Tinker sighed and gave Sledge a stiff nod.
He didn’t like it. But it wasn’t his job to like it. Tinker’s job was to do as he was told. So, that’s what he’d do.
Somehow.
As the guys wrapped up, the women stepped out on the porch, bidding Keily a good night. Sledge nodded his head to the group, dismissing everyone before walking over to Beth and throwing an arm over her shoulder.
“You ready, Ma?” he asked.
“Yep.” She smiled. Turning back to Keily, she said, “You have my number. Call if you need anything, okay?”
“I will.” Keily smiled. “Thank you. All of you. Really. It means a lot that you all helped me today.”
“Don’t mention it,” Sledge replied for the group. “It’s what we do.”
Everyone said their goodbyes and piled off into the back of Tinker’s truck. Reaper climbed behind the wheel, and with a final wave, he started it and then pulled away.
Tinker walked over to the single step and sat down. Patting the spot next to him, he silently asked Keily to join him.
“How are you supposed to get home?” she asked, watching the truck drive away.
“I’ll walk,” he replied. “It’s literally right there.”
She looked toward the shop. “You live at the repair shop?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Most days anyway. Now sit. Relax for a bit.”
Tinker needed to bide his time until the guys could make their way back and keep watch. With no other idea, he figured they could both take a moment to ‘count the stars’ so to speak.
Keily sat in the spot he indicated.
They were both silent for a long time. Staring up at the sky, watching the clouds pass over the stars. It was a calm night and the openness of the sky seemed to make it look bigger than normal.
“There’s the North Star,” Keily pointed. “See it?”
“No.”
“Look.” She leaned closer to him. Tinker was aware of her feminine curves pressed against him. “See the Little Dipper? The North Star is at the end of the handle. Or the beginning.” She shrugged, causing her breasts to rub against his arm. “And if you follow it diagonally, you’ll find the cup of the Big Dipper.”
Tinker tried to follow where she was pointing, but Keily was making it difficult. So, to end the conversation and put some distance between them, he said, “Oh, okay. I see it.” Even though he still had no idea.
Just then, he heard the screech of an owl, but it wasn’t an owl at all. It was Ink. The guys were in position.
Tinker stood and reached out a hand to help Keily up. “You better get inside and get some rest,” he said. “You’ll have a long day tomorrow finishing up around here.”
Keily reached for his hand. “Almost everything is done, but you’re right, I’m exhausted. And Emily will probably wake up soon.”
Tinker helped her up and immediately released her. He smiled tightly as she stepped backward toward the door. “Get inside and lock the door,” he told her.
“Good night,” Keily smiled at him.
“Night.”
He waited a moment as she walked inside, and it wasn’t until he heard the deadbolt slide into place, that he turned and headed for the shop. With the guys keeping watch, he knew she would be in good hands. But still, Sledge’s words rang through his head. If these guys were ready to make a move, they’d be pissed when they discovered that Keily was no longer at her father’s house. And when they found her again, and they would because Briar Prairie was a small town, there was no telling what they’d do.
So, as the gravel crunched under his boots, Tinker made a mental note to move his chair closer to the side window. That way, he’d also have eyes on her place.
Chapter Sixteen
Keily
The next morning, Keily woke to pounding on her door. Grumbling, she threw off the blanket and stumbled out of bed. Whoever it was would get an ear full. There was barely any light outside and to interact with her before her morning coffee, was dangerous.
As the pounding continued, Keily could hear someone calling her name from the other side of the door. What the hell? She tripped over a box and swore under her breath. Each step toward the banging, irritated her more.
Reaching the door, the steady banging echoing through the house, Keily unlocked the deadbolt and twisted the knob, as she yanked open the door.
“What?” she shouted, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m sorry!” she said, as recognition dawned.
“No, I’m sorry,” Sledge replied. “I didn’t mean to wake you up, but it’s important.”
Butterflies took flight in her stomach. She really didn’t know Sledge, but from the look on his face, Keily knew something was wrong.
