Duke(67)
The skinny black man in the car pulled a gun, but Bash grabbed it and tossed it away before pulling the man from the car and slamming his fist into the man’s face and ribcage two dozen times.
Brains voice came softer as he said, “We give one warning, Gen. We don’t mess around with protecting our people.”
“I can see that.”
“You gonna freak out on me?”
“I’m still processing everything, Brain. I promised Duke I’d wait until we talked before I started freaking out.”
“Not sure if that’s good or bad, but it shows me once again you don’t just react emotionally, you take the time to think it through. You’re good for him, good for us. I hope you decide he’s good for you.”
Bash threw the man into his own passenger seat and drove the car off. A club Expedition followed him, and Brain said, “He’ll drive him outside our territory, and Gonzo will bring Bash back in the Expedition. He was an idiot for thinking he’d be okay just changing vehicles. We’ve already demonstrated that doesn’t work. Good call on your part recognizing him, though. Not everyone would’ve.”
“Do I talk to you about the women, or are those Duke questions?”
“Someone give you trouble?”
“Some were ultra-nice, but it felt more like brown nosing. Some were passive aggressive bitches, and two were just outright snarky attitude.”
“Duke needs to hear it. You can tell me, too, but he’ll have to be the one to give advice.”
“What are the odds he’s… been with… them?”
“Oh no. Not touching that one with a ten foot pole.”
When Duke finally walked in, Gen went to him saying, “Don’t be mad at him. He needed help, and I didn’t mind.”
“Beautiful,” he said, his expression patient but unhappy, “there aren’t a lot of things I’m going to ask you not to do, but you can’t tell me how to be with my brothers, and you can’t boss them around. Brain and I’ll talk later, and our conversation isn’t your concern. It’s nice to know you didn’t mind your time in here, but I can’t talk about it right now. I came to get you in case you’re hungry. I’m starving.”
“I could snack on something, actually.”
He nodded and pulled her into his arms. “Worried about you here with the women without me around to act as a buffer your first time. Probably not a bad thing you spent some of that time in here. I know you have stuff to tell me, and I know we need to talk about shit from earlier in the day, but I’m exhausted and I’m gonna ask you to just let me hold you without having to answer questions.”
“Okay, but at some point in the future, I’ll expect the same courtesy.”
“Not a problem, Beautiful, just as long as waiting doesn’t endanger someone I care about.”
“Consider me support staff for the evening, then. I can tell you’re tired, you aren’t just putting me off because you can.”
Gen sat quietly with him as he ate with the other men. The women were under guard downstairs, so she was the only one with the men. Brain came out to eat, too, and though he said someone was spelling him, he had a tablet in front of him as he ate, cycling through various cameras.
Gen happened to be looking at it as she saw something off, and Duke felt her tighten up. “What is it, Beautiful?”
“Maybe nothing. Brain, can you go back to what was camera five on my wall?”
Brain swiped back and she said, “The guy walking the dog. He’s dressed like an old man but doesn’t walk like one.”
Duke reached for a walkie-talkie in the middle of the table and sent someone to check it out. “You have a good eye, but Brain needs to head back to the control room and handle it from there.”
Brain stood with his food and tablet. “Good point. I’ve got it for another four or five hours, and things should settle by then enough for me to let JB take over. Get some sleep with your Duchess and I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Gen’s alarm went off at seven forty the next morning. She’d told Duke she needed to leave by eight, but felt bad about disturbing him as it’d been a little after one when they’d finally gone downstairs and crashed. They weren’t in the big couple’s room. Apparently, the top guys were afforded their own area downstairs when in lockdown, so they were in a room with four other couples instead of twenty plus.
Duke shut off her cellphone alarm, lifted her, and carried her into the hallway, closing the door quietly before setting her down, pulling her into his arms, and reaching for his own cellphone.