Page 35

35

Tucker

T he protectiveness I feel over this woman should not be as intense as it is for such a short time, but it is, and I’m not fighting it. Lincoln and I say our goodbyes in the driveway, and I let him drive away before I stop at the main house and approach the front door. The white house with black accents is well-kept, but you can tell it lacks a woman’s touch.

I ring the doorbell and hear footsteps approach before the door opens.

“Tucker, everything alright?”

I take my hat off out of respect and nod. “It is. Might we speak a moment?” He steps back and allows me inside.

The living room opens to the kitchen. Everything is neutral tones, and like the front of the house, it’s not quite a bachelor pad, but you can tell a woman doesn’t live here. I pause at a picture of a pretty middle aged woman with auburn hair and blue eyes.

“My Heather, Spencer’s mother. We lost her when Spencer was in middle school. Died of cardiac arrest in her sleep. We never saw it coming. I believe it’s what pushed Spencer to become a paramedic.”

He walks past me to the refrigerator and pauses. “Water? Coffee? Whiskey?”

“How about coffee with a splash of whiskey?”

His head dips. “A man of my own heart. I think I’ll join you.”

Eddie pours our mugs of coffee and spirits and motions for me to follow him. He opens a door off the kitchen to a three-season porch with several chairs, a couch, and dark-tinted windows.

“Take a seat.” I sit in a dark green recliner, and he sits beside me. With his mug, he points to Spencer’s house, that’s in full view from the porch. “I’ve spent many hours out here watching over her from afar.” He takes a sip from his cup and gives me an earnest look. “I don’t have to do that too much since you boys came around.” I smile over my mug. “I appreciate all that you’re doing for her. But you didn’t come here for small talk, so tell me why you did, Tucker.”

I respect a man who gets down to business.

“I’d like to get the pictures you’ve been collecting. I’ve hired a private investigator to look into what’s going on. The pictures, along with any knowledge you have, would greatly help him.”

He takes another swig of his drink, but I can tell this sip goes down harder.

“How much has she told you?”

“As far as I know, everything. I know about the proposal and the verbal and physical abuse. Spencer informed us about the baby and, recently, the hysterectomy. Bless her loving heart, she told us so we had the opportunity to step away if wanting kids was something we needed in our lives.”

His brow arches, and he rubs his palm up and down his leg. “And you all stayed?”

“Eddie, I promise you we all have good intentions with your daughter, and her ability to birth children isn’t a condition for any of us to leave.”

“The cop, he’s your brother?”

“Step. We didn’t grow up together. We’re ten years apart and I was already a man when our parents married. We didn’t even have a real relationship until nearly a decade ago.”

“Are you all together?” He’s being very deliberate with his questions. I can tell they are out of genuine curiosity and not judgment.

“This is probably a conversation you should have with your daughter. Yes, we are, but I promise you, Spencer is our main focus. We’re all pretty selfish when it comes to her.” He nods, thinking over my words and his next question.

“And the little one, Katy. Where does she fit in with your little family?” Family. That word causes a warmth to bloom in my chest. Without realizing it, that’s what we’ve become.

“Katy is Katy. She had a bad home life, and Spencer rescued her. We consider her ours and will treat her as such. She isn’t going anywhere.” He stares off at Spencer’s house. After several minutes of silence, I assume the conversation is over and finish my drink.

“Would it be possible to get those pictures from you?”

“She won’t like my offer.” I think about his statement in relation to my question and can’t put the pieces together.

“Offer?”

He looks at me with a serious expression. “I want to trade. You need it more than me. There are five bedrooms and a larger bonus room that could probably fit the size bed all of you big men need.” Wait. Is he talking about the house? I glance behind me through the window into the kitchen.

“The house. Eddie, are you saying you want to trade houses with Spencer and…us?”

“Yes, son. I thought you were smarter than this. What else would I be talking about? You need this big house for all six of you. I’m one man. The pool house is the perfect size for me. I can’t keep up with it and all this space is going to waste. She won’t accept it from me, so you need to convince her. I see the way she looks at you. Spencer likes those other boys, but you’re different. She respects you and every word that comes from your mouth. If you promise me you’ll do everything in your power to convince her, you can have all of my knowledge of that asshole bastard.”

“Deal.” We shake hands and head back into the house. He opens a drawer in the kitchen and hands me a large, thick envelope. “He put all of these on our vehicles?”

“Unfortunately. Don’t show them to Spencer unless you have to. I know she got that big envelope a while back, but some of these are worse. Katy has been appearing in them more often. There’s even one back when Spencer first met Justin. He’s hanging on to his life by a thread as they get him into the ambulance.”

