Chapter 2
2
DARREN
D arren paced back and forth as he waited for Race to bring Kylie to the hospital. Was it him or was the room really small? With a detached eye all he could think was there was no way all of the Sons brothers were going to fit in this small room. He had no doubt that as soon as he got off the phone with Race, his president would be sending word out about Tuck and the rest of the club would soon be descending on the hospital to rally around one of their own.
He stopped in front of the only window in the room, running his hands through his hair. He pulled tightly at the dark strands, wondering what they could have done differently. They knew the Phantom Furies were on the warpath and had their sights set on taking over Redemption. He as well as the rest of the brothers had hoped that once they’d dealt with Chet and his buddies, the Phantom Furies would have backed off for a short time.
They should have known better. Tonight only proved how determined they were to take over their town.
Over the last few years, the Sons had backed away from the violent lives they’d been leading by opening legitimate businesses. Too many of their brothers, some of them original founders, had ended up in prison or worse, dead. Some of the brothers, like Race, Dagger and Maverick, had wanted more out of life than constantly being at war and always fearing for the lives of their old ladies and their children. The plan had been working well until recently.
And now Tuck lay on a surgical table fighting for his life and Darren hadn’t been able to do a damn thing to stop it.
He dropped his hands and found they were shaking and covered in Tuck’s blood. After this, there was no way around it; the club was going to war. They just had to decide how they were going to do it. Were they going to go balls to the wall like the Phantoms, leaving a trail of blood and dead bodies along the way and possibly have it drag on for months, if not years? Or would they be strategic and plan it out carefully, so they took out the entire rival club at one time and never have to worry about them popping up again?
Fuck. He needed to get Tuck’s blood off his hands before Kylie got there. He turned to do just that when Jed and Chris walked in carrying a gym bag.
“Hey.” Jed walked up to him and gave him a one-armed man hug then stepped back for Chris to do the same. “Race called and said to bring you a change of clothes in case you needed it. Raided your room at the clubhouse.” He held the bag toward Darren.
“What?” Darren didn’t understand.
“Your clothes,” Jed shook the bag toward Darren in an up down motion.
He looked down at himself and sure enough, his jeans and shirt were covered in Tuck’s blood, too. Shit. Here he was worried about the blood on his hands. “Thanks, brother.”
“I saw a bathroom down the hall.” Jed hitched a thumb over his shoulder in the direction he was talking about. “You need to hurry. Race, Bellamy and Kylie were coming into the hospital as the elevator doors were closing.”
“Thanks.” Darren nodded his head and took off down the hall. It turned out to be a one-stall bathroom, giving him plenty of space to clean up and change without having to worry about freaking someone out if they happened upon him. He locked the door then proceeded to strip down to his underwear. His stomach clenched at the smeared blood covering his lower stomach, thighs and hands. Well, if that wasn’t enough to cause nightmares.
He desperately wanted to be there when Kylie got to the waiting room, so he grabbed a handful of paper towels out of the wall dispenser and started to wipe away the worst of it. He went for more but only found a couple left. Well shit. Just his luck. He set them aside and yanked on the clean clothes Jed brought him, then hurriedly scrubbed his hands with soap and water, getting them as clean as he could get them. He used the two paper towels he had left to dry his hands, then shoved his bloodied clothes back in the gym bag.
He hurried back to waiting room and quickly checked out the new occupants. Damn it. Race, Bellamy and Kylie were already here. He headed straight for his woman. “Kylie.”
She turned at the sound of his voice. His breath caught in his chest. Her face was pale and tears pooled in her eyes. “Darren.” She ran into his arms, almost bowling him over. He dropped the bag at his feet and encircled his arms around her, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. Jed quietly retrieved the bag and stepped back to give them room. Kylie pulled back, settling her hands on his chest. “What is going on? All Race would say was that Tuck was hurt and had to be taken to the hospital.”
“Baby, let’s have a seat,” he started, but she was having none of it.
“No. Tell me what’s going on. Every time someone says ‘let’s have a seat’ it’s bad news. So just spit it out.” Kylie’s arms dropped from his chest and she took a step back.
