Tuck

by Chelsea Handcock

  Katie wanted her compliant and happy, so she offered her a cup. Misty nodded, and Katie poured two cups, handing her one before she sat down at the table with her. Misty basically ignored her but pulled a packet of multi-colored pills out of her pocket, taking two. Katie knew what the drugs were.

  “You know, if you keep mixing those with the Morphine I’m supposed to be giving Tuck, there’s a good chance of you overdosing or worse.”

  Misty let out a breath like she was extremely put out just by listening to her talk. “I don’t need your advice, Doctor.”

  “I think you might take a look at your nailbeds, Misty, they aren’t supposed to be that color. You’re already pushing your body too far; your organs can’t keep up. You might want to get yourself someplace you can get some help.” Katie really didn’t care about Misty, but she was a human being, and Katie had taken an oath, and by giving her unsolicited advice, she had honored that oath the best she could. The rest would be up to Misty.

  “You think you're better than everyone else, and yet you are right here with me,” Misty said.

  Katie wasn’t about to point out the only reason she was here right now was because of her, but she did ask, “Why me Misty? Why did you send them my way? You never did answer me yesterday.”

  “I did answer it, I don’t like you, plus, it was either get someone to save Tuck or suffer the consequences, and I wasn’t willing to do that. So, here you are,” Misty said with a smile, spreading her arms wide after she shrugged her shoulder like signing Katie’s death warrant was no big deal.

  Katie had known from the first time she had met Misty, the two of them would never become friends, Misty wasn’t the type of person. People were only around to do or get her what she wanted. Otherwise, she didn’t have time for them. Even at the hospital, she was rude, undermining, and mean to both patients and staff. Katie had stayed away from her, but she had heard all the rumors.

  “Well, glad I could be of service,” Katie said sarcastically. “So, tell me why now, what’s the big deal about keeping Tuck alive? They did a number on him, it doesn’t make any sense that they want him to live now. Common sense would say if you wanted someone to survive, you didn’t beat the hell out of them, starve them, stab them three times, then let it get infected. Kind of defeats the purpose of keeping a person alive, but hey, those are just my thoughts,” Katie snarked.

  “Yeah, I don’t know, and I don’t care, “club business,” and all that shit,” Misty said, but Katie wasn’t going to leave it, she needed more needed to figure out what was happening three days from now.

  “Oh, come on, you can’t tell me a girl like you hasn’t had her ear to the ground and knows exactly what these boys are up to. Or are you losing your touch? You were pretty savvy with the RBMC, maybe you’ve just lost interest?”

  Just as Katie had wanted, pay Misty a small compliment about getting something over the guys, and she turned into a fountain of information. She started telling Katie all about some big wig that was supposed to be coming in with the National President of the Vultures. Even asked if Katie thought she would have a chance at becoming the man’s new Old Lady—apparently, the old one wasn’t doing her job. Katie didn’t ask about what her job entailed but encouraged Misty to go for it. Hell, she deserved a life like that.

  Misty preened at the encouragement and even bragged about her skills. Katie just smiled and let her talk until she could get an opening and turn the conversation back to Tuck and what the hell was going on. It didn’t take long before Misty started to spill more information. She had heard Tuck had some information or key of some sort that was crucial to a big deal going down. One of the Vultures had lost it during the time the RBMC freed Cathy and Crank, sealing the tunnels on Addy’s property, and they thought Tuck was the key to getting it or already had it. But that was really all she had, and since her eyes were starting to get wild, Katie knew that the pills she took a little earlier were starting to take effect.

  Bender came into the little kitchen/breakroom and yelled at Misty to get Katie back to the room, and the conversation was over. He did, however, go over to the coffee pot and pour two cups, taking them out of the room with him. Misty got up, and Katie followed suit, following Misty back down the hall. Katie noticed the few guys who remained were all sleeping now or nowhere to be seen. Looking down at her watch, she noticed it was just after six-fifteen. A small plan was forming in her head, but she needed to give Tuck at least another day or two to recover with the antibiotics before she could put anything into place. It gave her hope, and she was proud of herself.