“What is it?” she asked, hoping nothing had happened to Tinker. But she couldn’t think of any other reason for the President of the Devil’s Henchmen MC to be at her door, accompanied by Reaper, Diesel, Gunny, Amber, and Beth.
The last of which stepped toward her. “Honey, I need you to go get dressed and go with Sledge and the guys, okay?”
“But Emily is still asleep,” Keily replied. She didn’t want to wake her daughter before it was time. The move had already interrupted her schedule.
“Amber and I will stay here with Emily,” Beth said.
“What?” While Keily appreciated the offer, they were still strangers. Albeit, nice ones. However, Keily wasn’t sure how she felt about leaving her daughter alone with them. “What’s going on?” she tried again.
“Have you gotten ahold of him?” Sledge asked Reaper.
“Not…” Reaper started. “Hey! Son.” Reaper turned away from the group to speak into his phone. “I need you over here at Keily’s place. Yeah, she’s fine.” There was a brief pause. “Just get over here. Now.” Reaper hung up the phone and turned back toward her.
Keily could tell by the look in his eyes, it was bad. But since he had just hung up with Tinker, she knew it wasn’t about him.
Then who?
“Can we come in?” Diesel asked.
“Wha-” Keily shook her head, trying to clear the sleep fog from her brain. “Yeah. Sorry. Please.” She stepped to the side to allow them all to enter.
She watched as Amber and Beth made a beeline straight toward the kitchen. Her anxiety was increasing by the second. Looking around at the sullen faces, Keily asked again, “What is going on?”
“I’ll explain everything,” Sledge said. “As soon as Tinker gets here.”
“What? Why?” she asked. “Just tell me!” The unknown was driving her crazy.
Beth came back into the living room carrying a steaming cup of coffee and passed it to Keily. “Sit.” Beth guided her to a nearby chair. “Drink this and let’s just wait a moment for Tinker. Okay?”
The sadness in Beth’s eyes caused a knot to form in her throat. There was only one reason someone would look at her that way. “My dad?” Keily whispered, her eyes pleading with Beth for an answer.
And as Beth opened her mouth, Keily’s front door burst open. Tinker stood there, shirtless and breathing heavily. For some reason, she felt a rush of relief. Like whatever was happening would be better simply because he was near. Tinker had somehow become her best friend, even if he didn’t know it.
“What’s going on?” he demanded.
Reaper stood, leaned in, and whispered something in his ear. Tinker’s eyes rounded in shock as he continued to stare her down. They momentarily shifted to Sledge before returning to her. Slowly he walked toward her and judging by the look on his face, Keily knew her world was about to fall apart.
She started to shake her head. Whatever Tinker was going to tell her, she didn’t want to know.
He kneeled in front of her, taking the coffee cup from her hand and set it on the floor next to her feet. Tinker took her small hands in his, lifting them to his lips, and placed a soft kiss against her knuckles. “I’m so sorry,” he began… but then, all his words jumbled together as h
er heart shattered and the air was ripped from her lungs. The only words she was able to retain were – dad, accident, dead.
Guilt slammed into her. Like a hammer to the chest, it took what breath remained. If she’d just stayed there, she could have saved him…
He was gone…
And it was her fault…
Keily sat there in silence. Tears streamed down her face and Tinker held her in his arms, rocking her gently. At some point, her small living room filled with the rest of Tinker’s club. All of them stood around, talking in whispers then coming by to give their condolences. Even the sheriff stopped by, but Sledge wouldn’t allow him in the house. The women in the club went around tending to the men. Someone had used Keily’s kitchen to cook breakfast and it wasn’t until she heard the soft cry of Emily, that she finally pulled herself out of the darkness she’d been encased in.
She tried to pull away from Tinker. “I need to get Emily,” she protested.
“My mom is getting her,” Tinker replied. “Just sit.” He rubbed a hand down her back.
When did she get on his lap? she asked herself, clearly not thinking correctly.
