Page 3 of Chains
I waved my hand at the small pile.“Right there.”
Carrie approached and knelt down to peer at the little demons.“Three black cats.Are they for protection?”
“They’re my babies,” I said, sticking my fingers through Salem’s carrier door to stroke his head.“This is Salem, that’s Lucifer, and the drama queen in the corner is Binx.”Lucifer hissed in response, as if offended by my accurate character assessment.
“They’re beautiful,” Carrie said, wiggling her fingers at Lucifer, who seemed to soften at her attention.Traitor.
Heavy footsteps thundered up the stairs, and two massive men appeared in my doorway.Both wore leather cuts with the Kiss of Death MC patches prominently displayed.
“Damn, girl.What’d you do?Summon a demon and have it shit itself to death?”I wasn’t sure which guy spoke because they were standing side by side and they both had pulled their shirts over their nose.
“Knuckles!”Carrie scolded, but she couldn’t help laughing.
“Something like that,” I admitted.“Sorry about the smell.”
The other guy had to be Hawk.He surveyed my meager pile of belongings, his eyebrows rising slightly.“This all you got?”
I nodded, feeling heat creep into my cheeks.“Yeah.I travel light.”
“Uh-huh.”Hawk and Knuckles exchanged a look before Knuckles continued.“All right.Let’s get your things loaded up.I’ve got some straps to secure the pet carriers for the ride.Also got you one of the big suites so your cats got room to move around.”
“Please don’t go to any more trouble than necessary.”I looked from Knuckles to Carrie and back.“You can’t know how much I appreciate you taking me in on such short notice.I’m willing to work to earn my keep while I’m there.”
When I stopped to take a breath, Knuckles interrupted me.“You’re our guest, Ellie.If you need to stay longer than a few weeks, we’ll talk about another arrangement.”
“I hope it will only be a few days, not weeks.”I was starting to fret, and the cats took notice.As if they could feel my distress, all three started yowling at the top of their lungs.
“Jesus Christ!”I thought that was the guy across the hall.He was always complaining about something.“Cut the fuckin’ racket!Unless you’re fuckin’ something.Then make all the racket you want.But it Goddamned well better not be a fuckin’ cat!”There was a pause.“Pussy, sure.But not a fuckin’ cat!”The cats got louder.
Carrie froze, her expression hardening.“Excuse me a moment.”Her sweet smile did not reach her eyes, and she immediately turned on her heel and headed out my apartment door.
“Ah, hell.”Hawk dropped the trash bag he’d been holding and stumbled after Carrie.The sounds of a scuffle echoed from the hallway.A high-pitched scream followed.Then another.And one more before the sound was abruptly cut off.
I glanced at the other man.Knuckles.He shrugged and tried to smother a smile but failed.Miserably.
A few seconds later, Carrie breezed in.This time, she had a genuine smile on her face.“Well.Where were we?”
“I think the better question would be, what did you do to my poor neighbor?”
“Your ‘poor neighbor’ is an asshole.”Carrie said, dusting her hands.“I taught him the value of good manners and minding his own business.”
“Uh, Knuckles?”Hawk stood in the doorway, rubbing the back of his neck.“I might have accidentally knocked that guy out.”
“You did not!”Carrie jabbed her finger in her man’s chest.“I did.Don’t take credit for my badassness.”
“He dead?”Knuckles didn’t look up from where he was bagging up the last of the ruined towels and pots and that poor plastic spoon.Or what was left of it.
“Nah.But I can’t promise he don’t have brain damage.”
“Oh, he has brain damage all right,” Carrie said brightly.“But that’s not my fault.He was like that before I got there.”
We loaded my meager possessions into the back of the Bronco.My cats still protested loudly as I secured their carriers in the backseat with Knuckles’ help.Their yowls reached a crescendo that made several passing pedestrians cross the street to avoid us.
“I promise it’s just temporary, sweethearts,” I cooed, though I had no idea if that was true.I slid into the passenger seat beside Carrie.The guys were on motorcycles in front of and behind us.
Carrie started the vehicle.“I hope not.I think you’re gonna like the compound.Besides, it’s a sight better than staying in this dump.”She waved her hand at the place before she followed the bike in front of us onto the road.
As we pulled away from the curb, I watched my apartment building shrink in the side mirror.My chest tightened.For all its flaws, that apartment had been my sanctuary for the past two years -- the first place that had felt like mine after leaving my father’s suffocating influence.
