Link: Ruthless Bastards (RBMC Book 3)

by Chelsea Handcock

  “Are you two going to stand out there all day,” Addy yelled from the kitchen, “or are you going to come in here and hug me?”

  Carri went to Addy, hugging her up. “How are you doing, honey?”

  “Good, really good,” smiling bigger than Carri could ever remember her friend ever smiling, well at least since before Sunshine. Carri could see the changes in Addy. She looked happier now that she and Whiskey were together, and Carri was happy for her. All she’d ever wanted was for her to be happy. There were times after Addy lost Sunshine that Carri feared she would lose her friend, but looking at her now, she realized Addy really was doing much better. If Whiskey could do that for her, then Carri was willing to cut him some slack.

  “Do you have food?”

  “Damn, Carri, didn’t you just come from The Grove? You always were an endless pit,” Addy laughed.

  “Yeah, I did, but we never even got lunch before Mother pounced, so I’m starving.”

  “I have salad, I know how much you like it,” Addy smiled, grabbing a bowl out of the refrigerator and putting it in front of Carri.

  The bitch had the nerve to laugh at the pout on Carri’s face. She wasn’t ashamed to admit it, but veggies were not her thing. Carbs, and lots of them, were her food of choice. She didn’t mind her size fourteen ass, and everyone else could just get in line with that. No way was she going on any diet which said potatoes and bread were the devil in disguise. Nope, not happening.

  “Well, I guess since you flew all this way and got Talon off without much effort, I could give you the leftover fried chicken I made earlier? I could even possibly scrounge up all the side dishes you like so much if you’re going to continue to stare at my salad like it’s going to attack you or something.

  “You have fried chicken?” Carri instantly perked up. “As in homemade fried chicken, not something from the Colonel?

  “You know I do,” Addy laughed. “If you would’ve been here earlier like I thought you were going to be, you could have had it fresh, but I kept it for you.”

  Addy didn’t disappoint, bringing out container after container of food from the refrigerator. Placing some of them in the microwave and others right on the table, so Carri started to fill her plate. Addy was an awesome cook and no way was she going to lose out on one of her meals. A loud, deep, and very familiar voice stopped her from her task.

  “You better have enough of that for me.”

  Carri turned around in her chair and jumped from it, nearly tackling Tuck with a full-on, smother hug and laying kisses all over his face. Tuck had helped Carri when no one else had even tried, and she considered him like a big brother. It was funny to see the President of the RBMC squirming in her arms, trying to get away from her kisses.

  “Ew, stop it, Carri.”

  “What do you think, I have cooties or something?” Carri pulled back, but only long enough to say, “Come on Tuck give me a big old kiss.” Carri over-exaggerated her lips in a pucker. Carri heard someone in the doorway clearing their throat or growling, she wasn’t really sure what exactly that noise was, and when she saw who made it, she cared even less.

  Pulling back so she could look at Tuck, she asked, “Did you have to bring the asshole? I think I’ve been punished enough for one day.”

  “Yep, sorry kiddo,” Tuck said, finally disengaging her arms and placing Carri on her feet. “He’s Talon’s brother and the VP of the Club, so I had to include him. Don’t worry, his bark is much worse than his bite.” Everyone in the room laughed, except Link and Carri.

  Tuck walked her back over to her chair, placing her in it complete with a pat on her head and said, “Now stay.”

  “You know you love me, Tuck,” Carri blew him a kiss and winked at the man, “you just have to stop denying our love,” Carri joked. This was the way they had always been with each other. There wasn’t anything more to it, Carri just liked making Tuck squirm.

  “I don’t know about love, Squirt, but I am happy to see you. Sorry it had to happen because of this shit.”

  “Speaking of circumstances, care to tell me why the RBMC would need to fly in a lawyer in the first place? It took me all of four phone calls to have enough information to clear him. With your resources and connections, I’m pretty sure you could have had that in one call.” When Tuck went to answer her, Carri shook her head and held up her hand. “And then when I do get Tal off,” this time she looked at Link, “in less than twenty minutes, he basically rips my head off for using an alibi he should have used in the first place.”

