Chapter 1
ONE
PENELOPE
PRESENT DAY
The silence was unnerving.
It was something I’d have to get used to, especially now that I was out here…alone.
My eyes bounced around the room as I lay awake in bed, my fingers clutching the thick blankets, dragging them to my chin. The room was cozy, with a long dresser against the far wall, a modest flat screen perched on top, and a tiny bathroom enclosed off to the side.
The log cabin made me feel somewhat secure, like someone wouldn’t be able to just punch through the walls, or kick their way inside.
But it was small, and there were several windows, and I didn’t know this town, or the place I’d been brought well enough to let my guard down.
My phone chimed from the side table where it was plugged into the charger. I leaned over and pulled it free.
Jamie: Why is your light still on?
I stared at the text, annoyed that we were doing this again.
He was watching, as usual. It’d been like this since we arrived two weeks ago, and as much as I should want to shed his overprotective presence, I wouldn’t.
Which was why I felt annoyed. I was weak, and I hated that he continued to notice it.
I punched out a reply.
Me: Can’t sleep…why are you watching the cabin?
I already knew why, but I liked to pretend that I didn’t need him, or relied on his constant check-ins.
My mind threw up my new situation for the thousandth time, as if I could discover a way out of this reality. But, no, there was no way around the truth. I was currently staying in a random cabin on rival club property.
The Stone Riders clubhouse was just about half a mile north of the cabin, and to the south was a two-story house that currently maintained Jameson, and the remaining faithful men of his club, the Chaos Kings.
Luke, the asshole, had aligned himself with a man recently released from prison, Jefferson Quinn.
The madman wanted to claim the very club I was now living with.
They made quite a pair: Luke wanted the Chaos Kings, and Jefferson wanted to take the Stone Riders from his son, Killian Quinn.
So, Jameson came here with the remaining loyal men… and me.
Anger barreled into me once more as I remembered what Luke had done.
My hand went to my swollen stomach protectively as my mind threw back the memory of when I discovered I was pregnant.
I stupidly assumed Luke would be happy. I had baked a cake…
I bought a onesie that had a motorcycle on it with the words, “daddy has a new rider,” across it.
Gene had helped me prep everything, and my mom had found the person on Etsy to make the custom shirt. We were all so excited…
Then everything changed. In a single moment, my entire life shifted, and it was like I couldn’t get my feet under me no matter what I did. Seven months, and I was still tripping over the changes forced upon me.
At least I got out in time. Before the baby got here, before Luke could reject our son in person, or worse…hurt him.
The sound of my phone chiming had the thoughts of the past dissipating like smoke.
Jamie: You know why
Familiar rage coursed through me, forcing bitter emotion to clog my throat and tears to burn behind my eyes. I did not want to rely on Jameson King. Of all the people in the world, he was the last man I wanted catering to me simply because he felt obligated to do so.
It was bad enough he rejected me in his own way, but now he was worried about me, but not for any other reason than the promise he made to a dying woman.
Jamie: Pen, you need to sleep. You’ve done this the last few nights in a row. It’s nearly two in the morning.
I knew he was right, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t bring myself to turn off the light. I didn’t feel safe enough to plunge the room into darkness. Regardless that he wasn’t even a mile away from me and could apparently see my window.
I tried to reassure myself that the property was gated, guarded and we were safe.
But I didn’t know the Stone Riders, and while Jamie assured me their members would never harm me, I still felt nervous.
The club was under new leadership from what I understood.
Simon Stone had initially led it for years and years, but he’d passed three or four months ago and now Killian Quinn was the president.
That could change things in a club, create havoc.
It wasn’t any better than the Chaos Kings that followed Jamie here.
While they were loyal to him, they weren’t to me.
Staring up at the ceiling, I ignored Jamie’s texts for countless minutes, counting off facts.
I was twenty-five, jobless, single, pregnant, and technically homeless.
My eyes were dry, irritated but refused to close. I knew it wasn’t good for the baby for me to miss so many nights of sleep…I understood this, and yet I felt like I was protecting him by staying awake.
Another text chimed next to my head, where I’d placed the phone.
Jamie: I’m at your door.
