Duke (10 page)

Gen smiled in relief. “Yes, that works. Give me a thirty minute window, as I prefer to handle texting when I can step away to give them privacy to talk, so it’s about them and not about me.”

Duke caressed her cheek and said, “Not a lot of ways to live in a three-quarter of a million dollar house when you’re twenty-nine, and most of those involve going to the dark side. You found a way to do it and keep your innocence. Your purity.”

She shook her head. “My competition won’t agree with you. I play dirty, Duke. I hire people to do research for me, I know everything about a client and their people before I make the first phone call, and I learn even more before the second. When I walk into a meeting, I’ve stacked the deck in my favor ahead of time. Sometimes I even buy the land through one of my umbrella corporations, but no one in the room knows, which isn’t technically against the law, but goes against the code of ethics. I may not do anything outright illegal, but I’ve skirted the edges more than once, and I’ve done a lot that isn’t exactly moral.”

The look in his eyes wasn’t disgust, it was… appreciation. Respect. Gen shook her head and laughed. “You aren’t supposed to be impressed by that.”

“
Genesis, I told you up front I’m an outlaw. I have my own moral code, and I handle things my way, the law be damned. Breaking the dude’s hand was the right way to keep him from coming back to my club and pawing it all over another woman. My code. My way. We don’t tolerate drugs, not because they’re illegal but because they fuck up families. I’ll tell you a lot more about the way we operate in the coming days and weeks, and I want you to understand through it all, it’s about our own moral compass, not the one the rest of the world uses.”

“
But I just told you I’ve gone places that weren’t moral, though I stayed in the law. In some ways, that makes me worse than you. You keep it moral, even if others don’t agree with your definition.”

She sat up, realized she didn’t have a bra on under her light yellow tee, and pulled the pillow to her front nonchalantly, as if she wanted to lean into it as she talked.

His eyes narrowed. “You went against your own morals, or someone else’s?”

Gen opened her mouth to say she went against her own morals, but realized that wasn’t exactly right. She closed her mouth, thought a few seconds, and said, “It’s complicated.”

“
Tell me.”

She shook her head.

“
Gen, this is about trust. You know I wore a gun while drinking at Sticky Fingers. You know I broke a man’s hand last night. I’m not gonna hide what I do from you, I don’t want you hiding, either.”

“
Okay, but it’s a long story. Maybe I can tell it while we cook?”

Duke didn’t let Gen help, he sat her on the counter where she was close, and where he could stop and give her the occasional kiss on the cheek, or nose, or forehead. He touched her almost every time he walked by, and by the time he put the pancakes with a side of eggs and steak on two plates, she was getting used to his touch. She’d put a robe on before they went downstairs, but she still felt exposed, sitting on the counter without a bra. Duke had made her feel comfortable, though.

He caressed, stroked, kissed, and occasionally fondled, but it was caring with an undertone of sex. He wasn’t trying to get in her pants, but Gen thought some of his touches were more intimate than sex. He handled her as if he’d claimed her, as if he had a right to, and she couldn’t find the motivation to correct his thinking.

She had to work her way around the story, which she could have told him in a few sentences, but needed him to understand her motivations.

When she finished her twenty minute story, he looked at her with a grin and summed it up. “So, you found out another Realtor was working with the bank to fast-track foreclosures on the easiest to sell property, you hired a hacker to find out what properties the bank had in the pipeline, close to being able to foreclose on, and you went in and worked deals with the homeowners for you to either list the property and sell it fast, or for you to buy it from them and then sell it, in which case you split the profits with them? And when the Realtor and banker approached you and threatened you, the CEO of the bank received documentation showing what they’d been doing, but in a way that kept you out of it?”

“
Yeah. Since I got the info from the hacker and could approach the homeowners before the bank started the process of foreclosure, before there was an official paper trail, no one could tie me into what they were doing.”

“
You considered how to do this and keep yourself out of trouble, and how to cover your ass should they figure you out? You planned it all from the start?”

She nodded, and he pulled the pan off the eye as he threw his head back and laughed, and then leaned forward and kept laughing. When he finally stopped and went back to cooking, she said, “It’s not a funny story, Duke.”