“Baby, please.”
He reached to pull her into his arms again, but she shook her head and yelled, “Tell me!”
Damn it. He’d hoped to cushion the blow, but she wasn’t letting him do it. What he had to say was going to rock her world and he hated being the one to do it to her.
He shared a quick look over her shoulder to Race and got a silent nod to go ahead and fill her in on what happened and who was responsible for shooting Tuck. She wasn’t stupid. She’d done research on Chet, a brother from the Phantom Furies MC, for the club when he’d taken money from the Sons. They’d also kidnapped her and had hoped to get her to put the stolen money back into their accounts, so it wouldn’t be a far reach for her to connect the dots and determine it was the same club fucking with them now. He took a deep breath and released it. “Honey, on the way home we stopped for gas. While I was inside, a car pulled up and a man wearing a Phantom Furies cut stepped out of a car and shot Tuck. He’s in surgery right now.”
“What?” Her brows dipped in confusion and her eyes appeared out of focus, like she was having a hard time soaking in what he’d told her. In his peripheral vision he could see the other brothers spreading out around the room, silently surrounding her, not sure how she was going to react but wanting to be there for her in any way they could.
“Baby, Tuck was shot and he’s in surgery.” His heart was breaking for Kylie.
Her hand went to her forehead before she asked, “How,” she cleared her throat and tried again. “How bad is it?”
Darren’s eyes were glued to hers, but he didn’t miss how Race crept closer to Kylie and was now standing directly behind her. “They fired three times.”
She took a couple of steps back, widening the space between them. “He was shot three times?” she whispered.
“Yes. Once in the leg, once in the stomach and once,” he rubbed a hand over his mouth and exhaled heavily. “And maybe once in the head.”
“Nooooo!” Kylie screamed and her legs gave out. Race was there to catch her and keep her from hitting the ground. He dropped to his knees, his legs folding as his butt hit his heels so that she was sitting on his lap.
“Kylie! Kylie, baby! Please calm down.” Darren dropped to his knees in front of them, freaked the fuck out at Kylie’s reaction. It was bad enough they didn’t know how Tuck was fairing in surgery, but if Kylie didn’t calm down, he worried something bad could happen to the baby. He grabbed both her hands and squeezed, trying to get her attention.
“No! No! No!” She was trying to thrash around in Race’s arms, trying to get loose. What she planned on doing once she was free, he had no idea.
“Kylie!” Race barked loud enough to cause her to jump and momentarily stop screaming. “Kylie. You have to stay calm for the baby. You don’t want anything to happen to the baby, do you?”
She hiccupped and shook her head.
“You need to stay calm and not give up on Tuck just yet. The man is strong. He’s just found you again and is going to be a father soon. There’s no way he won’t be fighting to be here for you.” He rocked her back and forth until she was able to get herself under control. “You good now, darlin’?”
She nodded her head against his shoulder.
“Good, cuz Darren really needs you right now, honey. You wanna go to him now?”
She nodded her head and reached for Darren. He immediately pulled her to him, settling her in his lap with his back to the chair, right in the middle of the floor. He wrapped his arms tight around her and settled his chin on top of her head. He closed his eyes and breathed her in, aware that everyone was moving away to give them space. Seeing her fall apart like that broke his own heart damn near in two. He brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her forehead. “You okay, baby?”
“No,” she croaked. “I won’t be okay until someone tells me Tuck is going to be fine.” She waited a beat then added, “I’m sorry I reacted like that. I never thought I was the kind of person that would fall apart so easily.” She clutched his shirt in her fist above his heart.
“You were given some pretty shocking news. I think you’re entitled to react anyway you want to.”
A bottle of water appeared in front of them. Jed had gotten it somewhere and offered it to Kylie. “Here, sugar. You need to drink this.”
She wiped her cheeks, then took the water. She offered him a wobbly smile. “Thank you, Jed.”
