Duke Read online

  Carbon gently placed me on the bed. “Will you be okay here while I unload your things?”

  “I should be. Where’s James?” I asked.

  “Right here.” Duke came through a door I hadn’t noticed carrying my smiling James in his arms. Damn, the sight of Duke holding our baby boy made my ovaries spasm.

  “What’s through there?” I sounded like a wanton harlot.

  Damn dry mouth.

  Damn sexy Duke.

  “The bathroom. It’s a Jack and Jill layout. The room on the other side is mine,” he told me, smiling.

  Oh, fuck no. I was not, for all intents and purposes, sharing a room with Duke. Nope. No way. No how.

  He held his hand up, palm out, “Before you say anything, the reason I did that was so James could stay in the room with you, but I would be close enough to hear him and get to him quickly without having to be in the same room as you.” Did he just say that? Asshole.

  “Ever heard of a baby monitor?” I snarked. He needed to put my baby down and leave.

  “I didn’t mean it like that, Reese. I figured you wouldn’t want me in here with you. I couldn’t believe you let me stay with you last night. I knew I wouldn’t be that lucky when we got back to Croftridge.” He sounded defeated, but I wasn’t going to let that bother me.

  Ugh, last night. Nope, not going there either. “Yeah, well, you were right about that.”

  He looked down at the floor and pinched the bridge of his nose. Thankfully, we were interrupted by numerous bikers bringing in box after box after box. I wanted to cry. There was no way I could unpack those boxes. I could barely even walk!

  I just sat there staring at the wall until the last box was brought in. Carbon walked to the far side of the room and was back in front of me in mere seconds, placing James in my arms. “You hold the baby. Duke and I will get you unpacked.”

  I lifted my watery eyes to my brother and sniffed. “Thank you,” I whispered.

  He kissed the top of my head and got to work. It didn’t take them as long as I thought. When they were finished, my room was set up with everything I would need to take care of James as well as myself.

  Duke stretched his arms over his head, making his shirt rise to reveal his chiseled abdomen, which in turn made my mouth water. I wanted to run my tongue over those ridges, again, before I… “I’m going to go get you something to eat. You need to take your pain medicine again. Anything in particular you want?” Duke asked.

  Yes, I wanted to lick his abs and do other naughty things to him. “Uh, no, whatever you have is fine.”

  Carbon chimed in, “How about you see to James and I’ll go get food, yeah?”

  When all was said and done, all four of us were full, I had been medicated, James was fresh and clean and down for the night. Carbon sat at the end of the bed and Duke was sitting in a chair across the room. Carbon started, “I need you to tell me about Omen.”

  I sighed. I knew this was coming, but I thought for sure they would wait until tomorrow at least. “I met Allen the summer before my junior year of high school, about a year before Grandma died. He was a few years older than me and had that bad boy thing going on, so when he asked me out, I said yes. I had no idea who he was. We’d been dating for about 10 months when I found out. When he came to pick me up for a date and I got in the car, I saw something leather laying in the back seat. It was a Mangler’s MC cut. We were already moving down the road and I didn’t know what to do. I tried not to react to it and casually asked, ‘What’s that?’ That’s when he told me he was the President’s son and had just received his patch. He said we were on our way to the clubhouse for the celebration. I yelled for him to pull over and barely made it out of the car before I began vomiting. I’d unknowingly been sleeping with Boar’s son for months. When I finally stopped puking, I was a sweaty, stinky, trembling mess. I told him I thought I maybe had food poisoning and asked him to take me home. He did, though it was obvious he wasn’t happy about it. After that night, whenever he called, I came up with excuse after excuse as to why I couldn’t go out with him. I guess he got tired of hearing my excuses over the phone because he showed up unannounced one afternoon. That’s when I told him I didn’t want to see him anymore.”

