Chained: A Bad Boy Romance (20 page)

He loves me. I can't believe he just said that.

An evil smile filled Brice's face as he brought the knife out of his pocket. The metallic sheen glistened against the moon. “You don't have a choice, Owen. You're going to help me or I'm going to hurt her. And your child, too.”

I looked up at Owen with terror in my eyes. He had the appearance of stone; a feeling of security blanketed my body. I could see he wasn't afraid of his brother.

His massive figure constricted from the rage that Brice evoked.

He wasn't about to let anything happen to me or our baby.

Owen took another step forward and Brice took one back. He hadn't anticipated Owen challenging him and not giving in. “Don't make me do this, Owen. Just help me and all of this will be over. You don't understand how dangerous these people are. They want their money!”

Owen's fists clenched tight by his sides. His empty stare looked the same as the first day he was brought into my office. “Let her go, or you're going to regret it. I'm not considering your options, I'm giving
you
one.”

I need to do something. I'm not letting this guy use me as a bargaining chip.
My mind began to flurry with ideas of how to break free. Brice had the knife, but he was only focused on Owen. He wasn't looking down on me, he didn't have me in his sight at all.

This is my chance.

My head turned towards Brice's arm. Without a second thought, I leaned in and bit down hard on his flesh. He yelled in pain and instinctively released his hold, quickly I scrambled out of his reach.

Owen charged forward like a bull running into the red cloak of a matador. Brice's feet lifted from the ground and the knife flew from his hand. Owen landed on top of him, knuckles high in the air. He let his fist fall with all of his weight into his brother's face.

One after the other, the punches rained down.

Brice threw an elbow into Owen's jaw. “Get the fuck off me!”

The face of the man who loved me, who was here to protect me, was frozen with rage. His eyes looked black under the moonlight, his lip curled up on one side as his hands fell down repeatedly. It brought me back to the fight I'd witnessed at the prison.

But Owen was different, now. This time, he wasn't trying to save face or help someone who was weaker. There was meaning to this battle, it was a vendetta.

His freedom had been challenged, his family had been threatened.

Owen wasn't going to stand for that.

Brice struggled to gain back his control. “Look, we can talk about this! Man to man, brother to brother,” he said. His eyes scanned the ground around him as he turned his head, trying to dodge Owen. “I wasn't going to hurt her, it was just to scare you!” Desperation flooded Brice's eyes as his hand rummaged through the leaves.

What is he looking for?
Something glinted, catching my attention as the debris around it was disturbed.
The knife! He's trying to reach the knife!

My eyes met Brice's; blood trickled from his mouth as he attempted to grasp the ground and pull himself towards the blade.

No, no god damn way!
Without hesitation, I quickly ran over and kicked the knife out of his reach. Owen paused for an instant as he realized what his brother had been trying to do.

Twisting around, he hunched over Brice, every muscle flexing. “You god damn liar!” He wrenched his shoulder back, slamming red knuckles into his jaw. “Talk it out man to man?  And then you'd stab me, is that it?”

Years of pent up madness fell from each fist. A shallow grunt followed every strike. This was a moment that had been building for some time. While I didn't know the total history between these men, the tragedy—the betrayal—was obvious.

It hit me that my phone was still in my pocket. I pulled it out and started to dial the police. I worried that, if no one stopped him, Owen would murder Brice right in front of me.

“Owen!” Brice shouted. “I'm your brother! Stop!”

Owen lifted himself up high, his fist pulled back as he let one last blow connect. He stood over the beaten and battered man, glaring down on him with genuine hate. “No. You're not my brother anymore, Brice. And  I'm not your little puppet, either.”

Sitting up, Brice wiped at the blood staining his teeth. “Just this one time. That's it! They're going to kill me, man!” His eyes were as wide as they could go.

“No, I'll never help you again.” As Owen spoke he stood taller. Turning towards me, he began to take long strides my way.