He cut his eyes to her and said, “One of the biggest issues local law enforcement has with us is what they call vigilante justice. The area around our compound is clean, with no drugs because we beat the hell out of any drug dealers in our territory, take all their cash, destroy any drugs they have on them, and give them a message to take back to their organization. You may not have used your fists, but that was vigilante justice. You followed your own moral code, and you helped people who needed help. Doesn’t matter you found a way to make a profit, because those homeowners were
way
better off with you looking out for them than they would’ve been on their own.”

He flipped a pancake and added, “Something tells me, you and Brain strategizing together might be downright scary. He thinks in numbers and legal terms, and he’s also a hacker, so if you need any more hacking in the future, bring it to us, yeah? Want to make sure you stay safe.”

Duke walked into the clubhouse a little after noon, and the guys inside gave a hoot and poured him a cold one.

“
The whole club’s seen the feed of your little spitfire taking the guy down,” Tiny told him. “She kicked ass and her girls backed her up. Nice.”

Duke smiled, accepted the beer with a nod, and sat at the bar. “Isaac and Frisco are to be treated with respect. Heads up about Isaac, he wasn’t lying when he said he could likely take us all on at once. Even Nathan Pierce gives him a wide berth.”

“
What is he?” Dozer asked.

Duke shook his head. “Some vows from my old pack I still hold, and Isaac’s an old friend who’s more than earned my loyalty. If ya’ll need to know for your safety, I’ll tell you, but he’s a good man and won’t attack unless we fuck with him or his. Just know he’s a bad-ass, even by our standards, and he ain’t a wolf.”

Brain was stretched out on one of the sofas wearing jeans and no shirt. “He’s aligned with the vampires as well as the local pack, and seems to have arrangements with a helluva lot more.”

“
Yeah, and we grew up together, so I know him. He’s good people, we don’t have to worry about him, and if all goes well with Gen we may end up being family.”

“
How you figure?”

Duke looked at Dozer a few seconds before answering. “Brother, I know you got a problem with guys doin’ it with each other, but he’s my woman’s brother’s partner, which means he’s her family. You tell me what her family is to our family?”

He shook his head. “Ours, but three men and one woman in bed just ain’t right.”

Tiny, seated on a stool behind the bar, asked Dozer, “How do you feel about one man and three women in the same bed?”

Dozer smiled to show he didn’t have a problem with it, as most of the rest of the room said something along the lines of “Not a problem,” and “Works for me.” Duke rolled his eyes at Dawg’s “Felt pretty good last night. One sittin’ on my face, one reverse cowgirl, and the third licking my nuts and the other chick’s clit.”

The entire room intoned, “Daaawwwg.”

Duke looked at Brain in question, and got a shrug and then, “Saw him walking to the back with them… two blondes and a brunette. Kinda hard to call bullshit.”

“
Yeah,” Duke said, looking back at Dawg. “I’m thinking you need to double-check the condom inventory, see if we need to order another couple of cases. Your responsibility from here on out.”

Tiny’s voice was deep. Serious. “You haven’t asked for a status update yet, Boss.”

Duke sighed and looked to his giant of an enforcer. “Yeah, I know. Wanted another couple minutes to smile, ‘cause I could tell by the looks on your faces it ain’t gonna be pretty. You shoulda called me.”

Brain didn’t sit up, but caught Duke’s eye as he said, “Nothing we couldn’t handle. Wasn’t gonna interrupt your first night with your new lady.”

Duke shook his head. “Out with it.”

“
Cameras picked up a dealer on third near Hawthorne, just at the edge of our territory,” said Dozer. “Brain sent me in, but something didn’t feel right so I asked for backup but told them to stay out of sight unless I needed them.” He shook his head. “Bastards fuckin’ ambushed me, came out of the surrounding houses. If I didn’t have backup I’d been in trouble, brother.”

“
I hurt one worse than I meant to.” This from Tiny, still behind the bar. “If they ramp up, might cause us some problems. Pretty sure I shattered his jaw, but it wasn’t the intent.”

