That was not going to make things easy on him, he thought, following them to a table near the back of the diner. They slid into the booth, Katie took the inside seat while Annie sat down beside her on the end. That was when the vultures descended. Making Tank want to knock the stupid assholes heads together.
No sooner, had Annie and Katie sat down at the table, than Rock, Pretty Boy and Log were over at their table. Tank snarled when Log leaned close, taking a whiff of Annie’s hair. Tank wasn’t happy with that at all, he felt an odd clenching in his gut. He was most definitely not okay when Pretty Boy asked who she was while sliding into the booth on the other side. Tank was left standing beside the table, glowering at the three other men.
“So, who’s your sexy friend, Katie?” Pretty Boy asked, grinning.
He was pointedly ignoring Tank, which made him want to wring the other man’s neck. He needed to mind his own business. Annie was his. He’d found her, and if anyone was keeping her it was him. And yeah that might make his logic fucked up, but he didn’t give a fuck.
“Move!” Tank barked, at Rock who stood at the end blocking him from the booth.
“Geez, cupcake. No need to be rude.” Annie snapped, looking at him with a slight scrunching of her nose.
“Cupcake,” Rock snickered. Log almost fell over he was laughing so hard, and Pretty Boy’s mouth hung open for a moment.
“Just move, damn it!” He barked, shoving Rock out of the way. He jerked Pretty Boy out of the booth by the back of his shirt, dumping him on the floor. He sat down taking up the whole other half, so that these knuckleheads would get the hint that they needed to leave.
“So, beauty, who are you?” Log asked, still too close to Annie.
“This is Annie, her van broke down when she was passing through. So, she’ll be here for a bit.” Katie said. “Oh and she’ll be here for the wedding too.” Then turning to Annie, she demanded. “You will be, won’t you?”
“Yes,” Annie replied. Tank watched her, seeing Log reached out intending to touch her. Annie noticed too, and seemed to flinch a bit. Oh, hell no, that wasn’t going to happen. Reaching out he stopped the hand before it made contact, clenching hard enough that Log’s hand cracked. Tank knew that he hadn’t broken anything, but he wanted to be sure that the man got the point.
“You are not touching her. Now, get the fuck away from her.” Tank snarled at the other man, standing. Annie looked at him with grateful confusion in her eyes. She didn’t speak, just looked at Pretty Boy who was now sitting in the booth again. Damn it, he was going to have to kill these assholes. He watched as Log threw up his hands backing away, flexing his hand. Thankfully he’d finally gotten the picture, one down two to go, Tank thought. He’d seen Annie first, and these idiots were just sniffing around a new woman. They were always like this when a new one showed up. When Racheal had arrived, that first month Tiny had been her shadow trying to keep these vultures in check.
“Don’t you need to be at the Dixon farm in a few hours?” He asked Rock, who was running some parts over there today.
Lately a lot of the farm equipment was needing parts. It was odd. They seemed to be breaking down way too often. The boys over there were keeping a better eye on the equipment, but they still seemed to be breaking down once or twice a week. It was becoming a real problem. Bone was getting pissed and Ratchet and Tick couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on. As if that wasn’t bad enough, they’d lost half the crop to the fire that crazy bitch, Monica had paid someone to start. They would be talking in church about doubling the detail at the farm until they figured that mess out.
“Yep, leaving in two hours.” Rock replied, then the man smiled at Annie. “You want to ride over with me, Beauty?” He asked, making Tank’s fist clench in anger. Mother fucker better get a clue because that just wasn’t going to happen, Tank thought
“Aw, that’s a sweet offer, but I need to see what’s wrong with my van. Maybe next time.” Annie said, smiling.
Tank wanted to rip the little bastards head off. No, they would not be going anywhere together, ever. Tank would make damned sure of it.
“Go get the parts. Now, Rock.” Tank glared at the man, letting him know that flirting with Annie was going to put him in an early grave. Then he turned back to Pretty Boy, and jerked him from the booth again. Tank sat down, glaring at Pretty Boy who had stood back up and was grinning at Annie.
