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  Entangled

  Aligned Hearts Book 3

  E.C. Land

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Trigger Warning

  Playlist

  Tangled Together

  Prologue

  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

  Epilogue

  Irish Translations

  Aligned Hearts Connections

  Author’s Note

  Also by E.C. Land

  Coming Soon by E.C. Land

  Social Media

  Axe’s Devotion

  Nora’s Outrage

  Protecting Blaze’s Mark

  Tyres’ Wraith

  Keeping Reaper

  Viking

  Spiral into Chaos

  Entangled

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblances to persons, organizations, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.

  Entangled. Copyright © 2021 by E.C. Land. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations used in articles or reviews. For information, contact E.C. Land.

  Published by Knox Publishing

  Cover Design by Charli Childs, Cosmic Letterz Cover Design

  Editing by Jackie Ziegler, Knox Publishing

  Proofreading by Kim Lubbers, Knox Publishing

  Formatting by E.C. Land, Knox Publishing

  Created with Vellum

  To those who are finding their way and need encouragement in finding love.

  Love yourself and find love all the same.

  Acknowledgments

  My Husband – For years he’s worked himself to death to give our family everything we needed or wanted. He encourages me every day to follow my dreams just like he did the day he told me to take the chance. He’s my best friend and I wouldn’t know what to do without him. Or the fact he listens to my non-stop rambling or my need to have a notepad with me in case I need to write something down that pops into my head.

  My Three Kiddos – Every day I watch them grow up into little people who want to take over the world. Well in their own way that is. They are inspirations all by themselves. They love to find out what I’m working on and give me ideas. One of my favorite things is to ask them what I should have someone do or how they should act. Some of their ideas are wicked.

  My Alphas – You guys rock big time! Thank you all for being the first to read the stories as they come alive. It means the world to me. Especially when you all start to get mad. That’s when I know I’m doing something right. And in doing so, pushing me to keep going with all the different plots that form in my head. I’m thankful to you all for being ready and willing to read and give your input.

  My Knox Publishing People – Thank you guys for being such great people to work with.

  Liz – My sister from another mister, my best friend, and Publisher/Boss/Co-Writer extraordinaire. You’re my go-to when I need it. I love working with you on all that we do. No matter how much chaos we go through to get it done.

  Diane – If not for this woman, I’d swear I would lose my head. She sets me straight when I don’t know which way to look. Thank you for everything you do in being the best PA I could ask for. However, you’re also one amazing friend.

  Kim and Jackie – No matter how much insanity is thrown your way you still put up with me and I’m thankful for it all the same. Thank you both for taking on all of my work. I love the fact I work with you both on each of them. Also, the fact when it comes to something I miss, you help me understand how to correct it so it doesn’t happen again.

  Trigger Warning

  This content is intended for mature audiences only. It contains material that may be viewed as offensive to some readers, including graphic language, dangerous and sexual situations, murder, rape, and extreme violence.

  Proceed with caution. This book does entail several scenes that may very well be a trigger to some.

  Also, tissues are a must with other scenes.

  Not for the faint at heart.

  If you don’t like violence and cannot handle certain subjects, then this is not a book you’ll want to read.

  Want to know to listen to what I did while writing?

  You and Me – Yelawolf

  Number to Heaven – Justin Champagne

  Leave Me Alone – Tyler Braden

  I Choose You – Peyton Parrish

  Fallen – Upchurch

  Head Over Heels – Seckond Chaynce

  Hard Days – Brantley Gilbert

  The Man I’ll Be – Peyton Parrish

  When I Look at You – Justin Champagne

  Tangled Together

  Tangled in vines

  Knotted together in time

  There’s a way to the light

  And there’s a way to the dark

  Stuck between the two is one thing

  It can also be another

  Time stands still

  The tangle pulls us closer

  Our lives are two

  But yet they are one

  Two souls come together

  Tangled with each other

  There’s a chance to go forward

  Or go backward

  If given the chance

  Tangled together can be wonderful

  With two souls coming as one

  Life is peaceful for the two

  As light and dark come together as one

  ~E.C. Land

  Prologue

  Kenyon

  Two Months Ago

  Going out with Marc and Beau last night had been just what I needed after the shit we’ve dealt with the last few days. Shit, finding a random woman to fuck is exactly what I needed to relieve the stress of all that’s gone down.

  The other day we’d all found Mitch’s ex-father-in-law, who we’d strung up in one of our cells, dead. We’ve got to figure out how someone got into that cell to kill him. Mitch is pissed about not getting his hands on him for what he did to him. Keeping his son, Mathias, from him. If he were still single, I’m sure he’d have joined us in letting off steam, but he’s got Alison now.

