Tinker's Dilemma: Devil's Henchmen MC Next Generation, Book One

by Samantha McCoy

  “You okay, son?” Reaper asked, bumping him with his shoulder.

  Tinker shook his head. “The amount of evil in this world… It shouldn’t surprise me. But…” He couldn’t think of any more words to say. “Damn.”

  “Evil will always exist,” his dad replied. “That’s why us good guys keep fighting the fight.”

  “I know.”

  “This girl starting to mean something to you?”

  “They all mean something to me.” Tinker rolled his eyes.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Nah.” Tinker shook his head, knowing he was lying.

  “Good.” Reaper slapped him on the back. “Business and pleasure never mix well.”

  Tinker nodded but said nothing.

  He watched as his dad slipped out of his shirt and removed the 9mm from his hip, offering both to him. “You might need these,” he said as Tinker grabbed the bundle from him.

  “Thanks.”

  When his dad had called him and told him to get his ass over to Keily’s, Tinker had rushed out the door. Looking down at his feet, he’d been in such a hurry that he hadn’t even laced his boots. Luckily, he had been sleeping in his jeans, or he might have run out the door without those, too. Sliding the handgun into the back of his waistband, he quickly put his arms through the sleeves, then pulled the shirt over his head.

  “Try to get some rest today,” Reaper said as Sledge walked out of Keily’s house. “And see that the girl rests, too.”

  “Will do.”

  “Holler if you need us,” Sledge said as he stepped off the porch. “Beth and your mom will stay here for a bit.”

  “Alright.”

  Tinker stood there for a moment longer before turning back to the house and walking inside. His eyes zeroed in on Keily who was now curled up on the couch with a blanket tucked around her. Emily was asleep on the floor, a pink blanket beneath her, and only a few inches from her mother.

  Deciding to leave her be, Tinker walked into the kitchen where his mom and Aunt Beth were currently cleaning up from the morning's breakfast. They both stopped for a moment when he entered.

  “You okay?” Amber asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Alright.”

  “We’re just going to clean up,” Beth told him. “Then head back home.”

  “Okay,” he said as he walked over to the coffee pot to pour himself a hot, fresh cup.

  “You need anything?” she asked.

  “Nah.” He shook his head. “My dad gave me his shirt, so I think I’m good.”

  “Okay.”

  Walking back out into the living room, Tinker sat on the end of the couch, by Keily’s feet. He sipped his coffee and remained quiet, giving her whatever time she needed. He was there – just in case.

  Protection, for her and Emily, he reminded himself as he fought the urge to grab her foot and try to massage away the dark cloud that seemed to hang over her head.

  Moments later, his mother and aunt walked out of the kitchen, both drying their hand with wads of paper towels. “We’re going to head out,” Beth whispered.

  Tinker nodded.

  “Call if you need us,” his mom said, walking over to kiss his cheek.

  “Will do.”

  Both women stared at Keily for a split second, with sadness in their eyes, before they walked over to the front door and quietly left.

  Tinker stood, pacing the room. He walked over to the window and looked out, scanning the surrounding area. He knew it wouldn’t be long before the guys after Emily and Keily tried again.

  He took a sip of coffee.

  Until then, Tinker knew he had to be at the top of his game. So, walking back into the kitchen, he refilled his coffee cup and set about to secure the house, making sure all the windows and doors were locked. To get in, they would have to break something. And if they broke in – he’d hear them.

  With that in mind, he walked back into the living room and sat down at the end of the couch again. Kicking out his legs, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. It would be a long day; he might as well try to catch a few hours of sleep.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Keily

  A week later…

  She walked into her house, tossed her keys on the small table by the door, and flopped on the couch – exhausted. Mentally, emotionally, and physically – just… drained. Today had been her father’s funeral. Keily felt like shit. She had no more tears to cry.

  She watched as Tinker laid out Emily’s blanket on the floor and gently pulled her daughter from the car seat. He had been her saving grace this week. Keily honestly didn’t know what she would have done without him.