Emily’s tired cry penetrated her fogged brain and Keily turned her head to see Amber holding her close to her chest, bouncing her to soothe her weariness. Beth walked over with another diaper and a package of wipes. She continued to stare as Beth laid out a blanket on the floor and Amber sat down to change Emily. Seeing that her daughter was safe, Keily blew a sigh of relief and simply faded back into the darkness…
How could this have happened? Daddy, I’m so sorry! she screamed on the inside.
And just like that, another sob wracked her body causing Tinker to pull her even closer and tightly wrap his bare arms around her. Keily fell apart for what felt like the hundredth time.
First her mom… and now her dad… The only light in the dark tunnel was the fact that her dad was reunited with his one true love. His other half. His soulmate. But then Keily turned selfish… she wanted him back, even though he had left her a long time ago.
Chapter Seventeen
Tinker
Anger bubbled up inside of him.
His blood felt as if it were boiling. He wanted to rage. He wanted to punch something. And as he held Keily in his arms, the urge just got worse.
Sledge had been right.
According to reports, and the local sheriff, Keily’s dad had died after his truck had crashed into a tree. It was believed that he had been drunk, which Tinker thought was a logical assumption. But they wouldn’t know for sure until toxicology results came back.
Tinker would bet his entire bank account that a certain bartender at The Blue Eagle Tavern had something to do with Sharp’s intoxication. Anything for a fucking buck!
“Tinker?” Sledge said from the doorway. “Need you for a second, son.”
Tinker squeezed Keily. “I need to step outside for a minute.”
She gripped onto him tighter.
He looked around for someone to help him. What was he supposed to do? Sledge looked at him sadly. He knew his Prez was feeling the same way he was, they all were. Their hearts hurt for her.
“Keily?” Tinker’s mom spoke softly. She wrapped her arms around Keily’s shoulder and lightly pulled her away from Tinker.
Immediately Keily looked panicked.
“He’ll be right back,” Amber tried to soothe.
“I’ll be just right outside the door,” Tinker told Keily. “I’m not going far.”
Keily gave a single nod, then buried her head in his mom’s neck. Looking at the woman who birthed him, Tinker had to try hard to swallow. He hated to see her so close to tears.
Walking outside, he took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Reaching toward Ink, Tinker snatched the cigarette from his mouth and took a long drag.
“Since when do you smoke?” Ink asked.
“Since now.” He took another pull. “So, what do we know?”
“Nothing much, really,” Sledge answered. “Sheriff said he was heading toward town when the accident happened.”
“Probably back to the fucking bar.” Tinker shook his head.
“Probably,” Reaper chimed in.
“Any reason to believe that this wasn’t an accident?” Joker asked.
“What do you mean?” Tinker questioned.
Joker shrugged one shoulder. “What if this is somehow connected to the dicks that are after Keily?”
Tinker nodded; he hadn’t thought of that.
“I don’t think so,” Sledge answered. “But honestly, we can’t rule it out. Either way, the Sheriff has been informed of Keily’s situation and has agreed to let us handle it – our way.”
Sheriff Ingrid was one of the few people who knew what the Devil’s Henchmen MC did for the US government. Therefore, his willingness to step aside wasn’t shocking.
“As we all know,” Sledge continued. “Things are about to get a bit harder on our girl.”
Everyone in the group nodded.
“Beth will look over finances and see if we’ll be able to absorb funeral costs,” he told the group. “Nothing major. Probably just a cremation and viewing if that’s what Keily wants.”
“Don’t bother,” Tinker interjected. “I’ll cover it.”
Sledge stared at him for a moment.
“I don’t think she’ll take it very well coming from anyone else.” Tinker didn’t know if that was necessarily true, but he felt it was at least his obligation to Keily, not the entire club’s.
“We’ll figure out the details later,” Sledge replied, not agreeing to his idea, but not shooting it down either.
“I don’t know how anyone else is feeling,” Sparo chimed in. “But the chaos is getting out of control. It’s been one thing after another with this girl.”