  The woman is one of a kind. Where her sister Bridget is loud and dramatic, she’s quiet and calmer than anyone I know. Shit, women her age are usually out there trying to fuck anything in sight, but not her. No, she’s graduated from university and is volunteering at the school where Mathias attends. Hell, if it weren’t for Alison, Mitch never would have known.

  I would say I want something like that with a woman, but I prefer the no strings, no headache policy. Staying single right now is the way to go, less chance of dealing with women getting clingy and expecting shit out of you. Different pussy every night if I want.

  Looking at the woman, still passed out on the bed next to me, I grin. She’d been the best yet. If I were to go against my policy, I’d definitely plant her in my bed for more than one night. The woman had stamina and took everything I gave her during the four different rounds we went at it before passing out.

  Standing, I lean over and brush my fingers through the thick strands of her dark hair. I’d been drawn to her at the nightclub last night,
seeing her dance like a fuckin’ dark-haired fairy casting a spell on all the men watching the floor.

  She and her friends were hot. When I left with her, Marc and Beau were both flirting with her friends.

  I straighten and turn away from her naked form. Walking to the door, I leave her apartment, not paying attention to the fact it sits over a bookshop or anything else. Making my way to my car, I slide in behind the steering wheel. I start the car and pull out of the space I’d parked in after we’d gotten here from the club.

  Ten minutes later, I pull into my driveway and park next to my truck. I put the car in park, cut the engine, and get out. My brows furrow at the sound of crying coming from a box on my front porch.

  “What the fuck?” I mutter to myself as I get closer and see a baby wrapped in a blanket lying there.

  Oh shit. Picking it up, I snag the note attached to the baby’s blanket and flip it over.

  This is your baby. You raise it. I’m out and don’t worry, I won’t come after him. He’s not worth it. – Naomi.

  Who the fuck is Naomi?

  I don’t remember fuckin’ a chick with that name. Then again, I don’t usually get the woman’s name and if they give it, I forget it. No reason to remember a name if I don’t intend to keep them around.

  Turning back toward my vehicles, I carry the baby to my truck rather than my car, lay the baby on the backseat, and back out of the driveway. I make my way to the clinic Dean’s cousins’ ol’ lady runs. Both Connors and Jordan work there, and I can only hope that one of them will be there when I pull up.

  “Kenyon, I rushed the results of the DNA test for you, and it looks like the baby is yours,” Connors’ says over the phone a few days after finding the baby boy on my porch. We’d been taken straight to the hospital after because evidently, he’d only just been born hours beforehand.

  Who the fuck would dump a kid right after they were born on someone’s porch? It angers me to think of this happening to Ryland. It’s the name I’d picked for him. It didn’t matter to me if he was mine or not because being around him the last few days made me think of my life, and I realize I needed to change it, especially for him.

  Smiling down at Ryland, I look at his sleeping face.

  “You hear that, Ry, you’re definitely mine and I promise you no one will hurt you. Not with me watching over you,” I say, not missing the smile that Connors gives us as she leaves me alone with my son.

  Now I just have to worry about what I’m gonna do when I take him home. I’d called Dean and Mitch about him after I’d gotten to the hospital. They’d tasked Bridget and Alison with going to get provisions for him. I’m sure when I get home, I’ll see the house filled with everything I need for Ryland.

  Chapter 1

  Enya

  Present Day

  The bell over the door jingles and I look up to smile at Zoe, one of my two very best friends.

  “You’re early,” I say, getting the book ready for story time. Owning a bookstore and coffee shop all in one has its perks. One being Zoe working here as the barista. Another being story time for the kids that come into the shop while their moms or dads have a coffee and relax.

  “Yeah, I needed to get myself a coffee after last night. My head is killin’ me,” Zoe groans, heading behind the counter where she works her magic.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t go out so much and get drunk,” I advise, knowing it won’t stop her from going out and partying. While I have fun when she and Lillian force me to go out with them, I’m more for staying in. After escaping my stepfather’s clutches, alongside my twin sister, Ensley, a few years ago, I’m content to stay on the down-low. I don’t want him to find my sister or me even if she’s a horrible witch most of the time and demanding money that she needs to keep herself high.

  I don’t see how the two of us look so much alike, yet we’re far from similar in any way. Sighing, I shake my head and go back to what I was doing while Zoe shrugs her response while downing the coffee she’s made.

