Tack's Bounty (Saint's Outlaws MC: Kansas City Chapter #3)

1. Chapter One

Chapter One

Ryder “Tack” Lawson closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. His SWAT captain had just run them through drills to keep their skills up. He was dragging today.

The fact that he’d been trying to have as much sex as possible with the Club’s Sirens to remind himself that it wasn’t his prowess that was the problem didn’t make him a loser—at least that was what he was telling himself.

“Let’s look alert, guys. Abduction reported, and most of the units on this side of town are dealing with a multiple-car pileup including a school bus. Let’s go,” Captain McKendrick directed.

Tack shook his head and ran out to their tactical vehicle—Gretchen. She was built to last and always got them there to help people.

The ride was short, only minutes away, when they pulled up to a house with an older woman, maybe in her seventies, standing out front in her bathrobe with curlers in her hair.

Tack clocked another woman in overalls coming out of a big farmhouse across the street carrying a bag of something.

“Lawson, Willis— talk to the woman across the street. Jennings, canvas. Phillips, you’re with me with the primary,” Captain McKendrick instructed.

Tack walked across the street to the woman in the overalls. As he got closer, he tried to see what was printed on them. It looked like little pictures of cats. When she spotted them, she finished filling the squirrel feeders and walked toward them.

The squirrels swarmed toward the feeders. Tack estimated there were over one hundred squirrels heading toward the feeders.

“Ma’am, can we ask you some questions?” Tack asked.

“Sure,” she offered, smiling as she walked toward them. She had a white T-shirt under the animal overalls and glasses with rims that resembled cat ears on top.

“We’re here with a call regarding an abduction across the street. Have you seen anything this morning?” Tack inquired.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” the woman challenged, shaking her head. She stepped to one side of Tack to see the woman across the street.

“They’re squirrels, Jolene. They haven’t been abducted,” she yelled. “They came of their own free will to eat, you toxic old biddy. How about I order you a battery-powered vibrator so you could get off in this century? Maybe then you could mind your own business!”

Tack fought a chuckle, as did his partner. If that woman across the street called the police on a squirrel abduction, she had a screw loose.

The quirky woman that Tack couldn’t take his eyes off turned back to him. Her brown hair was pulled up in a messy bun. Her chocolate eyes held laughter in them. She held out her hand.

“Dr. Sophia Woods. This is my home, my veterinary clinic, and animal rescue. Jolene across the street is my ex-mother-in-law. Needless to say, she’s not happy that I still live here and that I didn’t stay married to her son,” Sophia stated flatly.

“Nice to meet you, Sophia. I’m Officer Ryder Lawson. Has she done any other things besides calling us on this?” Tack asked.

“She comes over and yells sometimes. I considered an electric fence, but a) I have my practice here, and patients need to be able to drive in, and b) I don’t want to hurt the animals if they touch the fence.

Now her, she could use a jolt of electricity to adjust her thinking,” Sophia said with a grin.

“You bitch, you need to take my son back,” Jolene yelled across the street.

Sophia turned back toward the street. “Maybe when you were letting him suck your tit into adulthood, you should have told him where to find a clit while you were at it,” Sophia yelled back.

Officer Willis was newer on the force and didn’t hold in his laughter at Sophia’s words. Tack had a little more discretion and kept his to a grin, barely.

“And where is the ex-husband?” Tack pressed.

“Rufus, you little pussy. Come out here and get your mother to go in. You know we’re never, ever getting back together,” Sophia yelled.

“So, in the house across the street?” Tack questioned, writing his notes down.

“Dr. Wood, where are…” Officer Willis started to ask.

“It’s Dr. Woods. Like, oh, let’s go in the woods and hope the biddy follows us and gets fucking lost,” Sophia interjected.

Officer Willis chuckled and slapped his leg. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

Tack huffed. “Willis, go across the street and help them.”

“Dr. Woods, is there anything we can do to help this situation?” he offered.

“Can you build a time machine to take me back to three years ago and tell me not to have that drink with the cute nerdy guy and definitely don’t fucking marry him?” she asked.

