The Badge and the Bad Boy (Redemption Ranch, #1)

by Lena Hendrix

Despite my suspicions, I never would have guessed that the man at Redemption Ranch was the same man who had taken a bullet to the back—who had stepped in front of a gun—for me

“Many people who’ve walked through these gates have found themselves. I have a feeling you’ll be one of them. But remember this—when someone is accepted to be here, their past is left behind them. Can you do that?”

A time or two Val laughed at the conversation around her, and the tinkling sound brought a lightness to my chest that I hadn’t felt in a long fucking time. Maybe ever. It was the prettiest sound I could imagine.

Who are you, Evan Walker, and why can’t I leave well enough alone?

Take me. Push me up on this pool table right here and take me.

I’d take that bullet again in a heartbeat, though now it might be for slightly different reasons. Val had a way of crawling under my skin, and whenever she was in the room, it felt like my chest was cracking open.

“There’s darkness in me, Val.” “Maybe some. But I can see the light.”

“A man like me always wants what he can’t have. But you, baby girl, are the most dangerous thing on this ranch.”

There were so many ways this could go wrong. So many ways I could fuck everything up for the people I cared about. But my efforts to keep Val at a friendly distance were slowly turning into the slowest form of torture.

“You don’t have to wear anything special for me. I don’t plan on keeping you in it for long.”

“I don’t fucking care if I’m too much, because I can tell you this: I will never get enough of you.”

How had I not shown her what she was doing to me? How she shredded my insides and I’d happily come back for more.

Evan Walker was funny, but sensitive under all that dirt and denim. I could love him.

In another life, I could love Evan Walker. He was a broken boy, grown into a man who’d pieced himself back together. He deserved someone to hold the leftover pieces that didn’t quite fit.

Val was everything I never deserved and more than I could have ever hoped for. I knew, if I could never say the words, I could show her.

“I know you should leave, but if you go now, you’d be taking my heart with you.”

I ignored the warning bells. The only thing that mattered was that Val was there, in my arms. I knew when she left, she’d be thousands of miles away, but I’d still be tethered to her.

Everything inside me screamed mine as I watched her sleep in my bed.

“Baby girl, if I die with your pussy on my face, it would be an honor.”

I worry that one day people will stop mentioning you. I promise to say your name every day. Love, Evan

You deserve so much more than a man who lived to break the rules. I know this. I’m working on it. I’ve convinced myself that if I can be the best version of myself, the semblance of a man worthy of your love, you’ll find your way back to me. Option two is to make you arrest me, but that’s probably not a great idea. Let’s go with option one. Love, Evan

“You are the most exquisite woman I have ever known. Thank you for showing me I was worthy of your love.”