  The week seemed like a blur. Between making her dad's burial arrangements, seeing the spot of his accident, and getting things in order at her father’s house – Keily couldn’t handle anything else. She had originally thought about moving back home, but she’d changed her mind. There were too many memories in that place, and they all seemed to crash against her when Keily was there. Almost as if they were robbing her of her ability to breathe.

  Tinker had been the one to hold her together, through it all. He’d taken care of Emily when Keily felt like she had nothing left. He helped around the house with cooking and cleaning. He ensured that she ate. Tinker had literally taken care of everything, including her father’s funeral expenses. She had no idea how she would repay him. A lifetime of repeating how thankful she was, would never be enough.

  “Here.”

  Keily blinked to clear the fog from her head. Tinker was standing in front of her with a warm plate of last night’s leftovers – meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans.

  Her stomach chose that moment to grumble.

  “Eat.”

  She took the plate from him and did as he asked, even though she had no appetite, at all. She knew she had to keep up her strength. She’d heard it a million times from Amber and Beth the last few days. They were two other people that Keily was extremely thankful for. Their support had meant so much to her. Even during the moments when Keily just wanted to curl in on herself and be alone, they were right there offering love. Almost like a mother’s love – and it had been exactly what Keily had needed.

  Together, she and Tinker sat quietly on the sofa as they both ate. The food tasted better today than it did yesterday. But as she ate, Keily’s thought turned her dad.

  God, I miss you, Dad! She sniffled.

  While the pain of losing him was great, she was glad that he was finally at peace. That was the only thing that kept her from losing it completely. Her mom and dad were together again.

  The guilt was still strong. Every day she struggled with it. If she wouldn’t have gotten upset with him and made up her mind to move out, maybe she could have saved him. Or, maybe she could have stopped him from driving…

  However, she knew all the maybes in the world, wouldn’t change anything. Frank Sharp was an ornery old man. Knowing him, he would have pushed her away again and sped off – just like he’d done last time. That was just how her father was.

  “Keily!” Tinker shouted her name.

  “What?” she asked, startled.

  “I called your name three times,” he said. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” She shook the cobwebs from her head. “Sorry. Was just thinking.”

  “It’s alright.” Tinker stood. “Do you want me to put Emily to bed?” Tinker asked.

  “No.” She shook her head again. “I’ll get her. Thank you, though.”

  Tinker didn’t say anything else as he grabbed her empty plate and carried it to the kitchen. She heard the water turn on in the sink and knew he must be washing their dinner dishes. With a heavy sigh, Keily pushed herself off the couch and bent down to pick up Emily.

  Smiling down at her little girl, Keily felt a bit of peace. Even as bad as things currently seemed, Emily always made everything better.

  A noise outside caused her to pause.

  She listened again b
ut heard nothing. Thinking that maybe her ears were just playing tricks on her, she turned back toward the hallway and froze.

  A scream ripped from her throat.

  She squeezed Emily against her chest, just as a tall, bald man lunged toward her. She recognized him as one of the men from the diner. Turning to run, she didn’t even make it three steps before a shooting pain exploded in the back of her head as she was yanked backward by her hair.

  Tears flowed from her eyes. The lump in her throat preventing any sound from escaping.

  “Do you know how much hell you have caused?” the man growled in her ear. “Did you really think we wouldn’t find you?”

  Keily had no idea what he was talking about.

  “Got your little boyfriend and his friends thinking they could stop us?” He laughed and the sound made her skin crawl. “Amateurs, every last one of them,” he tsked.

  Keily pressed Emily’s now wiggling form against her breasts, afraid that she would drop her.

  “I’m going to take great pleasure in killing you,” the man sneered. “Maybe I’ll gut the kid first and make you watch.” He laughed.

  “How about I save you the trouble and just put a bullet in your head?”

  The man holding her froze.

