“Talk to me, babe, tell me what just happened back there. Why are you acting like we just signed Cinny’s death warrant?”
“Because we did, or she did. She stayed away from her family, her brothers came around every once in a while, but they had an agreement. As long as she stayed out of trouble, they would leave her alone to live her life. It’s her father who’s the problem. The only reason she was allowed outside of the walls of their house was of a deal her mother made him make. If Cinny went back and asked for anything, it voided the deal. She voided the deal to clear us. Creed she gave up her life for us, and I don’t know how to deal with that.” Tessa started crying harder. “How do I live with that? He’s awful Creed, and I know in my heart, he’s going to destroy her, but there isn’t anything we can do.”
“I don’t know, Tess, I think we can do a lot. The RBMC and Renegades have so many resources, we could get her out of there, we just need to know where.”
“No, you don’t understand. I promised if she ever made that choice, I wouldn’t interfere. That I would let her make the decision for herself. I have to honor that Creed, so do my brothers.”
“Shit.” Creed picked up the burner phone from the console and dialed Talon, he wasn’t all that surprised when Jinx answered instead.
“Shit’s gone south, brother, get your woman back to Defiance, don’t stop. We’ll fill you in when we can.”
The ride back to Defiance was long. Creed had gotten a few phone calls filling him in, but he wouldn’t get the full story until all parties were there, minus Tuck. Fuck, that was a hard pill to swallow. Tuck had been taken, and from what everyone had pieced together, he went willingly. It didn’t make any sense. Why the fuck would he turn himself over to the Vultures. He knew Creed had Tessa and that she was safe or would have been soon. Cin was with her family. However fucked up that was. Creed hadn’t even scratched the surface of that with Tess yet. So why in the hell would he just turn himself over? It didn’t make any damn sense.
He pulled into the RMBC compound at just after two in the morning. The place was lit up so bright, it hurt his eyes. Driving the SUV right into the garage off to the side, he woke up Tess.
“Babe, you need to get up, I have to go to Church.”
Tess startled awake, and he wanted to kick himself. He was running on nerves, and when she finally fell asleep over an hour ago, he had been thankful she was finally getting some sleep. Tessa hadn’t been hysterical, she’d been quiet and resolved, and Creed hated. His woman always expected the worst, and that shit needed to change.
“It’s okay, babe, we’re here, I just need to get you inside and settled before I go to Church.” Tess didn’t say anything, just nodded and got out of the vehicle. Creed got out and headed to her side, pulling her into his body, trying to offer her comfort in the only way he knew how right now. “Babe, I’m going to take you to my room. It isn’t much, and when this shit blows over, we can find something better. I just, I need to talk with the guys, we need to figure out what our next move is, and you can’t be there, okay?”
Tessa laid her head on his shoulder and patted his stomach. “It’s okay, I get it. I need to sleep, anyway. Just tell me where to go, you don’t have to take me.”
He didn’t like this side of Tess, he’d never seen it before, and it was wearing on his nerves. He needed to do something, but he didn’t have time. This fucking sucked. They walked in the back door of the RBMC, and Creed was thankful only Brass was there. His brother nodded at him and looked to the side stairs. Creed nodded back, taking Tessa up. He lived on the second floor; only he, Brass, Crash, Jinx and Talon had rooms on this floor. Tuck, Crank, Link, and the other officers had rooms on the third floor.
Unlocking his door, Creed was thankful the place didn’t look that bad. He wasn’t a messy person but sometimes, fuck, he didn’t want to think about what he’d been doing before meeting Tessa. He smelled fabric softener and knew someone had changed his bedding because he sure as hell didn’t use the stuff when he washed his clothes. He would have to figure out who did it and thank them. He hadn’t been as bad as some of his brothers with women, but he was no saint. Tessa didn’t need to be subject to that right now.
