Chained Hands (Chained Hearts Duet 1)

“I’ll help.” I pass the flowers to Joey, knowing full well he wants nothing to do with her. “I’ll be right up,” I tell him.

“Lifesaver, thanks. Sailor asked for some weird things, so I didn’t know what to bring. I may have packed a lot into the suitcase, and anyway, the handle is broken so I couldn’t carry it myself. Thanks again.” I remain silent as we walk through the lot. “Do you think Joey likes me? I know he walks away from me all the time, but I like him, you know? He’s different.”

She’s annoying, but she’s also harmless. I know my brother is a good-looking man who has enough pussy to last him a lifetime. His type is usually not the clingy or crazy ones, though. And, unfortunately for Ellie, she fits both those bills. Why she has clung on to Sailor is beyond me. And why Sailor has allowed it, is insane.

“I don’t know,” I answer her.

“What about Sailor? How are you two? She’s such a good soul. I can see why Dillan loved her so much.”

I pause at her words. What the fuck?

“Dillan loved himself, that much was clear,” I tell her.

She nods. “He did. But every night he would tell me about her. He really did love her.”

“You never found that weird, that your partner was telling you about his ex?”

“Shit, where did I park? This place is so big.” She looks around, then points toward the back. “No, I didn’t. He said she left him for you, so I figured he was just getting over her.” She shrugs.

“He sold her to me to pay off his debts.”

“You can’t sell a person. Not in this day and age,” Ellie states, her hands going to her hips. “Now, can you?”

“I did,” I argue back at her.

“Oh, I see it.” She starts walking faster, and I follow, wondering how many screws are loose with this woman. It’s then I notice something that shouldn’t be there.

“You aren’t this stupid, are you?” I ask, reaching for my gun.

She pulls one out of her purse and raises it to my head. “Aren’t you?” she chimes back at me. “How stupid are you? You really think a woman couldn’t carry her suitcase? To tell you the truth, I was hoping for Joey, but you’ll do.” She flicks the safety off as two men get out of the car. Both of them crack their knuckles and walk closer.

“Really?” I ask. “You work for Romarc?” I shake my head. “You could have done better,” I tell her, looking to the goons walking toward me. “One thing you should know about me, Ellie … if that’s even your real name … is that I’ve played this game way longer than you.” I smile as I reach into my pocket and press a button. When I do, her car and the two people next to it go up in smoke. Joey put it on her car last week. Said she was fishing for information, and he didn’t trust her. I guess his instincts were right. The tracker and bomb came in very handy. I’ll be sure to thank him later. The guys fly forward, their faces meeting the pavement, and she looks back, shocked, which gives me enough opportunity to move in and grab the gun from her hand. I shoot once, quickly, in her leg, making her drop to the ground. I pick up Sailor’s bag and crouch down next to her as she clutches her leg, crying out in agony.

“He’s going to kill you. You aren’t the king of this town anymore,” she sneers.

“How so?” I ask.

“Romarc owns the drug run, he owns the town. You know this. And next he will kill you and her.”

“You planned to kill Sailor?” I ask.

Ellie smiles through her tears. “No, I did actually like her. But now he will. You should have let me kill you.”

I shake my head at her words and stand.

“Did she know?” I ask, my gun at my side.

I hear sirens getting closer.

“Did who?”

“Did Sailor know who you were?”

“I’ll never tell.” She smiles a sinister smile before I raise the gun and pull the trigger.

Joey reaches me at that moment, his eyes wide in shock at what he sees.

“Fuck.” He rubs the back of his head. “Fuck! I can’t leave you alone for one fucking minute.” He shakes his head and looks at Ellie’s lifeless body. “Really? No way. Why did you kill her? I mean, we thought she was shitty, but fuck.”

“She was working with Romarc,” I state flatly.

His eyes go even wider in surprise if that’s possible. “Does that mean …” He looks back to the hospital.

“Go back inside, I’ll be there soon.”

Joey turns to leave. “Sailor will ask where Ellie is.”

“Tell her she went home.”

He walks away, only giving me a curt nod in response.