"Thank you Jesse. You are a good kid, I mean a good man."

"Just promise me one thing Kenny, don't keep secrets from me ever again. We are family, families don't keep secrets."

We both sat there in silence for a few moments. Then Kenny slapped his hand on his thighs and attempted to get up off the couch. "No sense sitting here feeling sorry for myself. There's still a shit load of work to get done today at the bar." The fatigue of his illness kept him from standing and he fell back down on the couch. God damn, I hated seeing him like this.

"Easy Kenny." I sprung to my feet to steady him. "Why don't you stay here and get some rest. I can take care of everything at the bar tonight."

"Naw, naw..." He tried feebly to wave me away intent on rising again but the exhaustion on his face told the true story.

"Damnit Uncle Kenny, you're not going into work tonight. Let me and Chase handle it." He quickly surrendered and succumbed to the soft cushions of the couch.

Where the hell was Chase?

This bar wasn't going to run itself. The set ups still needed to be prepared and I was working on liquor orders. I raised a bottle of top shelf vodka up to the light and eyed the contents through the glass. This was the last bottle and we were almost out. And that wasn't the only one on empty. I slammed the bottle back in the rack. My nerves felt scratchy like steel wool.

Shit! Where the fucking hell was Chase?

The silence in the bar was irritated by my impatient noises, rattles and clinks, made in my hurry to get everything ready before the place opened for the day. I heard the whoosh of the back door. Chase was late.

I called back over my shoulder as I continued wiping the bar top with a white rag, "About time, asshole."

A female voice answered, "That's no way to say hello to your girl."

I dropped my rag and strode over to meet Niki as she popped out of the back hallway that leads from the door. "Hey baby. Good to see you. I thought you were Chase. He was supposed to be here half an hour ago that asshole. What are you doing here at this hour?" I kissed her lightly on the lips. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

She dropped her books and bags on one of the tables and snaked her arms around my neck.

"Don't call Chase an asshole. He's my friend." She stuck out her lower lip in a pout, but it just made we want to suck it into my mouth.

I circled my arms around her waist and said, "I meant it with love. He's my friend too, baby, but it's just that I'm up to my neck in shit here." I tipped my head down touching my forehead to hers. "I'm glad you stopped by to see me though. But I'm afraid I really can't take a break right now."

"No need to take a break, I came to help out. I'm ditching school the rest of today."

"You are a lifesaver baby. What would I do without you?"

I pulled her in, tasting her lips for a longer kiss and breathing in her delicate floral scent. My nerves relaxed as she leaned into the kiss. She felt so damn good in my arms with her body pressed up against mine. She pulled away and let her hands rest on my shoulders, giving a little squeeze and massage.

"Wow, you feel tense Jesse." She squeezed and massaged some more. I pulled away and moved over behind the bar organizing the glassware into groups. Niki slid onto a bar stool opposite me, talking while I worked.

"I'm tense because I have a ton of shit to do and this place stays open long hours, you know it's not like a nine to five kind of job. Then with Kenny being sick and all..." I threw down the knife I had picked up for cutting lemon wedges and pulled my cell phone out of my pocket.

"And I have no idea where Chase is." I checked my messages, still nothing. I slid my phone down the slick surface of the bar, frustration pricking at my nerves.

Niki's eyes followed its path and her eyes widened. She knew I was pissed.

"Wow, you really are on edge. How is the situation with our uncle, by the way? Have you heard anything after you took the test, I mean do you know yet if you are a match to be a bone marrow donor?"

"It's been four fucking days now. You would think they would work overtime to get the results as fast as possible. For Christ's sake a guy's life is at stake here." I ran my hand through my hair and picked up the knife to cut lemons again. "If I'm not a match, Jimmy said he would be tested too."

"That's good. You know, I can't wait to meet him."

"Oh, he's very different than me. He was the good kid, I was the black sheep." I shook my head and managed a little laugh. Niki sat with her elbows propped on the bar, sucking on a red candied maraschino cherry she plucked out of the garnish tray.

Lying down on the bar my phone moved as it vibrated to an incoming call. I looked in the direction of where it had stopped from my push and dropped the knife.

"That better be Chase." I wiped my hand on my jeans and stepped down to answer it.

'Hello?"

"Hi, this is the nurse Rosen from Scripts Hospital. Is this Jesse Morrison?"

"Yes, I'm Jesse Morrison." My heartbeat picked up.

"The results have come in of your bone marrow test and we have good news." She sounded cheery and I realized I had been holding my breath.

"You are a perfect match for your father!" She sounded excited for me.

"Ah, that's great! But you mean my uncle." I corrected her.

"No..." She paused for a few seconds as I heard her shuffling the files. "The results of the DNA test clearly state that Kenny Morrison is your biological father."

My stomach wrenched as the world suddenly fell out from under me. I looked straight into Niki's eyes to anchor me as I responded, "Ms. Rosen...You're fucking kidding me, right?"

The End .

The story continues in Fearless. Click here to download the complete trilogy on sale.

About the Author.

Eve Carter is a USA Today and New York Times Bestseller, and with a modern contemporary erotic twist to her romance novels, you had better fasten your seatbelt, as the ride is always fun, exciting and fiery.

Living in Las Vegas, but a Midwesterner in origin, Eve finds plenty of inspiration for her books in her own exciting life. Eve has always loved the arts and as a young girl, she took dance classes and spent the summers reading books from the local library. Fascinated with the written word and its power to guide the imagination, Eve started writing short stories and later took Creative Writing classes in college. Eve graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.A. in Journalism and an M.A. in Higher Education.

Acknowledgments.

First, I would like to thank all of my readers. Without you, my books would not exist. I truly appreciate each and every one of you.

A big "thanks" goes out to all the Facebook fans, street team, beta readers, and advanced reviewers. You are a HUGE part of the success of all my series.

I have to thank my PA, Shannon Hunt. Without you my life would be a complete and utter mess. Also a big thank you goes out to my editor Lynette and my wonderful cover designer, Sinisa. You make my ideas and writing look so good.

About the Author.

M. S. Parker is a USA Today Bestselling author and the author of the Erotic Romance series, Club Prive and Chasing Perfection.

Living in Las Vegas, she enjoys sitting by the pool with her laptop writing on her next spicy romance.

Growing up all she wanted to be was a dancer, actor or author. So far only the latter has come true but M. S. Parker hasn't retired her dancing shoes just yet. She is still waiting for the call for her to appear on Dancing With The Stars.

When M. S. isn't writing, she can usually be found reading oops, scratch that! She is always writing.

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