Hook (Brutal Chains MC #1)

Chapter 12

Twelve

Bea

Bright sunlight splashes across my face and I turn trying to get away from it.

I feel like I need to sleep for at least another twelve hours. Why the hell is the sun so bright?

I nuzzle deeper into the warmth and take a deep breath. Oil, metal and something more invades my senses and I realize that the warm thing I'm nuzzling against isn't my bed but another body.

My eyes pop open and I look up into Hook's relaxed, sleeping face.

It takes me a few seconds to figure out that last night really happened.

When I move my legs and feel the slight discomfort between them, everything that happened last night comes flooding back like a tsunami. The way this man took me isn't something I'm ever going to forget. I look up into his face once again and realize how peaceful he looks. Truly, like the sweetest man in the world.

My eyes roam over his skin, the parts that I can see, and I notice all the tattoos and scars. He may look sweet, but I know deep down that he's anything but. Hook is dangerous. My mind flashes back to when he was beating that man. If the rest of the guys in the club hadn't pulled him off, Hook would’ve killed him. Even afterward, Hook didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that he nearly committed murder. All he was concerned about was the fact that I couldn't leave him. The same way Lance had always been.

When I was with him, Lance issued so many threats that if I ever chose to leave, it became the norm. Now I'm starting to think that maybe I shouldn't have taken what Hook said last night so lightly. What if I was just getting myself back into another situation where this man thinks he owns me?

As slowly as I can, I lift myself off Hook's body. He grumbles slightly but doesn't wake; he simply turns on the couch and goes back to his slumber. My thighs are sticky from the night before, but there's nothing I can do about that right now. I'll have to clean up later.

Moving as quietly as I can, I walk to the door that leads to the small garage Hook took me into last night and step inside. Everything is exactly how we left it—my pants and the tatters of my underwear still on the floor. Walking gingerly on bare feet, I grab my pants and slide them on. My thighs are sore, but not so bad. I hiss in slight pain when I drag my pants up over my rear end. My skin still hurts from where Hook smacked me. It was fun while he did it, but not something I'm used to.

I grab my shoes and slide those on, finally taking a good look around the area. It's nothing but tools and a few pieces of paperwork scattered around. He doesn't look very organized. As I look at the tools, a part of me wonders if he always was handy. It's then I realize how little I know about Hook. Hell, I don't even know his real name.

Just like me to get involved with someone without knowing the basics about him. This was part of the mystery with Lance when he and I first started. He was such an enigma to me. All I knew was he wasn't to be messed with. Now I'm starting to have feelings for a man who has my subconscious throwing up more red flags than a ball game.

"Not again. You can't do this again," I whisper to myself and spin in a small circle, desperate to find out more information about the man I'd just spent one of the most glorious nights with. My eyes settle on a desk in the corner; there's an old-looking computer on the desk and a few papers scattered around it.

My eyes jerk back to the door that leads to the office as I get the courage to do some digging. I just need to know a little bit about the man. I need to know who I'm dealing with. I rush over to the desk and turn on the computer. I wince and still as the old machine makes a loud beeping noise as it comes to life.

On the screen is a form I think Hook uses when he brings in the cars he tows. I've no idea what it's for, but it's also not of use to me. Instead, I use the mouse to navigate to the Internet Explorer icon and double-click. It takes a few seconds for the search page to pop up, but when it does, I don't even know what I should put in.

What exactly do I want to know? What am I searching for? I bite the corner of my lip as I try to think of what I want to type in when my gaze falls on the few papers on the desk. There are some of those same forms that I saw on the screen, but these are printed out. They are filled in. Under that are a few unopened envelopes. I pick one up and look at the address: Lenox Mitchell.

I pick up a few other envelopes, and they are all addressed to the same person. That must be his real name. I lean over the computer and type in the name, followed by the words "criminal record." That's the best part about information in the digital age. It's easy for anyone to get answers, even if they are to questions I don't know I had.

I shouldn't have looked him up. Shouldn't have dug into his business but now that I have I can't unsee it.

I press my hand to my mouth to keep the sound of my gasp at bay. It's so much worse than I thought.

Mug shot after mug shot pops up on the screen and no matter which one I click on there's a long list of charges connected to it. Some of the charges didn't stick but the ones that did have my blood freezing over.

