Prologue
856 Words
° Author's POV °
Some promises were never meant to be broken.
Others were destined to be.
Long before Alexandria Valerie could walk... before she could speak... before she even knew their names... three boys had already given her their hearts.
They grew up together.
She was the sunshine that chased after them through endless summers, the little girl who insisted on riding on the backs of their bicycles, who laughed every time they lifted her onto the seats of their motorcycles when no adults were looking. They protected her from scraped knees, playground bullies, and thunderstorms.
To her, they were simply her older brothers' best friends.
To them...
She was everything.
As the years passed, childish affection became something far more dangerous.
Something none of them dared admit.
Especially after her eldest brother discovered the truth.
"You stay away from my sister."
The warning had echoed through the garage where the four young men stood.
"I don't want her meddling in any of the s**t we do."
None of them argued.
None of them denied it.
Because they couldn't.
So they made a promise.
A promise forged in silence and loyalty.
If Alexandria ever chose one of them...
The other two would walk away.
No resentment.
No jealousy.
No fighting.
Their friendship came first.
And none of them would ever be the reason it was destroyed.
So they buried their feelings.
They watched from afar as Alexandria grew into a beautiful young woman.
They celebrated her victories from the shadows.
Protected her without her ever realizing it.
Loved her...
Without ever expecting her to know.
Years passed.
Distance became routine.
Their promise remained unbroken.
Until one rainy night...
°°°
Los Angeles pulsed with music, laughter, and the roar of motorcycle engines.
The annual festival had drawn thousands.
Alexandria hadn't planned on attending.
Her friends had convinced her.
One drink became another.
The night blurred.
Faces became strangers.
Voices melted together.
When the rain began to fall, she wandered away from the crowd, frightened by how little control she had over herself.
She never noticed the man following her.
The Riders did.
Three motorcycles cut through the streets.
Three men stepped between her and danger.
By the time they reached her, she could barely stand.
One caught her before she collapsed.
Another wrapped his jacket around her trembling shoulders.
The third gently brushed rain-soaked hair from her face.
For a long moment...
None of them spoke.
Because after all these years...
She was finally in front of them again.
"Hey Red," one whispered.
"God, she looks wasted."
She blinked at them through heavy eyelids, searching their faces.
"...Do... I know you?"
Three hearts shattered at once.
"No," one answered quietly.
"You don't."
She smiled weakly before slipping into unconsciousness.
°°°
They couldn't leave her alone.
Not like this.
Not with someone hunting her through the streets.
So they took her home.
Not to hers.
To theirs.
Their penthouse high above the streets and buildings of Los Angeles.
They helped her out of her soaked clothes, replacing them with warm blankets while she drifted in and out of consciousness, completely unaware of where she was.
Hours passed.
The storm raged outside.
Inside...
Years of restraint finally reached their breaking point.
She reached for them first.
Half-awake.
Half-lost.
Whispering names she couldn't remember but somehow still trusted.
They tried to stop her.
They reminded themselves of every promise they'd ever made.
Of her brother.
Of their friendship.
Of the oath that had ruled their lives for years.
But love...
Love had waited long enough.
The fire burned low as the night disappeared into silence.
Outside, the rain washed away every trace of the evening.
Inside, the lines they had sworn never to cross were gone forever.
When dawn arrived...
Everything had changed.
°°°
Morning sunlight filtered through the bedroom window.
Valerie stirred with a pounding headache.
She frowned at the unfamiliar ceiling.
The unfamiliar room.
The unfamiliar scent of cedar and leather lingering in the air.
There were faint flashes in her mind.
Warm hands.
Deep voices.
A whispered "You look beautiful Val."
Strong arms holding her as though letting go had never been an option.
Then...
Nothing.
The memories slipped through her fingers like smoke.
She sat up slowly.
A fresh set of clothes rested on a chair.
Painkillers and a glass of water waited beside the bed.
The house was silent.
The men were gone.
She convinced herself it had all been a dream.
Just another piece of a drunken night she'd never remember.
She couldn't have been more wrong.
Because while Isla forgot everything that happened that night...
The Riders remembered every second.
They remembered the little girl they'd loved since childhood.
They remembered the promise they'd broken.
And they remembered the vow they made as they watched her sleep.
It would never be one of them.
It had to be all three.
Or none at all.
No matter how long they had to wait...
No matter how much it cost them...
They would never ask her to choose.
Because they had already made that choice years ago.
Together.
- Writer