She took a big drink, twisted the lid back on and dropped her head to Darren’s chest once again. He set the bottle on the floor next to them, aware that everyone was trying to give them as much privacy as the size of the room allowed. He held Kylie’s head to his chest and closed his eyes while he sent out a silent prayer that Tuck would be okay. Although the brothers were speaking quietly amongst themselves, their words were heated. He opened his eyes to see what was going on. By the expressions on the brothers’ faces, they were thinking the same thing he was. Blood would be shed. Personally, Darren would settle for no less than total annihilation of the other club.
Holding Kylie close, he allowed her time to process what was going on. Eventually the number of silent tears soaking his shirt slowed to a stop and the tremors racking her body as she cried finally ceased. It was another minute or two before she took a deep breath and leaned up to look around the room.
“What’re you looking for, baby?” he asked.
“Tissues. I can’t breathe.” Her nose sounded stuffy from all the crying.
“Can we get some tissues over here?” Darren called out.
Bellamy appeared in an instant with a box of tissues she’d found on one of the side tables. She offered a small smile as she handed them over.
“Thanks, Bellamy.” Darren took the tissues, sparing Kylie the need to find enough energy to appear okay in front of her friend.
Kylie blew her nose, tossing the used tissues in the waste basket Jackson had placed close by. Able to breathe better, she leaned down against his chest once more. “I’m so embarrassed that everyone saw me fall apart like that.”
“Baby, no one thinks any less of you for how you reacted. Hell, if I’d had half a chance, I think I would have fallen apart right along with you. The only thing stopping me was my worry for you and the baby.”
With her head on his shoulder, she tipped her head back far enough that he could see her eyes and whispered, “I don’t love you any less.”
“What’s that, honey?” He leaned down to hear what she was saying.
“I don’t love you any less than Tuck. If it had been you that was shot, I would have reacted the same exact way. I can’t live my life without either of you now.” Her hand cupped his bearded jaw. “You know I love you, right?”
“Of course, I know that. Never doubted it for a second.” He tucked her head under his chin again and kissed the top of her head. It was only minutes before she fell into a deep sleep.
“You okay down there?” Race asked after a few minutes. He, Trick, Jackson and Dagger came over.
“Yeah. I’m good. My ass fell asleep a while back, but it’s all good.” Darren rested his head on the seat behind him, his grip around Kylie never lessening.
“Here. I asked a nurse for a blanket. I thought she might be getting cold down there on the floor.” Bellamy shook out a blanket and draped it over Kylie.
“Thanks, Bellamy.” Darren helped her wrap it around Kylie, making sure to cover as much of her as possible.
“You need anything else?” Race asked, watching his wife take a seat across from them. “Cup of coffee? Water? Food?”
“God, no food. Coffee wouldn’t be bad.”
Race spoke over his shoulder, sending Chris and Lance in search of coffee for Darren and some of the others. Focusing on Darren again, he said, “Once we know Tuck is going to be okay and you can make it to a meeting, we’ll discuss how we’re going to handle this. As a club .”
It sounded like Race was afraid Darren might go off half-cocked and try to take care of the Phantom problem all on his own. Before Kylie, he might have. Now that he was with her and Tuck, there was no way he would risk leaving her alone on the off chance he got himself killed. No way was she going to be raising her baby alone. And no way was anything happening to Tuck other than a full recovery. Nothing else would be acceptable.
“I understand. Believe me, I understand. I’ve got too much to lose by going it on my own.” He shifted his butt, trying to find a more comfortable position.
“You wanna get up and sit in a chair with her?” Race asked.
“Yeah, but I don’t want to wake her up. She’ll just worry and make herself sick.”
“Here. Let us help you up. Hold onto her tight.” Jackson and Trick each grabbed him under his arms and hoisted him and Kylie as one unit from the floor. His legs dipped as they backed him up to the chair he’d been leaning on and eased the two of them down. He couldn’t help but chuckle, “My ass really was asleep.”
Chris arrived shortly after that and handed him a cup of coffee. He really didn’t want it but figured he needed to remain sharp for whatever happened next. Between his worry for Kylie and the baby and the uncertain outcome of Tuck’s surgery, he had to keep it together. They were his family and it was up to him to take care of them.
