“I want you to stay here,” he says softly. “I want you to be safe.”
In the nineteen years I’ve been alive, no one has ever treated me so kindly. That makes me cry even more.
“Okay,” I agree finally, even though I’m scared and not really sure it’s the right thing to do. “Please be careful. Dex is mean and he’s tough.”
“I can handle it,” Tucker states as he hurries out of the bedroom.
Three
Tucker
Adrenaline is pumping through my veins as I hurry into the bar. My single thought is to protect Gracie. At the moment nothing else matters.
I’m not sure if it’s just a slow night or if Jake cleared the place out but the bar is empty. Even Harley is gone. Jake is standing alone with Dex.
“You,” I can hear Dex shout the moment he catches sight of me. “What did you do with my girl?”
Gracie is right. Dex is one mean looking dude. And he’s tough. As he marches up to me, I can see he’s a little taller than me and also a little heavier. He’s not in great shape and seems to rely on his anger to intimidate people. What he fails to realize, but will soon find out, is that I’m not intimidated by anyone. I’ve come face-to-face with death and lived to talk about it. This asshole doesn’t scare me in the least.
Dex is glaring at me. If it was humanly possible I think steam would be coming out of his ears he’s so pissed off.
He points a fat finger at me. “She’s mine and I want her back.”
I look into his eyes, then look at his sausage of a finger, then back into his narrowed eyes. “If you like having a finger and want to keep it, I suggest you remove it from my face.”
Dex’s already narrowed eyes became nothing but slits and he pinches his lips together so tight they pucker. When his face starts to turn red with anger, I know he’s definitely fuming.
“Where is she?” he spits.
I decide to play with him. “Who?”
“You know damn well who,” he yells. “Now tell me where she is.”
I shake my head. “Nope.”
The second Dex comes after me Jake grabs him from behind and puts him in a chokehold. That seems to diffuse his anger a little bit.
“Are you going to be calm?” Jake asks. “So we can discuss this like gentlemen.”
“Yeah,” Dex chokes out.
Jake releases his hold on the guy but I still don’t trust him. Something tells me he’s still got a few moves he’ll pull out if he has to.
When I catch Jake’s eyes, I can see they’re cautious. He seems to be thinking the same thing I am. Neither of us is going to let our guard down. I just hope Jake followed through and called the cops. Dex has crazy written all over his face and he’s got dead eyes. In my experience, people with dead eyes don’t have any problem hurting other people. More often than not they even like it.
I think this guy gets off on hurting people. Especially small girls like Gracie. But as long as I’m still standing, he’s not going to get the opportunity to hurt her again.
“I just want my girl,” Dex says.
I cross my arms in front of me. “Then why’d you hit her and throw her on the ground like yesterday’s trash?”
When he smiles, I want to punch the grin right off of his fat, smug face.
He rubs his chin. “It was a little misunderstanding. That’s all.”
“She was bloody and covered in dirt,” I spit out. “Is that how you treat your girl?”
His eyes turn to angry slits again. He lifts his hand and starts to point a finger at me then thinks better of it and puts his hand back down. “I don’t think it’s any of your damn business how I treat her. She’s mine.”
I step in closer to him and stare into his dark eyes. “She’s not yours anymore.”
I stand tall and ready myself in case he jumps at me again. Then to my complete surprise, he actually laughs at me. But it’s not an amused laugh. It’s a sinister one.
“She’ll always be mine. Not you or anybody else is ever going to change that.”
He looks so sure of himself and I have no idea why. I’m not even sure what Gracie was doing with this guy. He almost looks old enough to be her father.
“I think you should leave,” Jake says as he steps next to me.
The two of us haven’t had to get tough like this in a while. We’re both big guys and the two of us together make a pretty intimidating pair. If all four of the Wilde brothers were together, we’d be a wall of solid muscle.
“I’m not leaving without my girl.” Dex folds his arms in front of him.
