“Oh, no!” Keily shook her head. “He’ll need to rest. It can wait.”
“Nonsense.” Kailyn waved a hand. “Jameson doesn’t rest. That word isn’t in his vocabulary.”
Inside the house, Emily started to fuss. Keily looked back inside through the screen.
“I’ll let you go.” Kailyn waved. “He should be over some time tomorrow. If not, the next day.”
“Okay.” Keily smiled, grateful. “Thank you so much.”
“No problem.”
Keily walked back inside the house and grabbed Emily from her bassinet. Cradling her against her chest, Keily watched as Kailyn pulled out of the driveway and drove away.
For a split second, Keily closed her eyes and sent up a whispered, “Thank you.” Getting her car fixed would at least be one less thing on her plate.
Now, if she could just figure out how to keep her alcoholic father away from the bars and sober, and maybe find a little extra money to pay to get her phone number changed so Patrick would stop blowing it up with unwanted calls – then everything would finally be okay. Or at least start to calm down. But Keily wasn’t so lucky.
She had thought that after weeks of not answering, he’d finally get the hint, but that wasn’t the case. And getting her father to admit that he needed help… well, that would never happen. Or maybe it would, but pigs would have to learn to fly first.
Walking into the kitchen, Keily quickly made a bottle for Emily before going back into the living room to change her diaper. Life as a new mom had been… an experience. Keily had wished her mother were still alive to help her, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. So, everything Keily was learning came from the internet and ‘New Mommy’ social media groups. For the millionth time since Emily was born a little over a month ago, she felt a pang of jealousy toward all the girls out there who had their moms in their life to help them out.
Sitting in the glider rocker that she’d picked up from the local Goodwill a few days before giving birth to her daughter, she fed Emily her bottle as she rocked her back to sleep. Softly, she hummed the tune to Amazing Grace as she stared down into Emily’s sleepy, red-rimmed eyes. Keily smiled down at the precious baby in her arms, with the dark eyes and hair that matched her own, and her heart blossomed with a love that she’d never known existed. A mother’s love. She had no idea what the future held for them, but Keily knew that if Emily was there with her – she’d be able to face anything. This tiny little girl was Keily’s world. Her life. Emily was her reason for being.
Chapter Four
Tinker
He was supposed to be there five days ago, but the last few days, after the accident, had left Tinker barely able to move. His body protested even the smallest movement. Yesterday was the first day that he’d felt half normal, and today was a bit better.
So, as he pulled into the driveway that belonged to the address Kailyn had given him, Tinker knew he needed to apologize – profusely. Not only could he have killed them, but he hadn’t kept his promise either.
Neither sat well with him.
Putting his truck in park, Tinker looked over at the car and cringed. Kailyn had told him that the front driver's tire wasn’t attached to the car anymore, which was the reason he’d brought the flatbed tow truck. But she’d failed to mention the cracked to hell bumper. He made a mental note to check the entire thing over. But first, he needed to get the car back to his shop. From the looks of it, the CV joint had completely broken off the front axle. But he wouldn’t know the full extent of the damage until he could get underneath it and look.
Climbing out of the truck, he glanced over toward the house and almost cringed. It wasn’t much to look at. The paint had long ago faded and most of it had already peeled away. Either this girl didn’t have a man around, or if she did, he was a lazy fuck. There was no way he would have allowed his home to get into the shape of the one in front of him, not that he had a home of his own. But as dilapidated as it was, at least the roof look somewhat sound; however, the walls looked like a stiff wind would knock them over.
With a slight shake of his head, Tinker walked over to the car. It was still early in the morning and Tinker didn’t want to wake anyone. So, he walked around it and then kneeled next to where the front tire should have been to determine exactly what he would be dealing with; and to see how he would get the car onto the back of his truck without causing more damage.
