“Leave the room, Chains. I want to talk to Tanya alone,” Saint said.
“Why?” Chains asked with a frown. “She’s been through plenty. The last thing she needs is a shakedown.”
“Don’t make me repeat my orders.” That sounded like a warning.
Tanya didn’t know why she touched Chains’s arm. He looked ready to argue, to go to war for her. Chains paused, glancing at her.
“I’ll be fine.” Tanya wasn’t sure why she was the one assuring him when she was the one who was downright terrified.
“Fine, but I’ll be right outside waiting,” Chains said. He gave her arm a squeeze before exiting the office.
“He’s grown fond of you, and you guys only met,” Saint said. His expression was unreadable. “Take a seat, Tanya. This won’t take long.”
Saint grilled her. He had plenty of questions for her, but Tanya had expected that. She had almost expected to be taken to some dark room and be restrained to a chair like some prisoner being interrogated. Not this. By the time Saint was done, she was exhausted. He’d been thorough, but Tanya didn’t bother with lies because she didn’t really know much of what went on in the Red Dragons MC.
“Would you go seeking retribution for your father and brother?”
Chains had asked her that same question. This time, she thought about it carefully before answering.
“No,” she finally said after a long stretch of silence. “They had it coming. The Red Dragons were making enemies left and right. Rooster and Bulldog were digging their graves early. I was a little sad when Rooster died, he was my dad after all, but the world’s a better place with both of them gone.”
Tanya felt like a traitor for admitting the truth, but she couldn’t take it back. Rooster always told his men that loyalty was important to him, but the men of the Red Dragons MC threw that word around so easily, it didn’t mean a thing. They backstabbed their enemies and each other without a second thought.
“What are you going to do now?” Saint asked her.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. Hesitantly, she found the courage to ask him, “Am I free to go?”
“Iron and Chains are right. You’re not a liability. You just happened to be at the wrong place and time.” Saint paused. “You need a job. A fresh start. Am I wrong? Why don’t you take a job here?”
“Here?” she asked blankly. Her face grew hot. “My mother was a club whore, but I’m not following in her footsteps.”
“As a waitress. We’re in need of those,” Saint explained.
Tanya had a feeling he wasn’t offering her a job out of the goodness of his heart. Saint struck her as a calculating man. He knew she was broke and had no place to go. By offering her employment, he’d be able to keep a close eye on her. She wasn’t scot-free, not completely. Tanya didn’t care. She needed the money. Besides, Mountain Lake didn’t feel safe. It hadn’t felt that way for a long time.
“When can I start work?” she asked. Tanya made a mental list of things to do in her mind. She needed a place to stay as well. Tanya didn’t need to go back to the house she grew up in Mountain Lake. She had all her important belongings in her backpack.
“How does Monday sound?” Saint asked her.
She nodded. “Sounds good. Thank you.”
This sounded like an informal dismissal. Tanya was eager to leave Saint’s office. He still intimidated her. Before she reached the door, he gave her his last parting words.
“If you ever betray me or my MC, Tanya, mark my words. You’ll be joining your father and brother in the ground.”
She clutched the doorknob. Of course, she expected Saint to show his claws sooner or later. He was probably just being protective of his club. It was a little laughable he saw her as a potential threat. Tanya was a nobody, after all. Except that wasn’t completely true. She was something to Chains. She didn’t understand it completely either, but his presence made her situation tolerable. He gave her something she thought she’d lost a long time ago. Hope.
“I’ll remember,” she said, then left Saint’s office.
****
Chains couldn’t keep his eyes off Tanya. She balanced four beers on her tray and proceeded to serve them to his MC brothers. He nursed his drink slowly. A week had passed since he’d brought her to Saint. When he heard she’d accepted a job working as a waitress at the clubhouse, he wasn’t too sure about her decision. Then he realized Saint probably wanted to keep an eye on her. He clenched his bottle and took a sip. Not a drop left.
