Chains Read online

  Chains

  By Elizabeth York

  Copyright @ 2021 by Elizabeth York

  Edited my Quinn Ryder

  Proofread by Julie JA LaFrance

  Was a temporary installment in the Revving For Love Anthology

  First Print February 2021

  All rights reserved in all media. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  The moral right of Elizabeth York as an author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act of 1988.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locales, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is coincidental or fictionalized.

  Dedication:

  To those who have ever thought about running, don’t be afraid of the journey. Keep looking forward and go. There are better things out there for you.

  Chapter One

  Chains

  “Hello,” a voice echoed just loud enough to be heard amongst the sounds of children giggling. I put my finger to my lip to quiet them. My hand instinctively moved toward my holster as I leaned back on the tan leather couch I was sitting on, to turn toward the front door of Medic’s house.

  I couldn’t see anyone and questioned if I was hearing things when a soft knock bounced off the metal screen door and flowed down the hollowness of the entryway until everyone in the house was aware there was someone at the door.

  “Can I help you?” I asked as the kids ran to the window, their curiosity piqued. Little fingers were pulling the blinds apart so hard they would never close correctly again.

  “Fiona is my friend, umm… she said I could find Medic at this address,” she fumbled her words as I stood up.

  “One moment,” I called out loudly. “You want me to finish the story, right?”

  The kids excitedly said one over the other, “Yes.”

  “Then sit down, don’t move, and I will be right back.”

  I walked to the door to see a slender woman who had her back to me. Watching her look this way and that as she pulled the white scarf, she was wearing over her mouth as her sunglasses hid her eyes. The long trench coat that was more Sherlock Holmes than her, covered everything to her ankle where she was wearing a pair of converse sneakers that looked like they belonged to a man, and we a couple sizes too large. It looked as though she was trying to hide herself or hiding from someone else.

  “Ski mask,” the words fell off my lips as she jumped before turning in my direction.

  “I’m sorry?” She barely looked up at me.

  “If you are trying to hide your face, try a ski mask,” I blurted without a second thought.

  “Wouldn’t it be obvious that I was up to no good or hiding if I came here wearing a ski mask?”

  “Couldn’t be any worse than showing up here wearing Chanel.” I gave her a shrug as she pulled her scarf away from her face, enough to look down at the two C’s on the fabric.

  “I supposed I have never been very good at blending in,” she stated as more of a thought than as a part of the conversation we had engaged in. She was right, though. Her blond hair and ruby lips that peeked out of her scarf when she lowered it to talk, definitely would have made me notice her. “Are you Medic?”

  “Who are you?” I questioned without answering her. If her mission was to blend in so no one knew she was here, she had gone about it completely wrong. Driving here in a Benz that sat on the street, wearing name brand things that most of the club whores couldn’t even spell. She didn’t belong here, and that made me suspicious as well as curious.

  “El—Laney,” she lied right to my face.

  “Try again.” I gave her one chance to tell me the truth or she could find someone else to help her.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “You like to apologize…” I pointed out but dropped it when I noticed she wasn’t moving her right arm. “Tell me your name—your real name, and why you’re looking for Medic.”

  “Fiona told me to come here… she said no one would ask questions here.”

  “Chains, Chains, Chains,” the kids chanted my name. They were eager to hear a story and impatient with my shallow interrogation of the woman in front of me.

  “Come inside, sit in the brown recliner, and wait there.”

  She followed me inside and into the living room where a cluster of kids couldn’t wait for me to sit on the couch so they could pummel me. I played with each one, lifting them in the air, and pretending to let them crash into the cushions on the couch.

  “Shains,” the littlest one who couldn’t quite pronounce my name said, bringing me a phone book from 1987 to read to them. “Story?”

  “You want me to read this?” I questioned as the woman in the recliner pulled her scarf up higher to mask what seemed to be a smile. The little girl nodded her head emphatically, grabbed her blanket, and came and sat on the floor at my feet, and waited for me to tell her where Aaron Abade lived.

  “Once, a long time ago, a little boy met another couple of boys at school. They fought together, learned together, and grew up the best of friends,” I started making stuff up as they became engrossed in what might come out of my mouth next. Thankfully, none of the kids were old enough to know it was a phone book and call me out on my made-up story.

  “Where’s the princess?” one of the little girls asked.

  I smiled. “The three boys grew up big and strong because they ate everything on their plate and learned to ride a motorcycle after they had been taught by the biker chief in the neighboring town. They road everywhere together until…”

  “How is everyone?” Medic asked with his hands full of groceries as he glanced over the kids and then eyed the woman in the chair.

  “Story.” The littlest girl stood up and took Medic by the hand, not allowing him the chance to set his groceries in the kitchen. Instead, she made him sit by her, which earned another smile from the woman in the chair. I was starting to enjoy seeing a smile on her face, so I continued, hoping to see it again.

