Bruised Angel (River of Lies #2) by Sammy King

with a smile to hide her repulsion.
    He smiled back at her, a smile that sent a shiver through her body. It wasn’t the fact that what teeth he did have in his head were rotten and almost mouldy in colour, or the stinking breath which oozed from that rotten mouth, but it was the look on his face, the same look that Carl watched her with. Chelsea felt a shiver run through her body as her blood suddenly turned ice cold. Duggar reached out and put his hand on her hip. Chelsea stiffened under his touch as she stepped back, but felt the wall against her back. She felt panic quickly rising and risking to take over. She didn’t want to offend Knox but Chelsea knew that if Duggar was to try anything she was going to knee him in the balls.
    “That’s alright, Chelsea is it?” he sneered at her.
    Chelsea nodded her head and tried to step to the side out of his grasp, but he quickly put his other hand on the wall beside her head blocking her in. Chelsea felt her heart begin to beat faster and beads of sweat break out on her forehead as she tried to meld into the wall behind her.
    “Do you need help with something Duggar?” Mason’s voice spoke threateningly deep behind them.
    Duggar spun around and lost all colour in face. Chelsea still pushed hard against the wall and let out a shaky breath.
    “I didn’t think so now fuck off” Mason growled.
    Duggar quickly scuttled past Chelsea sneering and winking at her as he went past. She felt her knees buckle as she began to slide down the wall, trembling. Mason stepped forward and caught her before she hit the floor.
    “I’m sorry Chels, I didn’t know he was here. I’ll talk to my Dad” Mason said holding her close and kissing her hair.
    Chelsea stood shaking, clinging to Mason for protection. She resolved to be careful not to be alone around Duggar, she didn’t trust him at all.
    “Mason do you want a lift to school before I go to work?” a woman’s voice spoke from the other room.
    Mason turned and Chelsea could see a beautiful redhead standing in the doorway. The woman stepped forward and smiled warmly at Chelsea, extending her hand.
    “Hi I’m Kelly” she said.
    Chelsea smiled, forcing her body to stop shaking as she took Kelly’s hand.
    “Hello, I’m Chelsea, thank you for lending me your clothes” she said.
    Kelly smiled again and nodded her head, looking between Chelsea and Mason.
    “That’s alright. Mason said he took you shopping to get some new clothes” Kelly said.
    Chelsea nodded and told Kelly the things she had bought. Mason ran his hand across Chelsea’s backside as he went back into the other room, while Kelly and Chelsea talked. When he came back he had a sandwich wrapped up and some fruit which he handed to Chelsea. She looked at him and smiled.
    “You didn’t have to make me lunch, but thank you” she said.
    He kissed her on the cheek before brushing past her again, this time giving her backside a squeeze as he went past. Kelly watched the goings on with an amused look on her face.
    “Are you Mason’s sister?” Chelsea asked.
    Kelly nodded.
    “Sorta. I came to live here when Mason was eight, my parents were part of the club and when they were both killed, Knox took me in” she said as her eyes flicked with sadness.
    Chelsea nodded. It had completely slipped her mind that she was standing in a bikie compound. That Mason’s Dad wasn’t some peachy keen Dad. He was a bikie. Someone she had been warned by Carl to stay away from. Yet here she was. Chelsea hadn’t seen or heard from her Mum since the day that she had come to Mason’s, she wasn’t holding her breath that she would ever hear from her again. Chelsea didn’t know who her Mum was as a person, she certainly wasn’t the woman she had grown up thinking she was. Hell, she had been to prison. Admittedly it was for a crime that she hadn’t personally committed, but that has to have changed a person.
    “So are you Mason’s girlfriend?” Kelly asked.
    Chelsea didn’t know how