Chapter 9

 

Bas had no idea what he was doing.  One minute he was playing around with his brother, and the next he saw red.  His bear was threatening to rip right out of his skin, and the beasts full focus was on Tuck, the President of the Ruthless Bastards MC, just because the man dared to put his hands on the little sprite.

The human side of his was scrambling to figure out what the hell was going on.  Bas thrived on control, and it was taking every skill he possessed to stop what was about to happen.  The feel of Link’s hand yanking his arm helped snap him out of whatever the hell just happened, and he stopped in his tracks not even four feet from Tuck.

"Dude, what the fuck is your problem! You look like you’re going to burst a fucking blood vessel," Link barked.

"Fuck, man, I don’t know, who was that woman?" Bas questioned.

"Who? Pixie, do you know her?"

"No." Looking at Tuck, he asked the only thing he could," Is she yours?"

"Pixie?"  He responded, baffled.

Fuck, these two really needed to get with the program.  Bas needed answers, and he needed them now. The woman had triggered him, and he needed to know who and what he was going to have to kill to get to her. 

"Yes, Pixie, or whatever the fuck her name is.  Is she yours?" he said to Tuck again.

Tuck never got the chance to respond to his question because an ear-splitting scream pierced the air.  Bas knew instinctually that scream had come from woman, Pixie, or Sky, whatever the fuck her name was.  This time he didn’t hold back his instincts and barreled towards the door.  His bear was close, but allowing him to take the lead for now.  Bas hoped the reprieve continued and then knew in an instant it would be short lived.

The sight of the woman on the ground, apparently hurt, with a man standing behind her with blood spilling from his nose, were not things his beast wanted to let his human side handle.  Bas was breathing hard trying to control himself. He could feel the prickle of hair sprouting from his hand and face.  His bear was close to the surface, and there was no holding him back right now.  The man had made the sprite scream, and to make matters worse, he was also a Shifter.  Bas could smell him.  Fucking hell.

Bas growled more than talked, "You need to step away from the woman." 

The Shifter didn’t move. He only sneered, either oblivious or not caring about the threat Bas represented.  The guy was young, and Bas had never seen him before. The Shifter community was small, so not meeting this man at one time or another seemed impossible. Shit, half of the Shifter species worked for NAC in some way or form. 

The Shifter in front of him had committed the cardinal sin in their community. Shifters did not attack humans and by doing so he just signed his own death warrant.  If Bas was scenting him correctly, the man was a big cat, Lion or maybe Tiger.  With his adrenaline pumping in his veins, he was unable to narrow the species down.  That didn’t stop him from scenting what else was coming from the Shifter, and that was his emotions.  Each emotion had a distinctive smell, and right now he was putting off disgust, hate, and anger in waves. 

The problem was, there wasn’t a damn thing Bas could do about any of it at the moment.  Showing humans what and who they were, was also akin to signing his own death warrant, and Bas wasn't stupid.  No, right now Bas needed to use words and possibly fists. Claws and teeth would have to wait, no matter how much it cost his bear.  Because with Link and Tuck at his back and the woman in front of him, there was no way he could let his beast out like he wanted to.  Bas also scented the other members of the RBMC starting to circle the area.

The situation was fucked beyond recognition.  Bas' instincts were riding him to save the woman, and his loyalty to the Shifter community told him to slow down and think before he acted on anything.  His bear was clawing to draw blood.  In the two point five seconds he battled with himself, the situation went south even further.       

A glint of metal shined, and the next thing Bas knew, the Shifter was pointing a gun right at him.  Things had just gone from bad to worse.  Bas wasn’t carrying any weapons, having left everything in the car to meet up with his brother.  He was pretty sure that both Link and Tuck were packing, but if they engaged, they would need to go for a kill shot because anything less would only enrage the Shifter. 

Hoping to dissuade Link and Tuck, Bas put his hands out with the intention of talking the man down from doing something stupid, like shooting him.  He never got the chance because the little sprite on the ground took matters into her own hands.  Swinging her foot out, Sky was able to kick the gun from the Shifter’s grip.  The move not only shocked him, but the Shifter as well. 

