Concentrate, Duke. Photos.
He picked up his phone as it buzzed. Reyes.
Meeting ten tonight.
All right. That gave him enough time to shower and eat. His stomach growled as he stood. He glanced over at the quiet house next door. Still no lights. Fuck. Had she eaten? Was she sitting there in the dark? Why?
Because she was scared of him?
He groaned and ran his hand over his face, exhaustion weighing him down. He didn’t have time for this. She wasn’t his responsibility. Just because she lived next door and she’d been trying to do something nice and he’d snapped at her, didn’t mean he owed her something.
Yes, it does, asshole. Fuck. He wasn’t used to anyone outside the club doing something for him without a motive. In fact, most of the time even those fuckers had a motive. She hadn’t seemed to have any motive at all other than wanting to help him.
Wandering inside, he put the envelope down next to his keys and wallet so he didn’t forget to take it with him. He picked up his phone to order a pizza. Without thinking about it too hard, he ordered a second pizza for next door.
The least he could do was make sure she ate.
Pushing her out of his mind, he headed to the shower.
“Shit. What fucker took these?” Ink demanded, glaring down at the photos as though they’d give him the answers he desired.
Duke leaned back in his seat, taking another drag of beer. He wished he could have something stronger, but he didn’t want to stay the night in his room in the compound which was out the back of the main bar, behind a big concrete and wire fence.
So he nursed a single beer as he sat in Reyes’s office and watched his closest friends study the photos he’d received.
“Nothing on the envelope, no note, damn fucking rude really,” Razor drawled.
Duke looked over at Jason who was frowning but didn’t offer anything then over to Spike who scowled, but kept his gaze on the door as though expecting it to open at any moment. Sometimes it was hard to figure out what was going on in Spike’s mind. He didn’t talk much.
“These are all photos of us doing surveillance on the senator,” Ink said.
Yeah, that’s what Duke had discovered after he’d had a chance to look them over. He snatched one out of Ink’s hands. He turned it over and pointed to the image of a fox’s head.
“Anyone know what this means?”
Spike grunted. “I might. Heard rumors of someone called the Fox. Assassin for hire.”
An assassin? What the fuck?
“I’ll ask around,” Spike said.
“It’s got to be a warning. To back off the senator,” Reyes stated.
Duke nodded.
Ink rose and started to pace. “Why are we even bothering with watching the senator?”
“You want to let him continue what he’s doing?” Reyes asked quietly. “I know it’s fucking annoying but now is our chance to watch him, while he’s here in Billings rather than spending most of his time in Washington where we don’t have eyes on him.”
“We never used to give a fuck what anyone else did so long as it didn’t involve us,” Ink spat.
“Ink,” Duke said in a low, warning voice knowing Reyes wouldn’t like any disrespect. He wasn’t an asshole like their last leader, that prick didn’t give a shit about anyone but himself, but Reyes still wasn’t someone you wanted to cross.
Reyes stood silently and the tension in the room ratcheted higher.
“We got a problem, Ink?”
Duke tensed. Ink stared at Reyes then let out a deep breath and ran his hand through his blond hair. “No, fuck no. You know I don’t have a problem with you. Christ, I just don’t want us getting in a mess like we ended up in with Bartolli. If we’re getting a warning from a fucking gun-for-hire then is it not a sign we should fucking stop?”
“Bartolli is dead,” Reyes said in a deep voice. “I took care of that.”
Fergus Bartolli, head of the Bartolli family, had been using the club to blackmail Senator Robins with photos of him having sex with a very young-looking girl. Photos where she looked drugged and out-of-it.
Duke had certain desires in the bedroom, but nothing like that fucking disgusting ass-wipe, Robins. He needed to be in control. These guys were the same. Most of them were Daddy Doms. It was how Razor met Reyes, at a BDSM club that catered for those who practiced age play. Razor had brought Reyes into the club. Eventually gotten rid of Smiley, their old President and started cleaning up the club.
Reyes liked his woman to be his Little girl. Didn’t mean he was a pervert or anything. It was all consensual. Duke knew of a ranch a few hours away where most of the men there were Daddy Doms as well.
It had never appealed to Duke.
At least, he didn’t think it did. A pair of lush pink lips and wide blue eyes flitted through his mind. What did his next-door neighbor have to do with anything? He shook his head.
“Duke?” He glanced up and realized everyone was staring at him.
“Yeah?”
“What you think?” Reyes asked, surprising him. He didn’t always ask for others’ opinions.
“I think it just makes me more curious as to what the fuck is going on,” he drawled. “I ain’t one to be scared off by some pussy who can’t even show his face but instead has to send secret messages.”
“What if those photos of him with the girl were taken in Washington?” Razor asked.
Reyes unlocked his drawer and pulled the photos out. Duke looked down at them. Mother-fucker, that girl looked young. “There’s nothing distinctive in the photos to be able to tell when they were taken, but I’m thinking it was here since he’d have more eyes on him in Washington.”
“But his wife lives here,” Duke mused.
“Maybe he’s got another property?” Razor guessed.
“I’ll look into it,” Jason told them.
