“It’s finally just the two of us,” Arrow said, showing her a line of his white teeth. He reminded her of a wolf about to devour a gazelle. She was his prey. Screaming wouldn’t do her any good. No one would come to her help because no one ever did. Arrow backed her against the closest wall. She slid her gaze to the door. Both of them could still hear Buzz and Bulldog having their shouting match outside.
Arrow wasn’t scared of Bulldog. Bulldog might act like the new big boss, but Tanya knew his men were only humoring him. They followed him only because there was nothing else to do, and they could do whatever the hell they wanted. Unlike Rooster, Bulldog wasn’t a fan of enforcing rules. She heard the rumble of a motorcycle outside. Two. Her heart sank. Bulldog and Buzz had probably left for town, leaving her truly alone with this pervert.
The tiny bit of hope she’d held on to wilted. What did she expect? That Bulldog would walk back in, see her predicament, and save her from Arrow? As if her brother gave two shits about her. Like Rooster, Bulldog always treated her like an inconvenience. The sad truth was her family thought it would’ve been better if she’d never been born. Some days, Tanya wished the same.
“You’ve been such a fucking tease, Tanya,” he said. “You’ve been driving me mad over the past week. Enough games.”
What games? Arrow and her brother constantly reminded her plenty of times she was no looker. They were right. Tanya had boring brown hair and eyes. She was on the curvy side, and she certainly had nothing on her mother, who’d been a club whore. Her mother left the MC right after giving birth to her, but Tanya had one picture of her. She’d been a beauty, unlike Tanya. Arrow was probably just horny because he no longer had access to the club whores. To him, women were all the same, just pussy he could tap and discard after he was done with them. Arrow sickened her. All MC men did.
He began to touch her cheek. Tanya punched him in the face, or attempted to. Arrow easily overpowered her, gripping her wrists above her head. His face, which most of the MC club whores considered handsome, twisted in contempt. Humor bled from his eyes.
“Get away from me,” she whispered.
“Or what? Daddy’s dead and your spineless excuse of a brother won’t save you. He needs me too much.” Arrow’s breath smelled repulsive as he leaned in close. He used one hand to hold her wrists, and the other, he used to squeeze her breasts. She took that opportunity to kick him in the groin. Arrow howled, backing away.
Heart racing, she ran, only to feel his hands on the back of her tank top. He yanked her backward so violently that the fabric tore. Arrow tackled her to the ground. She twisted and kicked him. Using his big body to pin her down, he leered at her.
The sound of a gunshot made both of them freeze. Tanya knew she should try to free herself, but something felt damnably wrong. She could feel it in her gut. It was eerily quiet outside. Arrow hadn’t noticed, he was busy tearing off the rest of her top.
The door flew off its hinges as another gunshot went off. Arrow scrambled off her, eyes narrowed. He fumbled for something in his jacket, but two men in leather jackets entered the cabin. They weren’t wearing Red Dragon MC patches.
Arrow swore. He didn’t bother with his gun anymore. Like a coward, he bolted for the kitchen. The bigger and older of the two intruders went after him. The younger one lingered. The one with the short, dark-brown hair and hard eyes, eyes a blue so dark they almost appeared black under the morning light. Tanya swallowed as she found herself staring at the barrel of a shotgun.
“Who are you?” he asked her, looking her up and down.
For some reason, she didn’t feel repulsed by his gaze. He looked at her with a mixture of concern, curiosity, and pity. That last emotion was the one Tanya couldn’t stand. She’d been looked at like that her entire life by strangers she didn’t know. Worried neighbors. Local cops who were too afraid of Rooster and the MC to offer her a helping hand. She understood the rules of the world she grew up in. It was every man and woman for his or herself. The strong ate at the weak, and today, she’d perish because she found herself in the role of the prey. The victim.
She was almost relieved because this unknown biker was going to be her angel of mercy. Tanya had no reason to live. Her entire life had been one big messy fight for survival, and she was so tired. Bulldog and the others knew the Fallen Saints would come for them eventually, and here they were. That meant Buzz and her brother were probably dead.