  “It’s complicated,” Link answered instead of Tuck. “There are things going on you aren’t aware of. You really should consider heading back to Lexington.”

  Carri didn’t want to make nice with Link. Ever since high school, he’d treated her like a piece of crap he couldn’t scrape off his shoe fast enough. Even today, after she got Talon’s case dismissed as promised, he still had the gall to make a comment about her not sticking around and still being the same snob. What an ass.

  She looked to Tuck and asked, “Is it okay if we ignore him, then?

  Tuck laughed, “No can do, honey.”

  “Damn, okay then.” Carri pulled her chair closer to the table and started to fill her plate again, doing her best to ignore Link. “Okay, it looks like I’m going to be sticking around for a bit longer than expected, so sorry, Link, no trips to Lexington for me in the immediate future.” Before she could get another word out of her mouth, Link otherwise known as The Asshole spoke up.

  “Hell no, you’re going back to Lexington.”

  “Anyway,” Carri continued as if he hadn’t spoken, “from the conversations I’ve had and the digging Suzie was able to do while I was in the trenches of evil, I found out the powers that be wanted the RBMC busy for a while, not sure why exactly, yet. I hate to say it, but I think having Talon locked up on trumped up charges is only the beginning. Something’s sketchy and,” Carri said looking at Tuck, “I’m pretty sure it’s this big event you’re supposed to be too busy to notice that’s happening at the end of the month, and dear old Dad is behind most of it.

  “Hon, it’s…” Tuck stuttered and didn’t continue.

  Carri looked around the room and noticed Addy was looking at her with pity, Whisky was diverting his eyes, and Link, well, his intense stare was boring a hole in her head.

  “Fuck, you have to be kidding me. You all already know this, so why don’t you four fill me in and then tell me exactly what the hell I’m doing here?”

  For the next hour, Carri sat and listened to everything which had been going on with the RBMC and in Defiance. The abductions of and assaults on Addy, and Cathy and Crank. Hell, she didn’t even want to think about what those two had been through at the hands of the Vultures, a rival motorcycle club. Shit, some of the things they were talking about were straight out of a made-for-tv crime drama. This stuff didn’t happen in Defiance. Then they started to tell her about what Reagan and Suzie had been through at the hands of Reagan’s scumbag brother Bobbie; Carri was pretty much already seeing red. With it all culminating in Talon’s arrest.

  Through it all, she sat there and listened and knew they were still keeping her in the dark. They were giving her some information, but not all of it. There was more to this than what they were saying. Not that the shit they said wasn’t bad enough, but there was more, and she kept on waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  “What else?” Carri asked when they all stopped speaking. You could hear a pin drop and no one answered her. “So, you what, manipulated Add and me to get me here, why? What’s the master plan, what exactly do you want from me?” Sitting back in her seat, she looked at Tuck, crossing her arms over her chest, mimicking his stance.

  “It’s not that simple, Carri. I have information I can’t give you. I knew you would come in and get Talon off that’s why I let Addy call you. I also knew you wouldn’t be able to let this go once you got here. Someone outside of Defiance is after the Club, and we need to figure out who that perso
n is before anything else happens. I thought with your ability to ruffle the feathers of the powers that be, you would be the perfect person to get the job done.”

  “Okay, let me get this straight,” Carri said seriously, the playful tone gone. “Instead of being up front with me from the start, you played on my connection to Zander and Addy to get me here, you let my best friend manipulate me, and to top it all off, you expect me to figure out who is pulling strings in your town. A town where I don’t live any longer. But you can’t give me all the details of what they’ve done? Or who they are controlling although I already have a pretty good idea,” Carri snarked.

  “Carri, listen…” Tuck tried to start, but she held up her hand stopping him.

  “You have six weeks, that’s the amount of leave I took from my firm. I’m not going to change that now. Get me the information you want me to check out, and tomorrow or the next day, we’ll discuss exactly what you expect me to do. Now is not that time, I’m not in the right frame of mind to hear you out.”