Tinker was about to say something, but Joker cut him off. “Then maybe we need to get busy checking things off the list.” The tone in Joker’s voice told the group he didn’t like Sparo’s comment. “Instead of waiting for information from someone who might be just as guilty as Dean, maybe we should just start eliminating the threats and call it a fucking day, eh?”
“I’m down.” Ink shrugged, nonchalantly.
Me, too,” Tuck replied.
“Same, Brother,” said Gunny.
“Wait a minute,” Sledge interrupted. “We can’t go off all half-cocked.”
“Why not?” Joker asked. “If it’s too much for some of us to handle…”
“Hey, fucker!” Sparo interjected. “That’s not what I fucking said.”
“Hey!” Sledge let out a loud whistle. “Enough!” He looked between Joker and Sparo. “I know things are getting rough, and we will work on calming things, but we will not get all up in each other’s shit over it. Understood?”
“Yeah,” Joker answered.
Sparo remained quiet.
“Understood?” Sledge asked again, this time looking directly at Sparo.
“Yeah,” he finally grunted.
“Good.” Sledge sighed.
“I tend to agree with Joker here, guys. We need to up the ante,” Diesel finally spoke up. “There are too many factors at play right now. Too many angles and we don’t have enough information, Sledge.”
“What are you suggesting?” Sledge asked Diesel.
“We go on the offensive,” Diesel suggested. “Why do we keep waiting for everyone to come to us? Since when do we work that way? We’re the fucking Devil’s Henchmen!” Diesel looked around the group. “We bring the fight. We don’t sit back and wait for it to find us.”
Tinker looked around to see the others all nodding in agreement.
“Tinker, you should probably stay here today,” Diesel continued.
“What?” He didn’t want to stay there. He wanted in the fight.
“I agree,” Sledge said. “Keily will need you. She trusts you.”
“Mom and Beth are here,” Tinker argued.
“They can’t protect her if a threat shows up,” Reap
er argued. “You know that as well as I do. These fuckers in town are trained. Your mom and Beth aren’t.”
Tinker sighed. He knew his dad was right, even if he didn’t like it.
“Ink, Sparo, and Joker,” Sledge went on. “I want y’all in town. Find these fuckers and bring them back here – alive. We still need answers from them.”
“Done.” Ink stood tall; arms crossed over his massive chest.
“Be careful. Don’t get too cocky. If they were willing to murder a woman and baby,” Diesel said, “there is no telling what else they’ll pull to save their asses.”
“Agreed,” Reaper replied.
“Tuck and Gunny, y’all take to the woods,” Reaper said. “First line of defense.”
They both nodded.
“I’m going to head back to the clubhouse and see what else I can find out.” Sledge sighed. “Williams isn’t telling us everything. I have a hard time believing that between the FBI, Homeland, and ATF, nobody can find out who Dean hired. Something isn’t right here.”
“That fucker knows,” Tinker replied. “And the more I think about it, the more I feel like he’s deeper in this shit than we think.”
Sledge nodded. “And he’s either going to spill or force me to tip my hand. And I don’t think he’ll want to do the latter.” There was a cold edge to Sledge's voice. “Because I will bring the full force of this club down on his ass and everyone else associated with him.”
Everyone remained silent, but Sledge’s anger was felt around the group. Not just for Frank Sharp and Keily, but if Williams was withholding information, it would put them all at risk.
“Oh, he’s using us. For sure,” Sparo chimed in. “Question is – is he using us for a legit job? Or, for personal reasons?” He shrugged.
“That’s what I intend to find out,” Sledge said, slapping Sparo on the shoulder. “Dismissed.”
And just like that, the meeting was over, and everyone dispersed. Each person headed out to handle their assignments.
When everyone had gone, Tinker stood there for a moment. He tried to wrap his head around everything. His stomach was still in knots.
Tinker's Dilemma: Devil's Henchmen MC Next Generation, Book One Page 10