Duke: Fallen MC #1 (11 page)

Finally finished treating her Slam moved away and he took up his place on the bed again. Slam couldn’t stop shaking his head as he listed her injuries for them. He’d given her fifteen stitches in total to close the wounds on her back and side of her head. Duke knew that Slam already thought of Nicole as his sister and would be wanting to get a few licks in on the club sluts too. He would have to get in line.

Jewel tried to lighten the mood, joking about how she was jealous of Nicole’s bow tattoo and whether we thought Nicole would mind if she got one too. Duke’s mouth didn’t so much as twitch. He didn’t know how to deal with what he was feeling. Anger, pure love and devastation raged and battled in his mind. He wanted to stab, gut and light those bitches on fire. He was positive that Nicole would want to be the one to throw the match that lit them up.

Everyone left after Slam assured them that there was nothing else to do but monitor her pain and let her sleep and heal. Prez had appeared briefly for an update and to tell them that the sluts had been put in separate outhouses until Duke was ready to go with him to start asking questions. Prez knew he would not want to miss it but was giving him time with Nicole first. Slam promised to be back in a few hours to check on her.

As the door closed behind them, Duke stripped down to his boxers and lay on the bed facing Nicole. He carefully shifted the pillows separating them and gently lifted her so she was draped across his chest so that the undamaged side of her face rested on his shoulder. Feeling skin on skin with her helped his chest to loosen. He buried his nose in her hair and drew her scent into his lungs. Holding her hand that he had placed to rest on his chest, he closed his eyes and thanked God over and over that he hadn’t taken her away from him. Duke had never had a weakness, he had one now….. Nicole.

Nicole woke up feeling drowsy but so comfy and warm. She snuggled her face into the heat below her and took a slow, deep breath in through her nose. Duke. His unique scent filled her lungs, she felt at home. She tried to open her eyes, she needed to see his face, make sure all this was real. Her left eye began to open, the right didn’t move at all. It was too difficult and too much effort to keep trying. Weariness and sorrow flowed through her as the aches and pains of her her body started making themselves known. Flashes of the attack spun through her brain. Every punch, kick and vile word played on fast forward in her mind. She started to panic and couldn’t stop. Her lungs were seizing, her head was banging and the memories wouldn’t leave her alone. She tried to shift but pain so sharp flashed over her entire body and she started to sob.

“Nicole! Baby, don’t cry. Please don’t cry. I’m right here. You’re safe now. You’re safe.”

She clung on to Duke’s words whispered gruffly into her ear as he smoothed his hand down her arm and gently stroked her hair. Her panic started to ease as he kept repeating those words to her over and over until the strangling sensation untangled itself from around her throat. She was trying to force her brain to recognise that was no danger but it was hard. Every one of her senses recognised that she was safe now but her rapidly beating heart wasn’t paying attention. She wanted to be wrapped up tight in Duke’s embrace and never let go. She fought to open her eyes again. The left opened leaving her a slit to look through. It felt far to heavy to open fully.

There he was. Her Fallen angel. She let go of his hand and slowly slid hers up his chest to his stubbled cheek. Loving the scratchy feel on her palm. She swiped her thumb slowly back and forth over his lips. He was real. He’d saved her. He reached for for her hand and moved it to press soft kisses all over it.

“Here baby, drink some of this.” He pushed a straw past her lips.

She sucked and a sugary sports drink washed over her tongue and soothed her dry throat. It was bliss. After a couple of huge gulps she pushed the straw from her mouth with her tongue.

“You done?”

“Yes, thank you.” Thank god she could talk, or whisper at least. It was a struggle but it was worth it to talk to him. The smile that graced Duke’s face was dazzling.

“I’ve been waiting to hear that voice for a week.” He sighed and caressed her cheek. Fury flashed in his eyes before he hid it. “You’re pretty banged up, baby. Slam should be here soon to give you some more meds.”

“No. No.” She didn’t want any meds. She didn’t want to go back into the darkness of her mind. She could deal with the pain if it meant she could keep looking at him.

“Don’t start that fucking shit, Nicole. I can see you wince every time you breathe. I’m not gonna let you be in pain, baby. You don’t get a choice here. You need rest and to heal and I need you to lay here in our bed - safe - while I sort those bitches.”

