Tuck

by Chelsea Handcock

  Chapter Four

  Katie had come to with something over her head and several men talking. She started mentally to check herself out. Her hands and feet were free, and although her body hurt like a son of a bitch, she was okay or at least, seemed that way. She started doing little exercises to see if everything worked the way it should without outwardly making any moves to bring attention to herself. She had just started to work on her toes, curling them back and forth in her shoes, when she was yanked up and shaken violently.

  She was scared out of her mind, but her Dad had taught her to always be prepared; a little part of her knew he would be rolling over in his grave right now. She hadn’t done anything she had been taught, too caught up in her own head with everything that went down with Daniel. It was a mistake she knew, for a fact, she was going to regret. For a second, before she was electrocuted, she had caught a tiny glimpse of the man who had grabbed her. He was wearing a leather cut, she had seen the patches and knew he was part of a one percenter club. Which meant she was royally screwed.

  Now, she just needed to figure out why they had taken her. Katie had been born into the Club when her father was the Vice President of the Mother Chapter of the Ruthless Bastards, but he was gone now, so any leverage these people thought they would gain by taking her would be null and void. She was still watched and considered family by most, but when she left for her residency, she had basically cut ties with the brothers. Hell, it had been longer than that with the Mother Chapter. She had turned her back on them when her Dad died, blaming Colton for his death.

  She had tried to warn her brother their Dad was too old to keep going on missions or runs as they called them, but none of them would listen to her. They ignored all the signs he was starting to lose it, becoming forgetful and lost in his own thoughts more than usual. Katie had been told to mind her own business, she didn’t have a say in what happened with the Club. Even now years later, it still pissed her off. She should have been happy for her brother, he now held their Dad’s title and a seat at the table, but she wasn’t. As far as Katie was concerned, he hadn’t earned it. But women didn’t get a say with the RBMC, nope didn’t even matter if they were right. Women were meant to be seen and not heard.

  That left her thinking about the Defiance Chapter of the RBMC. She had friends there, people she considered herself close to who would give a shit if something happened to her. But then again, they were all women, Old Ladies now, and besides a few phones calls now and then, Tucker had made sure those ties weren’t as tight as they should be. She wondered if Tuck—President of the Defiance Chapter and the man she had loved for as long as she could remember—would even lift a finger if he knew what was happening now. He had made his intentions toward Katie clear, damn clear.

  Katie could still remember the day like it was yesterday. She had been standing in the Clubhouse parking lot, talking to Crank. Crank had always been like a big brother to her, more than Colton ever was. He was the first person she had saw as soon as she had gotten the letter. Katie had been practically jumping up and down as she told him about getting into the Emergency Medicine Residency Program at St. Vincent’s in Defiance. Katie had applied other places, but that was the one she had wanted the most. She wanted to keep working with Doc, learning from him, and she also wanted to be near her friends. She had been so excited.

  Katie remembered smiling wide and bright when she saw Tuck heading their way. The man took her breath way, always had. He was gorgeous, there wasn’t another way to put it. She should have known something was up because he never once smiled back at her. He walked up to them, looked down at the letter she had clutched in her hand, and informed her it had been rescinded, that she would be going to Lexington General for her Residency. Katie had been confused, so much so she hadn’t said a word. That was when he laid it all out.

  “There isn’t anything here for you, Katie. The Club has decided…” She didn’t listen after that, there were words and explanations, but she blanked. When a couple of Prospects pulled up with a U-Haul ten minutes later, she along with her stuff was packed up and headed to Lexington. He had given her one thing though, a small kiss right on the lips, their first one. It should have been everything, but he pulled back, patted her on the shoulder, and said, “Good luck, don’t come back.” Then she watched him walk away. Even Crank remained silent, just letting it happen. What was it about her that the men in her life always seemed to let her down?

