“That was Talon, he told me to leave it, to let things happen how they were meant to be. Only two ways he would have known that shit was going down—one, he was in on it with Cinny, or two, he has your house bugged which means he has every other RBMC place bugged.”
“Why would he do that? Tuck, it doesn’t make sense, he’s deep cover,” Crank said more than asked.
“Yeah, within the Perez cartel, Cinny’s family. You seeing as many coincidences as I am in this shit?” Tuck questioned. He could see Crank sussing this shit out in his head and coming up with the same conclusions. He might not have told the man everything that happened with Talon, but he had told him enough. “That isn’t all of it. Who was Cin fucking before she left?”
Tuck knew just about everyone at the club thought that he and Cin had a thing going, but the truth was shit had never happened. Cin was like a sister to him. She played with the other guys but never fucked them. It was her thing, she only gave herself to one man.
Crank figured it out. “Caine.”
“Damn straight, brother, and if that baby is his, he will come for her. I need to find Doc, and you need to get those girls safe. I don’t think your place is compromised, and I want to believe that Tal and Cin are still with the RBMC, but this shit isn’t adding up right in my head, man.”
“Fuck, man, you’re right. If Tal and Cin did this knowing that kid is Caine’s, placing her in Cath’s arms just to rip her away again, that shit is crueler than anything she has been through, and I will make them both pay,” Crank vowed with conviction.
Tuck heard the screen door squeak and looked over to see Katie standing there.
“Tuck, can I talk to you for a minute before we leave?” Crank went inside, and Katie stepped out, saying quickly, “I know you have a lot of shit on your mind, and you need to get things done, but I need to tell you something.” Tuck was about to tell her to go on when she just kept going. “I saw Cin less than six months ago, and she wasn’t pregnant, at least not with that baby.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that baby, is a newborn, true, but she’s at least a couple of weeks, her umbilical cord is already healed and gone. She’s already at least ten pounds too, which means whoever had her more than likely had a full-term pregnancy. Cin, even if she was three or four months along when I saw her—which I highly doubt—would have given birth to a preemie.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Six months later
Tuck had never considered himself a sentimental man, but Katie would disagree, he thought with a smile, and in a few ways, she was right. Looking around his home office, he realized he did hold certain memories and people tight, but Katie and Maddie were at the top of that list, always would be. Katie no longer had a shelf of her own with pictures and mementos scattered around. She was everywhere in the house, he made sure of it. Everywhere he looked, he could find something of Katie’s—a picture, a small touch she had added, or just having her shoes by the door. But there was one picture he placed in this office to help him get through whatever shit was going on at the time. With the RBMC that was a constant thing now.
Getting up, he walked over to his new built-in bookshelves, running his finger along his favorite picture of Katie. He thought of the day they got married, the day he made her his Old Lady, and the day she told him he was going to be a father again. Every one of those moments she had the exact same look on her face—wonder and love. He hoped she always looked at him just like that. He was an asshole on a good day and a downright bastard on the others, but she never let him get away with any of it. It was one of the many reasons he loved her so much.
Tuck couldn’t believe he had almost lost one of the most important people in his life due to fear. Katie was fierce, and he couldn’t imagine his life without her. She handled being his Old Lady like it was a piece of cake, never letting anything get to her too much when it came to ‘Club business.’ She also knew things going on in the club he had no clue about because she watched and listened. She had her own special brand of interrogation no one, including him, saw coming until it was too late. The truth was he didn’t mind, it was nice to share some of the burdens he carried. That didn’t mean there weren’t still topics that were off limits—it was just the way it had to be.
Tucks eyes tracked to the next picture, one with Maddie sitting on his lap. She had been telling him a story about one of her cats. Between his house, Jada and Creed’s and Tessa and Brass’s, she had a total of twelve cats now. She had each of them wrapped firmly around her little finger, and he knew none of them would have it any other way. In the picture, she looked so serious, and he had the biggest goofiest grin on his face, he swore he had never seen before. There was just a bit of wonder and a shit ton of love in his eyes. Katie had taken the picture and placed it on the shelf next to a friendship bracelet Maddie had made for him—when she had run out of Jada’s house to give him the gift, he had been blown away. It was the first time she had let him know she was starting to accept him as a friend if not family. Shit, just looking at the little piece of badly braided string brought a couple tears to his eyes. He would be wearing the bright pink and neon green bracelet right now if it had fit. She had been so disappointed, he almost risked cutting off all circulation to his hand by forcing it on until Katie suggested they make a new one together. Pulling back the sleeve of his shirt, he looked at the new bracelet—it was ugly as sin and fraying everywhere, but until the fucker fell apart completely, he would keep it right where it was, no matter how much shit the guys gave him about it. Hell, half of them were sporting one of Maddie’s special bracelets now, anyway.
