Duke (Aces MC Series Book 2) (12 page)

“You fucking prick!”
I turned to see Tyreese pointing a gun directly at Tyler’s head.
“Whoa! Easy there Tyreese what’s the issue man?” I asked getting up slowly so as
to not antagonise him.
We hadn’t had many dealings with Tyreese over the years. His crew were based in
Chingford which was only a couple of miles away but our paths hadn’t crossed
much. They were into drugs, guns and protection and he had slowly made his way
through the ranks. He was a bad ass, doing whatever he needed to do to earn
respect from the other gang members but he wasn’t hurting one of my Brothers,
that was for sure.
“He spilt his fucking coffee on Michelle.” He stated pointing with his free
hand towards his girlfriend who was standing beside him petrified.
“I’m sure he didn’t mean to Tyreese. I need you to lower the gun man.” I slowly
moved closer as I spoke, trying to get in Tyreese’s eye line.
“You need to teach your prospect how to show respect.” Tyreese spoke through
gritted teeth as he dug the barrel further into Tyler’s forehead.
“And I will, I just need you to lower your gun.” I could see Bear and Diesel
quietly stalking around behind Tyreese, ready to pounce if necessary with their
weapons drawn.
Michelle gently touched Tyreese’s left hand, “I’m okay. Can we please just go
home?”
I could see his anger intensify as he quickly removed his hand from hers and
slapped her around the face with the back of his hand.
“Did I ask you to get involved bitch? It’s about respect and this piece of
white trash aint got none.”
There were two things that I hated most in life, racists and abusers. I
continued to assess the situation as my blood boiled with rage but I didn’t
want to exasperate things as Tyler still had a gun pointing directly at his
head.
“I’m gonna ask you one more time to lower the gun Tyreese and if you don’t were
gonna have a big situation on our hands.”
Tyreese looked around to see that he was now outnumbered and had a variety of
different weapons pointing directly at him. I could understand that he didn’t
want to lose face, so I tried not to belittle him.
“You promise to sort him out?”
“I promise I’ll sort him out, just lower your gun Tyreese.”
He lowered his gun slowly and returned it to the waistband of his jeans. Tyler
let out a subtle sigh of relief but continued to hold his composure as he stood
maintaining eye contact.
Tyreese grabbed Michelle’s arm pulling her so she stood by his side. He looked
directly at me, “You need to teach him a lesson.” He nodded his head slightly
and stomped out of the cafe dragging his girlfriend behind him.

“Why didn’t you just let us take him out?” Diesel asked as
he sat back down at our table cracking his knuckles.
I shook my head, taking in his statement. This is when our differences were so
evident. Diesel was a fucking hot head and would act before analysing the situation
before him. Viper had taught me well over the years, preparing me for this job.
I’d learnt how to not let my heart rule my head in deadly situations. His
mentoring had made me more cynical but I needed to be in order to make the
correct decisions to lead this club.

“I’ll go and check on Buster, he’s still outside on his
own.” Bear patted Tyler briefly on the shoulder as he passed him.
“Can I have a coffee when you’re ready Emma?” I asked looking over at the
relieved owner. She smiled and went about her business, obviously relieved that
it hadn’t turned into a blood bath. “Come on Tyler take a seat.” I sat down
patting the space beside me encouraging him to join us.
“Thanks Duke, I owe you big time.” Tyler said as he sat there contemplating the
last ten minutes.
“I’m proud of you man.” I said patting him on the back. “You kept your
composure and that gave me enough time to talk him down. Others would have shit
themselves or tried to attack him but that would’ve ended with your brains on
the floor.”
Emma brought over Tyler’s coffee and a sticky iced bun. “That’s on the house
Tyler.” She said sweetly before leaving us.
“Fucking hell, he was the one that spilt the hot coffee over Tyreese’s bird and
now we’re treating him like a fucking war hero.” I glared at Diesel because of
his insensitive comment.
“What would you do Diesel, if someone did that to Ink?” Spike asked as he
tucked into the remainder of his dinner.
“I wouldn’t have drawn my gun, I would’ve just smashed him in the face.” He
said as a matter of fact.
His comment made me snigger. I started to think of how I would’ve reacted if
someone did that to Ash. Diesel was right, I’d have smashed his fucking face in
too.

