Duke Read online

  “I don’t want you to. Thank you so much!” I launched myself at the big man and hugged him tightly. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Any other time, I would have likely been pissed, but at that moment, I was just grateful they knew where my son was.

  Phoenix actually blushed a little. “Gotta say, Reesie, definitely not the reaction I was expecting out of you, but I’ll take it.”

  “Can you find out if they’ve gotten to him yet or where they are? Please,” I begged.

  “Of course. Come with me.” I followed him down the hall and into Byte’s room. “You got an update, brother?”

  “You’re not going to believe th...oh hey, Reese, didn’t see you there,” Byte stumbled over his words when he saw me.

  “You can speak freely in front of her right now. I’m not going to believe what?”

  “It looks like she’s headed to the Manglers clubhouse with the baby,” Byte told us.

  I gasped. No, no, no. They would not get their hands on another member of my family.

  “Fuck!” Phoenix roared. In the next second, he had his phone to his ear. “Copper, got an emergency and I need your help.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Duke

  Here I was hauling ass on my bike, a-fucking-gain, with Carbon riding right beside me. He might be the club’s enforcer, but when we caught this bitch, she was mine. Woman or not, she was going to pay and pay dearly for taking my son.

  My phone rang, scaring the shit out of me. I still wasn’t used to my new helmet. It connected to my phone via Bluetooth so I could answer calls while on the road. Phoenix insisted we all upgrade to them a few months ago. I wasn’t crazy about it at first, but now I was damn glad we’d made the change.

  “Answer.”

  Phoenix’s voice filled my ears. “Looks like they’re heading toward the Manglers clubhouse. Could be a coincidence, but I’m not taking that chance. Copper and his crew are going to spread out and block all possible routes leading to the clubhouse. There’s not many, so it shouldn’t be hard to get her if that’s where she’s going.”

  “Are you fucking serious?” I growled.

  “Yep. Keep it together, man. You can fly off the handle after you get your boy back. I haven’t told Carbon and I’m not going to until you guys are back here. He’ll flip and that can’t happen right now.”

  “Got it. How far ahead of us are they?”

  “You’re closing the distance, but I think Copper and his boys will get to them first. Just keep pace with Carbon. Byte has a line open with him telling him where to go.”

  I was afraid to ask, but I had to know. “How’s Reese? Did you tell her?”

  “I did. She’s right here with me and Byte. She’s doing okay, staying strong for her boy, isn’t that right, sweetheart?”

  Her voice was like a balm to my aching soul when she called out, “Bring him back to me, Duke.” Then, she morphed into the Reese I knew so well. “And bring that bitch, too. She’s got an ass-kicking waiting on her.”

  “You hear that, brother?” Phoenix chuckled into the phone.

  “Got it, Prez.” He disconnected the call. Surprisingly, my focus was solely on the road in front of me. Occasionally, Carbon would accelerate and lead the way when we needed to make a turn, but otherwise, we rode side by side with the cavalry behind us.

  We sped past the scene of Reese’s accident. Chills went up my spine as we passed. I still had nightmares about that night. Every single time, James was in the car with her and I had to watch as they plummeted to their death. I forced those thoughts from my mind. I needed to focus. We were getting close and I couldn’t let the memories of that night distract me.

  Finally, a group of motorcycles surrounding a car came into view. We came to a stop and I don’t know how my bike didn’t hit the ground. I jumped off and ran as fast as I could toward the group of men. They parted as I approached. There, in the middle of the fray, was my cousin holding my baby boy. And he was just fine.

  I plucked James from Judge’s arms and cradled him against my chest, kissing the top of his head. “Thank God you’re okay, little man. Your mommy and I have been so worried about you.” I’m not ashamed to say a tear or two fell from my eyes. We could have easily lost him.

  I took a moment to rein in my emotions and turned to face my Devil Springs brothers. “I can’t thank you enough for getting my boy out of harm’s way.”