Usually, he’d want another drink, then another, but not tonight. Chains had a new addiction and it had nothing to do with alcohol.
“Why don’t you ask her out?” asked a new voice. A female one. Olivia joined his table. She still wore her scrubs, so Chains was guessing she’d just finished a shift from the hospital.
“What?” he asked, distracted. He narrowed his eyes as two of his MC brothers checked out Tanya’s ass. It didn’t help that she wore what the other women who worked at the club did—very little clothes. Tanya wore skimpy shorts that barely covered her luscious ass and a white shirt with the bar’s logo. Her top clung perfectly against her curves, highlighting the generous swell of her breasts. Chains wanted to drape his jacket over her shoulders. Cut off the eyeballs of the bastards leering at her.
“On a date,” Olivia emphasized.
“A date?” Chains asked her, sounding clueless in his ears.
He could do that. Tanya and he had barely traded a few sentences over the last week. Chains didn’t know how to approach her. Sure, he’d fucked plenty of women in his time, but they were nothing compared to her. Distractions. The club whores were here of their own violation. They came to the clubhouse to have a good time, but Tanya wasn’t like that.
She was a hard worker, a lost soul trying to find her way in the world after her old one burned down. Lately, Chains wondered if a man like him would ever be good enough for a woman like her. She’d told him once that she didn’t date bikers and he couldn’t blame her. Her father and brother were dicks to her. They made her life miserable.
Olivia giggled, which made Chains scowl at her. “What?” he asked.
“Nothing, I think it’s adorable seeing you like this.” Before Chains could get another word in, Olivia said, “Here she comes. This is your chance to ask her out, Chains.”
His mouth went dry as Tanya came by their table. “Something to drink?” Tanya asked Olivia.
The two women, he noticed, had become fast friends over the past few days. Good for Tanya.
“I could use a beer,” Olivia admitted. “I’m waiting for Saint. He’s in a meeting with Devil.”
“What about you?” Tanya asked him. She lifted her shy gaze to him, and all Chains wanted to do was drag her close to him. Seal his lips over hers and finally taste her for the first time.
“I’m good,” he said, silently cursing himself. Chains didn’t know what the fuck was wrong with him because he wasn’t usually like this. He was a patch for the Fallen Saints MC. When he saw something he liked, he took it without apology.
Moments later, Tanya returned with Olivia’s beer. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. As Tanya left for another table to take their orders, he spotted Dagger reaching out, then giving Tanya’s denim-clad ass cheek a squeeze. Her reaction was immediate. She flinched, backing away, an instinctive reaction. Possession took hold of him.
Chains was on his feet. He surged past Tanya and fisted Dagger’s shirt, hauling him up to his feet.
“What the hell, Chains?” Dagger demanded.
Chains shoved him violently against the table. “I saw what you did, fucker.” He punched him in the face. The three other MC members sitting with Dagger rose from their seats. Dagger recovered from his initial shock and threw a punch to his gut. He grunted. Dagger shoved him away, or he tried to. Chains was bigger, meaner. He had more experience. Dagger had graduated from prospect to patch just a month ago.
“Chains, it’s okay. It was an accident,” Tan
ya said, touching his shoulder. “Please. I don’t want any trouble on my account.”
She was terrified, he realized. She knew she was in a den of wolves. Most of his MC brothers knew who she was, that she was Rooster’s daughter. Tanya probably thought she had no allies here, but she was wrong. She would always have Chains in her corner. He’d defend her from any handsy asshole, including his MC brothers. No one had the right to touch her but him.
Olivia had made a terrific point. He had enough of pussyfooting around and sulking. It was time for him to take charge.
Dagger ought to be grateful Tanya intervened on his behalf. Chains still wanted to slam his face into the table multiple times, but by some miracle, he released him.
“What’s she to you?” Dagger asked, wiping the blood off his split lip with the sleeve of his leather jacket.
