Chains by Kristine Allen
“Doubt”—Through Fire
“This is bad,” I muttered to myself as I raced out of the room and down the hall, ignoring the soreness between my legs.
Holy shit. Fuck, fuck, fuck. What did I do?
How was I supposed to know that the man I’d dreamed about was going to be at my brother’s clubhouse? Not that I cared that he was part of my brother’s club. Jude, now known as Angel, was okay with me hanging around his club, but he didn’t want me hooking up with the guys in his club. He’d made that very clear, but I figured if he was a member, then the rest of the guys couldn’t be that bad.
The problem was, I didn’t know he’d have a gift. Jude did, but shit, I didn’t think things like that were overly common. Our family had a long line of healers, a gift that was passed down to the men of each generation. What my family didn’t know was that I had a bit of a gift too. Mine was more subtle than my brother’s gift of healing, but it was there.
Me? I dreamed things that came true.
No, I hadn’t known I’d run into the guy I dreamed of when MacKenna begged me to get her into the club party. In my dream he didn’t have a cut, but then again, in my dream he wasn’t wearing anything but a shit-ton of tattoos. The second he’d spoken and I saw the ink on his arms, I knew. Looking into his eyes confirmed it. Those same rich brown eyes had been staring into my soul as he slid into my body in my dream.
Damn, it didn’t compare to the reality, though. Too bad I could never be with him again. He may have been meant to be my first, but there was no way it could go any further. He’d seen.
Dear God, he’d seen Angel’s secrets. What if he said something? Angel would be mortified. I wasn’t supposed to know. He’d hidden me in the closet to protect me, but like the foolish child I was, I’d peeked.
“Jasmine!” was barked at me as a hand gripped my elbow, spinning me around. I cringed as I slowly raised my gaze to my brother. It was like I’d fucking manifested his overprotective ass.
“Um, hi?” I said with a weak smile. Though I’d only been there a few times, I knew I wasn’t supposed to be in the back hallway where several of the guys had rooms.
“What the actual fuck are you doing back here?” His eyes widened as he took in what I was wearing. “And why the hell are you dressed like that here, of all places? Please tell me I’m imagining this.”
“Jude. I just needed to go to the bathroom, and I decided to sit inside for a bit. I figured this door would take me out closer to where everyone was. It’s not like I’ve never been to one of your parties before. I’m a grown-ass woman. I’m not a kid that needs protecting.” A wince marred his handsome face briefly, making me feel like absolute shit. Especially after Nico had seen a little of what my brother had endured.
Truthfully, I’d only ever been to one party, and it had been pretty tame. Family days didn’t count. Before I blurted out any more stupid things, I inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled. “If I want to go to a party dressed up, then I’ll go to a party dressed up.”
“Not at my club, you won’t. The guys that are in my chapter would likely respect that you’re my sister, but this one isn’t just our chapter. We have members from all over, and I don’t know them all. They don’t need to see that much of you.” He waved his hands wildly at my short skirt and sliced-up T-shirt, then frowned before scrubbing a hand over his mouth. He’d only been a patched member for a short time, so I supposed he didn’t know them all. Then again, I had no clue how many members there were total.
“If the club is so bad, why are you a part of it?” I asked him with a raised brow and plenty of attitude. It had floored me when he told me he was joining a club called the Royal Bastards. We had been raised very upper-middle class. It had been a surprise to me when he joined the army with Ogun. But it was mind-blowing when they joined the same motorcycle club as Ogun’s dad. Well, stepdad, but he never saw his biological father, and though I didn’t know the story there, I knew there was one.
“I trust my chapter, sis. The rest of the chapters may be fine, but I don’t know them. That’s all. I’d also rather not have to beat the fuck out of one of my own brothers if they got handsy with you—or worse, hurt you. That’s why I would just rather you not be around when other chapters are here,” he said with a heavy-hearted sigh. I guessed that was why he hadn’t extended the invite to me for the party that night. When MacKenna begged for us to go, I hoped we could avoid my brother and the guys I knew he was close to, but I was very wrong.
