Tuck's Wrath

by Jenika Snow

  “But why, Tuck?” She looked at him so sincerely. “Not that I don’t owe you my life, or that I’m not more grateful than you’ll ever know, but why would you risk so much for me? I’m nobody to you.”

  He leaned forward and she tensed, but he also saw her breathing had changed. “It’s okay, Jana. It isn’t that kind of kiss.” He kissed her on the forehead, mindful of her wounds. “And you’re so damn wrong, Jana.” He leaned back an inch. “You’re somebody that means a great deal to me, and I’d fight until everyone that meant to hurt you was nothing but lifeless bodies at my feet.”

  ****

  Tuck pulled his Harley beside the rows of bikes that were parked outside of the Brothers’ clubhouse. He cut the engine, removed his skullcap helmet and sunglasses, and stared at the massive building that he considered a home more than any other place in his life. It was the following day since he’d brought Jana to his place, and he knew this shit was bad.

  The club would need to know where he’d gone to get the info to find Jana, and what deal he’d made in exchange for that information. He wouldn’t lie, wouldn’t deny what he’d done or regret it. Doing what he’d done made bringing Jana home possible. She was alive, would heal at his place, and when she was well enough and wanted to come back to be with her son … to be with him, too, then he’d help her in any way that she needed.

  Tuck couldn’t just let her walk away, not now, and he knew not ever. He didn’t even try to realize why he felt like this for her, and didn’t want to rationalize how crazy this might seem to some. He just didn’t give two fucks about what anyone thought, and had no qualms about making that known.

  He climbed off his bike and headed inside. The inside of the club was dead, silent, but he saw the meeting room door open, and could see the members sitting around the table through the open doorway. Making his way, past the bar, and glancing to the side to see Tatum standing in the doorway that led to the kitchen, he wondered how much the den mother of the club knew. It didn’t matter to him, but the sympathetic look told him she’d probably heard a hell of a lot.

  When he stepped into the meeting room everyone looked at him. The expressions on the faces of the men he considered brothers and family were intense, and a little hesitant. Hell, even Lucien wore an expression that said shit was real, and probably wouldn’t end well.

  “Sit down, Tuck,” Lucien said, and gestured for the seat off to the side.

  When Tuck was sitting down he leaned back in the chair, felt calm, collected, and knew that whatever was brought up today, whatever decision would be made, would have been worth it. He may love this club, be willing to die for it, draw blood, and even kill to make it safe, but having Jana taken away, and thrust into a life that would have been worse than death, had had everything else freezing inside of Tuck until he’d made sure she was safe.

  “You know why you’re here?” Lucien said.

  Tuck nodded.

  “We want to hear the whole story, because what you told us on the phone didn’t give us nearly enough information, Tuck.”

  Lucien stared at him, leaned back in the seat, and the room grew even more silent. He’d only been brief on the phone when he’d initially spoken with Lucien. Then Pierce had called him, clear worry in the newly patched-in member’s voice.

  Tuck breathed out, scratched at his cheek, and leaned forward to brace his arms on the table. “I will start off by saying this club is in my blood, and you’re all my family.” The room was still silent. “But I’d do what I did again if it meant bringing Jana home.”

  “Brother, just start from the beginning,” Malice said.

  “My past isn’t a mystery to any of you. You know I grew up in a crack house, knew I was a heroin addict for a lot of years. But ever since this club came into my life it’s all I’ve ever wanted, all I’ve thought about. I’d die for this club, for every single one of you, but there is something about Jana I can’t deny.”

  “You don’t even know her, man,” Malice said. “She’s not your old lady.”

  He stared at the other man, anger simmering beneath the surface. “And you knew Adrianna so well?” Tuck wasn’t about to let Malice fuck with him, not when the Sergeant at Arms had claimed a woman he didn’t even know, and one that had been damaged.

  “Before you respond to that, Malice, let’s just get this fucking conversation going. I want to get out of here and spend the day with my old lady,” Lucien said, and gave a hard look to Tuck.