His face was anything but serene, she’d never seen him so angry and upset. She finally thought of what she must look like to him. She knew from every pain that she would be a mess. All week she’d imagined being reunited with Duke and this was the opposite of every scenario she’d imagined.

Tears slipped from her eyes. Duke swept them away. “They’re the only tears those fucking sluts get from you! Don’t waste anymore on those pathetic whores.”

He was wrong. She wasn’t crying over Helen and the others. If there was one thing she woke certain of was that Duke would make them bitches pay for what they did to her. No, he was wrong. She was playing his words through her head. He’d said…..
our
bed.

“Okay.” She tried to smile at him, he grimaced when she did. There was her definitive proof that she wasn’t looking good but Duke never turned away or moved his eyes from hers. He kept a steady stare infusing her with his strength and something deeper, heartfelt.

There was a hard rap on the door. Duke shouted for whoever it was to come in. She wanted to yell out to keep away. She just wanted to lie here with Duke, no interruptions. She braced herself for Duke to shift her off his chest but he didn’t. If anything his grip on her hand grew tighter. Prez, Shel, Hollywood, Razor and Slam all walked into the bedroom.

“Hey darlin’. How you feeling?” Slam was always so sweet to her.

“I’m okay…” she started about to boldly lie about her pain level to avoid more meds when Duke spoke up.

“Like fuck she is!” Duke interrupted. “She’s in a lot of pain, brother. You need to give her some more of that shit to knock it off.” Nicole smoothed her hand over his chest to calm him down. She hated seeing him this tense, especially when she was in no position to help calm him at the moment. She looked towards Slam again and saw him snarl.

“Fuck you, Duke. You know I’d never leave her to suffer.” His voice softened as he addressed her. “Nic, I’m gonna give you some more painkillers but Prez needs you to tell him what happened first. I’ll give you the drugs straight away after, then you’ll be able rest.”

She could see Slam was trying to be a calming influence in a room full of seriously pissed brothers. She saw that his eyes kept wandering to her exposed back and legs. The devastation and guilt she saw in them broke her heart.

“It’s not your fault, Slam.” She said with as much conviction as she could muster.

“It fucking is! If I hadn’t left, this wouldn’t have happened!” So much for being a calming influence. She’d never heard him shout before.

Prez took hold of his shoulders as everyone was trying to reassure him that he wasn’t to blame, even Duke made the effort to reassure him. Prez spoke loudly above them all. “Look, all this blaming shit is pointless. It’s happened, now we deal with it like we would do anything else. Okay?”

There were a few heavy sighs and grunts but after a few seconds everyone nodded and stayed silent. He grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and straddled it by the side of the bed. His focus unwavering from Nicole. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking. His face was blank and she didn’t know him well enough to guess.

“Now, Nicole. Helen has said she caught you with a burner cell phone talking to someone. Is that true?” Duke growled underneath her. Her whole body jerked. What was he accusing her of?

“No, absolutely not. I haven’t touched a phone since I got here. Who would I call anyway? I don’t understand.” She started to mumble, thinking out loud.

Now more than ever she wanted to stand and defend herself but she couldn’t and frustration filled her to her limit. She could feel the tears building behind her eyes and her body trembling. Duke grabbed her hand again and squeezed while tenderly running his hand gingerly down her back.

Still all business, Prez continued, “Apparently you were heard talking to Wrath.”

“I promise I didn’t have a phone. I haven’t spoken to anyone. I would never contact Wrath. What did she say I was saying?” She blurted out. She turned her head to look directly at Duke, gritting her teeth against the pain in her neck. “Please Duke, I swear I’d never do that to you or the club.” She rambled her plea to him, praying he would believe her. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks at the thought that after all this he would leave her if he didn’t.

He kissed her forehead and his warm breath on her face soothed her rising panic. “I didn’t believe that slut for a second, baby.” The air rushed from her lungs in relief. She clung to him, her nails digging into his skin and closed her eyes. She wanted to block everything out. She was starting to feel exhausted again.

