Sinned: Chained Kings MC Read online

  She had to call the police. Immediately. Her hands shook as she reached for her cell phone.

  “Don’t you worry, honey,” she said, drawing deep breaths as she dialed 911. She blinked down at the body and then slowly stood. Matt cowered just as the operator picked up the phone. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice withered when she heard footsteps.

  Her body froze as every part of her tuned into the sounds, trying to determine if these were friendly footsteps or dangerous. Did she need to hide, or was this help on the way? Matt buried his face once more into his knees, and Robyn turned ever so slowly toward the sound.

  “Hello? This is 911, please state your emergency.”

  She couldn’t force any words past her lips. Boots clunked closer.

  And then a man crossed the threshold. Black leather jacket. Longish black hair tucked behind ears. Dark eyes that zeroed in on her immediately, sending a heart-wrenching thrill down her spine.

  It was Avon.

  Chapter Two

  Avon stared at the scene in front of him for just a few seconds too long. He didn’t like being caught off guard, but even more than that, he hated when the pieces in front of him didn’t fit together. And in this case, the pieces didn’t even belong to the same damn puzzle.

  Matt looked up at him, his small face wrought with anguish. “Avon!”

  “Matt!” He rushed toward his cousin, scooping the boy into his arms. He was the priority here. He’d gone missing three months ago, and every day since had been a tense, nerve-wracking battle. It didn’t make sense why he was here. But he was safe, at least. The rest – the dead guy, who he’d come to collect money from, and the one-night stand trembling on the floor – could be dealt with later.

  “Hi. Yes. I’m calling because I’ve found a dead man at a residence I’ve visited for work.”

  Robyn. That was her name. He pressed a trembling Matt to his chest, letting that silken voice snake its way through him. They’d had a good night. But what the fuck was she doing here? He raked his fingers through Matt’s hair, listening as she rattled off the address to the emergency responder. She hung up a few moments later, and he sank down onto the ground, pulling Matt into his lap. He buried his nose in his hair, rocking him gently. Matt clung to him like he might never let go.

  “You called the police?”

  Robyn nodded, her gaze darting between him and Matt. He’d forgotten about those big blue eyes. They snagged him all the same in the light of day, even in the middle of this bloodbath. “They’ll be here in ten minutes. What is going on? How do you know Matt?”

  “He’s my cousin.” Avon tightened his arms around the boy. “He’s been missing for months.”

  Robyn furrowed a brow, pushing up to a standing point. She nibbled on her lip as she paced the far side of the kitchen, as far away from the body as possible. “This doesn’t make sense. He’s in the foster care system. That’s why I showed up here today.”

  Avon pinched his eyes shut. So Matt had been abducted only to be put into the system? That made a new type of rage boil through his veins. Matt had been in a happy, protected environment. Not everyone would agree that the Chained Kings MC was an ideal place to raise kids, but it worked, and it was a hell of a lot better than his own damn childhood. And now? Matt was scarred, and the system was part of it.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  Robyn shook her head, sighing heavily. “Basically nothing. I showed up here per the foster care guideline. This was a first-time home visit, just to make sure everyone is transitioning well. The front door was open when I got here, so I came inside. And then I found…” She trailed off, covering her mouth with her hand. She looked out the window that had a view of the front yard.

  Avon clenched his jaw, running through possibilities in his mind. But the only thing that leaped out at him was the same sinuous thought that had been lurking in the back of his mind for months now: he was ready to get the fuck out of the MC.

  As president of the Chained Kings, he was sick and tired of the drama. The bounty hunting. The botched deals. The surprises like this – where one day he could have a happy and healthy Matt by his side, and the next day he inexplicably disappears. He was tired of bloodbaths and bodies, of the insecurity.

  And this just sealed it. Now that he had Matt back, it was time to get lost – hand the MC over to his VP and never look back.

  “Are we in danger?”

  Avon studied the neat white squares of the floor. His whole life was danger. He couldn’t imagine not feeling like he had to look over his shoulder. “I don’t know.”

  Thick silence filled the kitchen. Robyn gripped the edge of the countertop so hard her knuckles turned white. Avon watched her as she stared out the window. Maybe she was eager to get the hell out of dodge. He sure was. But with the cops on the way, they all needed to hang tight.

  His gaze coasted over her plain work outfit: black smock top, shapeless black pants, hiding a body that still haunted him in his masturbatory fantasies. But now, her belly jutted out, rounder than he remembered. She dragged her palm over the top of her blonde hair, tugged back into a boring ponytail. This wasn’t the woman he’d met at the bar that night. Hell, he might not even notice her if she walked by him on the street.

  But despite all that, when she cast her blue eyes back his way, a warning shiver raced up his spine.

  He shifted beneath Matt and then slowly, painstakingly, stood up. He held Matt in his arms like he was a toddler, not a growing boy pushing eight years old. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Robyn nodded, and he led the way to a front room just off the main hallway. He sunk into a couch. Matt didn’t loosen his vice grip around his neck, and Avon didn’t want him to. Who knew what the boy had lived through? Guilt slashed through him.