  An hour goes by and the parents start strolling in with their children. Alison and Bridget come in together with Bridget’s little boy. He’s a sweetheart and loves to sit in my lap while I read to them all. I’ve become friendly with the two of them. They’re both from Ireland, which I find really cool. My father had been from Ireland, from what my mom told Ensley and me growing up. On her death bed, she finally told us his name, Doran O’Farrell, as well as the story behind her relationship with him.

  Evidently, he had an affair with her but couldn’t be with her due to needing to marry another woman. My mother was wealthy and when she found out she was pregnant with us, she didn’t tell him. She’d kept it a secret until her very last breath. After her death, I thought about looking for him, but then again, growing up with the man I call my stepfather, I never did. I didn’t think I’d want to know if my father were anything like the man who raised me. I shudder at the thought and hope he isn’t. My stepfather hid who he was from my mother and sister, but never me.

  As I lift the book I’m planning to read to the kids, the door opens again as my other best friend comes in holding the little boy she’s the nanny for. She’d been lucky when looking for a job after leaving her last job. Now she lives in the guest house of a single dad and watches his son Monday thru Friday.

  “Hey, what are you doing here?” I ask, smiling at her.

  “Decided to bring this little guy out for a change of scenery,” she murmurs.

  “Awe, you have Ry-Ry,” Alison says, joining us.

  “I didn’t know you were Ryland’s nanny,” Bridget states as her son comes to me and holds his hands out for me to pick him up. I glance to Bridget to make sure she’s okay with me lifting him up. At her nod, I pick the little guy up and show him the books I’d picked out for us to read.

  “Yeah, I love being this little guy’s nanny. He’s a great kid even if his dad is a pain,” Lillian giggles.

  Some would think of questioning whether she’s banged the boss yet or not, but I know my friend. She’d go for me before going there with a guy. According to her, dick doesn’t do a thing for her.

  “I’ve got to get to story time, but how about you guys stay for a coffee after and we can catch up,” I suggest.

  “Sounds good to me,” Bridget says, nodding.

  “I’ll be here. I don’t have to be back at the house with Ryland until nap time. I told his dad we were coming here for story time, so he’s cool.” Lillian shrugs.

  Nodding to them, I carry the little guy in my arms over to the carpet and take my seat amongst the other little ones. This is what I love about my bookstore and having story time. My mom might have been somewhat strict a lot of times, but she always did a story with Ensley and me at night before bed. She’s the one who got me stuck on books and encouraged my love for reading. The words on pages became my escape as well as my passion. It’s why I opened this bookstore. Though, I did do it under an LLC my friend, Miya De Luca, had her brother set up for me.

  Miya and I went to school together, though she’s a few years older than me, we were in the same grade thanks to my skipping two grades. We’d been close and shared secrets with each other about our lives. She knew what my stepfather did to me. I knew what had happened to her as well. I haven’t spoken to her much lately because of her dealing with her own mess going on.

  Reading the story to all the kids, I place a smile on my face to hide my darker thoughts. As I read to the group, I stop several times to ask them what they thought of what occurred through each page. I love doing this to make sure they understand the story and the meaning behind it.

  I finish up, and moms and dads thank me while gathering up their kids to head out. Bridget comes to gather her son so that I can stand.

  Zoe has coffees for all of us by the time I get to the counter.

  “Thank you,” I murmur, needing the caffeine.

  “You’re welcome,” Zoe says in return and looks to the rest of the group. “So, what’s been going on with you
all?”

  “Well, I confirmed with a doctor that I’m pregnant, and now I’m freaking out about telling Mitch,” Alison blurts out.

  “Wait, what? How far along are you?” Bridget asks, shocked at the news. Something in her eyes tells me she knows something.

  “Um, well, I . . . ugh, see that’s the thing, I’m nearly four months along and just had it confirmed,” Alison rambles and licks her lips nervously.

  “How the hell is that possible?” Zoe asks, furrowing her brows.

  “It’s very possible for a woman not to know right away. Shoot, they even have a show about it on TV. You need to tell him before you start showing,” Lillian says gently.

  “I’m going to tell him tonight; I’m just scared of how he might react. He’s been acting different with me lately and I’m nervous that it’s because he’s distancing himself.” Tears slip down Alison’s cheek as she speaks her fear.

  “That’s because he already knows and is freaked about you keeping it from him,” Bridget murmurs.

  “What?” Alison squeaks.

  “Yeah, he told Dean he sensed a difference in you and simply knew you were. Goes to show the man knows his wife better than she knows herself. Now you need to simply tell him. You don’t have anything to be worried about. If anything, it’s him worried because he’s nervous you might do what Mathias’ mom tried doing,” Bridget says with a sad smile on her face.