  I paused and locked eyes with Carbon. “You won’t like this next part. Give me your hand.” He grimaced and reluctantly placed his hand in my good one. I squeezed it tightly while I spoke the next words. “He beat the shit out of me and left me in a bloody heap on Grandma’s front porch. I need you to stay with me, Carbon. Stay. With. Me.” I squeezed his hand as hard as I could. I could feel the fury vibrating beneath his skin, but he held it together. I knew he would.

  “What happened after that?” Duke asked.

  Still holding Carbon’s hand, I continued, “After that, I avoided him at all costs. Thankfully, Grandma had gone to visit one of her friends for a few days, so my face was healed enough to be covered with makeup when she got back. I waited a few more days to be sure I could hide if from Carbon. Then, I drove to Croftridge for an impromptu visit. I stayed for two weeks before I went back to Reedy Fork.”

  Carbon finished the story, “And Grandma died the next day.”

  “Right,” I agreed. I was proud of myself for getting through that story without shedding any tears.

  “So, why do you think the letters are from Omen?” Carbon asked.

  “Who else could they be from? Look at what they say. It has to be him.” The first one was simple. Found you. The cut out magazine letters were so stereotypical it was almost comical. The second one was similar. Can’t hide from me. I started to get a little freaked out when I received the one that said You have a Blackwings baby. The last one was what sent me into a panic. I found it under my windshield wipers when I took my lunch break. It said You and the Blackwings spawn must die. They didn’t know about the last one, it was in the car with me when I got hit.

  “You really think it’s him after he left you alone for almost two years?” Duke asked.

  “Yeah, I do. I guess I wasn’t close enough for him to terrorize when I moved to Croftridge and he started up again when he realized I moved to Devil Springs.” I cleared my throat and grabbed Carbon’s hand. He instantly stiffened, knowing I was going to say something else he wouldn’t like. “Um, you guys didn’t see the last one. It was on my car the day of the wreck. It’s why I left work early. I was going to Grandma’s house to get the pistol she kept beside her bed.”

  “What did it say?” Carbon asked through gritted teeth.

  “It said ‘You and the Blackwings spawn must die.’” I squeezed his hand again and begged him with my eyes to stay calm. Shockingly, it wasn’t Carbon I needed to worry about.

  Duke leaped out of his chair and roared, “He threatened my son and you didn’t fucking tell me?!? What the hell is wrong with you, Reese?”

  Carbon quickly got to his feet and shoved Duke through the door and into the hallway. Thankfully, James stayed asleep.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Duke

  I shook Carbon’s hands off me and started pacing the hall. How could she not tell me someone was threatening my son? If not me, she should have told Carbon, hell, even Copper. Anyone. She should have fucking told someone.

  Carbon started to speak. I whirled around and stomped toward him. “I know she’s your sister and she’s been through some shit, but nothing gave her the right to keep my son from me and she damn sure had no business allowing his life to be threatened without doing anything to stop it! She has two chapters of Blackwings at her back for fuck’s sake!”

  “I don’t disagree, brother, but you need to hear the story behind her story before you go passing judgment. I know you have feelings for my sister. Whatever those may be, you also have a child with her. When you get to a certain point with Reese, you can’t come back from it. Once she has closed the door on you, it’s bolted shut, never to be opened again. If you don’t want that to happen, listen to me before you act.”

  I fisted both hand
s in my hair and roared, “Fuuuuccckkk!”

  Footsteps clomping up the stairs had me turning to see a pissed off Phoenix appear. “The fuck is going on up here?”

  “We were just having story time, Prez,” I spat, my words dripping with venom. Suddenly, I was on my ass.

  Phoenix shook his hand out. “Don’t give a shit what you got going on right now, boy. Don’t you ever take that tone with me.”

  Fuck me. I was losing my shit. I was showing my ass in front of everyone, screaming and yelling like a damn two-year-old. If that wasn’t enough, I disrespected Phoenix, and he had done nothing but be there for me every damn time I’d needed him. I hung my head in shame, “Sorry, Phoenix.”

  “I know. You just needed someone to knock some sense into you. It’s what I’m here for. Now get your ass off the floor and tell me what this is all about,” he said, like he hadn’t just slammed his sledgehammer fist into my jaw.