“Seeing as how you’re not going to get her,” Jake says. “There’s no reason to keep standing here.”
The three of us are all staring at each other, arms crossed, not moving.
I’m wondering how long it will take before Dex finally gives up when Officer Mac Malone waltzes into the bar. The cop is big and intimidating. He played football with Jake and they’ve known each other since they were kids.
“What seems to be the trouble here?” Mac says, as he stops right next to us. I notice his hand is rested on his sidearm just in case he needs to use it.
“No trouble,” Dex says. “I had to go fill up my bike with gas. Left my girlfriend here. And when I came back, she was gone.”
The guy is lying through his teeth and he’s really good at it. He’s a great actor. Makes me wonder if he used some kind of act on Gracie.
But Mac is one of the best lie detectors I’ve ever seen. He nods for a few seconds like he’s giving thought to what Dex just said. Then he asks, “So you didn’t hit her?”
Dex shakes his head briskly. “No way. I’d never hit her.”
“Not even to keep her in line. Maybe just rough her up a little.”
“You know women.” Dex puts his hand up. “They’ve got minds of their own sometimes.”
Mac nods again. “So did Jake ask you to leave the bar?”
The guy’s gaze flashes over to Jake, then to me, then back to Mac. “I don’t remember him saying that.”
“What about you, Tuck.” Mac looks in my direction. “Do you remember Jake saying that?”
“I sure do.”
“That’s what I thought.”
Mac gets close to Dex and says quietly, “We can do this one of two ways. We can walk out of the bar calmly and you can be on your way or I can arrest you and take you out in handcuffs. Completely your choice.”
Dex takes the opportunity to give me a deadly stare before he agrees to leave the bar peacefully.
Once we’re alone, Jake pulls me in for a hug. “You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah.” As okay as someone like me can ever be.
After the touchy-feely crap is out of the way, Jake says, “Now do you mind telling me what the hell is going on?”
“I wish I knew,” I admit.
“You know you’re not Superman. You don’t always have to save the day.”
“I have no interest in being Superman. I’m not a hero and I’m definitely not a Super Hero. I don’t want to save the day. I just want to help Gracie.”
“But why? You don’t even know her.”
“Like you’ve never taken girls back to the house that you didn’t know.”
Jake shakes his head. “Don’t tell me that you’ve already…”
Before he can finish his sentence I cut him off. “No. I’m not you, Jake. I actually have to get to know a girl and care about her before I have sex with her.”
“And out of every girl who comes into this bar you pick the one with a big, ugly, crazy boyfriend. You never do things the easy way, do you?”
I look into my brother’s eyes. “He hurt her, Jake. He hit her. And I could tell it wasn’t the first time. You should have seen the way he treated her at the bar. Like some kind of slave or something. I can’t stand by and watch anyone being treated like that. It’s not right.”
“So you’re doing this out of some kind of sense of honor or morality, not because you want to get
in her pants?”
Jake always likes to get to the heart of the matter, which for him is always getting laid.
“I never said I wasn’t attracted to her. It’s just not the reason I’m helping her.” Well, maybe not the only reason.
I don’t want to admit how utterly entranced I am by her already. And how scared as hell I am when I’m around her. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. Girls don’t generally go for guys like me. And definitely not girls as beautiful as Gracie. Most of the time they run in the opposite direction when they see me coming.
“You’re too honorable,” my brother says.
I laugh. “How can someone be too honorable?”
“You always try to do the most noble thing. I always try to do the thing that’s going to get me laid.”
I pat my brother’s shoulder. He’s a dog, there’s no doubt about that, but at least he owns it. I guess there’s some nobility in that.
“I’d better get back to Gracie. She seemed really shaken. I want to make sure she’s okay.”
“Go,” my brother says.
“You’ll be okay?” I glance around Haymakers. The place is pretty dead for a Wednesday night.
“I may close early. The regulars have all come and gone. I don’t expect too much more traffic.”
