Life sometimes doesn't happen the way you envision it. One tragic event can change your life, how you decide to handle it is your choice. Hannah's life was turned upside down at a young age but she made the bold decision to take control of her destiny not expecting she would uncover a family secret and find the loves of her life.
Brothers of the heart, Spade and Nick have been best friends since childhood. Having hidden talents between them, they became the most sought after two-man team for special ops until they grew tired of the dark side of their jobs. "Retiring" from their positions, they jumped at the opportunity to help the development of a new private security firm. In their personal lives they’d resigned themselves to the fact that never would they find a woman that was right for them; having known all their lives that they could only love one woman between them; then in walked Hannah Ackerman and Fate intervened.
A coming of age story with a few twists and turns along the way.
This book is intended for mature audiences.
Here's a sneak peak of chapter one from
Hers to Have...
Preface
Looking out at the gathering crowd, Hannah couldn’t help but feel proud. Her life had been filled with ups, downs, and more obstacles than one could count, but now she realized every one of those things had been worth it for this one moment in time, if nothing else. Turning at the soft voice that spoke her name from behind, she smiled at her daughter, Constantine, who was dressed in white silk and lace. The wedding dress had been a gift from an up and coming designer that Hannah had been instrumental in getting his name out there in all the right circles. So in return, he’d requested the honor of creating the perfect wedding dress for Constantine’s big day.
“Mother, what are you thinking about? You look like you’re somewhere far away in thought,” Connie asked of Hannah.
Reaching up to adjust the pearls that adorned Connie’s hair, Hannah offered her a smile of pure love. “Just thinking about all it took to get to this point in my life and I couldn’t be any more proud of you than I am today. You’re a beautiful bride and you’ll make an incredible wife, Constantine.” At which her daughter returned the smile with a laugh that sounded so much like both of her fathers. Which brought Hannah back to her wandering thoughts. How she loved those men. Now they both stood in the doorway ready to walk their daughter down the aisle to her awaiting groom. This day was going to be perfect. With the army of security they had around them nothing would be able to interfere with the happiness of Constantine and her groom.
Chapter 1
Twenty-eight years earlier….
This had to be the worst day of her life. Hannah sat next to her “Uncle” Harm wondering when she was going to wake up from the nightmare. This couldn’t be happening in real life. No way. Not in her perfect world. From the time she was born she’d been raised like a Princess. She wasn’t, of course, but her parents always made her feel that way. She was one of the rare few that grew up in a multi-billion dollar family who actually spent time with their parents. Now her world had been shattered.
She looked to Harm hoping this was some cruel joke but she could tell by the darkness in his gaze it was not. No. Her perfect world had crumbled down around her. All the money in the world couldn’t fix this and she’d gladly give up all of her riches to have those seven words stricken from her memory and found to be a false statement. “Your parents died in a plane crash.” They echoed over and over in her mind. Harm’s voice ringing in her head as he held her tight, offering comfort, taking comfort for himself in return, she was sure.
At fifteen Hannah Marie Ackerman already knew the ins and outs of the business her father, Christian Ackerman, had inherited. He had always let her be a part of the company from before she could even walk. The plan was that one day she would take her rightful place at his side to lead the business and eventually take over so he and her mother, Marianna, could still enjoy their lives while they were young. Her goal was to give him a break by the time she was twenty, but life apparently had other plans and now she had to step up. Could she do it? She thought to herself. Sucking in a shuddering breath, she turned her gaze up to her Uncle Harm’s. Seeing him offer her a slight smile, something that was rarely seen on his face, because he was always so serious, fortified her decision. Yes. She could and would.
The next few days passed by in a dreamlike state. Hannah was surrounded by her father’s security force, or should she say her force now. Uncle Harm had made sure she was never left alone; not even while sleeping. She was growing tired of the constant surveillance even if it was for her own safety. Hannah knew that Harm meant well, but after the funeral she needed some space. Legally everything had been taken care of. She was now the CEO of Ackerman Enterprises with Harmond Dane, better known as Uncle Harm, as her right hand man and guardian. Together they would lead the company into the future side by side. However, now it was time for her to stand up to her Uncle and put her foot down about the security measures he’d been taking.
