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

by Samantha McCoy

  “I can’t leave you,” Kailyn stated, shaking her head. “If something happens to you, Keily and Emily are defenseless.”

  “Not if Emily goes with you,” he said.

  “What?” Keily finally spoke. “I’m not sending my daughter away!”

  Tinker turned to look back at her. “Keily, you are putting Emily in danger.” He knew it was a dick thing to say, but he had to make her understand. “If anything happens to me, you’re dead. Then what? What happens to Emily? She is either killed or sent off to a baby camp to be raised to become some rich fuck’s latest play toy when she hits puberty.”

  Keily’s eyes filled with tears.

  Tinker carefully moved to the back of the van and crouched down in front of her. He placed his hands on either side of her head. “Listen to me, I’m not trying to hurt you, baby,” he told her. “I’m trying to be honest here. I’m trying to give it to you straight. Right now, the safest place for Emily is the clubhouse with my mom and aunts. Kailyn can get her there. Williams is looking for you. He won’t be bothered by a baby.”

  He watched as Keily pulled Emily closer and tears fell from her eyes. He used his thumbs to brush them away. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I know it’s hard. But you’re a strong woman. Rely on that,” he encouraged. “Help me find a way to end this, and then you and Emily will be back together in no time.”

  “Promise me,” she told him.

  “Promise you what?” he asked.

  “That we end this,” she clarified. “That I’ll get my daughter back.”

  “I promise.”

  Tinker saw the war in her eyes. His heart hurt for her. Hell, it hurt for himself. If anything happened to Emily… He pushed the thought away. He knew his family would protect the little girl with their lives.

  “Okay,” Keily finally said.

  Tinker nodded at her. “Stop the van,” he told Kailyn.

  His sister pulled the van into the busy parking lot of a grocery store and everyone quickly piled out. They walked away from the vehicle and without a word, Tinker grabbed Keily’s hand and led her away from the others, only to meet up with them a moment later.

  “Find a way home,” he told Kailyn. “Pop and lock. No planes. No hiking, obviously.”

  Kailyn nodded.

  “Stay with her,” he told Joker. “Anything happens to either of them, I’m coming after you.”

  “I got them, cuz,” Joker replied, all humor gone.

  Tinker looked at Shondra but had nothing to say. So, he just told her, “Be safe. Find somewhere to hide out for a while.”

  She nodded. “Don’t worry about me.”

  Tinker dropped his chin once.

  He turned to Keily. “It’s time to go.” He looked around, but so far, it was clear and quiet. However, Tinker knew it wouldn’t stay that way. Soon, Williams would have every cop in the state looking for them.

  Keily gave Emily one last kiss before handing her over to Kailyn. “I love you, Princess,” she whispered, tears flowing down her cheeks.

  Tinker pulled her into his arms. He nodded his head at Kailyn, silently telling her to go. He stood there for a moment just holding Keily as she broke down. He knew they needed to get moving, but he waited, giving her a few moments to grieve.

  When she finally pulled away from him, he saw her eyes widen momentarily as she noticed that everyone was gone. She looked up at him, and Tinker’s heart broke into a million pieces.

  She looked lost. Empty.

  Grabbing her hand, Tinker led the way out of the parking lot, and prayed that he could keep his promise… That in the end, he’d be able to reunite mother and daughter. Because if he couldn’t…

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Keily

  Keily couldn’t breathe.

  She felt like her heart had been ripped out.

  She understood what Tinker was saying, but she still didn’t like it. She didn’t want it to be true, even though she knew it was. Right now, Emily was safer without her. She was better off with Kailyn. That was a hard pill to swallow. No mother ever wanted to hear those words – true or not.

  Keily was so lost in her head, in her own misery, that she thoughtlessly followed Tinker. She had no idea where they were, and she didn’t care. All Keily wanted was her daughter back. She felt empty and emotionally drained.

  “Stay with me, Keily,” she heard Tinker say. “It will all be okay.”

  Would it? she asked herself. Would it really be okay? She had her doubts.

  Everything was falling apart and Keily didn’t know how much more she could handle.

  She felt Tinker’s hand slide to her lower back and snapped out of her head long enough to see his mouth descending on hers. And that’s when she also heard the sirens.

  She stiffened.

  “Just relax,” he whispered. His lips against hers. “Act like we’re just a regular couple, making out on the sidewalk.”

  Keily took a deep breath. She needed to pull herself together, at least until they got somewhere safe. Then she could fall apart. She needed to be strong. She needed to fight.

  She snaked her arms around his waist, holding him to her. She tried to put on a show for anyone who glanced their way. Tilting her head slightly, she closed her eyes as Tinker’s lips moved over hers. It was the softest of kisses. Barely there, but Keily felt it all the same.

  This was a bad idea, she thought to herself. So, when the sirens started to fade away, she stepped back to put distance between them.

  “We need to get going,” Tinker said curtly.

  He didn’t wait for her reply as he turned on his heels and started down the street. Keily didn’t understand why he was acting so upset. He was the one who kissed her. Not the other way around. She wanted to ask him what had crawled up his rear end, but she didn’t. Not like he would answer the question anyway. So, she just remained quiet and continued to follow him through the city.

