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  “She’s my friend.”

  “She’s not club. No one must know.”

  Holly nodded. “Then can I make a phone call? I want to talk to my mom.”

  “Yes.” He dropped a kiss to her lips. “I’m going to be back at the clubhouse. I’ve got some business to deal with.”

  He’d already done a run a few weeks back. It was the only time they’d been apart. She’d stayed here to be with Matthew while Duke was out of town.

  “I’ll be back.”

  “I won’t leave.”

  Duke kissed her one final time before heading out of the house. Grabbing her cell phone from her pocket, she dialed her mother.

  “Hey, honey, it has been a long time since you called me.”

  Holly let the tears fall down her cheeks as she stared down at the ground. What should she say to her mom?

  “Holly?”

  “I’m here.” Her voice sounded croaky even to her.

  “What’s the matter, honey? What’s happened?”

  “Duke, he told me about the old lady thing. Is it true?”

  She got her answer when her mother was silent on the other end.

  “You fucked Dad with other men watching?” Holly asked, accusingly.

  “Holly Crock, I do not care how old you are. Do not even think to use that tone with me.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You’ll never understand how important it is until you do it. I can’t talk to you about what happened. It’s the rules of the club. What I can say to you is you don’t have to be afraid. The club will show you respect. I’ve never been embarrassed, and I will not be now.”

  Holly broke down listening to her mother talk. She didn’t know if she was strong enough to be everything Duke wanted her to be.

  “Do you love him?” Sheila asked, minutes later.

  “What?”

  “Duke, do you love him? Is he all you think about?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then trust me when I say you can do this. It’s important to your man and to the club. He wouldn’t do it for Julie, but he’s doing this for you.”

  Several minutes later Holly said goodbye to her mother and hung up the phone. Glancing over at the clock she saw it had been well over an hour since Duke had left.

  Chapter Eleven

  Duke walked in home to find Holly and Matthew playing a game of cards. Every time he saw her with his son it was like he was kicked in the gut in a good way. Julie wouldn’t have taken the time to play with him, yet Holly, she always laughed, including his son. The scent of chicken and garlic permeated the air. Part of him had expected her to be gone after their conversation. Sheila called him at the clubhouse while he was dealing with Diaz. She’d done her best to help her daughter to understand, but the rest of it was up to him.

  He removed his cut hanging it along with the other jackets before going further into his house.

  “Hey, Dad,” Matthew said. “I’m getting my ass kicked by a girl.”

  Holly burst out laughing.

  “Don’t worry about it, son. She’s trained with the best and will always be the best.” He had no doubt that Russ trained her well. Going past his woman, he leaned down to kiss her neck. “I’m grabbing a beer.”

  “Sure, Dad.”

  Holly didn’t say anything. He’d noticed she didn’t tense up either from his touch. Entering the kitchen, he went straight for the fridge, grabbing a beer.

  “Hey,” she said.

  Duke turned to find Holly leaning against the counter with her arms crossed beneath her breasts.

  “You talked with your mother?”

  “Yes.”

  He gave her his full attention. Popping the lid off the beer, he took a long swallow. With her being in his place was she going to stay? Even if she left he’d have given her tonight to work her shit out before going back for her.

  She needed to realize they were a done deal. It wouldn’t matter what went on in their personal lives, they were a couple.

  “Here, I got you this,” he said, pulling out the ring he got her. He couldn’t ride his bike with the ring in the box so he’d pushed it into his jeans pocket, discarding the box.

  Holly took a step toward him. He placed the diamond ring in her hand and simply watched her.

  “What is this?” she asked.

  “An engagement ring.” A damn expensive one, too.

  “You’re proposing to me?”

  “Isn’t that what it looks like?” He’d never really proposed to anyone. When Julie told him she was pregnant, he took a quick trip to Vegas and they were married by the weekend.

  “No. This is the strangest proposal of all.”

