Link: Ruthless Bastards (RBMC Book 3)

by Chelsea Handcock

  Bas also took him to the laundromat and taught him how to do the wash. It sucked dragging all their clothes and shit the five miles into town on bikes, but they didn’t have a washer and dryer in the trailer. It helped that the utilities were included with the rent for the trailer, and Star always paid the rent. Well at least Link had always thought she had; he found out later that wasn’t always the case. When he started working for the RBMC, he took over that task.

  Bas also sent them what he could. Their father ruled Bas with an iron fist, so it wasn’t much. He was only three years older than Link, so he didn’t have much to give but a few dollars here and there, and any used clothes he could get away with sending their way.

  Bas stayed with their Father, a mean son-of-a-bitch who didn’t want anything to do with his younger sons. Link could remember there was a time he was jealous of Sebastian. He seemed to have what the rest of them didn’t; a house, decent clothes, and enough food to eat. But looks were almost always deceiving. Their old man liked to talk with his fists and often. The few times they went to stay with them over the years, it was like walking on egg shells all the time.

  Link groaned. He hated thinking about this shit, time to get with the here and now, memory lane sucked. He needed to be at the airport in a couple of hours to pick up the asshole attorney. The fucker had been away from the office probably golfing somewhere and couldn’t get a flight until that morning, only a few hours before Tal was supposed to be in court. Fucker was barely going to have time to meet with Talon before the sentencing trial was meant to start.

  Link would make damn sure this asshole knew who he was dealing with, and he didn’t care that Whiskey was okay Addy had given the lawyer some seal of approval. Tal’s life was on the line, and they were fucking with it. Addy was a farmer, not to mention pretty sheltered in Links opinion. She was a good girl, she didn’t wouldn’t have any idea the type of shark they needed to hire for this job. He needed to be ruthless and willing to step outside the lines to get things done. He was pretty sure that Addy didn’t know people like that who didn’t belong to the RBMC. Fuck, Link didn’t even have the man's name so he could look into him.

  Worse yet, the airport wasn’t close, so he had to subject himself to being in a cage, their word for car, for at least two fucking hours. Then he had to drive the fucker around like he was his chauffeur. None of which was helping his already shitty state of mind. This all better pan out or Whiskey would be feeling his fist; the fucker still might.

  Chapter 2

  Damn, Carri didn’t like that she was on a plane head toward Defiance, Kentucky, and she wouldn’t be if Addy hadn’t called. As soon as she had known Addy was going to be okay, Carri had left that place behind without a second thought and never once looked back. Shoot, she’d been trying to get Addy to come out and stay with her, so she could get out of that town too. The place was bad news. It’s pretty sad when the local Outlaw Motorcycle Club were the good guys, and the fine upstanding citizens the devils in disguise.

  Carri’s parents were at the top of the list of people she didn’t want to see on this little venture. Theodore and Sally Mae Worthington were part of the town's elite. The place was basically a shit hole, but close enough to the bigger cities to have some pull in certain political arenas and bigger businesses. Her Daddy was part of the city council and ran one of the few companies in town which had stood the test of time.

  Wouldn’t the proper townsfolk of Defiance like to know how exactly he’d done that. Carri knew, and it turned her stomach. He ran everything through his import export business, didn’t matter if it was legal or not. He didn’t care as long as he got paid. After all, Mommy Dearest had needs, and Daddy was only too happy to keep his trophy wife happy.

  Carri was supposed to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Marry a man of her father’s choosing and present herself in the most respectable of ways to further her dad’s business. Mix in the proper circles and promote and provide for that husband. She’d been groomed for it her entire life; etiquette classes, cooking classes, diction classes, party planning, you name it, her mother forced her to attend and comply.

  Carri wasn’t and never would be that person. She could have cared less which fork to use for dinner or how to make the perfect pecan pie. But she wasn’t stupid, she watched and learned. Shortly after her sixteenth birthday, she found the most damning information, at least she thought so at the time, and presented her Father with a deal. After all, he considered himself a businessman, first and foremost.