  Katie could feel the burn of her tears, but she wasn’t going to let them fall. She had shed way too many of those for Tucker Masterson over the years and wasn’t going to do it anymore. What she needed to do is get her shit together and figure out what the hell was going on now, why she had been taken, then hopefully, find a way to get out of it. Because right now, she was her only hope, she didn’t have the Club behind her, and no one would be looking for her for at least a week. She had made plans with Sky, but they were open-ended, Katie had wanted to get a few things done before hitting the road. Another one of her naïve mistakes.

  Listening closely, she realized she was in a vehicle of some sort, she could hear the traffic and feel the movement, specifically every single bump the asshole driving hit. Jostling her body into the hard floor caused even more pain for Katie, but she kept quiet, for now, swallowing her whimpers and groans. She didn’t want to take the chance of tipping any of them off that she was awake.

  From what she could tell, there were three distinct voices—one close to her and two further way. So, a van of some sort, it made sense. The voices were all male and loud, another clue she was fucked. These assholes didn’t care that she could hear every word they said, but they had covered her eyes? So, they didn’t want her to know where they were going but when she got there, she wouldn’t be leaving because they obviously didn’t give a single shit about what she was overhearing.

  They were talking about a shipment. It took Katie two seconds to figure out the shipment was of people, specifically girls, and it turned her stomach. Apparently, their buyer wasn’t happy with the quality, and these assholes were boasting they thought the merchandise was just fine—young, tight, and screaming, just the way they liked it. The fuckers only had one complaint—a few girls didn’t give much of a fight. Katie questioned what kind of fucked up people did this sort of thing. She wasn’t stupid, she knew this type of thing happened all the time, she was an ER doctor, and before that, she had been a nurse. She had treated victims like the ones these assholes were talking about but hearing them talk and laugh about it like it was just another day and no big deal made her angry. What was wrong with them that they thought raping and hurting people was okay?

  It took a while for them to change the subject, but thankfully, it happened when one of them mentioned their Club President had called a big meeting. All Chapters were required to show, in force. She caught on that something big was about to go down, and it involved the RBMC, but she didn’t have a clue what that actually was. They were talking about some information they needed to get the upper hand on some asshole, their words not hers, that as soon as they got it, they would be golden. The information would give them leverage of some kind to bring down a big dog and scare off others. They kept saying “top level shit.” And when it happened, apparently, their Club would be on top. They started chanting, “Fear the Vulture’s, we are a circling. We will devour any enemy in our path!” Katie’s reality just got a little worse. She knew about these men, had heard about their reputation for years. She also knew they were responsible for attacking the Defiance chapter. She was still confused why they wanted her. She wouldn’t be much good to them.

  The van stopped, and several doors slammed shut. Katie was yanked up from her place on the floor and dragged outside until her body hit what she assumed was a concrete surface by the way it abraded both her hands and knees. The jerk that grabbed her never once let her get her footing. Of course, there was more laughter about her pain when she was yanked up by her arm nearly dislodging it from her shoulde
r. She should have expected it, prepared for it, but she couldn’t hold back the yelp of pain. She hadn’t wanted to give these people anything they wanted, and by their own admission, they liked to hear women scream.

  The pillowcase was ripped off her head, and she had to blink her eyes several times to see correctly. It looked like a garage of some sort, tons of cars and motorcycles and plenty of concrete. She let her eyes wander a little, but they mainly focused on the man standing in front of her. She had never seen him before—big, over six foot and bulky. She guessed he had to be in his late forties or early fifties by the wrinkling around his eyes and mouth which she doubted were caused by laughing or smiling, judging by the dead scowl he was currently giving her. A person could hide many things, but your eyes always told a story, and this man was cold, devoid of any emotions but possibly anger and disgust with a good amount of evil lurking at the edges.

  Katie stood there, waiting to see what was going to happen next. Looking around, she knew there wasn’t a single way she could escape. She just needed to bide her time and figure something else out. Plus, a small part of her was still curious why they had taken her, but if the opportunity happened for her to get her ass out of Dodge, she would be taking it. Sometimes, curiosity more than killed the cat.