Kylie slept for a couple of hours before the need to empty her bladder woke her. At first, she appeared to be a little disoriented as she looked around the room, then she remembered where she was at and why. Tears filled her eyes and he was afraid she might lose it all over again, but he should have known better. He watched her pull herself together then announce she needed to use the bathroom. Bellamy volunteered to go with her and show her where the closest restroom was located.
It was all he could do to watch her walk away and not follow behind her. He had this irrational fear that if he let her out of his sight, she could be taken from him, too. If she and Tuck were gone, he’d go back to his lonely existence. Only this time it would be so much harder having finally discovered what he’d been missing from his life. Jackson saw the way he watched Kylie walk away and assured Darren that he’d follow them there and make sure they got back without incident.
Darren thanked him and took to his feet, desperately needing to get circulation back into his legs and ass. He scrubbed both hands down his face and took a deep breath. “Fuck. When are they going to bring us news on Tuck?” He shook his legs out and started to pace. He needed to move. Sitting still for so long wasn’t just physically messing with him, but mentally as well. He kept replaying those moments when the car pulled into the lot, the gunman stepped out then shot Tuck. How he’d watched helplessly as his friend’s body jerked with each bullet that tore through his body and he’d been helpless to stop it.
“I keep seeing Tuck go down,” he shook his head, too choked up to continue. What if Tuck didn’t make it? Kylie had known him a lot longer than she’d known Darren so it was only logical it would destroy her. Especially since she had been in love with the man for a very long time and was carrying his baby. Things wouldn’t be as complicated if he’d been the one shot.
“Stop it,” Race growled. “I know what you’re doing and I’m telling you right now, don’t go there.”
“What am I doing?” Darren frowned, agitated.
“You’re thinking since Kylie’s having a baby with Tuck, it should have been you that was shot and the one struggling to survive. Don’t do that to Kylie and don’t do that to Tuck. He wouldn’t want you thinking like that. He’d want you to be there for Kylie. You both love her and she loves both of you. She damn sure wouldn’t want either of you trading places with the other. She’d want you both safe and sound.”
He caught a glimpse of Kylie walking back into the room, a bottle of juice in one hand and a sleeve of Fig Newtons in the other. Her stomach must not be feeling well again.
“You’re right. You’re right. I need to keep my shit tight for Kylie and Tuck.”
Race squeezed his shoulder and moved out of the way so Kylie could move straight into Darren’s arms.
“You find something to eat while you were out?” He grinned down at her as he slung an arm around her shoulders, settling her into his side.
“Yeah. My stomach was feeling off. I’m not hungry, but thought if I snacked on something it might settle it down. Can you open my juice?”
“Sure, babe.” He took the juice and twisted the lid off. He took a drink before handing it back to her.
He guided her back to a seat next to Bellamy and told her he’d be back in a moment, he needed to use the restroom. He ventured down the hall, used the restroom and started to wash his hands. He thought he’d gotten all of Tuck’s blood off them before Kylie got there, then noticed while he’d been holding her that he hadn’t quite gotten it out of all the cracks in his skin and around his nails. Damn it. He hoped Kylie hadn’t noticed. He pushed his hand under the automatic dispenser a couple of times to get a lot of soap then scrubbed until they were clean. Satisfied that they could pass inspection, he went to get some paper towels and found it was still empty. “Fuck it.” He wiped them off on his clean jeans and returned to the waiting room.
It was another hour and a half before someone dressed in blue scrubs entered the waiting room looking for the family of Garrett Tucker.
Darren took Kylie’s hand and pulled her closer to the doctor. “This is Kylie Mason, Tuck’s fiancée.”
“Is it okay to talk in front of the rest of the group, Miss Mason?” the doctor asked.
“Yes, of course. They’re all family.”
“Very well.” The doctor took a deep breath before he started listing all of Tuck’s injuries. “From what we discovered, he was shot two times and lost a lot of blood. The bullet that hit his leg went all the way through and we were able to repair the damage. His wound to his stomach was actually more to the side, also passing all the way through and resulted in the removal of his spleen. Again, we were able to repair the damage quite nicely and he was given blood. It’s the head injury that concerns us the most.”
“Was he shot in the head?” Darren asked, afraid to hear the answer.