  It was well after dark when they finally stopped for the night. Keily felt as if they had been walking in circles. She waited outside as Tinker rented a ratty hotel room in a not-so-good area of town. Hugging herself, she looked up and down the street, praying some drug dealer or pimp wouldn’t pop out of the shadows.

  For the millionth time, she wondered where Emily was and if she was okay. She wondered if they had found a way out of the city or if they were held up somewhere?

  Please just let them be safe, she prayed.

  If anything happened to her daughter, Keily wouldn’t survive it. She wanted to blame Patrick for all of this, but she couldn’t do that. This was on her. If she hadn’t gotten involved with him, none of this would be happening.

  “Come on,” Tinker called, his voice causing her to jump.

  “Sorry,” she whispered.

  She followed Tinker up a set of concrete stairs and to the far side of the complex. She waited as he unlocked the door and stepped inside before entering. The room was as expected. Nothing to write home about. Two full-sized beds with a small table between them and a TV on a rickety stand were the only things in the room.

  Keily headed straight to the bathroom.

  She flipped on the light and looked around for anything that shouldn’t be there. The last thing she needed was a cockroach to jump out at her, causing her to scream and then have Tinker busting in the door. Literally, catching her with her pants down. Not seeing anything moving, she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

  “What do you want to eat?” she heard Tinker call.

  She wasn’t all that hungry, but if tomorrow was going to be anything like today, then she knew she needed something to keep her energy up.

  “Anything is fine,” she replied.

  “Pizza?”

  “Sure.”

  Keily finished her business and opened the door. Turning the water on at the sink, she washed her hands but froze as she heard the hotel room door closing. Keily turned slowly, half expecting Williams or some other agent to be standing in the room. But she wa
s alone. Tinker had left.

  She turned off the water and walked over to the window. Pulling the curtain back slightly, she saw him jogging across the street. Her eyes followed him until she could no longer see him.

  Nervous energy filled her stomach, and Keily began to pace.

  Why did he leave without saying anything?

  Did they not deliver around here?

  Why would he leave her here alone?

  The questions seemed to bombard her. One after another until Keily couldn’t take it anymore. She flipped onto the nearest bed, grabbed a pillow, and pressed her face into it. She screamed as loud as she could. She screamed until she couldn’t scream anymore. Her throat was raw from unchecked emotions.

  And then, the dam broke.

  Her body shook with the force of her tears. Every emotion she felt seemed to pour out of her. Her heart shattered into more pieces than she would ever begin to be able to repair. Her hurt, pain, guilt, fear, and anger all seemed to come alive. They battered her. Beating her until her entire body felt bruised, sensitive.

  She cried for everything she lost. For everything she would never have. She cried for herself. For Emily. She even cried for Shondra because she’d never be able to go back home. Keily cried so much that her body eventually just gave out on her and she fell into the darkness of sleep.

  “Keily.”

  She felt her body shaking gently, but she ignored it.

  “Keily.”

  She recognized Tinker’s voice but tried to block it out.

  “Keily. Come on. Wake up. You need to eat.”

  Groaning, she rolled over, her body protesting the movement. Her eyes cracked open and when her fogged brain finally registered the smell of the pizza, her stomach chose that moment to voice its displeasure of going so long without food.

  She slowly sat up with her back against the headboard and reached for the box in Tinker’s hand, but he didn’t release it. Her eyes went to his and that’s when Keily realized that he was frowning.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Why don’t you tell me?” he countered. “You’ve been crying.”

  Keily waved a hand. She didn’t want to talk about it. She knew that if she tried, she would break apart again. And right now, she just couldn’t… Everything was too raw. Too real.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Tinker

  Tinker stared at her face.

  Keily’s eyes were swollen and there were red patches on her skin, along with dried tears. He shouldn’t have left her alone, but he needed to get them food and delivery wasn’t an option.

  He felt like a total prick. Story of my life, he thought.

  He wasn’t cut out for this. He could go into the most dangerous waters and swim with hungry sharks. He could jump out of a perfectly good plane and land feet first in the middle of a battle between drug dealers and not bat an eye. He could run straight for a gunfight and never think of the consequences – but, what he couldn’t do was watch Keily self-destruct. And that’s what she was doing.

  He moved around the bed, to the other side and climbed in beside her. He tossed the pizza next to him as he grabbed her waist and lifted her onto his lap. And then, he just held her. He didn’t know what else to say to make her feel better. Hell, there weren’t enough words. So, he just remained silent as he pushed his warmth into her.

  They sat there, like that, for a long while before she lifted her head from his shoulder and tried to pull away from him. He didn’t want to let her go, but he did.

  “Thank you,” she whispered hoarsely.

  “Anytime.”

  He watched as she reached for the discarded pizza box and then flipped open the lid. Pulling out a slice, Tinker smiled when she bit into it and moaned.

  “This is either really good,” she said. “Or I’m just really hungry.”

  “Probably a bit of both.”

  They both sat there, next to one another, and ate in silence. The TV played some infomercial about car wipes, that they both seemed to ignore.