  “The little boys rode everywhere together until they met the chief’s daughter. She was a beautiful princess who loved to ride with them, but her father, the chief, forbade it. He told all the boys that they were to stay away from his daughter, or he would release the kraken…”

  “What’s a kraken?” The oldest boy questioned.

  “A Dragon,” one of the other kids called out. I had no idea where this story was going, but it seemed plausible, so I went with it.

  “One night, when everyone was asleep, the three boys rode their bikes into the neighboring town and parked them so no one would hear them coming when they went to the chief’s house and took his daughter…”

  “They kidnapped her?” The kids all scoffed in shock.

  “No, she wanted to go.”

  “She wanted to run away from her mom and dad?” one child demanded an answer as others questioned the phone book in my hands.

  “No, she just wanted to go outside…”

  “At night?” the woman in the corner questioned with what I swore was a laugh and had all the kids ready to lynch me for my choices in the story.

  “The three boys got caught, their parents grounded them, and everyone lived happily ever after,” Medic closed out the story as the kids began to dissect every word I had said. “Help me put away the groceries.” Medic gave me a nod to walk with him into the kitchen.

  “Any problems?”

  “Not until storytime,” I growled as I looked over at the kids who were tearing apart the phone book looking for pictures of the alleged kraken.

  “Who’s the woman?”

  “No idea. She cam
e to the door all cloak and dagger. When I asked for her name, she lied, but she did say she was a friend of Fi’s.”

  “Cloak and dagger?” Medic snickered as he put a bag of coffee in the freezer. “I think that’s enough storytime for you. Put on a movie for the kids and move her into my office.”

  A half-hour of the kids fighting and bickering over which movie to watch, I was losing my patience. The medic stood back with his arms crossed, waiting to see me save myself, but I had no idea what to do. I never had any little brothers or sisters—no family to speak of, and I was outnumbered five to one.

  “Everyone, sit down,” the woman finally spoke up, and the kids complied, earning her a nod of approval from Medic and a sneer from me. “Either you agree on a movie, or you won’t get to watch one.”

  The kids whispered amongst themselves, as Medic took a phone call and watched from a distance. You could tell which child was sacrificing their choice and who was clinging to theirs. Finally, the oldest boy looked at me and said, “We can’t decide, will you pick it for us?”

  I slid in a DVD and walked away with a new frustration for little kids. How are they both smarter and more conniving than someone like me, who has had years of practice?

  “Miss,” I held out a hand, and she walked toward Medic. I trailed her as she followed him, noticing a limp in her step. It was on the same side of her body as the arm she refused to move.

  “I’m Medic,” he greeted her as we all stepped into his office. He shut the door, turning on the camera screen to keep an eye on the kids. “Fiona called and told me she sent you over to see me.”

  “I’m so sorry to impose on you—on her, but I didn’t know where else to go.”

  “You’ll be safe here with us, while Fi goes and gets your things. Fi asked me to check you over and make sure you’re okay. Would you be okay with that?”

  Medic earned a slight nod from her and then under a soft whisper I heard, “I’m Elaine, but please call me Ellie.”

  Chapter Two

  Chains

  An hour later, I had seen all I needed to see to know I was going to kill whoever had hurt her. She had a handprint on the front of her neck, finger bruises on her back, her shoulder was dislocated, she had swelling at her hip and ankle, and to top it off, someone had hit her so hard her one eye had swollen shut.

  I’d learned a lot by watching her observe me. She didn’t flinch when Medic gave her a shot, but as she sat on a medical table with me always in the corner of her eye, she’d tense up whenever I stepped into the threshold of the room. She instantly retreated over any movement I made. I wasn’t a monster, and yet, when she looked at me, that’s what she saw.

  “Must be nice to work with your dad,” Ellie stated under her breath as she tightened one fist, trying not to show fear when I came closer.

  “Chains isn’t my son, he’s our newest resident babysitter,” Medic chuckled as he spoke while he put butterfly strips on a cut above her blue eyes.

  I rolled my eyes in response as I drank in the sight of her now that I could see her without sunglasses and scarves to hide her. She truly was a beautiful woman, but she also looked like someone who had just been through a war.

  “My son, Ty, is in prison.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she mouthed the words, but Medic shook his head.

  “I’m proud of him,” Medic explained as I took another step closer to the two of them. “Ty never leaves a man behind, and that’s why he’s in there. He’s not leaving a couple of people behind.”

  “My brother’s in prison,” she stated as Medic nodded for me to stand in front of her. “He tried to save me, and the cost was his freedom.”

  “Ellie,” Medic spoke with a calming tone, I hadn’t heard him use but once. “Your shoulder is dislocated, and I need to put it back.”

  “Okay.”

  “I am going to have Chains come and hold you, so you don’t move.” He waited for her to refuse, but she said nothing. “Hold her.”

  I cautiously walked closer to her, watching as she tensed and looked up at me with fear in her eyes. She looked at me with a plea, begging me not to hurt her, she had obviously been through hell, but I couldn’t tell her this wouldn’t hurt. I had seen this bring grown men to tears.

