Lost Rhodes, page 1
Table of Contents
Books by Aliyah Burke
Title Page
Legal Page
Book Description
Dedication
Trademark Acknowledgements
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Epilogue
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About the Author
Totally Bound Publishing books by Aliyah Burke
Single Books
Through The Fire
Seducing Damian
Code of Honour
A Marriage of Convenience
The Lieutenant’s Ex-Wife
A Man Like No Other
When Stars Collide
In Aeternum
Casanova in Training
Harbour of Refuge
Protected by Shadows
Polar Opposites
Theta Corps
Restitution
Contrition
Vindication
Interludes
Temporary Home
Alone With You
Till We Ain’t Strangers Anymore
The Edge
Called Home to The Edge
Straying to The Edge
Returning to The Edge
Cuffed at The Edge
The Monroe Sisters
Need You Now
Let Me Go
I Won’t Say Goodbye
Heart’s Compass
The Princess and the Marquess
Flight of the Hawk
The Earl’s Spark
Keeper of the Stars
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Astral Guardians
Chasing the Storm
Highlands at Dawn
Fields of Thunder
Branded by Frost
Driven by Night
Moon of Fire
Family Forever
Don’t You Wanna Stay?
Love and Moonshine
First You Dream
Billionaire Brothers
Saving Rhodes
What’s her Secret?
Preconception
Collections
A Little Bit Cupid: This Ain’t No Love Story
My Bloody Valentine: Perfect Duet
With Taige Crenshaw
Single Title
Unbreakable Bonds
Kemet Uncovered
Talios
Devi
Linc
Saffron
Taber
Ashia
Billionaire Brothers
LOST RHODES
ALIYAH BURKE
Lost Rhodes
ISBN # 978-1-80250-808-6
©Copyright Aliyah Burke 2023
Cover Art by Kelly Martin ©Copyright May 2023
Interior text design by Claire Siemaszkiewicz
Totally Bound Publishing
This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.
Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.
The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.
Published in 2023 by Totally Bound Publishing, United Kingdom.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors’ rights. Purchase only authorised copies.
Totally Bound Publishing is an imprint of Totally Entwined Group Limited.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book”.
Book two in the Billionaire Brothers series
Sometimes you have to get lost to truly find yourself.
He left town to get lost. The plane crash may make it permanent.
Playboy, Bradford Rhodes, wakes in a strange house with an unknown yet stunning woman. Iris Wentz doesn’t blink to keep him with her during the deadly winter storm.
She traveled to check out her inheritance. The mountains in winter—during a blizzard. Better choices had been made.
Iris—and her dog Piros—realizes she’s unsure how long she and Bradford will be snowed in together. Everything will be fine, so long as she can keep her hands off Mr. Tall, Sexy and damnit, not only that but also funny and flirty.
Forced proximity may be the spark but Bradford is determined to make sure Iris knows his words and his flame for her are true, and he’s looking at forever.
Money isn’t any object for these brothers.
Dedication
To my readers, thank you for all the support over the years.
I am so humbled and honored.
Hugs from my home to yours.
Trademark Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Realtor: National Association of Realtors
Learjet: Learjet Inc.
Arrow: Berlanti Productions, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television
Inferno: Dante Alighieri
The Lion Sleeps Tonight: Solomon Linda, Huge Peretti, Luigi Creatore, George David Weiss, Albert Stanton
Red: Di Bonaventura Pictures, Summit Entertainment
Toyota: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha TA Toyota Motor Corporation
Land Rover Discovery: Jaguar Land Rover Limited
Hennessy: Moet Hennessy USA, Inc.
Sprite: The Coca-Cola Company
Range Rover: Jaguar Land Rover Limited
Toyota Land Cruiser: Toyota Motor Corporation
Oakley: Oakley, Inc.
Chapter One
Iris Wentz took a deep breath and cracked her neck before she even dared to glance down at the envelope she held in her balled-up left fist. Uncertainty flowed as she stared at it. Not an ominous feeling but definitely something less than fantastic. She wanted to run, to hide, to avoid what was on the paper. There was a safe place to go, but she couldn’t. Right now she needed to be by herself and not with the family who looked upon her and loved her like she was blood. Their blood.