  She knew the voice belonged to Tinker, but the gravelly tone he used caused a chill to race down her spine. Suddenly, Keily was spun around. She screamed out in pain, startling Emily which caused her to cry.

  Keily was now staring down the barrel of a handgun.

  “You’ll have to shoot her to get to me,” the bald man said, almost sounding cheerful. “And you won’t do that.”

  “You underestimate my shooting abilities.” Tinker shook his head. “I’m offended.”

  “Just walk away.”

  Why did this man want to kill her? Keily didn’t understand.

  “Right now, your boy is outside with two 9mm clips emptied into his chest and head,” Tinker said, his voice deathly calm. “Even if you somehow managed to walk out the door, you aren’t making it off the porch. Now, I’m only going to say this one time. If you don’t comply, I’m just going to shoot you.” Tinker shrugged nonchalantly. “Now, let her go.”

  She knew the moment the guy had made up his mind. She felt him shift his weight seconds before he pulled his gun.

  The sound was so loud. Almost deafening.

  Keily screamed, but the sound was muffled even to her ears.

  She felt the man behind her release his grip on her hair, and as his body fell sideways, Keily turned to see him fall. His eyes void of life just stared at her, unseeing.

  She felt Tinker reach out and grab her, yanking her against his chest. But she fought against his hold.

  What the hell was going on?

  Keily’s eyes stayed locked on the man with a blossoming hole in the center of his head. Blood leaked out onto her floor. Her body began to shake, and she felt someone try to pull Emily from her arms.

  Startled, her grip on her daughter tightened. “No!” she screamed.

  Somewhere in the distance, she heard her name. It sounded like it was coming from a million miles away and she looked around trying to find the source.

  “Keily!”

  She turned to see that it was Tinker. He was the one calling her name. He was the one trying to grab Emily.

  “We have to go!” He urged her toward the back of the house, numbly she followed.

  She should have run from him. After all, she just witnessed him kill a man. But Tinker had also saved her. Her mind warred with itself. The devil and angel sat on her shoulders pushing and pulling her in separate directions until Keily’s brain just gave out.

  She followed Tinker’s instructions and she ran to the back of the house. Tinker threw open the door and briefly looked outside.

  Keily couldn’t see around him.

  He reached back and grabbed her hand before stepping outside. His head swung one way and then the other, as if he was searching. For what, she had no idea, but she trusted him enough to keep her safe. Pulling her out of the house, Tinker quickly moved them behind another building. He stayed in front of her, pressing his back against her front as if he were shielding her from something.

  Everything seemed to go in slow motion.

  Keily’s ears were still ringing.

  And just as she finally started to get Emily to calm down, two more figures stepped around on either side of the structure.

  Again, Keily panicked, which only caused Emily to resume her fit. But she’d had no reason to be concerned because the two people that joined them were Joker and Gunny.

  “Let’s go,” Gunny ordered.

  Together, as one, they hurried away from Keily’s home. Tinker led the way, with Emily and Keily in the middle, and Joker and Gunny at her back. It was like they were protecting her – from what or who, she didn’t know. But she had every intention of finding out.

  Just as soon as she figured out where in the hell they were taking her.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Tinker

  His heart pounded.

  He’d never been more scared in his life. When he’d been in the kitchen washing their dishes, he’d received Joker’s call in his earpiece. He’d known that they had company, but he’d been too slow. By the time he’d made it back to the living room, one of the guys were already in the house.

  Tinker would never forget how it felt to see Keily in that fucker’s arms. The fear that had taken over his gut and turned its contents sour.

  He felt like an asshole for killing someone in front of her, but he hadn’t had a choice. There was no way he or his friend were getting anywhere near Keily again. Tinker wasn’t taking any chances.

  It had been a ‘do or die’ scenario. And Tinker wasn’t ready to die.

  So, he did what he had to do.

  And now Keily would pay the price for it.

