Free Running Wild (Hell Ryders MC Book 1) by J.L. Sheppard

yet those fuck-me heels she should take. Any man would appreciate them. On her, they’d hand over their balls.
    “It’s a small town, but we got nice restaurants. Not far to the opera and—”
    “I hate the opera.”
    “You should take the shoes,” Trig said without thought.
    Their attention turned to him. Her jaw dropped. Army’s eyes widened.
    Shit. Maybe he shouldn’t have blurted that. Too late to back down now. “When you start dating, you’ll want them, and your man will appreciate them.”
    Army smirked. “You giving my sister dating advice?”
    Shit. Why the fuck had he given her advice on how to turn on another man?
    She smiled. “Fine, I’ll take some of the shoes, but I don’t want—”
    “Allie, you should take some of the clothes and purses, too,” Army insisted then looked to him.
    “Women get tired of wearing the same shit. You should take the clothes and purses, too.”
    She chuckled. “And you know this because?”
    “Gotta sister and a niece.”
    “Fine. You’ve both exasperated me, but I’m not taking the furniture.” She paused, her eyes narrowed on Army. “Ty, I’m serious. Do not have it shipped.”
    “It’s your stuff.”
    She turned away from both of them, grabbing purses from one of the shelves. “No, it’s stuff Dad insisted I buy. I didn’t even get to pick out my bedroom furniture.” Facing them with purses in hand, she finished, “I don’t want it.”
    He hoped he didn’t run into her father, ever. He did, he’d have to teach the bastard a lesson, and he didn’t think she’d like that.

Chapter Nine
    Her phone rang. Allie dashed out of the bathroom with a towel tightly wrapped around herself and into her brother’s room to pick it up from the bed where she’d dropped it. Looking at the caller ID, she smiled.
    She picked it up and brought it to her ear. “Hello.”
    “Ms. Holden?”
    “Yes, this is she.”
    “This is Regina Carter from Merriweather Group Corp. I’ve called to inform you we’ve decided to hire someone more suitable for the job.”
    “Oh.” She couldn’t help the disappointment in her voice. This was the third company who’d called to inform her they wouldn’t hire her despite her degrees and three years’ experience at a larger company.
    “While your resume is impressive, we’ve decided to go another way.”
    She’d been to four interviews the week prior. The interviews had gone well, too well, and she left feeling confident she’d be hired. Friday, she received two calls from two different companies to say the same. She couldn’t understand why, so she asked, “I mean no disrespect, but may I ask the real reason?”
    A long moment of silence at the other end. Regina, the human resources manager who’d interviewed her, contemplated whether to tell her. “This stays between us.”
    Allie swallowed, a hollow feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. “Yes, of course.”
    “We didn’t receive good recommendations from your previous employer. They cited tardiness, missed work days, and the inability to perform at a high standard.”
    In an instant, all the love she once felt for her father vanished. He’d done this. To her. Her father hired her out of college, but she started at the very bottom. She’d been hired as an accountant’s assistant, although she was a certified public accountant, and she worked her butt off, days, nights, and weekends to make it to the top, to gain his approval, and to gain the approval of her co-workers.
    “I understand you worked for your father’s company, Ms. Holden. It came to my attention, via the news media, you left recently. It wouldn’t be farfetched to presume there is some family issue between the two of you. Because I figured as much, I spoke to several employees. Because of the comments they made, my hands are tied. I cannot hire you regardless of your experience.”
    Her father was a bigger asshole than she’d thought. It was one thing to make false claims about her work