Hammered: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Hard n' Dirty Book 5) Read online

  Hammered

  Part of the Hard n’ Dirty Series

  By

  Alexis Alvarez

  ©2018 Alexis Alvarez

  This book is a work of fiction.

  Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.

  Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Editor: Maggie Ryan

  Cover: Jay Aheer at www.simplydefinedart.com

  Copyright 2018 by Alexis Alvarez. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute or transmit in any form or by any means.

  Sexy Alert! This book is a part of the Hard n’ Dirty series. The books in the series are all stand-alone novels and can be read in any order. They all feature sexy blue-collar men who don’t mind getting a little dirty in the name of love.

  There are eight books, all by best-selling romance authors: Alexis Alvarez, Aubrey Cara, Renee Rose, Lee Savino, Jane Henry, Alta Hensley, Ava Sinclair and Tara Crescent. Find them all here: https://www.aubreycara.com/hard-n-dirty

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Links for Alexis Alvarez

  ABC

  Chapter One

  Talia

  “No problem getting through that fence.” I turn to my friend and partner in crime, Lem, and give her a bright smile. “Now we need to find the elusive Danton Carter.”

  Across the construction site, a few men in hard hats turn to stare. When they don’t look away immediately, my heart rate accelerates.

  Lem rolls her eyes and touches her skirt. “Not loving the dust, Talia.”

  “I don’t want to get kicked out before we talk to their boss.” I scan the area. “Do you see him anywhere?” I push my hair out of my face. “It’s so humid.”

  My eyes catch on a man by a stack of 2x4s. He’s tall and built, and has the beginnings of a scruffy beard on his chiseled face. Super hot. He meets my eyes and I look away quickly.

  “Too bad we’re not looking for that guy.” Lem nods her head in his direction. “Right?”

  “If it doesn’t have a beer gut, several rows of jowls, and a cowboy hat with a feather, it isn’t Danton Carter. Once you see his pic on the website, you can’t unsee it.”

  “Hot guy is staring.” Lem steps closer to me.

  “Act like we belong. Walk that way.” I point to a silver trailer. “Maybe Carter’s in there, eating pork rinds.”

  Lem snorts.

  “Actually, he’s not eating pork rinds. He’s devouring the small, delicate bodies of the Moorish Crane. The very ones we’re trying to save. The ones he’s killing with this expansion into the woods.” My voice rises.

  The handsome man puts down his hammer, unwraps a flannel shirt from his waist, and wipes his face with it.

  Jesus, this guy is ripped! In his mid-thirties, I’d guess, his tanned skin is muscled like a fitness model, with a six-pack, strong biceps and triceps, narrow hips, and broad shoulders. His blue jeans ride low on his hips, and those boots… I do have a thing for guys in boots and worn jeans.

  He tosses his shirt onto the pile of wood and strides toward me and my bestie, adjusting his hard hat.

  “Talia. Incoming.”

  “I can see that,” I hiss back, adjusting my skirt, wishing my heels weren’t so high. If I had sneakers on, I’d already be banging on that trailer.

  “Ladies.” His voice is low and rich, but not welcoming. “This is a construction site. Private property. I need you to leave.”

  I stick out my hand. “Hi. I’m Talia Carlsson and this is my colleague, Lem Hayes. We’re both volunteers from the—”

  He doesn’t take my hand. “I don’t care where you’re from; you need to exit the premises. You’re not authorized, and you don’t have hard hats and boots. Let’s go.”

  He gestures to the fence and gate. “I assumed the Employees Only sign might keep random people out. And the lock.” He narrows his eyes.

  I cough. “It was left open.”

  The man smiles, but it seems sort of predatory. “I suppose if I watched the security footage, I’d see exactly how you got in.”

  “Maybe there’s no need to do that.” Lem pulls at my sleeve. “We can leave right now.”

  “Not until we speak to Danton Carter.” I cross my arms.

  The man stills. “What do you want with Danton Carter?”

  “We’re from Earth First Environmentals.” I reach into my case and pull out a card. “My contact info.”

  He takes the card and slides it into his front pocket without reading it, an easy move that makes my stomach flip, as I look at his lean hips. “Let me guess.” His voice is flat. “You’re with the group that keeps pestering us.”

  “If you give us a chance to talk to him, I would appreciate it.” I make eye contact to show my sincerity. His eyes are a gorgeous cerulean blue. Holy mother of everything, who has eyes like that? And those lashes?

  “Ladies, we need to walk.” His hand hovers just above my shoulder. “If you are injured on this site, it’s my ass.”

  I try not to think about how much I’d like his ass, and how nice it looks in those jeans. I feel the warmth from his hand, and even though he doesn’t touch me, a little shiver of arousal sparks in my core.

  “We’re not going near the work zone. We just wanted to find Danton.” I look back. “Or someone who knows where he is. Can you tell me where to find him?”

  “The dangers are not limited to being hit in the head with an I-beam. You could trip over your own feet, fall and break your neck, and then sue.” He blows out a breath.

  “Does that happen super often?” Lem’s voice is innocent.