  He reached out to stroke her cheek. “I love you, Holly. I’m going to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you. I don’t give a fuck how old I am. I’m going to show you the world, and I want us to do it together.”

  Tears filled her eyes, and he wiped them away as they spilled down her cheeks.

  “I love you, Duke.”

  “If you don’t want to be my old lady, fine, but at least be my wife.”

  “You’re willing to not, erm, take me in front of the club?” she asked, biting her lip.

  “Baby, the only woman I’ve ever loved is standing right in front of me. You don’t want me to take you in front of the club, be my old lady, fine. I’ll take you as my wife.” Duke leaned down, brushing his lips across hers. He’d always worry about her safety, but he’d take whatever he could get.

  “I want to be your old lady, Duke.”

  He leaned back to look into her eyes. She offered him a watery smile. “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “I’m sure. I love you. I’m just worried about what the others will think.” She shrugged. “So long as I’m with you, I really don’t care. You’re the man I want to be with. No one else.”

  Wrapping his arms around her, Duke pulled her close. “I’ll get everything set up.”

  She nodded. She gripped his arms tighter, and he felt the hard bite of her nails against his flesh.

  He kissed the top of her head, inhaling her scent.

  “My parents won’t be present?”

  “No, of course not.” He chuckled, pulling away.

  “Good. I won’t be able to go through with it.”

  Duke tucked some hair behind her ears, smiling down at her. “Feed me, woman.”

  She slapped his arm, moving around him to grab dinner out of the oven.

  Going into the dining room he saw Matthew setting the table. “Have you made a decision about your mom?” Duke asked.

  He was waiting for Matthew to decide if he still wanted to spend any time with Julie in the future. Duke didn’t yet have any plans to kill the woman, but if she kept causing problems then he wouldn’t hesitate.

  The news from Dawg’s Crew was not good. From what he’d been told Julie was selling her pussy for free drugs. It would only be a matter of time before that shit started to go nasty. He wouldn’t be able to let it continue. Duke’s ex selling pussy was not a rumor he wanted going around. It made him look weak. If he looked weak, so did his MC. He wouldn’t allow that.

  “Dad, I don’t know. I don’t like her, okay. I don’t even want to be near her. She’s always saying shit about you, but she’s still my mom.”

  “Is that what Holly’s said?” Duke asked.

  “Yeah, maybe I should give her a chance to be a real mom. I mean, if she’s going to keep trying to do the right thing, maybe I should give her a chance.”

  “She’s your mother. I love you, son. If you want her to remain in your life then that’s your call.”

  “Then, for now, she stays. Can I stay here though?”

  “This is your house.”

  Holly walked in carrying a tray full with chicken. His woman knew exactly what to serve him. He always loved a woman who knew how to cook. The rest of the evening went by without a hitch. They ate as a family and watched a movie after he and Matthew did the dishes
. Holly wore the ring he gave her. He stroked his thumb over the ring. It was his claim to Holly, and no other man was going to take her away.

  ****

  Days passed, and Holly didn’t know what to think as Duke hadn’t told her about the old lady thing. That was how she referred to it in her mind, “old lady thing”. Every chance she got she showed the ring off to anyone who wanted to see. It was a beautiful diamond ring, simple yet stunning. She loved it and found herself staring at it. For years she had wanted to get to know Duke. It almost seemed too surreal for her to be sleeping beside him, loving him, fucking him.

  Sitting in the diner she waited for Mary to have a break. She didn’t like the relationship budding between her friend and Mac. The owner of the diner seemed to always have an agenda.

  Sipping her coffee, she watched Mary move from table to table as Mac rang out the orders. The diner was a popular place to eat. With Mary in charge of the food, it would soon make its stamp on the map as a place to visit. Was that Mac’s agenda? Get Mary in the kitchen cooking? Mac was a good cook but nothing compared to Mary’s awesomeness. Even Holly couldn’t compete with Mary’s natural way in the kitchen.

