by Jenika Snow
For the next few minutes Tuck stood there. He probably should have turned and given Cain and his old lady privacy, but hell, he didn’t know where he should have gone at that moment. Everyone was laughing and having a good time, and they all deserved it. Tuck just felt out of place right now. Maybe he needed another beer? Maybe getting shitfaced to the point he couldn’t walk straight would help him lose his damn mind and forget about the things he wanted but could never have?
“Oh God, someone, please. Please help.”
Tuck turned around when he heard the frantic sound of a woman’s voice. He saw Bobbie, a sweet-butt from the club, running with Jana’s little boy wrapped tightly in her arms. She was crying, her short black hair with platinum streaks a wild mess around her face, and trails of wetness running down her cheeks.
He stared at Bobbie as she rushed up to Lucien and Callie, started talking animatedly, then broke down and started crying even harder. The little boy she held looked around with wide blue eyes, and Tuck felt this protective need rise up.
Bobbie held the little boy tighter, and after a few minutes of talking frantically with Lucien, she fell to her knees on the ground. Lucien looked fierce and said something to Callie. Lucien ushered his old lady forward, and Tuck watched as the president of their club gathered the club pussy and old ladies and took them inside, Bobbie and Braden included. Cain pushed Violet toward the clubhouse as well.
Tuck didn’t know what in the hell was going on, but if the women were being told to go into the safety of the club, then bad shit was going down. Was this a lockdown? Was Lucien going to gather everyone and bring them up to speed? Fuck, where was Jana, and why was Bobbie holding Jana’s son?
Lucien gestured for the club members to head inside, and when everyone was in the meeting room Lucien shut the door and swore loudly. The tension grew around them, the heat, nervousness, rage, and anxiety suffocating Tuck. He felt sweat bead his brow. He knew, without hearing what Lucien had to say, that this had to do with Jana.
“Prez, what in the fuck is going on?” Tuck asked. He wasn’t drunk anymore, the situation sobering his ass up right away. Rage filled him, along with anxiety and outright possessiveness for Jana, a woman he didn’t even have a claim to or know personally.
Lucien stared at all of them, and finally, when the president of the MC breathed out, this twisted, ugly sensation moved through Tuck.
“Bobbie said Jana was supposed to come by early this morning and pick up her son, but she never came by. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen Jana since last night when she headed out back.”
The tension in the room grew, as did the angry heat, and the club mentality that shit was about to get real and whoever messed with what was theirs would meet a very nasty, painful death.
“Bobbie came to the club right away when she couldn’t get a hold of Jana, and she knew she should have come already to get her kid.”
“What the fuck is going on then? Where the hell is she?” Tuck said, his body now shaking with anger, worry, and the emotions he wasn’t accustomed to feeling for a woman moving through him. He felt the gazes of the other members on him, but didn’t care. All he could focus on was all the bad things that could be happening to Jana. This shouldn’t have happened. She’d been on club property, and therefore should have been protected above all else.
“I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but we’ll find out. Jana may have only been helping the club for a few months, but she is under our protection and we’ll find out where in the hell she is,” Lucien said, and there was a deep murmur of agreement throughout the room.
“And we’ll take down anyone that thought they could take something or someone from this club,” Tuck said, his rage burning brightly, and the need to find Jana and tell her she was his moving through him violently fast. He didn’t know the woman, and the last encounter they’d had was less than favorable. But he realized, after this disaster happening around them, that he did want Jana for himself, and he’d been deluding himself if he thought differently.
Lucien breathed out, ran a hand over his short dark hair, and seemed to stare at all of them at the same time. “We’re in lockdown until this shit gets solved and Jana gets brought back safely.”
Yeah, that’s what Tuck would have wanted, too. They didn’t even know if someone had taken Jana, but Tuck felt that that was the truth in his fucking bones. Nothing was ever easy with the club or the ones under their protection, but there was always a small glimmer of hope that presented itself. But the shit that was dark, evil and violent that consumed and threatened to take everything away had the worst parts of them rising. He hardly knew Jana, but having her gone brought out the monster in him.