Creed walked her over to the bed and crouched down in front of her. “Okay, babe, I don’t know how long I’m going to be gone, but you can lock the door if you want. If you don’t, no one will bother you. Only a few of the guys have access up here, and they’ll be with me. The bathroom,” he pointed to a closed door, “is through there. If you need any clothes, just rummage through my things until you find something you want. Okay?”
Creed kissed Tess on the forehead and left the room. If he had looked at her any longer, he would have changed his mind and stayed, she needed him. He knew it, but he also knew they both needed him to keep his mind in the game. Tuck had been a bastard to her, but he was still her brother and finding him had to be the priority.
Using the front stairs, Creed walked down until he was in the common room. None of it looked the same, several people were milling around, but the mood was somber, word of Tuck being taken already making its rounds. The room they held Church in had its door propped open, something that had never happened in the entire time Creed had been a part of the club. He didn’t stop to talk to anyone, a few of his brother clapped him on the shoulder when he went by, but none of them made him stop. Once inside the meeting room, he looked at Link, sitting in Tuck's spot with Caine pacing behind him.
Creed heard the doors close and said, “Tell me what happened.”
“Fuck!” Caine said, throwing a glass at the wall. “It was a fucking set up, that’s what happened. Those fuckers never wanted Tessa, they just wanted to bring Tuck out in the open. If he would have just let me handle it, none of this shit would have happened.”
“I don’t think so,” Link said, throwing a thick folder down on the table. “The Vultures have Tuck’s daughter.”
“What!” Caine yelled along with several other members of the Renegades and RBMC. Link slammed his hand down on the table stopping everyone.
“Listen up! Tuck has been looking for his kid for a while now. Every time he got close, something happened to fuck it up. The bitch who birthed the kid is a groupie. She bounces from club to club, trying to get a patch.”
“Shit,” Creed said, sitting down.
“Caine, heard Grinder say something about Maddie, but he didn’t know who she was. When he came back here and filled us in, I pulled the file Crank and I have been working on. It fits. She’s the only person, besides Katie, Tuck would have put his life out there for, and Cathy called Katie just a little while ago to make sure she was okay.”
Creed had only met Katie a handful of times, but she seemed like an okay girl. He and everyone else knew that if Tuck would ever claim someone, it would be Katie, but he kept himself away from her. Did his best to make the woman leave which she did. Damn.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Tessa didn’t know how long she’d been sleeping, but when the bed moved, and she felt Creed wrap his arms around her, she finally felt safe and comfortable. She’d been sleeping on and off for hours, but the room was unfamiliar, and she couldn’t shut her mind off. Everything that had happened just played on an endless loop. Creed being there with her, holding her, somehow, made it all a little more bearable.
A small part of her didn’t want to know what had happened, but a larger part needed to know.
“Tell me.”
“Tuck was taken by the Vultures, babe, they have his kid.”
Tessa sat up and asked, “Kid?”
“Yeah, I don’t have all the details, but it’s a little girl. Tuck has been trying to track her down for a long time. The mom is a whore who jumps from club to club. Best we can figure, she opened her mouth to the wrong person, and the Vultures got wind of it. We think they’re using the kid as leverage, that’s why Tuck went willingly.”
“Oh God, Creed, that would kill him. His kid being with those people. Shit, so many
things are going through my mind right now. We have to find them both of them. Is there any way I can help or…?”
“Tess, calm down, we’re working it all out. I don’t know if you know the RBMC’s purpose, but this is right up our alley. We find people, have contacts who will help. We just need to give it time.”
“Cin told me a little, not a lot. I know there are things you can’t say and won’t. I’m okay with that, but this is my niece, my brother. I just want,” Tess stopped when her the words stuck in her throat this was bad, and she felt helpless. Those cretins wouldn’t care how they treated a little girl, and it killed her to know that they had one.
“I will let you know babe,” Creed was rubbing his fingers over her thigh, “but right now, it’s just a waiting game. We need to get all the facts.”
“Okay,” Tess sighed she knew there wasn’t anything she could do. “Tell me what else happened.”