  “Do you have any idea who might have done this?”

  Robyn’s quiet voice made him jerk. He drew a sharp inhale and shook his head. “I was just coming by to check on an old friend.”

  So that was only partially true. Really, the guy lying face down in his own blood in the kitchen was a small-time drug dealer on the hook for a couple thousand dollars that he owed the Chained Kings. Avon was here to collect; not to kill. But someone else had apparently completed a different mission first.

  “An old friend who conveniently had kidnapped your cousin?” Robyn’s arched brow conveyed as much vitriol as her voice.

  Avon’s face fell. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on here any more than you do.” His words came out hard, measured. He didn’t like the implication in her words.

  Robyn’s nostrils flared as she studied him. But what she wasn’t saying bothered him more.

  “I was sent here to look after Matt,” she said finally, smoothing down the leg of her pants. “And that’s what I intend to do.”

  “Thanks for the help, but I can take it from here.”

  There was fire in her eyes as she looked over the two of them, but then a knock sounded at the door.

  The police were here.

  Chapter Three

  Robyn went through a detailed recollection of what happened with an officer, and then again with a detective that showed up. She and Avon were trapped in police proceedings so long that dusk hit and her belly began to grumble angrily. The first hunger of the day, thank God.

  By the time they were cleared to leave, Lisa had shown up, Robyn’s boss at the social work agency ‘In Good Hands’. That was their motto, and Robyn knew Lisa would be devastated that one of their charges had been exposed to such insensitive, damaging hands.

  “There you are.” Lisa hurried up the sidewalk, her brown hair frizzing at the temples. “Now, where’s Matt?”

  Robyn turned, gesturing toward the front door where Avon was just stepping through. Her chest tightened at the sight of him. She wasn’t supposed to be getting sentimental about a one-night stand who’d ditched her and never looked back, but damn, the man looked good caring for a kid. And now she was carrying his kid, and this
was the last thing her fraying, pregnant hormones needed.

  Avon approached just as Lisa got down to business. “Matt needs to come to the agency headquarters for an evaluation before he can be released to his temporary home.”

  “Temporary home?” Avon’s eyes flashed as he looked between Robyn and Lisa. “He’s coming home with me.”

  Lisa paused, and Robyn recognized the professional restraint in her voice. “Matt’s parents are out of the picture, and he has no current legal guardian.” Robyn knew ‘out of the picture’ was code for ‘dead’. “He’ll be entered back into the foster system until we can secure an appropriate legal guardian for him.”

  “That’s me,” Avon said, his voice nearly a growl.

  “And that may very well be true. But until the courts can determine that, he’ll be placed back into the foster system.”

  “This is bullshit,” Avon spat. “He’s my family. My blood.”

  “And unfortunately, sir, you have a record that prevents you from being considered a foster parent.”

  Lisa’s words hung heavy in the air. She did background checks in her sleep practically, and Avon must have come up as a red flag. Despite the fact that Avon had burned her, Robyn didn’t want him to suffer. He seemed to genuinely care for the kid. Even though he had a leather kutte that screamed biker gang, she knew that wasn’t the whole story.

  Truth was, she was more interested in the whole story than she wanted to admit.

  “I’ll take him,” Robyn blurted out before she could even think better of it. Both sets of stunned eyes swung her way.

  “You won’t be taking him anywhere,” Avon began, but Lisa cut him off.

  “That would be a suitable arrangement for now. At least under Robyn’s care, we can satisfy the legal requirements in the meantime.” She sent a tight smile to Avon, which Robyn read as Are you happy now?

  Avon’s amber gaze was rimmed with fire. His jaw flexed as he scanned the horizon. This wasn’t a great part of town, and in the setting sun, shady types were gathered at the periphery. Rubbernecking, probably, but the whole evening made her desperate to get home and comfortable – set Matt up with a safe place, and put this entire day behind her.

  “So, let’s get a move on.” Lisa clapped her hands as though dismissing them. She started off for her car.

  Avon’s hand on Robyn’s elbow made her jolt.

  “He needs to go home. Where he can rest.” The earnestness on his face made her pause.

  “But he can’t go back with you,” Robyn said in a quiet voice. “You’ve got a history.” Her gaze fell to his kutte, and her lips thinned. “I haven’t seen what she dug up on you, but it’s plain to see that you’re in a motorcycle club. I don’t care how nice you are, the system is always gonna say no unless you can get into a legal guardianship position.”

  Avon’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t know shit about me.”

  “You’re right. I don’t.”

  His nostrils flared, and they watched each other for a heated moment. Then he sighed, looking away. She caught the shadowy stubble on his jaw in the golden sunset.

