Defiant
The Clans #6
Iris Sweetwater & Elizabeth Knox
Available Now From
Elizabeth Knox
Series: Skulls Renegade
Reign
Redemption
Revenge
Relentless
Reckoning
Reclaimed
Regret
Reckless
Reclusive
Retribution
First Generation: A Skulls Renegade MC Boxset
Series: The Clans with Iris Sweetwater
Promised
The Trade
Cherished
Deceit
Love is War
Series: Steele Bros.
Tough as Steele
Stripping a Steele
Series: Reapers MC
Scarred
Blackjack
Here Kitty, Kitty
Booger
Widow
Sin City Fets with Linny Lawless
Switched
Full Throttle with Erin Trejo
Against All Odds
Coming Soon From
Elizabeth Knox
Defiant with Iris Sweetwater
(The Clans #6)
Protecting a Steele
(Steele Bros #3)
Hawk
(Reapers MC #6)
Bull
(Reapers MC #7)
Forbidden Love
(Mackenzies #1)
Tempt Me
(Crave #1)
Iris Sweetwater
Series: Brothers of Fang
The New Alpha
Blood Betrayal
The Heart of the Pack
The Power of the Hybrid
Series: The Clans with ELIZABETH KNOX
Promised
The Trade
Cherished
Deceit
Love is War
Series: Quarter Kings MC with Kasandra Sheckles
Chains
Doc
Series: Red Crows MC
One Way Out
Texas Roze
Nicodemus’ Master
Coming Soon From
Iris Sweetwater
Shattered with Elizabeth Knox
Embracing Salvation
Yetti with Kasandra Sheckles
Defiant
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblances to persons, organizations, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Defiant. Copyright © 2019 by Elizabeth Knox & Iris Sweetwater. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief “s used in articles or reviews. For information, contact E. Knox & I. Sweetwater.
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Cover design by Clarise Tan, CT Cover Creations
Editing by Raven Heidrich, Hydra Productions
Formatting by Raven Heidrich, Hydra Productions
Proofreading by
Photography by Reggie Deanching, R plus M Photo
Modeling by Tessi L’Anne
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Table of Contents
Prologue
Presley
Chapter 1
Presley
Chapter 2
Stefan
Chapter 3
Presley
Chapter 4
Presley
Chapter 5
Stefan
Chapter 6
Presley
Chapter 7
Stefan
Chapter 8
Presley
Chapter 9
Stefan
Chapter 10
Stefan
Chapter 11
Stefan
Chapter 12
Presley
Chapter 13
Presley
Chapter 14
Stefan
Chapter 15
Presley
Chapter 16
Stefan
Chapter 17
Stefan
Chapter 18
Presley
Stefan
Chapter 19
Presley
Chapter 20
Stefan
Chapter 21
Presley
Stefan
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Presley
Epilogue
Stefan
Prologue
Presley
Through life there are things that you love . . . and things that you just can’t quite wrap your head around. Right now, I’m stuck in a dilemma on whether or not to take the much-needed break I need from school and relax for a few weeks after all my hard work or bend to my family’s wishes. After all, how would it look for the family if I took a semester off right before graduation? It would be too much publicity focused around me and my wild child ways instead of the family business. We’re not just any Texan family, we’re the Richards and my daddy is the biggest oil rigger in our grand state.
“You need to really think about what this looks like, Presley. The tabloids always love following you around, taking pictures of whatever risqué things you’re doing and publishing them in the magazines. Remember the topless photos they took of you in France? It was the biggest mess we’ve ever had to clean up! Do you understand how it makes the board feel, or the investors? They see you as my weak link, and if you’re so determined to work for Richards Energy, then you need to have a wakeup call.” He’s stern through his entire speech, but it doesn’t make me feel shitty or even remotely bad. Just because he refuses to take a vacation every once in a while doesn’t mean that I should be reprimanded for doing so. I’ve worked hard in my schooling, and I deserve a break.
I spin around on the chair in his modern, bland office. There’s absolutely no color in here whatsoever. White covers the walls while the floor to ceiling windows only offer a slight black reprieve. When it comes to his furniture, it’s as boring as the rest is.
“I’m sorry that you feel this way, Daddy. I’m simply not going to work myself into the ground like you do. Honestly, I thought that you’d be happy I’m going to Rio instead of staying here and going off to Vegas or something state side. We know it’s highly unlikely that they’ll follow me there. Would you rather I stay here?” I ask, cocking a brow as I await his answer. If he’s so determined to stop me from going to Rio, I might just have to make a scene in Vegas instead. I’m sure that will really make the investors happy.