“I get it, Jude. But if you don’t trust the guys in this world 100 percent, then you’re an idiot to be around them.” My comment was more to convince myself I needed to stay far, far away. Though I knew it had to be done, the thought of never seeing Nico again made my soul cry out at the loss. I told myself it was for the best.
“It’s Angel—I’d rather not even think of myself as Jude.” His jaw clenched, and a hardness hit his eyes. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride home. Things are about to get pretty wild. Not so sure you wanna be around for all that. I have an extra helmet for you,” my brother said, and I bit my lip as I shot him an apologetic wince.
“What?” he asked in resignation.
“MacKenna is with me. She was dancing with that guy named Ghost,” I said with a toothy smile and a shrug.
“Jesus H. Christ. I’ll get my truck.”
As he made a path through the crowd, several guys I’d never seen before gave me a once-over, and he glared. “Don’t even think about it. This is my baby sister,” he told several of them. By the time we reached MacKenna, the info must’ve spread, because there were few glances in my direction.
“You’re done. Say goodnight, MacKenna,” my bossy brother told her as she peeled herself off Ghost, who frowned, then glanced at me. His gaze was calculating briefly before recognition dawned, and he cussed.
“Shit. You were the brunette with her?” I could see the wheels turning, and I didn’t want him to piece together who he’d left me with and how long ago that had been. Granted, we’d only met a few times, but he knew me. That was why I’d hidden from him when he found us talking to Nico.
“Yeah, but I got tired of waiting and went inside. I was surfing social media, but my brother decided to be a party-pooper when I was heading back outside.” I gave my brother a scowl, and Ghost laughed.
MacKenna pouted, and I could see she wanted to argue, but Ghost kissed her and whispered something in her ear. Whatever it was, it had her grinning with a deep blush. Then again, that was one helluva kiss.
We followed my brother to his truck. The entire time, I expected Nico to come after me. Despite how I’d lost my shit and walked out on him, I kind of hoped he’d experienced the same connection. Surely it couldn’t have only been me. No matter how much I knew it was a really bad idea, something that powerful couldn’t be one-sided.
A desperate longing whispered maybe he had a secret fix for his gift. Like some kind of way to prevent him from seeing everything in my dang head.
Yet, with each step, I knew he wouldn’t be coming after me. By the time Angel helped me climb into the cab of his truck, my heart was heavy. It would seem that he was meant to be the one who took my virginity, but that was it.
Except if that was true, why did it seem there was an invisible bond that stretched and reached for him the farther away I went from the clubhouse?
That night I dreamed of a wolf standing at the edge of the woods staring at me with glowing eyes.
Three days later, I was waiting for my brother to meet me for lunch. As I sat on a bench outside one of our favorite diners, I absently scrolled through my phone.
The sound of an approaching motorcycle had me smiling in anticipation. Yet that feeling dissipated when two bikes appeared, and I watched as they backed up to the curb. My head cocked in curiosity, since he’d told me it would just be the two of us.
When the second rider pulled off his helmet, my pulse raced. The prospect patch on his back barely registered as I looked at the ink on the arm that hung the helmet on his handlebar. He and Angel conversed for a second, then my brother looked up and flashed me a happy grin as he swooped in on me.
Angel embraced me tightly as I stared into Nico’s nearly black eyes.
“Miss me?” my brother asked as he released me and stepped back, tearing my attention from Nico.
I gave him a contemplative look. “Hmmm, maybe just a little,” I teased, drawing a laugh out of him.
The fact that Nico was with him and Angel didn’t seem angry had me breathing a sigh of relief. It was unlikely Nico had said anything, which had me covertly studying him as he approached. The incredible ache between my legs had only gone away that morning, but I still felt like I’d ridden a horse for about a hundred miles.