“No. The head injury looks to be caused by a blunt force, probably from when he fell to the ground after being shot. As a result, the amount of force hitting his head caused him to have swelling on his brain. The next twenty-four hours are going to be critical. As you can imagine, the seizure he had before the ambulance arrived is a concern. We won’t know for sure how severe his head injury is until he wakes up. For now, we’re giving him something through his IV to help reduce the swelling and at this point it’s kind of a wait and see sort of situation.” The doctor rubbed the back of his neck.
Darren was happy to hear Tuck hadn’t had a bullet tearing through his head or bouncing around his brain. The swelling wasn’t the best news, but they’d get through this. Tuck was alive so that’s all that mattered. He, Kylie and the club would be there to help Tuck through everything.
“And the seizure he had before the ambulance got there?” Kylie stiffened at his side, just now hearing that bit of news for the first time. He hadn’t meant to keep it from her, he just didn’t think it was something else she needed to worry about at the time he was telling her about his injuries.
“We think the impact of his head hitting the pavement may have caused it.”
Kylie’s attention bounced between Darren and the doctor. “So, now what? After you get the swelling down, he’ll make a full recovery, right?”
“It’s really too soon to tell the extent of his head injury. Once the swelling decreases, we can eventually back off the meds keeping him sedated and we’ll go from there. I really wish I could promise you more, but it’s just too soon to tell.”
“When can we see him?” she asked.
The doctor looked around the room and shook his head. “I’m afraid only two of you can go back for maybe fifteen minutes. Tomorrow you can take turns visiting him.”
It was a given Darren and Kylie would be the ones to go back to see Tuck.
“Thanks, Doc, for taking care of him.” Darren shook his hand.
“You’re welcome. Someone will be out shortly to take you back.” He wished everyone a good night and left the room.
Race pulled Bellamy in for a tight hug. “You and Kylie go see our boy and the rest of us’ll take off. If you hear anything, anything at all tonight, good or bad, let us know.” He clasped hands with Darren and squeezed Kylie’s shoulder reassuringly. “Tuck’s going to be all right, darlin’.”
Kylie nodded her head and wiped tears from her cheeks.
It wasn’t long after everyone left, that a nurse came and escorted them to Tuck’s room. He was in his own little cubicle in the ICU. Darren held Kylie’s hand firmly in his own as they stepped through the doorway. His breath caught in his chest at what he saw. Even prepared to see Tuck in this condition, it still jolted him. Seeing his usually outgoing, fun-loving best friend lying in the bed so pale, and white bandages wrapped around his head choked him up.
“Tuck,” Kylie’s voice cracked, shaking Darren out of his dark thoughts. She slowly eased up to the bed, her hand hovering above Tuck’s. She seemed unsure as to where she could touch him without moving important wires or tubes before she settled for touching his bicep.
“I can’t believe someone did this to you.” She angrily swiped at her tears again. She kissed his cheek and whispered, “I love you, Garrett. Please come back to me.”
Fuck. That just about gutted Darren. Kylie was the only one who ever called Tuck by his first name. He had to swallow hard against his suddenly too tight throat. He gently squeezed Tuck’s arm when Kylie stepped to the side. “Hang in there, man. We’re waiting for you.”
All too quickly, the nurse returned and announced they would have to leave for the night, but they were more than welcome to return in the morning.
With his hand at the small of her back, he steered Kylie toward the elevator. Time to go home.
DARREN
As the elevator opened into the lobby, Darren was thankful to see Race and Bellamy waiting near the front door. He hadn’t given it much thought as to how he was going to get Kylie home, but it appeared they had. She was too far along to ride on the back of his bike safely.
He stopped next to the couple and turned to Kylie. “Baby, Race and Bellamy are going to give you a ride home.”
“What?” Her brow dipped in confusion.
“They’re going to give you a ride home and I’m going to follow behind you on my bike.” He brushed a stray strand of hair from her cheek. “Can’t take you on my bike, babe.” He settled his large hand on her stomach and dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “Come on. I’ll walk you to the truck.”