Chains turned to Tanya, who looked at him with those huge hazel brown eyes. She didn’t push him away when he slid one arm over her shoulders and brought her close to his chest. Tanya no longer looked shaken. She almost looked relieved he’d come to her aid. Well and good. Chains didn’t want to scare her off.
“She’s my woman. Mine. If I ever see you lay a fucking finger on her again, I’ll kill you,” Chains said in a low voice. “That goes to everyone else.”
Dagger raised his hands in mock defeat. “Sorry, brother. I didn’t realize she was yours.”
“You do now. Don’t fucking ever make the same mistake again.”
“I won’t. I don’t want to get on your bad side, Chains. Peace?” Dagger asked, offering him a handshake. Chains wanted to tell him to go fuck himself, but he knew deep down that Dagger was a good kid. The former prospect had proven his loyalty to the MC plenty of times. Chains gripped his hand, gave the kid a curt nod, and then turned to Tanya.
“Let’s head outside. Get some fresh air,” he suggested.
“Okay.”
Chapter Five
Tanya couldn’t still wrap her head around what happened. One moment, she was working, the next, someone pinched her ass. Then Chains came to her rescue like some white knight. It was pretty laughable actually, because she didn’t need to act so jumpy.
During the past week she worked for the Fallen Saints MC, she learned a few things. The men in this MC weren’t like the Red Dragons MC at all. The club whores and the employees who worked for her father were treated like dirt. The women who hung around at the Red Dragons MC clubhouse did so not by choice but by coercion. In comparison, the club whores who worked for Saint were here of their own violation.
“Are you okay?” Chains asked once they exited the clubhouse.
It was cold out here, so she rubbed at her arms. Like before, Chains automatically took off his jacket and placed it over her shivering shoulders. It was warm and smelled just like him. Like leather and sandalwood soap. Tanya remembered how Chains automatically pulled her close to him, how natural it felt.
She honestly thought he’d lost interest in her. Sure, they traded a few words here and there, but nothing more. Part of her began to wonder if she imagined the heat in his eyes a week ago. When he told Dagger that she was his, her heart beat furiously. Tanya wanted that lie to be true.
She regretted telling him she didn’t date bikers. Maybe that was the reason why he kept his distance from her. Tanya still held on to that rule, but she’d make an exception for him. Chains would always be special to her. After all, he’d saved her life. He’d brought her here and helped her get a fresh start.
“I overreacted,” she admitted. “I must seem like a fool.”
Chains closed in. Her heart started faster as he tipped her chin, using two fingers to force her to look at his eyes. Seeing the familiar hunger there made her nipples tighten under her shirt. Moisture gathered between her legs. When he leaned in close to kiss her, she didn’t stop him. She gripped his shoulders. Tanya didn’t know where she found the courage to kiss him back.
He thrust his tongue down her throat and she sucked hard on it. He slipped his hand under her shirt. She moaned when he released her mouth. There was the devil in his smile when he looked at her.
“What do you say we get out of here?” he asked.
A tempting offer, but Tanya didn’t want to get fired from her job. At first, she’d been apprehensive working for Saint. Later, she found out he was a decent boss. The men in the Red Dragons MC treated all the women at the club like whores, but it wasn’t like that here. Apart from Dagger, who she guessed had been a little tipsy, the MC men respected her space. A couple of them had hit on her, but they backed off sooner or later. She suspected Chains had something to do with that.
“Tanya?” he asked. The sound of her name dragged her back to reality.
“No, I don’t want to lose my job.” She handed him back his jacket. He took it and put it back on. It looks better on him, Tanya mused.
Chains snorted. “You don’t need to keep working here, you know. If you want to get a job in town doing something else, I can talk to Saint for you.”
“I don’t mind working here. The money’s good and I’ve gotten close to some of the girls. Cherry’s even letting me bunk with her for free,” she said.
