dean chuckled as the couple walked away.

  “You think Sandy’s ever gonna drop that shit.” James O’Connor chuckled from behind him.

  “Which shit are you talking about?” Dean laughed.

  “Chrome Dome.” James chuckled.

  “Probably not. Has that woman ever changed her mind?” Dean leaned against the bar.

  “That would be a hell no.” James held up two fingers, and the cute little bartender set two bottles of beer in front of them. James handed one to Dean.

  “You guys are dropping like flies.” Dean glanced around the room. The number of O’Connor brothers who were now married was more than half.

  “I think it might be contagious.” Marina smiled as she tucked herself under James’ arm.

  “Jesus, is there a shot I can get.” Dean laughed.

  “You’re not funny, Dean Nash.” Marina poked him in the chest. “Why are you here and not dancing with… ummm…. Someone?”

  “I’m not a big dancer.” He lied because the truth was he loved to dance.

  “Liar,” Stephanie surprised him from behind. The cute blonde was married to James’ twin brother John.

  “Hey, I am not.” Dean would have poked her back, but she was pregnant, and with his luck, he’d poke the baby instead.

  “I seem to remember you not leaving the dance floor at Ian and Sandy’s wedding last year.” Stephanie narrowed her eyes.

  “I must’ve been drunk.” Dean chuckled.

  “You were not, but this conversation isn’t over. I need to talk to Mike for a minute.” Stephanie pointed her finger at his face and waddled away.

  “You know you shouldn’t piss off a pregnant woman, right?” John nudged him as he joined the small circle of O’Connors that now surrounded him.

  “Don’t you mean, you shouldn’t piss off any woman?” Nick O’Connor ducked when Marina tried to slap the back of his head. He was the second youngest of the brothers and one of the wild ones.

  “And Nick just demonstrated how to piss off any woman.” Aaron ‘A.J.’ O’Connor, the youngest of the seven brothers, wrapped his arm around Marina but soon moved when James gave him that ‘get your hands off my woman’ glare.

  It was incredible how well the family got along. Sure, they bickered, joked and teased each other, but the truth was they’d die to protect those they loved.

  Then there were their parents, aunts, uncles and their fantastic grandmother. They treated Dean as if he was one of the family. Cora was a little odd and tried her best to convince him he belonged with Kristy. She was supposed to have some freaky gift that told her when couples belonged together. The family called her Cora the Cupid.

  Dean didn’t believe it or pretended he didn’t. He couldn’t bring Kristy into his life. Not when she didn’t even know his true identity. The deceit could turn her against him, and that was his fear. He couldn’t keep it hidden forever, and it was a miracle Sandy hadn’t let it slip to anyone. That was probably Keith’s influence because when Dean first told them who his family was, and why he had to keep it quiet, they both agreed.

  Dean couldn’t reveal anything to the rest of his friends now especially with the printed stories about his father and his questionable business associates.

  It may cost him a lifetime of happiness with Kristy, but he had to protect his family. He couldn’t leave it all up to what was left of his family and bringing Kristy into a media frenzy was the last thing the O’Connor family needed.

  He’d spent so much of the last ten years out of the public eye, and technically nobody even knew what happened to Augustus Dean Decker.

  Such a fucked up life.

  Chapter 2

  Kristy O’Connor sat on the front porch of her sister’s little house and gazed across the street at Hopedale Beach. She loved to spend time at Isabelle’s place; she particularly liked to watch the waves crash onto the rocks. The sound and the smell of the beach soothed her.

  Isabelle’s house was one of five buildings on Beach Street. Her cousin John, his wife, and two children lived next door to Isabelle. The sailing club and her uncle Sean O’Connor’s medical clinic were on the opposite end of the road. The other house centered between the medical office and her sister’s place was for sale, but it needed a lot of work. Isabelle now referred to the little house as ‘the shack.’

  As far as Kristy was concerned the house would be beautiful if someone would take the time to see the beauty of it. The view itself was worth the headache to fix it, but that wasn’t what she had on her mind at that moment.

  She glanced down at the envelope she’d placed on her lap over an hour before. She’d read it over and over for more than a year. So much so she knew it by heart. The card from Dean congratulated her on her graduation from nursing school more than a year ago.

