by Elle Boon
He put her into the passenger seat of the little piece of crap she called a car, rounding the front. After he made sure she was properly buckled, he looked back at Cosmo and his girl, sighing to see he’d followed them.
He grunted at the sight of the interior, noticing the lights didn’t come on when he opened the driver’s door. “This hunk of shit should’ve been smashed into a square cube.”
“Bro, you need to chill. All that grunting is making me think you’re going to stroke out or something. You need me to drive?” Cosmo stood beside the back driver side door.
“Get the fuck in before I leave your ass,” he growled, getting behind the wheel, his knees nearly hitting his chest before he adjusted the seat.
“Easy, asshole.” Cosmo hit the seat as he spoke.
Duke shifted the car into reverse, pulling out of the lot with care. No reason to draw attention to them. They drove past the front lot aware it was brightly lit like it was supposed to be. He made a mental note to have lights to the alleyway added, up high, so shit like what went down tonight didn’t happen again. He didn’t look directly off to the side in case there was a spotter for the bastards who’d went in for one of the women in the car. He did a quick search for his custom matte black Harley, exhaling to see it sat where he’d parked it. “Text Wheels and tell them I need my ride picked up. I don’t want it sitting there overnight.” Even with security, obviously shit happened.
“Where you taking Lennox?” Cosmo asked.
Duke thought of his place back on club property. It sat a little way back from King’s house, but just as secure. They both had their homes built after King took over, customizing each to fit their likes and desires. His was farther away from the club, since he wasn’t as on-call as his brother. “Back to my place. I don’t even know where she’s staying. Whoever did wasn’t looking for her if what I overheard was correct.”
Silence descended as Cosmo took in his words.
“Explain,” Cosmo ordered.
Duke met his friend’s eyes in the rearview. Without leaving anything out, he explained the conversation he’d overheard about Lennox not being the right one.
“Look at her.” Duke nodded toward Lennox who was slouched in the passenger seat, then toward the girl in the back. “She’s got jet black hair,” he growled. “Her hair was up in a messy bun with those stick things. Now look at your girl, jet black hair, and clearly she’s mixed heritage. They’re both tiny little things.” His fingers were white from gripping the wheel hard enough he worried he’d bend the damn thing. Hell, as shitty as the vehicle was, he didn’t need to bust the steering wheel in half.
“I see what you’re talking about.” Cosmo brushed the hair off of the other woman’s face. Her head was in his lap, but Duke knew the other man was one of the most upstanding guys there was. “She was the one they were after. I wonder why,” he murmured.
“You two can stay at my place. It’s a four bedroom plus I got a safe suite in the basement.” He and King had both contracted the spaces to be built, even though it wasn’t common knowledge with the club. They were paranoid fuckers.
“I need wheels,” Cosmo said, staring at Duke, but didn’t agree to stay with him. Cosmo had a room he stayed at in the clubhouse, which none of the other members were allowed to use, ever.
No mention of what Duke had said. That was Cosmo; the man was steady, never questioning unless he had good reason. It was why he and Duke were best friends. “I don’t see anyone tailing us. I’m not sure if this thing will make it on the freeway.” He couldn’t believe Doc let his baby girl drive such a shitty car. Hell, she’d had an Audi the MC had given her. Where the fuck was that vehicle?
“Brother, you’re gonna have stubs for teeth if you don’t stop grinding them. We’re close to one of my places. Take the next left and get on the highway. I’ll give you directions once you get on it.”
Duke wanted to snort at Cosmo’s casual tone as he said one of his properties. While King and Duke were well off, Cosmo was a rich fuck. Hell, he could buy and sell most of them and still have money in the bank to retire on a sweet little island that he could buy with the left over cash. However, looking at him, other than he dressed nicer than most, you’d never guess it. Sure, he had homes, a house on the beach and shit, but Cosmo didn’t flaunt his money.
Twenty-five minutes later, he waited for Cosmo to pull a platinum escalade out of the garage, making room for Lennox’s POS. “You want to run in and grab some clothes and shit?” he asked Cosmo once they had the women loaded inside the Escalade.
“I got a bag in the back already.” Cosmo shrugged.