  He helped me to my feet and we followed him downstairs to some sort of office. “Have a seat and start talking.”

  Carbon did most of the talking, telling him everything Reese told us. Then, he filled us in on more. “You both know we don’t have beef with the Manglers, but we don’t have an alliance with them either. What you don’t know is that I have a history with them, or rather my family does, did. Shit, this ain’t coming out right.”

  “Here, this will help.” Phoenix slid a shot glass full of amber liquid toward Carbon. Carbon brought it to his lips and tipped it back. Phoenix filled it two more times. Carbon settled back into his chair and started talking. “My mother was Boar’s girl when she met my dad. As it was told to me, she wasn’t happy with Boar and hadn’t been for a long time. She and my dad became friends and he promised he would protect her if she decided to leave Boar. That assurance was what she needed. She broke things off with Boar and my dad made sure nothing happened to her. Boar was pissed, but he was too proud to beg her back, so he let her go. My parents didn’t get together as a couple until months later, well after she had broken up with Boar, but when Boar found out they were together, he was livid. At the time, his old man was the president and, according to my dad, he told Boar to grow a pair and get over it.” Carbon paused and squeezed his eyes shut.

  “Keep going, son. I know it’s hard, but you’re doing good so far,” Phoenix encouraged.

  Carbon took in a deep breath and gripped the arms of the chair. “Over 20 years later, Boar’s old man died and Boar became the new president. Two weeks later, Mom, Dad, Mason, and Sage were killed. Reese would have been, too, but she was at a slumber party that night. They never caught who did it. Said it was a random home invasion, but I knew, deep down, that it was Boar. I had to identify their bodies and they were - they were just - mangled.” He paused and help up one finger, clearly needing a minute to pull himself together before he continued.

  “Needless to say, Reese and I had a hard time, a really hard time. I did the only thing I could think of. I was so damn young and didn’t know any better. I took her away from Devil Springs, out of school and away from everyone. For six months, her and I traveled around the country on my dad’s bike. We went to amusement parks, beaches, lakes, mountains. Hell, we even went on a cruise. Anything I could think of that would be fun and keep our minds off of our dead family. We came back when the next school year was starting. She was going to be behind a grade, but she was okay with that because she was going to be at a new school. After I left her in Reedy Fork with our grandmother, I high-tailed it to Croftridge and refused to talk about any of it.”

  “That’s one hell of a story and full of many things that warrant further discussion, but what does that have to do with her not telling anyone she was in danger?” I asked.

  “Don’t you get it? I taught her to run away when things were bad and then I reinforced it by allowing her to come visit me without ever questioning the reason behind her unannounced visits. Our family was murdered, we ran off on an epic road trip. Then, I ran off to Croftridge. Omen beat her up, she ran to me. Grandma died, she ran to me. Things happened with you two, she ran to Devil Springs. We didn’t give her a chance to tell us her plans, but if we asked her, I guaran-damn-tee she would tell us she was picking up Grandma’s gun, picking up her son, and running somewhere else. So, before you judge her too harshly, you need to realize the blame for her actions lies with me.” He dropped his head and stared at the floor.

  I was at a loss for words. I had no idea Carbon and Reese had been through so much. What he said made perfect sense, but she couldn’t run anymore. I wouldn’t let her. Not with my child.

  Phoenix spoke calmly, but firmly, “You ain’t to blame, Carbon. It’s a wonder you and Reese turned out as well as you both have given what you’ve been through. You did the best you could for her at such a young age yourself. Many boys that age wouldn’t have done a fourth of what you did for her. You two share a bond that most siblings will never come close to. It wasn’t your intention for her to adopt this pattern of running away. It just happened and you need to let go of that guilt right now so you can help her break this pattern, yeah?”

  Carbon’s eyes remained on the floor, but he answered, “Yeah, Prez, I hear ya.”