  Copper clapped me on the shoulder. “It’s what we’re here for. Family is family and we always take care of our own.” Then, he shrugged, “And we were having a boring night anyway.”

  “Shit, I need to call Reese.” I shifted James to my hip and reached for my phone.

  “I already did, as soon as we had him out and looked him over,” Judge told me.

  Carbon had been standing silently beside me the entire time, which could only mean one thing. Carbon was in full enforcer mode. His tone held a promise of pain. “Where’s the bitch?”

  “She’s over there,” Copper pointed, “but I don’t think it’s who you were expecting.”

  We walked over to the woman bound and gagged on the ground. Carbon used the toe of his boot to roughly roll her over. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. “Melissa? What the fuck are you doing here?”

  She bared her teeth and snarled at me like a rabid animal. “Oh, you can’t answer that, can you? Well, we’ll just leave that gag in place until we get you to a more desirable location.”

  “You know this cunt?” Carbon barked.

  I sighed. “She’s Shannon’s sister.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Reese

  For the second time that night, my knees hit the floor. This time due to sweet relief. They got my baby back and he was okay.

  “I’m going to need you to stop doing that, you’re making me look bad when I don’t catch you,” Phoenix grumbled.

  “Sorry, Phoenix,” I sassed. I knew he was trying to help me keep my emotions from getting the best of me.

  He helped me to my feet and led me to the common room. I was surprised to see the room relatively empty. He handed me a shot of whiskey and explained, “Everybody went after James except me, Byte, Ranger, and a couple of prospects. Coal’s at the hospital with his mom.”

  “She’s really okay?” I asked. Mrs. Martin was one of the sweetest women I knew. I hated that she had gotten hurt because of me.

  “She’s banged up, but she’ll be fine. I know what you’re thinking and don’t go there. It ain’t your fault.”

  I shook my head. “Duke was right. I do only bring trouble to the club,” I mumbled. I hadn’t really intended to say that out loud and I hoped Phoenix didn’t hear me, but I had no such luck.

  “The fuck you just say?” Phoenix barked. “He said that to you?”

  “A long time ago. He’s since apologized for it and said he didn’t mean it, but I can’t help thinking it’s true. Every time I show up here, chaos ensues,” I explained.

  “I think you failed to realize that you didn’t show up here either time. You were ordered to come to the clubhouse when everything happened with Ember and you were brought back here after your accident. We’re your family, Reese. We’ll always be here to help you no matter what.”

  “He’s right you know,” Ember said from behind me. “You are family and I for one am so glad you’re back.”

  Harper slowly crept toward the three of us. “I’m sorry for yelling at you about the baby when I first got here. I just want Duke to be happy and it seems you make him happy.” She smiled softly and pulled me into a hug.

  “Okay, enough of the sappy shit. You all know how I hate that,” I griped.

  “It’ll be a while before they get back here with James. You girls want something to eat?” Phoenix asked.

  “I do,” I quickly answered. “I’m going to need my strength to beat that bitch’s ass when she gets here.”

  Phoenix chuckled. “So, steak and potatoes?”

  ***

  The doors to the common
room flew open to reveal Duke standing there like a dark knight holding our sleeping son. Damn this boot on my foot. I wanted to run to him, but it was a fast hobble at best. When I got to him, he handed James to me and I lost it. I placed kisses on the top of his head and all over his face. I cried, dropping tears and snot all over his little head. Duke silently stepped forward and wrapped us in his arms.

  We stayed in his arms for several minutes. When I finally got a hold of myself, I pulled back a little and met Duke’s eyes, “Thank you.”

  He smiled softly. “You don’t have to thank me, sugar. I’m his dad, it’s my job to protect him. Go get your things so we can get him home.”

  I shook my head. “Not until I have a chat with the bitch that took him.”

  “You’re not going to budge on that, are you?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Hell no.”