  “I want Jana, and I’m not about to apologize for that fact. I shouldn’t have gone rogue like that, I admit that, but sitting around and wait for something to fall in our lap was not something I was willing to do.”

  “Tuck, man, you should have waited, or at least spoken with us on what you wanted to do. Jana is protected by the club, and we would have helped,” Kink said.

  Tuck knew that, of course, but he hadn’t been thinking clearly. He exhaled loudly.

  “Who did you go to get the information to find Jana, and what deal did you make?” Lucien asked with a hard tone.

  Tuck stayed silent a moment, thinking about how to proceed with caution here. This was serious shit, and he knew that. “I went to see M.”

  There was a collective murmur and groan from the men around the table.

  “Tuck, fucking hell, man,” Lucien said and leaned his forearms on the table. “You went to see the one person you swore you’d never visit again, the one person that had your life all screwed up all those years ago?”

  Tuck ran a hand over his hair and tugged at the man bun at the back of his head. “I didn’t have any other options.”

  Lucien slammed his fist down on the table, jarring the wood. “You have us, brother,” Lucien all but roared out.

  Tuck didn’t flinch, didn’t even move. Yeah, their president was pissed, but Tuck had done what he needed to do, and he wasn’t about to be fucking intimidated … not about this.

  “Just tell us what happened,” Kink said this time.

  “I went to M, made a deal with him that the club would do a favor in exchange for him helping me find Jana.” He looked at all the men at the table, and their expressions were the same: unwavering. “I showed him the picture of Jana that Bobbie had given us, and after a couple of hours he got in contact with some sex-traffickers he knew that were about to make a run. Long story short, one of them had seen Jana there the previous night.”

  “And he asked for a club favor,” Rook said without question.

  “You offered a club favor for that lowlife motherfucker?” Lucien asked incredulously. “You know the kind of people M runs with, know the favors he might bring up to the club.”

  Tuck nodded.

  “It wasn’t your call to make, Tuck. You had no authority to give a club favor without speaking to us first,” Kink said.

  “I know, but I had to do something. We would have never found her on our own, and if by some miracle we did it would have been too late. They were getting ready to ship the girls off that night.” Tuck shook his head. “I couldn’t just sit back and hope things worked out, and by the time I told all of you and we went after her it might have been too late.”

  “I can see where you’re coming from, but you fucked up, man,” Lucien said and leaned back. “You went rogue, didn’t let the club know what the hell was going on, and made a deal concerning the club, with a fucking piece of shit asshole. And you haven’t claimed Jana, Tuck.” Lucien sounded angrier now. “We all know the reputation of M.”

  “I don’t,” Pierce said, the youngest club member and the one that didn’t seem as dark and hard, but he was definitely just as dangerous as the rest of the group, for sure.

  They all stared at him.

  “M is a lowlife piece of shit that resides in a crappy little fucking town a few hours from here.” Kink was the one that answered.

  “It’s known for its drugs, pussy for sale, and overall disgusting atmosphere,” Cain said. “M deals in drugs, pussy, guns, even dabbles in human sex-trafficking.�
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  “Shit,” Pierce said.

  “He’s a motherfucker that should have been put down a long time ago, but the truth is, for how shitty he is, he has a lot of connections, and a contract out that if anyone ends his life there will be a large wad of cash to kill off his murderer.” Cain leaned back in the chair and crossed his big tattooed arms over his chest. “To say that doesn’t put a little bit of fear in the men that want him dead is a big understatement.”

  “Because he helped Tuck out means he’ll be hitting us up for something that may be way out of left field and something the club won’t touch, but denying a favor after he helped Tuck out could bring trouble down on our heads,” Malice said, and glanced at Tuck.

  “But if he has all of these connections why use the club?” Pierce asked.

  “Because he can, and he knows using us will make shit bad for the MC. He’s doing it to keep his hands clean, and because it won’t cost him anything,” Tuck said, hating that he’d put everyone in this situation, but also feeling deeply for Jana. He really would have done this for her again and again if the time called for it.

