Royally Treasured (Royal Sons MC Book 4)

by Elle Boon

  “My last question for you. The used condoms that were in the room. Who’s were they?” Duke’s heart was racing.

  Marco didn’t blink. “Mine and Grace’s.”

  “They’re gonna kill us all, asshole,” Grace yelled.

  “F.O.C.U.S, I think she needs a lesson.” The Bishop waved his hand imperiously.

  “You gonna use that?” the big man asked.

  Duke looked at his palm. “I don’t think so.”

  His friend grunted. “Good, that’s my favorite cutter. I think he’s bleeding out, though.” F.O.C.U.S lifted a cigar to his lips, lit the end as he looked down at the man lying on the table. “How many women have you three drugged and taken advantage of, hmm?” He blew a puff of smoke over Marco’s face.

  “Keep your mouth shut,” Grace yelled.

  “You’re a fucking whore, Grace. We should’ve just killed her like I wanted,” Marco gasped, his breathing becoming shallow.

  “That was stupid.” The Bishop made a tsking sound. “I think we found the boss bitch, boys. Let me see if I can’t take her down a notch or two. There is only room for one, or in our case, two bosses. Not including you, Duke.”

  The sound of a whip cracking brought Duke’s gaze to the wall where both women were held immobile. “Nice technique,” he said, watching as The Bishop wielded the leather back and forth, his arm moving in an arc that was like poetry in motion.

  “He’s a master with the whip.” F.O.C.U.S came to stand next to him. “I’m afraid our friend didn’t make it. However, I don’t think he was lying either if that gives you relief.” He lifted a shoulder. “The file we have on the three of them, its not pretty. He enjoyed torturing the women they took if the images were anything to go by. He may have acted like a little whipped pup here, but I can assure you, he was a sadistic bastard. It takes one to know one, which again, I ought to know.” He grinned with his cigar between his lips.

  Duke looked back at the table wondering if he should feel bad at the fact he’d killed a man, but then knowing the fucker had drugged, raped, and done god knew what to countless women, he shrugged. “That gonna be a problem?” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder.

  The other man shook his head. “Nope. Those two might be if we keep ‘em. I’ve had worse and trained them to obey. They have a lot of baggage, a little too much shit and not enough assets if you know what I mean, but I always did like a good challenge.”

  Looking at the women, Duke had to agree. Both women were pretty, but they were so damn skinny they could pass as teen girls. Not to mention, neither had asked to be released, or apologized. Stubborn and thinking they owned the world. “Think they’ll be missed?”

  “If worse comes to worst, they become victims of a drug transaction gone wrong. Their boyfriend got them messed up in something they shouldn’t have. Sadly, they were caught in the crossfire.” F.O.C.U.S told the story as if he’d read it somewhere.

  The Bishop walked over, his bare chest on display. Duke eyed his flag tattoo covering the left half of his body. “The one named Grace likes pain, the other is her bitch. Don’t know if they’re totally unsalvageable. By the size of their pupils, I would say they are both hooked on some type of drugs. Without doing blood tests, I would not be able to verify my theory.”

  Duke snorted. “Wow, your story won’t be far off then. Makes sense how they were able to drug Lennox. Alright, let’s finish this so I can get back home. I don’t want to tell her over the phone. Besides, I don’t think she’ll believe me without proof.”

  The Bishop rested his hand on Duke’s shoulder. “I have a feeling you know just how to prove it to her. I suggest you go slow. Even though she was saved from a true violation,” he looked away for a moment. “She will still be somewhat skittish.”

  He wasn’t going to tell The Bishop or F.O.C.U.S that he had held her in his arms the night before he’d come here. “Thanks.”

  “You go on and head out. We got this.” F.O.C.U.S pointed his cigar toward the door.

  “I can’t ask you to do that.” This was his mess.

  “See that right there?” The Bishop pointed his arm toward the corner, the whip held in his fist lashing out making a cracking sound that had the girls whimpering. Duke looked at the darkened corner, trying to see what he was pointing at. “Over there my friend is an incinerator hot enough to burn a body to nothing. I promise, there’ll be nothing left of him to find. As for those two, if they don’t work out, we’ll handle it. Now go on, we said we got this.” The Bishop turned away, more of his tattoo visible.

