Duke (3 page)

T
akiyah pulled
a pen from behind her ear and looked down at her order pad. She scribbled a few hasty notes. “Okay, you wanted the baked oysters with our famous Marquette’s sauce as an appetizer. With the grilled chicken, you want the chef to hold the onions. Is that right, ma’am? What kind of dressing would you like with your salad?”

All around Takiyah, the restaurant buzzed with life. The clink of glasses and silverware against plates, people chatting and laughing, all of it provided a sort of harmony that blended with the actual music Stefan played on the piano. Takiyah loved music, and she was impressed with how well he played.

She had to pause a minute in taking orders, along with everyone else in the restaurant when a young boy walked over to join Stefan. He picked up an electric guitar and looped the strap over his head. Damen appeared shortly after and grabbed another. Takiyah blinked. Were they in a restaurant or a club?

“Dad, you ready?” the boy said into the mic, and Takiyah’s mouth fell open.

“Start us off, bud,” Damen told his son, and the music swept Takiyah away. She’d expected it to be too loud or too wild, but they knew what they were doing. Looking around, she realized everyone in the place was transfixed with this family of talented people. Stefan’s fingers raced over the piano keys, and the boy’s fingers danced across his strings, perfectly imitating the music Stefan created.

A hand fell on Takiyah’s arm, and she looked over to her customer. The woman, probably in her mid-forties, flushed pink and touched her chest. “I love this place, don’t you? Oh, if I was twenty years younger…”

“Margaret, you still wouldn’t get one of them,” her companion told her. “They’re all taken. Except for that naughty Duke. I do like him flirting with me, though.”

Margaret pursed her lips and waved a hand. “Duke will never be serious, and did you hear? He got into trouble again. He’s the dark horse of the family.”

Takiyah wandered away from the table to put in the ladies’ order. She already knew what they were saying was right. Duke was in trouble. He didn’t show up for his shift earlier, and Creed was livid. She’d stayed away from everyone, setting up her tables, so she couldn’t get any details. However, a short while later, Creed had gotten a call, and he left the restaurant looking like he wanted to tear Duke a new one. As far as she was concerned, Duke did her a favor. He reinforced to her on a daily basis that he wasn’t worth her being attracted to him.

An hour or so later, Creed returned with Duke behind him, quiet and sullen. Takiyah stood at one of the tables, setting it up with fresh silverware and plates. She couldn’t help watching the two men. Creed’s tight mouth said he was still pissed, and Duke while he didn’t appear repentant, he didn’t seem to be happy with himself either.

She expected him to walk on by with his head down, showing at least a little shame at his actions. Instead, he stopped right beside her and removed a glass from her fingers. “Kiyah, let me buy you dinner.”

She blinked at him. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“No.” She turned her back and moved to another table. Even though it wasn’t her job, she started clearing the table because she needed to keep her hands moving. All of her customers were taken care of, and it wasn’t time to see if they were fine or needed something else.

Warmth stole over her body from behind, and she knew Duke stood there. “I’m serious. I want to get to know you better.”

“Shouldn’t you concentrate on getting your life together?” She recalled she needed to grab some more cloth napkins and restock the shelf from the storeroom. The kind of issues Duke brought on weren’t anything she required. Besides, he didn’t ask her out for her own sake. He probably thought up a new angle to get her to convince Adele to give him a chance.

Takiyah pushed open the kitchen door and walked in.

“…he was arrested,” one of the dishwashers was saying, “and Creed had to bail him out.
Again
.”

The woman looked toward Takiyah and grew silent, fear in her gaze. Takiyah peeked over her shoulder to find that Duke had followed. He still didn’t look like he felt guilty, but she was pretty sure he’d heard that they were gossiping about him.

Takiyah frowned at him. “You know if you did right, no one would be able to talk about you?”

“Takiyah!” The dishwasher ran over to Duke, shaking like she thought the man would murder her for badmouthing him. “I’m sorry, Duke. I…uh…”

“Honey, why are you apologizing?” The waiter Takiyah had met the first day, whose name was Basil, walked in on the stuttering apology. “If Duke acted like he cares about the Marquette name, he wouldn’t get into so much trouble.”