  That quickly changed when she walked into the room. Misty didn’t want to come in, something Katie was extremely grateful for when she saw Tuck trying his damnedest to get out of bed. Katie made some kind of crude comment to Misty, she wasn’t even sure what the words were coming out of her mouth, but she got the deserved effect when the door slammed right in her face.

  Spinning around, she demanded, “What the hell are you doing out of bed?”

  Chapter Seven

  Tuck had woken up feeling groggy as hell and knew for a fact Katie hadn’t listened to him and drugged his ass, instantly putting him in a worse mood than before. She had no idea what they were dealing with here and with him out of commission even for a little while was not a good thing. These fuckers were unpredictable at best and downright sadistic—he had the scars to prove it, so did a lot of people. The Vultures didn’t discriminate, they didn’t give a shit who they hurt or killed—age and gender didn’t calculate into any kind of naturally born decency, they had none. They just destroyed and reveled while they did it, and their brand of fun always included pain, blood, and destruction.

  Katie had always been sheltered, first by her father, then by him. But she was a caregiver by nature, and he should have predicted this move from her, thinking she was doing the right thing when it was all fucking wrong. He should have been firmer, made her realize what was going on. This wasn’t the hospital where everything was controlled and structured or, hell, even his own club or the mother chapter of the RBMC where they both would have been safe. They were in the Vultures’ lair, and it was only a matter of time before they ripped them to shreds.

  It took him several moments to get his shit together, whatever she had given him had been strong. He had to shake his head and rub his eyes until he could finally focus. Even then, tiny dots of light flashed in his eyes, and the room seemed to be spinning. It was as good as it was going to get, for now. Tuck got this eerie feeling and knew something was wrong. He looked around the dingy room—he’d paced for days, counting the ceiling tiles and threads in the worn carpet, even the damn stains that seemed to be on every surface to the scratches on the wood of the bed he was lying in—he knew the room like the back of his hand. Everything was in its place, but there was one thing missing—Katie.

  Panicked, his mind was running rampant with all the things that could be happening to her while he laid helplessly in the bed, drugged out of his mind. Tuck had been there when Link brought Cathy into the Club’s med room—the sight of her to this day still brought him nightmares. Picturing Katie just as beaten and broken destroyed a part of him. She was supposed to be safe, damn it, he had done everything in his power to make sure of that—rejected her and sent her hours away. Now, she was smack dab in the middle of it, and it was his fault.

  All his muscles were tight and his movement sluggish as hell, but he pushed himself to sit up. Breathing heavy and sweating like a pig, he managed it after a few failed attempts, not paying any attention to the cold sweat that formed over his body or the pain as he popped several stitches on his abdomen. Tuck kept pushing until he was somewhat stable, sitting on his ass, his back propped up against the wall. Damn, he thought it had been hard to get up and moving before, but now it was worse. Pushing the blanket off his legs, he had to stop a minute to catch his breath.

  When the IV line kept getting in his way, he ripped it out, letting it drop to the floor. Tuck had finally mana
ged to get his legs over the side of the bed. His mind was so focused on where Katie was and what was happening, he ignored all his instincts and training—something he would have given his brothers hell for. He had always been focused, controlled, and determined, nothing phased him. People in the service had a called him stone cold, his brothers just called him Ruthless. But all that shit went out the window because of one woman. Tuck never heard the footsteps in the hall or the key in the lock, didn’t even take the time to notice the knob turning.

  When the door opened, Katie walked in. Her eyes were normal if not a little tired until she caught sight of him, then they turned to the size of saucers. She quickly turned, said something Tuck couldn’t hear, but he assumed she got the desired effect when the door slammed in her face, and she spun around to face him. Walking at a fast clip, she made it to his side in no time—the room was small, maybe ten by ten with only a bed, nightstand, chairs, and closet. She instantly started to fuss at him to lay back down, but he wasn’t having it.