“The Perez’s kept their word, they had the claim voided on you, and they now hold the price on my head. Juan sent word that if we stayed out of Cinny’s life, they would keep it that way with no one coming after me, but if we—”
“If we do anything, they’ll come after all of us, not just you and me,” Tessa said, finishing his words. She knew how the Perez’s worked. Cinny hadn’t been as closed-mouthed about them. She wanted Tessa to stay away. She remembered the first time she had seen Miguel out on the street. She and Cinny had just been coming back from the store, and Tessa had started waving, trying to get his attention. Cin had yanked her arm down and pulled her around the corner, yelling at her to never do that again. It wasn’t until later that she explained. It had scared Tessa straight, and she had never made the same mistake again.
“Yeah, babe.”
“Damn, what else?” Tessa asked, laying back down putting her cheek on Creeds chest. The sound of his heart calming her again.
“Cinny is in the wind, Tal can’t find a single trace of her. He’s checked all known Perez houses and nothing. The old man was in New York and flew out a couple of hours ago. Flight plans show he was destined for Mexico, but the plane went off the radar for a few hours before coming back online. It was long enough to make a stop. We have to assume she is with him now.”
“There’s more, isn’t there?” Tessa asked, not really wanting to know.
“Yeah, babe, but it can wait until morning. Let’s just get some sleep, okay?”
“Creed, what are we going to do?”
“I don’t know, babe. Live our lives, try to find Tuck. Keep watching for Cinny to surface and give her the option of getting out again.”
“What about your aunt?”
Creed started to run his fingers through Tessa's hair.
“Kim’s been talking, she didn’t give the FBI anything but what she said back at the house. She gave them false information about me when they pushed and said she kicked me out after I went after her boyfriend, all things they can confirm with Williams. They have him, my cousin, and my brother’s ex in custody. Caine handed them over.”
Tessa lifted her head enough look at Creed he looked so tired, but he was still talking, so she let him.
“Shake hooked up with Jeffries’ son, an entitled little asshole who likes to hang out with the seedier side of life. He also has a penance for pain, he likes to cause it. He raped one of my brothers’ Ol Ladies.”
“Oh, shit, Creed, I’m so sorry.” Creed hadn’t talked about his brother that much, but she’d known that he was dead. When he told her about it, Tessa could see the guilt and grief in his eyes. Creed had said Johnny had issues with drugs and women. That was about it, but it was enough. Knowing he had information on the person who caused his death would drive him to make sure the man paid.
“What are you going to do?”
“Nothing, for now. We have enough on our plates, and the Jeffries kid is protected. But I’m a patient man.”
Tessa heard the change in Creed’s voice, and he held her a little tighter. This was something they would need to deal with, well he would, but Tessa would stand right by his side, no matter what he decided to do. But something dawned on her, and she had to ask.
“That’s what you were doing in Hazard, isn’t it?”
Creed let out a long breath and said, “Yeah, part of it. I told you a little about my brother, he had issues with drugs but even bigger issues with a certain woman, Sherry. When I went to Hazard, I was going to use my cousin Shake to get in with the Vultures.”
“What?” Tessa said, sitting up a little. The thought of Creed getting in with the Vultures was terrifying.
“Babe, calm down, you have to understand going into this, that’s what we do. I can’t go into it, but it’s just a part of life for all the RBMC. The Vultures are just one Club, there are hundreds, some worse some better.”
Tessa laid her head back down she didn’t like hearing that, but she also knew there wasn’t anything she could do about it. She needed to accept Creed for the man that he was, and he was RBMC all the way.
“Anyway, I followed Shake and Sherry, listened to their conversations, and built a file. Those two were in deep with shit I didn’t even want to know about. But mainly, my brother’s death. They came up with a plan to take me out but were overruled. Someone told them to stand down on their plans and just plant a tracker. But I know they didn’t have access to the tracker. A couple of my Brothers tracked it back, but the info was being filtered to Grinder and the Vultures. I’m just glad you never got involved with that end of this shit storm.”