Tanya didn’t feel a smidge of guilt for their deaths, and she felt a little something when she found out Rooster was dead. Rooster, in his own way, had tried to look out for her. Bulldog bullied and pushed her around her entire life. She’d seen how other brothers treated their sisters in school. That wasn’t how Bulldog was with her. Arrow was right. Bulldog would’ve let Arrow do whatever he wanted to her because she was necessary collateral damage.
“I asked you a question,” he said.
She told him the truth. “I’m no one. Go ahead. End me.”
He looked startled, suddenly unsure of what to do. Tanya swore he possessed the eyes of a killer, but at that moment, his edges softened. Unexpected desire stirred in her gut as he lowered the gun. Tanya was confused. She didn’t understand him at all. Fear settled inside her like a familiar blanket. If he had no intentions of killing her, what did he plan to do with her?
Chapter Three
The woman was the last thing Chains had expected to find. She wore old blue jeans and a tattered shirt that barely covered her pink bra. Even so, her long brown curls and those big hazel eyes stopped him cold. Those eyes screamed innocence, and he never expected to find that in a shithole like this. Why was a treasure, an angel like her, hanging around with a bunch of losers?
A second thought occurred to him. Why had she been so ready to die? Any other woman in her shoes would’ve begged him to spare her life, but this woman did the opposite. She invited him to take it. That disturbed him on so many levels. The Fallen Saints might be a lot of things, but they followed a certain set of rules. They didn’t kill women or children.
A gunshot rang from the kitchen, sending Chains moving. He found Iron standing outside the kitchen, looking pissed. He didn’t see a third dead body.
“He got away?” Chains asked. Damn it all. Earlier, he told Iron it was like shooting all three ducks in a row. Bulldog and his friends didn’t even know they were coming.
“The fucker ran right through the woods.” In the distance, Chains could hear the rumble of an engine. He was tempted to give chase. That bastard needed to pay for what he’d done to Tank, to the woman in the cabin. Shit. Chains walked back inside, expecting her to be gone. She remained where he left her, except she stood up, wrapping her arms around her body.
“Who is she?” Iron asked by his side, giving him a questioning look.
“I don’t know,” he admitted.
“A club whore maybe?” Iron asked him.
Immediately, he wanted to come to her defense, and that rattled him. He didn’t even know her name, the first thing about her, and yet he felt protective toward her.
“No,” she said. “I’m Tanya West.”
Iron swore next to him.
He froze. Daniel West was Rooster’s legal name, which made Tanya his daughter. Just when Chains thought she was a scared rabbit, she raised those big eyes to his. He met her challenging stare for a few seconds.
“What are we going to do with her?” Iron asked, scratching his head.
“Your brother’s dead. So is his friend. The one who was assaulting you escaped.” Chains didn’t know why he gave her that information. He watched her closely for her reaction.
She let out a breath. Tanya looked calm, relieved almost. “Bulldog’s just my half-brother. He and Rooster were the only family I had left.”
“Do you want vengeance?” Chains asked. Revenge was a vicious cycle, he knew that well enough. Sooner or later, it would bite him back in the ass. Iron watched their interaction with a furrowed brow. Iron was probably wondering what the fuck Chai
ns was thinking.
“No,” she answered with a shiver. “I’ve had enough of all of this. I’ve seen enough violence to last me a lifetime.”
Suddenly, she looked haunted, older than her years, although she must only be in her early twenties.
“What do you know about Bulldog and his operation?” he asked.
She let out a brittle laugh. Chains didn’t like the sound. He wished neither of them was in this position. He wanted to spirit her somewhere safe and quiet, and he would get her to smile, to laugh, but not like this. Tanya sounded like she was breaking apart. Splintering. Then again, why wouldn’t she? She’d just lost her family, but Chains had a feeling Bulldog and Rooster treated her like shit.
“What operation?” she asked him. “Bulldog doesn’t have Rooster’s smarts. He hit you guys hard because he and his pals were drunk and restless. It’s not a prelude to some big plan.”
