by Sonya Jesus
His head falls in shame, and a solitary tear falls from his cheek. In a way, and only because he didn’t rat me out sooner, I know he probably tried desperately to get out from under the Littles. But once your hands are stained with the much dirt, it becomes embedded within them. He didn’t stand a chance.
I shake Colin’s hand and walk out of the warehouse, now satisfied with the outcome of my first case as detective. Not only did I help take down the largest crime family in the city, but also a well-known captain of the department. So, I’m able to peacefully walk away from the drama of the past three months that almost took my life…but also has given me new life…Melody.
And that’s good enough for me.
Cam Johns
Okay, so I’m not one of those people that woke up one day and decided, “you know what, I think I’ll write a book today.” Who am I kidding, yes I am. However, I came to the decision because my fiancé was struggling with his MS, and sometimes when things that heavy are going on in your life, you need an outlet. So, that’s just what I did.
I started with just writing poems, which turned into short stories, then what do you know…a whole book! Trust me, I’m no genius! But I feel you might enjoy some of the things I decided to put on paper. Some may think, “My goodness she’s got a foul mouth!” Especially anyone that knows me, but what can I say, I must’ve been a sailor in my past life!
My first published book is an erotic romance, full of suspense, based on the life of Karisma Washington. The first of the Arousing Trilogy that, of course, leaves you hanging onto what happens next. Beyond it being a sexy tale of Karisma finding true love unexpectedly, she will also come to find some truth in the murder of her father.
Cam Johns started writing as a way to cope with her fiancé’s Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis. Her quiet journey started with poems and short stories which she kept private. It wasn’t until she published her first novel, which turned into the Arousing Series, that she gained enough confidence to continue sharing her works.
To learn more about Cam: www.camjohns.com/about
Novels: The Arousing Series
1)Arousing Consequences
2)Arousing Secrets
3)Arousing Inferno (Finale)
Anthologies & Other (Short Stories)
1)Love is Color (His Secret Pawn) https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/791568 (Free)
2)Healing Anthology: Fear, Faith and Moving Forward (Becoming Chase Hunter)
3)SOUL Magazine (A Prologue to Cuffed) - https://tinyurl.com/ya9fqvjl
Works in Progress
1)For Melissa: An Anthology (September)
Socia Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorcamjohns
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/camsquad
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorcamj/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorcamj
The Dragon’s Chain
By Sonya Jesus
My name is Keenan, but around here everyone calls me Chains. A stupid nickname I can’t shake, but man is it fucking true. I am chained and shackled to this life, all because I followed my heart. I joined the Dragons because I needed to live in Hannah’s world if I wanted to be with her forever, but forever never came.
So, I live in the past with the memories of the girl I loved. I chase her ghost until the bottom of every bottle, and search for her embrace in every wrong girl. I drown out her voice with the beat of my drums and the roar of my bike, but it’s only temporary. When I am sober, the loss kills me. Little did I know, death would have been better than the truth.
Copyright © 2018 Sonya Jesus
Chapter 1: Balls and Chains
Keenan
One Year Ago
“Keenan?” It takes me a minute to register the name.
I turn to the side and find Hannah’s baby sister sitting on a bar stool in front of me with the Den’s phone in her hand. She eyes me cautiously, as if she’s afraid calling me by my real name would piss me off. She’s been looking at me like that for years. I don’t blame her though. Considering my girlfriend treats her like she’s insignificant, she thinks I view her that way, even though I have proved otherwise.
She points to the phone after she scans around the room, probably searching for her defenders, Dax and Aysen. Those three are attached at the hip, though I am sure they would rather attach themselves to other, more interesting, parts of her body.
I stop drying the whiskey glass with the towel and crack a smile to ease her apprehension.
“You can call me Chains, Hails. Everyone else does.” One Dragon referred to me as Hannah’s ball and chain, and ever since I was christened Chains. Hailee, Dax and Ace are the only Dragons who don’t call me that. Well, that’s not true. Dax and Ace call me Chains when Hailee isn’t around. They try to hide it, but those two are in love with the same girl, and one day that will bring a whole lot of trouble.