He chuckled. “No time machine here but let me leave you a card so if you need us,” he directed, reaching to pull one out.

“Nope, what’s the number?” she asked, pulling a pen from her pocket.

“913-965-323x,” he replied. He bit his lip watching Sophia write his number in pen on her arm and his name, Officer Lawson, with the words ‘hot swat officer’ beside it.

“You don’t want a card?” he dryly noted, fighting to keep from laughing.

“Nah, paper blows away or gets eaten by one of the animals. This way, I’ll write it on the board when I go inside,” she disclosed. Pounding on the ground had Tack turning toward the sound.

“You should get on the other side of the fence. Sometimes he’s an asshole when he first gets out in the morning,” Sophia insisted.

Tack wasn’t leaving Sophia to face whatever it was alone. A donkey came running around the house, his hooves clicking on the rocks of the driveway. He ran toward them. Tack worried the donkey would knock Sophia over. He stepped in front of her.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Sophia warned.

“I’ve got this,” Tack assured her.

The donkey ran toward them and skidded to a stop right in front of Tack. He wasn’t full-size. Either he was a baby or he was a miniature donkey. Tack looked over his shoulder at Sophia.

“Can I pet… unh,” Tack groaned, grabbing his crotch and swallowing the nausea that threatened to have him throwing up all over the ground. The cute little donkey had headbutted his crotch.

“I warned you,” Sophia reminded him, walking around Tack. “Naughty, naughty, Pudding. What have I told you about headbutting people?” she scolded.

The donkey brayed at her. Heck, if Tack spoke donkey, he’d say the little asshole was telling Sophia to fuck off.

“You okay there, Officer Lawson?” Officer Willis called from across the street.

“Fucking peachy,” Tack snapped back.

“If anything’s damaged, let me know, and I’ll pay the bill. Can’t have a hot SWAT officer unable to use his dick—that would be a shame,” she teased, winking at him.

Tack grinned. The longer she talked, the more intriguing he found her, despite his crotch hurting and continuing to fight the nausea bubbling in his throat. She had this happiness around her that was contagious.

“I appreciate it. It’s my fault for not listening. I’m sure I’ll be okay. I’ll know better next time. Now, remember, if you need anything, call me,” he reiterated.

Sophia stared at him, her tongue peeking out to lick her lips. He’d give his next paycheck to know what she was thinking.

“I appreciate it. I will,” Sophia confirmed.

Tack nodded, cautiously straightening to make sure he could control the nausea. Despite preferring to stay with Sophia, he headed across the street as his captain was finishing up talking with Jolene.

“Ma’am, I appreciate that you have a disagreement with your neighbor, but you cannot call in a child abduction because your squirrels like her house better,” Captain McKendrick pointed out.

“She just makes me so mad. It’s like she thinks she’s the queen of the animals. Is there anything I can do?” Jolene whined.

“Ignore her. She’s not hurting you. I’m giving you a gift by not citing you for calling in a false report. Don’t make me regret my leniency,” Captain McKendrick cautioned.

The woman nodded. Tack limped back to Gretchen, taking his seat.

“His leniency. More like Cap didn’t want the paperwork,” one of the guys teased.

“She doesn’t need to know that,” Cap announced, slipping into the front seat.

“How’s the balls?” Willis asked.

“Fuck off,” Tack snapped, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. Coldness on his hand had him cracking one eye open and taking the cold pack from Jonesy, the medic. He laid it on his aching dick.

“Cap, I thought I was your favorite, but I feel like I was being punished having to go see the old, mean lady with you,” Phillips joked.

“No, you’re laid back enough to keep me from losing my temper,” Cap called.

“Maybe next time, I can go check out the hot lady in overalls,” Phillips offered.

Tack opened his eyes, glaring at Phillips.

“Then again, maybe not,” Phillips agreed, chuckling.

Tack was glad his point was made. No one was going near Sophia in her cute overalls besides him.

He wondered if his nephew needed an animal.

Getting an animal for him would be the perfect opportunity to see the sassy Sophia again.

Yep, he could get best uncle and ask her on a date all in one fell swoop.