He wants me to cancel my plans completely and instead I’ve given him an even worse alternative. If he’s smart, he’ll accept that I still plan on going down to Rio and that there is no po
ssibility of stopping me. I am his wild child after all, and I do as I damn well please.
His eyes narrow in on me, “No, you go out of the country if you’re firm on doing this. But don’t you dare get yourself in the limelight. Do you hear me, young lady? They’d better think that you’re only some sort of tourist.”
“When have I ever acted any different?” I joke. Placing my arms on the chair, I push myself off and stand. He doesn’t reply, clearly understanding that I’m fucking with him, so I continue. “I’ll be sure to behave while I’m away. You won’t hear a peep out of me.” I’m making a promise to him. It’s not like I really enjoy speaking to my Daddy anyway. He’s somewhat of a bummer, if you ask me.
“I’ll see you when you get back,” he mutters, walking towards the door. He opens it for me, signaling that it’s time to leave. I’m sure he has some sort of big meeting that he’s already late for. “Just do me a favor and be safe. I’ve been hearing bad things about tourists getting kidnapped and sold into sex slavery. Human trafficking is real, Presley. So, please, be careful.”
“I will. I’m not going alone,” I say to him, turning out of his doorway and heading straight down to the elevators. My father’s building is strictly Richards Energy associates, however, at the bottom, is a type of eco-friendly mall that he had put in. It helps pay the bills for the skyscraper by renting out the bottom suites, not to mention is a good marketing tool. I’ve asked my three best friends Paulo, Heather, and Sky to meet me downstairs in a tiny Italian joint for an early lunch. I also plan on asking them if they want to come along with me to Rio.
The five-minute trip downstairs feels like it takes forever, stuck in elevators with big business buffoons who seriously need to destress. Shoot, I’m sure the plastic surgeons in this town are trying to flag them down on the streets just to use their before and after pictures.
“There’s the feisty little biatch!” Paulo is quick to say, standing up from his seat, and we walk into one another’s arms.
I pull away, looking him up and down. “The sun has been loving on you lately, hmm?”
“Sun? No, more like a lovely little tanning boy I met named Marco. Who knew I could get free tans for getting rammed? I would’ve signed up years ago!” He giggles, walking back around to his seat. Next to Paulo sits Heather who is my childhood best friend. I always feel like I have to include her in everything because we’ve been friends for over fifteen years. Although, things have changed over the last couple years and there is an obvious distance between the both of us. I just try to put more effort into our friendship so it doesn’t fall apart all of a sudden.
“How have you been, good?” I ask Heather, walking around the other side to give her a half hug. It feels awkward and completely unnatural, but I’m determined that it will get better with time. We’re simply moving at two different paces in our private lives, and things will feel a bit off.
She nods, “Yeah, just been busy with work.” As always, her reply is short and words are callous. I glance over to who I’ll be sitting next to, my eclectic friend, Sky. She’s a graffiti artist who works with various charities in local cities and paints murals on the sides of buildings. Her work is impeccable, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Shoot, I wish I could naturally have talent like that. It has to be amazing to be so gifted.
“I’m a bit curious why you called us all over here. Usually, you only do this when you have something up your sleeve.” Sky waggles her eyebrows at me.
Paulo slams his hand down on the table, causing the glasses to shake. “Yes, what is it you have planned?”
Before I can answer, our waiter comes up to the table and asks us what we’d like. I order a bottle of their finest pinot grigio for the table, and as our waiter walks off, I continue. “Sorry. I called you all to meet me here because I’m taking a quick little trip down to Rio and I’d love to have some friends go with me. I think we all need a nice break from our daily lives, and what better way to relax than to go to a fun new city and soak up the sun?”
Paulo chuckles loudly. “You’ve only asked me to come because I’m from Brazil. Didn’t you?”
“Not entirely, I thought you’d be an amazing asset because you’re fluent in the language, but what kind of girls trip would it be without my favorite queen?”
“It wouldn’t be a trip at all, darling.”
“Holy sassy pants. You never stop!” Sky laughs into her hand, shaking her head.
Paulo cocks his head over at her, smiling widely at the waiter who comes back to our table and opens our bottle. He pours us each a nice serving of wine and takes our order. I normally grab a few different things off the menu so we can all split and do the same right now. As soon as the waiter is out of earshot, Paulo speaks. “When do I ever stop, honey? Better get used to it.” As Paulo is talking, I can sense Heather’s uncomfortableness and glance over at her. She’s trying hard not to make a disgusted or annoyed face, but I can see past her bullshit. She’s obviously annoyed. I can pick up on all of her signals, even if she’s trying hard to make sure no one can.
