Duke(42)
Duke looked at her for a count of three, stepped around her, and opened the door.
Gen was halfway across the parking lot when he said, “Don’t take too long to decide, Beautiful.”
She called Bethany as she left the compound, and stopped to buy a bottle of rum on her way to her best friend’s house.
* * * *
Duke looked at his men and said, “I’m gonna get on my bike and start riding. I don’t know when or where I’ll stop, or when I’ll be back. Consider me out of pocket.”
Duke stepped out as Gen was driving out of the compound. Unfortunately, as he threw his leg over his bike, two patrol cars and an unmarked detective vehicle pulled in. Cursing under his breath, he settled his helmet on his leg to see how they parked and how they exited their vehicles.
He knew the detective, but didn’t know either of the men in uniform, and took this as a bad sign — Detective Miller had been to their parties, but had brought people who weren’t a friend of the club as his backup.
Duke returned his helmet to the back of his bike and swung off to walk to the men.
“Gentlemen. What can I do for you?”
He knew his men inside would’ve been alerted by the control room, and was surprised no one came out to talk. He guessed they all knew he wasn’t in the mood to see them right now. Dawg and Brain had voted with him, so he didn’t want to pummel their faces, at least.
“It’s come to our attention that Thurston Alexander is looking into taking steps to apply for an FFL license.”
Duke relaxed a little as he said, “That’s right. He’s looking to open a gun store, and wants to do it by the books. He’s here if you need to talk to him.”
Detective Miller shook his head. “No, we want to tell you we aren’t happy with the prospect of your MC owning a gun store. Nearly a quarter of your members are felons. You know they can’t have access to weapons.”
Again, Duke nodded. “We’ll set security up so it takes a palm print to get in, and not just keys. None of our felons will have access.” Duke made a quick judgment call and added, “We’re trying very hard to keep to legitimate businesses. You know some of our other chapters have questionable income streams, and we want to avoid that. We’ll be opening up another bar, possibly two more, and we’re going to open a gun store and offer training.”
“And here’s your warning — we’ve had instructions from the brass to stay out of your way. We’re to watch you, and arrest you if you completely step over the line, but not to harass you over bullshit stuff. You open a gun shop, you lose that.”
Duke nodded. “Thanks for the heads up. I know I can’t offer you to come in and sit down for a beer now, but if you’d like to stop and talk when your shift’s over, all three of you are welcome.”
The two uniforms looked pissed, but Detective Miller smiled. “Not today, Duke. Think about what I said, you know how to contact me if you need to talk. We’ll get out of your hair, now.”
Duke gave them a chin lift, watched them go, looked into the camera at whoever was sitting in the control room, and then turned to get on his bike and roar away.
* * * *
Duke rode without thinking and ended up along the Ocoee River. He knew someone at one of the outfitters, and pulled in. A quick conversation and he had a cabin for the night as well as an invitation to hang out at the campfire later and drink.
He knew his men would know where he was, they all had tracking devices on their bikes and cars. He also knew they’d leave him the hell alone until he got back. Assuming there were no emergencies.
Duke waited until well past dark, hiked a good distance away from the populated areas, took his clothes off, folded them into a small bag, hid them up in a tree, and changed.
He ran for hours, letting his wolf free. Nothing existed but the ground under his feet, the wind in his fur, and the smells and sounds of the forest.
He chased a deer, but mostly for sport. He wouldn’t kill one when it was just him, as too much of the meat would go to waste. If he got hungry he’d find a sweet bunny rabbit, or perhaps a raccoon.
Daylight snuck up on him, and it took a while to get back to his clothes. He managed to get changed and head back to his cabin a little after sunrise, and he put a note on the door that said he intended to sleep in and would pay for an extra day.
Chapter Eighteen
“Best sex you ever had, and you’re gonna throw it away because he didn’t handle the whole divided loyalty thing very well? I mean, granted — he fucked up. However, he admitted it and apologized.” Bethany shook her head. “I still can’t believe you throat punched him. Damn girl, you have cajones.”