“So, you’re going to Katie’s wedding? Think you could save a dance for me, honey?” Pretty Boy asked Annie, making Tank wonder when sense had abandoned all his brothers.
“Sure,” Annie said, smiling. Tank had had enough. This was not happening. Looking at the younger man, he barked.
“Go help Rock.”
“Rock doesn’t need help wi...” Pretty Boy began, but when he saw that Tank’s hand was resting on his piece, and he was looking at Pretty Boy with a mad eyed stare, he held up his hands in a don’t shoot pose. He then began backing away from their booth.
“Oh, you know, I think he might need my help.” Pretty Boy said, proving he was a smart man. As the man left, Tank leaned back in the booth, glad that was done. A few seconds later, Tammy came over taking the women’s orders. They began to chatter, and Tank watched Annie. Content now that the others were gone to just watch her.
Annie sat back in the trucks bench seat, sighing. She was full and felt like she had gained a new shadow. A very large, very angry shadow. Jake had followed her and Katie to the diner. He’d sat with them listening and scowling at any man who spoke to her. She’d been surprised when no less than three men, who were all panty droppers, had smiled and flirted with her at the diner. She’d also been surprised by Jake’s reaction. He’d growled and barked out orders of things the other men needed to do.
One he’d even flat out told to get the fuck away from her. That had really surprised her. She’d called him cupcake, and the man had borne it with only a dark scowl and the snickers of the other men. She was really shocked that he wasn’t leaving her to her own devises. Most of the time men didn’t waist much time on Annie. Not that she had issues with her self-image or anything, it was just that most men wanted stick figures.
She was headed back to the shop with Katie, and she was unsure why she felt so out of sorts with this whole Jake issue. Most of the time she handled men without much trouble, but he was different somehow. She’d been extra bitchy and still he was stuck to her like old gum on her shoe. It was weird. She hoped her van wasn’t going to take long to fix, and she could get out of this town. It was kind of freaking her out a bit, that Tank seemed to be glued to her side suddenly.
Although, this town seemed promising, there was certainly enough eye candy to keep her girly bits happy. Katie looked at her when she stopped the truck outside the shop.
“What happened with you and Tank?” Katie asked, suspiciously.
“Nothing,” Annie replied, looking at her in confusion.
“Well, I’ve never seen that man act so odd. He was like a junk yard dog protecting a bone. It was strange. Are you sure nothing happened?” Katie asked again.
“Nope, nothing. He gave me a ride here, that’s it.” Annie said, looking at her friend.
“Huh.” Katie muttered. Then she got out, and Annie followed. She had no clue why the man was acting so strange. Katie’s description of a dog with a bone was very apt. It was weird he was acting out of character. She’d thought perhaps he was just an asshole. Now that she realized it was not the way that he normally acted, she was even more confused.
They entered the shop with Tank following them inside, having arrived just a few minutes after them. Katie looked at her.
“I’ll be right back, I just need to give this to Trick.” She held up the to-go bag from the diner. Annie nodded, sitting down on the couch. She was surprised again when Tank plopped down next to her, almost causing her to slide into him. This couch wasn’t big enough for them both. She glared at him.
“Really? Do you have to sit here?” Annie demanded.
“Yep.” Tank replied, looking at her without any remorse. Annie huffed out a sigh then pulled herself as close to the arm of the small couch as she could to get away from him. Damn the man. She could hear giggling from the back room where Trick’s office was. Suddenly, the door to the bay area opened and a large breasted woman walked out. She looked at them, then smiled.
“You Annie?” She asked.
Annie nodded, waiting for the woman to tell her what she wanted. Tank shifted making her slide towards him again. Annie turned a glare his way, demanding, “Stop moving!”
“Well, I have bad news and really bad news, which do you want first?” The woman asked with a grimace.
“Shit, it’s that bad?” Annie groaned, her eyes snapping back to the other woman’s.
“Yep, sorry.”
