Fighting Dirty

“Fuck you, man.”

  “No, thanks. Unlike you, I have a beautiful woman to get home to.”

  Holding up one finger, Ace deadpanned right back, “A woman I touched, with this finger right here.”

  The smugness in Ace’s voice had clearly pissed Darkness off. “I’m gonna tag you back for that shit, the very first chance I get. Don’t think for a damned minute that being a fuckin’ cripple is gonna save you.”

  “Cut it out, both of you,” Ryder barked. “The doc is on her way.”

  Ace immediately bolted upright. “Is she really? I’m dying to get out of here. Is she young and sexy? I hope she had nice breasts. Gives a man something nice to look at while she works.”

  Slapping him the back of the head, Ryder whispered, “She’s a doctor, not a fucking party favor. Get your head straight.” It truly pissed Ryder off that men were probably thinking that kind of shit about Tiffany when she was trying to help them. Then he remembered that he was one of those guys.

  A slow smile spread over Ace’s face. “If I charm a doctor, that’ll beat your nurse all to hell.”

  Ryder leaned over and looked his friend in the face. “I think your brain is broken.”

  At that moment, the door flew open, and a female physician strolled into the room. “Hey, this is not the place for romance. Save the kissing for later.”

  Ace stammered, “W-what? We’re not gay.”

  Ryder straightened and grinned are her. “We are. He just doesn’t like people to know.”

  Giving him a shove, Ace complained bitterly, “If I were gay, I wouldn’t be dating you. Jesus, you’ve got one ugly mug. It’s enough to give a man nightmares.”

  Pretending to be wounded, Ryder stepped back, a hand pressed over his heart. “How can you shame me in front of new people?”

  Suddenly grinning again, Ace replied, “If I could make you a little prettier, I would.”

  “You are not the man I met a year ago.”

  The pretty redhead chuckled at their antics. “Hey, I know that show. Want to know the kicker?”

  Ace nodded.

  “I’m Mrs. Reynolds or Dr. Reynolds, as the case may be. Isn’t that hilarious?”

  Sounding disappointed, Ace mumbled dejectedly, “You’re married. It figures.”

  “Well, I’m actually divorced. It’s still funny, though, right?”

  Darkness complained from the doorway, as impatient as ever. “Yeah, it’s a fucking riot. Do you think you can patch up my brother, or do you just plan to stand around making jokes about obscure television shows all damned day?”

  Swiveling her head around to look at Darkness, Dr. Reynolds’ delicate, rust-colored brow lifted. “I don’t think I like your attitude.”

  “Don’t give a fuck, doc. Do your job.”

  Frowning, Ryder had to admit that Darkness had absolutely no people skills. The man really knew how to wreck the fun moments in life as well.

  Shooting Darkness an annoyed look, she stated coldly, “You can have a seat in the waiting room and take his gay friend with you. I don’t need any distractions when I—” Glancing back at Ace she continued, “When I work.”

  “Fine, whatever. Just get the job done.”

  Following his brother, Ryder murmured on the way out, “Remember to be a good little boy, and the doctor will give you a sticker.”

  Dr. Reynolds laughed, which seemed to infuriate Ace all over again. “Fuck off. I’m glad you’re leaving. A little peace and quiet would be nice for a change.”

  Falling into step beside Darkness on the way to the waiting room, Ryder mentioned casually, “That was a shitty way to treat a doctor. She agreed to squeeze Ace into her already tight schedule. It seems like you could be nice for once.”

  “Bitches make me nervous. You know that, brother.”

  “She ain’t some club whore. She’s a medical professional.”

  His club president’s head jerked around to look at him. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  “Look, I know you ain’t ever gonna respect women. I’m just taking it upon myself to point out when you cross the line.”

  “Fuck the damn line. Know what set me off about that one?”

  “The pretty redhead making googly eyes at Ace?”

  “Fuck if all the halfway decent bitches don’t look right over me like I’m fucking invisible.”

  “That ain’t Ace’s fault.”

  “You know I ain’t ever gonna get in a brother’s face over some hot bitch. I’ll stick with the occasional whore. At least they know their place.”

