Evie Mitchell
Bleeding Edge
Book 2 | Elliot Security Series
First published by Thunder Thighs Publishing 2021
Copyright © 2021 by Evie Mitchell
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmittedin any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise withoutwritten permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distributeit by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it arethe work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localitiesis entirely coincidental.
This book was previously released as Rough Code by Kim Congram.
First edition
Editing by Hot Tree Publishing
Cover art by Sly Fox Cover Designs
This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy
Find out more at reedsy.com
Contents
Dedication
Also by Evie Mitchell
Connect with Evie Mitchell
Bleeding Edge
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
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Epilogue
Also by Evie Mitchell
Connect with Evie
Dedication
To every woman who has faced her fear and said,
“Not today, Satan.”
And to my favourite husband, thanks for creating a life with me that is more beautiful than any I could write.
You know which scenes are for you.
Also by Evie Mitchell
Capricorn Cove Series
Thunder Thighs
Double the D
Muffin Top
The Mrs. Clause
New Year Knew You
The Shake-Up
Double Breasted
As You Wish
Beach Party
You Sleigh Me
Resolution Revolution
Meat Load
Trunk Junk
Archer Sibling Series
Just Joshing
Thor’s Shipbuilding Series
Clean Sweep
The X-List
Reality Check
The Christmas Contract
Nameless Souls MC Series
Runner
Wrath
Elliot Security Series
Rough Edge
Bleeding Edge
Knife Edge
Other books
Reign Anthology
Connect with Evie Mitchell
Greedy Readers Book Club
Amazon
Bookbub
Goodreads
Newsletter
Bleeding Edge
Emmie
On run since my teens, my whole life is built around a quick exit. But when a violent attack leaves me vulnerable, I’m forced to rely on the only man that makes me wish I could stay - Lucien Falco.
To keep him safe, I can’t let him get close, but the man is determined to break down all my barriers .
Lucien
Raised in a loving close-knit family, my roots run deep, and I’ve always known what I’ve been looking for in a partner, but no woman has ever come close.
Until Emmie.
The talented, beautiful hacker is a puzzle I ache to solve. With her life in danger, I’ll do whatever it takes to protect the woman I love.
Even if that means losing her in the process.
If you love a story that involves a protective Aussie alpha and a kickass heroine mixed with romantic suspense - then this is the book for you!
Trigger warning: This is a darker book than my other series and contains some violence and references to abuse. A happily ever after is still guaranteed, but this is a gritty series so proceeded with caution.
Chapter One
Emmie
Present Day
They say no good story starts with a salad but mine did. So, here goes.
It started with a salad. It wasn’t even a good one like with feta or pear or chicken. No, limp soggy leaves sat sadly in a bowl surrounded by three evil looking prawns, their buggy eyes stared out at me. I hated prawns with the fiery vengeance of a thousand suns. This was one salad I did not want to make friends with.
I hadn’t planned or even wanted to go out. Addie, the executive assistant at the security firm where I worked, had pestered me until I’d acquiesced. Addie had style with a capital cool. A total glam babe – I’d never seen her in anything less than full pin-up vintage. Despite my protests, she’d convinced me to attend Thursday night trivia.
We were at a small bar just down the street from my office. I’d had a burger for lunch and convinced myself I should make an attempt to be healthy and order something light for dinner.
Immediate regret.
I reached for the menu, looking back over the description. Yep. No mention of prawns. My nose wrinkled in disgust as I stared at my salad, gingerly poking a crustacean with the tines of my fork.
“Just saying, that looks horrible,” Addie commented, taking a giant bite out of her deliciously decadent burger. She moaned, rolling her eyes in exaggerated joy.
I grunted, holding up a limp leaf for closer inspection. “Maybe if I–”
“Swap it.” The deep voice interrupted.
I glanced at my boss, Luc, my cheeks warming as I realised all eyes at our table were now on me.
“Umm.” I abruptly stood, the chair scraping awkwardly as I struggled to ignore the chuckles and gentle teasing from my colleagues. I picked up the plate, muttering, “Be right back.”
I worked for a private security company. Elliot Securities was fast becoming one of the biggest names in the business. They did everything from private security for the rich and famous through to investigations and software checks. If