Tuck was going to find out what happened. He was going to find out if someone took Jana. Tuck was not going to go easy. He’d unleash a fucking hell on them, revel in it, and no one would stop him. No one would dare try to stop him, and that’s how it should be when a male was going after and protecting the woman he wanted as an old lady.
Chapter Two
Jana opened her eyes, and instantly the throbbing in the back of her head intensified. She squeezed her eyes shut, reached behind her head, and touched a tender spot. Wincing, she drew her hand away and opened her eyes. On her fingers was blood, but it was so dark in the room that the blood looked like ink. She dropped her hand to her side, pushed up on the cot she was lying on, and looked around the room. Everything came rushing back to her as she took in the cell-like coffin she was in.
She remembered leaving the clubhouse, about to go to Bobbie’s to get Braden and leave before William found them. It looked like it was too late, because here she was, and she knew it had everything to do with William.
The walls were stained brown and yellow, with only bits and pieces of white throughout it. There was mold growing in parts of the ceiling where water had accumulated, and the sound of something dripping nearby came through the door in front of her. She pushed back the pain in her head, her fear and worry for Braden and Bobbie overriding her discomfort.
Searching for her phone, even though she knew she wouldn’t have it, proved fruitless, but she couldn’t just sit here. Her ex was a nasty bastard, one that was a manipulator. He could be so sweet when he wanted to be, but when she’d gotten comfortable with him and gotten pregnant, he’d turned into Mr. Hyde. He was possessive, and his drug use, gambling addiction, and the other illegal activities he did behind her back had finally come to the surface. She hated him, but she was afraid as well, had stayed with him because of that fact, and regretted every minute of it. She didn’t want Braden around a man that was like that, and it took long enough for her to grow a spine and finally take care of herself and her son.
So, she’d left when he’d been gone, taken what she could carry for her and her son, and gone to the only place, the one place where she felt the safest: Bobbie’s. She’d never told William about her high school friend, because honestly she hadn’t spoken to Bobbie in a long time. But Jana had looked her up, called her out of the blue when she’d been on the road, and had been thankful her once best friend had welcomed her with open arms.
It was then that Jana told Bobbie everything, cried on her shoulder, and told her friend she needed help. Bobbie hadn’t even hesitated. But given the fact her situation was dangerous because of William and that she’d just left, Bobbie had taken her to the clubhouse right away. There Jana had spoken with Lucien, told him what he needed to know, and hoped he let her and her son stay here. She felt safe, knew that she could have stayed with Bobbie, but crashing at her friend’s one bedroom apartment that was barely big enough for her, let alone two more people, wasn’t the smartest move. Besides, the clubhouse, at the time, had seemed low-key. All of that, and her opinion, had changed when she saw that first party.
She felt sick to her stomach, and knew it wasn’t just because someone had knocked her out with a blunt object, but because she didn’t know if William had figured out her connection with Bobbie. If not then she was
so very thankful, knew that Bobbie would take care of Braden, and felt herself crumble at that knowledge. She was afraid, not so much for her own wellbeing, but for the safety of the ones she loved.
On the heels of that thought came the image of Tuck. He was so big, so scarred and gruff looking in appearance that she should have feared him as much as the next person. Jana didn’t love him. She didn’t even know him, but there was definitely something about him that drew her in. Even right now, with her future unknown, her fear suffocating her, and the thought that she would most likely die because William was a vengeful asshole, Jana couldn’t help but think of Tuck. He would keep her son safe and make sure Bobbie was, too. As long as they were okay Jana was okay.
****
Tuck was going out of his mind. Not only had it been two damn days since Bobbie had come rushing to the clubhouse, saying Jana was gone, but no one even had a damn lead on where she could have gone. She wouldn’t have just run off, not when she cared about her son. She’d never just leave him, and wouldn’t just run off in the middle of the night without telling anyone.