  “I knew what I did would have blowback, and I was going to tell you, but I stand by my decision, and whatever you decide as well.” He looked at each of the members. Pierce was the only on that looked a little uncomfortable with the whole situation, but this was the first real meeting concerning shit like this that the newest member had dealt with.

  “We all understand why you did what you did, and we commend you for wanting to handle shit, but, brother, this went way over the line and crossed into betrayal,” Lucien said.

  It may not have been the kind of betrayal most people thought of, but it was betrayal nonetheless. Even if Tuck had agreed to do the favor for M instead of the club, the fact was the same. He’d fucked up and put his club and everyone associated with it in danger.

  “And I stand by the decision of the club, whatever that may be.” Tuck looked at everyone again, the men, family, brothers he’d give his life for.

  “You know we have to vote on this.”

  Tuck nodded. Yeah, this was serious, and that meant one of two things, they’d either vote on Tuck being laid out permanently because he’d betrayed the club, or he’d be cut from the club, and all relations and tied would be severed.

  “I can say that laying Tuck out isn’t the route I want to go, and I think that if everyone is in agreement with that we can clarify it in Tuck’s presence,” Lucien said. There was a unanimous agreement.

  Tuck breathed out, not realizing that there had been this tension in him over that. It was a reality he’d understood when he signed up with the club and gave his blood and sweat to be a member.

  “But there needs to be a vote on letting you go as a Brother, man.” Lucien sounded calmer this time, if a bit disconnected.

  “I understand.” Tuck slowly stood and took off his cut, setting it on the table and smoothing his hands over it. He looked down at the patch on the back, at the phoenix, the bike, the entire reason he was still alive now.

  “Stay in town. We’ll put this to a vote after we’ve talked about it more and let you know the club’s decision.” Lucien’s words were hard to take, because the fact was this could be his last time seeing these men in this room.

  Tuck nodded once more and let himself out. He shut the door behind him, breathed out, and felt this heaviness inside of him increase. Tatum stood at the bar, her hands twisting a dishtowel around furiously. This sad, worried expression was on her face.

  “Don’t look at me like that, doll,” Tuck said and moved toward her.

  “I don’t know what the hell’s going on, and I don’t want to know, but the fact you’re not wearing your cut worries me, Tuck.”

  He smiled at the woman that wasn’t much older than he was, but was like a mother to all of them. She looked after them, put them in line when they needed it, and she was loved and protected by them all. “It’s all good.” He didn’t know that, but he wasn’t going to lay this negative shit down on her. It was his fault alone he was in it, and no one else should have to feel sorry for him. He chucked her under the chin with a finger and turned to leave.

  “Take care of her, Tuck,” Tatum said, and he didn’t need to ask what she meant.

  He looked over his shoulder at her and just stared at Tatum for a moment. He nodded once, turned forward again, and left the club, possibly for good.

  Chapter Seven

  The sound of a motorcycle pulling onto the gravel driveway had Jana slowly waking. She pushed herself up, realizing she must have fallen asleep on the couch shortly after Tuck left earlier in the day. Looking out the living room window, she watched as the sun was starting to set over the horizon, and slowly rose from the couch.

  She made her way closer, pushed down a section of the blinds, and saw Tuck park his massive Harley beside the only other vehicle in the driveway, which was an older model truck. He cut the engine, and for a second all he did was sit there, his head downcast, and his hands fisted tightly on the handlebars. Even from the distance she saw his white knuckles.

  Should she go out there, maybe ask if everything was okay? It wasn’t lost on her that he didn’t wear his cut, and that he’d left to have that meeting with the club. Had they kicked him out? She didn’t know how club business worked, or the dynamics of it all, but she did know that what he’d done was supposedly really bad, at least that’s what he said.