When Bas heard the weapon discharge, he was even more shocked to see the gun in the woman’s hand, smoking like some bad B-flick.  But that wasn’t even the kicker. The kicker was the shot from the weapon didn’t result in any blood or guts.  Where Bas expected to see blood, he only saw a dart.  And the fact that the dart had downed the Shifter quickly meant that it wasn’t a common tranquilizer.  Shifters metabolize stimulants at an accelerated rate.  Shit, it would take all the booze in the bar behind him and him consuming it within seconds for Bas to even get a buzz.  Fuck, were Shifters now working with Pandora and Davis?  Because until this moment, all of NAC and The Holly Group thought that they were the only ones that possessed this type of weapon. 

Bas walked over and squatted in front of the woman. Her eyes were as big as saucers, and she wasn’t breathing.  When he gripped the weapon in her hand. She gave it up quickly, almost cringing back like she hadn’t realized that she had just fired it or because of the opposite, that she had fired it.  Taking his unoccupied hand, Bas couldn’t resist touching her skin.  Rubbing a finger down her cheek he asked, "Are you okay?"

When she didn’t answer, but both shook her head and nodded seconds after each other, Bas figured the woman was in shock.  Taking her hand in his to pull her up so she was no longer sitting on the ground, Bas had no choice but to pull it right back out of her grasp.   Her touch had felt like it was burning him.  The woman looked at him strangely, like maybe she had felt the same thing, but didn’t move.  The sensation only lasted a second and settled on his wrist, but the adrenaline that was running through his body, causing him to dismiss the feeling.  Reaching for her again, this time the burning sensation wasn’t as intense. So, he held her hand and pulled her up. 

At first his only intention had been to get her on her feet and out of danger, but once she was standing, he couldn’t resist pulling her into his chest and hugging her too tight.  He expected the woman to be stiff and resist his offer of comfort, but when she wrapped her hands around his waist and laid her cheek against his chest, he wanted to fist pump the air. He had no idea why the action was so important, but it was.  Having her in his arms felt like coming home. 

At that moment, everything going around the two of them vanished; it was only Bas and Pixie.  Bas leaned down and smelled her hair, getting more of the honeysuckle and vanilla he had scented earlier.  He also smelled fear, shock, and pain, but under all of that, he also smelled arousal.  Pulling his hips back so she wouldn’t feel the steel rod he was sporting, he kissed her forehead and said, "It’s all going to be all right, Okay?"  She didn’t answer. He looked at her wide hazel eyes, making sure she understood what he was talking about. The lights seemed to be on in there, but Bas couldn't be sure because she wouldn't talk to him.  His reaction didn’t make sense, then again, nothing that had happened in the last half hour made much sense. 

Bas heard a groan from the man on the ground.  He didn’t want to take the chance of the unknown Shifter waking up and possibly exposing himself to all the people that had now gathered do to Pixie’s screaming and the altercation.  Bas didn’t want to let the woman go, so he brought her into his side, placing his hand on her head. He turned her into his body so that she wouldn't have to witness what he was about to do.  Then he shot the man again. 

Bas’ problems were only adding up because right now he needed to figure out his next move. He also needed to gather enough strength to let the woman go.  He feared that would be the harder of any of his current needs.  Bas looked for his brother. Bas knew he needed help with what had to be done, and Link would hopefully provide that for him.  Involving the RBMC right now was a risky move, but he was a lone man with little to no resources at the moment.  Getting the Shifter out of there and into the NAC’s hands had to be his first priority.  That and making sure the RBMC and everyone else was none the wiser about him or the other man.   

He hoped that the RBMC, his brother, and Tuck would look the other way without asking any questions so he could get the unknown Shifter out of there and back to an NAC facility.  That way Senior and Matthias could figure out what was going on. 

Looking at Tuck instead of his brother, Bas asked, “Is there somewhere safe we can put her for a couple of minutes so we can get this situation cleaned up?”

Tuck addressed Link, “Take her back into the bar and get her a drink.”  The man didn’t wait for a response but walked over to the prone man and stared looking that the darts sticking out of his chest. 

Letting the woman go, Bas looked her in the eyes. They were glossy but alert. 

"Honey, go with Link. I’m going to talk with Tuck for a few minutes.  Then I have to take care of this guy, but I will come back for you. Okay?  Do you think you can do that?" 

The action should have been an easy one, but it was far from it.  As Bas watched his brother lead the woman away, it was almost like a part of him was tearing apart.  And from the look in her eyes as Link led her back to the bar, she was feeling the same thing.  Bas wanted to drop everything and just go back to holding her, and it seemed like she was pleading with him to do just that.  He had to force himself to turn away from her when she looked over her shoulder because the intense want and need she was projecting his way was almost too much for him to handle right then, shit, maybe ever. 