  “Addison,” she said, getting up, “it sounds like you’ve been keeping some pretty big secrets.” Carri noticed Addy flinch at the use of her full name, but she was too pissed to care at the moment. One thing Carri couldn’t stand was being manipulated; she grew up that way and refused to allow the people she cared for most to do it to her now. Without saying anything else or listening to Whiskey’s defense of his woman, Carri got up from the table and started for the back door.

  Right before she got to the door, she noticed Link standing to the side, a look of sympathy on his face. It burned, but at least he had been honest with her from the start. He didn’t want her here; now she wasn’t so sure she wanted to be here, herself.

   Link had seen the look of betrayal in Carrington’s eyes before she left the kitchen, but there had been more to it than that, she was hurt. Looking around the kitchen, Addy was crying into Whisk’s shoulder, and he was trying to calm her down, a murderous look on his face. Tuck had pushed his chair back and had his arms resting on his knees, rubbing his hand over his face. Fuck, this shit was messed up.

  Chapter 9

  “Listen, you know she’s right, you can’t expect her to go digging without all the information. I might not agree with you about her being here, but even you have to admit that chick could get herself into some major trouble if she pushes someone the wrong way. This situation is too volatile to go into it blind. Hell, look what happened to all the other woman. Do you really still think this is the best way to go?”

  “I’m standing by my decision,” Tuck said, standing up. “You’re going to work with Carri and figure out what the Club attorney has been up to. I want Carri to go over everything that man has touched for the last three years. When she’s done with that, I want her to work on the information Reagan has from Taylor. She might be able to find something we haven’t.”

  Link stared at Tuck. The man knew he didn’t want to be around or work with Carrington. Link wanted her to go back to where she belonged, Lexington, safe and sound from all the shit that was coming at the RBMC. But if he insisted that she work this, then Tuck could damn well work with her.

  “Listen, I think she should work with either you or Talon on this.”

  “Not going to happen. Talon, myself, and Creed are going on a run.” Link knew that that was code for going on a mission. A mission he knew nothing about, which pissed him off. It was his job to make assignments, and Tuck usually left it to him. Fuck, Tal had just gotten out of jail, he shouldn’t be leaving town now, either. Tuck didn’t let him ask the questions he wanted to.

  “You’ll have a complete situation report waiting for you in the morning. With the arrest and trial, I took the mission and assigned Tal and Creed. When I get back, I’ll tell Carri what her father and the rest of them have been up to. You are under strict orders, along with every fucking body else, to keep that shit on the down low.”

  “And how long is this run going to last?” Link grunted.

  “At least three weeks, maybe more. I don’t know, details just started coming in, but we ride tonight.” Pinning Link with a stare, Tuck said, “Do what I said, work with her to get this information, don’t make me come back here and kick your ass because you let your personal feelings get in the way of Club business.” Link growled his assent. He didn’t like it, but he wouldn’t push this any further, at least, not right now.

  Tuck left with Whiskey following him, leaving only Link and Addy in the kitchen. They hadn’t made up after all the hurt he’d caused her. They barely tolerated each other, but it was a start. She was still sniffling from crying at Carri’s words, and Link considered offering her some comfort, but the truth was it would be awkward for both of them. When Link went to leave the room, too, Addy grabbed his arm.

  When he looked down at her hand, Link didn’t like that she pulled it back as if touching him hurt her; maybe it did. Link tried to soften his look. He knew he came off as a dick most of the time, but he was really trying here with Addy. She was family now, and she needed to know she could count on him, regardless of what he’d done in the past.

  “What is it Addy, what do you need?”

  “Umm, it’s just, could you, maybe, go out there after Carri?”

  “You want me to go after Carri?” Link had to shake his head a little to make sure he heard Addy correctly.

  “Yeah, it's just… shit, since those men came here…” Addy said waving her hand like she was trying to forget what had happened. Clearing her throat, she said, “I don’t want her out there by herself. She would have gone to the pond, it’s where she always goes to think. I just… please.”

