Page 8 of Chains
Her smile widened.“Just fine?I was going for spectacular.Or maybe spook-tacular.”
“It’s…” I swallowed hard.“It’s different.”
She laughed, and the sound did something weird to my chest.“Different is good.Different is interesting.”Her gaze held mine for a beat too long.“Don’t you think?”
Before I could answer, one of her demon spawn, the one she’d called Lucifer, sauntered into the room, heading straight for me like a missile locked on target.I knew it wasn’t Binx because he had one little speck of white just above his nose and I thought I might be able to convince myself he wasn’t a true black cat.
“Binx!”Ellie cooed, kneeling down.“There you are, handsome boy.”Okay, so maybe it wasn’t Lucifer.Fuck my life!
The cat ignored her, continuing its path toward me.It stopped at my boots, looking up with unblinking green eyes that seemed to see right through me.It was creepy as fuck.
“He likes you,” Ellie said, sounding delighted.“He usually just hisses at strangers.I’m not even sure how he got out of the apartment.”Christ, the woman’s smile was gorgeous.
“Lucky me,” I muttered, unable to move as the cat circled my legs once before trotting back to Ellie.
She scooped him up, cradling him against her chest as she looked at me with curiosity.“You really don’t like cats, do you?”Did she look disappointed?
“Nope.”I probably shouldn’t have sounded as disgruntled as I did, but the alternative was her seeing how much she affected me, and that would give her all kinds of power over me.At least at the moment I could pretend to be in control of the situation.
“Superstitious?”There was no judgment in her tone, just genuine curiosity.
I shrugged.“Call it an abundance of caution.”Instead of the distraction from my past it actually was.
She gave me another smile before taking her cat and going back to the other women.Watching her as she released the cat, I couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever storm was brewing, I was already caught in it.Already drowning in it.And strangest of all, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be saved.Or to fight it much, really.At least, not until Ellie showed she wasn’t interested in me.Right now, I kind of thought she might be, no matter how much older than her I was.
The decorating continued until sometime around midnight.The common room now looked appropriately spooky.Whatever.
One by one, the women drifted off to their own apartments or their men’s rooms, leaving behind the scent of pumpkin spice candles and the soft glow of orange and black string lights.I should have retreated to my room too, put some distance between myself and the woman with the demon cats.Instead, I found myself falling into step beside Ellie as she headed toward her suite, my boots echoing against the floor in time with her lighter footsteps.
Neither of us spoke.The silence stretched between us, broken only by the distant rumble of motorcycles in the compound yard and the soft thud of our footfalls.I kept my gaze fixed ahead, hands jammed deep in my pockets to keep from doing something stupid like reaching for her hand or putting my arm around her waist.The wide corridor felt too small suddenly.
“You don’t talk much, do you?”she finally asked, her voice light and curious rather than accusing.I grunted, keeping my eyes forward.Words didn’t come easy to me on the best of days.Around her, they seemed to evaporate entirely, leaving me mute and awkward.“I can talk enough for both of us,” she continued, unfazed by my lack of response.“My father always said I was born with two tongues, I talked so much.”She laughed, the sound echoing in the empty corridor.“If I’d been old enough, I’d have had my tongue split just to vex him.”
I couldn’t help the bark of laughter at that.“Yeah.I could see that about you.You like vexing people, do you?”
She shrugged even as her smile widened.“Maybe.You know, most people find my chatter annoying after a while.”She glanced sideways at me, her dark eyes glinting in the dim light.“Feel free to tell me to shut up anytime.”
“I like hearin’ you talk.”I have no idea why I said that, but there it was.Women like Ellie confused the hell out of me.Her bright, bubbly personality made her seem approachable, but who knew how long she’d let me keep hanging near her?During my time inside, I’d forgotten how to talk to anyone who wasn’t a con or a guard.Nine years in Terre Haute had stripped away whatever social skills I might have once possessed.
“So,” she continued when it became clear I wasn’t going to elaborate, “Carrie told me you’ve been with the Kiss of Death MC for a long time.”
“No.I met Knuckles while I was in… uh, I mean, Knuckles was the one who recruited me here.”The last thing I wanted to do was remind her I’d done time, but it was like the fucking pink elephant in the room.All the guys here had done time.
“You met him in prison?”
My gaze shot to hers and I stopped in my tracks.I started to snap at her.Not because she’d done anything wrong, but because I was embarrassed.But she didn’t give me a disgusted look or a superior smirk like she thought she was better than me.No, she just looked like she might have asked me if I’d moved here from New York or some shit.
I nodded my head slowly and we continued on.“Yeah.Knuckles said I’d need a support system when I got out, and a good job.I have that and a place to live in the compound.”
“Do you like being part of a club?”
I thought about her question for a moment.We’d reached her door and she just looked up at me, waiting patiently for my answer.
“Yeah.This is my home.The guys here are my brothers and their women my sisters.”
“So it’s more than just a motorcycle club to you.”Christ, the woman was curious but in the best way.She seemed to see things few others I’d met outside of Kiss of Death did.
“Yeah.I’d die for these people, Ellie.And they’d do the same for me.”