“You need to calm down,” Pierce said from beside him.
Tuck looked at the other man, bared his teeth and said, “Fuck you, motherfucker. Don’t tell me to calm the hell down.”
Pierce lifted his eyebrows in shock, placed his hands in front of him, palms outward, in a total motion of surrender, and took his beer and left the bar where Tuck sat.
Good, because Tuck didn’t want to socialize. He was in the mood to beat the shit out of someone, over and over again, not stopping until he finally found Jana. The club was at the compound waiting on word from the Grizzlies if they’d heard anything. The moment Lucien heard from Jagger, the Grizzlies’ president, he’d let them know. Tuck didn’t want to sit around and wait, because doing that meant all sorts of fucked up images popped into his head on what was being done to Jana.
Bobbie had come to them all after the initial shock of Jana disappearing, telling them everything. The fucking psycho ex that was also a drug addict, drug dealer, and who in the hell knew what other shit he did. It wasn’t even about the illegal activity this William prick did, because the club did shit like that to make a buck, too. It was the fact Bobbie said William would beat on Jana, scare her so damn badly that she’d been afraid to leave, that had Tuck ready to find the bastard and end his life.
The sound of the meeting room door opening and slamming against the wall had Tuck standing and turning around. He stared at Lucien, who came out with a grim look on his face, and that had Tuck’s anger rising. The Grizzlies better help them. For as many times as they’d risked their lives and the safety of the club for those bears…
“Breathe, brother,” Rook said from beside Tuck and clapped him on the back, but Tuck shrugged off his touch.
“Not in the mood, man,” Tuck said with a hard voice. “Well, what the fuck is going on?”
Lucien breathed out. “The Grizzlies are with us all the way, but they haven’t heard anything specifically about this. They have some of their prospects out there canvassing, seeing if they notice anything, but damn, we have nothing to go on.”
Tuck ran a hand over his hair and grabbed the longer strands at the base of his skull. They had shit to go on. Jana’s car was still here, and her bags had been found right outside of the clubhouse in the back property. They had come to their fucking house, their fucking property and taken her. He could have destroyed something right now. He turned and left the members, stormed toward his room, and was going to get his jacket and keys. No way was he going to stay here when he could be out there looking for her.
He pushed his way past a few sweet-butts, growing more pissed by the second, especially when one of them reached for his cock. He turned on her, saw she was drunk, and although he’d never hit a woman, the fact she was oblivious, or fuck, didn’t even care that Jana was missing had a part of him wishing that he could bitch slap her.
“Hey, Tuck, baby,” the dirty, wasted club whore slurred out. “I can make you forget all about your troubles, and especially about Jana.”
“You fucking skank ass cunt. Don’t touch me, and don’t fucking talk about Jana. Ever.” He pushed her away, and continued moving toward his room down the hall. He felt eyes on him, knew the Brothers had seen that interaction and probably felt his rage. He turned, faced the wall, and curled his fingers into his palm, making a tight and painful fist. In the next second he punched the wall, plaster falling away. He punched it again, and again, and finally, when the pain in his hand numbed the anger inside slightly, he turned and walked toward his room again.
He slammed the bedroom shut with his foot, and started pacing his room. Looking at his fist showed his busted knuckles, the blood running down his fingers and forearms, dripping onto the floor, and the swollen, red skin. He cursed, went into the bathroom connected to his room, and grabbed a towel. After wrapping up his hand, he braced both palms on the sink, stared at himself in the mirror, and breathed out.
He felt like he was tearing up inside, and this feeling was not something he’d ever experienced before. He’d never cared about women, never cared if he had anything more than a quick screw with them. Tuck had lived his forty some-odd years that way, and his club was all that mattered. He lived by a code, protected his brothers, and in his life that was all he needed. Well, that wasn’t true. He had his daughter Aspen and son Leif, and with the club they were his life. But they were grown, lived their own lives, and he wasn’t needed in the fatherly way like he had been when they were younger. He’d also screwed up big-time back in the day, been selfish and lost, and because of that had missed out on a lot with them.
