Page 77 of Tuck & Roll

“Son of a bitch!” Chet couldn’t believe that broody asshole had shot him. He pulled his hand away from where he’d taken a bullet and watched as it came away red. It appeared black in the minimal moonlight, but he was still able to see he was bleeding pretty badly. He walked the mile back to where he’d parked his car for his getaway. He’d stolen the piece of shit from an underlit commuter parking lot.

As soon as he was able to get inside, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Crockett. Or he tried to, but fumbled it until it landed in the floor at his feet. His hands were slick with blood. “Fuck.” His arm hurt like a son of a bitch. He pulled his jacket off and felt around to the back of his arm, hoping to find an exit wound. No such luck. The bullet was still lodged in his arm. How the hell was he supposed to get that out himself?

He opened the door to give him more room to try and retrieve his phone. “Gotcha.”

He swiped it on and hit the speed dial that would connect him with the Phantom Furies president. He hated having to tell Crockett he’d failed at getting the money. He knew it would be a risk, breaking into that big biker’s house, but the club was running out of time. If they didn’t get the money back, the cartel was going to be pissed. And when they were pissed, people died.

“Did you get it?”

“No.” He sucked in a sharp breath as he used his injured arm to pull his car door shut again. “She’s never alone. I followed her back to the place she’s staying and got in through her window. I was trying to get the information when she screamed her head off, waking up the guy she’s living with.”

“Damn it. We need that money back.” Crocket wasn’t telling him anything they didn’t already know. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Got shot in the arm. Bullet’s still in there. Gotta find someone who can take it out for me.” He was losing a lot more blood than he originally thought. Having to hoof it through the woods for a mile didn’t help things either.

“Call Whitener. He can do it. He needs to earn his money somehow.”

“I will.” If he could get back to his cabin he’d been squatting in without passing out.

“You want me to send some more guys your way?” Crocket asked.

“Yeah. That’d be great.”

“All right. Red and M.D. will head out in the morning. You guys put your heads together and find a way to get that girl and make her give us our money back.”

“You got it.” The sound of Crockett disconnecting ended their call. Now he needed to get the chief to come patch him up. He searched for the cop’s number and hit call. “Hey. Need you to get some shit together and come get a bullet out of my arm. No, you don’t have a choice. Meet me at the house.” He hung up before the man could argue. He couldn’t wait for the day when Crockett said they didn’t need that lazy cow anymore.

He started his stolen car, put it in gear and prayed he got to the house before he passed out from blood loss and pain.

14

“Oh. My. God,” Tuck growled into his pillow. He’d finally fallen asleep after dealing with Taylor’s many demands and he was exhausted. He was passed out on his stomach as he blindly reached for his ringing cell phone. He swatted at the nightstand until his hand finally landed on it. With his eyes still closed, he grumbled into the phone, “Taylor, swear to God, if you’re calling from the other room wanting a glass of water or a snack again,” he left the threat open-ended because they both knew he would never physically hurt a woman no matter how mad she made him.

“It’s not Taylor.” Race’s voice jarred him awake. He rolled over and rubbed at his eyes with his thumb and finger. “You need to wake up and get dressed. Someone broke into Darren’s house and attacked Kylie. He chased them off, but not before the fucker hurt Kylie.”

Tuck shot up in bed, his heart lurching in his chest. “What the fuck? Kylie’s hurt?”

“Yeah. Called Bacon. He’s on his way. Thought you’d want to be here.”

“On my way.” Damn straight he wanted to be there.

A million questions ran through his mind as he jumped out of bed and pulled his clothes on. Kylie had been attacked while at Darren’s? Where was Darren when this was going down? How badly was she hurt? Did she need to go to the hospital? Was the baby okay? The fear of losing Kylie and the baby was almost debilitating. He clenched his shaking hands, willing them to steady so he could make the drive to Darren’s without wrecking his bike.

He shoved his phone in his pocket and started down the hall. Outside Taylor’s room, he knocked on her door and called out. “Taylor?”

“Tuck?” Her voice was drowsy with sleep. Was it wrong that it gave him a small amount of pleasure knowing he was waking her up for a change?

“Gotta go. There’s an emergency. I’ll call you when I can.”

He heard some shuffling, then the door swung open revealing Taylor in one of his t-shirts and rubbing her belly. Her blonde hair was a wild mess around her face and she was pissed. “You’re leaving me here alone?”

“Yes. You’ll be fine. You’ve got your phone. If you have any problems, you can call me. If you can’t get me, you could always call your parents.”

The last part had her mouth slamming shut, cutting off the argument she was gearing up to have. He didn’t have time to argue with her. He needed to get to Kylie and see how badly she’d been hurt. Bacon would check her out and let him know if he should get her to the E.R.

“Keep the doors locked and I’ll call when I can!” he hollered over his shoulder as he hurried out the door.

He made the drive to Darren’s in record time. Pulling his bike to a stop next to Bacon’s, he enjoyed a moment of relief knowing the club’s doctor was already here taking care of Kylie. The brief moment was short lived seeing as how Darren and Race were waiting for him on the porch, both sporting grim expressions.

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