To say his friend was paranoid and obviously prepared for anything would be a major understatement. “Let’s roll then. I texted Wheels. He and one of the other guys are taking care of our bikes.” By the time they got to the club, the bikes would be enroute with Wheels ensuring they arrived without a scratch.
“What about her things?” Cosmo drove out of the small downtown area, his hand resting loosely over the steering wheel like he was familiar with the area.
Duke flashed him his phone screen but then pulled it back. “I told Rosco to shut the place down. Told him we had a call that the cops could be coming to light up the place and to tell Hawk if he had any questions to give me a call.” Which wasn’t a total lie. They could at any time. “I asked him to check that all the girls got home safe and if he sees anything out of place to let me know.” They trusted all their employees, but usually he spoke to Hawk who was in charge of the day-to-day things to do with the girls.
They were on the freeway heading back toward the clubhouse when his phone lit up with a new text from Rosco. “Club is empty, but he says a new chick they hired left her shit behind.” He read the next text, cursing. “I need to call him.”
“What the fuck you mean you didn’t know her? How’d a chick get hired that wasn’t vetted by Hawk and cleared by Keys.” He looked at the sleeping woman in question. For all they knew she could be a fed sent in to set them up. “Nah, that’s bullshit. We need to have a meeting, brother.” Duke hung up, shaking his head. “This ain’t gonna be pretty when I tell King.”
He sat back, his head beginning to pound. “I need to let King know we could have a possible threat.”
The vehicle slowed, veering toward the shoulder. “Duke, I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but I know for certain she ain’t in on it. I saw the fear on her face. I saw that big fucker ready to do whatever he had to do to get her. If you can’t promise me she’s safe, then I’ll turn this rig around and get your girl’s car back to you.”
Duke stared at Cosmo, seeing the resolve written on his features. Yeah, he got it. There was something about a woman that made a man become something he didn’t think he’d be. Protective. Almost to the point they’d shoot their best friend to secure their woman’s safety. No, Duke knew for a fact King would shoot first, ask questions second if his woman’s life were at stake. “I have to tell King what’s going on. Hold on,” he said, putting his hand on Cosmo’s before his friend could shift gears. “I’ll vouch for her.” By doing so, he’d be the one responsible. If the nameless woman did anything wrong, it would be Duke who took the punishment.
“I can’t ask you to do that. Shit, I don’t even know her name.” Cosmo scrubbed his eyes with his thumbs.
“Don’t matter. Sometimes it’s a primal instinct we have. You know ‘Me Tarzan, you Jane’ shit.” Duke punched his chest as he spoke.
Cosmo shifted the SUV into gear. “Yeah, good luck with that. I can see you and Lennox being happy swinging from trees while you wear a loincloth.”
Duke stared at Cosmo’s smirking face, then back at a sleeping Lennox. “First, don’t ever picture me in a loincloth, bro. Second, I’m not stupid. I would never refer to that one as Jane.” He grinned, staring at his idiot friend and the fist he held up. They bumped knuckles, letting the silence soothe their frayed nerves. He knew he should’ve called Doc since Lennox had been drugged, but he’d
checked her vitals, made sure she was breathing, and her heart was steady. Cosmo had done the same with the other woman. When they got to the club, they’d reassess shit.
LENNOX WOKE TO THE feeling of being cradled in big hard arms, the familiar scent of her favorite cologne tickling her nose. It had to be a dream because no way on Earth would Duke the dickbags Royal be carrying her anywhere. She snuggled deeper into her pillow, coming up against a hard...chest. Her eyes flew open, fright making her fight as if her life depended on it. The last time she’d woken with a man pressed so closely—her thoughts shut down as the contents of her stomach began to roll.
“Easy, Dancer, I got you.”
Her mind tried to tell her it wasn’t the same vile man that had done the unspeakable, but her brain and her body didn’t seem to be on the same page. Shit, she wasn’t in the right place. Her stomach rebelled even as she tried to pry her eyes open. “Let me go. Please,” she begged.
“We’re almost there. Calm down, you’re safe.” That deep rumble tried to penetrate the fog of anxiety and pain from before, but she didn’t trust it. She didn’t trust anyone, especially men.