“Basil, shut up,” someone else whispered far too loud for anyone not to hear.

Arguing broke out all around, from the sous chef to the dishwasher. Takiyah rubbed her forehead, thinking she’d get to the storeroom and then make her escape. She almost ran to the opposite side of the kitchen. A hall led back to the brothers’ offices, and to the side of it the door to the storeroom. She almost made it to the door before Creed’s big form blocked her advance. He didn’t seem to see her at all.

“What the hell is all this noise?” he roared.

Fingers wrapped around her arm and jerked her sideways out of Creed’s path. The man who did resemble a bear at that moment, stomped by. Takiyah breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks. I thought he would flatten me. I—”

She broke off the appreciation when she saw that it was Duke.

He grinned. “You’re welcome.”

She rolled her eyes and walked into the storeroom. Behind her, Creed was slicing into his staff. Takiyah thought she heard Basil say something about Creed’s claim that the kitchen was his. Shada, apparently, would have something to say about that. She was lead chef now that Rene, the original cook, had moved to another restaurant. Shada loved the kitchen with an obsessive passion, but currently her focus was on her baby boy, Creed Jr.

“So is that a yes to my question?” Duke asked.

She blocked him out and located the napkins on a high shelf. Who the heck would put them up there? She stood on tiptoe to reach, and Duke stepped up behind her to help. Her heartbeat stuttered when she moved back a little and bumped her ass against his thigh. Biting off a yelp, she scooted away. She made the mistake of peeking up at him to see his stupid amusement.

“Leave me alone, Duke.” She stood straighter. “Why would I want to date some man who can’t stay out of jail? You’re not going to use me to get to Adele.”

He cornered her again. She pressed her back to the shelf behind her and licked her lips. The idiot acted like she did it to entice him. “What if you’ve got me all wrong?”

“You were arrested, weren’t you?”

“Yes.” He said it simply and without hesitation.

“Then I haven’t got you all wrong.”

He touched a hand to his chest and raised three fingers of the other hand. “I was helping an old lady cross the street.”

She shoved at his chest. He didn’t budge. “You’re ridiculous. I don’t want to deal with you!”

“Come on, sweet Kiyah. I—”

“You what? Are you going to force yourself on me? Is that what you do? Use your cousin to get out of trouble when women tell you no?”

His eyes widened with shock, and then darkened. She’d never seen a white person’s face so close to notice their eyes could change color with their emotions. Duke’s green eyes would be fascinating if she didn’t think she’d just pissed him off inside a closet. Who knew if a billionaire could make murder disappear.

She swallowed while he stayed quiet for a few moments. When he spoke his voice was tight and low. “I’ve never forced myself on a woman. I don’t need to.”

For some reason, she must have been feeling froggy enough to challenge him. She needed a little more common sense. “Not from what I’ve seen.”

He raised a hand beside her face, and she flinched, but he laid it on a shelf close to her head. “Maybe I should prove myself now.”

He stepped in closer, leaving hardly an inch between them. An invisible force raised her chin, leaving her ridiculously thinking the man had magical powers. What was she doing?
Walk away, Takiyah.

His mouth came down. She willed herself to turn her head. A wave of fear came over her that he’d prove himself right and her wrong. To her disgust, she trembled and raised her palms to brush his chest. A hair away from her mouth, he stilled. She had a millisecond to move, but she couldn’t. His lips brushed hers for an instant, and then he dipped around to her ear.

“Should I go on?” he whispered. “Will a little tongue action prove it?”

She smacked him as hard as she could. Pain stung her fingers, but that bastard didn’t even recoil. He just stood there, leaning over her, too damn close and too full of himself. She glared at him, panting from desire and anger.

“Why do you keep coming on to me? It’s obvious you like blonds and pale skin. From the way you strut around here, you don’t lack the confidence to go after Adele or any other woman you want. So what’s your game?”

He was about to respond when her phone buzzed. She dug it out of her pocket and answered when she saw that it was her mom calling from home. “Hey, Ma. What’s going on? You know I’m working my shift.”

“Keen’s not home yet, and I’m getting worried.”

Takiyah gasped. Her stomach knotted in fear. “Did he call?”