“Bulldog and his friends nearly beat my brother to death,” Chains said in a flat voice.
“And now Bulldog and Buzz are dead,” she said. “Are you satisfied?”
“No. One escaped but he won’t get far.”
“Arrow’s crafty. He likes to talk big, but he’s a runner.” Tanya shivered.
He bet she was cold. Chains didn’t know why he took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. She stood so still, he almost thought she was a statue. Did she think he’d hurt her? For a second, that angered him, then he pushed that emotion aside. Tanya had been through a lot.
“What are you going to do with me?” She looked only at him, barely sparing Iron a glance.
“She knows nothing,” he told Iron.
“But she’s a witness,” Iron reminded him unhelpfully.
“I can’t let you go,” Chains told her plainly. He thought she’d fight him or try to run, but she only seemed resigned to her fate.
“I see. I understand,” she answered. “I’ll go with you.”
She agreed to it so readily that it disturbed him.
“Can I gather some of my personal belongings?” she asked him. “From my room? It won’t take long and I don’t have a lot of stuff.”
“Don’t take too long,” he said.
She nodded. A second later, they heard a bedroom door slam close. Chains ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
“She’s a complication,” Iron said.
“No shit.” A twisted part of him hadn’t intended to let her go at all. Chains wanted to keep her. Tanya West wasn’t going anywhere, not anytime soon. She knew too much. She might talk, but he had a feeling she wasn’t that kind of woman.
Tanya emerged ten minutes later, carrying a backpack. She’d also changed into a new top, a gray fitted sweater that failed to hide her sensual curves. Chains had a hard time keeping his gaze on her face and not the rest of her. She was probably traumatized. He shouldn’t be thinking about her that way, but he couldn’t help himself. He knew there was something special about her the moment he’d first laid his eyes on her.
“We need to get rid of the bodies,” Iron said.
She flinched at those words.
“Stay here,” he told her. “Don’t think to leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere. It’s not like I have anywhere else to go,” she said in a whisper, but Chains heard her words anyway. His heart cracked a little. She told them there were supplies in the shed behind the cabin. They found shovels there. Burying a dead body was always back-breaking work, but it needed to be done.
“She’s an odd one,” Iron said as they began digging deep into the earth.
“I think she’s still in shock. Doesn’t seem like she’s sad about her brother’s death,” he commented.
“I wouldn’t want a brother like Bulldog either,” Iron said with a shrug. “What are you planning to do with her?”
“Whatever the hell I want. I found her. She’s mine.”
Iron said nothing as they continued to dig. In truth, Chains didn’t know what the hell he was going to do with her. Why would she want to come with them in the first place? Because she had no choice? Maybe growing up in the MC life had done a number on her. By the time the back-breaking work was done, Iron and he were tired and dirty. They returned to the cabin.
Once again, Chains expected to find her gone, but she surprised the hell out of both of them with lunch.
“It’s just sandwiches and some soup. It’s not poisoned,” she said quickly. “If you guys need to use the shower, it’s right by the hall.”
“I’ll take that shower,” Iron said.
Once they were alone again, he asked her. “Why are you doing this?”
Chains sat at the kitchen table. He took a sip of the mushroom soup. It tasted warm and good. He took a few bites of his sandwich then gestured to the empty chair next to her. “Sit with me. Eat,” he said.
She fixed herself a sandwich and sat down. “I’m not too hungry,” she admitted, but she took small bites anyway. Maybe she was trying to prove to him the food wasn’t poisoned. He wasn’t worried about that because a nice girl like Tanya wouldn’t resort to anything sinister. It eluded him how a bastard like Rooster could father a nice daughter like Tanya.
“You didn’t answer my question earlier,” he reminded her. “Why did you make lunch for us? Why didn’t you run when you could?”
“Running only makes things worse, I know that,” she whispered. “I’m used to this, to doing chores for my dad and brother. It’s all I know how to do. Even more shit hit the fan and Rooster died, I worked at the diner, then came home to do chores.”