Growing up in a number of different foster homes hadn’t been the easiest for her. But then she’d landed at the Wentz home. Althea Wentz had been her lifesaver and had given her the family she’d always craved. Not to mention eventually giving her not one but two younger sisters that she loved more than anything. She had brothers also, but she doted on her sisters.
Didn’t change the fact she needed to do this on her own. A huff from beside her left leg had her smiling. Okay, not totally on my own.
She was at the home she’d declared as her childhood one, her mom having called her, letting her know there was some mail waiting for her. “Come along, Piros. Let’s figure this out.”
The Hungarian Vizsla at her side set off with her the moment she moved. He kept pace, not venturing away from her despite the fact he only had on a collar. This one was dark blue, which offset his short smooth golden-rust coat.
Her childhood home was situated on a corner lot that backed up to a national forest, so she and her siblings always had plenty of room to roam. Like her body had been programmed to go there, she found herself at the edge of a stream, by the large rocks they’d used to sit on.
Piros hopped up with ease and she, well, the struggle was a bit more real for her. “Stop laughing at me, canine. I have two legs.” She glared at him. “Without springs in them, like one of us in this single-direction conversation.”
The rock warmed under her ass after a few seconds and Piros lay with his head on her bent knee. Absently she scratched him as she slid a nail under the seal to open the envelope. It was almost fall but the weather was still beautiful. Soon, it would change. She took a deep breath and unfolded the letter. After reading it, she shook her head and read it again.
Piros whined and she patted him. A house? Property? “Looks like I’ve inherited some property in Colorado, Piros. A sizeable place from what it says, and there’s an offer if I want to sell.”
Her old man had left it to his children, and she was the only one they’d been able to find. Not that she had known the old man. A fact she liked to remind herself was not her fault. He was the one who had walked out and left her mother alone. Then that woman had died and the system had become home.
Until Althea Wentz. With her, she’d found her home. Her family.<
Laughter preceded her sisters pushing through the woods to where she sat. Piros growled low before she shushed him. He was a dog she’d rescued from a shit situation and he loved her, trusted her with abandon, but he wasn’t like that with everyone else.
“You need to tell him to love us like he does you,” Daisy, the youngest of the trio, griped as she walked closer, her long hair swaying with each step she took.
“He hasn’t left, so that’s progress,” Iris retorted even as she settled a hand against his side.
“He’s just shy about his love,” Violet said as she climbed up without fear beside him and patted him.
Iris pushed the letter deep into the pocket of her cargo pants, not wanting to talk about this currently. Daisy scrambled up on the rock as well, the smallest of them all. Everyone, all the Wentz children, looked after her. Of the three of them here, Iris was the oldest, Violet was the most jaded, and Daisy was the brilliant one.
It didn’t matter they were all currently adults and off on their own, they came back often to their childhood residence and when they did, without fail, the three of them would end up on this rock together. Words weren’t needed, but they happened. Iris spent the rest of the afternoon joking and laughing with her family, Piros at her side and a small voice in the back of her mind yelling for her to tell her sisters about this news she’d just received.
She didn’t.
* * * *
Mid-December
At least a foot of snow covered the ground as she stared at the property before her. She’d parked her old, well-used SUV just inside the gateway of the land she’d inherited. The front gate wouldn’t completely shut off the property when closed because of how it had been created. Nothing across the drive, so it would always remain open. Not ideal for someone with pets. A curved cement wall on either side of the drive had been topped by an iron gate, and when she’d driven past that she’d found herself looking at a sprawling front yard leading up to the house. Large, gnarly, twisted-trunk trees dotted the space, and she knew they would provide great shade in the summer. Right now, however, icicles hung from the ice-coated branches.
Shifting back into gear, she continued up the driveway, slowly given she didn’t know what was beneath the snow nor if she was actually on the driveway or just making it up as she went along. The nearest town was forty minutes away, and that had been when there was normal driving weather.
Something she didn’t have now. It had taken her nearly two hours to get here, and she accepted she wasn’t going to be heading back the way she’d come for a long while. She had to wait for the roads to be plowed, and given the way it was still falling, that wasn’t going to happen for a good chunk of time.
Iris was fine though. She’d stocked up at that town’s little store, basically wiping the shop out in her mind, picking up provisions for both her and Piros. The back of the vehicle overflowed with food, camping gear and additional oversized men’s clothing in case she needed even more layers.
