Duke (The Henchmen MC 5)

I heard the dresser behind me slide closed and nearly jumped out of my skin, shrieking quietly as I fell onto my ass.

"Sure you're alright?" Duke asked, brows furrowed, watching me push myself up.

"I'm fine," I said, turning away from him and shoving my feet into socks and then shoes. I went back into one of my boxes and found a spare wallet that I kept cash in and shoved it into my jean pocket. My purse had never turned up. I didn't want to think about the whole having to go to the DMV and get new credit cards thing when or if I ever got back to my normal life. "I, ah, am going to go wait for you in the main room," I said, grabbing the doorknob and going out before he could say anything.

I walked out into the main room to find Cash sitting there with Lo sitting next to him, legs over his, smiling at each other like honeymooners.

And it struck me how very blonde they both were.

Granted, not all the bikers were blonde. Reign was dark-haired and Renny was a redhead. But, yeah, I was pretty sure all of them were white. At least I hadn't seen any one of another race around.

That didn't exactly help the swirling thoughts about a white supremacist club.

Great.

Just great.

"Oh, you showered? How are the stitches looking?" Lo asked, focus on me and I realized I had been standing there staring like a creep.

"Ah, they're good. Duke said they're healing."

"Good. I'm glad. Before you know it, we can pull them out and you'll be like new."

Yeah, no.

I was pretty sure I would never be the same.

"Excited to see your grandmother?" Cash asked, making me stiffen.

So they all knew about her. That wasn't good either, right? Bad enough they all knew about me, but now they knew about my grandmother. If I insisted on leaving and they got ticked, would they use her against me?

Okay. I needed to relax. I was getting worked up over things I didn't need to yet. I needed to feel out Duke while we were out, see how he responded to the idea of me leaving.

And, more so, I needed to calm down.

I wasn't lying when I told Duke that my grandmother was perceptive. I had never been able to hide any thought or feeling from her my whole life. Even over the phone, she could tell when something was up and would pry it out of me.

"Alright, ready?" Duke asked, coming up behind me and putting a hand at my hip.

My whole body stiffened, something I was pretty sure not only Lo, but Cash, noticed judging by the way their eyes went a little keen, their heads tilted ever-so slightly.

"Yep. Let's go," I said, moving away from him so his hand fell and making my way toward the front door.

I stopped directly out front, realizing I had no idea where I was going seeing as the only time I had seen their compound from the outside was when I was lost and I hadn't exactly been paying that close of attention.

"This way, babe," Duke said, moving out behind me and pointing to the side of the yard where both cars and bikes were parked. "Don't worry; we're taking one of the SUVs. Can't be on bikes right now."

Right. Too easy a target.

How the hell was this my life?

But I fell into step with him and got into the passenger side of a black SUV after he bleeped the locks. I climbed in and went to sit back, cringing as my back brushed the seat. I sat forward, putting on my belt, and looked out the window as Duke got in and turned the car over and drove us out of there.

"Aren't these windows too dark for Jersey?" I asked, remembering all the tickets the guys I went to high school with got when they blacked out their windows.

"Yeah, but we'd rather get tickets than killed so that's what we do."

I nodded at that and we fell into an extremely tense silence all the way through town and down the highway toward Blue Horizons.

It was a long, squat brown building with an abundance of shrubbery to try to make it look less like a care center.

I silently got out of the car and took a deep breath only to find Duke's massive form blocking my way suddenly. I turned my head up to look at him, brows together in confusion.

"Talk to me," he demanded, shaking his head.

"About what?" I said, going for innocently confused and thinking I mostly hit the mark.

Duke raised a hand to tuck my hair behind my ear. And I couldn't help it; I flinched. His hand paused in the air then fell as he exhaled hard.

"Alright, this isn't the time," he said with a shrug. "Come on," he said, holding an arm out, "let's go visit with your grandmother."