“Are you all in?” I ask the group of them, looking around the table. Paulo and Sky instantly nod, talking amongst themselves about how excited they are to do this. “C’mon, Heather, what about you?” I ask her, smiling a good bit. If anything, I think that this trip will be the only thing that saves our friendship. I can’t do much else.
“Fine,” she grumbles out, looking anything but amused.
I take in a deep breath, truly hoping that this trip will salvage what’s left of our friendship.
Chapter 1
Presley
It’s hard to believe that I managed to talk all three of them into coming with me here and that we’ve been here for a full week. I really believe that this trip has helped my relationship with Heather, but she’s been itching to get back home.
Every day we’ve been sticking to the beaches, enjoying a drink at the bar and shopping around town. There’s been absolutely no stress tied into this trip, and it’s everything that I hoped it would be. “I really just want to get home. I have a lot of work to do, and I just can’t choose to party and avoid all of life’s responsibilities whenever I feel like it,” Heather tells me as we sit on a bench near the beach. Paulo and Sky are sitting on a concrete barrier a couple feet away, and I can tell they overheard Heather with the way their attention snapped over in our direction.
I don’t think she was intentionally trying to take a shot at me, but she did. I’ve noticed this more and more lately, how her attitude seems to slip out, or she takes a jab whenever she can. “I thought your flight didn’t leave for three more days?” I question her; because we all purchased seats next to one another for our arrival and departure.
She cocks a brow at me, and almost like a sixth sense, I can tell that attitude is coming my way. “You’re right ,but I changed my flight so I can leave today. I’m not the only one who’s a bit homesick either,” she states snidely.
I glance over to Paulo and Sky. “You both want to leave too?” I ask, a bit shocked that they’d go to Heather and not just come to me directly. They both know how Heather and I have been trying to make our friendship work and how our friendship has been changing. I know that ,for the most part, we’re out of our element, but coming to me would be the adult thing to do, not go behind my back to Heather.
Sky turns beet red, “Not Paulo, just me. I have a lot of work to get done on a couple murals, and honestly, it’s so hard for me to even fall asleep every night. The past two days I’ve barely slept because I’m not at home. It doesn’t matter if it’s alcohol or an antihistamine, I just can’t seem to stay asleep, and I’m exhausted because of it.” It’s obvious to me that Sky really is having a problem. She’s not being a cunt or making up some elaborate excuse to leave like Heather is.
I want to shake my head, frustrated that Heather talked Sky into leaving with her early. Knowing Sky for as long as I have, she’d be the type to stick around until the trip was up. I don’t want
her to be uncomfortable . . . but Heather acted out, and she knows it. It just makes me feel even more distant from her, and here I thought things were getting a little better.
I look to Paulo now, wondering if he’s going to abandon me in this beautiful city. “What about you? Are you going to leave too?”
Shaking his head, “I thought about it when Heather brought it up, but I think a few more days of rest and relaxation is what I need. Plus, there’s this cute bartender named Gabriel. I’m determined to get a romp in the sac with him. He’s a Jake Gyllenhaal level hottie!” I see how Paulo just slyly told me that Heather approached them to see if they wanted to leave. It’s like she wants to ruin my good time. Honestly, I think she does . . . but why. That is my question.
“Our flight leaves in a little over two hours, so Heather and I should get back to the hotel and pack our bags,” Sky suggests. I’m sure she can tell that there’s tension in the air. It’s so thick someone could cut it with a friggin’ butter knife.
I rise, giving Heather a pathetic attempt at a hug and walk over to Sky and do the same. It takes every bit of strength left inside me to not go over to Heather and slap her across the face. She did this on purpose, and I doubt I’ll ever understand. Seems to me like she’s just being a spiteful bitch. Over the last year she’s been so frustrated with me for focusing on school and working. I might be an heiress, but that doesn’t mean everything I have is something my daddy’s money bought. No, I’d much rather claim I’ve purchased it, because I have.
One thing I hate more than anything in this world is when kids from large, prominent families don’t get off their asses and do anything for themselves. Instead, they choose to live off their family’s money. While I know that I’ll never struggle, I don’t want to fully rely on them because feeling indebted to my daddy is something I don’t want. He’s the type of dick that holds it over my head.
“Well, you two have a safe flight home and text me when you land,” I say, looking to the both of them.