Surveying the car, Tinker felt like shit all over again. The front passenger wheel had broken off the from the axle at the joint, which all things considering, could have been much worse. The bumper was fixable, too. It would just take a bit of time and some elbow grease to get it all fixed, but Tinker could do it – no problem. And any other work that it might need. It was the least he could do since the accident had been his fault.
A sound from the house caught his attention and when Tinker turned to see what it was, the air left his lungs. No fucking way. He stared in disbelief. What were the odds? He knew the woman. He’d seen her picture on the bulletin board during his last assignment.
She was Patrick Dean’s girlfriend.
There had been speculation in the beginning that maybe she had known about the dark side of Dean’s business, but after an extensive investigation by the FBI, they determined she was clueless. Tinker couldn’t understand how, though. How could a person live with someone and not see the ugliness they housed inside? And Dean had a lot of it. The man was the definition of evil.
Slowly, he walked toward her ready to demand answers. To find out why she was there. In his town. But as she smiled sweetly at him, Tinker changed his mind. For now, he would keep his mouth shut.
“Keily?” Tinker asked as she stepped on the bottom stair of the steps.
“Yes,” she replied. “Jameson?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded; it had been a while since anyone other than his mother called him by his given name. And for some reason, he liked how it sounded on her lips. What? Shaking that thought from his head, he asked, “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.” She continued to smile. “And you?”
“Better.” He smiled back. “The first couple of days at home were rough but I’m feeling much better now. Thank you.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
They stood there for a moment as the awkward silence seemed to descend on them. Tinker shifted on his feet. He was about to speak when a loud cry came from inside the house.
The baby.
“I better…” Keily pointed over her shoulder.
“Yeah.” He nodded, understanding completely. “I’ll just go get the car loaded and get it out of here. Once I get it to my shop, I’ll get started on the repairs.” Tinker reached in his pocket and pulled out a business card, handing it to her. “There’s all my contact information if you need to get in touch with me.”
“Okay,” Keily said, taking the card.
“I should have your car back in a couple of days.”
“That’s fine.” She smiled again.
“Have a good day,” Tinker said, stepping off the step.
“You, too.”
He watched as Keily headed back inside to get her baby… Patrick Dean’s baby…
Tinker would have to dig into information about that because as far as he knew, no pregnancy had ever been mentioned during the investigation. Which means she either didn’t know she was pregnant at the time, or she hid it from authorities. Or, the baby wasn’t Dean’s at all.
Either way, Tinker would find out.
Walking back over to his truck, he climbed into the cab and fired it up. Reversing the truck, he maneuvered it over to the car before climbing out. Grabbing the tow chains, Tinker pulled and yanked on them, dragging them to Keily’s car before going back to get a roller dolly. He tossed the dolly on the ground but the front of the car and laid down on the dirt. Wiggling his way underneath the front of the car, Tinker fastened the chains beneath it. Standing up, he walked over to the side of his truck, and
using the controls, Tinker winched it up enough to place the dolly underneath it, where the front tire should have been. Once everything was secure, he went back to the controls and gently pulled the car onto the bed and then strapped it in place. The entire process took him less than twenty minutes.
Hopping into the cab, he put the truck into drive and slowly drove away from Keily’s house. As he made his way back to the shop, Tinker’s mind spun with the knowledge that Patrick Dean’s girlfriend was in his town…. And she had a baby. Was she there for a reason? Did Dean somehow find out about Tinker’s involvement in his case? But how? Very few people knew about the Devil’s Henchmen MC’s involvement with the case, and even fewer knew about him - so if Keily being in Briar Prairie had anything to do with him, it meant Patrick wasn’t the only crooked cop in El Paso…
Pulling into the shop, Tinker was met outside by Joker, Sparo, and Ink. Seeing the guys at the shop wasn’t anything new. Most days, they all hung out there instead of inside the clubhouse with the originals. However, what he did find odd, was the fact that all the originals were out there, too.