  He would have done it anyway, but the please did him in. He hated seeing Addy this way. She’d been so strong through so much shit, he hated that she was scared now.

  “Addy, I’ll go and check on her, but you know we have the farm covered, right? No one is getting on this property without us knowing it. You're safe, Hon.”

  Addy smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Shit, he needed to talk to Whisk and see if there was anything he could do to make Addy feel better about being back at the farm or hell, he needed to tell Whisk to bring her back to the Clubhouse. He barely heard her mumbled “the Clubhouse isn’t any safer” comment. Shit, this was bad.

  “Addy, listen, hasn’t Whisk shown you all the security updates we made around here?” All Addy did was shake her head, then started gathering up the food on the table, putting it back into containers. Link wanted to stop her, but he still held back. “Addy, honey, if you want me to, I can show you, but I think you should ask Whisk. I’m sure he would be more than happy to show you where all the cameras are and go through our security protocol. What I can tell you, is the farm is watched by one of the Brothers at the RBMC twenty-four seven.

  Link really looked at Addy for the first time. She had dark circles under her eyes, and she looked as though she’d lost a little weight. He hadn’t paid attention before to how tense she looked, either. This wasn’t only Carrington unloading on her. Before he could question her further, Addy pushed a cloth grocery bag into his hands.

  “Please, I know you guys put security cameras out there, but I would still feel better if you went out and checked on her.” Link raised the bag and lifted his eyebrow in question. Addy smiled slightly. “She didn’t get to eat her dinner, and it’s cool out there. I know she won’t be coming in anytime soon, so I thought you could take that to her. Oh, wait.” Addy went to the refrigerator and pulled out a six pack of beer and handed that to him as well.

  “Um, Addy, do you really think she needs to get drunk? I mean, a six pack?

  “Listen, I know Carri as well as I know myself. She’s mad. I hurt her by not telling her everything that’s been going on. Coming here and finding all this out, not only about me, but everyone she cares about, it’s hitting her hard right now. I figured a beer or two would help. I’m pretty sure if you ask nicely, she’ll share.” This time Addy’s smile was a little more genuine. He could
still see fear and worry in her eyes, but she was pulling it together, like she always did.

  “Or she’ll throw them at me. I’m not exactly her favorite person or was that part of your plan?” Link laughed, letting Addy know he was only teasing her in an attempt to comfort her in some way. He was shocked when it worked.

  “You know, Link, that wasn’t my intention, but now that I think about it, if she does let a couple fly, you probably deserve it.”

  “Yep, you’re probably right. At least it's only okay beer; if this was the good stuff, I wouldn’t let her have it. No way will she throw your fried chicken at me, she really seemed to be looking forward to it.”

  “It will do you well to remember that, Link,” Addy laughed. “The way to Carri’s heart has always been her stomach. Piss her off, feed her, and all is forgiven. Now, go on while the food is still somewhat warm.

  Link nodded and headed out the door, not surprised to see Whisk waiting for him right at the edge of the barn.

  “Listen, brother, you need to talk with your woman. She’s scared.” Whisk sighed and leaned up against the fence, putting his forehead down on the top bar. Link waited him out; their relationship had been getting better, but they still weren’t as close as they had been once, and Link knew that was his fault. The past always came back to haunt you. After a couple of minutes, Whisk turned around and leaned up against the fence.

  “It’s not that.” When Link went to argue with him Whisk shook his head. “What I mean to say is it isn’t only that. Yeah, Addy is scared, and we’ve been working on it. But for the last week, it’s been different. She’s pulling away from me, and fuck me, I can’t figure out why.”

  “Listen, man, I know you don’t want or need my advice, but old habits die hard. Talk to her that’s all you can do. Take her around the farm and show her what we set up here. Then ask her what else is going on. That woman in there loves you, everyone can see it. Hell, she gets this sweet look on her face that makes me want to puke every time.”