Prez cleared his throat. “Nicole, no one wanted to believe you’d do this and no one in this room thinks you did. But you have a right to know what you’ve been accused of and tell your side. You need to tell us what went on so when we face those bitches when we’re done here, we go in knowing the truth. So, what happened?”

She recounted the events to them, right down to every bitchy word she’d spewed before the attack. There was no point sugar coating her story, anything she did that instigated their actions she’d more than suffered for already. Nicole watched as fists were clenched, eyes squeezed shut and chests rumbled. She had to remove her hand from Duke’s, he was squeezing it too hard now. A few more of her tears escaped before she was through. Shel came and knelt by the bed and stroked her hair.

“I’m sorry this happened to you, Nic. Just so you know, I think your tattoo is awesome, might have get one myself - maybe in purple.” Shel’s face lit up with a big grin. Nicole couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled up. She felt a weight lift from her that she hadn’t lost her friend.

“Darlin’, I’m all for that if it means you’re gonna keep that pussy waxed bare for me.” Prez smiled like he’d won the lottery. Nicole couldn’t help but be embarrassed as she realised a fair few people had now seen her tattoo.

“Good point. Although, I told you, honey….. I’ll wax if you do. You think I like flossing my fucking teeth every time I give you a blow job?”

Nicole’s giggling turned to an all out laugh. It hurt but was totally worth it. Shel had managed to break the tension in the room and everyone was enjoying a couple of minutes of normality. Prez looked kind of cute when he blushed.

“All right, baby, you need to rest and I’m gonna get this shit started. I’ll be back before you know it.” Duke kissed her head and arms several times and a very light one on her lips. Peace and relief took more tension from her body and she found herself relaxing completely under his attention. He slowly slid out from under her and propped her up with pillows as he moved. Duke pulled on his clothes while Slam gave her an injection. She kept her eyes on Duke until the lead weights forming on her eyelids won out. Just a second later, she was asleep.

Duke cast one long look back at Nicole before following the others down the stairs. The vision of the purple hue on her once flawless creamy skin fuelled his fury. He forced his mind to focus on what he was heading into. He’d get justice for Nicole. He missed having her in his arms already but he was so worked up to get this started. He couldn’t let another minute pass without some action. He walked into the bar and everyone stopped. Duke didn’t understand.

“What we doing in here? I thought you said those cunts were in the outhouses.” Any delays were just serving to piss him off further.

Prez stood before him and folded his arms over his chest. “You’re not thinking like my VP right now, Duke. I understand that, but if you can’t hold it together you won’t be coming in with us.”

Duke’s fists balled even tighter and he was sure his teeth would crack with how tight his jaw was clenched. He hated this fucked up situation. He’d never disrespect Reaper and part of him recognised that he was right.

“Don’t think I’m fucking with you, Duke…..the only reason this has been held off is ’cause I knew you’d wanna be there. Don’t make me regret that decision. The same goes for Razor and Slam. Remember, she ain’t your old lady in this, she’s the club’s collateral. Those bitches have to answer to the club, not just you.” Prez stated. Duke had to hold in his need to shout that she was his old lady. Arguing would get him nowhere.

“He’s right, Duke. There could be more going on here, we have to be smart. Jewel and Shel have been around these bitches a lot longer than Nicole and have told us what they can about each. Ain’t much but we’ll use it if the situation calls for it. Don’t think you’re the only one who’s pissed here. I’ve had to stop Jewel from stomping all over them cunts since the second she saw Nic come out on that fucking stretcher. Me and Prez got it worked out. We go through each of the posse first, then end with Helen. We all know she’s the ring leader in this shit.” Hollywood was wringing his hands as he spoke.

He appeared nearly as agitated as Duke. Duke knew a lot of that would come from seeing his old lady upset. Hollywood never handled that well, Duke hadn’t understood how some of the brothers could get so fired up over their old ladies. He got it now. The fire running through his blood was all for Nicole, not the club.

Duke gave one sharp nod and with a tilt of Prez’s chin they made their way to the first outhouse. They had thirteen dotted around the compound. Most were used for storage but six were kept empty. Those outhouses had large drains in the floor and it’s where they did their ‘wet’ interrogations. He knew there would still be splatters of blood on the walls and traces of nearly every kind of bodily fluid; they never managed to clean it all.