Page 76 of Tuck & Roll

“You motherfucker! You broke into the wrong house!” he shouted and ran for the front door. The sound of a gun firing off a couple of shots caused her to jump as she struggled to sit with her back against the headboard, one hand at her throat, the other pulling the blanket up to cover herself.

It only took a few minutes for Darren to reappear in her room with Race hot on his heels. He, too, had a gun out, dangling at his side. He was dressed in a pair of jeans he must have thrown on given they were zipped but not buttoned. She also noted that he was barefoot and in his haste to investigate the gun shots, he must not have had time to get his shirt on.

“Kylie, are you okay?” Darren placed his gun on the nightstand and took a seat on the edge of the bed facing Kylie. He did a quick scan of her face, his jaw clenching at what he saw. “Fuck. He hit you?”

“Yeah. I th-th-think so,” her voice felt scratchy and rough as she chattered her reply. Her throat hurt to swallow and until he mentioned it, she’d not paid any attention to where the asshole slapped her. Her only concern at the time was finding a way to breathe. Now that she was aware of it, her cheek throbbed like a heartbeat.

“She’s going into shock,” Race declared as he went to the window, closing and locking it before he pulled the curtains closed.

“Kylie. Baby. Move your hand and let me see your neck.” He gently pulled her hand away, sucking in a deep breath at what he saw. “Damn it. He nicked her throat and tried to strangle her. She’s already got bruising around her throat.”

She nodded her head this time and flinched. Even that slight movement made her tender throat sore.

A nerve in Darren’s jaw ticked. “Call Bacon.”

Race stepped forward, squinting at her injuries. “Let me have your phone and I’ll go get some ice for her face and throat.”

“It’s on my nightstand charging,” Darren responded without looking at him. “Are you okay?” He wiped at her cheeks with his thumbs.

Huh. When did she start crying? So much for being brave.

“I think so,” she whispered, unable to put much volume behind her voice.

Race came back with a ziplock bag filled with ice wrapped in a dishtowel, then handed Darren his phone to unlock. “Here, darlin’. Hold this on your face. When it gets too cold, move it to your throat.” She accepted the bag of ice and did as she was told on autopilot. She felt like her brain was foggy, like it wasn’t firing on all pistons.

“That’s normal, darlin’. You’re in shock,” Darren explained. She hadn’t realized she’d spoken that part out loud. “It’ll eventually clear out of your system, but probably not until your body goes through some shakes, too.”

Race took Darren’s phone and stepped out of the room.

Damn. She thought Darren might be right. She could feel little tremors beginning to spread throughout her body, gradually getting stronger. He moved to sit next to her with his back also against the headboard. He pulled the blanket up to her chest then wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Shit, you scared me to death. When I heard you scream my name, I thought my heart was going to explode out of my chest.” He cleared his gruff voice and kissed the top of her head.

Race came back from making his call. His eyes bounced between Darren and Kylie, before finally settling on her face. “You call him?” Darren asked.

“Yeah. On his way. Bacon’s on his way, too.”

“Who’s Bacon?” Kylie whispered, her teeth still chattering. She’d heard Darren mention the man’s name earlier and was going to ask about him, but got sidetracked with the ice pack.

“Club doctor. He’s coming to check you out. If he gives you the all clear, we won’t take you to the hospital.” Race stood with his hands shoved in his pockets. “Can you tell us what happened? Did you get a look at the guy? Did he say anything?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I couldn’t see his face because it was too dark, but I think I recognized his voice. It sounded like Chet.”

“Son of a bitch,” Darren rumbled.

“You’re sure?” Race asked.

“Yes. Pretty sure. He asked where his money went. He wanted it back.” Once she’d discovered where the missing money was located, it wasn’t anything for Kylie to transfer it back to one of the Sons’ accounts. The amount of money she was able to transfer would definitely get Chet’s attention.

“He said he’d been asking around about me and heard I was a computer genius. He was going to take me with him to get his money back.”

Both men’s mouths flattened as they exchanged a heated glare. Darren’s jaw ticked again as he growled, “That fucker thought he was going to take you out of my house?”

“Stay calm. We’ll get him.” By the look of Race’s face, he wasn’t any happier about the news that Chet had planned on taking her away.

The sound of motorcycle pipes pulling into the drive drew Race from the room. He came back moments later with a man dressed in jeans and the SORMC cut carrying a medical bag. Must be the club doctor, she reasoned. He jerked his chin at Darren, who took that as his cue to get up and let him do his examination.

“Kylie, this is Bacon,” Race introduced the man. “He’s going to take a look at you while Darren and I wait out here. Okay?”

She nodded her head and wished that Tuck was there to wrap her in his arms and tell her everything was going to be all right. This was the second time someone had almost killed her and she was beginning to worry they were going to eventually succeed.

---