Page 83 of Tuck & Roll

“Not a big deal. Just egg salad.” Was Darren blushing? It was hard to tell with his beard, but Tuck thought he was. How funny!

Kylie reached over, her hand landing on Darren’s arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. He looked up, saw her smiling at him and like Tuck, was unable to not return her smile. “Eat your breakfast, brat.” He tipped his chin toward her plate.

After a couple of moments of silence while everyone worked on eating their breakfast, Tuck refilled his and Darren’s coffee and resumed his seat. His phone dinged with a message alert and he was almost 100% positive it was Taylor again. He checked the screen. Damn it. Taylor. He set his phone on the table face down.

A knock at the back door saved him from having to answer the question in Kylie’s eyes. Since he was closest to the door, he got up to peek out the window next to the door to see who it was. Race was standing on the back deck looking grim. “Race,” he announced as he unlocked the door.

“Hey,” he greeted the man as he waved him inside.

“Hey,” Race replied. “You got any coffee?”

“Yeah.” Darren got up to get him a cup, setting it in front of where Race was taking a seat.

His brows dipped as he got a good look at Kylie. “Damn, sweetness. You look worse this morning. How’s your throat?”

She held up both hands so that she had seven fingers showing.

“Her pain is a seven out of ten,” Darren explained and Kylie nodded her head.

How the hell did Darren figure that out? Tuck wondered.

“Do you want something for the pain?” Darren asked her.

She shook her head and mouthed, “Ice.”

Darren nodded and got up to fill a freezer bag with ice, wrapped a dish towel around it and handed it to Kylie. She smiled up at him and held the ice bag to her throat.

“Any news?” Tuck asked Race, still perplexed at the way Darren took care of Kylie. He’d known the man several years now and had never seen him interact as much or as gently with another woman. Apparently, when it came to Kylie, he had a soft spot for her.

“Dagger and Trick were able to track a blood trail to the old logging road before it disappeared. From the tire tracks on the road, they think he had a getaway car, not his bike.” Race scratched his scruffy chin.

Damn it. Tuck was hoping for a dead body.

“Last night’s break-in shows us that Chet and/or the Phantoms are getting desperate.” Race scratched his chin, thinking out loud. “Maybe they need the money and it’s not a matter of just wanting to stick it to the Sons.”

“You thinking they owe someone money? Makes sense,” Darren nodded in agreement.

If Tuck had to guess and what Darren didn’t say out loud was odds were the Phantoms bought the drugs from the cartel on credit and now they didn’t have the money to pay for it. Neither he, Darren nor Race would voice that out loud in front of Kylie. She had enough things to worry about without them adding more to it. He also realized, given her computer skills and how much the club already relied on her, it was going to be hard to keep her guarded from some of the darker problems that sometimes came up.

“That also means they have nothing to lose and will grow more unpredictable.” Tuck rubbed his tired eyes. “What the fuck? Something’s gotta break our way and soon. Kylie can’t keep living under guard indefinitely.” Kylie squeezed his hand, trying to comfort him. He gently tugged on her hand until she got up and he was able to pull her down into his lap. He needed to hold her, feel her close. It felt like time was running out and he was helpless to stop it.

“What if we just give the money back?” Kylie whispered.

One side of Race’s mouth kicked up. “I wish it were that easy. Not only would the Sons be seen as pussies, but it would set a precedent that all any club would need to do to get money out of us is to kidnap and ransom one of our family members. That’s way too dangerous.”

Kylie nodded her understanding.

Tuck hugged her a little tighter around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. “It’s okay, baby. We’ll think of something.”

“How do you feel about doing some research into Clark Gussman and Chief Whitener? Maybe see if they have any property listed in their name around here close? Or maybe something a family member owns?” Race asked Kylie.

She raised her brows and nodded her head, telling them she was interested.

“You can do it at the clubhouse while Darren gets his security system installed,” Tuck suggested.

She gave him a thumbs up. She was in.

“Who’s at the clubhouse?” Tuck asked. He wanted more than one set of eyes on her. He didn’t trust that the chief wouldn’t come up with another bogus reason to get the clubhouse raided again.

---