Taylor

I’d slept surprising well. It must have been all of the
excitement of last night. After Duke and Bear had left, the two prospects had
been very helpful and stayed until the last of Chanel’s belongings, were safely
put away.
Something was going on between Chanel and Buster though. I caught a few glances
between them throughout the evening, not that I minded. I wasn’t her mom but I
liked to think that she would listen to my advice and guidance.
I looked at my watch to see that it had just gone 8.00am. Shit! I needed to
leave now or I’d hit the morning rush. I quickly put on my knee high boots
assessing myself in the mirror before leaving my room.
The door to Chanel’s new bedroom was slightly ajar so I peered through the gap quietly
to see Chanel lying there peacefully. A quick glance revealed that she’d
started to unpack some of her belongings which made me smile. She obviously
felt safe and was taking me up on my offer of her staying for as long as she
wanted.
Another quick glance at my watch showed that I really did need to leave now. I
rushed down the stairs mindful of keeping the noise to a minimum and quickly
scrawled Chanel a note on the back of a take away menu. I took the spare key
from the hook and positioned both on the table next to the door so that she
would see it, if she planned on going out today. It felt strange having to
worry about someone else. I’d always lived on my own and had never owned a pet
so in a way I’d probably become selfish over time by just worrying about myself.
I was looking forward to spending some time with her outside of work. She’d had
a rough start to life and I wasn’t going to let her shit of a father, damage
the kind spirit she had.

“Oh for crying out loud!” I screamed as the cars sat bumper
to bumper in the morning traffic. It would’ve been quicker for me to park the
car and walk the further three hundred yards down the street. That’s one of the
things I hated most about this country, the endless amount of road works. Miles
and miles of road construction, cones and diggers but I was yet to see people
actually doing anything!
“Chloe, are you at work yet?...I’m stuck in traffic, I should be five possibly
ten minutes at the most…okay bye.” I ended the call, putting the phone back
into my bag as I continued to sit there getting annoyed. Well at least the
salon was open, I was appreciative of the staff I had as they had proved to be
reliable and hardworking.
I turned to a familiar rumble of a motorcycle. I looked in my rear view mirror
to see the patched member weave through the traffic. As I turned to my right I
saw that it was Locke by his distinctive facial hair.
Where was he going in
such a hurry?
He jumped a red light with no regard for the other road users
and was heading in the opposite direction to the club house. It took everything
in my power to not pick up the phone to ask Duke if everything was okay but I
couldn’t hound him. I was determined to take it slowly and keep things casual
to protect my heart.
The lights finally turned green and I was pulled from my thoughts as the
traffic started to move in front of me. Maybe I could text him later to see if
he was alright. Maybe thank him for helping out with Chanel last night. I was
new to all this biker stuff. In a normal relationship I could just call my
‘boyfriend’ for a chat without any reason and ask if they wanted to hang out but
with Duke things were just too bloody complicated and I was yet to learn the
protocol.

“Sorry it took so long Chloe, is everything okay?”
“Yeah fine. Your aunt’s out back making herself a cup of tea. Pam said she couldn’t
wait any longer.” Chloe explained with a smile.
I rolled my eyes. “I’d better go and see if she’s okay.”
I walked towards the kitchen area to the sound of Chloe’s chuckles. She’d
witnessed first hand how difficult my aunt could be. After the death of my
uncle Ron, she’d played on the fact that her health had deteriorated. Don’t get
me wrong she was absolutely heartbroken and it took her a long time to see the
point of carrying on with her life but she’d implied that she couldn’t do
anything for herself and may need to get in a home carer. 
I wasn’t having anyone else looking after my aunt and this was one of the reasons
why I moved to England. But once I was here her health took a miraculous turn
for the better. Sly old fox! She continues to be a sprightly thing for her age
and has a better social calendar than most people half her age, with all the
W.I meetings, dinner and dances and social events at the British Legion. But my
thoughts quickly turned to Uncle Ron and her revelation last week which upset
me. I’m glad she’s finally found interests to take her mind off of things and
was starting to enjoy life again.

