Don't Hide From Me Read online

  Don’t Hide From Me

  Lorhainne Eckhart

  Lorhainne Eckhart Inc.

  Contents

  Sign up for my newsletter

  The McCabe Brothers

  Don’t Hide From Me

  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

  Please Leave a Review

  What’s coming next

  Chapter 1

  Other Works Available

  Links to Lorhainne Eckhart’s Booklist

  About the Author

  The best way to stay in touch and follow all my news is to subscribe to my newsletter. You will receive news on all giveaways, special promotions and all new releases. And for all my newsletter subscribers I frequently offer free bonus content. Sign up for my newsletter here.

  The McCabe Brothers

  The McCabe Brothers, a spinoff of the big family romance series The Friessens from a Readers’ Favorite award—winning author and “queen of the family saga” (Aherman)

  — “Eckhart has a new series that is definitely worth the read. The queen of the family saga started this series with a spin off of her wildly successful Friessen series.”From a Readers’ Favorite award—winning author and “queen of the family saga” (Aherman)

  The McCabe Brothers

  Don’t Stop Me (Vic)

  Don’t Catch Me (Chase)

  Don’t Run From Me (Aaron)

  Don’t Hide From Me (Luc)

  Don’t Leave Me (Claudia)

  Don’t Stop Me

  Fifteen years ago, Vic McCabe was headed down a one-way road to destruction with the love of his life. But then the unthinkable happened, a mistake that changed their lives forever.

  Successful billionaire contractor Vic McCabe is a man every woman wants, but he gives his heart to no one. However, one day a reporter shows up, asking questions about a past he’s buried, a mistake he made fifteen years ago that could destroy his future and that of the woman he’s tried to forget.

  After evidence surfaces, dredging up details of the night that changed his life forever, Vic is forced to seek out the only woman he’s ever loved—the woman who has sworn to hate him forever.

  Don’t Catch Me (Chase)

  He stopped a robbery. Now he has to do the right thing.

  * * *

  Having left his life in politics, lawyer Chase McCabe is on his way to meet his brothers and sort out family matters when he stops for gas and walks in on a robbery in progress. However, he discovers the culprit is just a kid, and her situation may not be as clear as he thought. Authorities have written the girl off, and his need to fix everyone’s problems sets in, putting him on a collision course with a mysterious woman with secrets of her own and entangling him in a precarious relationship that ties him to a place he was just passing through.

  Don’t Run From Me (Aaron)

  A compelling emotional tale about the undeniable power of second chances.

  * * *

  Fresh out of the fighting circuit and to those that didn't know him, Bad Boy Aaron McCabe seemed as if he had it all. Except what everyone doesn't know is the nightmares that haunt him about a tragedy he's never recovered from losing the only woman he ever loved.

  * * *

  But soon Aaron is caught up in a complex web of secrets, second chances and a gripping twist with two mysterious women that entangles him in a relationship he never believed he was ready for.

  Don’t Hide From Me (Luc)

  Sometimes what we can’t see is standing right in front of us all along.

  * * *

  Luc McCabe is a man on the edge. Not only has he given up on his ideal happily ever after, which includes a man who’ll love him and children of his own. He’s leaving behind his old life that has been only about endings.

  * * *

  What Luc doesn’t realize is sometimes love happens unexpectedly.

  One moment in time could change her future forever.

  From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lorhainne Eckhart comes a riveting and edgy romance about a young love driven to the breaking point.

  * * *

  Even though Claudia is part of the McCabe family, with four older brothers she barely knows, she has a dark side no one in their right mind would mess with, and she still sees herself as alone. That is until one night, when she witnesses an unspeakable crime that blurs the lines of morality. Her first instinct is to run, but when a mysterious handsome man enters her life, promising to keep her safe, she’s caught up in a web of secrets, not knowing who to trust. When her brothers unite, will they expose the truth or destroy any hope Claudia has of finding love?

  Didn’t get a chance to read the other books in the McCabe Brothers?

  Don’t Hide From Me

  Sometimes what we can’t see is standing right in front of us all along.

  * * *

  Get the book one reader called “A heartwarming story about how Luc, a gay man, comes to his happily ever after.”

  * * *

  From a Readers’ Favorite award—winning author and “queen of the family saga” (Aherman): Luc McCabe is a man on the edge. Not only has he given up on his ideal happily ever after, which includes a man who’ll love him and children of his own. He’s leaving behind his old life that has been only been about endings.

  * * *

  What Luc doesn’t realize is sometimes love happens unexpectedly.

  Chapter 1

  Luc pushed himself the last mile over a path still damp from an overnight shower. The humidity had already cranked up, though, sticking his T-shirt and shorts to his skin. He ran through Lincoln Park, his earbuds plugged in as he listened to his playlist, spanning Eminem to U2, which drowned out the sounds of the midmorning Chicago rush.

