“Good. Now, first off, let’s get a few things straight, you’re not in charge here. Where is Tessa?”
Creed hadn’t expected that, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to give this man any more leverage over him. So, he remained quiet. Not answering.
“Ah, so you’re going to play it that way. That’s okay, once our guest arrives, it won’t be any problem at all to find out right were Tessa is. Might even be a nice little reunion for her.”
Creed’s mind was going a mile a minute. What did Tessa have to do with this man, and who the hell was coming? He could take on one man, even two or three but more than that, he wasn’t sure. He would give it a hell of a shot, but could he do it without Tess or his Aunt getting hurt?
“Oh, I can see that mind whirling around in that head of yours. Don’t worry, it shouldn’t be long now. Maybe we should spend the time making your auntie talk. I think it’s only fair since she fucked up one of my operations and totally screw around the wrong people. What do you think?”
“Dude, I have no idea what my aunt has done, but I’m sure we can work something out. Tess has nothing to do with this, she’s just a chick I’m staying with. Why don’t we take this outside, or we can go to my aunt’s house to hash all this out?”
“Just a girl you're staying with?” Caine question then asked. “So, what you’re saying is Tessa means nothing to you other than a warm hole to put your dick in? Nothing but snatch right? She’s just some chick you’re using while you’re in town for a while?”
Fuck, this conversation was getting weirder and weirder. The dude looked offended by what Creed had said. Wasn’t this shit about him and his aunt? What did Tess have to do with any of it? Creed didn’t answer him, there was no good answer to that question when he didn’t even know what was going on. But when the asshole bellowed her name, Creed knew exactly who this was, and he charged him, doing what he had thought of in his mind because this asshole was Tess’s brother, the one who strapped her with a huge house payment and hurt her by leaving. Now, it was Creeds turn to teach him a lesson.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Tessa had just been getting out of the bathtub when she heard her name being yelled, and it wasn’t Creed, voice. No, she recognized that voice, mother fucker! Tessa grumbled before grabbing her robe shoving her hands into the arms and pulling it around her body. So pissed off right now she barely left enough time to get it tied around her before she bolted from the room. She could hear yelling and fists hitting flesh. She also heard furniture breaking, and that only further pissed her off. But when she got to the family room, she didn’t quite know what to think. Creed and Caine were fighting, but a woman she knew was laying on the floor bound and gagged in one of Tessa now broken kitchen chairs and Tessa knew her. What the hell?
Ignoring Creed and Caine Tessa went right for Kim. Those two could handle themselves, and Tessa would deal with them in a little while. Kim was the one who was in need of immediate help. Tessa couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on. Why was Kim here? Most importantly, why was she tied up? It didn’t make any sense. Kim was one of those people who was always nice to everyone. Tessa had met Kim years ago and liked her instantly. The older woman was fun, easy to talk to, and always had a story. They had even gotten together a few times for coffee.
“Shit, Kim,” Tessa said as she slid to her knees in front of the older woman. Going for the closest ties, she tried to undo them, but whoever had tied her up had used zip ties. Those fuckers weren’t coming off without a knife or scissors. Tessa had to stop messing with them because every time she pulled, they tighten, just making it worse for Kim. Tessa looked around the room, trying to find something to help. Her brain not firing on all cylinders because of the shock of the situation she found herself in. She noticed the glint of something metal and scrambled for it, but right as she was picking it up, Tessa caught the form of someone else coming to the room.
Blinking her eyes Tessa couldn’t process what she was seeing, who she was seeing. The one ghost from her past who she had wished on more than one occasion would contact her, call her, or even tell her where he was, so she could go and see him. But none of that had happened since she was a little girl. Before their parents had died and he decided she wasn’t good enough anymore. More anger then she thought was possible welled up inside of her, and she stood. Pointing at the man, Tessa screamed, “Tucker, turn your ass around, right now, and get the fuck out of my house! You are not welcome here.”