The other members of the RBMC were staying back, and Bas was thankful because he knew his next words were going to cause Tuck to go on high alert. 

“Any chance I can make a call, and you will turn the other way and forget any of this just happened?”

“I’d say that depends a lot on who you’re going to call?” Tuck said looking up at Bas.

"Declan Jones.

Tuck stood and said, “Understood. How about I take a walk over to my bike?  You make that call and then we will figure out what to do next.  Tell Senior it’s been too long and he owes me some Scotch."

Tuck walked towards his bike without saying another word or looking back.  Bas noticed some hand signals that he was familiar with because of his time in the service.  NAC also used them.  Tuck was giving him the privacy he had asked for, calling his guys in and away from the scene.

Shit, this wasn’t going to be a fun call to make.  Pulling his cell phone out Bas dialed Senior.  The man answered in one ring with one word “Go.”

"Senior, I need a pickup in Defiance, Kentucky.  Unknown possible rogue just attacked my person of interest’s cousin in public.  RBMC and other civilian witnesses.  The situation is contained with three tranqs to the chest from his own weapon.  Unsure of recovery time."

"Fuck!" Senior yelled. " Any chance you can get the unknown undercover until I can get a bird in the air for pick up?  Estimated time of arrival is one hour. We will dispatch from Charlie."

"I can ask the brothers to take us both to a secure location, and I will call with details once undercover."

"Roger that."

And the phone went dead.  Time to get to work.

Tuck made his way back to Bas "What’s the plan?"

"Do you have a place we can take this guy that is open enough for aerial extractions?"

"Yeah, I know of a place perfect for a discreet extraction.  There is one problem though; it is wide open and in the middle of nowhere.  There isn’t a place to safely store your package.  If you are planning on sitting on this guy for any amount of time, that could be a problem." 

"Shouldn’t be a problem. Senior said ETA one hour."

Tuck used hand signals again, and several bikers started walking their way.  A cargo van also pulled up from the parking lot.  It took all of a few seconds to get the man loaded into the truck.  Bas turned to Tuck. 

"Listen, I have to take care of this. Can you keep an eye on the girl and wait for me to come back?  I need to ask her some questions, but it’s going to have to wait until I get this piece of crap taken care of."

"Listen man, Pixie is good people, and I consider her one of mine.  So yeah, I will keep an eye on her, but if she doesn’t want to talk to you when you’re done, that is up to her.  I’ve cut you some slack because of your brothers and Senior, but that only goes so far.  That girl has had more crap thrown at her than any one person needs to handle."   

Well, that answered Bas’s question from earlier. Tuck claimed the woman but didn’t have a claim on her personally.  Good to know. 

"Understood. Shit Tuck, you know how this works.  I can’t tell and you can’t ask, but it is important that I talk to her when I get back.  If I could send this guy off with one of your guys and ask those questions now, I would, but I have to handle this extraction personally.  All I am asking for is two hours.  If you can buy me that much time, I will make sure Senior sends you more than one bottle of his Scotch." 

"I will do my best, man, but no promises.  Get your shit done and we will take Pixie back to the clubhouse. You can meet us back there later." 

"Thanks, man.  I appreciate it,” Bas said.

"Don’t thank me yet. I told you I would try, but that woman was determined to leave before all this went down.  I can’t imagine her changing her mind now without driving her to move on faster." 

"Fuck. Any way you can have one or two of your boys check in on the cousin?  I don’t want them to engage, just observe.  If someone shows up, call me."

“I have absolutely no love for that bitch, Shelby,” Link declared. “But if someone goes after her and attacks her like what just happened to Pixie, my men will not hold back.  They will engage."

"Shit, fine. Listen, if, and only if, your men find the same situation or some other threat, tell them to use this.”  Bas handed over the tranquilizer gun.  “If they perceive the tiniest of threats, shoot first and I will ask questions later.   Then have them give me a call.  Shit man, I can’t go into specific. All I can say is that it needs to happen that way.  It will keep your guys safe, and this situation contained.  Do you understand?" 

"Fuck man, this shit is happening in my backyard, and I don’t like it.  You don’t want to share, fine, but you have twenty-four hours to clean all this shit up and be on your way.  I won’t ban you from the Club or your brothers, but I also won’t allow you or Senior to bring a shit storm down on my door. Understand?"

"More than you know, man."

Bas slapped Tuck on the shoulder and got into the van.  Driving away from the woman in the bar physically hurt him and his bear.