Unchained (Hogan Brothers 3)

Prologue

We walk by faith, not by sight.

The first meeting.

On the cusp of becoming a woman in the eyes of their Lord, Sage Marlowe had questions no one seemed inclined to answer. Her mother, Alma, had finally granted her wish to accompany her on a trip into Loveland, Colorado to replenish supplies and have work done on the engine of her station wagon. It had been making funny noises for weeks. It also happened to be the first time Sage had left their compound. She was homeschooled like so many other children in the congregation and had never been allowed to venture out.

There were nearly three hundred members that lived in their small village. All of whom followed the Lord’s will and the word of the bishop, her father, Gideon. Lately, he’d been preaching about temptation and sin; how they must always fight from giving in.

Hell’s disciples would come for them in their sleep if they failed.

What he didn’t know was that her oldest brother, Porter, had been sneaking around with another parishioner. A married woman in an unholy union.

Sage caught them naked in the pond one night when she was sent to repent after disobeying her mother and not helping in the gardens. Instead, she chose to tell stories to some of the younger children about fairies and princesses.

During that incident, her father had grown so volatile that she feared him for the first time in her life. She began to question everything after that. What purpose did she

serve on earth if she couldn’t have the freedom to tell a simple story? How was she to follow his rule?

Nearly a week had gone by before the bruising faded and Sage was introduced to a newly widowed member whose wife had passed from an unexplained illness. Morgan was a nice enough man, but he was older than her barely seventeen years, closing in on forty now.

She had a feeling her father intended for her to marry this person no matter that Sage wasn’t ready for it. She wanted to explore the world, fall in love, find out who she really was.

As her mother parked in the lot of what she’d described to Sage as a mechanic’s shop, she noticed a man. He immediately caught her eye because of the way he was wiping his face with the edge of his shirt. The skin of his stomach and chest was accentuated with muscles of the likes she’d never seen on a man before.

When he lowered the material again, his gaze pierced her own, snaring her in a trap only Medusa could extract herself from. He looked shocked as she watched him cover himself up. When she stepped out of the car after her mother, he left, and she found herself disappointed she wouldn’t be able to speak to him.

Lochlan Hogan heard the sputtering engine stall as he wiped the sweat from his face after being under the body of a ‘78 Fairlane installing a new exhaust. When he dropped his shirt, a girl with snow white hair and crystal clear blue eyes was watching him.

At first, he’d been shocked. Then he watched as she got out of the car with the woman who had been driving, and he had a feeling she was young. It could have been the baggy clothes hiding her figure he supposed, but the fresh doe-eyed look she’d given him spoke volumes for her age.

He stayed quiet in the background as his oldest brother, Lennox, helped her and the woman. Watching as Nox checked the spark plugs for looseness and proceeded to move through any small issues the vehicle may have had. When Loch saw him pull out the filter and the amount of dust corroding it, he immediately knew what the problem was and that Nox would have no trouble fixing it, so Loch went on with his day.

She remained at the forefront of his mind, though. With everything he did, he worried about the two women getting home safely. He wondered about the look in the girl’s eyes—equal parts curiosity and wonder. The way her gaze never stopped roaming from one object to the next as if she were seeing it all for the first time.

When that same icy stare kept shooting shy glances his way, he backed away further. Until he was out of sight and able to observe her without fear of being caught. The mother looked downright cranky anytime the girl tried to explore the garage.

It was going fine until Asher caught him. “She’s cute.”

Startled, Loch crashed into a pile of empty jugs of oil. “Crap. Can’t you warn someone when you’re around?” Asher was a good guy, just extremely stealthy.

“Sorry, kid.” Ash’s smile wasn’t hiding his laughter. “You crushing?” His nod was to the girl.

“What? No. She’s too young.” Walking away before the other man could further comment or someone else could catch him, Loch was sad to see the girl leave, knowing he likely wouldn’t see her again.

Six months later.

They were back. Again.

Loch didn’t know whether to be frustrated or happy. The girl—he still didn’t know her name, only that she was too young for him—kept sabotaging her mother’s car. For months, they’d been coming in with one problem or another, and he feared that one day her antics would go too far.

This girl, she awakened something in him. His heart stood up and took notice when she was around. His mind screamed she couldn’t be real. Not because she was too perfect with her pale white skin, clear blue eyes, or white-blonde hair. It was that she was so natural, fresh, innocent.

Off-limits.

He spoke to her mother all the time when they came in. He sensed she wasn’t comfortable around the other guys. Maybe his lack of cursing every other word set her at ease. Maybe it was that he knew he couldn’t look at her daughter no matter how much his body begged him to.