  This was his last run, his last night in Chicago—a city that held nothing but endings for him. His entire life had been all about finding his place, but he had never fit in. Unsettled, that was it. He had always needed to fit into situations instead of the other way around. He often wondered whether anyone truly knew who he was, or would he continue to keep everyone close to him at a distance? He realized he had always tried to conform to be included, in his family, his job, his life.

  He pushed himself to a sprint, pumping his arms, his new Adidas runners pounding the ground as he circled the park for two and a half miles. The gate was just ahead, and he pushed through, welcoming the burn just as the playlist shuffled to Queen’s “Somebody to Love.” It had been his and Bruce’s song, a song he now hated, and it filled him with memories of everything that hadn’t worked.

  He yanked his earbuds out and slowed to a walk, dragging in each breath, his army-green T-shirt soaked with sweat, and beads of it trickled down his neck as he walked it off, not looking into the face of anyone who passed. His iPhone chirped a ridiculous bird call, and he pulled it out, seeing a picture of his brother.

  “This is the second time today you’ve called,” Luc said, swiping at the sweat on his forehead. “Even for you, this is a little much.”

  “Just checking on where you’re at,” Chase said. He sounded distracted and to the point.

  “I’m running—or was. Finished packing. The movers are arriving this afternoon, and then I’m heading to the airport. Anything else, Mom, or do you want me to c
all you again as I’m leaving?”

  He didn’t miss the chuckle. At times, Chase needed to organize everyone and everything as if he specialized in everyone else’s problems. Luc had never let his brother organize or fix him, though, and he never would. “Sorry, habits,” Chase said. “Listen. I was wondering if you could do something for me.”

  Luc pulled the phone away and stared at it, then took in the clear and sunny day in the park, staring up at the sky. “Uh, I’m not sure I heard you right. You need help from me?”

  “Stop being a smartass, would you?”

  Luc couldn’t help wondering what was up, considering Chase never asked anyone for help—not that Vic, Aaron, or even he did either. It was just that Chase was always shoving his nose in everywhere, trying to fix each of them. This was a first on so many levels. “Couldn’t help myself. I thought for a second the world had tilted on its axis.”

  “It’s just a simple yes or no, Luc,” Chase said. Now he sounded irritated and short, which wasn’t like him. Maybe Luc should have been worried.

  “It goes without saying,” he said. “Just ask. You know I will.” He circled the edge of the park, taking in people crossing at the lights, everyone in a hurry, impatient, the cars stopped.

  “Rose is in Chicago, closing up some personal financial matters. I’m not really happy about it, but since her ex has been served for divorce, there are some delicate issues that still need to be resolved there.”

  “Whoa, wait, what do you mean, delicate?” Luc said. “Didn’t you say her ex was that senator who used her as a punching bag?” He was sure that was what Chase had said, or maybe it had been Aaron. When Chase met Rose, she had been hiding from the scumbag she was married to, believing he’d eventually kill her.

  “I did say that, which is why I’m hoping you’ll hang beside her, get her on the plane with you. I have to finish up here or I’d be there. I have Billy Jo and can’t leave. For some reason, Rose didn’t want to wait. She’s developed this confidence, thinking Travis won’t touch her now after the sit-down I had with him. She thinks I’ve made sure he’ll behave—which I have, but he’s a politician, so his word means nothing.”

  “A sit-down, what? Are you kidding?” Then again, this was Chase. That was what he did with everyone and everything.

  “He’s a successful man, ambitious, with a one-way focus on the White House. A scandal of this nature, him being an abuser of women, that isn’t something he’d want made public. It would hurt him. I made sure he understood just how much. It was necessary, but still, he is who he is: a monster who wouldn’t think twice about pulling some underhanded shit. Wouldn’t put it past him to pull something, now that he knows where Rose is. He probably even knows she’s in Chicago.”

  “So you want me to babysit your girl?”

  “I want you to show up and glue yourself to her side until she finishes her business, and then get her to the airport with you. She’ll get on a flight to Salem, and Vic will pick you both up. I’ll meet you at Vic’s, and then I’ll be able to breathe a little easier.”

  Maybe that was it, the unease he was hearing in his brother’s voice. Chase lived and breathed drama, problems, solving what others couldn’t, but this was the first time Luc had heard something in his brother’s voice that made him stop and really focus on what he wasn’t saying. Chase never asked for help, and Luc was well aware that he’d never once called on him this way before.

  “She’ll be fine,” Luc said. “Just tell me where she is. I’ll leave now.”

  “She’s booked into the Hyatt downtown, room 403. I told her to stay put until you get there. And, Luc, thank you.” Chase sighed on the other end.