During the week, most of the bar’s business is the regulars, so traffic is usually light. On weekends it’s a different story. All hands on deck especially when there’s a popular country band playing. And the band I play in with my brothers, Wilde Riders, is one of the most popular in town.
“See you at home,” I say as I turn to leave.
“Watch your back,” Jake yells after me.
“I can handle it,” I yell back.
***
I enter the guest bedroom quietly because I have a feeling Gracie may be asleep. She’s lying on the bed, fully clothed, and she’s still wearing my leather jacket. She hasn’t taken it off since I gave it to her.
Her eyes are closed and she looks peaceful as she sleeps. For a moment I just stand there watching her. She looks as delicate and fragile as a white winter rose. My mother always loved those flowers. She loved all kinds of flowers but the delicate ones were her favorite. We haven’t had any flowers in the house since she died and I didn’t realize until now how much I missed them.
I’m not sure if I should wake her up so she can take off the jacket and actually get into the bed. I should probably offer her a T-shirt or something a little more comfortable she can wear to sleep. She’s so tiny, wearing one of my shirts would be like wearing a nightshirt.
As I make a move to leave, I hear her small voice, still craggy with sleep. “Tucker.”
I turn to see her wiping her eyes.
“You’re back.”
As I make my way over to the bed, she sits up. “I can’t believe I fell asleep.”
“You’ve been through a lot. I’m not surprised you’re tired.”
“I have insomnia. I usually don’t sleep very much.”
“Maybe you just feel comfortable here,” I offer.
She gives me a hint of a smile then looks up at me through her long lashes. “Maybe I do.”
“Do you want to get changed? I could give you one of my T-shirts.”
She seems to be giving it some thought.
“It’s okay to take off the jacket. I said you could have it. I won’t take it back.”
“I like wearing it. It makes me feel safe…protected.”
“It’s only a jacket.”
“Yeah, but it’s your jacket.”
Maybe Jake is right. Maybe I have no business taking care of this girl. But I feel like she needs me. I’m not the type of guy who lets anyone down. Especially a woman in need. Letting girls down is Jake’s department.
“I’ll be right back.”
I hurry into my bedroom, which needs to be cleaned in the worst way. For a guy who served in the military, not that long ago, you’d think I’d be a lot neater. Maybe it’s my passive aggressive way of giving the finger to the army. I don’t know. We haven’t covered that in my Post Traumatic Stress Disorder counseling yet.
I rustle through my T-shirt drawer looking for something that isn’t old or ratty. It’s not easy but I manage to find an almost brand new Tawnee Mountain Resort T-shirt that my younger brother gave me but I never wore. The shirt never quite fit so I just threw it in my drawer. I guess I can finally put it to good use.
When I return to the guest bedroom, Gracie’s finally taken the leather jacket off. She’s wearing a thin white blouse that also looks too small for her and well-worn jeans.
“I found a shirt for you.” I hold it up, until I realize I’m being a complete dork. I definitely don’t have the smooth moves that Jake does. Or that any of my brothers have for that matter. I’m not the kind of guy who tends to be attractive to girls. It’s more like I repulse them. Not that I can blame them. What girl wants to be seen with a scary looking guy whose leg is completely mangled? I might be good for a laugh on Halloween.
When I set the T-shirt down on the bed next to Gracie, my jaw drops when she starts to unbutton her blouse.
“I’d better go,” I say quickly, as I turn away.
“Why?” she replies.
As I turn back, I see she’s unbuttoned her blouse almost down to her navel, exposing the milky white skin between her breasts. I can feel my dick start to twitch in response. I really need to go.
I gulp. “I don’t need to be here while you get changed.”
She furrows her brow. She looks confused. “Don’t you want me?”
Now I’m the one who looks confused. “No,” I blurt out.
I can see her face fall.
