Chapter 21: Chapter 21

“You want me to do what now?”

“I want you to wear a wire,” Ingram repeated. It was the third time he’d said it, but no matter how many times she heard it, Talia’s mind refused to accept it.

“I’m sorry, Sir, but that’s not a good idea. It’s too dangerous.”

“Dangerous would be sitting on our hands while you continue to take your sweet time wooing that biker. Meanwhile, we have seven more women missing!”

Talia’s stomach twisted on itself. When she’d walked into Ingram’s office that morning, she had expected the usual progress report update and an accompanying nod and good luck on the way out the door. She hadn’t expected to be reviewing seven missing women’s files, all new developments over the course of one evening.

Whoever the hell these people were behind the abductions, they were efficient and knew how to fly under the radar. No evidence was ever left behind. It was as if the women just vanished into thin air.

The closest the department had come in finding them had been when police answered a weapons fired call that led them out to that ranch. It was obvious what it had been used for: drugs and human trafficking. The most they’d been able to take away from the scene was some scuffed prints and muddled DNA. The local police had done such a fine job of fudging the scene that they couldn’t get a solid anything from anywhere. Even the damn tire tracks out back that disappeared into a field had somehow been tainted. It was a clusterfuck of epic proportions that still made her sick to think about.

They’d been so close…

Since some of the tracks around the property suggested motorcycles had been present at some time or another, and ballistics from spent shell casings that’d been collected matched a few of the gun models that were registered to half the county—which included a select few of the Spartan members—naturally they’d zeroed in on the club.

Despite Talia’s reservations over pointing the finger too soon at the wrong people, she hated to admit that she was terrified that Tucker had been involved. It might just be a coincidence, or it might be the break they’d been hoping for, but the fact was, she’d broken it off with him last night, so she couldn’t vouch for his whereabouts at the time of the abductions.

What she did know, however? If Tucker was in any way involved, she wouldn’t hesitate to slap the cuffs on his wrists herself.

“I’ve already spoken to Kellerman and we agree, it’s the best way to get what we need,” Ingram continued. “We’re not making headway fast enough, and we don’t have another year to sort this out. We need results, McKinnon, and unless you have a better suggestion, this is what we’re going with.”

She racked her brain, searching for a better solution, something safer, but Talia came up with zilch. The way she saw it, she didn’t have much choice in the matter. That didn’t mean she was happy about it, though.

“Fine, have it your way,” she snapped, anger and pride fueling outrage she would have kept a tight lid on under different circumstances. “I hope you realize that our ‘breakup’ is going to complicate things. What am I supposed to tell him this time, that I lost my other earring?”

Imagining herself knocking on the clubhouse door, looking up into those damnable caramel colored eyes, and lying again made her almost as physically ill as the loss of those women. She hadn’t planned on seeing Tucker again so soon, if ever. In fact, she’d been kind of hoping for a reassignment. If she could talk Ingram into putting another female agent on the case, then Talia could join surveillance.

He hadn’t wanted to hear a word of it. Something about no time to start over, blah, blah, blah.

“Just tell him you made a mistake. You were having a mood swing. PMS. Honestly, I don’t care what you tell him, as long as it gets you back inside.” Ingram rocked back in his chair, regarding her curiously. “Is there something else you’d like to share with me, McKinnon?”

It was then Talia realized she’d been fiddling with her necklace, twisting the cross pendant back and forth. She dropped it like it was a hot iron. “No, Sir.”

“You sure? I get the distinct feeling that you’re keeping something from me.”

“No, Sir,” she replied quickly. But her guilty conscience offered up some choice memories of her and Tucker in bed, holding each other and laughing over stupid, every day stuff. It’d seemed so normal when it happened, but now it felt wrong somehow. Shameful.

“You would tell me if you were compromised?”

“Sir, if I thought I was compromised, I would take myself off the case. These women are important to me. I refuse to let them down.”

His gaze lingered for a heartbeat, and then Ingram gave one sharp nod of his head. “Good, that’s exactly what I want to hear. Now go get wired up. I want results this time.”

***

It was like Déjà vu. Talia stood on the clubhouse’s front stoop, staring at the rusty red slab door and mulling over the excuse she’d been working on for the last hour.

She was going with PMS. As far as excuses went, it’d always worked for her mother, and she’d heard women she’d circulated around claim to use it from time to time to get out of sex or explain away a bad mood or their sharp tone.

Normally, Talia would be against using something so stereotypical for gain, but she didn’t have any other ideas, and she wasn’t about to go crawling around on Tucker’s bedroom floor again. Besides, he had a hard time buying the earring crap the first time, so he certainly wasn’t going to the second time.

Besides, being on her hands and knees wasn’t the best position if she wanted to keep the little mic the department had fit between her boobs from being seen. Even now, she was paranoid that it was showing, that it would be obvious that she was wearing one, though she knew that it was so small it was practically invisible.