Duke nodded. “Things happen, Tiny. If they ramp up we’ll deal with it. Any of our people hurt?”

“
One of ‘em stuck me,” Dozer said. “I pulled it out and stuck him back, folded the knife, put it in my pocket. Got big-eyes over it, so I imagine my bad-ass status is further elevated.”

Brain laughed. “I have it on video if you want to watch. They probably think we’re nursing some black eyes and sore ribs. Can’t hurt to be seen out and about without them, today. I’m thinking we pay a visit to the houses they came out of, make sure the homeowners are okay, be clear they have our numbers in case they need us, or need to give us a heads up.”

Duke nodded and stood. “Agreed. I assume you’ve got the names and associations of everyone in a folder on my desk?”

“
Of course.”

“
Okay, give me fifteen minutes to look it over, and the video, and then we’ll go have a talk with the neighbors. Me and Dawg in the houses, Tiny and Dozer outside, Brain on the cams.”

As Duke headed towards his office, Dozer asked, “What are you gonna do about your spitfire’s piece, should she decide to pay us a visit? She was drinking last night so it wasn’t a problem, and we let Aaron’s two boys on because they belong to him.”

Duke stopped, turned, and faced the group. “I’m going shooting with her tomorrow. Not just range, but a course Isaac sets up in the woods. Gonna see how she does, and if I’m comfortable with how she handles it, I’ll call a vote and ask for her to be given armed privilege on the compound.”

Gonzo was stretched out on another sofa. He’d been quiet, but now he said, “Not comfortable with hormones handling a gun. Not comfortable with anyone not
us
having one in our sanctuary.”

Duke knew Gonzo wasn’t the only one who felt this way, he was just the only one with the balls to say it before Duke insisted they give an opinion. “Understand, brother. We’ll work it out. When I leave tonight, I don’t plan on being back until Monday morning or possibly afternoon, so if any of you have something to say, you got me until sometime this evening.”

“
A margarita, please. Extra salt, extra tequila.”

Duke raised his eyebrows but otherwise didn’t show approval or disapproval as he said, “I want you sober tonight.”

Gen’s heart skipped a beat at his unsaid meaning, but she kept her composure and shook her head. “Light liquor, so I’ll only get a buzz. More than that and I risk being sick.”

“
I don’t want you buzzed, I want you sober.”

Gen’s insides reacted to his voice, his words, but she shook her head again, keeping her voice even as she told him, “This is our first actual date, Duke. You can’t be serious.”

“
Won’t push for farther than you want to go, but I don’t want you throwin’ road blocks up just to keep me at bay, either.”

Time to change the conversation. “How was your day?”

He looked at her a few seconds, and Gen thought he was deciding whether to let her change the subject. Finally, he said, “Need to tell you a few of our club rules, one of which you won’t like.”

Gen’s face automatically scrunched, and she smoothed it over before saying, “Okay.”

“
No one comes through the gates without an invitation.
You
have a permanent invitation. You can come in, day or night, whether I’m there or not. Anyone else needs to go to the bike shop or the bar and ask to speak with whoever they want.”

“
So, if I have Bethany with me, can I come in, or do I need to go to the bar?”

“
For now, text or call me to let me know you’re coming and who you have with you. If there’s a problem, I’ll let you know before you arrive. Bethany’s fine, Cassie’s fine, but only if you’ve called ahead and know I’m there. If you get into trouble and have a woman with you but no man, come in and let whoever you see first know the trouble.” His face tightened as he added, “If I’m there and know you have them, Frisco and Isaac will be fine, but under no circumstances do you bring them onto RTMC property unless you’ve let me know you’re on the way and I’ve told you to come.”

“
Is this for always, or just because Frisco threw a punch at you?”

“
We’ll see, Beautiful. They come to some parties and don’t create a scene, things should change.”

Gen nodded and Duke said, “There’s a sign up at all three of our establishments.” He handed her his phone with a photo on the screen, and Gen read, “Premises patrolled by armed RTMC members. No other weapons allowed.”