  He sighed. “Fine. Ember, can you watch James for us?” I stiffened when he asked her. It’s not that I didn’t trust Ember, but my son had just been kidnapped while in someone else’s care. I didn’t exactly want to leave him with another person just yet. “You’re not taking James down there. He’ll be just fine while you handle your business.”

  I handed James off to Ember and followed Duke down the stairs that led to the cells where they had once kept Ember. Duke stopped suddenly causing me to slam into his back. “Wait right here. I’m fucking serious, Reese. Don’t move from that step.” The tone of his voice was something I hadn’t heard from him before.

  “Okay.” What the hell was he doing? He went down the rest of the stairs and walked out of my line of sight. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but I could hear him talking to some of the other brothers. Moments later he was back, motioning for me to come down the stairs.

  “What was that about?” I asked.

  “Club business,” he grunted.

  Whatever. I really didn’t care. I just wanted to knock this cunt’s front teeth out and be on my merry way.

  He led me into a cell. A woman was tied to a chair with a gag in her mouth. She was younger than I thought she would be. Significantly younger. “This is your wife? How old was she when you married her, like 10?” I shrieked.

  “No, she’s not my wife. This is my wife’s sister,” he explained.

  “Why the fuck would she take my son?” I asked, utterly confused.

  “Don’t know yet. Didn’t want to waste any time getting James back to you, so we haven’t questioned her yet.”

  I hobbled over to her and removed the gag. “Why did you take my child?” The stupid, stupid bitch spat in my face. “Oh, that was the wrong thing to do.” I raised my hand and slapped her across the face, then brought the back of my hand across her other cheek on the downswing.

  I quickly moved behind her and grabbed her ponytail, using it to yank her head back. Now, she couldn’t spit on me. “Do you know where you are?”

  She grunted in response. So, she wanted to make this difficult. I looked over to Duke. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, watching me curiously. “Can you get my brother for me, please?” I asked sweetly.

  Carbon entered the cell. “You rang, little sister?”

  “Hello, big scary brother. Could you get me some ice water, please?” I stared at him and innocently batted my eyelashes a few times, hoping he understood my request.

  Carbon grinned menacingly and nodded. He returned with two five gallon buckets of ice water and a thin, damp cloth. I yanked her head back by her hair and placed the cloth over her mouth and nose. At my nod, Carbon lifted one of the buckets and slowly poured the ice cold water over her face. She thrashed, sputtered, gagged, and coughed, but she couldn’t get away. The water just kept coming.

  Carbon paused and I asked, “You ready to talk?”

  She clamped her lips shut and we started again. This bitch would talk, one way or another. By the time we got started with the second bucket, we had attracted an audience. Only the officers were allowed down in the cells, but every single one of them was there. To my surprise, Copper and a few of his crew were also watching.

  Finally, halfway through the second bucket, the bitch uttered through blue lips, “I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything! Just please stop!”

  “You have two minutes to get it all out or we start again,” I said in a tone that even unnerved me.

  “My sister is missing. She came out this way looking for Duke. She’s getting married and she needed him to sign the divorce papers. She was afraid they would get lost in the mail or that he wouldn’t sign them so she came in person. About two weeks ago, I got a letter in the mail that said if I wanted my sister back I needed to come to Croftridge. I was given instructions once I got here. They wanted me to take the baby and trade him for my sister. I was just trying to get my sister back,” she cried.

  I wasn’t buying the bullshit she was selling. “Why didn’t you call the police?”

  “The letter said not to tell anyone. It said if I did, my sister would die,” she explained.

  “Do you have any proof that someone actually has your sister?”

  She nodded frantically, “Yes, I talked to her on the phone.”

  I arched a brow and looked at my brother. He was right there with me. I turned back to the psycho. “She was allowed to talk on the phone?”

  “Just the one time. It wasn’t for very long, maybe not even a minute,” she rambled.

  “Where were you supposed to trade my son for your sister?” I asked in a calm voice. I was on to this bitch. I was casually propped against a table, well out of spitting distance. My brother was circling the room slowly, a predator ready to pounce.

