“I’m just going to check things out, so we know what we are dealing with. You’re in shock and this was self-defense. Everything will be alright. I promise.”
I should put up more of a fight to stop him, but I can’t. Exhaustion overtakes me and my eyes close. By the time I wake up, it’s late afternoon. The house is quiet. Garrett should have been back by now. I pull myself off the couch and wander around the house to look for him. Fear grows in the pit of my stomach when I can’t find him. I open the front door and step outside. That’s when I see it. The blood. There’s blood streaming down the steps and trailing into the yard. I follow the path. He’s hurt. I need to help him. The stench hits my nose and I heave, emptying the contents of my stomach onto the grass. When nothing is left to come out, I straighten myself and run toward Garrett’s body. Kneeling down next to him, I pick up the gun at his side. I press my hands to his chest, but his heart isn’t beating. Tears stream from my eyes and I curse myself for coming here in the first place. I should have known the devil can’t die. Adam found me. He will find me anywhere.
I barely hear the sirens through the sound of my crying until two police cruisers pull into the driveway. I know I'm way over my head.
“Freeze. Drop the weapon.” One of them yells from behind the car door. Two officers have guns drawn and pointed right at me. “Put the gun down. You’re under arrest.”
I drop the gun next to Garrett’s body. They think I did this. “You have this wrong. It wasn’t me.”
They won’t believe me. Adam will make sure of it. I don’t know what comes over me, but my feet move like I’m possessed. I run toward my car, slam the door shut, crank the key and peel out across the yard while bullets fly by me.
A burning sensation on my fingers jolts me back to the present. The cigarette I was smoking burned down to the filter. I toss it to the ground and crush it with my shoe, wiping the tears from my eyes. There are so many reasons I should get as far away from Chainz as I can, but one reason makes me want to stay despite it all. He asked me to. It’s only been a few days since he pulled me into his life, but the sparks that ignite in my body when he’s near make me wonder what this could be. Love has screwed me over in the worst ways, but do I run forever or hope this time it can be different?
Guilt and worry wars with my body and exhaustion sets in. I make my way back into the clubhouse and head straight to Chainz’s rooms. I don’t want to see anyone. I just want to scrub this horrible feeling off my skin.
When I reach the bedroom, Cat is inside stuffing what appears to be my clothes into the dresser. “There you are. Crusher brought over some of your things earlier. I emptied a few drawers for you. If there’s something else you need let me know. One of the girls can get it for you.
I pause mid step with a look of confusion passing over my face. “A drawer?”
She smiles at me like I’ve made a joke that only a kid could appreciate. “You don’t think Chainz expects you to leave your clothes in a box, do you?”
“No, but I don’t think he expects me to move in either.” The tone of my voice conveys my shock.
Cat laughs, “Of course he does.”
This is crazy, but I’m too tired to argue. “I’m exhausted. I’m going to take a shower and get some sleep.”
She hands me my toothbrush and edges her way around me toward the door. “You know, it doesn’t matter what baggage you carry, only finding a place to unpack it. You belong here if you want to be here.”
Chapter 18
Chainz
The drive across thestate toward the Ohio border was long and uneventful. Normally I love to ride the back roads through the mountains, but this isn’t a pleasure ride. The stakes are high. We can’t afford any fuckups this time. We’ve taken extra precautions, sending groups of men to double back to ensure no one is following us.
Pulling off the highway, we make our way to a remote spot Crusher picked out. It’s a spot the Demon Sons didn’t highlight on their map, that way we can make sure this isn’t a setup. I’ll honor my word to get Diablo’s guns back since it was Fuel who lost them in the first place, but I won’t have my club ride into a trap. We round a corner and the road narrows into a gravel access road running parallel with the highway but at a higher elevation.