“Prospect, this is my sister, Jasmine,” Angel said when Nico stopped next to him.
“Nice to meet you,” he said with a curt nod. Our eyes held for a brief moment before he looked away. Though I knew my brother would have had his ass, it hurt that he didn’t give so much as a flicker of recognition.
“You too,” I murmured. We all went inside and grabbed a table. Talk about awkward—my brother motioned for me to slide in, and he dropped next to me. That put me damn near straight across from Nico’s dark gaze. Not that I needed to worry, since it was locked on the menu.
“How’s the job going?” Angel asked as he looked over the options.
“Um, good,” I replied. I’d landed a graphic design job after graduation, and I loved it, but my dream was still to work independently doing website design. One day.
“That guy still giving you issues?” Angel asked, still pressing the menu. Nico’s eyes lifted to mine, and I caught a flicker of irritation before he again dropped his gaze.
“It’s fine.”
Having personal discussions in front of the man I’d recently given my virginity to—who was acting like he’d never met me—was uncomfortable at best. Floyd was one of my coworkers who had been hitting on me pretty insistently. He’d been very careful not to do it in front of any of our bosses though.
“He doesn’t back the fuck off, and I’m gonna kick his ass. You feel me, Jazzy?” Angel set the menu down and stared at me.
“It’s under control. I’ve told him I’m not interested in dating him.”
“You telling him and him listening are two different things.”
“I get it. Are you ready to order?”
“Nice way of changing the subject.” My brother smirked and waved the waitress over. The entire time we were placing our orders, the waitress was incessantly flirting with Angel and Nico. Okay, it didn’t matter that she was flirting with Angel, but she didn’t know if one of them was with me. Not that she was rude to me, but inside, I wanted to claim Nico as mine.
Nico may not have been there with me, but I really hated the smile he gave her as he handed over his menu. I wanted that smile.
As Angel and I chatted, Nico reclined in the booth with one inked-up arm stretched across the back of the bench seat. The sexy asshole didn’t join our conversation and stared out the window like there was something incredibly fascinating out there. It was distracting as hell.
“So who are you exactly?” I asked, tired of him ignoring me.
Slowly, his gaze found mine, and he gave me a smirk that screamed Really? We’re playing it like this?
“He’s our new prospect. Nico officially became a prospect a couple of days ago.”
“He can’t speak for himself?” I asked somewhat snidely.
Angel snorted. “He doesn’t do a fucking thing unless I tell him to.”
My mouth dropped open.
They both snickered.
“I’m teasing.” Angel slapped his leg like it was the funniest thing ever.
“Sort of,” Nico added with a snort. “For the next year, my life is gonna pretty much suck.”
“I’ll never understand why you guys want to live your life like that. Screw someone telling me what I can and can’t do,” I grumbled.
“It’s not like that.” Angel rolled his eyes.
“Then what exactly is it like? Tell me how that shit works,” I dared.
“That’s club business, sis,” Angel said before taking a sip of his water.
It was my turn to roll my eyes. “Whatever. Have your little boys’ club. I’m surprised you all don’t have a little treehouse like we had when we were kids. Oh wait! You do, but you call it a clubhouse now.”
Angel’s jaw ticked and I could’ve kicked myself for bringing that up. The treehouse had belonged to Korrie, but we had all played in there for years. Korrie had ended up being my brother’s high school sweetheart until she up and disappeared with her mother. He hadn’t heard from her again. It hadn’t been pretty for a while.
My hand gripped his under the table in apology and support.
Our food arrived, and we ate in relative silence while I sneaked peeks at Nico periodically. Maybe more than that, but it was hard not to—the man was beautiful in a dark, forbidden kind of way. A way that told me I needed to be scarce at the clubhouse if I wanted to keep the two of us out of trouble.
Because nearly every time I snuck a glance at him, he was doing the same to me.
That was the last time I saw Nico for a long freaking time.