  “Where the fuck were you?” he growled, pushing her hands away,

  Katie took a step back from him, crossed her arms, and glared. Damn, Tuck thought she was beautiful, full of fire. The way she had her arms crossed pushed her breasts up just enough for him to get a small glimpse of her pretty impressive cleavage, making him lick his lips—it was either that or fucking drool. No one but Katie had ever done this shit to him. Hell, he was pissed, wanting to yell at her and make her realize what a clusterfuck they were in, but he was staring at her cleavage, thinking about what color her nipples would be and how he desperately wanted to taste them. Damn drugs!

  Shaking his head again to try to clear it of Katie and whatever else, he cocked his eyebrow, indicating she better hurry up and tell him where the fuck she was pretty damn quick. Katie let out a sigh and lowered her arms.

  “In their idea of a kitchen with Misty,” she replied.

  “Damn it, Katie, don’t you have any common sense? What if something happened out there? What if Misty wasn’t taking you to the kitchen or whatever the fuck it was!” Tuck hissed, unable to yell like he really wanted to.

  “It isn’t like I have a choice, Tuck! I’m kind of stuck here and at their mercy, just like you are! And for your information, I’m not stupid, Tuck, I have managed to live my life pretty well all by myself for quite a while now, hell, I can even tie my own shoes, and practice as a damn doctor! Go figure,” Katie sassed.

  “I never called you stupid, Katie, but some shit you can’t learn in a fucking book! You need to rely on the experts to get you through, not go off on your own.”

  “Okay, so tell me, Mister Smart Man, what exactly would you have done about it if something bad had gone down? Shit, I could take you out in this condition.”

  “I would have figured something out!” Tuck didn’t like weakness in himself and knew, on some level, Katie was right.

  “Hmm, good answer. For your information, my ‘little’ trip to the kitchen paid off, just in case you’re curious.”

  “Oh, do tell, I’m sure your Spidey senses, or whatever else you think in that overeducated brain, were just a tingling.” Tuck knew he had gone too far, but he was scared and pissed. Pissed he could deal with but scared, nope, he wasn’t good at that emotion at all. He was lashing out—plain and simple.

  “You’re an ass, just forget it. When I get us out of here, you can thank my overeducated ass,” Katie said as she slumped down into the chair.

  Tuck hated the defeated look on her face. He also noticed the deep, dark circles that had formed and felt exactly like the ass she had just called him.

  “Listen why don’t you come and lay down for a while, I’ll keep watch, and at least get some rest.” He knew she was going to deny him so he tried to cajole her, “That chair can’t be all that comfortable. Kate, come on, this bed isn’t much, but it has to be better than that.” He patted the mattress next to him and smiled. “And since you changed the sheets, it doesn’t smell all that bad either.” Katie laughed like he had expected.

  “Dude, if that’s what you consider not smelling that bad, we really need to get you out of this room.”

  “That is the plan sweetheart,” Tuck winked. “Just a couple more days and I should be able to come up with something.” Katie sat up straight in the chair shaking her head.

  “No Tuck, you don’t understand, Misty told me what they have planned, we need to leave sooner than that. They have every member of the Vultures coming in for some huge meeting.”

  Tuck had heard about the meeting, but he still didn’t know what he was supposed to have that they wanted.

  “Tuck, do you have their information, maybe hidden somewhere? I’m not telling you to give it to them, but maybe you could use it as leverage?”

  Tuck wiped his hand over his face—he was exhausted and in pain. For weeks, days, hell, maybe months, those fuckers had beat the shit out of him to get the information they thought he had, and Katie was right if he had it. If he even knew what it was, he would use it as leverage, but he didn’t have a fucking clue, and they hadn’t given him enough information to figure out what the hell it was. He got snippets—trade routes, inventory, access to a shit ton of cash—but that was all normal stuff for an outlaw MC, stuff he expected to find if he were on a mission. Through recon, the RBMC could figure out anything, add in Tal and Jinx’s talent with computers and they were always golden. Hell, before he left, Tuck knew they were already working on it.