  She would keep her mouth shut and not tell the authorities or anyone else what she’d found if he did two things. One, stop the business he was into immediately, and two, let her go. Disown her, make up anything he wanted about her, but let her go. He agreed because Daddy Dearest didn’t want to see the inside of a jail cell. It was one of the best days of her life.

  Carri moved in with Addy and her ailing grandfather and started helping them with the farm. They worked day and night to keep the place. Addy even dropped out of high school after things became too much and she lost Sunshine. Carri, on the other hand, stayed in school. She worked her ass off until she got herself a scholarship. Carri hated leaving Addy after graduation, but it was something she needed to do, Addy, being her best friend, understood. She still came back every summer and school break to help Addy with the farm until Carri graduated college and law school.

  After that, the visits became few and far between, but they still talked on the phone and video chatted when they could. When Addy called and said she needed her, Carri was on the first plane out. She was concerned though; Addy was back with that douche from high school, Aiden Frost. Now, supposedly, reformed said douche. Carri would reserve her judgment, well sort of, she wasn’t that nice of a person after all. Zander was another matter; he’d always been nice to both of them. He helped on the farm when his brothers took off to join the service, leaving a pregnant Addy behind.

  There were only a few other people she could think of she even wanted to see during this visit. Tuck, the President of the RBMC, and Tank, were two of them. Tank had been an ass in high school, typical boy, but he had also helped her and Addy when he could, but only after having his come to Jesus moment. Reagan and Suzi were high on her list as well; she stayed in touch them throughout the years although not as much as she should have or would have liked.

  Those were the only people Carri considered her friends. Suzie helped Carri when she could with investigative work, and Reagan with some accounting. But she hadn’t spoken to either of them in about six months, maybe longer.

  The plane ride was horrible. Carri had been in Montana working on a case for her firm and the only plane she could get was small and cramped. The turbulence turned her stomach and the so-called service the flight attendants provided consisted of pop and pretzels unless you wanted to pay twelve bucks for some pre-made, wrapped sandwich which looked like it had seen better days. Carri wasn’t exactly picky, but that didn’t appeal to her even on the lowest level.

  Carri hadn’t checked a bag because she hadn’t had much to pack. The client in Montana was a good old boy who wanted his employees and staff to feel comfortable, so he insisted they wear jeans. She’d told Addy to pick her up a suit or at least a skirt and top for court because the hoodie, jeans, and tennis shoes she was wearing wouldn’t go over very well in Judge Warner’s courtroom.

  Carri walked out of the small airport and spotted a man she hadn’t seen in way too long, Lincoln Frost, Zander’s brother. Damn it, why hadn’t Addy come to pick her up? The man was fine. Carri took her time inspecting every inch of his body with her eyes, staying just out of his line of sight, because damn who wouldn’t, and no self-respecting woman wanted to be caught drooling over a man. This man tripped every one of her triggers, tall at least six-and-a-half-feet and muscular. Link wasn’t just built, he was cut with a capital C. The man looked like he’d been carved from stone. The white t-shirt he was wearing was stretched so tight over his upper body, she could see the
definition of his pecs and abs. Carri bit her bottom lip, thinking about what he would look like without that shirt.

  He had the perfect V-shaped upper body—broad shoulders and slim waist—making your eyes travel to the promised land. A promised land she might like to get a better look at, but wasn’t willing to take the risk. Lincoln Frost was one of the biggest assholes Carri had ever met. He had that Yeah, I know I’m hot and will use it to get what I want confidence. Carri didn’t mind a little ego in a man, hell she loved it, but Link had the confidence mixed with pure bastard.

  Link was all tall, dark, and handsome with bad boy mixed together. A lethal combination for Carri, generally, but Link was the exception. He was mean-spirited and crude on a good day or a least he had been and according to Addy, things hadn’t changed that much. Carri had avoided looking at his face because she knew what she would find; beautiful, hazel-green eyes, sharp, gorgeous features, and her real nemesis, that pouty lower lip. She wasn’t ashamed to admit to herself she had more than one fantasy over the years about those lips.