  “Where might that be?”

  He didn’t reply, but then again, he didn’t have to. His smile was as dark as his nickname implied. Everyone in the club knew Darkness had no love lost for women. After being royally fucked over by the love of his life some years ago, he considered all women manipulative and deceitful.

  Ryder was of a similar mind but intelligent enough to know women came in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. Some were manipulative and deceitful, but a good bit of them were just real nice. Ryder had been lucky enough to draw the notice a good woman, so he knew they were out there.

  Hanging out in the waiting room proved an impossible task for Darkness. He paced back and forth until everyone was shooting him annoyed looks. Then he went out to smoke a joint, came back in, and fidgeted in his seat like a crazy man. Ryder made productive use of his time by going through his e-mail. A couple of hours later, Ace came out on a pair of crutches looking like the cat who ate the canary.

  Once outside, they got Ace settled in the back of the vehicle, and for once, his new friend and partner in crime was quiet.

  Darkness climbed behind the wheel, insisting on driving. Ryder suspected it was just to have something to do. He turned to stare at Ace. “You must have been given some good drugs.”

  “Yep.”

  “What do you mean, ‘yep’? No ‘fuck off and shut the hell up, Ryder’? What’s up with you?”

  Ace kept his eyes closed tight, raising Ryder’s suspicions. “Nothing.”

  “Nothing, my ass. You’re more mellow than I’ve ever seen you. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you look like a brother who just got laid.”

  “Mind your own business.”

  Ryder’s brows popped, and with a fuck-load of shock in his voice, he said, “Fucking hell, you did get laid.”

  Ace sighed. “Not exactly.” Unsnapping his pants, he pulled them open. Lipstick kisses were all over his lower abdomen.”

  “That lipstick go all the way down, brother?”

  “Yep,” he said with a cocky smirk.

  “Bullshit.”

  Pulling his pants down with one thumb, Ace’s lipstick-smeared junk flopped out. It even had a little red heart sticker stuck to the tip.

  “Fuck me. Told you that she’d give you a sticker,” Ryder said, amused. “And I recognize that color lipstick. You got a blow job from your doctor? That’s all kinds of crazy.”

  “Not only that.” Righting his pants, Ace shoved up his sleeve to reveal a phone number written on his arm in what appeared to be a black sharpie.

  Ryder shook his head. “You lucky son of a bitch. I’ll take my thank you about now. If I hadn’t shot you, you never would have met her.”

  Pulling his sleeve back down, Ace’s grin spread wider. “I’m almost inclined to give you one.”

  “Shit, you are more chilled the fuck out than I’ve ever seen you. I guess we now know what it takes to get you to stop being a dick.”

  “Whatever, man. Nothing could ruin this day for me.”

  “I’ll bet you anything I can have you pissed the hell off inside of an hour,” Ryder challenged, ideas already beginning to form.

  Darkness spoke in a low and menacing tone. “Leave the man alone. Let him enjoy the little happiness that’s come his way.”

  Turning his attention to his president, Ryder took note of the classic and always there dark expression he wore and responded, “Yeah, why mess with him when Mister Doom and Gloom h
imself is sitting right here?”

  Rather than answering, Darkness reached out and nailed him with one hard first across his face while still driving.

  Ryder cupped his aching jaw, cursing under his breath. “What in the hell was that for?”

  “Thinking I’m some easy fuck to mess with.”

  Rubbing his jaw, Ryder stammered, “I-I didn’t think that…exactly.”

  “Shut the fuck up. You do not have my permission to speak for the rest of the drive.”

  Moving his lower jaw back and forth, Ryder canned the chitchat. He wished he could say this was out of character for his president. Unfortunately, the man hadn’t earned his road name for enjoying a romantic evening under the stars with his favorite bitch. There was a darkness lurking in his soul that made him unpredictable and as dangerous as a heart attack, and when he was in a mood like the one tonight, Ryder wasn’t stupid enough to cross him.

  ~ Tiffany ~

  Shifting uncomfortably on the barstool, Tiffany sucked on her daiquiri.