The last time Hook was in jail it was for assault with a deadly weapon. He plead guilty and got charged with assault. He spent three years locked up in northern california. My fingers tremble as I do another search on his name this time looking for any media or news articles about what might have happened.

I swallow my apprehension. Maybe it's not as bad as I think it is. Maybe there's an explanation.

"Oh god..." I whisper as I read through a news article the describes in extensive detail about the road rage incident that nearly turned deadly.

According to the news, Hook was involved with an altercation with another man. The man had cut Hook off at a light and they began to argue. The news says that Hook then proceeded to get off his bike and pull the man out of his car, he beat him with his helmet and while the man laid there bloody and near lifeless Hook pulled out a gun and threatened to take his life. The media said Hook was unhinged and unremorseful. They called him the worst parts of society.

This was the man I'd given my body to last night. The man who I'd let come inside of me and hold me while I slept.

He was just as much of a monster as Lance was.

I did my best to control my breathing but the more I read the more it felt like I was going to pass out. I can't believe I did this shit again.

"What are you doing?" A deep grating voice echoes through the room and I spin around only to see Hook standing there glaring at me.

"Stay away." I put my hand up. Now that I know what kind of person Hook is I'm not going to let myself be a fool anymore. I know I wished for a monster but I wasn't going to let myself catch feeling for him.

"What the fuck are you "Talking about 'stay away'?" His eyes squint as he takes another few steps in my direction.

"You're just like him. I thought you might be different, but you're just like him." I whisper more to myself than to him. I skate the perimeter of the room, trying to get as much distance between Hook and myself. He continues walking until he gets to the computer I was just standing in front of, and I'm standing by the same wooden table he took me against last night.

He sighs, and I watch as he fists his hands before turning in my direction. Thankfully, he doesn't take another step toward me.

"I already told you I was an ex-con."

"Yeah, but you didn't tell me what you went in for. You could've killed that man. Just like last night, if they didn't stop you, you would have killed him. You think I'm going to run from someone like Lance just to be with someone like you? How is it any better?"

"It's not. What part of 'I'm not a good man' did you think I was lying about?" He raises his voice, and I flinch at the power behind it.

Now I'm fearing for my life. What is he going to do to me? I'm stuck in here with him. I can't go outside; I can't stay here. I'm screwed.

"Just leave me alone." I do my best to put a little bass in my voice to appear stronger than I feel right now.

"You want to know why I know Lance isn't going to just let you go? You want to know how I know what it's going to take?" Hook continues to glare at me but doesn't take another step. "It's because I am him. Everything that you're so scared of about your ex is inside of me too. If you wanted something different, something safe, you should have gone into that police station when you had the chance."

Panic rises in my gut. I can't get caught up in this again. The intense need to run away overwhelms me, and I look around the room for not only a weapon but a way out of here. There are plenty of tools lying around, but I'm not dumb enough to think I'll be able to overpower Hook if he tries to keep me here.

Instead, my eyes fall on the small remote he used yesterday to open and close the garage door.

"Just let me go. I don't want this. Let me go." I beg, and a spark of hope blossoms in my chest when I look near the entrance of the garage and see through the small window.

I see my car parked right there in direct sight.

"I'm not keeping you here." Hook speaks through clenched teeth, and I realize this may be my only shot to get out of here.

I grab the clicker and take off back to the office, where I grab hold of my bag and dig out my keys.

I run out of the office directly to my car. I move fast, knowing that Hook doesn't want me to take my car. He'll come out any second and try to stop me. I just know it.

My hands shake as I press the button on the key fob that unlocks my doors, and I get inside.

As I sit in the driver's seat, I shove the key into the ignition before I have a chance to even close the door. My eyes dart up so I can look through the windshield. I need to see how close Hook is.

To my amazement, he's still standing in the garage. With the clicker in my hand, either he can't get out or he doesn't want to.

He could always run through the office like I did, but he doesn't seem to be putting in that much effort to chase after me.

I throw the car into gear and speed out of the tow yard, narrowly missing two cars as I fishtail side to side in my haste.

I look in the rearview mirror once I get out of the main gate, but I don't see Hook. He really isn't chasing after me.

My heart continues to hammer away at me as I drive like a bat out of hell to get away from him. He's cruel; I know he is. But still, something deep inside me tells me I'm wrong about him.