Tuck no longer wondered if he could be a good dad to Maddie, he knew he could because she came first for him. His smile got bigger. His little girl was amazing, she still wasn’t living with him and Katie full-time yet. He and Jada were basically sharing custody until everyone felt right. He didn’t know for sure if that would ever happen or if it would ever feel right. Jada was, in every sense of the word, Maddie’s Mom. She was getting closer to him and Katie, but Jada was the one person his little girl relied on, and he would never take that away from her if he could help it. For now, what they had worked for all of them, mainly Maddie, and that was all that mattered.
Tuck took two pictures off the shelf and went back to his desk. Placing them next to each other, he sat down in his chair and looked at them. For months now, he had been trying to figure out what was going on with the people in the pictures and couldn’t figure it out. Caine had done as he asked and set up a home base for the Blacktop Renegades—they were no longer Nomads, and even though he was only a few hours away, Tuck saw less and less of him. There was always some kind of excuse from Caine for not visiting, calling, or seeing any of them on any terms, even Tessa which he could tell hurt his sister.
Tuck and Tessa were making progress getting some of what they once had back, but it was too little too late, and the fault remained firmly on his shoulders. He had gone and had a little chat with Aunt Carol, making it clear he knew exactly what she had done and not to expect another damn thing from him or Caine. In typical Carol fashion, she tried to play it off as all Tessa’s doing, but Tuck wasn’t buying into that shit anymore, and he hoped like hell it would be the last time any of them heard from the evil witch.
Tuck let out a breath as he continued to look at the picture of him, Caine, and Cinny. They had all looked so damn young and happy, not a care in the world. Now, that shit was so far from the truth, it wasn’t funny. Cinny giving that baby to Cathy and Crank had been a shock. The fact that she was hiding from all the rest of them, not answering calls from even the other Old Ladies was telling. She was hiding something. Tuck knew that kid wasn’t hers, but it hadn’t stopped his brother from going off the deep-end when he found out. They ultimately got the baby’s DNA tested and determine the kid wasn’t his or anyone else’s from the RBMC. The adoption papers were legit, and for now, everyone hoped it would stand. Cathy and Crank were that baby’
s parents. Tuck didn’t even want to think about what would happen if that little girl was taken away. He just hoped it didn’t come back to bite them all in the ass.
He and Caine knew about Cinny’s family, they also knew, sooner rather than later, Papa Perez would take his revenge for his only daughter choosing a bunch of bikers over their own family. Tuck had felt extreme guilt over the choice Cinny was forced to make. Indirectly, it all circled back to him and Caine. He just hoped that whatever she was mixed up in now, she survived it because there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it, not while she was with her family.
That left the other picture, this one hurt the most—Zander. For now, he wouldn’t refer to the man as Talon because he had left the MC and that name behind when he pulled that shit in the armory and after with the phone calls. The thing that pissed Tuck off the most is he never once saw any of it coming. Zander had always been loyal to the RBMC, and even now, Tuck couldn’t say that he still wasn’t. His actions proved he still held some loyalty to the brothers but why would he have done things the way he did?
“Damn, babe, you look like your night was as bad as mine.”
Tuck looked up at the sound of Katie’s beautiful voice. Shit, she still took his breath away every damn time he saw her, even in wrinkled scrubs, with tired eyes and hair sticking out in every direction. When she walked right to him, he turned, knowing exactly what she was going to do next. Plopping her body down onto his lap, she cuddled up against his chest.
“Want to talk about it?”
“Nah, babe, just thinking. How was your night?”
“Argh! Six car pileup on I-75, two semis were involved. I didn’t think I was ever getting out of there.”
Tuck hugged her closer, kissing the top of Katie’s head. He loved these moments, just the two of them talking about the day, but tonight, he was pretty wound up, and even feeling the weight of her precious curvy body didn’t seem to distract his mind.
“Well, you’re home now,” he said absently.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, babe, don’t know if I can answer, but we can give it a shot,” Tuck replied with a chuckle. It was his standard way of answering when Katie started in like this. He knew whatever she was thinking about had to do with the club. Otherwise, she would have just asked.
“Before Talon left, did you trust him?” she asked, throwing Tuck for a loop. He hadn’t expected that question at all.
He didn’t even hesitate. “Yeah.”
“Would you have trusted him with my life or Maddie’s?”
“Of course. Where are you going with this, babe?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking, I don’t know exactly what happened between Tal and the Club, but I have a theory.”
“Babe!” Tuck warned, but Katie stopped him.
“No, hear me out, you don’t have to say anything, just listen. Talon was never given a choice in what he wanted to do with his life. Link, Whisk, and even you just assumed he would follow in all of your footsteps, and he did, for the most part.”
Tuck couldn’t deny what she was saying, so he didn’t say anything, just continued to listen.
“But you guys treated him differently. I can’t tell you how many times through the years I heard someone say he isn’t the typical biker, or he doesn’t fit the model of an RBMC member, and I won’t even get started on all the computer geek comments. If I heard it, you know he heard it too. Hell, you didn’t even send him out on runs or missions—he stayed nice and safe in his control room. Even your prospects don’t get that type of treatment.”