Brice reached his arm out, attempting to grab his ankle. “Please! I'll come clean, I'll clear your name, I'll go to the cops and tell them what really happened that night. That I was the one who killed that guard, that I was the leader of that job and you had only tried to stop me. You tried to talk me out of it! I'll tell them everything! Please! You can't let them kill me, Owen!” His voice shook as he spoke.

What?
The words took a second to set in.
Owen didn't really commit that murder?

I couldn't believe what I'd just heard. To find out that Owen had spent a decade locked up for a crime he didn't commit stunned me. All that time he had taken the fall for his brother.

But, why?

My eyes froze on Owen as this revelation came out. The words sat in my mind, unable to fully process.
He isn't the murderer everyone thinks he is. He was a brother just trying to protect his kin.

And now he's here, protecting me, protecting his baby.

Owen looked down at Brice, disgust curling his lips. “I don't give a shit what you do, from here on out it'll never involve me. You understand?”

Brice rolled around, grimacing as he said nothing. Leaves clung to him from all the blood and sweat. Once, he tried to stand, but just curled over in pain instead. Light moans escaped his mouth as he twisted with discomfort.

This was a beaten man.

The danger he'd represented was gone.

Owen closed the distance between us. In the distance, sirens blared as they approached. “You alright?” He held out his hand, like he was going to pull me in.

I rushed forward, beating him to it. Clinging to his middle, I let out a long rush of relieved air. “Yeah, now I'm okay.”

“Good,” he said into my temple. “I just... that's such a relief.”

His strength circled me, his nose in my scalp. For a minute we just held each other, our hands linking between us. Finally, I spoke up. “Is it true? You didn't kill that man years ago?”

His chest rose as he inhaled a deep breath, fingers gently brushing the hair from my face. “I wanted to save my brother. Just like he had saved me so many times. I fucked up though, Charlie. He used me over and over again. Same as he was trying to do now.” He turned his head away and looked over at Brice.

“Why didn't you ever say anything?” I asked. This was difficult for me to grasp. For a person to spend that much time behind bars for a crime they didn't do, it made no sense.

“It took me a long time to open my eyes to what had really happened and the role I played. Who would've believed me anyway?” His head dipped as he spoke. “It doesn't matter anymore. It's over.”

I placed my hand under his chin and brought his gaze to mine. “Did you mean what you said? That you love me?”

Taking my wrist in his fingers, he smiled lightly. “Of course. I love you, Charlotte Laroche. And I love our baby.” His palm cradled my stomach possessively.

When he said my full name, my heart skipped a beat. I fell against him, our bodies as close as could be. His embrace felt perfect and secure; muscles that had just been used to defend me, now held my body with such delicacy.

This is where I belong, right here with him.

The words floated effortlessly off my tongue. “I love you, too.”

He hugged me tightly, my cheek resting against his chest. My arms firmly clenched around his sides, unwilling to loosen my grip even as the high pitch of the sirens echoed through the trees.

Owen looked up at the approaching vehicles, his skin an alternating glow of red and blue. He pulled my waist in closer as we stood in the darkness.

I peered up at the handsome figure who was more than just a man.

In the beginning, Owen had been my challenge. Then, he'd been my temptation.

Eventually he'd proven himself my hero.

And now...

He was my love.

Charlie

A
year had passed since that horrible ordeal in the woods.

I sat on the front porch of my home, the beautiful sunrise warming my face when it shined between the breaks in the tree branches.
I'll never get tired of how peaceful it is out here in the morning.

Owen's hands fell over my shoulders and squeezed them. “She's still passed out in there.” He leaned in and kissed my neck softly.

A smile spread across my face as I brought a hand up to his. “Good, hopefully she sleeps for a while. It was a rough night.” I sipped my coffee as he sat next to me on the porch swing.

Our daughter, Oriana, was born six months ago. Her name meant 'dawn.' She was a gift for both.

The first time I'd heard her small cry, my world changed completely. It was as if my eyes had been replaced by a new set. Everything shined brighter and stronger.