"There goes your last chance," my subconscious says, and I feel the weight of what I just did come crashing down on me.

I may have gotten away from Hook, but now I'm on my own when it comes to Lance. I'm about to be in the fight of my life, and I've got no one around to have my back.

The steady red light on my dash deflates my spirit. I hear my car struggling to keep from turning off as I've been riding with no gas for a few miles now. Soon, I'm going to be stuck with nowhere to go besides a parking lot—the same thing that happened the first time Hook found me.

I check the glove compartment and pull out the small Bible I had stashed inside. I didn't use it to read, but I had a few dollars inside for emergencies. I'd been using it for the past few weeks, and now I was down to my last forty dollars.

I know if I'm going to get very far, I need gas, but there's also something more pressing that I need to address as well. Last night, Hook and I had sex without a condom. The last thing I need right now is to get pregnant. I made sure that Lance was never able to knock me up, but there's a good chance that my luck has changed.

I say a silent prayer as I pull my car into a large truck stop and hope that no one is inside searching for me. I don't see any bikes around, and I don't see any of Lance's men. Feeling good about my ability to stay hidden, I park my car in the closest spot and walk into the truck stop.

I'm grateful it's one of the larger ones with a variety of stores because I don't know where the nearest pharmacy is. I walk over to the contraception aisle and sigh as I reach for the Plan B. It's twenty-five dollars, which means I'm not going to be able to get much gas—maybe enough to get me out of town, but definitely not enough to get me out of the state.

I have to make sure I take care of this, though. I don’t want to chance getting pregnant, especially not by someone like Hook. Keeping the small cardboard tag I need to bring up to the front counter hidden in my hand, I stand in line.

There's a couple standing in front of me. They giggle and touch each other. I'm envious. How is it that I have messed up my life so completely? I could have found my soulmate if I wasn't so busy trying to keep Lance from killing me. Don't I deserve to be happy too?

The line moves swiftly, but I keep my head down as I make it to the cashier.

"Bea?"

Fear seizes my heart, and I gulp hard as I hear someone call my name from the side. The surprising part is, it's not a man. When I look to see who it is, I nearly collapse in relief to see Luna.

"You still need this, miss?" the cashier says, and I nod my head as I wave at Luna, who is now stopped and waiting for me to finish my transaction. I cringe when the lady takes my money and slides the bright pink and purple package of Plan B in my direction. There's no hiding that. Luna looks down and gives me a tight smile as I slip the product into my pocket.

I walk away from the line and let the next customers take my place.

"Hey, I'm so glad I saw you." Luna reaches forward and gives me a hug. It's a very familiar gesture, but I don't push her away. It's nice to have someone safe touch me.

"Yeah, I'm just on my way out of town," I tell her as we walk out of the small general store.

"Oh, I guess that's for the best, right? Nothing but a bad time here." Luna chuckles and pushes a strand of hair behind her ear.

"What about you? You guys leaving now?" I ask, looking around for her sister. I didn't know what happened after she went to the hospital, but I'm hoping since I'm seeing her here, it must mean her sister is okay.

"No, I'm stuck here. I just came to get some snacks for Wendy. She's home now. I don't want her to have to go outside." Luna offers up, and I can read between the lines. She doesn't want her to go out and overdose again.

"I'm happy she was able to get some help."

"She would've died had it not been for your friends."

"They're not my friends," I answer too quickly. I don't want to be associated with Hook—not after what I just found out.

Luna narrows her eyes at me. "Why do you say it like that?"

"Look, I don't know how much you know about the men I was with last night, but they're not good people. From what I just found out, it seems like they are the worst of the worst." I shake my head, but instead of Luna agreeing with me, she seems shocked.

"Why are you saying that?"

"Hook, the man I was with. He's an ex-con. He's been to jail."

Luna chuckles at that. "You know, I never took you for the extra judgmental type. You really must not be from around here. All the members of that club are ex-cons, but that doesn't make them bad people. From what I know, they are the only ones trying to keep these streets safe. They all served their time and paid their debts to society. I think that's enough, unless you're one of those people who think one mistake should dictate how someone is treated for the rest of their lives. You've never made a mistake before?"

My mouth drops open at her question. Of course, I've made mistakes; just none as severe as what I read from Hook's background.