Kylie nodded her head and slipped her hand into his. Once she was settled in the backseat of Race’s truck, Darren made his way to his bike. He quickly caught up to them at the exit and followed them home. Usually riding his bike calmed his nerves and helped him unwind. That was not the case tonight. All he kept thinking about was when Tuck was shot and how helpless he’d felt when he couldn’t reach him in time.
Race turned into his driveway and pulled into his garage at the same time Darren pulled his bike into his own garage next door. He gave the empty space where Tuck usually parked his bike a quick glance and made a mental note to make sure he got his brother’s bike home tomorrow. He rushed to meet Kylie in the driveway, waved his thanks to Race and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, guiding her inside through the garage.
He took her purse and jacket and dropped them on the kitchen table then led her toward the bedroom. There he helped her undress then slip on one of Tuck’s t-shirts he found on the floor. After she slid beneath the covers, he started to undress, but remembered he still had Tuck’s dried blood on him under his clothes.
“I’m going to take a quick shower before I climb into bed.”
She nodded her head. “Okay.”
Closing the door behind him, he stripped his clothes off and stepped into the shower. He cranked the water on and stepped under the showerhead, letting the hot water ease the tension in his tired muscles. He tipped his head down to get his hair wet and saw the pink tinged water sluicing off his body, swirling around his feet, before disappearing down the drain. He clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut tight. The side of his fist hit the shower tile. Why couldn’t he have gotten to Tuck sooner? Could he have spared Tuck the gunshot wounds or would they have both ended up fighting for their lives, leaving Kylie all alone?
Dwelling on what ifs wasn’t going to change anything. What was done was done. What mattered now was how they were going to move forward. As a club. As a family.
He hurried through washing the last of the blood off and shampooing his hair. Grabbing at a towel off the hook next to the shower, he dried himself off and hung the wet towel over the top of the shower door. Opening the door, he saw Kylie lying on her side facing the bathroom with her eyes open. He’d thought she might be so exhausted she’d instantly fall asleep.
He pushed the covers back and slid in naked next to her. “Hey, baby. You doing all right?”
She shrugged a shoulder, biting her bottom lip. “I think I’m kind of numb. I can’t wrap my head around everything yet. It doesn’t feel real.”
“Come here.” He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into his side. She settled her small hand over his heart and hooked her leg over both of his. He thought she might be drifting to sleep until she tipped her head back and cupped his bearded jaw. He dipped his head to check on her and was surprised and grateful when she said, “I need you, Darren. I need to feel close to you.”
“God, baby. I need to feel close to you, too.” He gently rolled Kylie to her back, careful to keep his weight to the side and off her stomach.
“I don’t need a lot of warm up. I just need to feel you.” Kylie kissed his neck before settling both hands on the sides of his face and pulled him down for a kiss.
He moved so that he was above her, supporting most of his weight on his forearms and knees. Dipping his head, he skimmed his lips along her cheek down to her neck, where he nipped her just hard enough to make her gasp in appreciation. Normally, he would take his time drawing orgasm after orgasm out of her, but tonight they both needed the connection that came from two people joining and becoming one.
He reached between them and guided his shaft to her entrance and slowly pushed forward until he was buried deep inside her. She bit into her bottom lip and kept her eyes locked on his. Pulling back, he retreated until he was almost all the way out then pushed forward in another long, slow glide. Over and over, he repeated the motion, taking his time to show her how much he loved her and how much her love for him mattered.
This wasn’t the first time he’d made love to Kylie by himself, but it was the first time that they’d done it, not knowing if Tuck would be coming home with them again. The knowledge that life could be so fragile made what they were doing all the more special.
Shifting his weight to one arm, he brought his other hand up to gently cup the side of her face, running a finger along her soft cheek. “My God, Kylie. I fucking love you so much.”
Tears pooled in her eyes. “I love you so much, too, Darren.”
He could feel her inner walls beginning to squeeze down on his cock, alerting him to how close she was getting to coming apart beneath him. He didn’t pick up his pace, but he did rock his hips into her harder with each new thrust. He vaguely registered her tits bouncing beneath Tuck’s shirt as his attention was completely focused on staring into her stunning blue eyes.
