Page 109 of Tuck & Roll

“It’s a trade secret.”

“What?” Riggs question was a little strangled at her response.

“I write programs that deal with security. To tell you would risk my business. Plus, the technical jargon would bore you to tears.”

Ben looked between Tuck, Kylie and Race, none of them elaborating on her reply. “All right, we’ll leave it at that.” He referred to his notes, then asked, “What happened after Chet got you?”

Tuck was glad Ben left it at that. If he would have demanded more in-depth answers, this interview would be over and he’d be calling the club attorney.

“He pulled me out of the chief’s car by the hair and threw me in the trunk of his car. Once we reached our destination, he pulled me out by my hair again, drug me into the house and threw me at a kitchen chair. That’s when I saw two other men from his club there. Chet called them Red and M.D.”

“M.D.?” Riggs frowned.

Kylie’s cheeks, the areas not bruised, flushed. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead as she explained. “Chet said it stood for Muff Diver,” she rushed out.

Tuck looked around the room and saw that he wasn’t the only one to find Kylie’s obvious discomfort funny. All the men, including Ben and Riggs, were fighting not to smile and hiding their laughter behind coughs. He thought she was adorable.

“Then what happened?” Ben redirected.

“He told me to get his money back. I told him I couldn’t without my program. He told me to call Tuck and have him bring it to me. When I couldn’t reach him, I called Darren and he brought it. He told me to tell Darren that if he didn’t bring it in thirty minutes and if he didn’t come alone, he’d start killing old ladies, starting with the pregnant ones.”

As expected there were several low grumbles and some “what the fucks” thrown out there by the brothers.

“After Darren got there with your program, what happened?” Riggs asked the next question.

“I wasn’t getting Chet his money fast enough, so he shot Darren to motivate me.” Her eyes started to well with tears, but she quickly blinked them away. “At some point Tuck had gotten into the house and was in the hall. Darren started pushing Chet’s buttons, causing him to move closer to him. Darren grabbed Chet, knocked the gun out of his hand and yelled for me to run. That’s when Tuck pulled me into the hall. The next thing I knew, Chet’s dead and Darren’s on the floor bleeding like crazy.”

“And the other two men? What were they doing during all of this?” Ben made a note in his notebook.

“I can answer that,” Tuck spoke up. “One of the men, Red I’m guessing, came to investigate a noise I made climbing in through the window. He had his gun out and turned to shoot me, but I got one off faster. Then a few minutes later, the other one came to check on his friend. He slammed the door into me and started to shoot, but I dove to the side and got a shot off first. Your men will find them in the back bedroom if they haven’t already. As for Chet, he not only shot Darren, but buried a knife in his side as they wrestled on the floor. Darren had no choice but to defend himself and took Chet out.”

Ben and Riggs exchanged another look. Ben rubbed his eyes and released a tired breath. “Sounds like self-defense to me. Riggs?”

“Yeah. Self-defense while trying to rescue Miss Mason,” Riggs agreed.

Ben rose to his feet, tucking his notebook in his pocket. “With what you just told us, it looks like we’re just getting started looking into what the chief has been up to. As far as what went down with Chet, I’ll type up my report and that should be the end of it for you guys.”

Ben stood up and extended his hand to Tuck, then Kylie. “Thanks for all your help. If for some reason I need anything else, I’ll be in touch. Or if you think of anything else that might help in our investigation into Chief Whitener, you know where to find us.”

“Sure thing, Ben,” Tuck wrapped an arm around Kylie’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze.

“Oh, and your purse and belongings are down at the station. They were found in the back of the chief’s car. You can pick them up whenever you want,” Ben added as he started to leave.

“Oh. Thank you,” Kylie called after him, getting a nod in return.

“We’ll go by sometime tomorrow to pick it up,” Tuck told her and kissed the top of her head. He waited until both detectives cleared the room then told her, “You did good, babe.”

“Yeah, I especially liked the part that she couldn’t tell him how she moved money around because it was a trade secret and would affect her business.” Jed laughed and winked at her.

It was funny and any other detective would have grilled her on the details. Ben being Dagger’s brother-in-law came with perks and it looked like Riggs might be a good connection to the Redemption Police Department after Ben retired.

Race had followed Ben and Riggs to the door and shook their hands. Once they were gone, he returned to Tuck and Kylie. “You did real good, Kylie. You’re a real Sons sister.” He extended his hand toward her. When she went to shake it, he pulled her up into a hug. “So glad you’re back, Kylie.”

“Thanks.” Tuck watched her cheeks turn pink from the compliment and the feeling behind it.

Having that bit of business out of the way, everyone broke off into their own conversations again as they waited on news about their brother. Some of them went in search of a vending machine, needing some coffee. Jackson offered to buy one for him and Kylie, but Kylie declined. “If you could find a bottle of water, I’d really like that.”

“You got it. Back in a minute.” Jackson and Trick set off to find Kylie some water.

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