Page 69 of Chains
The loud roarstartled her awake and panic seized her with thoughts that Bret had broken down the door and was in the house. Then Autumn recognized the familiar sound of Chains’s motorcycle, and she jumped off the couch and rushed to the front part of the house and looked out at the street. Seeing him get off his bike, she flung the door open and rushed down the walkway.
Chains looked up and lifted his chin at her; then, she ran to him and collapsed in his arms. He caught her, and they stood there like that, frozen into a promise: he’d catch her, shield her, no matter what the world threw at them. Autumn buried her face in his chest as tears streamed down her face.
“What is it, darlin’?” he asked, his hand running through her hair.
“I feel so lost and alone,” she said between sobs.
“No reason to—I’m here. What’s got you spooked?”
“Just hold me,” she whispered.
“Okay, but let’s go inside. You’re shivering real bad.”
With his arm wrapped around her, he guided her into the house and gently sat her down on the couch. She kept her head bent, fearful of what he might do to Bret when he found out what had happened.
“Do you want me to get you a drink? How about something warm?”
She shook her head, and he sat down and pulled her into his embrace.
“Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”
Autumn nestled into him, inhaling the scent of leather, wind, and soap. Tingles shot through her when she felt his lips press against her head.
“Are you freaked out from seeing Bret last night?”
“No. He came by tonight, and we had an awful fight.”
Chains pulled away a bit. “Tell me about it.” He placed two fingers under her chin.
At first she resisted when he tried to tip her head back, but then she went with it.
“What thefuck?” The look of shock, then anger and, finally, hatred burned in his eyes and frightened her. “Did that fucker do this to you?”
Not able to answer, she nodded. Autumn felt his body stiffen and icy chills danced over her skin.
“Don’t do anything impulsive,” she croaked out before coughing up a storm.
Chains jumped up and was back in a couple of seconds with a glass of water. She gulped it down, hoping to ease the dry spot in her throat.
“Better?” he asked.
“Yeah. The dry air in the fall and winter seems to settle in my throat.” She smiled, hoping that would dissolve the fury in his eyes.
Chains sat back down and turned to her. “Has the asshole ever hit you before?”
“Never,” she said. “I don’t know what happened. He seemed enraged that you were with me last night. He kept accusing me of having an affair with you behind his back when we were engaged. The whole thing is crazy and unbelievable. I was shocked when he struck me.”
Chains ran two fingers over her eyes, cheeks, nose, and jaw. “Nothing’s broken. I’m gonna make the sonofabitch pay for what he’s done to you.”
“Don’t… please. I don’t want the police involved in this.”
“Baby, I have outlaw status. I play by my own rules.”
“I’m pretty sure he won’t be back or try this again. When he was pounding on my door, I told him I’d called you. It did the trick and he left. I think he’s scared of you.”
“Yeah, I bet he is,” Chains muttered. “When did this happen?”
“Almost two hours ago.”
