CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

“Juan!”  Tessa screamed, running for the man, throwing herself into his arms.  “Is she okay, where is she?”

“Calm down, Tess, Maria’s okay, she’s with family now, but we need to talk to your man,” he said, placing Tessa back on her feet and moving away from her.  

“Let’s make this quick,” Juan barked at Creed. Tessa was surprised at how different Juan was.  He was the nice one, the one who took her and Cinny out for pizza and ice cream when she was little.  He was also the one who would come over and play board games, making fun of them when they lost.  But that man was nowhere to be seen now, he was just as cold as Micky had been.

“The Perez Cartel has bought out the price on your head, no one will touch you,” Juan said pointing at Creed.  “Tess will be given a choice, she can stay with you, or she can go with us.  The claim on her will be voided either way.”

“Why, what’s in this for you,” Creed sneered at Juan.  Tessa didn’t like it, but she knew better than to say anything, this was business, and even though it affected her, these men didn’t want or need her opinion.

“My sister has agreed to come home; her price was making sure you and Tess are taken care of.  We’re keeping up our end of the deal.” Tessa couldn’t help her intake of breath; this was bad very bad.  Cinny would never agree to go back to her family.  Her brothers were okay, but her father was a monster.  He treated Cin like property or a possession he had the right to do whatever he wanted with.  Tessa had seen the scars. 

She put her hand on Juan, trying to get him to look at her, but he wouldn’t. 

“Make your choice, Tessa.”

Tessa walked over to Creed and stood by his side, there really wasn’t any choice. She wouldn’t be going with the Perez’s even if she wanted to go to Maria more than her last breath. 

“Load up, Tess has made her choice,” Juan barked to his men but stop and turned.  “Your President has been taken.  I don’t know where they’ve taken him, only that he’s been taken.  You need to tell Caine to stay away from Maria.  His reprieve is over, we’ll be gunning for him.  Take care of her, Creedence,” Juan said pointing to Tessa, “she’s what has kept you all alive.” 

“Juan, wait,” Tessa said, trying to move forward, but Creed grabbed her arm.  “Please,” Tessa yelled, “is Maria going to be okay, will you be able to protect her? Please, Juan, I need to know.”  Tessa had fallen down on her knees, knowing how bad all of this was. 

“Maria isn’t your concern anymore, Tessa. She’s with family now where she was meant to be all along.  Move on and forget about her. She made her choice and bargained her life for yours and your brothers.”

Tessa was still on the ground crying as she watched the SUV’s pull away, Creed standing behind her.

“Come on, babe, we need to figure out what to do next.”

“You don’t understand, they’ll hurt her. Her father will punish her for all the years she stayed away.  We have to do something.”

“Babe, if I knew what to do, I would.  But right now, we need to get in the car.  Find out what’s going on with Tuck and find Caine, okay?”

Tessa woodenly stood and walked to the car with Creeds support.  Damn, this was all her fault.  Right about now, her nursing career seemed so small.  The risks she’d taken and the people who had gotten caught up in her trying to finish out her dream.  It wasn’t worth it, any of it.

“Talk to me, babe, tell me what just happened back there. Why are you acting like we just signed Cinny’s death warrant?”

“Because we did, or she did.  She stayed away from her family, her brothers came around every once in a while, but they had an agreement.  As long as she stayed out of trouble, they would leave her alone to live her life.  It’s her father who’s the problem.  The only reason she was allowed outside of the walls of their house was of a deal her mother made him make.  If Cinny went back and asked for anything, it voided the deal.  She voided the deal to clear us.  Creed she gave up her life for us, and I don’t know how to deal with that.”  Tessa started crying harder. “How do I live with that? He’s awful Creed, and I know in my heart, he’s going to destroy her, but there isn’t anything we can do.”

“I don’t know, Tess, I think we can do a lot. The RBMC and Renegades have so many resources, we could get her out of there, we just need to know where.”

“No, you don’t understand. I promised if she ever made that choice, I wouldn’t interfere.  That I would let her make the decision for herself.  I have to honor that Creed, so do my brothers.”

“Shit.” Creed picked up the burner phone from the console and dialed Talon, he wasn’t all that surprised when Jinx answered instead. 

“Shit’s gone south, brother, get your woman back to Defiance, don’t stop.  We’ll fill you in when we can.”

The ride back to Defiance was long.  Creed had gotten a few phone calls filling him in, but he wouldn’t get the full story until all parties were there, minus Tuck.  Fuck, that was a hard pill to swallow. Tuck had been taken, and from what everyone had pieced together, he went willingly.  It didn’t make any sense.  Why the fuck would he turn himself over to the Vultures.  He knew Creed had Tessa and that she was safe or would have been soon.  Cin was with her family.  However fucked up that was. Creed hadn’t even scratched the surface of that with Tess yet.  So why in the hell would he just turn himself over?  It didn’t make any damn sense.