“Uncle Harm?” Hannah approached him on silent steps, his back was to her as he looked out of the third floor window of the Ackerman mansion. This was her favorite room in the house. Her father’s office, which overlooked the playground he’d installed for her years ago. Now however, the area was more of a flower garden because when she outgrew the swings and slides, Hannah found a love in all things floral. Granted, she couldn’t grow a weed to save her life, but her father saw to it that she had the best gardeners to make sure any flower she wanted grew in the space.
Harm turned to gaze at the closest thing he had to family left in this world. This girl who at the age of fifteen was very much a woman, mentally. She was beautiful and he knew there would be many unsavory males vying for her attention with her being the heir of the Ackerman fortune. He had vowed to Christian, his best friend, that he’d give his last breath to ensure Hannah was never taken advantage of or harmed in any way. Opening his arms to embrace his ‘niece’ as he always did, he was somewhat shocked when she slapped her hands on her hips and glared up at him with a mutinous expression. “Hannah Marie? What’s this all about?” Harm asked.
“This,” she snapped at him in a harsher tone than she intended, “is about my sanity.” Taking a step closer to him, she met him eye for eye, well, more like eye for chest since she stood around seven inches shorter than his 6’2” inch frame. At 5’7” she was above average height for a female, especially at her age, but compared to the hulking men that surrounded her on a daily basis, she was anything but tall in their eyes. “Listen Uncle Harm.” Holding her hand up to stop him from interrupting her, she went on, “While I love you with all my heart it’s time that you realize I have to take control of my life including the guard dogs you have on my heels.”
He knew this discussion was in the making for days now. Hannah was so much like her father that he knew she’d balk at having security around her twenty-four-seven, but one way or another he planned to win this, if nothing else he’d pull the ‘I’m the adult and guardian’ card. His lips twitched at the thought of what she would do if he brought that up. She might be blonde, but she had the heart of a red-head when it came to her temper. Something she’d obviously inherited from her mother because Christian Ackerman had been the epitome of mild-mannered. “You have a choice, Hannah. You can stay locked up in the mansion for the next five or ten years or you can resign yourself to the fact that where you go, they go!” Harm declared, nodding toward the set of guards, Gregory and Zacharius, that were currently on watch over her.
“Locked up? You have got to be kidding me,” she quipped. “Uncle Harmond I’m fifteen years old and the head of one of the largest corporations in the country. If I can handle that, I can deal with my own security issues.” Pointing to her guards, she continued, “Lucy and Ethel over there can go with me when I leave the house or office, but around here and at work I demand my freedom to move around as I please.” She wasn’t going to back down on this, no matter what he thought.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Harm just stared at her, not saying a word. He knew she’d crack under his gaze. Everyone did.
Shifting around on her feet, she broadened her stance, lifting her lips in a slight grin. “Not gonna work Uncle. You forget who taught me everything I know about self defense and boardroom strategy.” Pointing to Harm while her grin broadened into a smirk. “You.”
“Well hell,” he muttered under his breath, sighing in frustration. He knew he’d have to come up with a compromise or this would be a never ending battle. Yes, he’d helped Christian groom her for the role of CEO, but damned if he thought they had done this good of a job already. Sitting down at the small conference table, he steepled his fingers together. “Let’s strike a deal or we’ll be at each other’s throats from here on out and we can’t have that.”
Hannah joined him at the table and together the two of them reached a mutual agreement about the boundaries of her guards. Little did she know at the time that while she might have learned the skills to negotiate for what she wanted, Harmond Dane had been doing it a lot longer and was a sneaky son of a gun. Over the next couple of months she learned that while she thought she had her freedom from the guards on her downtime, they were always lurking around nearby.