  Duke lifted his hand, taking F.O.C.U.S’s in a steely grip. “Thanks, brother. I owe you and The Bishop.”

  “I’m assuming you didn’t tell King what your plans were when you came out here?” The Bishop said as he came back, shrugging his shirt back on.

  “No, I came out here without my colors in case I fucked up. I didn’t want to drag the Bastards down with me.” Duke eyed the dead body. “I would take the fall for that and them two.”

  The Bishop slapped his back. “No need for anyone to fall, brother. Get going. We got this.”

  In the corner where the incinerator was located, The Bishop had already fired it up. The two women whimpered, but he’d already slapped tape back on their mouths. Duke had a feeling neither of them would last long. Not that they deserved to, knowing the things they’d done to others. F.O.C.U.S didn’t care for women who did drugs, which meant these women wouldn’t be added to his collection. Being drug addicts who had no problem doing what they did...Duke had a feeling they’d get what they deserved. Had Lennox stayed with them any longer, he knew she’d have been a victim of something far worse than she’d been.

  “Take the bike we brought to the airport. One of our prospects will pick it up from the same lot we met you in,” F.O.C.U.S said.

  Chapter Ten

  He gave one last look toward the table where Marco’s body had been before walking toward the bikes. Some would think what they’d done was wrong and maybe it was. He had blood on his hands and soul, all of which he’d have to answer for when he met his maker. Yet he knew without a doubt they’d wiped the world of one less fucker who didn’t think they had to adhere to laws or others rights. Sure, some thought MCs were the same, but they had a code they lived by which was a lot different than what pieces of shits like those three did.

  The bike roared to life beneath him. Thoughts of how he’d tell Lennox what she’d experienced was different than what she had been told plagued him as he maneuvered through traffic. Not once did he worry about blowback from the disappearance of the three they’d taken. If there was one thing he had faith in, it was his brothers being smart and thorough. Like Keys, The Bishop would have their asses covered. With his fake ID on hand, he left the bike in the same lot, texted the location to F.O.C.U.S, then made his way to JFK. It almost seemed too fucking easy. His senses weren’t tingling, which didn’t have him relaxing while he texted Keys.

  His phone beeped a second before vibrating with a call. He looked both ways before crossing the road to the busy airport. “What’s up?” he asked Keys.

  “Check your mail, brother. You got your shit handled I’m assuming?” Keys asked.

  Duke grunted. “Hang on,” he said putting Keys on speaker. “Damn, you’re quick. How’s Lennox doing?” He was a little surprised she hadn’t texted him, even though he’d only been gone for a day he was sure she’d have reached out to him at least once.

  “She’s good. I think her and Ayesha are gonna be good friends. Traeger is playing bodyguard for all of them. Never seen that bastard post up like a damn pitbull in a fighting ring so hard before. Kinda funny, but not.”

  Like always when you spoke to Keys the sound of him banging away on his computer could be heard. “You know, they sell keyboards that are silent when you clack away, right?”

  Keys snorted. “Yeah, but they’re not worth a shit. Listen, I gotta go, just wanted to make sure you got your ticket. I even made sure you were in first-class. You’re
welcome. I’m all ears if you wanna spill your guts without braiding each other’s hair and shit.”

  “Fuck off, asshole. I don’t do that bromance shit. You need to find a hobby. Now, if you want to know if all is good, then yep. If you want to know if there’s gonna be some shit you need to handle, then I’d say no, but keep your eyes and ears open for any floaters.” That was as close to admitting he’d done anything wrong as he’d get.

  “Hmm, sounds about right. Oh, just a heads up, I have some chatter I’m following that I’ll need to let Cosmo know about. He and his girl are both getting antsy. King won’t like it if he does a runner with her.” More clacking sounded. “Shit, I need to check on something. See you in a few hours.”

