“Mike made some really bad decisions, Gen. He was going to keep coming after you, and even if he’d seen actual jail time, it wasn’t likely to be more than a few years. He knew what he was doing when he kidnapped you and Pebbles, and he had to know how Jiminy would react. What happened to him is his fault, not yours. We did what we had to do to keep you safe.”
She nodded and let him hold her a few minutes before saying, “The cop tonight was just being a jerk, and if I hadn’t been drunk I could’ve handled him better, but I still never want to have to go through that again.”
Duke leaned back, touched her chin, and leveled with her. “It isn’t likely to be the last time, Beautiful. Riding on the back of my bike puts a target on you with law enforcement. I wish it didn’t, and there are some things we can do to negate the impact they can have on you, but I can’t make it stop.”
She looked up, her eyes serious, dark. “I lost a sale a few weeks ago — someone who wasn’t comfortable working with a Realtor with known associations with felons. I told them you aren’t a felon and my private life had no bearing on my business, but they didn’t want to hear it.”
Duke turned the water off and sat on her bench, his wolf even more pissed than him, but he kept his voice soft as he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I’ve made my decisions, and I love you and I’ll live with the consequences of that, but after tonight, it seemed maybe we should have a talk about it.”
Duke nodded, stood to reach for a towel, and began drying her as he asked, “Is there anything we can do to lessen the impact I have on your business dealings?”
“Honestly? Some of the people who’ve hired me lately seem to think I have street cred or something, since I’m with you. As far as perception, dating you hurts me with some, and helps me with others, so I’m going to call it a wash. I’d developed a reputation for being a strong negotiator before I started seeing you, but it seems that having it known I’m dating the bad-ass president of a motorcycle club makes me seem a little more formidable, to some.”
Duke’s heart felt as if it grew wings, until the next words came out of her mouth. “The thing is, I don’t like the cops looking at me like I’m a bad guy, and they do, now. Between them all being so familiar with who you are, plus the fact I used to date a cop who’s now missing, I’m instantly recognizable to them and they look at me like I’m filthy. I was shopping with Bethany last week and even she noted how one of the mall security guys watched me, and the look of derision on his face.”
When they were dry, Duke pulled one of his t-shirts over her head, stepped into a pair of shorts, and walked her to the sofa in her bedroom.
“There’s a lot of things I can fix for you, but I’m not sure what to do about this, Beautiful. I can talk to Aaron Drake, see if he has any ideas, but…” He shrugged, insisting his wolf back off and let him talk to her, let him come up with a plan. The wolf had wanted to eat the cop, tear his throat out and watch the blood flow, and Duke soothed him now, told him this needed human finesse and not a full frontal attack.
“What could Drake Security do?”
“I don’t know, maybe nothing, but Aaron’s tight with local law enforcement. It might do more harm than good, bringing you up to them, but it’s the only idea I have at the moment.”
Gen shook her head. “No, don’t get him involved. I’ve already put the best criminal attorneys on retainer, so they’re only a phone call away should I have problems with law enforcement. I’m going to have a talk with them about last night, not to make them jump into action, but to get advice on whether there was a better way for me to have handled the situation.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Duke walked out of his attorney’s office, got on his bike, and drove straight to the best jewelry store in town.
He’d had his lawyer draft a prenuptial agreement saying anything Gen owned was hers, and he had no stake in it, before or after the wedding. All income and properties owned by her would remain hers, in perpetuity. Duke’s holdings in RTMC affairs would be legally separate from her, with her having no stake in them at any time. However, his bikes, cars, and other assets he would hold jointly with her once they were married. He’d had his attorney draft it specifically so nothing he did could blow back on her, but also so there would be no doubt he wasn’t asking her to marry him so he could get at her money.
Bethany and Pebbles met him at the jewelry store. He’d sworn them both to secrecy, but Duke knew he needed help getting the ring exactly right. His woman wore thousand dollar designer shoes — just any old ring wasn’t going to be good enough.