  Her cell phone buzzed pulling her out of her troubled thoughts.

  Duke: Hey, baby, how ya doin?

  Holly: I’m at the diner. Don’t like Mac’s attention on my girl. Guy gives me the creeps.

  He didn’t. Mac was just a guy who used everything at his disposal.

  Duke: u’ve got 2 stop worrying so much. Mary’s a big girl. She can take care of herself.

  Holly: She’s my friend. Y u texting?

  There were a few seconds before he responded.

  Duke: Come 2 the club 2night.

  She gripped the phone tighter.

  “Hey, sorry I took so long. It’s a busy lunch today. Sharon’s taking over.” Mary squeezed into the booth opposite her, and she poured herself a coffee.

  Duke: Holly?

  “Don’t worry about it. Are we going to order, or are you really busy?”

  Holly: Fine.

  Rubbing her head, she stared across at Mary.

  “Let’s eat. It has been too long since we caught up.”

  Nodding, she glanced over the menu as the doorbell rang. Looking up she saw Pike, Raoul, and a couple of the club whores entered the diner. Mary checked the door at the same time. The moment her friend tensed, Holly knew she’d seen them.

  “We can go elsewhere if you want?” Holly said.

  “No. I want to stay here. Nothing is going to happen.” Mary smiled up at her.

  Holly stayed silent as Pike stopped by the table. “Hello, ladies.”

  “Hey,” Holly said.

  “Hey.” Mary didn’t look up from her menu, giving Pike the brush off.

  “Can we sit with you?” Pike asked.

  “No.” Before Holly got a chance to speak, Mary took control.

  “Why not?” Pike folded his arms over his chest. The woman behind him chose that moment to wrap her arms around his waist.

  If she didn’t know Mary as well as she did, she wouldn’t have seen the hurt flash in her eyes. Holly knew her friend well. Mary was hurting.

  “I’m not part of the club. You’re all part of the club.”

  “Holly’s part of the club,” Pike said.

  “She’s spending lunch with me. I’m not club, so I don’t count. There are plenty of tables for you and your club.” Mary went back to looking over her menu.

  “Are you going to let her talk to you like that?” Mandy asked. Holly recognized her from the club. She remembered what Duke said about the whores earning their place. Had Duke helped to bring Mandy into the club?

  Don’t think about that. It’s all in the past.

  Pike stared at Mary while she did everything to not look at him.

  Seconds that felt like minutes passed before Pike turned away. “Come on, we can have another table.”

  Mary continued to look over the menu.

  “I know you care about him.”

  “My feelings about him do not matter. He told me that. I’m not club. I’ll never be part of the club. I was just a one-night stand to him.”

  Holly’s temper flared. “Did that bastard say that to you?”

  “No, he didn’t need to say it. I know what I mean to him or what I don’t mean to him.”

  “I’ll kick his ass.”

  “No, you won’t. What happened between me and Pike is none of your business. I love you, Hols, I really do. Please, forget about him. I intend to.”

  She wanted to argue but saw Mary was determined to let it go. Relaxing down into her seat, Holly tried to forget about Duke’s text message. He wanted her to come to the club tonight. Did that mean what she thought it would mean? God, she was so confused. Her emotions were all over the place.

  Running fingers through her hair, she decided to put all of her worries to the back of her mind and simply focus on her friend. Mary needed her right now.

  They ate burgers together, drank coffee, and just talked. They were organizing her wedding with Mary. Her mother, Sheila, was also helping to plan the event.

  Holly hoped to have a Christmas wedding, but it would depend on what Duke wanted. Everything was moving so fast, yet far from being terrified, she was excited.

  Chapter Twelve

  “You better take care of my baby,” Russ said, pointing a finger at Duke.

  “I will, sir, I promise.”

  “Okay, Sheila’s already made plans for us tonight.” Russ tapped him on the shoulder. “You did a good run. A good investment.”

