Page 92 of Hell & Back

“We’re going to let you go for now so you can get back to sleep. Love you, Kylie Jo.” Ever since they were young teenagers living next door to each other, Tuck had always used her first and middle names when addressing her. No one else called her that and it was almost like an endearment between the two of them.

“Love you, too, baby,” Darren added.

“Love you both so much. I can’t wait to see you both tomorrow. Be safe,” Kylie said.

“We will, honey. Bye.” Tuck ended the call. “Now, how are you really? It’s not lost on any of us that you’re in a bit of pain yourself, not just Crockett and RIP.”

Darren stood and walked away, rubbing the back of his neck. “Not gonna lie. It’s starting to get a little rough now that the fight’s over. It started creeping up on me on the drive here when things were calm and I had time to relax.”

“Do you need to take those pills Bacon gave you?” Tuck remained sitting on the edge of the bed.

“No. They’re sleeping pills and I don’t want to take them until we get ready to leave. I have to finish this with those fuckers before I take them.”

Tuck nodded. “Okay. I get it. I also have something for you.” He stood and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out what looked like a flashlight.

“What’s this for?”

“Twist the top off.”

He should have known by the shit-eating grin on Tuck’s face that things were not as they seemed. He screwed the top off and frowned. “What the fuck?” Definitely not a flashlight. In fact, it kind of looked like a set of lips. Did Tuck have this on him thewhole time they’d been shooting it out with the Phantoms? What if he’d been shot and had needed to go to the hospital?

Tuck laughed and clarified. “It’s called a Fleshlight Turbo Thrust. It’s supposed to simulate a blowjob. See, these are supposed to be lips and you stick your?—”

Darren cut him off. “Yeah, I get the idea. Why on Earth would you buy me something like this?”

“I didn’t. Kylie did. She didn’t want you to have to suffer.”

“For fuck’s sake.” He shook his head. He couldn’t believe their woman would buy something like that. He should have known better. If she couldn’t be with him, she’d try and find the next best thing for him. But would he actually use it? With all his brothers in the house?

“Look, if it gets bad enough that it’s going to interfere with your justice, you might want to consider it since you won’t take the sleeping pills until we leave.” He clapped him on the shoulder. “Stay back here. Take your time. Take the edge off. Hopefully, it’ll work.”

“If it doesn’t it’s just going to make things worse.” Eying the thing, he wondered, did he dare?

“Lock the door behind me. If anyone asks, I’ll tell them you’re on the phone with Kylie. They’ll think you’re having phone sex.”

Phone sex? He wasn’t sure that would actually work, either, because it was still technically him trying to get himself off. That made him wonder if this fleshlight Kylie bought him would even work.

“I’m gonna go have a beer.” Tuck hitched a thumb over his shoulder toward the hall. “Lock the door behind me,” he said again, grinning as he pulled the door closed.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” He looked at the gadget in his hand and wondered if he was really going to do this. “No fucking way.” He wasn’t that far gone yet. He shoved it in his inner coat pocket and walked out of the room.

Ideally, he would like to have kept Crockett and RIP for seven days like they’d held him. If he wanted to get home to Kylie sooner rather than later, he’d have to rush things along. He entered the living room and stood behind the couch next to Race. What he was seeing brought a smile to his face. Crockett was sitting with his back against the far wall jacking off. The shear frustration and pain on his face brought joy to Darren’s heart. RIP, on the other hand, had apparently given up on the idea of trying to get himself off and was punching the wall over and over, his fist a bloody mess.

“They’ve been putting on quite the show,” Jed told him. “How long do you think you’ll let this go on before we end them?”

“I was thinking I’d give it a couple of hours then I’m going to throw them into the same room and see what happens.”

“No fucking way!” Tulsa’s smile was huge.

“I like how your mind thinks.” Dagger raised a beer toward him from across the room. “Damn fine way to get revenge.”

Race smiled, impressed with his plan. “Gotta say that’s one helluva way to get justice. I like it.”

Darren nodded, happy that the club president and VP were on board. Feeling eyes on him, he turned to find Tuck watching him from across the room. His brows rose in question, no doubt wondering if he’d used the sex gadget. Having followed only a few minutes behind him, Tuck should know that he had not. He rolled his eyes and shook his head anyway for his benefit. God, if any of the brothers knew what was sitting like a hot rock in his pocket, he’d never hear the end of it. They’d all been sympathetic about his predicament, but that wouldn’t stop them from giving him shit about it when this was all over.

Accepting the beer Race handed him and the chair Jed brought in from the kitchen, he settled in to watch the show. Perfect. Now he could be comfortable while he watched thingsunfold. His attention bounced back and forth from watching the two assholes and flipping through pictures of Kylie on his phone. He desperately wanted to go home, not just because he needed to fuck, but because he missed her like crazy. He’d spent too much time away from her and heneededto be with her.

It was after his third beer he noticed the group sitting on the floor was starting to get a little excited with what they were watching. Darren glanced up at the screen and squinted. Wait a minute. What the hell? He glanced from his bottle to the TV screen and back again, thinking maybe he’d drank more than he thought. Was everyone else seeing what he was seeing? “Is RIP,” he started.

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