  “I - I - I don’t know. They gave me an address, but I have no idea where it was. I was just following the GPS directions,” she stuttered.

  I turned and caught Copper’s gaze. He was beaming at me proudly. I mouthed the word phone to him. His smile widened and he stepped forward, placing her cell phone in my hand. I knew one of them had it. They would have searched her car and taken anything that might be useful.

  I kept my back to her and turned on her phone. The idiot didn’t even have it password protected. Byte could have bypassed it anyway, but that wasn’t the point. I opened up her text messages and only read one message before rage consumed me.

  Her phone fell to the floor. I whirled around and let my fists fly with everything I had. I couldn’t hit her very hard with my left arm, but I did what I could. My right hand, however, was fair game. The impact of my third punch tipped her chair backward, sending her crashing to the floor. I was mid-leap when Carbon snatched me out of the air. I struggled against him, clawing and hissing like a feral cat, but my strength was no match for my monster-sized brother. “What the fuck, Reese?”

  “She was taking my son to the Manglers. Her sister is Boar’s Old Lady!” I screamed.

  “Carbon, get her out of here. Duke, lock that bitch down. Everybody upstairs. Church now!” Phoenix bellowed.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Duke

  What the fuck? Shannon was Boar’s Old Lady. How did that even happen? Don’t get me wrong, I never gave a shit about Shannon, but I didn’t for one second believe this was all a big coincidence.

  “I think we know why we haven’t been able to track down Duke’s wife. On the bright side, now we know where she is. This would also explain why we haven’t seen or heard much of Boar either. What I don’t get is why they would want Duke’s son,” Phoenix said.

  “Could be any number of reasons. Maybe she can’t have kids. Maybe she just wants to hurt Duke. Maybe she’s jealous. Maybe this is all Boar’s doing. Don’t forget, James is also Reese’s son and there’s a history between Boar and Reese’s mother,” Badger mused.

  “I’m going to tear that fucker apart, limb by fucking limb,” Carbon growled. I didn’t even hear him come in.

  “You’ll do no such thing until I say you can,” Phoenix ordered. “Did you get Reese settled?”

&nbs
p; He grinned, “Yeah. Put James in her arms and she turned into a different person. Got to say, I’m damn proud of my little sister. Waterboarding a bitch with ice cold water,” he shook his head and his smile grew. “Didn’t know she had it in her.”

  The brothers laughed at that. Shaker threw in, “You sure you know what you’re getting into, Duke?” Their laughter grew louder.

  I smiled. “I sure do. I’m damn proud of her, too.”

  “All right boys, let’s get back to business. I want Reese and James moved to the clubhouse until further notice. We need to find out how that sister got onto the farm property and got to the Martins’ house-”

  Byte interrupted, “I can answer that. I checked the camera feeds. She pulled up and the gate opened. She had to have a chip in the car to open it, but I can’t figure out how she got one.”

  “Fuck! Can you get that damn system deactivated?”

  “Yes. When do you want me to do that?”

  “I’m going to send some prospects out there as soon as we’re finished. We’ll have two on the gate at all times until further notice. I’ll have them call you when they get there and you can deactivate it,” Phoenix explained.

  “Copper, this shit runs over into your territory. It’s not my intention to go around creating problems, but this shit has to be dealt with. You got any thoughts you want to share on how we should go about handling things?”

  Copper leaned back in his chair and twiddled his thumbs. “Honestly, we’ve never had any trouble with the Manglers MC. They keep to their area and we hardly ever hear anything from them. Boar has contacted me twice over the years to let me know he heard talk of the Disciples of Death MC being in the area. According to Boar, his club has had trouble with them in the past. Anyway, the times I’ve talked to him, he’s seemed like a level-headed guy, so why don’t you start by giving him a call and ask about setting up a meeting?”

  “You can’t be fucking serious?” Carbon barked, rising to his feet.