HERO: An Unfit Hero Novel Read online

  HERO

  An Unfit Hero Novel

  Hayley Faiman

  Hayley Faiman Books, LLC

  Contents

  Also By Hayley Faiman

  Stay Connected

  Prologue

  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

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Epilogue

  SAVIOR: An Unfit Hero Short Story

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Stay Connected

  About the Author

  Special Thanks

  HERO

  Copyright © 2019 by Hayley Faiman

  All rights reserved.

  Cover Designer & Editor: My Brother’s Editor. Ellie McLove. http://www.mybrotherseditor.net

  Proofreading: iScream Proofreading Services. Rosa Sharon. http://www.iscreamproofreading.com

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Visit my website: http://hayleyfaiman.com

  Created with Vellum

  Also By Hayley Faiman

  Men of Baseball Series—

  Pitching for Amalie

  Catching Maggie

  Forced Play for Libby

  Sweet Spot for Victoria

  Russian Bratva Series—

  Owned by the Badman

  Seducing the Badman

  Dancing for the Badman

  Living for the Badman

  Tempting the Badman

  Protected by the Badman

  Forever my Badman

  Betrothed to the Badman

  Chosen by the Badman

  Bought by the Badman

  Collared by the Badman

  Notorious Devils MC—

  Rough & Rowdy

  Rough & Raw

  Rough & Rugged

  Rough & Ruthless

  Rough & Ready

  Rough & Rich

  Rough & Real

  Cash Bar Series—

  Laced with Fear

  Chased with Strength

  Flamed with Courage

  Blended with Pain

  Twisted with Chaos

  Mixed with trouble –Fall 2019

  Forbidden Love Series —

  Personal Foul

  Kinetic Energy

  SAVAGE BEAST MC –

  UnScrew Me

  UnBreak Me

  UnChain Me –Late Summer 2019

  Unfit Hero Series –

  CONVICT

  HERO

  Zanetti Famiglia Series -

  Becoming the Boss

  Becoming his Mistress - Winter 2019

  Esquire Black Duet Series –

  DISCOVERY - Summer 2019

  APPEAL - Summer 2019

  Standalone Titles

  Royally Relinquished: A Modern Day Fairy Tale

  Stay Connected

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  A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.

  Christopher Reeve

  Prologue

  FIFTEEN YEARS AGO – HIGH SCHOOL

  WYATT

  Sammi’s eyes meet mine, tears shimmer in them and I wonder what she’s so damn sad about. It’s our junior year in high school. We’ve just won our football championship game, we’re going to fucking state. There is absolutely nothing to be sad about in the entire damn world. I got my beautiful girl at my side, fucking shit, I’m on top of the world.

  “I’m pregnant,” she blurts.

  With my football helmet in my hand, dangling from my fingertips, the entire fucking high school celebrating on the field around us, I stare down at her slack-jawed. My entire world spins, then it comes to a halt.

  “You’re what?” I breathe.

  “Pregnant,” she whispers.

  My helmet drops to the grass, slipping out of my fingers. The high from the game, the cheering and celebrations around us slip away into background noise, I can’t make anything out. I just stare at Sammi, my heart racing and my blood rushing in my ears.

  Fuck.

  Pregnant.

  Dropping to my knee, I take her hand in mine. “Marry me,” I choke.

  She jerks her fingers from my grip, her eyes widen as her tears continue to fall. “Wyatt,” she rasps, shaking her head. “We can’t get married, we’re only sixteen.”

  My eyes stare into hers, unwavering. I know what I want. “I’m doing right by you, Sammi. We’ll get married and raise this baby. We’ll be a happy family.”

  “We’re too young,” she murmurs, taking a step back from me, her hand falling from mine.

  Without another word, she turns from me and I watch her long legs run. She runs from me, from my proposal.

  “Wyatt?” Ford Matthews calls.

  Grabbing onto my helmet, I stand and turn to face him. His brows furrow, but I only shake my head. I can’t tell him what’s just happened. Not until Sammi and I are engaged, not until she’s ready for the world to know.

  Sammi is shy and quiet, a reason that I instantly fell for her our freshman year of high school. She’s the girl who sits in the front of the class, smart and always focused on school. I fell in love with her before I even knew her name.