Shit, Tuck had said things like that himself but only to Link or Crank, never where anyone would or should have overheard him. Now, he kind of felt like a douche, and it was true, the mission stuff too—she was right about all of it. Knowing the type of man Zander was, all of it would have gotten to him.
“But that isn’t all of it. Did you know Tal had three full-ride scholarship offers before his sophomore year of high school? And we aren’t talking state-level schools, we’re talking Ivy League. He could have graduated high school and left for any of them, but he decided to stay even after his brothers left him with you. There is other stuff too. Do you think, with his talents, he wasn’t recruited by other agencies? But he still remained with the RBMC, why?”
Tuck hadn’t known that, and he doubted Link or Whiskey did either.
“Basically, all I am saying is that man,” Katie pointed to the picture of him and Talon fishing, “has been loyal to a fault to the three of you and the RBMC even though he was never really considered a brother. I think you should think about that before you decide to do something that will make you lose him forever.”
Katie wasn’t wrong about any of it, and what she was saying made sense, but Tuck didn’t know if he could do anything about it. The Club had rules, and Zander had broken just about all of them. If the man came back today, Tuck didn’t even know if he could or would be able to help him. He had kept a lot of what happened to himself, but after the baby and the phone call, he had to let Crank and Link in on all that had gone down. He had also talked to Shade, but the man was tight-lipped, not wanting to jeopardize his mission. If the situation were reversed, Tuck would have done the same thing. Listening to Katie might have made him feel like crap, but it also gave him a new perspective and lightened his load just a little. Putting his finger under her chin, he tilted her face up.
“How did you get so smart?” he asked, kissing her lightly on her cute little nose.
“I don’t know, it must have something to do with all those books I’ve had to read because you know…” Katie laughed when Tuck started tickling her side.
“You’re never going to let me live that one comment down, are you?”
“Nope,” Katie said, squirming, trying to get away from his hands and out of the chair, but Tuck wasn’t ready to let her go just yet. Now that they had talked, he didn't feel as loaded down as before. He also had a few new things on his mind, especially his hard as stone dick that was trapped behind the zipper, begging him for release and relief.
Katie was going to help him out with that too, preferably right there in his chair or on his desk, he didn’t care which as long as it happened, but the little minx managed to get away and started running for the door. Stopping, she turned back, taking her shirt off and throwing it on the floor, a cheeky smile planted on her gorgeous face.
“First one to the bedroom gets the first orgasm, and trust me, Mr. Masterson, you do not want to miss what I just read about. There’s this thing I can do with my mouth that is supposed to make you fly.” Giggling, she left the room.
Tuck didn’t immediately follow because he knew all about that thing she could do with her mouth, and he also knew damn well she would do it, regardless of him getting to the bedroom first. Plus, he had a few things he wanted to do to her first—several came to mind.
He started walking out of the office, thinking he didn’t have the first fucking clue what he had done in his life to deserve this woman or the life they were building together, but he was a damn lucky man.
The End – For now!!
Jinx’s story is coming soon.
Also, keep watch for the BRMC!
Jackson
Alpha Team
NAC & The Holly Group
Author: Chelsea Handcock
www.chelseahandcock.com
Copyright © 2017, Chelsea Handcock
First electronic publication: January 2017
All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted works is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission.
Note from the Author:
This is a work of fiction. Names, character, place
s and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to person, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third party websites or their content.
Published in the United States of America.
Jackson Thorp believes in tangible facts, military precision and having a good time. Never forming attachments to females and never letting them attach themselves to him. His policy is love em’ and leave em’. It works and he wouldn’t have it any other way. At least that was what the thought. The fates seem to have a different plan and one little red head seems to have blasted the top off his world. He starts to questions everything his sanity, his history and the legends of the past. Could she really be the answer?
Ryleigh Quinn has her life all planned out: work, work and more work. Save as many lives as possible and fill her heart with the good she helped come into the world. She has never been normal and doesn’t even want to be. When a mission brings up memories from her childhood she if forced to confront the one man she thought would never lie to her. The events that follow also forced her to realize that maybe all work and no play isn’t what she really wants out of life. Fate has a way of making a person change their minds. Her fate just happens to come in the form of a delicious, infuriating, dominating bear shifter. Who would have thought?
**Content Warning: Explicit love scenes, naughty language, and lots of sexy secrets. Intended for mature audiences.
Chapter 1
Declan “Senior” Quinn sat at his desk looking at his daughter, Ryleigh, standing in front of his corner window looking out into the New York City skyline like it held all the answers. She was chewing her thumbnail, a habit he hadn’t seen her do since she was a child. He regretted the choices of his past which made her feel so apprehensive today. Unfortunately, even if he had the choice, he wouldn’t change anything. Too much was at stake.
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