Chain, page 8
“He needs to see our support,” she stated, as if that was such an obvious thing that James was missing. “He needs to know that we care... that we’re fighting to get him out!”
“Well, he called you first, didn’t he?”
“What’s that got to do with anything?” April demanded, sensing a hint of bitterness in his tone. James gave her another patronizing stare followed by a sigh, and he then cocked his head to the side.
“He knows you’ll fight tooth and nail to bring him home,” James remarked, “because you two are already so close. Not even siblings yet, and—“
Her face flushed bright red, and she had to stop him before he gave her mom the wrong idea about her relationship with Van. “We won’t ever be siblings, technically, but that’s beyond the point.”
“All I’m saying is that I’m sure he knows you will do everything possible to ensure his safety,” James concluded, his hand falling to her mom’s shoulder. “I think that’s where we should leave it for the night. There’s no point in all of us getting riled up when we can’t do anything yet anyway. Why don’t you stay here tonight, April? Renee?”
“I think that’s a good idea,” her mom agreed before April had a chance to get a word in. “I’m just too shaken up about all this to even get behind the wheel of the car.”
“I can drive,” April said, her glare still fixed on James. “I’m fine.”
“No, honey, you’re worked up,” her mom insisted, crossing the room and drawing her into a comforting hug. April patted her mom’s back, all the while staring James down over her shoulder. For a second, she swore she saw the bastard smirk. When her mom pulled back, she placed her hands on April’s shoulders and gave her a small smile. “Why don’t you stay in the guest house tonight? Just take some time to breathe. We won’t be able to think clearly if we’re upset.”
Saying nothing, April nodded and stepped away, all the while swallowing down her rage at the inaction of both James and her mom. What did it matter if the cops jerked them around when they got there? April would wait a full week in a chair at the county jail if it meant getting Van back to her. As a father, James should have done the same thing. If she had been in Van’s position, her mom would have busted down doors and screamed to the high heavens until someone paid her enough attention to get what she wanted. As much as she hated to acknowledge it, her mom would, in a way, be Van’s mom in less than two weeks—surely she had more maternal instinct than what she was showing? April had seen her get more emotional about puppies in animal shelters than she was right now about Van.
Shaking her head, she tried to ignore James’s invite for her mom to join him in a nice hot bath to soothe her worries.
“You really don’t need this much stress before the wedding,” he said as he coddled her to him. Huffing, April was one step above stomping her foot and having a full mental breakdown. Still, she wouldn’t steal her mom’s car, as much as she wanted to, in order to drive to Bloomsburg. As much as it killed her, she’d wait until first thing tomorrow morning then drag both of them out of bed to have this handled once and for all. By tomorrow evening, Van would be back by her side, safe and sound.
Not wishing either of them a particularly good night, April stalked out of the living room and made her way back to the kitchen, planning to slip out the patio door to get to the guest cottage, her safety net in all this chaos. All she wanted to do was climb into bed and smell Van’s pillow and imagine, just for a second, that he was there beside her.
As she approached the patio doors, James appeared in the reflection, following her across the kitchen with an unnerving expression on his face. April pretended not to notice him, unlocking the door and sliding it open, only to flinch when his hand fell on her shoulder. He then shoved her outside onto the newly sanded deck, shutting the door behind him. Determined not to cower, she whirled around to face him, venom in her stare.
“I told you there would be consequences,” he hissed, towering over her, menacing as ever. April’s mouth fell open, and the suspicions she’d had from the second this job was announced started to look like they were about to be confirmed. “Did you think you were being clever sending Van after me? You’re lucky I was able to talk him down, explain this was all a big misunderstanding—“
“You threatened me!” April spat, enunciating every word. “Did you have something to do with him getting arrested?!”
His angry features shifted into a more neutral look, and James simply sniffed and looked away. “I won’t dignify that ridiculous question with an answer.”
“You just did,” she said. That was all the proof she needed. Shaking her head, April tried to dart around him and get back inside, ready to tell her mom everything about what a horrible man James Palmer truly was, but he stopped by before she’d taken more than two steps.