  “The evaluation at the agency will be quick,” she said, squeezing herself even though she wasn’t cold. The heat outside was still sweat-inducing but having Avon just a couple feet away was a different heat altogether. “Then I’ll take him back to my place. He’ll be comfortable there.”

  “I’m coming with.”

  Her throat tightened, and she looked away. Why hadn’t he come back to her house that night three months ago? She had no reason to feel hurt by his absence; people had one night stands all the time. The baby growing inside her changed everything though. “That’s fine.”

  She walked to her car and sensed Avon close behind. Matt didn’t want to sit in the back seat alone, so Avon made the quick trip to the agency in the back seat with him. Robyn tried to hide her grin. At least the man was tender.

  The evaluation went quickly as promised. Avon was able to help fill in the gaps, but Matt was still mostly in shock, quiet and teary-eyed. By the time they were ready to leave, it was almost 8:00 p.m.

  “I bet you’re starving, huh, Matt?” Robyn cast him a friendly look through the rearview mirror as she started the car, this time with the intent of taking him to her apartment. His temporary home. “What’s your favorite place to eat? Maybe we can swing by and get some food.”

  Matt tugged on Avon’s kutte and whispered something into his ear. Avon nodded. “He wants to go to ‘Red Robin’.”

  Robyn grinned through the mirror. “That’s my name too, you know.”

  Matt’s gaze met hers for only a brief moment before he fastened his eyes on the outside world. It would take a lot of work to get him to open up to her. And she hated that he had to be going through any of this. The least she could offer him was comfort, safety, and all of the best creature comforts.

  Avon sat with his arm slung around Matt the whole way home. Every once in a while, chills would race up Robyn’s spine, and she’d find Avon’s gaze waiting for hers in the rearview mirror.

  But if he didn’t want to break the ice about their shared history, then she’d follow his lead. She was dying to make some mention of the fact that he’d fucked her senseless in that very back seat, but it didn’t seem right to say anything in front of Matt. He was the priority now. Their shit didn’t matter.

  “Here we are.” Robyn pulled into an apartment complex full of three-story buildings gathered around neatly manicured lawns. It was plain, safe. A metaphor for her life, she supposed. “Do you need a ride back to your bike, or…?”

  “No. I’ll get it some other time.” His tone left no room for question.

  “So you’re fine with leaving your personal property at the scene of a crime?”

  “Don’t worry about it.” He didn’t look at her as he hoisted Matt back into his arms, a bag of fast food dangling from one fist.

  Robyn shook her head. “I’m not worried; I just don’t understand.” Their footsteps fell in sync as she led him up the cement path to building C. She’d written this exact address on his forearm twelve weeks ago. “There’s a lot of things I don’t understand, actually.”

  He grunted but didn’t say anything else.

  Sassiness swirled inside her, and she looked at him over her shoulder. “Do you remember my address? From the first time I gave it to you?”

  Avon waited a moment to respond. “Wondered if you were gonna bring that up.”

  Robyn pushed inside the apartment building and headed up the stairs to the second floor. Her heart pounded so fast she felt dizzy. “Wasn’t sure if you remembered me. Maybe you have a lot of hookups like that. Wouldn’t be surprised.”

  When he didn’t respond right away again, she fought the urge to turn around and gauge his response. Her cheeks heated up as she unlocked her door.

  “Are you pregnant?”

  His simple question made her drop the key. She fumbled to pick it up, then pushed the door open. Her small but cozy apartment greeted them, all shades of seaside blue and slate gray. She dropped her purse on the kitchen counter, trying to regain some composure before she spoke. How could he tell? She cleared her throat.

  “Well, here we are, Matt!” She hoped her voice sounded as bright as she intended. “This is where you’ll be staying. Want to see your room?”

  Matt didn’t respond, but she led Avon down the hall anyway. She pushed open the spare bedroom door, where her plush guest room waited, decked out with a full bed, tons of pillows, and a wardrobe.

  “This looks nice, bud,” Avon said, in a significantly softer voice. Damn his tenderness with Matt. It made it hard to hang on to her anger. “We should eat, huh?”

  Matt nodded, so Robyn led them back out to the combined kitchen and dining area. She helped spread out his dinner on a plate and grabbed him a glass of water.

  “Are you hungry?” she asked Avon. They hadn’t ordered anything for themselves at ‘Red Robin’, and finally, her own hunger was catching up wit
h her.

  “You never answered my question.” Avon sank into a dining chair, his brown eyes focused on her like a hawk.

  “I don’t know why you’d think that.”

  “Is it mine?”

  Her mouth parted and she glared at him. “That’s rude, Avon. I can’t believe you’d—”

  “I was sober that night. I’d only had a couple of beers.” He fingered the end of a fork as he watched her. “I remember everything. I was on my way to your place when I got word that Matt was missing.”

  Robyn swallowed, washing her hands as a way to lessen the intensity of his words. So she didn’t have to look him in the eye again. “Oh,” was all she could say.