  Slinging his bar towel over his shoulder, Ace frowned before saying in a thoroughly annoyed tone, “Well, maybe she does, and maybe she doesn’t. How the hell am I supposed to know if she’s really into me or if she just blows all her patients?”

  “Get real, Ace. Doctors never do things like that with their patients.”

  Grinning, he shrugged. “Maybe that’s why the place was packed.”

  Nearly spitting out her drink, Tiffany jerked in her seat, laughing. That would be a great way to get new patients and all, but she just couldn’t bring herself to believe a doctor would give a guy with a gaping leg wound a blow job. It literally didn’t make any sense.

  Pulling herself together, she tried to explain the situation again. “It’s against the law for doctors to date their own patients. They could get sued or maybe even have their license pulled.”

  “Well, just between you and me, I’m starting to wonder if she even was a doctor.”

  Suddenly interested, Tiffany leaned over the bar. “What do you mean? She did a really good job on your leg.”

  “She had this other lady helping her. Her assistant was the one who worked on my leg. Dr. Reynolds just kind of held my hand and talked to me. Well, she fuckin’ flirted her pretty little ass off, if you know what I mean.”

  Tilting her head, Tiffany took his measure, then said, “Some ladies like bikers, and you’re pretty hot. I can easily believe it.” Thinking about what he’d said, she asked, “What makes you think the other woman was her assistant?”

  “‘Cause she shut the fuck up and worked on my leg.”

  “If she was a physician’s assistant who specialized in surgery, then her performing minor surgical procedures wouldn’t be out of the question. They can even prescribe medications.”

  Ace shrugged. “That little lady was plain as fuck, but she knew what in the hell she was doing with my leg.”

  Frowning, Tiffany wanted to bring him up short about judging women by their looks but decided against it in favor of learning more about the situation with Dr. Reynolds. “It’s unusual for a physician to defer such treatment to a PA when they’re right there in the room. Plus, you had more damage than PAs normally deal with.”

  “She wasn’t there when I went for my checkup the following week. I got some dude with a sour face and shitty attitude. What do you think that means?”

  “How am I supposed to know? I can’t believe you didn’t call her.”

  Sighing, Ace’s eyes slid away. “I’m not really her type, now, am I?”

  Tiffany didn’t know how to deliver what she was thinking with any finesse, so she just said it. “I don’t want to insinuate you’re slow or anything, but clearly you are if she had sex with you right there in her office in front of her assistant.”

  Shock slid onto the man’s face. “After the other chick left, that’s when things got hot.”

  Lifting one shoulder, she said, “It sounds like she’s really into you.”

  Turning away, Ace sighed. “Lots of chicks want to have sex with me. I can guarantee most of them don’t consider me their type. Can you see me hooking up with a real doctor?”

  Okay, now she felt bad. Reaching across the bar, Tiffany grabbed his arm. “I sure as hell can. I’m going to call the office and find out what her deal is.”

  “Don’t.”

  He could deny it all he wanted, but the man needed closure. Jerking out her phone, Tiffany mumbled, “Too late. What’s the name of the medical practice?”

  Rolling his eyes and without missing a beat, he stated, “Reynold’s Medical.”

  “Well, now, they weren’t working too hard on that name, were they?” she observed as she performed an online search.

  When she found the number and hit call, Ace was still trying to dissuade her. “I don’t know what you hope to accomplish by sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

  Tiffany had watched Ace pull himself together over the few weeks she’d been in South Dakota with Ryder. In sharp contrast to when she first met him, he was well groomed, dressing nice, and the dark circles were disappearing from under his eyes. Granted, a great deal of that was because she and Ryder had stayed after him, forcing him to eat and take better care of himself. At first, he’d been pretty depressed and didn’t often talk. As the weeks wore on, Ryder argued with him constantly in an effort to pull him out of his shell and get him talking again. The ploy worked like a charm. They bickered back and forth like an old married couple most days.

  A woman’s crisp voice came on the line. “Hello, Reynolds Family Medical. How may I help you?”