“Damn,” Annie growled. She should have known that this job wouldn’t be just a simple drop off as her mother had insisted. If she wasn’t sure that it was just bad luck, she’d be sure her mother had planned this to get back at her for quitting. “Bad news, I guess.”
“Bad news is that it’s the head gasket.” She looked at Annie as if she should know what that meant. Sadly, she had no idea. She’d never really been into cars other than racing them. She had a mechanic that her mother employed who kept her cars in excellent condition, so she’d never really bothered to learn. Annie waited.
“The really bad news is that we don’t have the part. We can get it, but it will take about three weeks. The warehouse in Titus is out too, they have a shipment coming in three weeks though.
Annie wanted to cry. Three weeks, crap, she was going to have to call her mother. That was past the deadline. She did not want to call her mother. Shit, shit, shit. God must hate her. She sighed as she smacked her hand on the arm of the couch. This was just how her day was going. This was a really bad day. Then she looked at the mountain who was holding the hand she’d smacked the couch with, rubbing it gently. Okay, maybe God didn’t hate her, she thought, she just didn’t like her very much.
“Thanks.” She said to Tank, who still rubbed her sore hand. She really needed to think before she did things like that. She was always causing herself injury.
“Sure.” He replied then just looked at her. She was really in trouble with this one, she realized, she was already in over her head. She’d allowed him to touch her more than once, and she hated people touching her. But as the man held her hand and rubbed out the soreness. She just wanted to curl up in the giants arms and cry like a baby.
Chapter 4
Annie looked at Tank, who was still rubbing her hand. His callused fingers felt good as he rubbed them over hers, messaging. She sighed, not wanting to make the call she knew she was going to have to make. Better just get it over with, like ripping off a baid-aid. No use putting off the inevitable. At that moment, Katie voice broke through the silence in the room.
“Stop, Trick. Annie’s out there, as well as Tank.” Annie looked at Tank, listening. There was some muffled laughter, and then Trick growled something Annie couldn’t hear. Then Katie came rushing into the room followed closely by her man who was grumbled, but he was also smiling. Katie sat down on the chair across from the couch, and Trick stood behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders possessively.
“You got a phone?” Annie asked Tank.
Tank dug into his pocket pulling out his phone. He was glad that she was finally allowing him to touch her. Only it was giving his dick ideas. He wanted to scoop her up and carry her home without looking back. Instead he handed her the phone, which she took with a sweet smile and a soft thanks.
She dialed a number, waited about a second then hung up. Leaving him confused. She hadn’t given the person she was calling time to answer. What the hell?
“Umm, shouldn’t you give them a bit more time to answer?” He asked.
“Nope.” She said, looking at him. “She will call back from a different line in a bit. My mother’s a bit….edgy.”
“Boy is she!” Katie exclaimed, earning a smile from Annie that almost floored Tank. It was a sly smile, but it reached her eyes. That was when he realized he’d only seen her smile like that a few other times today. His heart picked up and his dick throbbed. It was when she’d called him cupcake.
Humm, maybe it wasn’t just to be a bitch that she called him that. Maybe it was to keep him at arm’s length. Of course, that was a useless goal, because he intended to get close. Very, very close, to sweet little Annie. Only the way the two women were laughing again was a bit disturbing.
“Okay then. But why don’t you have a phone?” Tank didn’t like the thought that she’d been traveling without a phone. He didn’t like it one damned bit.
“Oh, I dropped it yesterday.” She told him. He wasn’t sure why that would have caused an issue. Most satellite cells where nearly unbreakable. He watched her, seeing her blush. “Into my coffee.” She finally finished, which made a lot more sense.
“Ah,” He said, then he smiled. “I’ll get you another one.”
“Awe, that’s nice of you, but I can get my own…cupcake.” She added after a pause, and that smile, the one that reached her eyes was back. His chest squeezed again, making him worry that he might be having a heart attack. Then his phone began to ring.
Annie’s smile dimmed, and his symptoms went away. She answered on the second ring, “Hello.”