As long as she kept her clothes on, though, she’d be just fine. But if Tucker was…well, Tucker, and she managed to get back into his good graces, then the possibility of ending up naked and on her back was real.

She never thought it would come to this, but Talia was hoping he’d boot her ass out those chain link gates and tell her to get lost. She wasn’t up for dealing with this level of drama this early in the morning. Frankly, she didn’t think she’d ever be ready to deal with it when it came to Tucker Abrams. There was just something about the man that turned her insides to jelly and her brain to mush, and she didn’t like feeling beholden to her emotions like that. After Brock, she just didn’t trust herself to pick a good man anymore, and Tucker had one big thing going against him: he was a biker. She’d heard enough and read enough to know that the question marks hanging over every member’s head was as good as a flashing red warning sign. That she was still entertaining any warm and fuzzies over the man was concerning on many levels.

It’s a job, she reminded herself. Just because they had chemistry didn’t mean it had to be more than that. “I’m in the driver’s seat,” she said under her breath, giving herself a little pep talk.

With those words fresh on her lips, Talia lifted her fist and rapped it against the door a few times. Then she proceeded to stand there like a wallflower for several minutes, knocking periodically, before the door finally swung open and a woman with ratted up hair and dressed in a pair of tattered cutoff jean shorts covered in slices and holes and a men’s tank top with no bra underneath answered the door. Talia almost didn’t recognize her at first.

“What!” Bambi bellowed, then blinked when she saw Talia. Sizing her up, she sneered. “Oh, it’s you. Country ain’t here.”

It was the sneer that did it. Talia would recognize that sour lemon expression anywhere. “Bambi, right?” She didn’t wait for confirmation; she never forgot a face, especially one as bitchy as hers. “Do you know where he went or when he might be back?”

Sucking her teeth, Bambi slid her hand up higher on the door, revealing a strip of freshly tanned skin and a belly button ring with a dangling pink butterfly. “Now I see why he dumped you. Should have learned the rules. Guys around here? They don’t like to be questioned.” She grinned, but there was nothing nice about her expression. “Maybe you’ll get it right next time. I’ll be sure to forget to tell him you stopped by.”

The door slammed in Talia’s face so hard, her hair blew back off her shoulders. “Well, that was rude.” She stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. Did people really act that way outside of books and movies? Apparently so. Now she could see why Tucker had stopped seeing Bambi. But what was that she’d said about Tucker dumping her? Was that what he was telling people?

Talia’s teeth gnashed together. It’d been hard enough to come back to apologize for her behavior, especially when she didn’t feel that she’d done anything wrong, but it enraged her to think that he’d gone off and told everyone that he’d been the one to break things off. Especially when he was the one who’d told her they were just having fun.

“That asshole!” she hissed. To think she’d planned to ask for his forgiveness. “To hell with this.” She’d take whatever punishment Ingram gave her, but she was so done with all of this. The first thing she planned to do when she walked back into his office was demand a reassignment.

Turning on her heel, Talia stepped down off the stoop and began marching for her car at the same time she heard the roar of engines turn down the street.

Her steps faltered. Well, she thought with a mental sneer, it looks like the good old country boy is back just in time to feel my wrath. Reaching her car, Talia propped herself against the rear bumper, folded her arms across her chest, and waited.

The flock of leather wearing, badass bikers rolled through the gates, revving their engines and making all kinds of ear-shattering racket that Talia was—curiously—crazy turned on by. Something about the low purr of a powerful piece of machinery acted like high-octane fuel to the libido. Similar to a muscle car on the prowl.

The only thing that could make the experience any better would be a hot man behind the wheel to go along with it.

And there he was. Second in line behind the bulk of male that she figured had to be the president was Tucker. Even though he was wearing the same black ensemble as everyone else in the troupe, his face obscured by his helmet, she could pick him out of a lineup with her eyes closed, she was so in tune with him.

Her heart beat a little faster as she watched the men line up in front of the building, backing their bikes into their parking spots expertly. Dammit, she was supposed to be mad, and she was. It was just a little less fire and a little more sizzle than it was before they showed up.

As Tucker dismounted, she tried to drum up that fierce sense of pride and indignation she’d been prepared to sling at him, but it was a failure from the start. Now that she was standing in front of him, she couldn’t seem to hold onto anything other than excitement.

She could feel his eyes on her even before she could see them. Tugging off his helmet, Blake said something to Tucker as he began walking toward her, to which Tucker flipped his hand up in the air. She smirked, imagining the gesture to mean fuck-off. Which made her wonder what Blake had said to warrant such a response. But that hardly mattered when he was bounding toward her like a tornado on a path of destruction.