  “Hello, my name is Tiffany Stone, and I’m an RN looking for work. Can you tell me if you’re hiring?”

  “Are you kidding? Registered nurses are few and far between in these parts. We’ve had an opening for the better part of a year. I could get our human resources person on the line if you like,” the woman said happily.

  “Well, I had a couple of quick questions. How many physicians are in practice there?”

  “Just the two Doctors Reynolds are here full time.”

  “Husband and wife?” Tiffany asked.

  “Father and son. Why do you ask?”

  Tiffany delivered the lie smoothly. “I met a really nice lady who said her name was Dr. Reynolds, and I just thought there can’t be that many doctors with the same last name in a small town.”

  Laughing, the woman lowered her voice. “Dr. Barbara Reynolds is no longer married to Dr. David Reynolds, Jr. Barbara isn’t a medical doctor. She’s an archeology professor over at Dakota Tech. Tell her Shelby says hello if you see her again. We miss her around these parts.”

  “I will do that. Do you have any PAs or anything like that?” Tiffany added.

  “No, ma’am. We have Dr. Snyder, but she just fills in occasionally when one of the other two can’t come in.”

  This was getting more interesting by the moment.

  “How do I go about applying for the opening?” Tiffany asked, figuring she might as well continue with the lie in case she needed to pursue it further later.

  “We have a section on our website for applications. Just attach a copy of your transcripts and license. If you’re selected for the position, we’ll need to see original copies of both with a raised seal.”

  “Thanks, Shelby, I appreciate it.”

  “No problem. Hope to see you soon.”

  Shutting her phone off, Tiffany discovered that Ace had wondered off. She pulled up the website for Dakota Tech, and sure enough, Dr. Barbara Reynolds was scheduled to teach a night class beginning in three weeks. It was designed for adults wanting to broaden their horizons, and there were two ways to take the class: as a formal college course or audit it, meaning it would carry no academic credit or count toward a college degree.

  Ace walked back into the bar carrying a box of vodka and began stowing it under the bar.

  “Ace, what’s your real name?”

  “Jeremy Strond. Why do you ask?” br />
  “I’m ordering you a gift,” she told him.

  “Great. I hope it’s a stripper,” he said unenthusiastically.

  Tiffany pressed on. “Are you still using the clubhouse as your address?”

  “Since I got no place else to go, yes. My birthday isn’t for five months.”

  “Really, what day?”

  “April first.”

  Grinning at him being born on April Fool’s, she asked conversationally, “What are you, like, about fifty years old?”

  Ace shot her an unamused look. “Thirty-six, smartass.”

  “You don’t look a day over fifty,” she teased.

  Sauntering over, he tipped a little more tequila into her daiquiri. “Maybe I’ll look differently after you’ve finished your drink.” Winking, he went back to putting up the alcohol.

  Shoving her drink aside, Tiffany flew through the abbreviated application for him to audit her class and paid the fee. Almost seven hundred dollars was pricy, but Ace was worth it. She mentioned casually, “That PA was actually a part-time physician. Her name’s Dr. Snyder, in case you were wondering.”

  “That woman was quick and competent,” Ace commented.

  Reaching the end of the application, there was only one more thing she needed to do. “Hey, how do I print something out here?”

  “There’s only one printer, and it’s in the office. You can grab it when the brothers come out of church. Just sign onto the Blind Jack’s Wi-Fi. The password is DarknessRules, all run together, and with each word capitalized.”

  “Got it, thanks. You know, you guys really should go alphanumeric.”

  Ace made a face and said, “They’re sticking with the password everyone remembers. All their secret shit is encrypted anyways.”

  While she waited for church to end, Tiffany sent Ace’s course paperwork to the printer then cruised a used book site and picked up his textbook for twenty bucks. Whoever this woman passing herself off as a doctor was, her gut told her that she must have felt strongly about Ace to have done what she did. Since he didn’t seem inclined to call her, Tiffany did the next best thing by arranging for them to see each other once a week for several months. It was a risk, and no doubt she would never hear the end of it, but Ace deserved to be happy, and she had a feeling this was how to make sure it happened.