  Now, she’s carrying my baby, and I want nothing more than to have her as my wife for the rest of my entire life.

  “You want to go party?” Ford asks, breaking through my thoughts.

  I shake my head. “Nah, I’m just gonna go home.” I shrug.

  Turning from him, he doesn’t stop me from walking away. I have to come up with a plan, one that Sammi will see is flawless. One that will end with her being my wife, with us raising this baby together as we should.

  She can continue with school, she can even go off to college, whatever she wants, it’s hers. As long as I have her, as long as
I have this baby—my family, that’s all I care about, I’ll be happy.

  ONE WEEK LATER

  WYATT

  I have the ring in my pocket, I’ve had it in my pocket for five whole days. I talked to my parents, told them the truth. Both of them have been great, they even volunteered to let us live in their fifth-wheel trailer until we can afford a place on our own. I have a plan, a fool-proof plan for our future.

  The only problem is, I haven’t been able to get Sammi to talk to me. She’s skipped school all week, she won’t take my calls, and every time I’ve gone to her house, it’s been completely dark.

  Tonight, all of that changes. I’m not leaving, not taking no for an answer, I’m going to propose so we can start our lives together.

  Lifting my fist, I pound on her front door. On my fourth attempt at knocking, between ringing the bell, the door slowly opens. Sammi is there, dark circles beneath her eyes, wearing an oversized pair of sweats and sweatshirt.

  “Baby,” I rasp, wrapping her in my arms and pulling her against my chest.

  She doesn’t hug me back, she’s limp in my arms, and I frown as I push her back slightly and look down into her too-pale looking face.

  “I have a plan. I don’t know why you haven’t been around, but I have to tell you that I have everything all worked out. I even talked to my parents and they’re completely on board,” I ramble. Her breath hitches, but I don’t stop talking.

  “My dad suggested I go to a trade school and I found a lineman college. I’d be working on powerlines, and the school is just a few months long, then I can start a paid apprenticeship. In four years, I’ll be a journeyman, and they can make a really good living.

  “Everything will work out, my parents even said we could live rent-free in the fifth-wheel behind the house until we can afford our own place. My mom, she’s already offered to help with babysitting while you finish high school and enroll in whatever college you want. It’s all going to work out, baby, you’ll see.”

  Sammi doesn’t speak, I assume it’s because I’ve given her way too much information in my excitement for the future. Taking the small gold band out of my pocket, I inhale a deep breath, letting it out in a whoosh. Dropping to my knee, I hold the band up and lift my gaze to her ghostly pale face.

  “I love you, Sammi. I’ve loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you. I’ll always love you. This may not have happened in the timing we wanted, but baby, this is exactly the future I always dreamed of for us. You and me, married with a family. Marry me?”

  She takes a step back, her head shaking from side-to-side. Her eyes focus on mine, they don’t shift away or break contact. When she speaks, my entire world crashes.

  “I had an abortion,” she breathes.

  “What?” I croak, not believing her words.

  They can’t be true, she wouldn’t do that, not without telling me. Not without talking to me about it. That baby is mine, too. There is no way she would make a decision for the both of us, not Sammi.

  “It’s for the best, Wyatt. You’ll see, we’re just too young.”

  My heart breaks, it shatters into a million shards right there on Sammi’s parents’ front porch. Standing to my feet, feeling like a fool all over again, but not caring. Feeling like a fool is nothing compared to losing a baby, one that I thought was made out of love, one that I was excited about.

  Turning away from her, I ignore the way she calls out my name. I can’t look at her, not right now, maybe not ever again. Climbing into my pickup, I start the engine and drive. I just need to get away, from everything.

  I don’t know how I’m going to tell my parents what she did, I don’t know how I’m going to admit it to my fucking self, it doesn’t feel real. Taking the cheap ring out of my pocket, I roll down the window and throw it out into a field.

  Fuck Sammi.

  Fuck her.

  SEVEN YEARS AGO – HIGH SCHOOL

  EXETER

  The two pink lines stare back at me.

  Pregnant.

  Sixteen and pregnant.