  Link always had a scowl on that beautiful face; Carri could see it clearly now just like she had the last time she saw the man. He was talking to someone on the phone; well, talking was a nice way to put it. The man was yelling at someone, pacing back and forth, and looking pretty annoyed. Carri laughed. Well, it looked like she wouldn’t be making his day any better.

  Adjusting her purse and laptop bag, she started walking, time to get this show on the road. Carri had already been cutting it close for court. Looking down at her watch, she knew that they didn’t have much time, and she needed to do some research and make a couple of calls. Then she needed to get dressed and do her job; get Talon off.

  Approaching Link, she stood right in front of him. It should have pissed her off he didn’t pay her one bit of attention, but she actually found it funny. What a prick. Clearing her throat, she tried to get him to stop his pacing or at least look at her instead of griping into the phone. When subtlety didn’t work, she said his name, loudly.

  Carri stood there smiling like a loon at the emotions which crossed Links face in a split second. At first, he was confused, then shocked, and then, oh yeah, Link was pissed. She knew he would say something which was going to piss her off; she just had to wait. It didn’t take long.

  “Oh, Hell, No! If you’re the person Addy thinks will come in and save the fucking day, you might as well turn that tight ass around and get back on that damn plane. Tal needs a lawyer, not some over-privileged, sorority girl, wannabe lawyer.” He even pointed back to the terminal. What an ass.

  “Well, hello to you too, asshole. Now how about we get the hell out of here, so that this sorority girl, wannabe lawyer can do the job she came here to do?” Carri didn’t give him a chance to answer. Opening the door of the SUV he’d been standing in front of, she climbed into the backseat. Screw him.

  Chapter 3

  Link had been irritated waiting for this fucking lawyer to arrive, so he called Whisk to tell him exactly what he thought. If the fucker thought it was okay to make him wait, then someone would feel his wrath. Whisk happened to be the recipient this time, but once the asshole got there, all bets were off.

  “What the fuck, Whisk? I’ve been waiting at the damn airport for an hour.”

  “Seriously, Link, it’s a fucking airport, of course, you’re waiting. Do you think I have control of arrivals or some shit? The lawyer will get there when she gets there, so chill the fuck out.”

  “This person better be as good as Addy says, Whisk, we can’t leave Tal there.”

  “You think I don’t know that, hell, do you think Addison doesn’t?”

  Link started pacing; he hated not having control of what was happening. This lawyer was a wild card he didn’t want to deal with. If they would’ve given him a name or something, he could’ve at least had the guy checked out. But as it was, once the asshole got here, they would have to leave immediately for court.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a chick looking at him. Damn, she had to be all of seventeen. She was cute though, long blond hair, curves in all the right places. Shit, too bad he didn’t do jailbait. Giving her another look, Link shook his head. Damn, such a shame.

  “Damn it, Link, you called me. What do you want?”

  “Give me this asshole’s name, so I can go inside and page his ass. We don’t have time to keep on waiting.”

  Link watched as the cute little blond started walking his way. Yeah, the closer she got, the better she looked. Big boobs, tiny waist, and hips that begged to be held onto and squeezed while he pumped into her from behind. Link turned away, not wanting to encourage the chick, and waited for Whisk to answer his question.

  “The lawyer is Carri,” Whisk sighed.

  “Carri?” Link turned around and looked at the girl, no woman, who was now standing in front of him. Fuck no. Carrington Worthington, shit. Hanging up on Whiskey, Link looked at Carri and thought, Oh fuck no, hell, he might have even said it out loud. What the hell were Addy and Whisk thinking bringing this chick here for Tal? He heard Carrington say something, but didn’t catch the words. He was so caught up in his mad to hear anything but his heartbeat, pounding in his ears.