  Jana moved back when he dismounted from the bike and started toward the house. She went back to the couch, sat down, and waited for him, because she had no clue what else to do. Jana could have gone into the bedroom, but the truth was she wanted to talk to him, to make sure he was okay.

  When he came inside she turned to face him, and saw he held a small paper bag in his hands. He must have gotten it from one of his saddlebags. Tuck stood and looked at her, held the bag out, then went over to the chipped and faded Formica counter. She reached out and turned the living room light on, and a muted yellow glow filled the small room. The kitchen was still dark, and his back was to her now. He was so big, so imposing and muscular that if she didn’t know what a protector he was she would have feared him right now.

  “I got you some medicine and clean bandages and shit to help fix you up.”

  He definitely sounded different, but his thoughtfulness had her heart racing. Jana walked closer to him until she could see all the items he was taking out of the paper bag. He set out gauze, peroxide, ointment, and a few other first aid items. Then he grabbed a pay per use cell phone, a minutes card, and set those beside the other items.

  “This is all for me?” The cell was what really caught her eye. He didn’t have a landline, and the only phone he’d had he’d left with her. She’d been able to call Braden before he’d left, and despite the fact she told him to take the phone in case something happened, he’d insisted she hang on to it for emergencies.

  “I wanted you to have a phone, and I need mine in case you need me and I’m not here.” He turned and faced her, and she tilted her head back to look in his face. In the time she’d been working at the club she’d seen a change in him physically. He was still so muscular, just as powerful and strong as when she’d first seen him, but he’d let his facial hair grow out, now sported a trimmed beard, and his hair was longer now, too.

  But his body was a masterpiece. He had tattoos that covered his arms, starting at his wrists and snaking all the way up to disappear beneath his t-shirt. But she saw parts of tattoos move out from under the collar of his shirt, and a part of her, the part that was afraid of her life and what happened, and the part that wasn’t hurting, wished she could be with this man.

  “You can leave whenever you want, Jana. I know you know that. I’ll always make sure you’re safe, even after you leave, and while you’re here I want to make sure you are comfortable and well cared for.”

  If she hadn’t already been falling for this man she would have right then and there. He stared at her with his dark, hard ey
es, but she saw his soul reflected back, knew that this man, deep down inside, had a life and a light he wanted to share.

  He set up her cell. “This isn’t just for getting a hold of me, but to call Bobbie and Braden.” He handed her the phone, and when she took it their fingers brushed together. Sparks of electricity slammed into her, and she felt her entire body start to tingle. She stared at him with what she knew were wide eyes, could see the same kind of feeling inside of him as well, and forced herself to take a step back and just breathe.

  “I also brought your bag that you’d dropped at the club…”

  There was a moment of pause, and she didn’t want to think about why she’d dropped it.

  “Thank you.” She assumed her cell was gone, that maybe William’s men had taken that since it had been in her pocket at the time of her abduction. It was just a pay-per-use one anyway, and the fact Tuck was thoughtful even for these little things had her chest tightening.

  He cleared his throat and nodded. “Come on, let me clean and dress those wounds.” He clenched his teeth, and his anger slammed into her like a force of a thousand men charging forward. It was enough to have her heart racing and her breath stalling.

  He led them back over to the couch, sat down, and when she was beside him and turned to face him he started with the gauze on her cuts. He poured peroxide on the little squares of material, and the scent of that antiseptic slammed into her nose. But Jana was trying to focus on other things besides the scent of Tuck. It was hard though. He smelled of oil, clean sweat, and there was hint of something spicy, almost as if he wore cologne. But she knew a man like Tuck didn’t wear things like that, didn’t give a shit about what he smelled like or even looked like.

  For the next few minutes they stayed silent. She watched him as he worked on her, his focus on her face, but not making eye contact. Was he feeling this electricity and connection as well? Surely it wasn’t one way, because even in her current state she had this intense need to just be with him in every way. It was intense, maybe not logical after what happened to her, or maybe, just maybe, it was the most rational thing she’d ever decided on doing with a man?