A fresh beginning to our new life.

We had decided to move to my hometown in Louisiana. It felt good to be back, surrounded by my family and friends. Everyone there was really accepting of Owen; it helped that they didn't have an inkling of what he was known for.

I'd decided to not tell anyone about what had happened to him or me. He deserved a completely clean slate, a place that wouldn't have eyes watching his every move. He had spent so much of his life in the headlines and under suspicion, he needed to be rewarded for the person he really was, and not who everyone
thought
he was.

After the police arrived that night and took Brice into custody, our lives didn't fall into place right away. You'd think that once someone else admitted to the actual crime it would be easy to just have it all erased for the innocent party.

Unfortunately, things aren't that simple.

The court system doesn't like being wrong. I spent countless hours in meetings with lawyers and in court, trying to get Owen's name cleared.

After three months of hearings and statements, it was all finally put to rest when his brother took the stand and grew the balls to do something right for once. He ended up being the key to erasing Owen's record.

Brice is currently serving life in prison for killing that guard, never mind the aggravated kidnapping.

I was finally able to watch Owen let himself relax and enjoy the life he had been given. He no longer had to worry about his brother trying to drag him back into the criminal underbelly.

We both had realized that there was nothing left for us in New England. His family ties had been severed completely, and I still had no job.

Sara had gotten an offer to work in Washington state. She didn't want to leave me homeless, knowing I couldn't afford the apartment on my own, but I encouraged her to go for it.

Despite his innocence, the town still treated Owen like he was a killer. They shunned him completely. Neither of us could go anywhere without hushed whispers floating behind our backs while people stared and pointed.

I didn't want to raise our baby in a place where people would constantly be judging us. I wanted to leave, move far away and start over.

And I did.

We did.

The click of feet shuffled against the glass door. “Biscuit wants out,” he said as he stood and pulled the handle. Biscuit jumped into view, bouncing onto my lap before curling up in a ball. He rested his head against my thigh as he looked off into the distance.

“You love it here, huh, Biscuit?” I ruffled the fur that covered his eyes.

It had taken us some time to get on our feet. I'd been lucky enough to be able to ask my grandfather for some help; he let us live in the small apartment above the garage on his farm.

Then, I'd found a small office in town and opened my own practice.

The prison system was no longer a place I wanted to affiliate with. After everything I learned about what Owen had been through as a kid, it really hit me in the core. He'd spent his younger years fending for himself, he'd become a product of his environment.

There were so many young children out there dealing with similar histories of drug and alcohol abuse, I felt it necessary to try and focus on them. It seemed more ideal to try and give them the tools and support they needed before they got sucked into the dark side that would eventually ruin their lives.

“Do you have a lot of work today?” I asked, lifting my feet up and placing them over his legs.

He ran his fingers through my hair and twirled it around between them. “Yeah, I've got a few big jobs that need to get done. But, I'll still be at Oriana's six month check up today.”

After the move, Owen had opened up his own automotive shop. He's really gifted with being able to fix and repair cars. The garage below us had been empty and my grandfather let him use it to get his foot in the door. His shop had been highly rated and was constantly busy.

Even with the demands his job required, Owen's first priority was our daughter and his family. I found it amazing to see this man and his love for his child.

She's the light of our lives, that's why we had chosen that name for her. Every sunrise meant a new beginning, dawn was the glow that started the day. Without it, there would be nothing but darkness.

The day she was born, Owen looked into her eyes and said something I will never forget;
A man will do very little for himself in comparison to what he will do for his family.

Owen's hand ran down over my cheek, pulling me from my thoughts. My eyes took in how sexy and handsome he was. I tingled with excitement as his hand continued down my body. “How long do you think she's out for?” I asked with a wink.

A smile spread across his face. “I'm sure it'll be long enough.” He chuckled slightly as he moved Biscuit off my lap, leaning in to press his lips against mine.