Page 48 of Duke

My head jerks and I meet his eyes full of triumph. Fuck. Zach knows he’s holding a pair of Aces in his hand and he wants me to know it. My reaction gave me away. He knows I have something to hide now and I need to know what he has on me.

“You don’t know shit. I was killing in a war, while you sat in you mama’s lap sucking a pacifier and shitting in your pants.”

His face turns red. He’s insecure about his age. At twenty-one, he’s the youngest Prez the MC has ever had, and it’s his biggest weakness. That’s why he maims, fucks and kills so ruthlessly; he wants to set the tone of how he’s gonna run things. But that shit is not going to fly any longer.

“Yeah? Well, I’m young enough to show your girl, Shanna Flynn a good time. I won’t need a blue pill to ram up in that sweet pussy, either.”

I’m gonna fuckin’ kill him, right here in broad daylight.

“She’s not my girl,” I lie shrugging my shoulders. “She was just someone to fuck. It’s goddamn boring up in the woods. She wasn’t that good of a lay, either.”

“That’s too bad. But lucky for her, she can learn the ropes real quick at my escort business. I’m the best at breaking in the new girls.”

“Yeah right,” I snort. “She’s the daughter of an original founding member, not a fucking escort, pencil dick.”

He takes a swing at me. Of course, I dodge it easily, laying him out with one right-hook. His men do nothing. They apparently have more respect for me, than him.

“I’m not doing the job,” I tell him as he wipes blood from his nose.

“You’ve got no choice, Duke.” Will, the VP speaks up, “It was voted on by all the chapters. That deal is the most money the club has ever made, and we need you to make those cars untraceable.”

“Nothing is untraceable.”

“True, but if anyone can do it, it’s you sonny-boy.”

Fuck.

Will’s right. Will is in his mid-fifties and ran wild when I was a teen. I respect the shit out of him and wonder why he’s the VP instead of on the throne. I pull him aside, “Will. I grew up in your shadow. But I can’t do this. I can’t look the other way anymore. When Zach took those girls… ”

“I hear you brother. I do. But when the club votes, the outcome is final. If you don’t go along with this—bad shit is gonna come your way.”

“I’m not even a member for fuck’s sake.”

“You are a member by birth, brother,” he claps me on the back and walks away. “The shipments coming by semi to the back gate of your shop tonight disable your surveillance cams.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?” Zach cuts in.

“Bring the girls. I’ll take a look at the cars. If there’s twenty, that’s a lot of work. I’ll need a bigger cut.”

“I’ll bring the girls, but your cut stays the same. Don’t fuck this up or the next woman I take will be yours.”

My jaw clenches. There’s nothing I can do. I’m rooted to the ground as I watch them walk away. My phone rings.

“Christy?”

“We didn’t get a damn thing. Our equipment was too far out of range.”

“It’s okay. The deal is off. I told him I wouldn’t do it.”

“Were you able to get any information about those girls?”

“Yeah, he said they are willing, and he’s treating them well.”

“Do you believe that?”

“Will’s no rapist. So, yeah I do.”

She hangs up. I feel bad for lying to her, but he knows about Shanna. There’s no way I can betray Will and the other boys without any blowback. I’ll make things right by getting Cortez’s women back, but I might not have a choice when it comes to tricking out the stolen cars.

I shouldn’t have stayed in Springdale for so long, Smith was right—everything went to hell in a handbasket in the weeks I was gone. But I don’t regret a second I spent with her. I'm counting down the seconds until I can claim her as my bride. I’m still debating which is gonna happen first: The wedding or the bedding?

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