Winter camping was something she’d done often and she wasn’t concerned about the prospect of facing such a situation.
To her left she saw a garage with an attached carport. The structure had definitely seen better days but the SUV wouldn’t be out directly in the falling snow. She carefully guided the vehicle inside. Snow covered the ground here as well but not as deep as what she’d driven through to get to the location.
“The stone house is nice, though, right, Piros?”
He sat on the seat beside her and huffed. With a long exhale, she shrugged into her jacket and zipped it up. This was going to take a few trips. “First thing will be to complete that front gate to make it continuous and check the rest of the property to make sure there are no gaps.
Her companion side-eyed her like he’d taken offense to her comment. After ruffling his head, she opened the door, sucked in a sharp breath at the cold and hopped out. Piros followed right on her heels.
Without hesitation, she struck out through the deep snow to the front porch of the house, the key she’d been given firmly in her pocket. Although from the look of this place, I’m not sure the key will be necessary.
The porch’s screen door hung askew, and she was fairly certain it would blow off in the next strong wind. She tripped and struggled to catch herself as she swore, grateful she had on her winter hiking boots.
“Found a step, Piros.”
He bounded up and under the warped and holey cover of the porch, she followed a bit more carefully. Three steps were what she discovered leading up. Snow filled all the steps and the porch as well, the screen which lined the porch having long since been ripped away by wind, animals, she wasn’t sure. Plus there could be holes. What she didn’t need was an injury out here all by her lonesome.
From where she stood, at a corner of the porch, there was a door off in each direction at the end of the porch. A large stone section along two sides of the house, before her with a window, on each side both broken. Very nice. Or it will be. The Realtor had said the key was for the red door and since the other was white… She went to the right, toward the faded red one.
Opening the door took patience and muscle. Not the key. Iris ended up throwing her shoulder into it and shoving it open. Piros stepped in, and she pushed the door closed behind them.
“Well, if this is kept, it’s going to take some work. I’m beginning to think I should have come out in the summer to check this out. Not in the dead of winter.” Piros leaned against her leg and she laughed. “Yeah, I get it, bud, but just remember, you’re here with me.”
He snorted.
Iris got to work.
* * * *
Two hours later, she’d hauled all of her things inside, and discovered there was not only no electricity but also no running water. Only one room was habitable, the innermost room. Luckily, it had a fireplace. Thankfully the stone house was only one story. She took photos to share with her family, but realized that she had no signal and, when she looked outside, she found it had gotten dark. She wasn’t going anywhere.
“Another camping trip, Piros.” Yes, she knew this already, but when your companion didn’t speak back to you in actual words, she found she repeated herself on occasion.
Her dog currently lay by the fire she had burning. She needed to go find a lot more wood. Again, she wasn’t worried. She’d grown up camping and roughing it with her family.
“But hey, this time we’re at least inside a building. Sure, we’re sleeping on the floor, but the room has a solid roof and walls.” She knelt by her bag and rifled through it to find her headlamp. Shoving it over her wild afro, she got back to her feet. “Let’s go check out the garage just in case. And before it’s any later. There may be more wood in there.”
There wasn’t, at least not for burning, and she found that the roof on part of the garage area had also collapsed. Not a ton, but enough she would be doing repairs for a long while. Back inside, she fixed Piros a bowl of food and set it down for him while she ate a sandwich she’d picked up at the store. She was too tired to make anything tonight. The kitchen would be useless aside from the fact the counters were solid and there were places for her to prepare her food. She had most of it in the kitchen on one of the counters in a couple tubs to keep any creatures from eating it.
Then she bedded down for the night, by the fire, with her dog at her side.
* * * *
Iris woke at five, according to her watch, and lay inside her sleeping bag for a moment as she realized where she was. Colorado. Not long before Christmas.
“Piros, sometimes I do the stupidest things.”
He thumped his tail.
“Thanks for the support.” She climbed out and shivered. The fire was her first priority, and she thanked every listening god that the chimney hadn’t been clogged and she hadn’t burned down the house with her and Piros in it.
After an extremely quick trip outside to take care of business, she got them both some food. While Piros ate, she headed out to the garage once more. With a much closer look at some wood out there, she realized she could board up some of the windows to help keep more heat contained.