  “When people wear shoes like that, you better damn well believe it,” he says, a note of disgust in his tone, pointing at my heels.

  “Ooh, no, these shoes are very comfortable,” I disagree, glancing down. “I walk quite well in them.”

  Then I trip over an air molecule and fall right into the man.

  Strong chest. Abs of steel. Arms that encircle me with strength. And his scent – not sweaty, like you’d assume, but sort of clean. Like soap, faint aftershave. Then a hint of deodorant and musk.

  It’s over fast, then I’m back on my feet, breathing a little hard.

  “Exactly,” he says, condescension dripping from his voice, “what I was talking about.” He rolls his eyes at me and Lem, but mostly at me. “Are you alright?” It’s like those last words were pulled from him.

  “Yes.” I take a breath. “I only did that”—I sniff—“to make you feel good about yourself, like you get things right sometimes. It was intentional.” I stick up my chin and cross my arms. “You’re welcome.” I uncross my arms and adjust my hair, and his eyes follow
the movement.

  He scowls at me, hands on his hips, and slowly a smile works its way to his lips. “Is that so.”

  “It’s exactly so.” My mouth twitches. “Because now that you’re softened up, you’re going to take us to see Danton Carter. Who’s one elusive… guy.” Sonofabitch, is what I wanted to say, but probably it’s not the best idea to insult a man’s boss in front of him.

  “If he’s elusive to you, Ms.”—he pulls the card from his pocket and glances at it—“Carlsson, it’s for a reason. Have you considered that?”

  “What’s your name again?”

  He quirks a brow. “Again? Don’t recall I told it to you, yet.”

  “You didn’t. That was my way of asking.”

  “Kind of a roundabout way, don’t you think?”

  “So what is it?”

  He smiles at me. “You can call me Dane. Dane… Troy.”

  “And this”—he gestures at the fence through which we recently came—“is called the exit. And this”—he raises his hand in a little Miss America wave—“is goodbye.”

  “But wait.”

  “Nice chatting, ladies.” He fixes us with a steely stare, and I gulp, stepping back through the opening with Lem. He clicks the lock shut and crosses his arms over that impressive chest. “You two have a fantastic day.”

  When we don’t make a move to walk away, he raises one brow. “I’d sure hate to have to call security, which I will do in half a heartbeat if I see either of you two around here again in those.” He waves a hand at my heels, then turns to go.

  “So I can come back if I wear my combat boots?” I call, and he snorts, turns back as if he can’t resist one more look.

  “Please,” I implore. “It’s important. We have a miniscule window of opportunity here, and we only need a few minutes of his time. I’ve tried all the more traditional means—”

  “You mean legitimate—”

  “He’s not responding to emails, phone calls, texts, tweets.”

  “If he’s not responding, it means the answer to whatever you want is probably already a no. Thank him for saving you some time,” he says drily. “Bye.”

  Lem and I stand shoulder to shoulder, watching as he strides back to his pile of boards. He picks up the shirt and puts it on without glancing in our direction, then heads over to the group of men nearby.

  “Is he a foreman?” Lem rummages in her purse and grabs her keys.

  “He’s a dick.” I scowl.

  “I’m sorry.” Lem turns to me. “That did not go well.”

  “Understatement. Did we look stupid?”

  “Well, women and feminists everywhere are crying, so I’d have to go with a resounding yes.” Lem shakes her head.

  I groan in frustration as we get into her Prius. “I just thought if we could see him, face to face. Once. But we can’t even get past his guard dog.”

  “It’s not over,” she consoles me. “They’re not scheduled to break into the breeding grounds for a few weeks, right? So you have time to track him down. Make your case.”

  “Yeah.” I stare at the plastic banner that sways in the desultory breeze. Danton Carter Construction Corp. It’s held up on either side by two rough pieces of wood, one of which has pink spray paint. I see more pink marks along the ground, a dashed line, probably tracing the path of a future gas line or electric wire. “They’ve already built this much. Why would they change it now just because we asked?”

  Lem nods. “And since everything they’re doing is legal, they don’t need to.”

  “Maybe Mark is right. I’m wasting my time on this crane project.”

  “Well, the thing about your time is that only you get to decide. Although…” she trails off and glances at me.

  “What?”

  “I mean, there are other breeding grounds for the cranes. And we do have other issues to handle. I hate to say bigger ones, but…” she pauses again. “I mean, you know I agree that Mark’s a douche ninety percent of the time. But he may be right, just this once.”

  “Please. Ninety-five, Lem. Get it right.”

  We both laugh, and she slows down to drive over a series of muddy bumps and a well of murky water in between.

  “This is really far out. Weird place for corporate offices, don’t you think?” Lem looks out at the wild tangle of bushes that leads into the woods.

  “That’s the thing. The zoning paperwork is so vague it could be anything.” I pull up the stack of printouts from my laptop case near my feet. “We’re assuming corporate offices. But maybe it’s a personal retreat for the big man himself. Funded with company money.”

  “The legal team tried to untangle it and said it’s legit, though. Right?”