“Good morning Pam, how are you?” I asked leaning down to
give her a kiss on her cheek.
She sat on a high backed stool leaning against the worktop holding her freshly
made cup of tea.
“Did something or someone give you a reason to stay in bed for longer this
morning?” She raised her eyebrows assessing my reaction closely.
Pam loved a bit of gossip and I was the frequent talk of many conversations at
her weekly W.I meetings.
“It’s really not that exciting aunty Pam. The traffic was bad this morning,
that’s all.”
She looked at me as she took another sip of her tea. “So your hot biker
boyfriend has nothing to do with you being late?”
My shocked expression made her laugh. For an elderly lady she most certainly
had her wits about her but also an over active imagination.
“I don’t have time to discuss my
friend
who happens to be a hot biker.
Now come on, before I get even further behind.” I turned quickly making my way
back into the salon. If I allowed her too, she would interrogate me all morning
but I quickly decided that I wasn’t going to give her any more ammunition.
Pam slowly made her way into my chair after the temp had washed her hair. I had
decided to call the agency last night after the day we had yesterday. Alarna was
doing well and I’d decided to call the agency later and ask if I could keep her
on for the rest of the week whilst Chanel recovered.
“I spoke to your sister last night.”
A bang of guilt hit me in the chest, I hadn’t spoken to her since last Tuesday.
She was going through a rough time of it at the moment, what with the pregnancy
and her husband working away, leaving her to deal with the kids by herself for
long periods of time.
“How’s she feeling?” I asked truly concerned for her welfare.
“You know you’re sister. She puts on a front telling everyone she’s okay when
she clearly isn’t.”
“What’s up with her, anything serious?” I stopped what I was doing to give my
aunt my full attention.
“Braxton Hicks. I’ve told her to stop working. I’ve even offered to pay for her
and the children to come here so we can look after her but she’s refused.”
I sighed loudly, sitting in the chair next to my aunt. “Well you know Sophia.
She inherited the family trait of stubbornness!” I turned my head feeling a
shooting pain in my ear again, “Aaaah!” I held it rubbing it gently trying to
ease the pain.
Pam reached over resting her hand on my knee, “Are you still taking those
antibiotics Taylor?”
“Yeah, I have another couple of days left. I’m hoping it will pass soon.”

I was interrupted by my phone buzzing.

How’s Chanel doing?

It was Duke. My heart started to race with excitement and I
smiled as I quickly typed my response.

She’s settled in well. Thanks again for your help
yesterday. What you up to today? T

You’re welcome. Busy day ahead.

Is that why Locke was in such a rush this morning! LOL

Locke had driven like a fucking lunatic through the traffic.
He was lucky he hadn’t got himself or someone else killed.

What time was that Ash?

His response was strange. Why was he concerned about what
time I saw Locke?

Around 8.20ish. Is everything okay?

“Is that your
friend
who so happens to be a hot
biker?” Pam asked looking at me intently as I continued to stare at my phone
willing a response from Duke.
“Forget about it. Come on let me start your hair.”

I worked on Pam’s hair for the next thirty minutes. She
didn’t need it styling each week but it was nice to see her for a catch up and
a gossip.
“So where are you off to today?” I asked trying to take my mind off the strange
conversation with Duke.
“I have an important W.I meeting this afternoon. They were so pleased with what
I did with the jam stall that they have asked me to be in charge of the cake
stand at the next event which is a huge responsibility.”
“Well I hope you won’t be asking me to bake.”
I could see her little face redden in the reflection of the mirror as she tried
to contain her giggles.
“And I’m sure you’ve had great pleasure in telling the women more stories about
my inability to be able to cook.”
“Are there any more stories, I think I’ve run out.” She asked excitedly.
I let out a loud sigh, “Well, I was asked to help out in the local cafe because
the owner was busy. I then decided to make my own lunch whilst I was waiting
and nearly burnt the place down.”
“Oh dear, you are funny. You’d better meet a man who can cook or just eat out
every night.”
“Yeah, yeah, ha-ha! Right you’re done and look beautiful as always. You’re now
ready for your important meeting.”
“Thanks Taylor. Don’t forget to call your sister.” She said as Alarna helped
her into her coat.
“I won’t. See you soon.”
As Pam opened the door Savannah breezed in. “Hi ladies.” Savannah said chucking
her handbag down on the table top. She let out a loud puff as she slouched on
the chair, “I’ve had such a busy morning, I’m exhausted.”
“What you been up to?” I asked sliding into the chair opposite her.
She grinned as she moved her handbag, routing around inside for something. “I’m
going to Paris.” Savannah held up her paperwork excitedly and waved it around.
“I’ve been offered a six month placement in a Paris fashion house.”
“Oh my god Savannah, that’s incredible.” I got up from my chair and hugged her
tightly. “When do you leave?”
“Sunday!” She squeaked. “I know it’s quick but this is what dreams are made
of.”
“I’m so pleased for you Savannah. Opening this place was my dream come true and
I know how much this meant to me, so I can truly understand how you feel.” I
remembered the sense of pride and achievement on the day I opened the salon. “Have
you told Duke yet?” Duke and Savannah were close. He would really miss her.
“I called him earlier but he was busy so I’ll try and speak to him tonight. But
he won’t even notice I’m gone as he has other things to occupy his mind.” She
wiggled her eyebrows up and down insinuating that it was me he would be
thinking about.
I paused taking in her information. “How comes you two have never got it on?”
Savannah stopped what she was doing and stared at me like she was contemplating
something. Her silence was boarding on uncomfortable and I was starting to
regret asking her the question. Maybe they had been in a relationship before.
“He saved me.”
I could feel the raw emotion from her statement and saw a flash of another side
to Savannah, a vulnerable side which was usually hidden well under her brash
exterior. I kept quiet not wanting to ask further questions. This was her story
to tell and I didn’t want to push her.