He smiled to himself as her mouth dropped open in a silent “O” as her orgasm hit her. Her legs tightened around his waist and her nails dug into his arms. The knowledge that he was sure to have little half moon-shaped marks on his upper arms tomorrow turned him on, drawing his own release to a breaking point.
“That’s it, baby, give it to me. I’m right there with you.” Completely captivated, he watched her eyes widen in surprise at how sudden her orgasm had snuck up on her. When he felt his own release barreling up on him, he dropped his mouth to hers in a kiss that left no doubt as to how he felt about her. He was totally and irrevocably lost to this woman, now and always. He slowly continued to rock his hips until they’d both ridden out their orgasms.
Once satisfied that he’d worn Kylie out enough that she’d get some sleep, he gently pulled out and slipped to her side. He settled on his back, pulled her into his side, locked one arm around her and pulled her leg up and over his. He absently ran his fingers through her hair, loving the silky soft feel of it.
“Darren?” Kylie’s soft voice broke the silence. He’d thought she was asleep, but now he realized she’d been lost in her head just like him.
“Yeah, Kylie?”
“I really am glad you’re okay and I really do love you.”
“Thanks, baby. I really love you, too.”
“Will you promise me something?”
“Anything.”
“I want you to get those sons of bitches that shot Tuck and I want you to make them pay.”
“Are you asking me what I think you’re asking me?”
She tilted her head back and stared him in the eye then shocked the shit out of him. “Yes. I know exactly what I’m saying.”
He tucked her head back into his shoulder. “We will get them, babe. I promise.”
He kissed the top of Kylie’s head and pulled the covers up over her shoulder. It shouldn’t have surprised him that she’d asked that of him. Hell, after everything she’d been through at the hands of the Phantoms already, he’d gladly take every single one of those motherfuckers out. And if it gave her the added bonus of sleeping easy, all the better.
KYLIE
No matter how hard she tried, Kylie could not go to sleep. It wasn’t for a lack of trying on Darren’s part. He’d given her an amazing orgasm that should have helped her drift off to sleep, it just didn’t work. She had too much on her mind. She needed to get up and do some research to help the club figure out where the Phantoms were located. She let him believe she was asleep by closing her eyes and evening her breathing until she felt him fall asleep at her back.
She waited until Darren drifted off to sleep and his breathing evened out then lifted his arm from around her waist where his hand had settled on her round belly and settled it on his leg. She slowly edged her way to the side of the bed, looking over her shoulder to make sure she didn’t wake him. She watched him sleep for a moment, thinking to herself how lucky she’d been to have not one, but two loving, sexy as hell men in her life.
She felt bad for Darren and worried that he might spread himself too thin trying to take care of her and trying his best to be there for Tuck. Right now, he looked so peaceful in sleep, she had to fight the urge to lie back down and just watch him. Taking a deep determined breath, she got out of bed, used the bathroom, then made her way across the room. She gently pulled the door closed behind her and went to the kitchen. Sitting at the kitchen table, she opened her laptop and got to work.
While she’d been in the hospital, she’d pretended to still be asleep when she heard Race and the guys talking about the Phantom Furies. She listened as they talked about how they still had no leads as to where the other club was based. They’d looked at Chet’s employment records at Bottom’s Up and checked out the place he’d been renting. It was a dead end. Someone else was already living there. They were at a standstill until they could get Kylie to look into it deeper. Darren told him it wasn’t going to happen until he felt Kylie was calm enough to handle it.
She felt she was as calm as she was going to get, so she might as well start digging. The sooner she found the assholes who tried to kill Tuck the sooner they could all get their revenge. She wasn’t by nature a violent person, but for what they did to Tuck, she hoped they all died slow, painful deaths. She refused to think about the people they left behind because they intended for her to be one of them when they ambushed Tuck.
First she pulled up Chet’s employment record that Race had been talking about. She checked the address, then hacked into the apartment complex’s computer to see whose name had been on the lease. Sadie Swallow. Interesting name. She then did a record search to see if there were any other properties listed in her name and came up with two more.
