Duke Read online

  “Has this Nemo person tried to contact her since we’ve had her?” Phoenix asked.

  Byte shook his head. “No, it looks like she sent a text to him right before we caught up with her last night. Don’t have a clue what it says though.”

  “Let’s see it,” Phoenix said. Byte handed him the phone. Phoenix studied it for a few moments then passed it off to Badger. The phone passed from brother to brother until it made it to my hands. I looked down at the screen.

  Nemo: Esu puuj foarzg.

  I blinked twice to make sure I was seeing what I thought I was seeing. What the fuck did that mean? I looked down at it once more and passed the phone to the next brother. It continued around the room until it made it back around to Phoenix. He looked at it once more and handed it back to Byte. “Anybody got any idea what that says?”

  Not a one of us did. This bitch was apparently an all new level of crazy, complete with her own damn language.

  “Duke,” Phoenix called out, “has Reese gotten any more threatening letters?”

  “Not that I know of. I haven’t checked the PO Box recently, but they weren’t coming through regular mail anyway. I’ll stop by the post office this afternoon and check.”

  “Let me know one way or the other. For now, everyone stay alert and aware of your surroundings. Reese and James are to stay at the clubhouse and not leave the property, even with protection. Byte you keep digging and doing your thing. We’ll reconvene when we have something new or at the next scheduled Church, whichever comes first.”

  ***

  I stopped by my room to check on Reese and James, but found it empty. After searching the clubhouse and still not finding them, I started to worry. She knew she wasn’t supposed to leave the clubhouse grounds. She might not follow the rules if it was just her, but she would never knowingly put our son in danger, so where in the hell were they?

  I pushed the back door open with more force than necessary, causing it to slam against the side of the building. All heads turned toward me, including Reese’s and James’s. They were in the pool with Ember and Harper. Dash, Carbon, and Shaker were sitting in chairs along the side.

  “Duke, you scared me. Is everything okay?” Reese asked, eyes wide.

  I inhaled slowly, trying to calm myself. “Yeah, everything is fine. Just didn’t know where you guys were.”

  “Oh, sorry. We decided to go swimming while you guys were in Church. Do you want to join us?” She smiled sweetly at me.

  I really would love to jump in the pool with my family. My. Family. But I couldn’t. “I would love to, sugar, but I have to run by the post office and take care of a few other things. You need anything while I’m out?”

  “No, I’m good right now. Will you be long?”

  “I’ll try not to be.” She made her way over to the side of the pool, pushing James in a little baby float. I squatted down to kiss the top of his head. Then, I kissed my girl. “Be good, sugar.”

  “I will. Just until you get back.” The little minx winked and swam off.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Reese

  Duke returned several hours later and he didn’t seem to be in a great mood. “You okay?” I asked.

  He sighed and sat down on the bed. “Yeah, I’m just tired, and frustrated.”

  “What’s got you so frustrated?”

  He grunted. “Club business. Sorry, baby.” I really hated it when he said that. They all did it. Like us women were too stupid to figure out what was going on by ourselves.

  “So, this has nothing to do with the fact that your wife’s sister kidnapped our son and you don’t know why? Or that you also don’t know who was sending me the letters or who ran me off the road?” I asked, with one eyebrow arched.

  “Should’ve known you’d figure out what was going on without me telling you,” he grumbled.

  “What can I do to help?” I asked, moving to straddle his lap and circle my arms around his neck.

  He placed a soft kiss on my cheek and pulled me closer to him. “Nothing, sugar. Just keep to the clubhouse and stay out of trouble until we’ve got this sorted. Need you and my boy safe.”

  “I can do that,” I promised. “You sure there’s nothing else I can do?” I asked as I kissed along his jawline and rocked my hips against him.

  His hands gripped my hips and held me in place. “Where’s James?”

  “Spending some time with his Aunt Harper and Uncle Carbon,” I said, straining to get closer to him.

  Duke growled and reversed our positions, coming down on top of me on the bed. He yanked my shirt up and pulled the cups of my bra down. “Fuck, Reese, I love your tits,” he said while palming and squeezing both globes with his hands.

  “And you have the prettiest pink nipples,” he added while rolling each hardened peak between his fingers.

  I arched my back and moaned, “Duke.”

  He grabbed my wrists and raised them above my head, holding both in place with one hand. Grinning down at me, he asked, “Can you keep them above your head on your own?”

  Well, of course I could, but who would want to? I smirked. “I can, but I probably won’t.”

  His grin grew even wider. “I was hoping you’d say that.” He unbuckled his belt and pulled it from his jeans. Leaning forward, he wrapped the belt around both wrists and secured it to the headboard.

  Once he was satisfied with his makeshift restraint, he quickly stripped us both and climbed back onto the bed on his knees beside my head. Taking his cock in his hand, he stroked it a few times before he said, “Open.”

  I readily complied and sucked the head of his cock into my mouth. “Fuck,” he hissed. I sucked harder and lifted my head to take as much of him as I could. I repeatedly pulled back and moved forward, at a slow pace, just to tease him.