Reyes nodded. “Then we continue. Spike, you have the next watch?”
The big man silently nodded.
Reyes glanced around at them all. “Anyone who doesn’t want to continue doing surveillance doesn’t have to.”
Nobody spoke up. As he’d suspected they wouldn’t.
“All right. Then everyone fucking be careful. Keep an eye out for anyone you think could be watching you and call for back-up if needed.”
2
“You. . .you can’t fire me!”
“Just did, sweetheart,” Ronny told her callously. He leered at her. Her insides crawled. God, she hated him. He was a worm. No, that was mean to worms. He was a ferret. Or a rat. No, wait both of those animals could make nice pets.
He was a cockroach.
And the cockroach had just fired her.
“But. . .but. . .I work hard, I’m good at my job, I—”
He waved his hand. “Nothing to do with that. Although you did take too long on the Anderson job.” He’d assigned three hours for a job that would usually take two days. She’d gotten it done in one day and worked extra hours without pay to do it.
Darn it. She clenched her hands into fists as anger pulsed through her. Was she really going to let everyone push her around for the rest of her life? Or was she going to stick up for herself?
The other night, when that asshole from next-door had basically accused her of trespassing and opening his mail, she’d ran home with her tail tucked between her legs. Not even the mysterious pizza that had turned up later, already paid for, made her feel better.
She’d thrown it in the bin without eating it, taking a quick shower before falling into bed. Not that she’d slept. No, she’d spent most of the night tossing and turning, thinking about that arrogant biker jerk.
“Then why?” she asked.
Ronny shrugged, looking bored. He sighed. They were standing in his trailer which he pretended to work from. The guys she worked with all joked that he spent the day watching porn and jacking off. She’d never taken much notice. It hadn’t seemed right to gossip about the boss.
Even
if he was a little cockroach.
Now, she looked around the messy place in disgust. The trash was overflowing, empty food containers lay everywhere and it stunk of sweat, garbage and old food. She wouldn’t be surprised if there were actual cockroaches living in this dump.
Ronny hitched up his ugly shorts that were part of their uniform. His huge belly fell over the top of them, the buttons of his shirt straining over his stomach.
“Look, girly, I got places to go.”
She narrowed her gaze at him. His father had been the one to hire her. And he’d always treated her with respect. She was the only woman who worked here and once he’d seen she knew what she was doing, he’d started giving her the more complicated jobs. The ones that required brains rather than just brawn. Which is all some of the guys had.
“You can’t just fire me without telling me why.”
He raised his arm. She grimaced at the pit-stains on his shirt, the smell wafting out. Her eyes watered. Jesus. Did he ever shower?
“It’s the fucking economy. I’m losing money here.”
Then why didn’t he do some work instead of watching porn and masturbating?
She could feel her shoulders hunching over. She nearly left without another word, but then she remembered that she had a mortgage and bills to pay.
She needed this job.
She didn’t want to lose it.
“So why me? Why not one of the other guys?” Most of whom took extra-long breaks and were always getting to work late and leaving early. Not one of them brought in as much revenue as she did. She was sure of it.
So why fire her?
Because you rejected him last week.
She swallowed the bile rising in her throat. She knew she shouldn’t have gone to Friday night drinks. But Kev, one of the older guys she worked with who she actually liked, had asked her and she was tired of going home to a quiet, empty house.
It was so lonely.
But she should have listened to her instincts. The whole night had been uncomfortable and weird. She wasn’t a drinker, and she’d felt a little silly ordering a sparkling water. Then when she’d gone to the bathroom before heading home, because she always seemed to need the toilet as soon as she got in the car, she’d encountered Ronny walking back into the bar.
He’d been stumbling, already drunk and when she’d reached out to help him as he’d tripped, he’d pushed her against the wall and kissed her. She’d tried to fight him off, but he had at least a hundred pounds on her.
He’d slobbered all over her, his breath reeking of garlic and bourbon, his over-powering body odor almost making her gag. She’d only managed to get away because another guy from the bar had come along and asked if she was okay.
She’d thought he hadn’t remembered because he hadn’t acted any differently towards her.
Until now.
Her body was trembling. This couldn’t be happening. What would she do? Paying out Greg had left her with a hefty mortgage, she lived cheaply but she’d lose her home if she couldn’t find another job quickly.
“I bring in more money than anyone else—”
“Now, that’s just not true, sweetheart,” Ronny drawled condescendingly. “Please don’t beg me. It’s a little pathetic and I really don’t have time to listen to you. It’s a simple matter of last on, first off.”
Her mouth dropped open. That. . .that cockroach!
“I was not the last hire! You only hired Seb four weeks ago!” And he was completely useless. Spent more time taking photos of himself and posting them to Instagram than he did actually working.
“Yeah, but Seb is a friend. You’re not. Now, don’t cry, it makes you look pathetic. See, this is why my dad shouldn’t have hired a woman to do a man’s job.”
That was it! No more! Even she had a snapping point. All her life she’d tried to follow the rules, to do the right thing. She never jay walked. She opened doors for people. She used her manners. She tried to spread a bit of kindness around. But this was too much. A red haze actually filled her vision.