“I was young and naive. I had run away from home thinking life
on the streets would be a better option than staying at home with an abusive
father. I thought wrong and found that out very quickly. I started dating a guy
called Josh. He was sweet, attentive and made me feel special,” she paused and
tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear, “I quickly fell in love with him.”
A faint smile spread across her face as she reminisced.
“So what happened?” I asked interested.
The smile disappeared quickly, “Because I was young, I didn’t realise that he
was using me, grooming me for prostitution. When I look back on it now, I can’t
believe how stupid I was but I was immature and very trusting. I was a runaway,
no one knew where I was. The friends I had made were becoming more distant as
Josh isolated me from everyone.”
She was so calm and blasé about the whole thing, I couldn’t believe what I was
hearing.
“One night he took me to a hotel. When we arrived in the room, there was an old
overweight man waiting for me. He handed Josh some money and he gave me a quick
kiss before telling me to be a good girl and do whatever the man asked me to
do. I was absolutely petrified but knew that I couldn’t and wouldn’t go through
with it.”
I let out a gasp as I put my hand over my mouth. I didn’t want to come across
as being insensitive but I was truly shocked by what I was hearing.
“I excused myself, asking if it was okay to go to the bathroom. The man said
yes but I wasn’t to take long as he was looking forward to fucking my young
pussy.” She shuddered and I could see the anguish on her face.
“Please stop Savannah, it’s obviously too painful to talk about.”
“I’m fine.” She smiled briefly before continuing, “The next opportunity I had,
I unlocked the door, bolted down the corridor and ran out of the hotel as fast
as I could.”
“So where does Duke come into this?” I asked intrigued.
“I left the hotel and walked for four hours, not knowing where I was or where I
was going. I stumbled across the club and went in because I needed to use the
toilet. When I came out of the bathroom, one of the guys offered to buy me a
drink. At this stage I didn’t have many options so I accepted and we got
talking. During the conversation he asked if I’d ever considered stripping.”
She laughed as she reminisced, obviously missing out some of the conversation.
“He introduced me to Duke, who was quickly moving up the ranks. He was outraged
that one of the guys had suggested I strip because of my age and wouldn’t hear
of it. Instead he gave me a waitressing job and hooked me up with one of the
girls who had a spare room.”
Duke had displayed so many different sides in the short amount of time I’d
known him, that I was struggling to know the true Duke.
“Four weeks later I found out that I was pregnant when I haemorrhaged
at work. Duke found me in the changing rooms and saved my
life by getting me to the hospital in time. From that day we bonded and he took
it upon himself to look after me, like a scary big brother.”
I laughed at the thought of having him as a brother. He was protective enough
having him as a lover but god help anyone if they were actually related to him.
“It was Duke who encouraged me to go back to College and retrain so that I
could get a trade behind me. I obviously couldn’t afford it but he paid for my
first year’s tuition fees. We butted heads but I only agreed when he accepted
my offer to pay him back in full with interest. After I finished my College
course I decided to study further at University. It’s only a part time course
so it’s taken a while to complete but I’ve enjoyed it immensely.”
“So how did you become a stripper?” I was genuinely intrigued.
If Duke had
told her no, I didn’t understand how she started doing it?
“It was me that made the conscious decision to start stripping. I wanted to
make more money so I asked Viper if I could strip. Duke wasn’t happy but he
arranged for me to be the star attraction and that I wasn’t to take my panties
off or conduct private lap dances.” She laughed and shook her head as she spoke.
“Big brother laying down the law?”
“You better believe it. He used to contact the College each week to see how I
was getting on and made it clear that if I ever fell behind on my studies he
would stop me working.”
Now this made me laugh.
“I made it clear when I started studying at University at the age of twenty-one,
that if he even thought about calling, I’d cut his dick off. He never did!”
I let out a low whistle as I processed this information. This explained a lot
to me and confirmed Amy’s story about him helping out the people he loved.
Who
was this man?
I spent the next ninety minutes on Savannahs nails. I was so please for
her to get an opportunity like this as she really did work hard. It couldn’t
have been easy studying and then having to work on top of that to support herself.