  “I won’t hurt you,” I reassured her as I wrapped my arms around her tiny body, leaving room for Medic to rotate her shoulder back into the socket. She reached her free arm around me and fisted my shirt as Medic began to move her arm. “I’ve got you, pretty girl,” I whispered as I tightened my grip.

  “Here we go,” was the last thing I heard until I heard her sob. I should have let go, I should have stepped away and let Medic put a sling on her, but instead, I held her, letting her cry on my shoulder as I swore no one would hurt this woman ever again. She was nothing more than a stranger to me, but yet, I wanted to be her protector.

  “What’d you do?” Fi’s voice questioned with anger lacing her words as she stepped into the doorway.

  I loosened my grip on Ellie and pulled back to see her trying to hide her tears.

  “We had to put her shoulder back in place,” Medic answered as my thumb reached up and wiped away a stray tear while my other arm stayed wrapped around her.

  “Hurts like a bitch and you will be sore, but Medic’s the best,” Fi told Ellie as we broke eye contact and looked toward her.

  “Thank you,” Ellie spoke the two little words with a rasp while Medic put her arm in a sling. “Am I good to go with Fi now?”

  “Can you give me ten more minutes to look at your ankle?” Medic inquired.

  She gave him a nod.

  I released her completely and stepped back, wishing I didn’t have to let her go. Women who were abused were my Achille’s heel. There was nothing that penetrated my armor more than seeing them in pain to know that someone did that to them because they thought they could.

  “Chains,” Fi whispered, motioning for me to follow her. She led the way past the kids who were enthralled with Nicholas Cage hunting for lost treasure, and we headed outside where she immediately lit up a cigarette. “I need a favor.”

  “Your favors land people in jail,” I retorted without a second thought.

  “Okay, fine. Ellie needs a favor,” she tried another angle.

  “How about just telling me what you need, and I will decide if I help from that?”

  “Fine. Ellie’s husband is revered amongst the upper class as being both powerful and having a Midas touch with money…”

  “And you want me to beat the hell out of him? Consider it done.”

  “No, that’s not what I was going to ask,” she scoffed. “He’s not one to let things go and has immensely powerful friends. He will come for her; he will track her to the ends of the Earth. In his mind, she belongs to him…”

  “And you want me to kill him?... Done.”

  “Will you let me finish?” She took a frustrated drag of her cigarette.

  “I don’t want you to kill him. I want you to keep her.”

  “What?” I questioned in disbelief.

  “Ellie and I were in school together a long time ago. She and I were best friends when she met him, and then I had to move. We lost touch, but she has been through every friend and family member she has. He will find out that she found me and reach out, he will come for me, thinking she is with me. I need you to keep her safe.”

  “She’s scared of me,” I confessed, remembering her flinching whenever I got close.

  “She’s scared of everything right now. I was going to ask Medic, but he’s watching Smoke’s kids while they pop out another one to add to their herd. I was going to ask some of the club whores, but I don’t want my friend to come back addicted to crack. I was going to ask Mad Dog, but he would tell me this wasn’t club business. I need my friend protected and with Karma, Dagger, and Ty in prison, you are the only one I trust to keep her safe.”

  “The car has to go,” I mumbled as I stared at the expensive tin can.

  “We can hide
it in Karma’s garage while he’s away and figure it out when he gets released.”

  “No. We should take the car to the chop shop a few hours away. That way if he tracks it, it won’t lead him here, and if it is still intact when he finds it, her GPS log will show she just kept driving.”

  “Makes sense.” Fi inhaled the cigarette as if she was drawing the last breath. “Let her heal on her own timeline. Be there for her when she needs it and stay your distance when she doesn’t. Like a friend would do… as I would do for her.”

  “You know this would just be easier if I killed him…”

  “It would be, but everyone who has tried to save me with violence ends up in prison or dead. It’s better if I just disappear.” Ellie stood behind us with Medic.

  I gave Fi a nod, accepting my role as her protector. Now came the hard part. Fi and Medic were having to explain to this beautiful woman why she had to stay with the man she saw as a monster. The man she flinched at whenever I got too close. My little two-bedroom townhouse suddenly didn’t seem large enough to make her feel safe.

  Chapter Three

  Ellie

  Rain, the once sweet pitter-patter of water drops on the roof used to make me sleep like a baby because I knew Jeb, my husband, would do the same, but now it echoed in my ears like hoofbeats, reminding me that he was coming.

  The fire roared as I sat on Chain’s microfiber couch. With the amount of leather the club wore, I had been shocked when his furniture didn’t match. Instead, I found a warm and inviting home with autumn colors and pictures of waterfalls and trees.

  “You’re still up,” Chains spoke softly behind me as he headed into the kitchen in his pajama pants. His rippled chest was almost bare, a few tattoos left color on his skin. It had been a week since I moved in and he had been a perfect gentleman. He woke up early, made breakfast and coffee, and left before I woke up. He stayed gone until dark, so I started making dinner and leaving it out for him before hiding away in my room.