  “That’s not going to work, sugar.” He moved to the end of the bed and climbed up between my legs. “Let’s see how you like being teased.” With that, he latched onto my clit and started sucking. He would bring me to the brink of release and stop. He did this three times before I lost my patience.

  I writhed on the bed, yanking against my restraints and raising my hips in a futile attempt to get closer to him. He grinned up at me. “What is it, baby?”

  “You know damn well what it is! Stop fucking with me and let me come.”

  “You want me to stop fucking with you?”

  “Yes! I mean, no. Damn it, Duke. I want you to fuck me.”

  “Well, all you had to do was say so, sugar.” He climbed up my body and lined himself up at my entrance. “You want it hard or soft, sugar?”

  “Show me what you got, biker boy.”

  He plunged into me with one thrust and proceeded to fuck me with a ferocity I didn’t know he was capable of. I seriously began to worry about the integrity of his mattress. That thought quickly vanished when he flipped me over, pulled my hips up, and pushed into me from behind.

  From this new angle, he was hitting that spot deep inside of me that would send me over the edge in a matter of seconds. “Oh, Duke, I’m going to come.”

  “Yeah, you fucking are,” he grunted as he picked up his pace.

  And I did. I came so hard I didn’t even realize he had finished as well for longer than I care to admit. When I did return to reality, Duke had freed my hands and had me tucked into his side while he caught his breath.

  “You okay, sugar?”

  “Fuck yes. Now, I need you to wash me off in the shower.”

  And wash me off he did. Three times, actually. Because he made a mess the first two times.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Reese

  For the next week, I did exactly as I promised. I stayed at the clubhouse, let an officer know if I was going outside, and stayed out of trouble. But enough was enough. A week had gone by and from what I could tell, they didn’t have anything new. I overheard Byte talking about some secret code language, but he spotted me in the hallway and stopped talking before I could hear anything useful.
r />   I was beginning to lose my patience with the whole thing. I had been confined to basically a bedroom for six weeks after the wreck. The day I was given the okay to walk again, I was locked down at the clubhouse. I knew they would eventually get to the bottom of things, but they weren’t doing it fast enough for me. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

  Knowing Ember was a shit liar, I asked her if she would watch James while I helped Harper color her hair. She readily agreed, understanding that I didn’t want James around all those fumes. Next, I found Harper and asked her if she would be willing to help me with something that we would eventually be caught for and would most definitely piss off the brothers. Lucky for me, Harper had a little bad girl in her and was more than happy to help out.

  I got James settled with Ember and made sure the coast was clear. Most of the brothers were at the garage or out at the farm. Ranger was at the bar, possibly sleeping, and two of the prospects were playing video games in the common room. Harper and I tiptoed past the bar and down the hallway, coming to a stop in front of the door that led downstairs to the cells.

  “You keep watch and let me know if anyone is coming. I just need a minute or two to get this lock open,” I told her while pulling out my lock picking set.

  She grinned. “Nice. Will you teach me how to do that sometime?”

  “Hell yeah. I think you’ve just officially become my partner in crime,” I chuckled. I got to work on the lock and not even a minute later we were quietly closing the door behind us. I turned back to Harper. “You know what’s down here, right?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, it’s like their little jail or something. I assume we’re going to see the girl who took James, right?”

  Surprised by her knowledge, I stumbled over my words, “Uh, yeah, that’s right.” We continued down the stairs and made our way to the cell that contained Melissa.

  Harper gasped when she saw her. “You!” she screamed, pointing an accusing finger at the bitch. “You did this shit?”

  “You know her?” I asked.

  Harper chuckled darkly. “Yes, I know her. She’s Shannon’s sister, but more than that, she’s the bitch who made my life hell until we moved away. What is your fucking problem with my family?”

  Melissa sat up on the bed and looked at her fingernails. “I didn’t have a problem with your family, Harper. It was just you. You know how much I like John.” She looked up and smiled cruelly.

  Harper turned toward me and winked. I had no idea why she did that. She stepped forward and tapped her chin with her index finger. “Oh, that’s right, you have a thing for Duke, have for years. But he never wanted you, did he?” Melissa’s face started to redden.

  “He even told you that, several times, if I remember correctly. Then, he up and married your sister. Your. Sister. It must suck to be that not wanted.”

  Melissa jumped off the bed and flew to the bars of the cell. She wrapped her fingers around the bars and started shaking them as she screamed. “You shut your fucking mouth! You don’t know what you’re talking about. He did want me. He had to marry my sister because I wasn’t old enough. If you weren’t stupid enough to get yourself kidnapped, he would have married me when I turned 18. But nooooo! He had to save your ass, so he married Shannon. Then, you took him away from Arizona. Away from me. And now I have to contend with this bitch,” she pointed a finger at me and snarled.

  Harper placed her hands on her hips and casually said, “You think I’m the reason he’s not with you? He didn’t stay here for me. Hell, we don’t even live in the same state now as it is. He just didn’t want to come back for you. He didn’t want you then and he doesn’t want you now. What? Did you really think kidnapping his son would make him want to be with you?”

  “No!” she screamed. “I wanted him to think Shannon did it so he would finally divorce her and marry me! And you, having his baby and then refusing to fucking die! What is with you people? No one is working with me on this. But that’s okay,” she cackled, “that’s why I always have a backup plan.”