  Duke had shared the three million among all members of the club. They’d each taken their cash to be stored until they could use it safely. The money could be spent on small things, grocery shopping, a few minor debts that were in the hundreds, but nothing in the thousands as that brought attention.

  “Ned’s happy with the deal.”

  “The Skulls are taking a break,” Russ said. “I can’t blame them. They’re a good crew and have been through a lot of shit. When’s the next ride?”

  “Not for a couple of months.” This was what Duke liked about dealing with Ned and Diaz. The work was regular but not dangerously close together. They were just starting out, so every few months they’d have a big shipment. Once they proved their worth, more jobs would come their way. In the meantime, Duke could get his house finished, and get the mechanics shop back up to being the best in town. They were only repairing a couple of cars a week. Duke knew they could be doing a few cars a day.

  “Right, I’m out of here.” Russ slapped him on the back. “Treat her right.”

  He watched Russ walk out of the club without a backward glance. Duke didn’t need to respond to Russ. He had every intention of treating his woman, right.

  Declining a beer, he stood up, and headed toward church. He stopped when he found Raoul sitting at the table, staring at the insignia inscribed into it.

  “What are you doing in here?”

  “I never meant to say the shit I did. I didn’t even want it to go as far as it did that night,” Raoul said, glancing up at Duke. “I know you sent me to be with Holly because I was closer to her age. I don’t know what the fuck happened that night. We were dancing, having a lot of fun. I’ve always liked Holly, and that night I finally saw what you did.”

  Duke glared at the men. Neither of them had spoken about his involvement with Raoul taking Holly to the prom.

  “She was beautiful, fun, alive, happy. When we got the room and she asked me to make love to her, I did. I didn’t even think about the consequences. When it was over, I knew I’d screwed up.” Raoul glanced up at Duke. “I fucked up, and you’ll never understand how sorry I am for what I did.”

  “Where’s this going?” Duke asked, folding his arms.

  “Phil, he’s the eyes for Dawg’s team. I did some digging, and the bastard has a serious gambling problem. He owes Dawg a shitload of money. Telling him about your whereabouts, including Holly’s, is wha
t he had to do to pay them back. I don’t know if the debt is covered.” Raoul pulled out a folded piece of paper. “I know you want me out of the club, but I’m going to prove to you that I’m worth keeping around. I respect Holly. She’s a good woman and part of the reason I shot my mouth off was because of that.”

  “That makes no fucking sense,” Duke said, snatching the paper out of Raoul’s grip.

  “I treated her like shit. She didn’t give me a thought. You wanted her, and I didn’t want to come between you.” Raoul took a step toward the door.

  “Wait.” Duke glanced down at the paperwork in his hands. He turned toward Raoul. “Thank you.”

  “I like Holly. I’ll never treat her like shit again. I promise.” Raoul offered his hand to which Duke shook. “The club will always come first.”

  He watched Raoul leave church. When he was alone he took a seat and glanced over the figures that he’d been given. There was no way some information would cover this amount of debt. Pulling out his cell phone he dialed the Sheriff.

  “Hey, David, I’ve got some information here that doesn’t look too good for your deputy.”

  When Duke was finished on the phone, he heard a faint knock on the door.

  “Come in.”

  David was going to have a word with Phil, and his place as a deputy was now out of the picture. Duke didn’t care. The bastard was willing to tell club secrets, he answered for his actions.

  “Hey,” Holly said, drawing his attention toward her.

  His cock thickened at the sight of her. She wore a long denim skirt with a white blouse. His woman looked good enough to eat, let alone fuck.

  Getting to his feet, he pulled her against him. “Hello, baby.” He drew her close, gripping her ass as he claimed a kiss. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you, too.”

  He rubbed his nose against hers, smiling. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to protect this woman. She controlled him in ways she didn’t even begin to understand, and he knew he held the same control over her.

  Her hand shook when he locked their fingers together. “Are you nervous?”

  “Wouldn’t you be?”