  The line went dead before Duke could ask him what the hell was going on. He thought about calling Cosmo but decided against it. He entered the terminal, heading straight for the check in area. He had his backpack that he’d brought with him that didn’t need to be checked. Once he made sure there was no blood or residue from the ordeal from earlier in the garage, he’d opted to take it with him. Standing in line, he stood straight without fidgeting. TSA agents were trained to watch for signs that a passenger might be hiding something. Duke didn’t want anyone to look at him twice. With the ballcap on his head, sunglasses resting on top, denim jeans and flannel top with a dark T-shirt, he looked like an average traveler. Of course, he was taller than most, but that couldn’t be helped. When it was his turn to place his phone under the scanner and show his ID, the agent looked him up and down, then waved him through.

  “Have a good day,” Duke said politely.

  “You, too.”

  Keys got him TSA pre-approved which meant he didn’t have to take his boots off. He also was able to go in the shorter line, thank fuck since the airport at LAX was a madhouse. What seemed like hours later, he was walking to his gate with barely a minute to spare before they were closing the door.

  “Mr. Walker? We were just calling one last time.”

  He smiled at the lady who spoke. She stood by the door. Her airline uniform let him know she was an employee. “Thank you. I was hurrying as fast as I could.”

  “I’m sure you were.” She looked him up and down.

  Duke had a feeling she would’ve loved for him to have missed his flight. Sorry sweetheart, he had no plans to come back to New York anytime soon. He touched the brim of his ballcap, smiled and hurried through the door. The walk down to the plane was long, or seemed that way. Duke didn’t breathe easily until he was in his seat and they were thirty thousand feet in the air.

  LENNOX LAUGHED AT AYESHA. “You want me to teach you how to do a proper pirouette and you’ll teach me how to do what?”

  Ayesha huffed with a smile flitting at the corners of her lips. “Twerk. You know what that is, right?”

  Lord love a duck. Did she think she’d lived under a rock? She almost wanted to let Ayesha know she knew more than how to be a ballerina, although that had been her first love. She’d gone to Julliard and had been striving for top ballerina, but she’d also been in several other dance classes, hip hop being one of them. “Hmm, why don’t you show me what you got?” she motioned for Ayesha to show her.

  They were in the kitchen of King’s house. The big space opened up to his dining room which they’d moved the table against the wall to give them more room. “How about you, Tiana, you up for some teaching us old peeps how it’s done?” she asked the younger girl.

  Tiana raised her eyes from the book she was reading. “Nope, I’ll let you two make fools of yourselves. I’ll be the judge, though.” She put a bookmark in the book. “Alright, who’s doing what?” she asked.

  “Have you not been listening to what we’ve been saying? Teenagers,” Ayesha growled.

  Lennox wasn’t touching that with a ten-foot pole. She’d had so many hopes and dreams at eighteen only to have them crushed by one sexy as fuck biker. Just three years later, after going after plan B, those dreams were now in tatters too. She didn’t know what she was going to do. Dancing at The Club wasn’t a viable option. For one, she knew her father would never be okay with it and neither would Duke. For two, she couldn’t picture herself stripping down to next to nothing for a bunch of strangers. Not that she thought women who did were bad, she just couldn’t picture doing it herself. Being on stage in a leotard, twirling on her toes, leaping through the air, performing for a crowd in New York as part of a Troupe in her mind was completely different, but maybe it wasn’t truly.

  “What’s put that look on your face?” Ayesha asked.

  Lennox blinked twice, shocked to find the other woman so close. “I was thinking about what I was going to do for the rest of my life,” she answered honestly.

  “You’re young, Lennox. It’s not like you have to make that decision today or even tomorrow.” Ayesha rubbed her arm soothingly.

  She inhaled, trying to explain to Ayesha what she felt, how her life wasn’t...the same as hers felt like she was being a cry baby. “I’m sure you’re right. How about that dance lesson?”

  “You’re a terrible liar. Make sure you never play cards, and for goodness sake, don’t ever lie to King or Duke. That will get you in a heap of trouble,” Ayesha warned.

  Tiana laughed. “My sister enjoys getting in trouble.”

  “Girl, you are just begging to be grounded.” Ayesha rushed to where her sister sat, making Tiana shriek with laughter as she tickled her.