  Tuck knew when he decided to go with the Vultures, he wouldn’t be coming back, but he knew his brothers would do anything to try to pull him out. That was why he used his one and only fail-safe—Caine. If there were a choice between him and his daughter, she would always be first—just like Katie. Now, everything was just so fucked up. He had been quiet for a while, caught up in his own thoughts when Katie asked the one thing he hadn’t wanted her to ask.

  “Why did you do it?”

  Tuck didn’t need to ask her what she meant, he already knew she wanted to know why he would turn himself over. Besides his daughter, he didn’t have a good enough explanation. Telling Katie about Maize and how that shit went down was another reason he didn’t want to have this conversation, but she deserved the truth from him.

  “I’ll tell you, but I want you to lay down here with me while I do,” he said, patting the bed again. He noticed her trepidation and regretted treating her the way he had for so long, but there was no changing it now, he needed her to trust him, to rely on him so they both could get out of this. This was the start.

  Katie came over to the bed and stood right in front of him.

  “I’ll make a deal with you. Let me fix your IV and check out your wounds, and once we have you comfortable or as comfortable as I can get you in that small bed, I’ll lay down for a while, and you can tell me anything you want. Okay?”

  “Deal,” Tuck said. It was short and sweet but made her smile, and a bit of the light that had been missing in her eyes had come back. He would take that as a win.

  It didn’t take her long—she was focused and efficient with her tasks. When she finally laid down next to him, Tuck noticed she was trying as hard as she could to stay on the very edge of the full-sized bed, keeping her body away from his and turning her back toward him. He wasn’t having that. Turning to his side—even though it hurt like a bitch—Tuck wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She started to protest, but he simply said, “No, let me do this, Kate.” Much to his surprise, she didn’t put up any further fuss.

  “I have a daughter, her name is Maddie, and she’s about five-years-old.” He had expected questions or maybe even quiet, he hadn’t expected Katie to laugh.

  “I know, I’ve met her and Jada, they’re both great, Tuck. You should see her, she looks just like you and Tessa, and she is beautiful and so smart,” Katie said, turning around to face him on the bed, smile firmly in place on her face.

  She had met his daughter, and although a little part of him was
jealous, he was happy because it confirmed what he had heard—Maddie was safe with his brothers, and they would take care of her. He wasn’t so sure who this Jada person Katie was talking about was but hearing his sister’s name also meant she was safe too, and those two things took a load off his shoulders.

  “You met her, is she…” Tuck asked, needing to know—that picture was still stuck in his head.

  “She’s great, Tuck, really. They all went through some stuff, but Kayla has been working with them.”

  “Did they…” he tried to force the words out of his throat. Katie put her hand on his cheek and waited until he was looking at her.

  “They didn’t hurt her, Tuck, she was scared and traumatized but not physically hurt,” Katie reassured him.

  The only thing he could say was, “Thank you.”

  “It was because of her, wasn’t it? That’s why you let them take you. Damn, Tuck, I’m so sorry. I figured it had to be something like that, but the guys weren’t talking, just saying ‘club business,’ but when the Vultures brought me here, and I saw you like this, I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. It makes sense, now. I just never thought.”

  “They had a picture of her, tied up and crying. Tessa and Creed were running, we couldn’t get to them fast enough, these fuckers had everything planned out. If I didn’t go, they said…”

  “You don’t need to explain, I get it, Tuck, she’s your kid. And your sister was out there, and you had no idea if she was okay. I understand now.”

  Something was bothering him. Katie shouldn’t have known any of this, she had cut ties with the RBMC, and yet it seemed like she had the inside track. He didn’t really care so much, but it concerned him. She was just as much involved as she had ever been, and he hadn’t known it.

  “Kate how do you...”

  “Know all this “club business” when I’m supposed to be on the outside? The thing is, Tuck, it’s kind of hard to be on the outside when your best friend is entrenched in the club life. It’s also just a teensy bit hard to stay out of it when you're called in for discreet medical care every time something happens to one of the women. You really need to start putting a warning label on your cuts—get involved with the RBMC Defiance chapter, chances of you getting kidnapped or worse are ten to one.”