Tucker or Tuck—as he liked to be called now, or so Tessa had heard through Caine and Maria—just looked at her impassively, not moving from the doorway. Further adding to her state of mind, Caine laughing in the background wasn’t helping it at all. When Tessa heard Kim whimper, she felt awful for just abandoning the woman. Crouching down, she went to cut the zip ties when someone grabbed her arm harshly. Knowing it was Caine, Tessa wrenched her arm away and glared at him over her shoulder.
“I don’t know what you’ve brought into my house, but this shit isn’t happening.”
Caine was quick, he had his hand gripped around her arm again before she even brought it back to her body, only this time, he pulled her up so that they were eye to eye, glaring right back at her.
“This is my fucking house, not yours, little girl.” When Tessa pulled away again, he tightened his grip and said, “Don’t push me, Tessa. I’ve about had it with all the shit you and those two have caused me, and you don’t want to see that side of me, got it?
She should have taken the warning, but Tessa didn’t. She pushed herself forward, barreling herself into Caine, using all her weight. Because he was crouching in front of her and hadn’t expected it, he fell back on to his ass. Knowing she only had seconds, Tessa used the knife that had never left her hand to slice off the zip ties on Kim’s hands. Her feet would have to wait awhile because Caine was already getting back up. Tessa knew Caine wouldn’t hurt her—well not much, the asshole had always had a temper—but he didn’t believe in harming women. But the harsh meanness in his eyes right now was telling her a different story. Thankfully, she didn’t have to find out if she was wrong because Creed came out of nowhere and tackled Caine to the floor.
Then everything just stopped when Tuck, who was still in the house yelled, “ENOUGH!” So many things were running through Tessa’s head, she didn’t know which thought to process first, but things were also starting to click. At Tuck’s bellowed word, Creed had instantly stopped fighting, Creed stood up, and came over to Kim, getting the last of the ties off of her before helping her from the floor, then just looked at Tuck like he was waiting for him to say something else or give him another order. Tessa realized they knew each other.
Tessa looked at the two men, and yep, it was right there, they totally knew each other and Creed, damn, he deferred to Tuck wishes and stopped fighting. What really hurt was when she said his name, he didn’t even look at her. Tessa knew he was a part the RBMC. And didn’t that just put another cherry on top of her shit sundae? The man she loved, the stranger she had picked up in a bar, moved into her house and cared for was just another one of Tucks plants. He had probably been reporting back to him the entire time he was with her. She hoped like hell they had both gotten a good laugh from all her silly, childish dreams.
The two of them might not have been in the same room together in too many years to count, but Tessa knew things about her big brother. She had asked questions, did her own digging but stayed out of his way the way he wanted it. She also knew he only thought of her as an inconvenience. But that didn’t stop him from meddling in her life.
He would issue his orders and demands and expect her to follow them to the T. You need to take this class, your student loan payment was four days late. On and on, it never stopped. The only thing common about all of his direction was it was all negative and always came through another person, never himself. No, those honors went to Caine, Junie, Maria, or of course, her Aunt Carol.
Tessa remembered the first time she had actually
gotten Maria to talk about Tuck with her and asked why everything had changed. Tessa remembered crying; she had just gotten another one of Tuck’s directives because she wasn’t doing well in school, and he was disappointed. She begged Maria to tell her why Tuck hated her so much. Why nothing she ever did was good enough. Maria tried to convince her that wasn’t the case, but one night, after Maria had come home drunk after getting into yet another fight with Caine, she let her guard down and told Tessa that Tuck resented her. Resented the fact their parents had died because of her, and he was trapped making sure she was okay and survived. Well, not Tuck’s parents, just his Dad, he didn’t claim Caine and Tessa’s mom as his own, never would.
More bullshit on top of bullshit. She hadn’t been okay, spent two weeks in the Pediatric ICU before being released to her Aunt Carol’s care, her brothers not even waiting to bury their parents before Tessa was able to be there. The first time Tessa had been able to go to the cemetery to pay her respects to the parents she had loved so dearly had been when she finally got away from Carol.