“Uh… Yeah… I could.” She smiles hesitantly. “But I like Keenan better.” She doesn’t have to tell me why. I know it has to do with defying her sister. As meek as her sister wants people to think Hailee is, Hannah is petrified of the power Hailee holds over the council and her future council members, Dax and Ace. I think Hailee just hasn’t accepted the things around her, or maybe she hasn’t found herself yet, but when she does, Hannah is in for a rude awakening. I smile because I love my girl to pieces, but she’s a fucking bitch, and she needs to be knocked down a peg every once in a while.
I nudge my chin toward the phone. “What’s with the phone, sweetheart?”
She blushes at my nickname, knowing Hannah absolutely hates that I call her that. She leans over the table and whispers a warning, “Hannah is on the phone.”
I place the cup down and look her straight in the eyes. “Should I say it louder then?”
“Probably not!” She shoves the phone in my face as she giggles softly. I hold the phone up to my ear and ignore Hannah bitching about provoking her with the ‘sweetheart’ comment. I point towards the door, and Hailee follows the direction of my finger to find Dax and Ace. Her face lights up and she rushes towards them.
“How many times do I have to tell you not to call that little shit sweetheart? Do you ever fucking listen to me? I swear to God, one of these days you are going to regret paying attention to her.” I take a deep breath as Hannah’s bitch fest continues. “You can’t just ignore her? It’s enough I have to deal with Dax and Ace dropping everything any time she comes around or calls. She’s just a kid. I mean really…”
“Baby?” I cut her off when she pauses for a breath or runs out of fuel.
“What!” she shouts.
“Are you done with your jealous fit?” I hear the string of curse words even though she pulls the phone away from her mouth. It’s not the first-time Hannah’s tried to call me out on being nice to Hailee. “We’ve been over this before, I get you and her aren’t close, but that doesn’t mean I am going to be a dick to her.”
“Fine. Protect the baby Dragon . I don’t fucking care.”
I can hear her eyes rolling. “Are you on your way?” I check the clock on the wall. “We have a late reservation at Maziato’s tonight.”
“About that,” her tone softens. “I have to cancel.”
I throw my head back and tame my tongue. It works for like two seconds. “Again? This is the third time this week.”
Those were the wrong words to say in a room full of Dragons. Gunner, who apparently had been listening in on our conversation, mouths the word pussy. While Maddox pretends to yank on chains.
As she begins giving me yet another work excuse, I pin the phone between my neck and shoulder and flip both my middle fingers at them. They get a kick out of teasing me. It doesn’t matter how tough I prove myself to be, I’ll always be weak because of how powerful Hannah is. It also doesn’t help that they know why I’ve made the three reservations at Maziato’s. They are assholes, but they did help me pick the ring in my back pocket.
“You understand, right?”
The rare doubt in her voice forces me to say, “Yeah, baby. But tonight?”
“I should be back around eleven, maybe sooner. I have to take some people out for drinks and get them on board with something.” Her vagueness never phases me anymore. I’m not on the council, or an advisor, so I am not privy to sensitive information. There are so many secrets between us , I don’t even know what I am allowed to know.
“Okay, I’ll wait up.” I think I am going to have to toss the whole romantic dinner proposal out the window and improvise tonight. I refuse to go another day without telling this girl that I want her forever. I know me joining the Dragons was basically a promise of forever, but I am a traditional guy, and I believe in until death do us part.
“That sounds doable.” She isn’t exactly the lovey dovey kind of chick. Hannah is anything but gentle. Hannah’s a leader. She isn’t supposed to take over yet, but she already calls the shots. They could have been trio leaders, but she was the boss because she has more balls then both of them put together. While Dax and Ace are busy chasing tail, avoiding their feelings for Hailee and getting hammered, Hannah has been attending meetings with the council, wining and dining all the big leagues of our world, establishing a relationship with all the right people and making deals that would take the Dragons in a lucrative direction.
