Trapped by His Vow: Wicked Angels MC, #3

By Heather West

Trapped by His Vow is book 3 and the finale of the Wicked Angels MC trilogy!

IT'S TOO LATE FOR HER TO RUN.

I swore off women when my wife died.
I put my old life in cold storage and escaped to the mountains.

Up there, I could keep my demons locked away.

But then Amanda wandered somewhere she didn't belong…
Right into my arms.

Now, we're snowed in.
Just me, her…
And the darkness inside me that's threatening to devour us both.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sopris Page Press
• Release date: Jan 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386460329

Book preview

Trapped by His Vow: A Motorcycle Club Romance (The Wicked Angels MC Book 3)

By Heather West

IT’S TOO LATE FOR HER TO RUN.

I SWORE OFF WOMEN WHEN my wife died.

I put my old life in cold storage and escaped to the mountains.

Up there, I could keep my demons locked away.

But then Amanda wandered somewhere she didn’t belong...

Right into my arms.

Now, we’re snowed in.

Just me, her...

And the darkness inside me that’s threatening to devour us both.

Chapter 1

Carly has tears in her eyes. I’ve told her everything, every last detail. Most of the time, my eyes have been on my coffee cup. Some of the memories are still pretty raw, pretty painful. Like that last night. The last time he hit me. The time I decided was the last time.

I can’t believe you’ve been carrying this around inside you for so long, Carly says quietly. I can’t believe you’ve been walking around with this in your heart. You poor thing. She reaches across the table, squeezing my hand.

It’s okay, I tell her.

It’s not! You went through hell. Now...now I guess I understand a little more. Why you weren’t dating. Honestly? I used to question that myself. Why such a nice, pretty person didn’t have a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend, whatever. Why you were alone.

Now you know. I shrugged. It happened. It happens to a lot of people. We just don’t talk about it. Christopher was the first person I told.

Why did you tell him?

Because...he found me. Lucas.

Carly’s rocked to her core. She covers her mouth with both hands. Oh, no! I can’t believe it!

He was texting me, sending me messages on social media. He’s insane, point-blank.

Uh, yeah. He sounds that way. When’s the last time he reached out to you?

I look over at the wall behind the coffee machines. There’s that article, framed. Right where I hung it the day I opened the place. I point to it, explaining what I got in the mail yesterday. Why I called Christopher, why I didn’t come in this morning.

Jesus. You should have called the police, too!

I wasn’t thinking clearly. Honestly, he just happened to call me a few minutes after I opened the mail. I was desperate. I needed him to protect me.

And he did.

He did. He came running.

Oh... Carly’s eyes light up. Even though he’s not supposed to be in town?

I nod. Now she gets it. You can see, then, can’t you? Why I feel the way I feel? I can’t turn my back on him. Within minutes, he was at my door. In the house. Inspecting every last inch, just so I would feel safe. Even the crawlspace. We giggle. It’s so nice to have a girlfriend to talk these things out with. I was too afraid to come in to work today, I explain. It was too raw, too fresh.

Why did you come at all?

I had to talk to you. More importantly, I can’t let Lucas rule my life. I can’t. He wins if I let him do that. I shake my head, pointing to it as I do. He’s in here. So deep. I have to get him out. He could be hundreds, thousands of miles away. But he’s planted seeds, you know? He might as well be right up in my face all over again, screaming about the butter being too cold to spread on his bread. That’s what he wants, too. I can’t let him have it.

Carly gets up, gives me a hug. You’re good people, she says with a smile once she releases me.

So are you, I say.

And so is Christopher, she adds.

My eyes fill with tears. At least she gets it. One down, the rest of the town to go.

WE FINALLY CLOSE UP shop. It’s much later than we have to, I realize. We sat talking for hours, long after closing time normally occurs. It felt so good to get everything off my chest, I completely lost track of time.

We stand outside the shop together, Carly and I. Thank you for listening to me, I say, hugging her again. It means the world.

I’ve got your back. Just let anybody try to say anything against you. I’ll set them straight, she promises.

That means the world, too, but I don’t want you getting yourself into hot water on my account. Just steer the gossip mongers my way. I’ll be the one to set them straight. You don’t have to fight my battles. I give her a smile and another hug. She’s such a good friend. I don’t know what I’d do without her right now.

Are you going to Christopher’s? she asks just before we part ways.

I think I’ll take your advice and go over, yeah. First I want to go home to change. There’s flour all over my clothes.

She smiles. Maybe you should pack an overnight bag? She giggles, and I swat at her with my gloves. We walk to our cars, laughing.

I drive home feeling oddly buoyant. I should write a book, I decide. All about the lies we tell ourselves. We have ourselves convinced no one will ever understand us. We can’t share our story with others. People will judge us, shun us. We’ll feel ashamed. That’s nonsense! I laugh at myself, out loud, at the thought. It’s total nonsense. We can’t live in our hearts all the time. When we’re hurting, we have to reach out and share our stories. Who knows? Maybe another person can relate, and our bravery will help them, too.

I’m feeling extremely confident as I climb the stairs, digging my keys out of my bad. I’m even humming, I realize. Something I haven’t done in ages. I can’t wait to get to Christopher’s. I know I can make him understand where I was coming from earlier today. Even if he’s listened to my message and is still brooding, I can get through to him somehow. I just need the chance.

I walk into the house, flipping the light switch as I do.

When the lights don’t go on, I feel sick. In a split second, everything becomes clear.

Then I’m hit over the head, and it all goes black.

WHERE AM I?

I wake up, and everything’s dark. I’m moving, aren’t I? Being bounced back and forth, gently. Like being in a cradle. I’m rocking in a cradle. It’s actually kind of nice.

I close my eyes again, wanting nothing more than to sink into the darkness around me. It’s so sweet, so good, just relaxing like this. Not having to be worried, not having to defend myself or work my way through dark, confusing rumors. Just...being.

Wait.

No.

I can’t go back to sleep.

I open my eyes again. I stretch out my legs...only they don’t stretch all the way. Not even a lot of the way. They’re folded, my knees close to my chest.

I try to stretch out my arms, but they, too,