  “Don’t mention it,” Luc said, and as he hung up, he also breathed a little easier. Not only had Chase backed off from giving him the third degree about what his plans were, from prying into his business, love life, and everything else that had gone to shit, for the first time ever he was the one reaching out to Luc for help.

  Luc looked up to the sky, expecting to see pigs flying.

  Chapter 2

  Rose was as pretty as ever, with blue eyes and light hair, which she’d recently cut to a long bob, just past her shoulders. “You realize this is ridiculous,” she said, holding the door as Luc stepped into her hotel room. Her overnight bag was on the unmade queen bed, her shoes kicked off, and she was wearing black pants and a white blouse. Sharp, casual but dressy.

  “I learned long ago that Chase has a reason for doing things,” Luc said. “Besides, I’m not doing much else today. Movers arrived as I left and picked up all my stuff. I turned my keys in to the landlord, and I’m ready to go. Just think of me as company, someone along to watch your back. So where to first?” He squeezed the strap of his own overnight bag, which held his laptop and clothes for a few days.

  “Just have to stop at my lawyer’s to pick up papers. It’s about my grandmother’s estate, just the untidy details I put off for over a year. The appointment’s in an hour, and then that’s it. I want to check out of the hotel first, though. Or, on second thought, I don’t want to haul my bag around, so I’ll do it after. You sure you don’t mind? This is kind of tedious stuff.”

  At least he was doing something, not sitting around thinking about how life seemed to be in limbo. “Not much else to do. Finished everything, just have to hop a plane,” he said. He’d sold his car the previous week and had picked up his last pay check—and he hadn’t answered any of the texts from Julian. He swallowed and took a breath, telling himself it was best to move on and forget.

  “Okay, well, I’ll just leave everything here and we’ll go,” she said, sitting on the bed and slipping on her shoes. Luc rested his bag in a chair and then pulled out his phone when it buzzed again.

  Where are you? read the text from Chase.

  Here now with your girl, Luc wrote. He was about to add a smiley face but stopped himself, instead hitting send, knowing Chase hated that shit. “That was Chase. He seems a little on edge.” Luc pocketed the phone and took in Rose. Something in her expression seemed distant. She didn’t look his way but instead lifted her purse and tucked in her key card.

  “He takes a little getting used to. Didn’t expect him to care this much.” She stopped talking. Maybe that was what he was seeing. Confliction was something he understood.

  “And you?” he asked. He hoped he was right about her, that she wasn’t just stringing his brother along.

  She forced a smile, looking in her purse before zipping it up and not looking his way. “Not to worry, Luc. Your brother has totally messed with me and my emotions. He has all of me, whether I want him to or not.” This time she looked his way, and he was a little surprised by the sadness there.

  He didn’t move and didn’t touch her as she awkwardly lifted her purse, holding herself tight.

  “It’s just that being with him and Billy Jo is everything I’ve wanted but never thought I’d have. Then I find myself on the verge of some meltdown, my stomach a big ball of tension, and I snap at him for no reason. He’s patient and kind with me, and he pushes to fix me and fix whatever is bothering me. How do I tell him that it’s because I have to tell myself I deserve to be loved? I know it sounds stupid, and even to me it sounds really dumb, but my feelings are just that, and I can’t explain how they almost double me over right here.”

  She gestured to her stomach and then fisted her hand awkwardly, letting it fall to her side. “It makes no sense. Love just isn’t what I know. I don’t know kindness. Every time he does something nice and thoughtful, he’s there, giving me all of himself. And then I watch him with Billy Jo, how he can get through to that tough kid when no one else can reach her, and I have to wonder what I did to deserve him. I wonder if it’s too good to be true, that I’ll turn the corner one day and it won’t be real.” She looked straight at Luc this time, and he saw everything she was saying, everything that came from her fears.

  “Just so you know, Chase is the real deal,” he said. “So whatever you’ve go
t to tell yourself to make yourself believe it, do it.”

  She nodded and then tilted her head to the door. “Let’s go,” she said before pulling it open and stepping out into the hallway. “Lawyer’s, hotel, lunch, and then airport,” she said as he touched the door, following her out.

  The lawyer’s office was in the financial district. McKimm, Hampton, and Leary was a large firm, taking up the nineteenth and twentieth floors of the building. The waiting area was done in the same golds, browns, and greens that seemed to run the theme of the entire office.

  “Fancy,” he said in a low voice as he sat beside Rose on the sofa in the open area adjacent to the elevator. The receptionist behind the desk was wearing a headset, answering the buzzing phones.

  She was flipping through a magazine and didn’t look up. “And their rates reflect it,” she said.

  “Rose Worthington?”