He pulled into the RMBC compound at just after two in the morning.  The place was lit up so bright, it hurt his eyes.  Driving the SUV right into the garage off to the side, he woke up Tess. 

“Babe, you need to get up, I have to go to Church.”

Tess startled awake, and he wanted to kick himself.  He was running on nerves, and when she finally fell asleep over an hour ago, he had been thankful she was finally getting some sleep.  Tessa hadn’t been hysterical, she’d been quiet and resolved, and Creed hated.  His woman always expected the worst, and that shit needed to change. 

“It’s okay, babe, we’re here, I just need to get you inside and settled before I go to Church.”  Tess didn’t say anything, just nodded and got out of the vehicle.  Creed got out and headed to her side, pulling her into his body, trying to offer her comfort in the only way he knew how right now.  “Babe, I’m going to take you to my room. It isn’t much, and when this shit blows over, we can find something better.  I just, I need to talk with the guys, we need to figure out what our next move is, and you can’t be there, okay?”

Tessa laid her head on his shoulder and patted his stomach. “It’s okay, I get it.  I need to sleep, anyway.  Just tell me where to go, you don’t have to take me.”

He didn’t like this side of Tess, he’d never seen it before, and it was wearing on his nerves.  He needed to do something, but he didn’t have time.  This fucking sucked.  They walked in the back door of the RBMC, and Creed was thankful only Brass was there.  His brother nodded at him and looked to the side stairs.  Creed nodded back, taking Tessa up.  He lived on the second floor; only he, Brass, Crash, Jinx and Talon had rooms on this floor.  Tuck, Crank, Link, and the other officers had rooms on the third floor. 

Unlocking his door, Creed was thankful the place didn’t look that bad.  He wasn’t a messy person but sometimes, fuck, he didn’t want to think about what he’d been doing before meeting Tessa.  He smelled fabric softener and knew someone had changed his bedding because he sure as hell didn’t use the stuff when he washed his clothes. He would have to figure out who did it and thank them.  He hadn’t been as bad as some of his brothers with women, but he was no saint.  Tessa didn’t need to be subject to that right now. 

Creed walked her over to the bed and crouched down in front of her. “Okay, babe, I don’t know how long I’m going to be gone, but you can lock the door if you want.  If you don’t, no one will bother you.  Only a few of the guys have access up here, and they’ll be with me.  The bathroom,” he pointed to a closed door, “is through there.  If you need any clothes, just rummage through my things until you find something you want.  Okay?”

Creed kissed Tess on the forehead and left the room.  If he had looked at her any longer, he would have changed his mind and stayed, she needed him.  He knew it, but he also knew they both needed him to keep his mind in the game.  Tuck had been a bastard to her, but he was still her brother and finding him had to be the priority. 

Using the front stairs, Creed walked down until he was in the common room.  None of it looked the same, several people were milling around, but the mood was somber, word of Tuck being taken already making its rounds.  The room they held Church in had its door propped open, something that had never happened in the entire time Creed had been a part of the club.  He didn’t stop to talk to anyone, a few of his brother clapped him on the shoulder when he went by, but none of them made him stop.  Once inside the meeting room, he looked at Link, sitting in Tuck's spot with Caine pacing behind him. 

Creed heard the doors close and said, “Tell me what happened.”

“Fuck!” Caine said, throwing a glass at the wall. “It was a fucking set up, that’s what happened.  Those fuckers never wanted Tessa, they just wanted to bring Tuck out in the open.  If he would have just let me handle it, none of this shit would have happened.”

“I don’t think so,” Link said, throwing a thick folder down on the table. “The Vultures have Tuck’s daughter.” 

“What!”  Caine yelled along with several other members of the Renegades and RBMC.  Link slammed his hand down on the table stopping everyone.

“Listen up!  Tuck has been looking for his kid for a while now.  Every time he got close, something happened to fuck it up.  The bitch who birthed the kid is a groupie.  She bounces from club to club, trying to get a patch.”

“Shit,” Creed said, sitting down. 

“Caine, heard Grinder say something about Maddie, but he didn’t know who she was.  When he came back here and filled us in, I pulled the file Crank and I have been working on.  It fits.  She’s the only person, besides Katie, Tuck would have put his life out there for, and Cathy called Katie just a little while ago to make sure she was okay.”

Creed had only met Katie a handful of times, but she seemed like an okay girl.  He and everyone else knew that if Tuck would ever claim someone, it would be Katie, but he kept himself away from her.  Did his best to make the woman leave which she did.  Damn.