But then this woman, Jana, came along, and it was like something changed in him. He’d watched her, saw how she was with others, and wanted to know what she didn’t share with the world. He wanted her in his bed, his cock buried in her pussy, and her moans calling out his name as he claimed her. Yeah, he’d gone there, thought about her for more than just getting his dick wet.
He ran the tap and used the hand that wasn’t wrapped in the towel to scoop up some water and wash his face. After drying off his face he closed his eyes and hung his head, trying to think of how he was going to do this. He could just ride around River Run and Steel Corner, hoping like hell that maybe she was still in town. But he knew she wasn’t.
Tuck stared at himself again, took in his hair that he needed to fucking cut, or maybe he would just let it go. His eyes had circles around them, courtesy of the fact he hadn’t slept in the last two days. Running his hand over his beard, he shook his head. He just wanted Jana back, wanted to admit to her that he did feel something for her, something he didn’t want to ignore or pass off as sexual frustration. Thus wasn’t just about fucking her, although he wanted her that way, too.
He turned from the mirror and stalked out of the bathroom. Standing in the center of the room, he thought about what course of action he could take. He had some connections outside of the club, connections that were from his time before he joined the River Run charter.
It was risky given the fact the price to get any information would be steep, and although he wasn’t averse to having to do shit under the table, he also didn’t know how the club would react to it all. Going behind their backs like this meant Tuck was on his own, betraying them. But he also knew the club wouldn’t vote in going to see this particular person that could help, not when it was too dangerous and the price too heavy.
But fuck it, because he had to do something, had to find Jana, and although they had Grizzly help, the fact of the matter was that shit could take a long time to get a lead. The men he knew, the waste of fucking space, and dirty motherfuckers, would know exactly where to look, and who to ask for information.
He grabbed his coat, put it on over his cut, and grabbed his Harley keys. This shit was going to end. He’d bring Jana home, and then he’d make sure she and Braden were always safe. They’d be his to take care of, to protect, and nothing on this planet g
oing to stop him from doing just that.
Chapter Three
For two days Jana had been locked in this cell, with food and a bottle of water being shoved through the bottom of the door once a day. And as if her thoughts cued the daily ration, the metal opening at the bottom of the door lid open, a tray was pushed through, and then the door was closed again. She was tired of yelling out, asking what in the hell was going on, an expecting an answer. Jana had done that for the last forty-eight hours, had screamed and cried loudly, powerfully, and her throat was now raw because of it.
No one ever answered.
She stood, her legs sore from sitting in this cramped room, and went over to where the tray was. There were no windows in the room, not even on the door aside from the small slot at the bottom that could only be open from the outside … she’d tried prying it open so many times her fingers had bled.
Picking up the tray, the factory sealed sandwich, bottle of water, and apple had her stomach cramping. She hadn’t eaten since yesterday, or at least she thought it had been a full day. Even if she was only here for two days it felt like an eternity.
Jana went back to the cot, sat down, and winced when her foot scraped along a nail on the side of the bed. She set the tray down, stared at the contents on it, and knew that they could have poisoned it. But then if they wanted to kill her why keep her locked up? Clearly they had plans for her, plans that had her not able to sleep as she thought of the horrible things that popped in her head.
She opened the bottle of water and drank a few sips. She didn’t want to guzzle it down. She was thirsty, so damn thirsty, but even if they’d come twice in the last couple of days, or at least it felt like that, she didn’t know if they would abruptly stop. She set the water aside, next to the other one from the day before, and peeled back the cellophane on the sandwich. It was one of those ham and cheese sandwiches that were sold in vending machines, ones that tasted like shit, and probably were bad as hell for someone, but she didn’t care.