My chest pinched at the fact that he knew knocking would have sent me into a panic attack. I slowly slid out of bed and padded out of the room. The cabin was so small that the room exited into a small dining area, which was connected to the front entry.
Sliding the deadbolt to the right, and then unhooking the chain, I turned the knob and pulled.
Jamie gently pushed his way in from the midnight air, not waiting for an invitation. Which I preferred because I wouldn’t give him one.
He locked the door behind him as he cleared the entry and slid out of his boots.
I regarded him sleepily, while also keenly aware of every single inch of him.
Jameson King was handsome when cleaned up, but dressed down, wearing a black hoodie, a pair of gray sweatpants and his unlaced motorcycle boots—as though he’d just slipped out of bed—was devastating.
I turned away from him, anchoring my arms over my chest.
“What are you doing here?”
He moved toward the small living room where a salmon-colored two-seater couch faced the wood stove. I realized too late that I had already turned toward him again, like he was the sun and I was a sunflower searching for heat.
“You can’t sleep because you don’t feel safe. I’m here now, you’re safe. Go to sleep.”
His wheat-colored hair was disheveled, his firm jaw, covered in at least a week’s worth of growth and his warm brown eyes were avoiding me.
“Jamie.” I couldn’t let him sleep on the couch.
He’d already done too much for me.
He’d protected me against the club…he’d shielded me from Luke. He’d given me a place to live and made sure I was safe.
But he’d also broken my heart.
Ignoring me, he lay down on the couch, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Go to sleep, Pen.”
Emotion clogged my throat. I wanted to believe him, but there was a window in my room, and now that he was here, all I wanted was to curl into a ball in front of him on the floor. I trusted him to keep me safe, but he was out here, not in the room where someone could climb through the window.
He closed his eyes, allowing me to watch as he managed to fit his tall stature onto the tiny two-seater couch that looked horribly uncomfortable.
So instead of arguing with him or telling him that I still wouldn’t sleep, I did as he said, keeping my door propped open, and turned off the lamp.
Then I crawled into bed and placed my palms over my round stomach.
It would be okay.
It would be okay.
I repeated the words in my head, tears stung my eyes and with a shaky breath, I tried to calm my racing heart.
I couldn’t do this every night, not to Jamie and not to my baby.
If this was to be the only way I remained safe from Luke, or his new plans, then I would need to get used to the dark.
I’d just have to take it one night at a time.
The sun bled in through the window along the east wall and parts of the skylight. It bathed the cabin in gold, highlighting the brown logs that made up the walls and the wood running along the floors.
Shuffling into the kitchen, I turned on the coffee pot then turned to face the giant sleeping on my couch. Jameson, being the president of the Chaos Kings, meant he was usually on guard. His face usually held a severe edge to it, his eyes always looked like melted molasses.
I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen him smile or laugh.
But now, sleeping on the couch, his face was relaxed, his lips were slightly parted, and his thick gold lashes dusted the tops of his tan face.
He was beautiful, and if I were the type of person who created art, I’d paint him.
As it was, I itched to grab my camera to capture him like this.
So only I would know how the great leader of the Chaos Kings looked with his guard down.
I savored the fact that he trusted me enough to let it down at all.
“You’re staring.” His foot lightly connected with my leg in a playful way.
Stepping back, I smiled down at him as he blinked and then stretched.
My eyes tracked the way his sweatshirt lifted, revealing intricate abs, defined and packed on top of one another, outlining him in a way that proved his dedication in the gym.
I remembered what they felt like under my touch.
“Just wanted to see if you were still alive after being stuffed onto the couch last night.”
His groan sent a trail of goosebumps down my spine as I turned away from him and stopped at the counter. Reaching for a mug, I poured us each coffee.
“You feel better today?” His fingers dug into his hair, trying to adjust the misplaced pieces.
It made me smile, as a flutter began in my stomach.
My hand dropped to my belly on instinct. Crap.
“You forgot about the caffeine thing again?” Jamie laughed, reaching around me to grab his mug.
I watched longingly as he took a generous sip.
“I can have one cup, I’m pretty sure.”
His smirk stretched into something I would almost call a smile.
“But you won’t because you’re so obsessed with doing everything by the book.”
He knew me too well.