“You sexist pig!” she shot out at him. “I ought to report you for sexual harassment!”
Ronny narrowed his eyes, his cheeks growing red. “I have no fucking idea what you’re talking about. I’ve never sexually harassed you.”
“You kissed me the other night in the bar.”
He snorted. “As if I’d kiss you. Be like trying to kiss my great-aunt. No way I’d touch you with a barge pole. You try to tell anyone I did and I’ll sue you for slander; we clear? My word against yours and ain’t no one going to believe you, bitch.”
He took a step towards her and her bravado faded. He was right. It would be a he-said, she-said situation. Unfortunately, she thought most people would believe him.
“All they’ll see is some dried-up, plain woman trying to latch onto her boss because her homelife is sad and lonely. Now get out of my office and don’t ever come back.”
She turned around, knowing she’d lost. Now she just wanted out of here. She felt dirty. Ill.
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t let him see he’s hurt you.
She managed to hold it together enough to get out to her car. But it took her two tries to get it started. It wasn’t until she turned into her driveway that she realized she was home and she had no memory of getting there.
Fuck. That wasn’t good.
Panic had her gasping for breath. She parked in front of her garage. She didn’t have the energy to get out and open the door. Greg had promised her a remote-controlled door opener. But as usual, he’d never come through.
And now she couldn’t afford it.
She really, really couldn’t afford it.
Ronny had sacked her. She had no job. No references. And around five hundred dollars in her savings account.
Fudge. Son-of-a-peach.
You’re so pathetic, Sunny! You can’t even swear properly.
If ever there was a time to swear it was now. What was she going to do? She couldn’t lose the house. If she lost the house, she’d have to move in with her parents. She didn’t even know where they were. Not to mention they lived in a tiny RV, travelling around, smoking pot and worshipping the moon.
She wasn’t even joking.
She leaned her forehead against the steering wheel. She knew she should get out of the car. Without the air on, the car was becoming a heat-box. She’d worked a full day in the sun with no breaks. She was exhausted. She was dirty.
But she couldn’t move.
Worry kept her paralyzed. Tears dripped down her heated cheeks. What to do? What to do? She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, crying, but when a knock sounded on the car window, startling her out of her panic, it was dark and she desperately had to pee. She gasped for air, staring out the window in fear at the big figure looming next to her car. The doors were still locked.
She screeched as he knocked again. A headache thumped in the back of her skull and fear had her heart beating too fast.
Then a light went on and she found herself staring up into the frowning face of her next-door neighbor.
Awesome. Just what she needed. Another run-in with him.
Tears dripped down her face faster as she just sat there, exhausted, staring up at him.
What was he doing? Duke shook his head at himself as he gave in to the urge that had been tugging at him for the last hour.
He’d noticed her car pull up as he’d come in from his run. Half an hour later, as he’d left the shower and headed to the kitchen, he’d noticed her car still sat in the driveway. Which was unusual but she could have been heading back out.
He’d grabbed a steak to grill. But he’d found himself unable to eat in peace until he made sure that everything was all right.
The sun had set, but the nights in Montana could be cold despite it being summer. The street lights flickered on, illuminating his way. It really wasn’t his problem to take care of her, but still, he found himself striding down her driveway. Christ, the car she drove was a
piece of junk. He’d asked Yoga Barbie what her name was.
Sunny. It suited her. Even if it was a little unusual. Yoga Barbie thought she came from some sort of cult. Claimed she and her husband had broken up because she was a lesbian, because why else would she wear men’s clothes?
As soon as the information had dried up and the sexual innuendos started, he’d walked off from her mid-word.
Yep, he could be a rude prick.
No, he didn’t much care.
As he moved past her car, he glanced inside and stopped in shock. She was still in her car? He’d assumed she’d gone inside while he’d been in the shower.
Fuck. The car wasn’t running. It had to be damn hot in there. Worry filled him, as he tugged at the door. Locked. Shit. He knocked on the window and she startled.
All right. At least she was alive.
He waited for her to open the car door or roll down the window but she just sat there, staring up at him. What was she doing?
Finally, he realized that she might not be able to see who he was and he pulled out his phone, turning on the flashlight app and shining it up into his face.
“Sunny! Open the door!” he barked at her. She didn’t move. “Come on, it’s got to be hot in there. Open the door.”
Still nothing. Shit. Should he leave her alone? He was certain he was the last person she wanted around right now.
Yet his instincts screamed that she needed help. And he didn’t have it in him to just leave her. There was something about the way she sat there, so still, it made him think that she was beyond making decisions herself.
So make them for her.
“I’m going to count to three and then I want you to unlock this door. One. Two.” He paused. Fuck. Shit. This is really working, asshole. “Three.”
No movement towards the door. In fact, she actually shied away from it.
He crouched down to make himself less intimidating. Not exactly easy, he’d been told many times how terrifying he could be. Worked well for him at the club, and his clients at the tattoo parlor he owned didn’t give a shit.
Motorcycle Daddy (MC Daddies Book 1) Page 2