  Dean didn’t bother to give it to her himself. Probably because he was busy with what she believed was a woman because he ran off every chance he got. At Keith’s wedding, she made sure Dean was aware he didn’t have to leave Hopedale to find a woman that wanted him, but he lied and said he wasn’t interested.

  Kristy wasn’t egotistical, but she was aware when a man wanted her, and Dean Nash did. She didn’t know why he fought their undeniable chemistry. What bothered her the most was what he said at Keith’s wedding. It was the first time in her life that she knew how it felt to have a shattered heart.

  She avoided him ever since and went as far as to take a date to Mike’s wedding the previous week. Not that the ass even saw her with Todd because after the ceremony Dean disappeared. What a difference a year made.

  “Why don’t you move here and live on my front porch?” Isabelle shouted from the sidewalk.

  Her sister owned one of the two restaurants in Hopedale and finally hired someone to help in the evenings, so she didn’t have to work from open to close. Isabelle didn’t give up her control easy because it took six months of interviews before she finally hired a guy and it sounded as if things worked out.

  “Maybe I’ll move into the shack.” Kristy hitched her thumb over her shoulder towards the house next door.

  “I’m sure Keith could keep it from falling down around your head.” Isabelle laughed.

  Her cousin Keith owned a construction company and often got hired to complete renovations on the older homes in Hopedale. He also ran a very successful security firm he co-owned with none other than Dean.

  “How’s business?” Kristy asked her sister when Isabelle stepped up on the porch.

  “A little slow today but it’s steady.” She flopped down on the bench next to Kristy and snatched the envelope from her lap.

  “Stop torturing yourself with this. It’s Bull's loss. Move on and find someone who knows how great you are. How about that hottie you took to Mike’s wedding?” Isabelle shook the envelope in her face.

  Todd was a nice guy, and her sister wasn't wrong about him being hot, but there was no zing with him. Not like she got with one look from Dean. Doctor or not, Todd wasn’t what she wanted. It was hard to explain especially to her big sister.

  “I’m moving on as a matter of fact….” Kristy held up her phone.

  “What’s that?” Isabelle stared at the email. “Aunt Cora told me about a temporary position in a long-term care home just outside St. John’s.” Kristy shoved her sister with her shoulder.

  “You’re going to work in an old age ho
me and move to Tors Cove?” Isabelle’s eyes grew so big Kristy thought they might pop out of her head.

  “It’s only for a month, and it’s not all seniors. Some are terminally ill and can’t be cared for at home anymore.” It wasn’t Kristy’s ideal position, but it gave her more experience. Plus, the money was decent, and she wouldn’t run into Dean as often.

  She’d been a nurse for over a year, and the call-in list for the hospitals only gave her a shift or two every couple of weeks. It was difficult to get a full-time nursing position unless you wanted to leave Newfoundland and she wasn’t that desperate to get away from Dean. Yet.

  If she stayed in Hopedale, she couldn’t avoid him. He lived in one of the bunkhouses on Keith’s property and thanks to her grandmother he always attended family functions. A month wasn’t a long time, but the distance from Dean could help her get over him. Maybe.

  “When do you leave?” Isabelle asked.

  “In two weeks.” Kristy smiled. “But you should know I’ll be here until I leave and I'm storing the furniture from my apartment in your shed.”

  Technically she would have had to stay with Isabelle for a short time even if she hadn’t gotten this job. Her landlord had decided to sell his house but before she had a chance to find another place, Cora called her. She was ready to move out of the city anyway.

  “Well, isn’t that nice of me to offer that to you.” Isabelle chuckled.

  “I know. You’re one of the two best sisters in the world.” Kristy wrapped an arm around Isabelle and hugged her.

  “Let me guess; Jess is the other?” Isabelle rested her cheek against Kristy’s head.

  “You’re still my favorite.” Kristy smiled. “But don’t tell Jess.”

  Jess recently enrolled in the police academy. To the family’s surprise, it was something she’d wanted to do, but she hesitated because she was afraid to disappoint her father if she didn’t do well. Kurt O’Connor was an incredible dad, but as a highly decorated police officer and the current Chief of Police, she had some pretty big shoes to fill.