Why wouldn’t her body work. She tried to make her arms move, needed to claw, to bite, to kick. God, she needed to do something. She couldn’t let him do it, not again. “I’m going to be sick,” she gasped. It wasn’t a threat but a promise.
“If you throw up on me, pipsqueak, I’m gonna be super upset,” he warned.
The nickname broke through her scattered thoughts, but her stomach didn’t care if he threatened her, it only wanted to get rid of whatever was in it. “I can’t help it. Please...Oh god, I’m going—” she didn’t get another word out, her hand finally raising to her mouth as her feet touched the ground. An arm banded about her waist while she heaved, expelling everything plus the kitchen sink out of her.
She blinked, blurry green shapes coming more into focus. “Where am I?”
“At the clubhouse. Well, almost. We’re on my front lawn.”
The voice. That deep, dark, sexy as sin, make a woman lose her sanity voice, belonged to Duke Royal. And he was behind her, holding her up while she yakked all over his yard. Worse, she was sure splatter hit his favorite pair of shitkickers. Even more terrible, she was sure she’d muttered her worst fears while she thought she was with a kidnapper.
“Why am I here?” she asked, taking deep lung-full gulps of air.
“Let’s go inside. Cosmo and Dai-tai are inside already. I’ll explain once we’re settled.” Duke didn’t wait for her to reply, nor did he give her a chance to walk on her own. He swept her up into his arms, making her gasp.
“I just threw up all over the place, and full disclosure, I think I got some on your boots.” She winced. She kept one hand over her mouth, not wanting to offend him with her vomit breath.
Duke grunted, never a good sign. Nope, the man had several ways to communicate. He grunted, he growled, and he sighed. A grunt meant he was thinking. Never good. When he growled, whoever pissed him off should get the fuck out of the way, or the state, either option was a good idea. Now a sigh, she had heard that particular sound one night, but that was a memory best left in the past, behind a reinforced steel door marked ‘Do Not Open Ever’ ‘cause it only caused her heartache.
“Quit thinking so hard, you’re hurting my head. I already have a migraine, which I blame you for,” he accused.
She really wanted to look him in the face and tell him to fuck off, but they’d entered his kitchen, and she spotted one of the dancers next to Cosmo in the large half circular bench. “Why is she here?” The question popped out before she could monitor her words.
“Questions after I get you and me a drink. Water or pop, Lennox?” he asked.
The fact he didn’t offer her a beer, like Cosmo had in front of him, wasn’t lost on her. Did the asshole forget she was officially twenty-one now? He sure didn’t forget her eighteenth birthday. Nope, she pumped the brakes on that one, and waved the hand behind him since she wasn’t uncovering her vomit mouth. “Sprite if you’ve got it.” Hopefully the carbonation would help settle her stomach.
“I got it. Now sit and don’t move around too much until you know you won’t be yacking all over my floor. I just had it cleaned.” Duke sat her on the opposite end of the cushioned bench from where Cosmo and Dai-tai were sitting, giving her a chance to take in the situation.
“Here you go. Want to brush your teeth?” Duke asked after she’d taken a few swallows.
She thought of using some other bitches’ toothbrush that had been left there, her eyes narrowing. “I’m fine. I’ll brush my teeth when I get home.”
“Well, Dancer, that’s gonna be a little bit from now. You see, the two of you were drugged and almost kidnapped. Until we know by who and why, you two aren’t safe. And you and I have some things to discuss.” Duke pinned her with a stare she’d seen too many times to count. Shit, she was in so much trouble. Or not. He wasn’t in charge of her or her life. She wasn’t part of the MC. Which she was ready to tell him, only the sound of the door opening in the other room had them all freezing. “Who’s that?” she whispered, getting up and moving closer to Duke.
He pulled her into his side. “It’s King, baby. You’re safe.”
She didn’t miss the softening of his tone, or how much his words soothed her shredded heart and soul. God, he wouldn’t be holding her so closely if he knew. If he had any clue she was ruined, damaged, not the same anymore, he wouldn’t want anything to do with her.