  “This her?” When the others acknowledged in the affirmative, Katie was again yanked by the arm and dragged over to an elevator. The men from the van yelled catcalls her way about seeing her later and the lewd and unthinkable things they were going to do to her. Katie remained quiet, even though in her brain, she was screaming every profanity she had ever been taught back at them.

  Another guy with a leather cut was waiting inside to push the button for wherever it was going to take them. It was then, after getting into the elevator and shoved roughly to the back wall, she got to see the back of one of their cuts and confirmed everything. The top rocker said Vultures, the middle had a vulture eating the flesh off of a skull, and the bottom rocker said Lexington. Well, at least she knew she was still in an area she was familiar with. Standing to the left of the man who still had her arm firmly in her grasp, she looked down and saw the Vice President patch along with his name Bender and that lovely little one-percenter patch. Yep, Katie thought nothing that happened next was going to be good.

  The elevator stopped, and she was dragged out again. The place looked like an office building, there were even a few broken down desks and other office equipment scattered around. But in the middle was a hornet’s nest just waiting to explode. Katie started counting, but she had only gotten to fifteen men, all staring right at her and the man dragging her. Katie knew there were more than fifteen men, but she lost track when a door was opened, and she was shoved inside. What she saw nearly shattered her—Tuck, bloody, bruised, and broken, lying naked on a dirty bed. He had lost a ton of weight, and she questioned if it was actually him. He was always full of life, health, and strength. This man was a sickly grayish color where he wasn’t black and blue and emaciated. She knew she’d said something, couldn’t help it, but for the life of her, she had no clue what it was, she was so stunned at seeing the one man she had always loved this way.

  Chapter Five

  When the door opened, he didn’t have to pretend to be out of it this time because he was—he had checked out physically, but mentally, he was still taking notes. He heard a gasp, then shuffling feet, and something landed hard against his bed.

  “Fix him, or you die right alongside him, bitch,” Bender bellowed.

  Tuck assumed it was Misty again, but a familiar clean scent reached his nose like wildflowers mixed with a warm summer day, but it was the voice that almost made him blow it all.

  “Oh my God! What have you done?”

  He heard Katie’s voice, but why the fuck was she here? He would know that voice anywhere, could pick it out in the club filled with his brothers and loud ass music playing over the speakers, and she was standing right next to him now.

  “You don’t need to worry about that shit, cunt, just do your damn job and fix him. Boss is coming into town and needs him back on his feet. You have four days; if he isn’t better, the boys and I are going to have some fun with your uptight ass before you join him in the great fucking beyond, understand?” Bender growled.

  Shit, Tuck thought he vaguely remembered Misty talking about a doctor, but he had never in a million years thought about Katie. He had sent her away to keep her damn safe, and it looked like it just landed her right in the fucking middle of his mess. So caught up freaking out about Katie being in the room, Tuck was surprised when he heard Misty’s voice.

  He must be losing his touch, or as always, Katie fucked with his head enough to make him stupid because he hadn’t realized Misty was in the room. He still doubted himself, still praying this was some fever-induced delusion. Tuck was always decisive and clear, now not so much, but when Misty started to talk in a sickeningly sweet voice, he listened.

  “She’ll do it, Bender, she’s a good doctor, I wouldn’t let you down.” She had just sold Katie’s life down the fucking river and knew it. Katie hadn’t been at the Club often, and she and Misty didn’t roll in the same circles, but Tuck knew damn well Misty knew exactly who Katie was, and it was probably the main reason she was standing there right now. Misty would pay for that shit, Tuck would make sure of it.