I don’t know Justin’s story, so I simply nod my acknowledgment. I’ll have to ask one of the guys at some point.

We exchange numbers, shake hands, and as soon as I get in the truck, I call Chip.

“What’s up, Boss?”

“Chip, I have a security job at my girlfriend’s house. I want the works. Price isn’t an option. I need a two-bedroom pool house.” I think for a moment and make up my mind quickly. “And a five-bedroom house, both on the same property. I need you ready at one-thirty.”

“Got it. Can I ask a question?”

“Of course.”

“Girlfriend? Is this new?” I had a feeling that’s what he was going to ask. Let’s see how he responds to my answer.

“Yes, and a few boyfriends. We’re a big, happy family. Oh, and Chip, if you look at any of them sideways today, you’re fired.”

Without hesitations, he answers, “Wouldn’t dream of it, Boss.”

I hang up the phone and dial the next number.

“Montgomery.”

“Monty, it’s Tucker. I have pictures for you and someone to interview who has inside information.”

“Perfect. When?” This is what makes him a good P.I. He’s all work and no bullshit. “He’s my girlfriend’s father, the ex’s almost father-in-law. They worked together. He’s willing to tell you everything you need. I’ll drop the pictures and his number into your P.O. Box in twenty.”

He hangs up, and I head to the post office. When I arrive, I use my key to drop the envelope of pictures into the box along with a piece of paper with Eddie’s information on it. I thought long and hard about looking at them before I dropped them off, but that’s Spencer’s past. I’ll be patient and let her tell me whatever she feels comfortable with when she’s ready.

As I’m walking out, my phone rings. I take it out of my pocket to see an audio message from Miller. Quickly, another comes through, and another. By the time I get to my truck, there are five audio messages. Is something wrong? I click the first file and listen. I hear lots of rustling and muted sounds. Is that Spencer?

“Pweeese. Oh god.” The message ends. I hit the next one, and again, there are more muted voices.

“No. No.” What the fuck is going on. Is Spencer in distress? I turn the truck on, throw it into reverse harder than necessary, and whip it out of the parking space. I’m ten minutes from her house but can get there in eight, maybe seven if I don’t hit any red lights.

The next two messages are completely muffled and I can’t make out any distinguishable sounds. There’s one more audio left, and my adrenaline is pumping so hard my hands are shaking. I struggle to hit the button on the last one, but I’m only a few blocks away, so I say fuck it and reach under my seat for my gun.

Flying into the driveway, I barely put my truck in park before jumping out and checking my clip to confirm it’s loaded. It always is, but it’s a habit to check. As quietly as possible, I unlock the door and turn off the alarm. There’s yelling coming from the bedroom, and my body is so amped up I don’t realize the noises are pleasure and not pain until I swing the door open and find Spencer on all four, head in Axel’s lap, and Miller balls deep in her pussy.

“Get the fuck off her.” I press the gun to Miller’s head, and he freezes.

“Chill, Tucker. Put the gun down.” Miller’s hands slowly raise.

“I said. Get. The fuck. Off. Her.” I’m seeing red. I realize I’m being irrational, but I feel like I’ve been taken over by a raging bull, and nothing is stopping me right now.

“Okay, man. I’m pulling out.” Miller gently sits back on his knees, and his cock bobs on his stomach, glistening with Spencer’s arousal. When he steps off the bed, I grab the barrel of my gun and offer it to him. He hesitantly takes it.

“Put that away and take care of Axel before you both get another round of blue balls.”

I’m on autopilot. Everyone in the room is watching me, and all I can do is stare at the goddess on her knees, where she doesn’t belong. My pants land on the floor at the same time my shirt does, and I shrug out of my briefs.

“Fuck yeah, Daddy Tucker putting us all to shame. I love how you hide that anaconda in those tighty-whities.”

“Axel,” Miller warns. “I wouldn’t mess with him. Look at his eyes.” My eyes? What could he see in my eyes?

“Move, Axel.” He shifts from under Spencer’s head, his glistening cock telling me at one point, he had her glorious lips on his cock.

I gently place my hands on Spencer’s hips and push her forward so she’s lying on her stomach. Rolling her over, I lift her to the top of the bed and press a kiss to her forehead.

“You should be treated like a Queen. May I bow down to you?” I rub a thumb across her jawline so she’s looking at me. She nods several times, not knowing exactly what I mean but trusting me. My hand moves from her chin and follows the length of her body. Her breathing is shallow with anticipation.

Adjusting my hips, I grab the base of my cock and line up to her soaked entrance.

“Are you ready for me, Little Miss?”

“More than ready.”