  “Get out of the car, Carrington,” Link said standing there watching her pull stuff out of her bag, making herself comfortable. When she looked up at him with those baby blues, looking both annoyed and pissed, and said No, his dick twitched. That was one of the reasons Carrington needed to get her happy ass back on the plane to wherever she came from; she had the ability to make him want. Not a bad thing, but she was also the only woman he’d ever met who didn’t have a problem standing up to him and saying no, something he didn’t need now. He needed the lawyer representing his brother to do as they were told, not going off of their own agenda.

  “Get out of the car, Carrington. I don’t know what Whiskey and Addy were thinking to bring you here, but this won’t work. We need a real lawyer to get these charges dropped. Not some newbie wannabe who has been a lawyer for all of a second.

  “You know what, Link, I don’t really care what you think about me or my abilities, but I’ll make you a deal. If I can’t get Zander off within the first twenty minutes, you can have me replaced, and I’ll get my ass right back on a plane out of here. Right now, though, you don’t have a choice. I am representing your brother, and I don’t have time to appease your concerns. I need to prepare for court, so I can do the job I’ve been asked to do. So, how about you shut the damn door and let’s get going? As it is, we’re barely going to make it in time.”

  Link looked at his watch and realized she was right. Fuck, this day was getting worse. Slamming the door, he didn’t bother saying anything else to her. Twenty minutes his ass. The Club lawyer couldn’t even get bail set, how the fuck did this chick think she could get the case dismissed in twenty fucking minutes? Storming around the back of the SUV, Link knew he should take a moment to calm his ass down before he said anything else, but he didn’t give a shit. He would get to work, too. Getting in the driver side, he slammed the door shut and started the cage. Get to work finding a new fucking lawyer.

  “I don’t think you understand…” Link grumbled.

  “Hold on a second. I have an asshole who thinks his need to be heard is more important than doing my job.”

  Link turned and looked at Carrington she was staring right back at him holding her phone away from her ear. The little minx even had the nerve to raise her eyebrow at him, waiting to see what he would say next. Fuck her, this was his brother’s life on the line, not hers. Turning around Link started to make his way out of the airport drive. “Twenty minutes Carrington, that’s all I’m going to give you, and whatever plan you’ve come up with, you fail, and you are out on your ass.”

  She didn’t acknowledge him in any way, only continued to talk on the phone.

  “I think we’re safe now. The asshole in question has given me twenty minutes.

  “Yeah, I know.

&n
bsp; “Doesn’t matter, did you get what I asked for?

  “No, I just got in, haven’t had a chance to hook up the hot spot, yet.

  “Seriously, that’s the best news I’ve heard all day. Will you make it to court in time?”

  Link wanted to insist she tell him what she was talking about, but he was too damn pissed off. The rest of the ride went pretty much the same way. Carrington would work on her computer and make cryptic phone calls, asking questions. She didn’t even bother to say a word to him until they were almost to Defiance.

  “Addy was supposed to send some clothes with you. Where are they?”

  “Back,” Link grunted, pointing his thumb to the back of the cage. He heard her make some noises under her breath, catching a couple of assholes, but nothing else, making him smile. Damn, Carrington was a firecracker, always had been. If this was a typical situation, he might even enjoy sparring with her.

  Link couldn’t resist watching her tight ass as she climbed over the back seat. It was a work of art, plump, but tight, with that perfect heart shape. He bet if he got her out of those skin-tight jeans, she would have just enough meat to jiggle while he slapped it. Adjusting himself because his dick, apparently, had a mind of its own where Carrington was concerned, he continued to watch her ass. When he nearly smashed into the car in front of him, slamming on the brakes, he realized his mistake. Carrington was a distraction, one he didn’t need or want.

  “Damn it, Link.” He’d felt her body hit the back of his seat and heard another thud to his right which he assumed was the bag. He continued to drive without saying a word, but his conscience got the better of him. At the very least, he owed her an apology for slamming on the brakes. He still wasn’t happy about her being here, but it wasn’t her fault Addy had called her. Link let his eyes drift to the rear-view mirror and was gobsmacked; the words he was going to say left his mind, along with everything else.