Maneuvering the truck to the bay, Tinker watched in the rear mirror as Diesel guided him back. When he had the tow truck where he needed it, he turned the key and took a deep breath. Please don’t let this be some type of intervention bullshit. Tinker didn’t think he could handle one of those. He knew he was off his game lately, but if the guys came out there to rub it in his face… A boulder sat in the pit of his stomach as he opened the door and climbed out of the cab.
Might as well get this over with, he said to himself.
“We have an issue,” Sledge said as soon as Tinker rounded the front of the truck.
Tinker’s stomach turned. Fucking hell.
“The case you were working on.” Sledge looked pointedly at Tinker, passing him a manilla folder. “Isn’t over.”
For a second, he just looked at the folder. “So, this isn’t an intervention?”
“What?” Sledge asked, confused. “No. Oh, fucking hell no.” Sledge shook his head. “Do I look like Maury Povich?”
“Who?” Joker asked.
Sledge closed his eyes and hung his head. “Never mind,” he said. “Anyway.” He looked back at Tinker. “That case you were working on in El Paso?”
“Yeah,” Tinker replied.
“It’s not finished.”
“I didn’t think so.” Tinker flipped the folder open and read through its contents.
“Why do you say that?” Sledge gave him a strange look. “Like you already knew.”
With a nod of his head toward the car, he explained, “That car belongs to Patrick Dean’s girlfriend.”
“Ex,” Diesel interrupted. “And that answers one question.”
“What?” Tinker asked, handing the folder to Sparo, who then passed it to Ink.
Sledge held up a hand. “Let’s back up,” he said. “I received a call from Williams this morning. Apparently, they’ve gotten word that Patrick Dean has sent out a few scouts to hunt down his ex-girlfriend who he believes was pregnant with his child.” Sledge looked to Tinker for confirmation.
“There is a baby,” Tinker admitted. “It’s already been born.”
“How old?” Reaper, his dad, asked.
“I don’t know.” Tinker shrugged. “Didn’t see it.”
“That doesn’t make a difference anyway,” Sledge added. “According to Williams, the baby is possibly a month old, give or take a week. Dean believes this child is his and he’s pissed that she never told him about it. So, he’s ordered a hit on the girl and a confiscation of the kid. Our job is to prevent that from happening and see who he has working for him. Local or otherwise.”
“So, wait.” Ink shook his head. “What the hell is he gonna do with a baby, in prison? The man is serving multiple life terms.”
‘’I have no idea.” Sledge shrugged. “I would assume, he plans to sell it.”
“Seriously?” Joker asked.
“It’s a possibility,” Diesel replied. “Sell it to the highest bidder as payment for a job. Human farms pay top dollar for babies because they are then raised in their system. They know the dos and don’ts. They live and breathe for the life. It’s all they grow up to know.”
“That’s sick.” Joker cringed.
“It’s one of many things we fight against, son.” Diesel slapped Joker on the shoulder. “One of many…”
Joker shook his head in disgust. Tinker couldn’t blame him. The idea of selling children, or anyone for that matter, turned Tinker’s stomach. And it seemed every time he heard about another farm being found, a larger piece of his belief in humanity died.
“Any who,” Diesel said, bring everyone back on topic. “What we do know is the ex-girlfriend hasn’t had contact with Dean since his arrest. Like full-on ghosted the dude. No answered phone calls – and there have been a lot. No letters She returned them all unopened. When I say nothing, I mean literally nothing. She full-on ghosted him.”
Knowing that made Tinker feel somewhat better, but it didn’t explain how she ended up there, out of all the places in the world. Out of all the places in Texas – how did she end up in Briar Prairie?
“So, what’s the plan?” Sparo asked.
“Plan is,” Reaper answered. “We keep tabs on Keily Hopper. More to the point, Tinker will keep tabs on her.”
“Me?” Tinker asked. “Why me?”
“You’re the one who almost ran her off the road.” Sledge shrugged. “You’re fixing her car. It’s the perfect in.”
Tinker knew Sledge was right, but for some reason, the idea of spying on the woman just didn’t sit right with him, even with all his unanswered questions.