  I look over to the man, the potential father of this baby. He’s got a joint held to his lips, his eyes closed, and he sucks. I chew on my bottom lip, debating on telling him. It could not be his child. I’ve only been with two people, and the thought that this baby could be the other man’s, that makes my stomach twist with disgust.

  “Babe, you done doin’ whatever you’re doin’? Come over here and get my dick hard so you can fuck me,” he calls out before he breaks out in laughter.

  Biting my bottom lip harder, I do as he asks. Sex is just sex, it doesn’t mean anything, it never has, it never will. Once he’s come, I gather my things and leave, deciding I’ll never return. I don’t love him, I never love any of them. Taking my phone out of my pocket, I call my cousin Emily.

  “Hello?” she asks, sounding sad.

  Clearing my throat, I close my eyes before I speak. “I need you to meet me somewhere.” She agrees immediately and I start to walk toward my destination.

  Every step I take, I know that where I’m going, what I’m going to do, it will change my life. Nothing will ever be the same again, not that my life is all that great, because it hasn’t been.

  Emily is already there by the time that I arrive at the non-descript plain building. She’s only eleven to my sixteen, and if I thought anyone else could understand what I’m about to do, I would have called them instead. There are no markers here, but everyone knows what lies behind those doors.

  “Is it Uncle David’s?” she asks.

  I shake my head, then shrug. “I don’t know,” I admit.

  She nods, holding out her hand. I slip my palm against hers, and she squeezes. “I’ll always have your back, Ex.”

  Together we walk into the clinic, my life taking on a dramatic change, an immediate shift, and so does Emily’s. From this moment on, I’m going to change everything. This is a bump in the road, a really painful one, but no longer am I going to be used and abused.

  It ends now.

  It ends with this, and one day, one day, I will be worthy of more—of better.

  Chapter One

  WYATT

  Pardner’s is the only bar in the area that is worth going to on a Friday night. All of my friends are busy doing other shit tonight. Louis is in Vegas, Beaumont’s in California somewhere, Ford is most likely passed out in front of his television from a hard day’s work on his ranch, and Rylan is enjoying his new found relationship with one of the sweetest women I’ve ever met, Channing.

  That leaves me, alone, nursing a beer in a bar where I’ve fucked almost every woman who stands around with her friends. Christ.

  Closing my eyes, I suck back my beer with a grunt. I should just go home, drown myself in a few more beers and pass out.

  Something catches the corner of my eye, it’s a woman. Turning my head, I take in the entire view of her. She’s short, her hair dark, her ass round and, fuck me, her tits are full and begging for my hands. She’s standing alone, her head tipped as she stares down at the table, looking lost in thought.

  Standing, I decide to make a move. She shouldn’t be in here alone, she shouldn’t be anywhere alone, but definitely not in this den with these wolves—like me.

  “You here by yourself?” I ask once I’ve approached her table.

  She gasps, her eyes lifting to mine. I bite back the groan at the sight of her round light blue eyes. She’s got the most gorgeous face that I’ve ever seen. There’s a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and a small beauty mark just above her lip. Her cheeks tint pink and then her tongue peeks out to wet her full lips.

  My cock presses uncomfortably against my zipper. I need to have her, need to be inside of her.

  “I am,” she admits, her voice soft and sweet sounding, almost melodic.

  Leaning across the small table, I reach out and wrap my fingers around her wrist. She allows me, and I don’t miss the hitch in her breath when I rub a few small circles against her soft skin.


  “You wanna go home with me?” I ask.

  She frowns, licking her lips again, then she gives me a small smile. “I’ve never, not from a bar…”

  “I’m Wyatt Johnson,” I grin.

  “Exeter White,” she says.

  “Let’s go, beautiful,” I suggest.

  Not only do I want out of this bar, but I want inside of her. She’s breathtaking, and I know one night worshiping that curvy body is what I need to get my head on straight. I’ve been lost inside of memories of the past. I need out of them. I need to stop thinking about Sammi, about everything that happened between us.

  I need to move the fuck on.

  Exeter hesitates for only a moment, then she takes one final sip of her drink before she slides off of the barstool. Holding my palm out for her, a jolt runs through me when her hand slides into mine. Curling my fingers around hers, I walk toward the backdoor of the bar.