Hannah has vision- illegal, extremely dangerous vision¬¬- but vision nonetheless. She doesn’t just charm the people around her, she commands them. She isn’t judge, jury and executioner; she’s the fucking god and everyone knows it. She has more power in her words, than the council has in their actions, and it’s fucking hot as fuck.
“Hey, Chains?” Hannah says playfully. This is as romantic as she gets.
“Yeah, Balls?” Yeah. I call her that.
“Something fierce.”
I know the words that references. The first time she told me she loved me she said, “I love you something fierce.” Ever since, she only says something fierce so she doesn’t show weakness around the rest of the Dragons. So, I answer like I usually do, “Always.”
She ends the call, and I put the phone on the counter until Hailee returns from her meeting. Only then do I notice that the phone I thought was the office´s was actually mine. How the hell did Hailee have my phone? Lucky for me, she comes back to order a drink.
“Can I have a jolly rancher, Keenan? Dax and Ace had to go work or whatever.” She grimaces, no doubt considering the fact that they were breaking in the new batch of Denners for the escort service. Maddox and Gunner usually jump at the opportunity to train the new girls, but sometimes the Council prefers the future Masters to actually work. Not that the guys usually consider sex work.
I pour the cranberry juice over the mix of vodka and peach schnapps as I ask Hailee, “How did you get my phone, sweetheart?”
“Hannah had it.”
I mix the drink and pour it into a glass as I wait for her to finish. “She left it in the office, and my Dad started whining about it going off. He was yelling that you shouldn’t leave your shit around, so I told him it was Hannah.”
I slide the drink over to her. “You stood up for me?” Don wasn’t my biggest fan, but he showed me respect because of Hannah. Respecting his youngest daughter, however, was a different story. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
She shrugs her shoulder nonchalantly, as if the backlash she probably received meant nothing. Don and Hannah always treated Hailee as a nuisance, and back talk wasn’t usually tolerated by either of them.
“Thank you.”
She smiles softly. “Anytime.” She sips her drink and swivels on her heel to go to a booth, but she turns back around. “I am sorry she cancelled again.”
“How did you know?” I swing my head over to Gunner and Maddox, the only people who knew the secret. They catch me staring and ignore my pissed off vibe.
“Don’t blame them,” she defends them. “Hannah cursed them out this morning, and I was there when they let it slip.” She takes a moment to go over what she just said in her head and then smiles nervously. “I mean, after she left.”
“How did that fit into the conversation.” Hailee bites the inside of her bottom lip, something I have only seen her do when she was keeping secrets she shouldn’t be. “Hailee?”
“They just said they couldn’t believe you were proposing to ‘that bitch.’ I deduced the rest.” She looks behind her and spots Ace in the booth, calling her over. I guess, they were postponing their duties to hang out with her. “Good luck with the proposal thing.”
Good luck? I don’t have time to ask her, by the time her words register with me she’s already sitting by Ace. I didn’t need luck, I just needed my girlfriend to make it home.
***
The knock on my door comes at around three in the morning. I am so fucking pissed and ready to unleash on Hannah that when I swing open the door I am already cursing her out. “You’re fucking late.”
“Hey, man,” Gunner and Maddox say in unison. They look like shit.
“What the hell are you guys doing here?” I’m not a fan of entertaining drunken Dragons in my home, even if they are my friends. It’s enough I do it at the Den.
“Can we come in?” Maddox asks. I glance over at Gunner who is running his hand through his short hair, looking more nervous than our first run together. Maddox tries to keep a calm demeanor, but I have known him for five years. These two weren’t here to shoot the shit, they were here to dish on whatever shit they got themselves into.