  Lennox smiled while she watched the pair. She had always wished she’d had a sister or even a best friend. Her dad hadn’t exactly forbidden her having a girlfriend, yet growing up she’d never formed a bond with anyone. Well, she had always had a thing for Duke. That had been her problem; she’d been pining away for the big bad biker.

  Since Duke had left, she’d filled her time with the two sisters and missing him. King had been tight lipped about where Duke had gone. Not that she’d asked him where his brother had gone, exactly. Growing up with her dad as part of the MC until King took over, she knew you didn’t question the President. If he wanted you to know something, he’d tell you.

  “Alright, class is in session, bitches. Tiana, find us some music we can dance to. And you, I know you can move so let’s see what you got.” Ayesha clapped her hands.

  Tiana went to the corner where a computer sat with a soundbar. Clearly King had a system set up that wasn’t cheap. “Any requests?” the younger girl asked.

  “Big Things Poppin by TI,” Ayesha hollered.

  Her sister groaned. “Really? Why not something from this decade like Zedd.” The catchy beat started playing. Tiana sang along, belting out about being a Good Thing and being the best thing in life.

  “Ah hell no.” Ayesha shook her head. “TI, girl. That’s a beat we can shake our booties to.”

  “You’re no fun,” Tiana whined, but she changed the music, blaring out the music Ayesha requested.

  Lennox watched Ayesha start bopping her head, then her body started moving. “Damn, girl,” she commented, impressed at the show of rhythm the other woman had. Both sisters started a dance off, each bopping and rocking, moving to the middle of the floor when it was their turn to dance. Lennox stood back, watching as they showed off their skills. And then the twerking happened. She fell back onto the chair behind her, unable to control the laughter bubbling out as Tiana slapped her sister on her ass. “You two are nuts,” she wheezed.

  “Come on, we’ll show you how to shake what your mama gave you.” Ayesha waved her forward.

  How did she tell her that she already knew how to shake it? Fuck it. Her motto had never been to fake it till you make it, but face it till you make it. This would be no different. So, while these two crazy women stood staring at her with TI on repeat, she stood up, shook her arms out like she was getting ready to box. “Alright, now I want you both to know I never said I didn’t know how. You both just assumed.” With the next beat she started moving, shaking her ass even though it wasn’t nearly as cute as Ayesha’s.

 
; “You bootyshaking bish, you can totally twerk,” Ayesha muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

  Tiana clapped her hands. “Yes, girl, yes.” She raised her right hand, waiting for Lennox to slap her palm.

  Lennox grinned, giving Tiana a high-five. “Sorry, you just assumed I couldn’t, Ayesha. I never said I couldn’t. I will admit, your twerking is better than mine though.”

  “Bullshit.” She smiled. “So, still gonna show me how to pirouette?”

  “I’ll show you how to, but it’s not an easy move to master,” she warned.

  Ayesha nodded, her smile still bright and infectious. “No problem. I like a challenge.”

  Lennox looked around King’s home, now Ayesha’s too and thought truer words couldn’t have been said. For the next couple hours, they danced, laughed, and fell on their asses. She couldn’t remember a time she had so much fun. That night when it was time for bed, she dreaded going alone especially after having Duke’s arms around her the previous night. “Has King called you?” she asked Ayesha.

  Ayesha shook her head. “He had club business to take care of. I’m sure Duke or he’ll call one of us when they can.”

  She wanted to agree or say something flippant. Hell, she didn’t want to be one of those needy women that had to hear from her boyfriend...shit, Duke wasn’t her anything. “I think I’ll go on and turn in for the night. Do you need me to help you with anything?” They’d had left over lasagna with a salad which made clean up easy. Tiana had gone to her room shortly thereafter, which left Lennox and Ayesha alone. After watching a movie that Lennox couldn’t tell you how it ended, she realized she truly wasn’t fit for company.

  “Listen, Lennox, you need to stop beating yourself up and try to relax. Try to take a hot bath. I swear, every bathroom in this place was set up with the largest tubs. If you want some company give me a shout. I’ll be in here surfing channels.” Ayesha pointed toward the television.