  “Enlighten us, oh crazy cunt, what is your grand backup plan?” Harper asked flatly.

  Melissa smiled knowingly. “Nemo.”

  “Nemo?” Harper and I asked at the same time.

  Still smiling, she nodded and sang, “Nemo’s coming.” She kept singing it over and over and over.

  Suddenly, another voice interrupted us, a voice that was decidedly unfamiliar. “I can’t take this anymore. Reverse it so she’ll shut up. That’s all you need to do!”

  I froze, as did Harper. She leaned closer to me and whispered, “Where in the fuck did that come from?”

  “I’m in the cell over here, you twits,” the voice said. They had another prisoner down here? Who the hell was this?

  I shakily asked, “And you are?”

  He scoffed. “Like you don’t know.”

  Harper and I inched closer to his cell, all the while the bitch was still singing about Nemo coming. When we got close enough to see inside the cell, I almost lost the contents of my stomach. A severely malnourished man with overgrown facial hair was sitting in the corner of the cell, covered from head to toe in bruises, blood, and general filth. He was holding one arm against his chest and it appeared to be at an odd angle. I croaked, “I really don’t.”

  He scoffed again, “I’m Octavius Jones.”

  I stumbled back and fell on my ass, taking Harper down with me. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t seem to get any air into my lungs. We needed to get out of there, immediately. I thought he was dead. They said he died over a year ago, he killed himself. He’d been here the whole time? Realization brutally slammed into me. That’s why Duke stopped on the stairs the other night, so he could make sure I wouldn’t see Octavius. “We need to get out of here, Harper. Now!”

  “Okay, okay. Let’s go.” She stood and reached out to give me a hand. Once I was on my feet, we wasted no time sprinting up the stairs. When we reached the top, the door swung open and we were met with three furious bikers. Duke, Carbon, and Phoenix. Fucking A, man.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Duke

  When I got back to the clubhouse, I found Ember in our room with James. She explained that Reese was helping Harper dye her hair and didn’t want the baby around the fumes. I checked everywhere I could think of, but couldn’t find the girls anywhere. The more I looked, the more suspicious I became. Harper wasn’t one to make sudden or drastic changes to her hair.

  I found Carbon in the common room and asked if he knew where the girls were. He didn’t, but got up to help me look. By this time, we had attracted Phoenix’s attention and he joined our search party. We walked down the back hallway to check, even though they had no business being back that way.

  I think I noticed it first. “Motherfucker,” I cursed and pointed at what I saw. The damn door to the underground cells was slightly ajar. “You don’t think they went down there do you?”

  Carbon stomped ahead. “Have you met Reese? Of course she went down there. Harper, too.” I could see Reese doing something like that, but not Harper. She was too timid to be doing things like breaking rules and confronting dangerous criminals.

  As soon as we reached the door, it swung open, revealing two frantic and terrified girls. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I roared at both of them.

  “Me?” Reese shrieked. “Me? You’re the one that has a living corpse down there! Now unless you want me to vomit all over your pants and shoes, get the fuck out of my way.” She shoved her way through the three of us and ran toward our room like her ass was on fire, Harper not even two steps behind her.

  “Oh, hell no. The second she’s finished puking, she’s talking,” I stated, stomping my way down the hall behind them.

  We followed them into my room and Reese emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, looking quite green. That’s what she gets for doing things she knows she has no business doing. I didn’t feel a bit sorry for her.

  Ember was s
itting on the bed with James in her arms looking back and forth between the two very clearly divided parties in the room. “Should I take James out to the common room or maybe to Dash’s room?” she hesitantly asked.

  “Do you mind taking him to Dash’s room for a few minutes?” Reese asked. “Duke or I will come to get him soon.”

  Once they were gone, Phoenix started, “Just what in the hell did the two of you think you were doing?”

  Reese took the lead. Brave little shit that she was, stood tall and said, “I’m sorry for picking the lock and going down to the cells, but I’m not going to apologize for trying to speed this along. I want this over just as much as everyone else does. So, I went downstairs to have a chat with Melissa.”

  “You had no right to do that!” Phoenix roared.

  “Let’s call a spade a spade, all right? You aren’t really all that pissed off about me being down there to talk to her, because you’ve already let me have a go at her in the basement. What you’re really pissed off about is what else I saw while I was there, am I right?” Reese asked, voice steadier than I would have thought possible.

  “No, I’m pissed off because you showed blatant disrespect for me and my club by going down there without permission.”

  Reese swallowed, but kept her eyes on Phoenix. “To be fair, Phoenix, you never told me I wasn’t allowed to go down to the cells. You said I had to stay in the clubhouse and ask an officer to accompany me if I wanted to go outside. You didn’t mention that certain parts of the clubhouse were off limits.”

  Phoenix’s jaw clenched. “The locked door should have tipped you off.”

  “Not really, I’ve been picking locks since I was a child. People lock doors out of habit, by mistake, to keep people in, for all kinds of reasons other than keeping someone out,” Reese explained, continuing to defend her position.