Carol, the bitch, was one of the only people Tuck had ever talked to, listened to, and bought her bullshit all the time. Tessa had heard Carol telling Tuck how she was a spoiled, entitled, little brat who needed to be taken in hand. Every time he agreed and refused to speak with Tessa herself hurt her more.
That Caine had been the same way, refusing to see her for many years because he didn’t want to deal with Carol or Tessa. Caine was actually worse, he didn’t bother with directives, using Maria to relay Tuck’s messages. He would come into town on leave, call Maria to meet up with him, but never once try to see Tessa. But they had made their peace, well not exactly, Tessa let him think she’d made her peace by being soft and sweet and letting him think she had changed when the truth was she hadn’t needed to. That was on her.
As far as Tessa was concerned, it was also all bullshit the man standing in front of her was a stranger. He wasn’t the person she knew as a child. No, the big brother she remembered from before their parent’s death was a phantom. That man never made her feel like she was a bother or burden. He would let her follow him around, play with her, and even take her places. The first time she had ever gotten on a motorcycle was with that man, her phantom brother. Not this man standing there now. Those were all just memories.
Then there was Creed, the one man standing in the room who wasn’t even trying to look at her now. He had helped Kim up off the floor and guided her over to the couch, walking right past Tessa. Did he stop and make sure she was okay? Nope. Did he say a damn word of apology or explanation? Hell no. Tessa guessed Creed was just going to be a memory, too. Only now, that memory wouldn’t be as sweet. Dinner, candles, and cuddles into the night kind lost their appeal when there was an ulterior motive behind them.
Tuck pointed a finger at Tessa and said, “You sit your ass down and quit acting like a spoiled fucking brat. We came here to get your ass out of trouble, not let you cause more.”
“Jesus, leave her the fuck alone, your shit is with me and Kim. Fucking leave Tess out of it,” Creed said, standing up from his aunt’s side, directing his statement at Tuck.
“That’s sweet,” Tessa said, using as much sarcasm in her voice as possible for everyone in the room. “But that isn’t true, is it, Tuck? Why don’t you tell me, in all your infinite wisdom, what you think I’ve done now? So next time, I know how not to get your personal attention thrown my way.”
“Typical Tessa, haven’t changed one bit since you were ten years old. Can’t see the signs put right in front of your face. Or maybe you could, and now, you’re just waiting around for someone else to clean up your messes. Is that why you hooked up with Creed, thought he could get you out of this shit? Yeah, I can see you were using him like you do everyone else in your life.”
Each word was like a fucking barb, they hurt like hell, but Tuck was a predator, and he thrived on Tessa’s pain, so she stood there and waited for him to continue. She knew he would, Tuck always had to have the last word.
“Fuck man do you even know her?” Creed asked, surprising her again. “She wasn’t using me for shit! I was using her!”
Ouch, Tessa thought. Yep, that one hurt more than any of the other words she’d heard today. But it looked like several more hits were still to come. Caine at least had the decency to not look her in the eyes, but he wasn’t defending her either. Creed’s defense, shit, all she could do was shake her head.
“I fucking know her just fine, she’s my fucking sister. I don’t know what she pulled over your eyes, but Tessa has always been an ungrateful little brat, throwing fits and expecting shit. Good job this time, you really got someone’s attention, you should be proud of yourself little sister. You’ve been marked as Vulture property. Specifically, Grinder’s property.”
“I’m no one’s property. I don’t belong to any of your clubs, period.”
“Fuck, you are so naïve. What did you think was going to happen, working at Junie’s bar, huh? You just thought you needed a little excitement in your life, why not catch the attention of a rival. So, you could stick it to Caine and me? Fuck, you don’t even get the half of it. You are property. Caine’s no touch order was the only thing that was protecting your ass from those assholes. Keeping you from getting raped and passed around.”
“Yeah,” Caine couldn’t not put his own two cents in, Tessa thought when he started talking over Tuck. At least his venom wasn’t directed at her, no he was going for Creed, pointing at him saying, “Until he decided to come in and fuck it all up. Poof, no touch order gone.” Caine used his hands like an explosion right in Creed’s face. Jerk. At least, Creed didn’t take that laying down, he pushed Caine away, glaring at him.