  Tinker was mentally working out a plan for tomorrow. He needed to get them out of the city. Today, he had taken them around town, circling back several times, knowing Williams wouldn’t look for them in a place he’d just left. But by tomorrow, the entire state would be looking for them, and Tinker didn’t want to be anywhere in Colorado when that happened. He needed to get them back to the clubhouse but right now, that was over seven-hundred miles away. He could steal a car, but that would just bring more heat on top of them. Plus, Williams would probably have every route out of the city blocked off with checkpoints. So, that was out of the question. The only option was to leave the city on foot and call for a pickup once they were clear. It would be a long process, and a lot of going back and forth – Tinker just hoped that Keily was ready for it.

  He glanced over at her and wished that he had a magic wand to just erase all of this. But he didn’t. And magic didn’t exist. He would find some way to help her find her inner strength. He knew she had it. He’d seen flashes of it from time to time and knew that it would serve her well in the days to come.

  Once they were both finished eating, Tinker climbed off the bed and tossed the empty pizza box next to the trash can. He grabbed the bag from the bed and handed Keily the soda he’d picked up for her.

  “Thank you,” she said softly.

  “You’re welcome.”

  He sat on the other bed and unlaced his boots before toeing them off. Kicking his legs up on the bed, he crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back against the pillows. Closing his eyes, he tried to rest, but his eyes shot open when Keily’s bed creaked. Tinker looked over to find her lying down again. Her back to him, she was in the fetal position, under the flimsy blanket. Closing his eyes again, Tinker waited until Keily’s breath evened out and he knew she was asleep before he relaxed and finally fell sleep himself…

  The next morning, Tinker and Keily were up and gone by the time the sun started to rise. Stopping at a corner store, he went inside to grab them each a cup of coffee and a Danish, then quickly left. They backtracked toward the hotel, then cut across a side street, only to turn back the original direction they were heading – just in case.

  To anyone driving past them, they looked like your average couple out for a morning walk. Tinker tried to keep them within residential neighborhoods, but as they worked their way closer to the outskirts of the city, it became more difficult since the housing developments were fewer and far between.

  “We’re going to have to find a way out of the city,” he told her.

  “Can’t we just take a cab?”

  Tinker shook his head. “Williams will have the streets blocked off.”

  “So, we’re going to walk back to Texas?”

  “No.” He smiled. “Just out of here. Once we clear the city, I’ll find another place for us to hole up and call for a ride.”

  “Oh, thank you sweet baby five-pound, Jesus.”

  Tinker chuckled.

  He was glad to see that Keily was in a better mood today, but he knew it wouldn’t last. So far, she’d been able to keep her mind busy since he tasked her with helping to navigate while he looked out for any sign of trouble. However, once they stopped for the night, he had a feeling that the walls she’d erected to hold back her emotions, would come crashing down again. It would continue to be her cycle until he could get her back to the club and Emily.

  “What is GPS saying?” Tinker asked.

  “Three blocks, take a left on Saint Helens Avenue.”

  “Alright, let’s go.”

  They started off down the side of the road, making it another block before a black and white patrol car passed ahead, through the intersection.

  Keily stopped. She looked to her left, and then the right.

  “What?” Tinker asked.

  “Cop.”

  “He didn’t stop,” Tinker replied. “Let’s just keep walking.”

  She looked unsure for a moment, but then she
put one foot in front of the other. “I can’t wait for this to be over.”

  “I know,” Tinker agreed. “Same.”

  “Do you think it ever will be?” she asked. “Over, I mean. Do you think this will ever end?”

  Tinker thought for a moment. If they could get Williams out of the picture, then he had no doubts that the rest of the pieces would fall.

  “I do.” He nodded. “Once Williams is taken care of, everything else will be, too.”

  “Then why are we running?” she asked. “Why not just go after Williams?”

  “He works for the FBI,” Tinker replied. “He has the backing of the bureau right now and until we can remove that, he’s virtually untouchable.”

  “Then how do we remove it?”

  “Let me worry about that,” Tinker said, not answering her question. The last thing he wanted was Keily getting her hands dirty.

  “Stop doing that.”

  “What?”

  “Treating me like a child,” she answered. “I’m in this, Tinker. Whether I want to be or not. So, let me be involved. I want my life back!”

  So much for keeping her mind busy…

  “Keily, I understand. I really do. But please, let me do the dirty work. Okay?”

  “Not okay.” She stopped on the corner, her hands on her hips. Tinker knew he’d upset her. “That son of a bitch took my daughter from me, Tinker. That is not okay!”

  “I know.”

  “Do you?” she countered. “Do you know what it feels like to have your heart shredded? To feel like a piece of you is gone? A piece you may never get back?”

  He saw the tears well up in her eyes and stepped into her personal space. His hands grabbed her face and tilted it up toward his. “I may not know exactly how you are feeling, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel. Do you think I wanted Emily to go with my sister? Do you think I’m not worried about her? Because trust me, I am. More than I have ever worried about anyone. I care about her, and I care about you, too, Keily. So, please. Trust me to get us through this and to make sure it never happens again. Okay?”