“No. I phoned the school, but they said he left a couple hours ago.” Takiyah heard the tremor in her mother’s voice, and her worry tripled.

“Ma, calm down. I’m sure he’s okay. I’m going to go looking for him, but you just try to relax. Your heart doesn’t need the stress.”

Her mother’s voice rose. “How can I relax when my baby is lost?”

“He’s not lost, Ma. He’s just out probably fooling around with his friends, but when I find him, his ass is in trouble. He knows he’s supposed to go straight home after school. I’ll call you when I find him.”

She disconnected the call and started around Duke.

“Anything I can help with?” he asked.

She stopped and looked at him. “You can stay out of my face. Right now I have to think about my son. He’s late from school, and my mom doesn’t know where he is.”

“I’ll drive you.”

“I can drive myself.” She left him standing there and went to find Creed. After she informed him about having to leave, she grabbed her purse from her locker and ran from the restaurant. In a short while, she was driving around near her son’s school.

Takiyah checked every small group of teenagers, hoping to spot her son. The neighborhood where they lived couldn’t be classified as anything but the ghetto. A lot of the houses were run down. Graffiti stained the walls in alleys and sometimes on storefronts, and crime was at an all time high. In fact, she had taken the extra job hoping to be able to move to a better neighborhood in a few months.

Every day, she worried about her son walking home from school and someone messing with him. All they had was each other and her mother. Keen’s father was a decent man but completely unreliable.

After driving around almost forty-five minutes, Takiyah thought she saw a familiar burnt orange jacket in one of the alleys. She found a parking space and hurried into the alley. On any other day, she wouldn’t be caught dead in this area, especially with the sun going down.

She spotted him in a group of boys, and one had his arm wrapped around Keen’s shoulders and was handing him something. Keen reached up to take it, and all Takiyah could think was that Keen was being pressured into taking drugs.

“Keen,” she shouted, and elbowed several of the boys aside to grab him.

“Ma.” His eyes widened. “What are you doing here?”

“That’s my question. What did you just put in your pocket?”

“Nothing.”

She knew a guilty look when she saw one. “Out with it.
Now.
”

Keen usually obeyed her on the spot because she didn’t play with him, but he hesitated in front of his friends. Her anger rose, and she looked around at the group of boys. They all appeared to be about Keen’s age, maybe a year older. One boy looked about sixteen or seventeen. The innocence was either gone or hidden from every one of them. Angry eyes and bad attitudes met her gaze.

“What are you all doing out here when it’s getting dark? You should be home doing homework.”

“Why don’t you mind your business, lady?” one of them said.

“Yeah, before we make you,” another added.

She put her hands on her hips. “You think I’m scared of you? Keen is my business, and we’re leaving right now.”

The boy who looked to be the oldest stepped forward and grabbed her arm. “He’s not going anywhere.”

Keen pulled Takiyah’s arm to get her out of the boy’s grasp, but the bigger boy held on. Takiyah did everything she could not to show her fear or the ache in the strong grip. This boy could do damage if he wanted to. They all could.

“Leave my mother out of this.” Keen put himself between them. “I’ll just take her home.”

“Out of what?” Takiyah jerked on her arm, but she couldn’t get loose. If she socked the fool, she might be able to get away, but doing that would only teach Keen to handle problems with violence. Starting it herself might escalate the situation. She and Keen couldn’t do a thing if the boys decided to attack them.

“Tell you what, Keen,” the big boy said. “You come talk to me, and your mommy goes home.”

“Okay,” Keen agreed.

“No!” She wrapped a hand around Keen’s arm. He was already taller than her if not thicker, even at thirteen. If he decided to throw off her hold and walk away, she wouldn’t be able to stop him.

“Mind if I cut in on this dance?”

All of them turned to see who was speaking, and Takiyah was shocked to find Duke approaching them calm as he pleased. The bastard had followed her, and she hadn’t even noticed.

Duke reached them and plucked the boy’s hand off Takiyah’s arm as if he flicked away a speck of lint. All the boys went on alert. Duke touched Takiyah’s shoulder and drew her backward. He did the same with Keen, which made her think he’d been watching them for a few minutes before he spoke. Keen looked more like his dad. The only thing she’d given him was a bit of color and the frizzy hair on his head.