Talia could see the strong emotion in his every step. Why did she get the sense that he was upset? When Tucker was just a few feet from her, he ripped off his helmet, and her stomach went into free fall when she saw that he was, indeed, upset.

His eyes held a mixture of profound sadness and relief, the origin of which she had no earthly idea. Talia just knew that she had the instant need to run to him and wrap her arms around him and promise that everything would be all right.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you okay?”

They spoke at the same time, their words hurried.

“You go first,” she acquiesced.

“I went by your apartment, and you weren’t there. I thought…” He blew out a breath that sounded as if he’d been holding it for ages. “I’m so fucking glad you’re here. Why are you here?”

“I had to come see you,” she jumped right in. “I wanted to apologize for acting like a total lunatic yesterday. I shouldn’t have made you leave.”

His eyes softened and within seconds, he’d eliminated the space between them. Taking her into his arms, Tucker crushed her to him, burying his face in her hair. His big body shook, worrying her even more. “I never should have left. I was so stupid to leave you alone.”

“I didn’t leave you any choice.”

“There’s always a choice,” he said fiercely. Drawing back, he framed her face with his hands. “You’re really okay?” His gaze roved over her as if searching for injury.

“I’m positive,” she assured him. “Tuck, what did you think happened?” She had to know. The way he was behaving was alarming.

“It’s nothin’, sugar. You’re okay, and that’s all that matters.”

Annnnnd…she’d found her anger again. Narrowing her eyes, Talia said, “Don’t you dare brush me off and treat me like I’m some kind of frail little woman who can’t handle a bit of truth.”

He gave her a placating smile. “It’s club business, sugar. It’s a need-to-know kind of thing. You understand.”

“I understand that you’re treating me like I’m not your equal,” she growled.

“Now, sugar—”

“If you even think to treat me like one of your bimbo rabbits or whatever the hell you call them, then you can forget everything I said because I will walk out of here and you won’t ever see me again.” Her mouth pinched in a mocking smile. “You understand.”

Tucker’s eyes darted back and forth between hers, taking her measure, no doubt. He must have realized that she wasn’t messing around, because he released another sigh, this time longer and more resigned. “You’re gonna be difficult, aren’t ya?”

“You bet your ass I am.”

Pleasure spread across his face, creating fine creases around his eyes and mouth. It was there and gone in an instant, replaced by steel determination. “Last night, some women in the area were abducted. Likely they were sold into the human trade business.”

Her heart slammed against her ribcage, her blood racing like wildfire through her veins. Unconsciously, Talia leaned in closer. Hopefully, the mic would pick up every word with crystal clarity.

“And what do you and your friends have to do with any of it?”

The muscle in his jaw began to tick as he mulled over his words. Finally, he said, “The club and I have history with a man we think is behind the operation.”

Oh, shit. This could be the lead they’d been waiting for. She needed a name, something they could run with. “What man? Do you know his name? And again, what does any of this have to do with you?”

“The less you know, the better,” he said cryptically, and the firm way in which he said it made it clear that it was a dead end where she was concerned. “All you really need to know is that we’ve been keeping a bead on him and his men. We’ve been trying to get ahead of the storm in order to prevent what happened last night from going down, but so far he’s managed to stay a step ahead every time.”

“I still don’t understand why you’re involving yourselves. It sounds dangerous.” Her mouth gaped, remembering the way he’d looked at her when he saw her standing there. “Is that why you looked so worried when you saw me? You thought I was one of those women they took?”

His fingers tightened on the back of her neck, pressing down on the tendons. “When you didn’t answer your door, I thought you were gone. I thought he’d gotten to you. If it wasn’t for my brothers talking some sense into me, I would still be out there looking for blood.”

Warmth spread through her, and Talia turned her head to kiss his calloused palm. “I don’t know what to say.”

“There’s nothing to say. You’re here. That’s all that matters.”

“Do you forgive me?” For some reason Talia couldn’t pinpoint, his answer meant more to her than just getting on his good side. She needed his forgiveness, to know that he wasn’t mad at her.

“Sugar, there is nothing to forgive.” Bending down, Tucker placed the gentlest, sweetest kiss on her lips she’d ever experienced. It wasn’t seductive or lascivious. It just felt…real.

After a few more minutes of make-up kissing, Tucker released her. Taking her hand in his, he led her into the clubhouse, past his friends, and toward his bedroom.

“Is this the part where we have crazy, sweaty make-up sex?” she asked, already planning which part of her attire to get rid of first to expedite the sexy times.

Tucker chuckled. “As fun as that sounds, I kind of made a promise I can’t back out of.” He flicked a look over his shoulder that definitely wasn’t giving off any good vibrations. “Blake invited us over to his place tonight, and by invited, I mean demanded. Dinner starts at six. I hope you’re hungry.”