Next, she ran Chet’s social security number and discovered he had an address in Taos, New Mexico. New Mexico? Could that be why the Sons couldn’t track the Phantom Furies down? They weren’t even close to looking in that direction. For shits and grins, she ran Sadie Swallow’s name in Taos, New Mexico and found she had a house there. The address matched the one Chet had hidden from the Sons. Coincidence? She didn’t think so.
Now, she thought, was as good as time as any to test her new software program she’d been working on. She set it up to scan Taos traffic cams for any sightings of Phantom Furies cuts. It would take a while for the program to run, but it would send her an alert when or if it found any matches. This was the first true run of her software and she was curious to see how it worked.
“Baby? What are you doing up?” Darren’s voice behind her made her jump. She’d been so focused on what she was doing she hadn’t realized he’d come into the kitchen. “You know you’re supposed to be sleeping. You know, resting for the baby?”
“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” She looked over her shoulder, watching him move farther into the room. He was shirtless and barefoot, only wearing a pair of gym shorts. His tattoos were on full display and his hair was a bit of a mess from her hands tangling in it earlier. Thank God she had Darren to help her get through all of this with Tuck.
“What’s that look for?” he asked, one side of his mouth hitched up like he already knew the answer.
“Just appreciating how lucky I am to have a man like you who loves me the way you do.”
He stopped next to her chair, settled his hand on her shoulder and leaned down for a quick kiss. “I feel like I’m the lucky one.” She covered his hand with hers and gave it a gentle squeeze as he pulled a chair out and took a seat next to her.
“I couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d try and find some information on Chet that might help you guys find the Phantom Furies.”
“Oh, yeah?” He slung his arm over the back of her chair and leaned in. “What have you found so far?”
“I found out that Chet’s lease on his apartment wasn’t in his name. It’s listed under Sadie Swallow.”
Darren choked. “Sadie Swallow? That sounds like a porn name.”
“I know. That’s what I was thinking. Anyway, I did a city wide search to see if that name was listed on any other properties in Redemption and came up with two more.” She pointed at where she’d written them down on the notepad next to her laptop.
“Then I ran Chet’s social security number and found an address in Taos, New Mexico.” She turned her head his direction to see his reaction to the news.
“New Mexico? Are you sure?” He frowned.
“Yes. I also ran Sadie Swallow through properties in Taos and it came up with this address.” She pointed at the third address on the list. ”It matches with the one I found on Chet. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”
His hand had moved from the chair to the back of her neck where he was absently rubbing the tense muscles there. “No, baby. That’s no coincidence.” He yawned behind his other hand, then mused aloud, “That’s why we’ve never been able to get a bead on these pricks.”
Darren’s magical fingers at her neck felt amazing. One by one, she felt her muscles unwind.
“What else you got goin’ on here?” he asked.
She had to smile at that. “What makes you think I’ve got something else going on?”
He shot her a half smile and raised an eyebrow . “Because I know you so well.”
And he really did know her well. Living with him while Tuck dealt with Taylor, they’d become very good friends. They’d learned a lot about each other during that time and he’d been her rock when she found out she was pregnant by Tuck and as she suspected would be the case, he hadn’t remembered sleeping with her.
Getting back to what he wanted to know, she explained the new software she created and how it was supposed to work, and what she was hoping it would find.
Darren’s brows dipped in a deep V. “It can do all that?”
“I’m crossing my fingers, but yeah, I think it will.” She covered his hand where it now rested on her belly, then turned her lips up to accept his quick kiss.
“All right. Leave your program running and let’s go to bed.” He got up and pulled her chair back, then led her back to bed. He pulled the covers back, waved her in, then climbed in behind her. He lay on his back and pulled Kylie into his side so that she had her head on his shoulder. He yawned again, then muttered, “It’s a good thing you use your genius to help us because you’re kinda scary when you let loose all those skills.”
She laughed to herself and settled her hand over his heart. The steady beat quickly coaxed her into sleep. As she was drifting off, she sent another silent prayer that Tuck would be okay and that he could come home sooner rather than later.
She hadn’t been lying when she told Darren she couldn’t live without both of them. If she lost either one of them, her heart would never recover because whoever left her would take that half with them.