“If you don’t think you can do the job,” Ink chimed in, grinning. “I wouldn’t mind taking it over. Keily Hopper is hot.”
“Don’t even think about,” Tinker warned.
The thought of Ink anywhere near Keily irritated Tinker more than it should. He loved the guy, but he was a man-whore. He changed women more than he changed his bedsheets. And Keily Hopper didn’t need that in her life. Hell, no woman needed that in their lives.
“Just an offer.” Ink held up his hands in surrender.
“Anyway,” Sledge interrupted. “Get the car unloaded and then we can sit down and come up with a strategy for the assignment. We need to figure out what exactly is going on and how to keep this woman and her kid safe.”
Tinker nodded.
Walking away from the group, he and the guys quickly unloaded Keily’s car and set blocks to keep it in place. Tinker’s mind played over his last assignment as he wondered if he’d missed something. Well, that wasn’t completely true. Tinker knew he’d missed something; he just couldn’t figure out what – yet. But he would.
“What’s on your mind?” Joker quietly asked.
Tinker shook his head. “I don’t know. It just seems weird that of all the places to end up, this woman ends up here. In Briar Prairie.”
“What do you mean?”
“That case was in El Paso, Joker,” Tinker explained. “And suddenly, the girlfriend of my last investigative target, shows up and is now living in my hometown? It’s just… I don’t know.”
“Nah.” Joker nodded. “I get what you’re saying. Out of all the places in the world, she ended up in Podunk, Texas?”
“Exactly.” Tinker had a hard time believing it was a coincidence.
“Well, let’s go see what the other’s think,” Joker suggested.
“Yeah, okay.”
Tinker walked back over to the cab of the truck and pulled the keys from the ignition. Closing the door, he and Joker walked back into the shop and Tinker tossed the keys on the workbench before turning to head inside.
Joker slapped Tinker on the back. “Hey, don’t think too much of it. At least not yet. Let’s just see what the others think before you start giving yourself gray hair, okay?”
Tinker nodded.
Walking into the back office, Tinker took
a seat behind his desk and picked up the folder that Sledge had given him earlier. “So, what do we have?”
As the guys got down to business, Tinker opened his desk drawer and pulled out his notebook. Flipping through the pages, he read over his notes on Keily Hopper, from the Dean case, and then passed the book to Sledge.
“This is all I know about her,” Tinker said. “There wasn’t much. At the time, she had already kicked him out of their shared home, and Dean was living in some rathole apartment. Williams and the team interviewed her and determined that she didn’t know anything. So, I never had a run-in with her.”
“That’s good,” Sledge replied. “Because you may be our only in with this assignment.”
Tinker nodded, but he didn’t like it. However, that wasn’t something he was going to tell his club president. While he understood Sledge’s stance, spying on Keily didn’t sit well with him. If she was a victim, then spying on her just made her more of one. “Have you thought about talking to Keily?” Tinker asked. “Seeing if she might know who Dean would send after her?”
“No,” Sledge replied. “We don’t know what, if anything, she knows. I get Williams cleared her, but I haven’t. And until then, I don’t trust her.”
“Not to mention,” Reaper interjected. “If she knows nothing, I’d rather not scare the hell out of her. That stress can also affect the baby.”
Tinker raised a brow as a few of the others snickered.
“What?” Reaper asked. “It’s true. A child can pick up on a parent’s feelings and then act accordingly.”
The guys burst into laughter.
“Y’all are assholes,” Reaper said, rolling his eyes.
“I get it, Dad,” Tinker replied, still smiling. And he did.
While he still had questions of his own and would get to those in due time, he didn’t want to cause Keily any unnecessary stress. If she were there because of him, Tinker would find out – his way. And God help her if this was all a ploy to find the person responsible for putting Dean in prison. Because if it was – Tinker would personally remove the threat against him and his family.
Tinker's Dilemma: Devil's Henchmen MC Next Generation, Book One Page 3