“What are they going to do? Can they arrest him? Will that Williams guy and your cousin talk?”
“Nah, they’ll keep their mouths shut, and Jeffries has too much clout. I wish Caine would have handled it differently, hell, let me handle it the way I planned, but too much is going on now. We just have to let them go for now and hope that by the time we are ready to deal with them, they aren’t six feet under.”
“That bad?”
“Yeah, babe, that bad. Jefferies isn’t going to let anyone who knows about the sick shit his son is into keep breathing.”
“But, Creed, you know, all of you.”
“Yep, and he’s been gunning for us for a while now.” Creed laughed, “Welcome home, baby. I have so much to offer you.”
Tessa slapped his stomach, “Yeah, about as much as I have to offer you. What are we going to do?”
“It doesn’t matter how many times you ask it, babe, the answer is still the same. We live our lives the best we can and try to protect the people we care about. I love this club and the work we do, but if it’s too much for you, all you have to do is say so, and—”
“Don’t even, Creed. I might not have known you were in this life, but I accept it. You’re a good man. If this is where you want to be, I’ll stand by your side, always.”
Creed turned until Tessa was under him. “Do you mean that?”
Tessa smiled up at him and cupped his cheek. “Yes. I don’t care what you do, Creed, as long as you come home to me. Although I got to tell you, this room is pretty nice, but I like things like kitchens with refrigerators and cozy chairs.”
“Damn, here I thought I hit the jackpot, and you had to go and blow it with wanting normal stuff.”
“Yeah,” Tessa laughed, “I know, you’re really scraping rock bottom.”
“Babe, I don’t know when I’m going to be able to get you a kitchen, but a refrigerator, I think we could squeeze one in right next to the bathroom door.” Creed did a half curl with his body and pointing to a small place next to his dresser, said, “And we could probably put a kitchen chair there. I’ll even get you one of those cushions things you can tie to it. I can see it now, all nice and homey. I’ll even let you pick the color.”
“Okay, I think I can live with that. I really like avocado green, I think it will enhance the homey feel of your room.”
“I love you, babe. Stick this out with me, and I can give you anything your heart desires as long as it comes from a thrift stor
e.”
“Oh, I’m going to stick with you alright, but it doesn’t have anything to do with your thrift store riches and everything to do with what you can do for me, I’m a selfish girl after all.” It was a joke and probably a little too soon to say, but Tessa thought it was funny. Creed laid more fully on her body and ground his erection into her and asked
“What exactly do you want me to do for you?”
“I can think of a few things; you know that thing you do with your tongue that makes me scream? Or wait, that other thing you do with your finger I like that one too. Or…”
“I get the picture, babe, Creed said, pinning her down on the bed.
Tessa spread her legs enough for his lower half to fall between them, instantly regretting the fact she had chosen not to sleep naked. Feeling his hard cock between her legs, she arched her back, making him rub right up against her clit. Tessa canted her hips up again and again until Creed stopped her by putting more of his weight on her lower half.
“I think I can handle that. The question is can you handle me now that you got me all riled up?” Creed asked with hooded eyes.
Damn this man was beautiful, sexy, and could play her like a well-strung guitar. Him denying her just that bit caused a flush of moisture to seep onto her panties. Panties that needed to disappear and soon. But Tessa wasn’t the type of woman to just accept things, she needed to push just a little.
Reaching her hand up, she tangled her fingers in his hair, using it to pull him closer, placing small kisses on the sides of his lips, then licking across the fuller, bottom one. Her other hand massaged his rock-hard ass, pulling it closer to her body. Bring her knees up, she planted them on the bed which allowed her to lift just a little. With her lips against his, she said with a small smile, “Bring it, babe.” And he did, several times.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Creed: Ruthless Bastards (RBMC Book 5) Page 15