  “I think that’s enough for now. You boys let that girl and her baby rest tonight. Carbon, I’m going to talk about this in Church. Just telling you now so you can get yourself in the right headspace for it.”

  “Got it.”

  “All right, both of you get the hell out of my office so I can lock up and go home. I need to sleep for about 15 hours before any more shit gets slung my way,” Phoenix said flatly.

  With that, I went back to my room. I wanted to check on Reese and James, but I knew I couldn’t see her and not say something. Regardless of what Carbon said, I was still irate with her, for so many different reasons. If I was being honest, I was mad at myself, too. I had my own secrets I’d kept from Reese, but the difference was, my secrets weren’t hurting anyone. At least I didn’t think they were.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Reese

  I wanted to scream. I was two seconds from pissing all over myself, James was wailing like he had a bee in his britches, and not a damn soul was anywhere to be found. I thought I was staying on this stupid farm because there would always be someone around to help me. What utter bullshit.

  I braced my good hand on the bed and used it to help support my weight as I hopped my way around to James. He needed his diaper changed. I knew that cry, just like I knew his hungry cry. Crap. I tried to reach down to rub his head and soothe him, but I couldn’t do it without toppling over. I felt like the worst mother in the world. I couldn’t do anything for my child except hold him and even then someone had to hand him to me.

  Knock! Knock!

  “Please! Come in!” I yelled.

  Dash walked in to find me hanging over the side of the crib doing the potty dance. “Everything okay?” he asked skeptically.

  “No!” I shouted and hopped as fast as I could to the bathroom. “Get James, I’ll be right out!”

  I was granted the sweetest relief; my baby stopped crying just as I started to pee. Pure bliss.

  I finished my business and hopped back into my room to find Dash holding James and a wide-eyed Ember gaping at me. I cocked my head to the side and raised my good hand to waggle my fingers, “Hi!” I sang to her.

  She put her hands on her hips and tried to glare at me, “Reese Walker, you’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do.”

  Ah shit. I lost it. I fell sideways on the bed and laughed my ass off. Whew, maybe it was time to cut back on the pain meds a bit.

  I felt the bed shift when Ember sat down beside me. “Seriously, are you okay, honey?”

  “I will be. Can, um, can one of you change James? I can’t do it and I don’t know where anybody is,” I explained.

  “I got him,” Dash said. “I’m sure you girls need to catch up.” That was the understatement of the year.

  “Thanks, Dash.” I turned to Ember and put
on my best please-don’t-hate-me face. “How much do you know?”

  “I know about the baby, the wreck, and the injuries. Is there more?”

  “Uh, some threatening letters probably sent by my ex-boyfriend who is a member of the MC that likely killed my parents and siblings, but that’s it,” I said in an almost jovial tone, trying to keep the mood light.

  Ember’s face fell. She placed her hand on top of mine, “Oh, Reese.” She shook her head, silently admonishing me for my actions.

  I immediately went on the defensive. “Look, I know I haven’t made the choices that other people think they would have made in my situation, but the fact of it is, no one has lived this life but me and I’ve done the best I could.”

  “I’m not judging you. I just wish you would’ve let me help you, or let anyone help you. No one deserves to go through the things you’ve been through alone. You were there for me in the most trying time of my life. I would be more than happy to do the same for you. That’s what friends are for.”

  Damn her and her sweetness. She was making my eyes water. I loathed emotional tears. They were always accompanied by feeling the need to vomit.

  “Well, I’m here now.”

  “That you are. Now, introduce me to your son and tell me what you need help with.”

  Dash walked over and carefully placed James on my lap. “Ember, this is James Mason Jackson. James, this is Ember, the crazy lady you’ve heard Mommy talk about.” Ember gasped. “Just kidding!”

  Dash left a few minutes later, giving Ember and me plenty of time to catch up. She told me all about the stables and her organic fruits and vegetables project. She was a huge help and James seemed to adore her. But the best was when she helped me wash my hair and take a quasi-bath. For that, I would be eternally grateful to her.