I don't have an answer for Luna. As much as I don't want to admit it, she's right. So far, the only times I've seen Hook lose it were when he was trying to protect me. Hell, the man even brought me to the police station so I could get the normal assistance; it's just that Lance was the normal creep.

"Oh god, what have I done?" I whisper and press a hand to my forehead. It's been a while since I've had anything to eat, and I'm starting to feel a little dizzy on top of the fact that I acted like a raging bitch to the only person who'd shown me even the smallest shred of decency since all this shit started.

"You okay?" Luna asks, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just... I said some awful things to Hook. I'm dealing with some pretty heavy stuff, and I started to think he was more of the same."

Luna nods her head. "I feel you, but don't make him pay for someone else's mistakes. If he's going to fuck up, let him do it on his own."

"Thanks for this," I smile at her and take a step back, finally looking down at her outfit.

"No problem. I know what it's like to think there's a big bad around every corner." She shrugs. "I've got to get back home before Wendy wakes up. If you choose not to leave, I hope to see you again." She smiles and takes off in the opposite direction.

I look at the last fourteen dollars and change I have in my pocket and think about going to get some gas. Then again, I know it's not going to get me very far. Running never has.

I pluck out one of the quarters and walk to the nearest payphone. I'm not going to run from Hook. I'm not going to condemn him for something he's already paid for. Just thinking about how I acted toward him made me feel like a shit human being.

It takes me a few minutes of going through the operator before I can find his tow truck company. When I'm put through I can tell by the way he's talking to me that he doesn't know it's me on the line.

It's hard not to laugh when I tell him I'm at the gas station and my car won't turn over. He even has the nerve to ask me if I tried to put gas in the car. It takes a bit of going back and forth before he agrees to come pick me up.

I stand by my car with my hazards flashing so he knows where to go and wait in the mid day sun. Looking around I see people going from place to place, completely unaware of the mess that I'm in. I wonder how many of them have ever found themselves in a situation they didn't feel they had any way to get out of. I wonder how many of them have hidden scars no one can see, how many of them were like me.

My eyes scan the horizon off and on both looking for any sign of Lance and his buddies and also looking for Hook. I know I fucked up and I know I'm going to have to do some apologizing but I'm actually excited about that.

Last night is still fresh in my brain. I know he can make me feel things no other man has and I hope he's willing to give that another go, that is if he even accepts my apology to begin with.

A sigh of relief puffs out my chest as I see Hook drive up in front of me. I can see him through the windshield. His face drops and I watch him mouth the words, 'What the fuck.' Before he slumps in his seat.

He wasn't expecting to see me here. I'm probably the last person he wants to be helping after all the shit I said to him. Still he hops out of his truck to do his job. He glares at me for a second before walking around to the driver side of the car to pop the hood. He's going to ignore me. I deserve it but I'm not going to let it fly.

I'm going to face this problem head on.

Before he can get to the front of the car I close the distance between us and step in front of him.

"Listen to me." I say when he opens his mouth but he shakes his head and tries to push me aside.

"I don't have time for this bullshit. Get another tow truck."

I grab hold of his shirt and push him back against the car. The only reason I'm able to is because he lets me. Otherwise there would be no way. "No, just listen."

This time instead of leaving some space between us I press myself against his body. "I'm an ass. I was scared. I saw all that stuff online about what you've done and all I saw was how I ignored all the shit Lance did. I know you and him are different, even if you like to say otherwise. You're not the same as him. I'm sorry, Hook. I shouldn't have reacted like that. Can you forgive me?" I look up into his eyes, doing my best pout.

It's been a while since I've had to use this skill on anyone. It didn't work on Lance, simply because the man had no heart.

Hook ground his teeth together, and I can feel his body trembling from both anger and frustration.

"I need you, Hook. And after all, I'm yours remember?" I run my hands up the front of his shirt and he lets's out an exaggerated breath.

"Fuck! You're driving me insane." He pushes his hands up into my hair and tips my head back. "That's the last fucking time you do this shit. If you want to know something about me, ask."

"Yes." I do my best to nod in the awkward position before I raise on my tip toes and surprise him by pressing my lips to his.

He growls deep in his chest and wraps his free around my back before deepening the kiss.

There is definitely something more going on between him and I. I don't care what he's done in the past, so long as he keeps holding me like this.