“What the fuck is going on?” King asked, his eyes darting from one of them to the other, then shooting to Cosmo and Dai-tai.
“I’m going to be sick,” she said, rushing from the room. Her heart was ready to shatter, but then she reminded herself it was already shattered. Duke had done that a week after her birthday. She found the bathroom, shutting and locking the door for good measure. Not that she thought Duke would come in after her, but it gave her a sense of security.
She barely made it inside and had the toilet lid up before the Sprite came back up. Oh good lord, she hated throwing up. As a dancer, she had been really good about watching what she ate so she never was one of the girls who fell into the anorexic or bulimic shit. Once she was sure nothing else was coming up, she flushed, turning to sit on the toilet lid. She checked the door, making sure she’d locked it. “Yeah, like a locked door could keep the monsters out.” Her voice shook as she imagined what she wouldn’t be able to do if Duke wanted in. Nope, he was not a monster.
“I just want things to go back. Back to before,” she cried, tears falling down her cheeks. After a minute of letting herself have a pity party, she took a deep breath, got up, and faced her image in the mirror. “Dark circles. Check. Pale face. Check. Bloodshot eyes. Check. You are one sexy beotch, Lennox.” She sniffed, turning the water on cold. A few splashes later, she looked like a drowned rat, but at least her face was clean, her mouth didn’t feel like something died in it after taking a dump, and well, the rest she had to deal with. “Head up, chin out, stand straight, and pretend like you own the stage. You need to make everyone believe you’re the best.”
After she was sure her mask was firmly in place, she opened the door nearly running into Duke. “Whoa, I just came to check on you. You okay?”
She opened her mouth and shut it, twice, before she was able to form a response. “Uh, yeah. I think my body isn’t a fan of drugs. Good thing I was never one to partake, eh?”
Chapter Two
Duke wanted to find whoever had made Lennox feel as though she wasn’t safe. He wanted to find who she thought was a monster and show them what a real monster was, and he would. That was a promise. For now, his priority was securing Lennox and Dai-tai, finding out what the fuck was going on, and then he was going hunting.
“Brother, I see a look on your face that worries me.” King gazed around the room, his too fierce intellect is what made him such a great president of the MC, plus a great brother. Only right now he didn’t need or want
either. Retribution, that was what he was going to get.
“Well stop looking and chill.” Duke glared back, moving closer to Lennox who seemed to sink into herself. What the ever loving fuck? She’d always held her head high, proudly like she knew she had a place in the club even though she was a woman.
“Hey, girl, haven’t seen you in a while. How you been?” King asked, his tone soothing like he was talking to an injured animal.
“Fine...I’m good.” Lennox tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear, barely looking up.
“Hi, I’m Ayesha. Clearly, this one doesn’t have good manners.”
Duke wanted to snort as King’s woman elbowed her way past him, her curvy frame bumped his brother as she moved to stand in front of Lennox, smiling like the sweet thing she was.
“Oh, um, I’m Lennox. My dad is Doc.”
Ayesha nodded. “I’ve met him. He’s a very nice man.”
This time Duke didn’t even try to control his snort, which made King flip him the bird.
“Why is it that every time my dad is brought up you seem to growl, snort, or mutter an angry sound, Duke?”
There was the girl he remembered. Duke preferred the spitfire over the wounded woman who he’d picked up off the littered alley. However, he was a smart man, and smart men didn’t open their mouth and insert their size fourteen shitkickers. His mama didn’t raise no fool. “I’ve no clue what you’re talking about, Dancer.”
“You two can fight later. I want to know what the fuck happened tonight and what kind of blowback we’re gonna get. Mechanic said there was no bodies, but he did find blood in two spots in the alley. Hawk closed the club down like you suggested.” This time when he winged one dark brow up, Duke matched him.
“I wasn’t sure if there were going to be more of them showing up. Figured it was safer for all if they shut down, since the fucker who tried to snatch that one didn’t care he’d basically done it with witnesses.” He pointed his thumb toward the little woman Cosmo didn’t seem in any hurry to move away from. Nope, he appeared to be posted up like he planned to stamp his zip code on her ass. “Did you recognize the big fucker?” he asked her.