  He also knew that he’d have a lot of explaining to do once they got to the clubhouse. But what had his attention the most was the fact that Keily was no longer freaking out. That could only mean that she was either in shock or pissed. And Tinker wasn’t sure which.

  As they ran in military formation, protecting their target, his eyes scanned the terrain. He’d lied back in Keily’s house. They hadn’t killed the other guy. Quite the opposite, they had no idea where the other man was. So, with him leading the way, scanning and searching, Gunny and Joker took care of the rear.

  As they got closer to the clubhouse, he heard Gunny call in to let them know that they were coming in hot. The less distance they had between the house and themselves, the more relaxed Tinker became. It wasn’t until they topped the small hill and the clubhouse came into view, that he blew out a long, calming breath.

  “Almost there, boys and girls,” Gunny commented.

  Up ahead, hidden in strategic spots, his dad, Sledge, and Diesel stood guard. Guns drawn – steady and ready.

  He just had to get Keily and Emily through the gate outside the clubhouse, and everything would be fine. At least as fine as it could be before all hell broke loose once they got inside. Not only would Keily demand answers, but so would his mother and aunts. It was something that Tinker was not looking forward to.

  There was a rule in the Devil’s Henchmen clubhouse – Don’t bring your work home with you. And that’s exactly what just happened.

  As they passed under the archway of the gate, Tinker pulled Keily ahead, guiding her toward the front door. Joker and Gunny both turned, taking up space on either side of the gate in case the other man happened to show himself. They all knew he was out there… somewhere. And it was only a matter of time before he showed himself.

  The front door flew open just as Tinker approached. He pushed Keily inside and turned to kneel off to the side. One by one, the others joined him, each watchful for the other.

  Sledge entered the house first, followed by Joker, Diesel, Tinker, Gunny, and then finally Reaper. They all breathed a sigh of relief when the door closed.
<
br />   But it was short-lived.

  Because when they all turned around, they came face to face with not one, but seven pissed-off women.

  “What the hell was that?” Beth yelled.

  “Calm down,” Sledge told her.

  “Excuse me?” Her hands went to her hips. “What did you say?”

  “Babe…” He sighed.

  “Don’t you dare,” she warned.

  Tinker ignored them and slowly walked over to where his mother had her arm around Keily’s shoulder, helping her to soothe a frantic Emily.

  “Are you okay?” Tinker asked.

  Keily’s eyes shot to his. “Am I okay?” she asked, her voice raising an octave. “Are you fucking kidding me?” she shouted, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. “What crazy shit have you gotten me into? I just watched you put a bullet in some poor man’s head. In my damn living room!” Her voice was shrill.

  “You what?” His mother yelled. “What the hell is going on?” She looked at Reaper. “You better start talking. Now!”

  “No can do, Peaches,” Reaper replied.

  “Bullshit!” Amber countered. “You all broke the rules. Explain. Or we leave.” His mother’s arms crossed over her chest. She stood firm.

  If someone didn’t tell them what was going on, Amber, Beth, and Rachel would leave the clubhouse – ending their affiliation with not only the club but also its founders. And to make matters worse, they’d take their daughters with them.

  “Fuck!” Sledge cursed. He scrubbed a hand down his face. He blew out a heavy breath as he paced back and forth.

  Tinker knew what he was thinking. None of them liked to tell the women about club business. It wasn’t that they weren’t trustworthy. It was to protect them. The less they knew, the safer they were. But now, that wouldn’t be possible. The fight had come to their home.

  “Chapel!” Sledge shouted. “Everyone!” He stormed off down the hallway.

  Tinker stepped over to Keily to lead the way, but she shoved him away. “Don’t touch me,” she said through gritted teeth.

  So, he stood there, watching his mother usher her toward the Chapel. It wasn’t very often that women were allowed there, but this was important. The Chapel was the only room in the complex, aside from the bedrooms, that were soundproof. It also had the added protection of a phone jammer that Sledge could turn on if he chose to do so; meaning no cellular devices of any kind would work inside the room.