Cherry was one of the club whores. She hung out at the MC clubhouse at night but during the day, she was a fiery executive at a marketing firm in town. They got along great. Cherry and Olivia had invited her for lunch last week. They also did a little window shopping. Tanya never had any real friends before. Locals in Mountain Lake were too terrified of her father and the Red Dragons MC, so they kept their distance from her. Here, it was different. Olivia truly felt like she was getting a fresh start in Redemption.
“That’s fine. I’ll wait for your shift to be over.” Chains checked his watch. “That’s in two hours, right?”
“Right. I better head in. Brick might be wondering where I am,” she said, referring to the MC member who managed the staff. “I’ll see you later?”
Chains nodded. Tanya returned to serving tables, and he returned to his usual table. The next two hours seemed to drag on forever. Occasionally, some of his MC brothers sat down next to him to chat. He always kept his eyes trained on her, she noticed.
“Chains has his eye on you, huh?” Mandy, a fellow waitress, observed. “You grew up in the MC life, so I don’t need to warn you. Tangling with an MC man might lead you to heartache.”
“You might be right,” she admitted with some surprise, but she wasn’t backing down.
Tanya touched her lips, remembering the sizzling kiss they shared. She wanted more. More kisses and touches from Chains. She never had the opportunity to date much, thanks to her father and brother. How would Chains react if he found out she was a virgin? Would he prefer a more experienced woman?
She cast those thoughts aside and focused on her job. Chains made it clear he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. She once told herself she’d never risk her heart to a biker, and Mandy was right. She’d grown up in this lifestyle. She’d witnessed plenty of women getting their hearts broken, stomped on. Still, she would persist because she wanted to find out where this was going with Chains. Whether they had potential.
After Tanya was done with her shift, Chains waited for her outside the clubhouse. She found him standing by his bike. Spotting her, he curved his lips to a smile that made her feel all warm and fuzzy. He took off his jacket again and placed it over her shoulders.
“You’ll need this more than me,” he said.
“Sorry, I was in a hurry to leave Cherry’s apartment earlier that I forgot to bring a coat. What about you?”
“Don’t worry about me. I have thick skin.” Chains grabbed a helmet from the compartment in the back of his bike. He helped her put it on. He tightened the strap under her chin, then mounted his bike. Pulse racing a little, she swung her leg over the Harley. She wrapped her arms around his hard abs. He revved the engine. Tanya inhaled the familiar masculine scent of him and she buried her face against his back. He felt so warm against her.
Ch
ains left the parking lot and started on the long stretch of road that would lead them to town. It was close to midnight when they left the clubhouse. Most of the shops on Main Street were closed, but there were a couple of bars still open. Chains parked his bike on the curb.
She shot him a questioning look as she got off. Tanya handed the helmet back to him and glanced at the sports bar opposite the street.
“They serve the best cheeseburgers in town here,” Chains said. “You haven’t eaten dinner. You must be hungry. I could use a bite, too.”
He’d noticed that? She didn’t realize she said those words out loud.
“I notice everything about you.”
Tanya didn’t know why his words made her happy. He slid one protective arm over her shoulders again, then led her inside the bar. The place was half empty. They settled on a table next to the window. A waitress stopped by to take their orders.
“I’ll have whatever he’s having,” she said.
“Good choice.” Chains grinned at her. He ordered two cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, and shakes for them.
“No beer?” she asked him.
“I’ve had enough drinking for the night.” Chains paused, seeming deep in thought. “Olivia suggested I take you out for a date. Does this count as one?”
Tanya made a mental note to thank her friend. “It does. It’s really sweet of you to bring me out for dinner, Chains. I thought—” She faltered, then she gathered her courage to tell him the truth. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d lost interest in me.”
He stared at her for a few moments. “Why would you think that? Tanya, I’m fucking obsessed with you.”
Tanya knew she shouldn’t be turned on by his words, but she was. He leaned in close and stole a kiss from her, long, wet, and passionate. She wanted it to last forever. Eventually, they needed to draw in some air. They pulled apart.
“Good,” she whispered.
Breaking Chains (Fallen Saints MC Book 4) Page 3