“Perhaps you’ll want to listen to my new terms,” he murmured, pushing her back before prowling toward her like a dangerous predator. “Leave Van once and for all, and I’ll make sure he gets a limited sentence in a cushy low-security facility nearby. I have sway with the DA. I can make it happen.”
She bit her cheeks, in pure disbelief that he still hadn’t given this old game up. Didn’t he see that Van cared for her—maybe even loved her? Didn’t he want his son to be happy?
Well, if he framed him for a crime Van didn’t commit, then probably not.
“Or?” she forced out, her hands shaking.
“Or,” he continued, his tone pleasant, like they were discussing the weather, “I will tell your mom everything about the details of your sordid relationship with my son... right before I put a bullet in her brain.” April’s knees threatened to give out, and she tried to say something, but all she could manage was to drag in and out gasps of air. “Yes, her use to me is limited. Do you think I enjoy garden parties? Dinner soirées? Do you think I want my house redecorated by that two-bit hack? No, your mom comes with a great deal of money, and we have no prenup—aside from the fact that her assets will be given to me.”
“What?!”
“Yes, I’m afraid I may have... fudged some things on her will when we sent our revised copies in.” James dusted something off his shirt, still casual, like they weren’t talking about him killing her mom, his fiancée. “Leave Van, and your mom is safe. Forget him. Move on. Stay with him, fight for him, and I’ll see that your mom is six feet under by Christmas. All her money is mine, and I’ll never, never leave you be.”
“W-What’s that supposed to mean?” she demanded shakily, still trying to process the fact that her mom’s life was in danger because of her relationship. Not just her shops. Not her reputation. Not even her money. Her life. James smiled lecherously at her.
“I think you know what it means.”
April shivered, and the thought of all that happening and James Palmer haunting her for the rest of her life...made her want to crawl under the porch and never come out.
James patted her arm, and even after he pulled back, she could still feel his touch. She’d probably still be able to feel it after the scalding hot shower she planned to take in the immediate future. Maybe even when she fell asleep tonight—if she could sleep, that is.
“Think about it,” he said before heading back inside. He paused in the doorway, the light of the kitchen shining behind him, and then added, “But not for too long. I’m a patient man, but even I have my limits.”
And that was where he left her, alone on the porch beneath a clear sky and twinkling stars. He was an awful man, a dangerous man. And he’d just given her the most poignant ultimatum of her life: keep her relationship with Van and lose everything, or walk away and be free.
But if she walked away, her mom would still marry him. She’d never be truly free. At this point, all she could choose between was the degree of suffering she wanted for the rest of her life.
Staggering across the manicured lawn and over the bridge to the guest cottage, April realized before she’d even fished out her key and opened the door that she knew what she had to do.
And for the second time that summer, her heart shattered into a million pieces.
Don’t stop now! The DELINQUENT REBELS MC trilogy continues in Book 3, COLLAR, available now everywhere!
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Did you love Chain: A Bad Boy Motorcycle Club Romance? Then you should read Collar: A Bad Boy Motorcycle Club Romance by Kathryn Thomas!
Collar is book 3 and the finale of the Delinquent Rebels MC trilogy!
SHE WAS OFF LIMITS, UNTIL I PUT HER ON MY LEASH.She's like no other women I've had in my bed.Too innocent to just defile.Too good to just ruin.But that was before I found out who her mother's marrying…She was the biggest mistake that I never should have let go.I've left plenty of broken hearts behind me…But I'll be goddamned if April wasn't the first one that made me care.Made me feel.I never thought I'd have her hair between my fingers again.Never thought I'd fill my lungs with her scent again.Watch the way her curves sway with every step.I never thought that I'd get a second chance with her.A second chance to right the wrongs of the past.Until I found out who her mom's marrying.Until I found out that she's off-limits in every way possible.I've spent my entire life defying the rules.And no rule--is going to keep April away from me.
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Kathryn Thomas, Chain