“Your father and brother are assholes who don’t know how to treat a woman right.”
“All you MC men are the same.”
Chains regarded her. He wanted to argue, to tell her he was different, except he’d be lying. Chains had never been in a serious relationship his entire life. He thought he’d be content with hook-ups and casual sex his entire life, but after meeting her, he was beginning to change his mind. What Tanya needed was a real man, someone who didn’t take her for granted. Someone who’d treat her like the fucking queen she really was.
“We need to take you with us because we have more questions for you,” he finally told her bluntly. “Then there’s the other problem. You’re a witness.”
“I didn’t see anything. I heard gunshots and that’s it. I won’t talk,” she assured him.
“I know you won’t, but our Prez would probably want to talk to you,” he said. “Don’t worry, once he sees you’re not part of this, of the Red Dragons, you’re free to go.”
Chains didn’t want that, of course. He wanted to spend more time with this woman, to get under her skin and truly know her. What made her tick, laugh, and smile. He wanted to wipe away the sorrow in her eyes. To taste those luscious lips and run his hands down her beautiful and tempting curves. He silently berated himself.
Tanya was probably scared, although she was trying to put up a brave front in front of him.
“Okay,” she finally said. “I trust you.”
“You shouldn’t give your trust easily to strangers. I’m not a good man.” Chains didn’t know why he told her that either, but he felt Tanya deserved the truth. He didn’t want to lie, to deceive her. She’d been through enough.
“You’re better than Bulldog and the other MC men I’ve come across. You could’ve ended my life. It’s the easiest way to keep me quiet, but you didn’t.” She bit on her bottom lip.
Fuck, those lips. Chains wanted to taste her so badly, to feel her warm and soft body rubbing against his hard one.
“We don’t kill innocent women or children. That’s not part of our M.O.”
She blinked. “Bulldog made it sound like you were vicious monsters.”
“Sounds like your brother was a dick,” Iron added, joining them in the kitchen. The other biker noticed Chains’s empty bowl and plate, then quickly devoured his lunch. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing much, I just told Tanya what to expect once we take her
to our clubhouse.” Chains saw the momentary fear in Tanya’s eyes. He didn’t know what made him reach out for her arm. He closed his fingers over hers, pleased she didn’t pull away. Tanya looked at him uncertainly.
“No one’s going to hurt you,” Chains assured her. “Whoever touches you inappropriately or without permission will have to answer to me. You understand? You’ll be under my protection.”
“I don’t date bikers,” she blurted.
Chains blinked. “Okay.” He didn’t know what else to say.
Thank God Iron remained silent. Chains knew he was acting out of character, but he didn’t care. Tanya and he had the potential to become something more. He just didn’t know what yet.
Chapter Four
“So this is the woman who’s got you all twisted up in knots?” Those were the first words Saint asked when Chains brought Tanya to Saint’s office.
The President of the Fallen Saints MC intimidated her slightly. Why wouldn’t he? This pissed-off biker had the power to order Chains or one of his men to shoot her in the head. Chains said his MC didn’t kill women or children. She believed him, but Saint might make an exception for her. After all, she was the daughter of an enemy MC. There was no way Saint would allow her to leave.
“Tanya has nothing to do with either Rooster or Bulldog. She was unwillingly dragged into their mess,” Chains said, coming to her defense.
Tanya looked at her captor, her savior. She didn’t even know what to call him. He’d treated her with nothing but respect as they left Mountain Lake and headed to the town of Redemption. This town was Fallen Saints territory. Tanya had never even left her hometown before, so all of this was new and a little frightening. Somehow, riding on the back of Chains’s motorcycle kept her panic at bay. Tanya didn’t know why she clung to him like a lifeline. He steadied her. She trusted him, although he was right. Chains was a complete stranger to her. She had no reason to trust him, but she did. Tanya couldn’t quite explain it, but she’d believed him when he told her he’d keep her safe. Would he still hold on to that promise if his MC President decided she was a threat?
Breaking Chains (Fallen Saints MC Book 4) Page 2
