Page 89 of Chains
Chapter Eighteen
In the earlymorning, Autumn woke with a jolt. Sitting up with her heart pounding wildly, she strained to see in the dark as every nerve inside her tightened. Autumn held her breath and listened for anything that seemed strange, but the only predawn sounds were a distant train moving through the stillness and the chirping of small birds who had begun to stir. Still, her heart beat fast.Did Bret get in the house?The chance of that terrified Autumn.
For several minutes, she waited while barely breathing, then slowly began to relax. Cinder jumped up on the bed, and Autumn picked her up and held her close.
“I’m being totally ridiculous,” she whispered. Not usually the type of person who got spooked, she found herself on edge ever since Bret’s assault the day before.
Glancing at her phone’s screen, it read 4:15 a.m., and streaks of anger shot through Autumn. Chains had said he’d come over, but he never showed up.Not even a damn phone call. Nothing.At around midnight, she’d figured he wasn’t going to show. Chains raised a storm of feelings inside Autumn: anger, frustration, sadness, joy, and confusion. But at this late hour, a new emotion had crept in—worry.
Chains had told her that he had club business that night. Autumn wasn’treallysure what that meant, but now that she hadn’t heard from him, she wondered if something bad had happened. In the past, whenever Bret hadn’t followed through on a promise to call her, she’d worry about him being hurt and he was always just fine. His insensitivity and selfishness were the reasons for not following through, but Chains seemed so different from his brother. She couldn’t imagine he’d purposely diss her.But I don’t really know him. Maybe he’s like Bret. After all, they are brothers.
Cinder’s ears perked up and she stared at the door, her body tense. Autumn stilled. Although the bedroom door was closed, she heard the faint sound of the wood floor creaking on the other side of it. Then the noise of shuffling footsteps along the hallway filled her ears. She clutched the blanket and brought it up under her chin. The footfalls slowed down as they approached her room.
Tingles of fright skated down her spine, and Autumn reached for the phone while her gaze stayed fixed on the door. As the handle twisted and turned, she screamed, and the phone fell to the floor with athud.
Then, the door pushed open, and a figure rushed toward her.
“Autumn, what’s wrong?” a deep voice asked as the man neared the bed.
Fear and confusion zigzagged through her, and she pushed back against the headboard, clawing at it.
“It’s me, baby. Are you having a bad dream?”
Groping around the nightstand, her fingers found the small lamp and switched it on. Muted golden light cast shadows on the wall and ceiling as her gaze fixed on the advancing figure.It’s Chains.Relief spread through her entire body.
“You scared the hell out of me!” The blanket dropped down from her hands.
In seconds, he was on the bed, strong arms cocooning her in his warmth.
“I’m sorry, darlin’. I wanted to surprise you,” he murmured.
“Well, you didthat.” Autumn tilted her head back and looked up. “How did you get in the house?”
“Yeah… well, we gotta talk about getting you a security system.” He brushed his lips across hers. “How’re you feeling?”
“Better—the swelling has gone down a lot since yesterday. I iced it every hour after you left.” She tightened her arms around his waist. “I was worried about you. At first, I wasn’t sure if you blew me off or not.”
“I don’t do that shit, baby. I should’ve called, but I got… tied up.”
“Did everything go okay?” she asked, noticing that he looked tired and worried.
Giving her a slight smile, he nodded.
“Are you sure? You don’t look so good.”
“I’m fine.” His jaw clenched.
“You can tell me if something’s bothering you. Is it Thor?”
He let out a dry chuckle. “Thor’s fine, but he’s probably pissed that I left him alone again.” He shook his head. “Last night, Ruby had to stay in my room because he was going nuts.”
Autumn’s stomach twisted. “Who’s Ruby?”
“One of the club girls. She and Thor get along real well. I’m sure I cramped her style though. There were a lot of members from other clubs at the party last night.”
“Party?” She pulled out of his embrace. “Wasthatyour club business?”
“Nah. The brothers who stayed behind kept the party going.”