“What happened?” Her mother demanded, gruffly. Annie noticed she didn’t even ask if Annie was okay. Of course, that could be because she’d used their code. She was to call the number she called, and then hang up on the first ring if everything was okay. It was plan they’d set up three years ago after her kidnapping. It let her mother know that she wasn’t being forced to make the call. But Annie was placing it in the lack of motherly concern pile and calling it a day.
“Thanks, I’m fine mother.” Annie replied, not wanting the others in the room to know that her mother hadn’t even asked if she was okay.
“Well of course you’re okay, I raised you didn’t I?” Her mother grumbled. “Now, tell me what the hell is going on.”
“The van broke down. The part needs to be ordered, so I can’t make it on time for that meeting I was headed to.” Annie cringed a bit as she said this.
“Damn it, Annie,” Her mother yelled. Annie looked around at the other people in the room, Tank had tensed and she was almost sure he’d heard her mother yelling at her. She got up pacing away from the couch, standing near the door.
“I don’t know why you didn’t wait. I told you Marvin needed to check the van over before you left.” Annie hadn’t wanted to wait. She needed this done, so that she could come to Katie’s wedding before she headed to the mountains.
“It doesn’t matter, it’s done. I guess I will have to call and talk to Tobias. I hate having to call him. Is the load safe there?” Her mother finally asked, not waiting for Annie’s response to any of her complaints.
“Yes, mother.” She grumbled, “I secured it.”
“Rico need to come there?” she asked, making Annie cringe. Hell no, that asshole did not need to come here. She loved him, but she wasn’t sure how Tank and the other men would react to Rico. Rico was an acquired taste. He hated bikers, well he had since she’d been kidnapped. Since then he’d hated them with a passion. Actually all the boys had hated bikers since then, which was kinda funny since they were all bikers themselves. They just didn’t belong to a club, they belonged to her mother. She wasn’t really sure that was a good distinction.
“No, I’m in Devils Falls.” Annie replied quickly.
“Wait, isn’t that Devils territory? I will have Rico there in an hour.” Her mother replied.
“No, that is not a good idea,” Annie hissed, looking over her shoulder at the people gathered behind her. “I’m fine. I have a friend here. Remember, that’s why I left early, so I could get it done before her wedding next week. If you send Rico it will be an issue.” Annie began to pace hoping her mother wouldn’t insist, i
t was going to be a close call. Her mother had never liked bikers.
“Fine, but I will be sending them if you don’t check in every three hours. I want the usual signal. Or they will come to get you. Your fingers is the only one that will open that lock now. That means you call me every three hours, Annie. Or I send the boys.” Her mother hung up without another word, Annie wanted to scream. Fuck, sometimes she hated her mother. Turning she ran into a hard male chest, then she looked up at Tank, who’d been standing behind her.
Tank watched Annie pacing near the door his ear pealed for any signs of distress, something was off with the way she spoke to her mother. He didn’t like it, she seemed embarrassed about something, or worried. He didn’t like that at all, she should never be worried. He wasn’t able to hear her talking to her mother, because Trick was molesting Katie, again. And her giggling was too loud. He got up, moving closer to her, hearing Annie hissing into the phone.
“I’m fine. I have a friend here. Remember, that’s why I left early, so I could get it done before her wedding next week. If you send Rico it will be an issue.”
Who the fuck was Rico? He sure as hell hoped that he hadn’t found his women, only to find out she was with another man. Oh, fuck no, that would not fucking do at all. It was all he could manage not to grab his phone and tell her mother she’d better not fucking send any man she wanted to see alive again after Annie. He was still seeing red when she pulled the phone from her ear and then turned, running right into his chest.
“Oh,” She said, looking up at him.
“Who the fuck is Rico?” He demanded, unable to prevent the growl.
“Ummm…my mother’s lap dog?” Annie replied, shocked at his clenched fists and dark glower. It was a scary sight, seeing Tank mad.
“Why did she think you’d need him here? I will keep you safe. Do I need to call her and tell her that?” He demanded.
Tank's Redemption: Red Devils M.C. (Red Devils MC Book 4) Page 3