  “Yup. And Mark said he needs them to work the sea lion issue in Carlsbad.” I sigh. “Wish I’d gone to law school sometimes.”

  “Buy a box of Cracker Jack.” Lem snorts. “I hear they have some degrees in there.”

  I smile, but then frown as we pass a meadow. “I bet he plans to develop all of this into urban blight. I can’t believe they sold him the land. Assholes, all of them. Our current city council sucks.”

  “Don’t disagree there.”

  When we make it to the main road, gravel pings the underside of the car as Lem pulls out. “Where to now?”

  “Back to the volunteer office.” I scowl. “We have to figure out our next steps.”

  Chapter Two

  Dane

  “You getting lucky with a threesome tonight?” My lead construction guy, Hector, swigs from a gallon bottle of water. He’s been distant lately, and I’m glad he’s joking with me today.

  I laugh. “Yeah.”

  “Not those two, of course. I’m talking about the viejas who work in the front office.”

  “Your mom and your sister, cabrón.”

  He snorts. We watch the two women pull away in some fucking little white Prius.

  “Seriously, man, who were they?” He puts down the jug and wipes his mouth. His hand jerks and twitches and he turns away from me, as if he doesn’t want me to see.

  I shrug. “No one important.”

  “The one with the long brown hair, she had fucking nice legs.” He’s still facing away from me, massaging one hand with the other.

  “You don’t say.” I raise my eyebrows.

  “Why you gotta keep secrets, jefe?” He faces me again and rolls his eyes.

  “They were just asking questions. Tourists.” I shrug.

  “Okay, sure, sure.” He laughs but makes a strange expression.

  I hesitate. “Everything’s good with you, right?”

  “Fuck, yeah.” He says emphatically. “Better than okay. You going to fill in again?” He nods at the beams. “We’re one man short this morning.”

  “For an hour at least. That good?”

  “Yeah.” His expression of satisfaction lets me know that working alongside the crew is the right call for now as they get to know and trust me.

  Hector’s an excellent manager. The men listen to him, and he has an uncanny ability to match talent to task. Since I promoted him, we’re at least ten percent more efficient. Meaning we get tasks done ten point four percent faster on average than when my uncle was running the show.

  My gut twists, thinking of the mess Danton left me. This is not the time to have do-gooder environmentalist hippie dippie chicks prancing around. Those kinds of people piss me off, even if they’re not encroaching on my site. And there’s definitely no time for romance in my world these days—I can barely make time to sleep, let alone try to date.

  I’m not into threesomes. But if I had time… They were both pretty, but I’d choose the one Hector mentioned, the one I tangled with—and keep her all to myself. Talia.

  I smirk, thinking of how she tripped, and sassed me, all super rude, when she didn’t get her way. Her gorgeous brown eyes and the way they widened when she looked at me. Her lush lips. Curvy shape.

  Fuck, if we hooked up, and if by some stray chance of the gods sh
e was into what I like, I’d bend her over the hood of that little crappy white car and spank her ass good and hard for teasing me until she begged me to—

  “Dane?”

  “Yeah.” I swallow and focus on my cousin, who’s picking his way across the site in a three-piece suit and tie. Because he knows I’m anal about it, he’s also wearing his hard hat and boots. “What’s up?”

  “I need to review the financials with you.” Art sniffles and touches his nose. “Oh God, the pollen. I’m literally going to die.”

  I refrain from saying, “Go ahead.”

  “This minute?” I raise my brows and glance back, but Hector has the crew already going. “I asked for email, not hand-delivery.”

  “I’d appreciate it.” He crosses his arms and gives me the pouty look I remember from when we were kids. Used to be he’d follow it up by tattling. “I do have a busy schedule.”

  “God forbid you’re late to a meeting,” I agree, narrowing my eyes.

  He frowns. “Let’s go to your trailer,” he says, wrinkling his mouth. “I could use the AC.” He lifts the hard hat and smooths his hair, which has about an entire container of gel mixed in.

  “You bet.” I raise a hand and make eye contact with Hector, and he nods. “Talk as we walk. Give me the overview.”

  Art sneezes. “So we’re behind schedule on the Chicago and Baltimore projects since we had to do your renovations. My father didn’t think it necessary at the time, and I still don’t—” His voice is stiff.

  “I explained that to the board.” I keep my voice even. “The buildings were started with lower grade wiring. We needed to upgrade.”

  Art sniffles again. “It was to code when the project was initiated, and we were grandfathered in. Okay? So you going in there and overriding it didn’t make the board very happy. I’ll just say that. Very expensive.”

  “The board,” I snap, opening the door to the trailer and gesturing to him to enter first, “can kiss my ass. They’d be crying another story if we were buried in multiple lawsuits or news stories, I promise you that. We need to have impeccable safety as part of our image.”

  Art nods. “My father ran this company for over forty years and made it a powerhouse. The decisions you’re making are slowing us down and adding expense.” He raises his eyebrows, which are as sculpted as that woman’s. Talia’s. Of course, on her, it was fucking hot. “And I’m here to ensure we stay strong.” For a second I think I see some emotion in his eyes, but he looks away.