“That’s not what I mean,” I quickly add. “I find you very attractive. But I don’t know you very well yet. I would never…” I’m not sure what to say. The last thing I expected was for her to proposition me. Don’t get me wrong. It’s been a long time since I’ve had sex. A really long time. Since I left for the army. As much as I’d love to be with Gracie, I know it’s not right. It’s way too soon.
I sit on the bed next to her and look into her sad, grey eyes. I would take away all of her sadness if I could but I know it’s impossible. You’ve got to work through your sadness in order to get to the other side and be free of it. I know because I’ve got a lot of my own to work through.
I place my hand on her cheek. Her facial features are so small and delicate. My hand looks huge in comparison. I cringe when I think about that creep, Dex, hitting her small face with his fat hand.
“I don’t have anything else to give you,” she murmurs.
“You don’t have to give me anything,” I assure her.
Does she really think she has to give me her body as some kind of payment for helping her? Is that what Dex expected from her? The idea makes me want to puke.
“I just want you to get some rest.”
I place the softest of kisses on her forehead. As I look into her eyes, I’d like to do more. I’d like to kiss her pink lips. I’d like to take her small body into my arms and hold her tight. But those things will have to wait. Now is definitely not the right time.
I can’t help but notice that she looks scared. “What’s wrong?”
She swallows hard and looks up at me.
“You can tell me,” I urge. “I want you to tell me.”
After a long moment, she says, “He’s not going to stop. He’ll come after me. He’ll find me.”
“You don’t have to worry,” I assure her. “I won’t let him hurt you again.”
I’m not sure why, but it doesn’t look like she believes me.
“I promise.” I rarely promise anything because I know how uncertain life can be, but this is one promise I intend to keep.
She looks away. “You don’t know Dex.”
“Look at me,” I urge. When she finally looks back up at me her eyes are moist. “I never make promises I can’t keep.”
Even though she
nods I’m not sure she believes me. I get the feeling there’s a lot more to the story of what’s going on between her and Dex but we have plenty of time for her to tell me. I want her to feel comfortable with me first. I want her to trust me.
“I’d better let you get some sleep.”
“Okay,” she agrees but there seems to be some hesitation in her voice.
“Good night,” I say as I rise from the bed.
I’m not sure why but I don’t want to leave her alone. She looks so uneasy and so lost. But I obviously can’t sleep with her. For a moment, I consider just sitting in the chair in the corner of the room but that seems kind of odd and it probably wouldn’t be comfortable. Not that I haven’t slept in worse conditions in the army.
But I’ve never actually slept with a girl. I’ve had sex. But it was clumsy teenage sex in the back of my parents’ car or hurried sex in the girl’s bedroom after school before her parents got home from work. I’ve never actually fallen asleep with someone and woken up with them the next day.
“See you in the morning,” I mutter as I hurry out of the guest bedroom.
I don’t want to admit it but I’m terrified of the feelings I’m starting to have. I’m supposed to be a brave veteran who served his country. They had a nickname for my squad when we were in Iraq. We were the Take No Shit Squad because all of us were tough as nails. But when I’m around Gracie I feel more like an awkward 15-year-old kid on his first date than grown-up war veteran.
I straighten up my bedroom because I’m not that tired yet. I’ve still got some residual adrenaline pumping through my veins and I need to work it off. What I’d really like to do is go to the gym and pump some iron but I don’t want to leave Gracie in the house by herself.
When my room is finally clean, and I’m just about to get undressed for bed, there’s a soft knock on my door. It’s so soft I almost think I’m hearing things. When it continues, I know it must be Gracie.
“What’s wrong?” I ask as I open the door.
“Can I come in?” She looks so frightened it takes every ounce of restraint I have not to pull her into my arms to comfort her.
“Sure.” I move out of the doorway so she can enter.
She’s wearing my T-shirt but I can see pretty easily that it’s the only thing she’s wearing. There’s nothing underneath. I can feel my dick start to get hard, so I put my hands in my pockets to tame the wild beast.
The Wilde One (Old Town Country Romance) Page 3