I step aside and let them in. They head straight for the living room and I follow them. Gunner, makes himself at home, pours himself a glass full of whiskey and downs it. Then refills with another full glass. Maddox takes a seat on the arm rest of the sofa, fidgeting with his beard and doing the exact opposite. He’s acting like he has never been in this place before.
“Okay,” I say after about five minutes of complete silence. “What did you guys do?”
Gunner stills himself. With his cup still in mid-air, he gives Maddox an urging look that seems to get Maddox talking. “Shit, Keenan.”
My whole body went into high alert. Keenan.
“There’s no easy way to say this.” Nothing good ever comes from those words. “It’s Hannah.”
Gunner finishes for him, “She’s been in a car accident. She didn’t make it.”
Chapter 2: Hannah Hangover
Keenan
Present Day
I learned to mask the sorrow Hannah’s absence left in my heart, but I could never quite fill the void her death left on my soul. I’ve occupied my time with music, tried to find a solution at the bottom of countless bottles and auditioned way too many girls, hoping they could replace her touch or mimic her voice.
But nothing worked. Not even the concoction of drugs I got my hands on. No matter what I took, my addiction to Hannah was far stronger than anything I could ingest. It’s impossible to erase the memory of someone who was engraved in your brain. I close my eyes and there she is, I open them and even though I can’t see her, I still feel her inside me. She’s in the apartment that I couldn’t bear to vacate and in every beat of my drum as I try to drown out her presence with music.
This band is my saving grace. It’s the one thing helping me keep it all together. I think it’s also the reason why the Dragons haven’t come banging on my door demanding I rejoin the ranks. Having someone famous is always beneficial in any illegal operation. They offer pull when needed. I wouldn’t be surprised if the meeting we have today isn’t blessed by the Council. My brother, Bash, thinks he managed the deal with Phoenix Records all on his own, but I have my suspicions. Not that I would ever voice them.
The less my brother knows about my Dragon ties the better. It’s enough that he knows I am one, I don’t need him questioning things anymore. Dragons don’t enjoy outsiders sniffing around their business. They prefer to remain elusive, keeping people guessing on how to define them.
As it
is, no one knows if we are a mob, a gang, or just a group of powerful people. They just know we are a collective that instills fear, yet gives a sense of security to the community. People refer to us as The Suppliers. If they want drugs, we are the safest retailers because we never cut the product or lace it with additives. If sex is your thing, we have the best girls who cater to your every fantasy, and we ensure privacy. If in a financial bind, we will loan you the cash without fail, but you never ask for a Dragon Loan if you don’t have the intention of paying it back. Basically, we supply what you need.
But there is so much more to it. Let’s just say, the Dragons are far more dangerous than I ever imagined. And now I am one of them and there’s no way out. Once a Dragon, always a Dragon. I am chained to them forever.
I thought joining the Dragons was the only way to stay in Hannah’s life. I never thought I would be a Dragon without her. They’ve left me alone for a year because Hailee convinced the Council I needed time to deal with losing Hannah, but it’s only a matter of time before they come calling.
Just the thought of returning back into that world keeps me up at night. I barely sleep, and if I do, it’s an alcohol induced slumber or with medical assistance. I didn’t take my sleeping pills last night because I was otherwise entertained with the girl who is softly breathing next to me.
The tips of her blonde hair are spread over the pillow while the rest of her is buried under the covers. I try to remember what her name is, but to be honest, I don’t even think I asked for it. She was there, ready and wanting to sleep with me. I just took her up on her offer.
Why I didn’t kick her out right away, I have no clue. I have this thing where I give the girls prompts on things Hannah would do or say while I fuck them, and blonde girl of the night here, failed miserably. She tried though, I give her that much. Maybe that’s why I didn’t kick her out. Or maybe it was the fact she moved so perfectly in tune with me. It’s been a year since I felt the thrill of sex and not just go through the motions to find a release. I even wrapped my arm around her and let her snuggle close to me. Not even Hannah did that, she wasn’t into intimacies.