Chains by Kristine Allen

“Highway  Tune”—Greta  Van  Fleet

Two weeks later….

“Hey, Chains! Declan wants you in his office,” Bones called. I set my beer down on the bar and made my way to his office.

I’d been sent to fucking Siberia—well, if Siberia were mountains in Arizona. Sure, the brothers there were cool as fuck, but it wasn’t my home. Declan, Axel, Throttle, Bones, Brick, Doc, Kane, Wolfman, and the rest—I liked them all, but fuck, I was ready to go back to Ankeny.

And the worst part of being here—Jasmine wasn’t. I couldn’t protect her from the middle of Arizona, and it was driving me crazy.

Though that was exactly why I’d been exiled. No, I couldn’t blame Angel for being pissed. Hell, I was one of his best friends. I’d shit where I ate.

In my defense, I hadn’t known it that first night. I’d been young, dumb, fresh back from the military, and horny as fuck.

So I screwed up. Bad. I fucked my best friend’s little sister. It might’ve been okay if I hadn’t done it again. And again.

Okay… I’d probably want to kill me too.

But goddamn it, I missed her. Twenty times a day I picked up my phone wanting to call her or send a text. I’d been under explicit orders from Venom not to contact her, which was utter bullshit. Like we weren’t both fucking grown-ass adults.

Yet I didn’t. Mostly because I respected my prez, but also because she hadn’t been speaking to me before I left. Call me an insecure fucker, but I was afraid I’d waited too long anyway. Why the hell would she want to talk to me by that time. Besides, I didn’t know how we could possibly make things work if she wanted to keep everything a secret forever and I couldn’t fucking touch her. Did I want to have to wear gloves with my own woman for the rest of my life?

Didn’t mean I didn’t ask Ghost about her every time we talked.

“Yeah, boss? You wanted to see me?” I asked as my gaze jumped from Declan, to Axel, to Throttle. Caution reared its head, making me shut my mouth as I waited to hear what they had to say.

“Pack your shit. You’re heading home.”

“Excuse me?” For four months I’d been in exile. Venom and a few of the brothers touched base with me a few times a week, but other than that, I hadn’t seen any of them since early May. It was almost September.

“Raptor, Voodoo, Phoenix, and your new patch will be here tomorrow morning. You’ll be riding back with them the next day. They’re bringing something down for me, but they need to get back ASAP.”

“What if I don’t want to?” I did, but I was pissed that no one had given me a heads-up. Also, I was being treated like a kid and told what I was going to do. Again.

Not that being down in Flagstaff hadn’t done me some good. I’d developed a great bond with the brothers there. Though I hadn’t appreciated being forced to go, the past four months had also been productive. I’d been able to hire a couple of new artists for their shop, and business was booming.

It had also been good for me in other ways.

The day I was preparing to head down, Madame Laveaux had stopped in my room.

“Nico, it is imperative that you work on controlling when you read people and objects.”

“With all due respect, Madame Laveaux, that’s impossible. I’ve tried before,” I said as I shoved clothes in my bag.

“You are being stubborn and lazy.” She pointed a beringed finger at me. “Work on it.”

Since I’d been down here, I’d tried. It was hit-or-miss, but I was chagrined to find that she was right. It was possible with serious concentration; I probably just needed more practice or tips from someone with my abilities. In the past when I tried to control it, I hadn’t been successful, which had led me to believe it was impossible. Perhaps I gave up too quickly back then. It may never be something I could control completely, but it at least gave me some hope.

Declan leaned back in his chair as he strummed his fingers on the desktop. “You saying you want to make the jump to Flagstaff?”

The wind left my angry sails, and my shoulders slumped. “No,” I said as I ran a gloved hand over my face.

“Didn’t think so.” Declan smirked. “But you’d be welcome any time if you changed your mind.”

“Thanks, brother. I really appreciate that.”

“It’s been great having you here,” Axel added. “I wouldn’t complain if you wanted to stay. I still want to have you do some ink on me one day.”

“Any time, brother. Hell, if I have to hop a flight and come down to do it, I will.”

“Nah, I’ll be up there one of these days,” he said.

We shook hands with the half embrace shit, then I did the same with Axel and Throttle, and I was excused.

Suddenly nervous, I battled the thoughts that swirled in my head as I went back to the room I’d been staying in at their clubhouse. Since I’d ridden down, I didn’t have a lot to pack.

I pulled out a clean pair of jeans, a thermal, socks, and underwear and laid them neatly on the dresser top for tomorrow.

I was going home.

“You finally got patched, huh?” I asked Sabre as we stopped for gas. Honestly, I was surprised Venom hadn’t voted to patch him early after he’d been stabbed in the parking lot the day he was a driver for Loralei.

“It’s pretty unreal,” he said as his silver eyes flashed my direction as he filled his tank.

“Well, congrats,” I told him, and I meant every word. The Bastards were my family—well, the only family that counted. I appreciated any man who was welcomed into the fold as a member, because we were particular and only brought in the best of the best.

“Thanks,” he said before finishing with the nozzle and replacing it on the pump. He looked a little uneasy, and I couldn’t figure out why. Come to think of it, everyone had acted a little off, and I hadn’t done a fucking thing.

Well… not lately.

“Let’s get this show on the fucking road,” Raptor called out. “Any of you girls need a potty break?”

We all flipped him off. He chuckled and mounted up.

The rest of us got on our bikes and hit the road. I left the mountains of Arizona in my rearview mirror and pointed my bike home.

The good and bad thing about riding is you have a lot of time to do one of two things. Clear your head—and think. I tried to clear my head, but all I could fucking do was think.

Each mile that rolled under my wheels brought me closer to the one woman I should’ve stayed away from. She was my kryptonite. An addiction that was likely to kill me, yet one I couldn’t stay away from.