Creed started talking, but Tessa didn’t look back at him. She might be mad at both of her brothers and want them gone, but the hurt she felt from what Creed had done went bone deep. Screw him.
“Fuck man, the only way that would happen is if I was made as RBMC. The no-touch doesn’t go for civilians.”
“Yeah, mother fucker, exactly. You were made before those boys left town. Ben fucking Williams ran you first chance he got and relayed the information. He also made sure there’s a price on your head big enough to make it worth the Vultures time and trouble. They’re just taking Tessa along for the ride.” Caine growled.
“What! No fucking way,” Creed said. “Talon altered my file for this mission, and I haven’t been seen by the Vultures or Ben Williams since that first day. How the fuck would an asshole like that get his hands on my real file or even know that I am still here?”
“Because asshole, your aunt, here, decided to play detective, and as soon as you showed up on her doorstep, they put a tracer on your ass. Kim decided to play the long game, found out the Senator’s son had something to do with your brother’s death and some other shit that had happened around town, so she tried to get the dirt. Easiest way to do that shit is to fuck the Senator’s aide, gets you all kinds of pillow talk, right, Kim? Shit, she even has her very own FBI contact.
“But you know how the FBI works, they want to get all the nitty gritty little details. Family history, known associations, all that shit, and Kim gave it all to them.”
Oh God damn it! Creed got up and started pacing stopping in front of Tuck and pushing the larger man back.
“What the fuck man, you knew about all this shit and didn’t once think about giving me the 411? Knew I was with your sister and decided, what, that she wasn’t worth the effort? Fuck you don’t even know her, she’s worth it. You’re sprouting all this shit doesn’t even touch the person Tessa is, but it sure as shit says a lot about you.”
Tessa felt a little pride in Creed’s defense of her but the fact he still was so distant kind of put the last nail in the coffin. Even to a layman like Tess, this shit sounded bad. She kind of felt sorry for him and his aunt. Shit, that was another thing that blew her mind, Creed had family in Hazard and never once did he say anything, and she knew Kim.
�
�Why the fuck am I just hearing about this shit now? I would have had Tess out here!” Creed pushed Tuck back. “You might not think either of us was worth the fucking knowledge, but I do! Fuck it! You want my patch, take it, mother fucker, obviously, I don’t rank in the Club, anyway. Hell, if you can’t even put your sister’s safety in the top ten, I don’t think I want to be in the RBMC anymore,” Creed yelled and walked away.
Tuck started yelling instantly, just like Tessa knew he would, the man always had to have the last word. He just didn’t ever answer the right things. Although what he was saying did hold some merit.
“Fuck you, Creed, I did what was best for the Club like I always fucking do. You know going off half-cocked after Ben Williams or the Vultures before we could get shit in place wasn’t going to do any of us any good.
“It took this long for Talon and Jinx to figure out where the damn tracker was and disable it. The damn thing only pinged for .25 seconds every day, just long enough to get your location and the ping times were random. They had to track the fucker backward. You can thank your cousin Shake for the tracker by the way and don’t you ever, EVER think I was just letting my sister sit out here without back up. The RBMC is all over fucking Hazard, covering your asses.”
“Fuck you, Tuck.” Creed stopped pacing again, his anger too much. “I have never once been a loose cannon, and you fucking know it. Your reasoning just adds to the bullshit that’s going on here.” Creed said putting his hands up in the air. “Plus, if you really thought that shit, why the fuck am I member of the RBMC in the first place?”
“You’ll be happy to know that file you’ve been building paid off, he and Sherry Naiber are in protective custody, waiting for transfer.”
“Fuck I don’t give a shit about Shake and Sherry, I had that covered. They were going down regardless. This shit is another thing altogether. This bullshit is—”
“Damn, what the fuck is up with your club, Tuck? Your boys don’t know how to do their fucking jobs or how to take a damn order,” Caine grumbled.
Creed: Ruthless Bastards (RBMC Book 5) Page 10