  When Katie’s soft fingertips went to his wrist, it only confirmed his suspicion this was really fucking happening; he had hoped he’d been wrong or delusional. But every single fucking time she touched him, a spark of electricity always went right through his body and straight for his cock. Shit! She was here and worse yet, she would know in a matter of seconds he wasn’t as bad off as he was pretending to be. He hoped like hell she wouldn’t blow it for the both of them because the plan just changed once again. Not only did he need to get the fuck out of there, but he needed to figure out a way for Katie to get out as well. Tuck knew exactly what The Vultures would do to a woman like her, and he was never going to let that happen to his woman. If he had to die trying to get her out, he would do it.

  He felt her grip on his wrist increase like she was offering him some type of assurance, then she started yelling back at Bender in a snotty tone he had never heard come out of her mouth.

  “I don’t know what you expect me to do for this man,” she said with a note of disgust in her voice, then continued on like it was no big deal. “He is dying, he barely has a pulse, and from the smell of the room, I can guarantee all his wounds are infected. He could be septic. Without the resources of a hospital, there is nothing I can do.” Letting out an exasperated breath, she said, “Even then, his prognosis is doubtful.”

  “Bitch you’re acting like you have a choice here, I said fix him!” Bender screamed.

  “And exactly how would you like me to do that? Do you have an IV set up, intravenous broad-spectrum antibiotics? How about a sterile room? Or how about a room that’s just maybe clean with, at the very least, clean linens? No? I didn’t think so,” Katie hissed.

  Tuck wanted to spank her ass right then and there. When he felt her hand abruptly leave his wrist and heard her yelp of pain after the sound of flesh hitting flesh, it took everything in him not to jump up from the bed and kick Bender's ass, but he knew he was their only chance of getting out of there. Every second he laid there killed him just a little more, just like his old brother used to say, vulnerable and weak. Damn it!

  He heard Bender threaten Katie and order Misty to get whatever she needed, then the door slammed shut. He remained as he had been, trying desperately to get his breathing under control, using every trick he had learned in the military just to maintain for a little while longer. Misty and Katie were talking, so he listened as Katie rattled off a list of stuff she needed, then asked the one question he wanted to know himself.

  “Why did you have them take me? You know exactly who I am and what this means. Are you just stupid or do you have a death wish, Misty?”

  “You know I watched the two of yo
u, circling around each other, never admitting what you were feeling or wanting,” Misty mocked. “He would watch you like a hungry tiger, just waiting to take a bite, and you,” Misty laughed, “looked at him with all this love and stars in your eyes like some teenager with her first crush. It was really pathetic. All the girls and brothers laughed about it, the two of you were a joke.”

  “Well, Misty I hope you had a blast at my expense, I don’t really give a shit. Why don’t you answer my damn question and tell me why you would bring me, of all people here? You know damn well who I am and the shit storm you just created,” Katie snapped.

  “See, that’s just it, Doctor,” Misty said with such contempt, even Tuck was surprised. She then continued on with her little declaration, the result of which made Tuck’s blood run cold. “No one is looking for you, no one will be looking for you for a while. So, the way I figure it, I’m free to do whatever the hell I want, and I get to watch as Bender, and the boys take away the only thing, the one woman Tuck has ever wanted. Did you know he doesn’t fuck the club girls, the puppets?”

  “I don’t really care what Tuck does or doesn’t do, Misty, I haven’t even been around the club in a few years. Why you think that shit still matters is beyond me. Tuck is the reason I left. He is the one who sent me away, just like you. That’s really the reason, right? You think you can cause some damage to his pride or something like he did you when you were banished? Well, honey, you picked the wrong fucking woman to prove your point. Tucker Masterson wouldn’t give a shit if I were alive or dead. He cares about one thing and only one, the RBMC!” Katie yelled.

  Tuck hated she felt that way, but that had been what he wanted her to believe, so damn, it was what it was. But she couldn’t have been more wrong. It would gut him if anything happened to her. She just couldn’t ever know that, or she would expect more than he was ever willing to give her. That was why he had sent her away.