SWNOVELS Duke: Chapter 35
My nerves are on high alert. About thirty minutes ago, still well before dawn, Bear had come back into his bedroom, extremely agitated, and his knuckles were roughed up. No one said a thing about it, because it’s obvious he had words with Hunter that probably ended with a fist to his face. Bear didn’t say why he was upset, but he’d been adamant that we need to take Hunter back to the club before we draw the OG Bastards right to our door … and that it’d be the perfect opportunity for me to have a look at the inside of the club, like I knew needed to happen. From there, he’d insisted that we go to classes as normal, leaving the outward appearance that nothing is wrong.
But he can’t fool me or the guys. Something is very wrong, or he wouldn’t be acting this way. I could feel the tension radiating from him. How much more can we handle? I do feel relief having told them what happened to me and Juliette … or what I know of it. But I hate that what has relieved me has shifted a burden to them. Especially Duke. I feel so, so awful to have told him his girlfriend had been raped not long before she died. I see the pain in his eyes. Hate that I put it there … but so glad he didn’t blame me for not speaking up sooner. And even more glad to know he obviously cares for me a lot.
Nibbling on my lip as we head toward the club, I wonder aloud, “Do you think Bear is okay?” I watch the sports car Bear is driving up ahead of us. Hunter is bound and bloody in the back seat, where he’ll stay until someone arrives at the club and finds him.
Hunter is another lesson for the OGs—send the right man to do the job.
Duke’s eyes leave the road for a split second to glance across the console at me. “I don’t know, but despite what’s going on, he seems more like himself.” He hesitates. “It easily could have been something Hunter did or said that has him riled. Bear said it could—and should—wait.”
From the back seat, Mason growls, “That fucker knows how to push everyone’s buttons, not just mine.” He clears his throat. “Looking forward to using my lock-picking set again.” I glance back to see a devilish grin on his face. He winks at me, but then a serious expression slips over his features. “You sure you want to do this?”
I drag an exaggerated breath into my lungs and blow it all out at once. “Yeah. I doubt I’ll ever remember everything because whatever drug they gave me was potent, but if it jogs my memory to be there—if I can remember any little thing that might help—it’ll be worth it. Besides … you’ll be there with me.”
Ten minutes later, Bear’s left Hunter in his car right out front, and we’ve parked our SUV around back. All is quiet so far. Mason has gone to the back door and is working on getting it unlocked. We’re lucky that Derek had asked Bear to pick up a package for him and deliver it after hours several months ago. They’d left the door unlocked for him but had set the alarm … and told him the code. The only thing that could go wrong is if they’ve changed it since then, and the alarm alerts them that we’re here.
“He’s got it.” Duke glances back at me. “You ready, baby?”
Catching my lip between my teeth, I nod. “Let’s do this.”
Inside, it’s like reliving both the night that I came here with Juliette and then the one when I snuck in after seeing Tristan hit Duke. I take deep, steady breaths as I look around with wide eyes. Yeah. This is definitely the way I came in with Juliette. I exhale slowly.
My hands shake as we walk down the dark hallway. Mason and Duke are on either side of me, Bear directly behind. I stop midway down the hallway, clutching at their arms. Bear puts his hands tentatively on my shoulders. He leans down, whispering, “We can go if this is too much. We know a little of what happened here. This has to be difficult for you.”
Duke is looking at me out of the corner of his eye. I turn to fully look at him, taking in his profile. I reach up, touching his cheek before I swivel to look at Mason, then twisting to look into Bear’s eyes. “This is for Juliette. I owe her this much. And I can do it if the three of you are with me.” Bear gently squeezes my shoulders as Mason brushes his lips over my temple.
“You can do it, Kin. We’re here.”
Duke finally looks at me and takes my hand. “For Juliette.” He swallows, and we proceed down the hall toward the dark doorway, to the place where I lost my innocence.
We stand quietly for at least a minute while I look around, but the more I see, the harder time I’m having. Everything is the same as it was four years ago. Same tables and chairs in the same configuration. Same bar setup on the far wall. The scent of cigar smoke has permeated the entire room, and it sends me reeling. My chest jerks, and I fight for every fucking breath as they become more and more shallow and harsh.
“Lennon.” Duke appears in front of me, taking my head between his hands to ensure I focus solely on him. “We’re here. I’m right here. We’re not going to let anything bad happen to you.”
I nod. “I feel sick. The cigar smoke that night upset my stomach.” My breath stutters, and I point to one of the tables. “I was over there. The guy I told you about before that brought me a drink? I think it was the bartender.” I press my fingers to my temples, trying to concentrate. My hands shake. I’m no idiot. The drink was drugged. A worrisome thought is tickling at my brain now that I know who was likely here that night, even if I never saw them. The fact that I might know who hurt me is making my head spin.
Mason looks around. “Do you know if you left this room? Doesn’t seem like they’d have assaulted you right here. They’d have wanted somewhere private.”
My eyes dart to a door at the corner of the room that has the appearance of a closet at first glance. “I think it was through there. Maybe? I’m sorry.”
Bear growls, hugging me to his side. “Don’t be sorry. We’ll figure it out. Do you want to take a look?”
After my affirmative nod, we head over, discovering the door leads to a short hallway with two rooms, one on either side. Bear opens a door on the left. There are dingy mattresses on the floor and two portable toilets. “What kind of sick shit is this?” He looks cautiously at me, his eyes widening. “Oh, fuck. Tell me it’s not.”
I shudder, looking around the disturbingly sad room. “Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck.” Mason’s eyes go wide, and he shakes his head, his hand covering his mouth as he looks on. He breathes out two words that have my heart slamming around in my chest. “Sex trafficking?”
Duke’s eyes are disbelieving as he wanders the room, but his jaw is set, absolutely rigid. His discomfort and anger are clear. He backs away from that door and throws open the one on the right.
I gasp and immediately stumble backward, then scramble trying to get away from the room, falling against Mason, where I practically try to crawl inside him. “Oh my god. No. Oh, no.” My breathing is off the charts erratic as I peek back over my shoulder to have another look. The room has weird candles around the periphery and a huge table in the middle. Masks line the walls, hung there like pieces of art. I mumble, “I think this is where it happened. Something about it. I don’t know.” It takes me a minute before I can calm enough to take a few steps into the room, and my eyes scan the area while my stomach churns. I jerk to a stop, falling headlong into weird flashes of memories coming at me.
Though my head is muddled, I understand they’re talking about who would have which of us. But I don’t get it. Don’t understand what they mean by that. The flickering lights do funny things to my hazy, foggy head, so I blink and blink. The man with the scar on his jaw. I fixate on it, even drugged up as I am. I try to touch the long line that runs from his ear to his chin, but he swats my hand away. “Have some more of this, sweetheart.”
“Lennon!” The voices keep calling my name. I frown, shaking my head, then open my eyes, and blink hard. All three guys surround me. I’m laid out on the floor, and frantic, panicked faces hover near mine. “Did I die? I wanted to die.” I tremble all over, goose bumps cover my body. “I’m cold.”
“Lennon, you passed out,” comes Bear’s deep, soothing voice. “Let’s get you off the floor.”
Before he can help me to my feet, I hold up my hand. “I need a sec.”
Bear nods, his concern swamping his features, heavy and thick.
“Fuck, this was a bad idea.” Mason holds his head like he’s trying to keep himself from falling apart.
“Baby, I’m so fucking sorry. We shouldn’t have brought you here.” Duke’s eyes connect with mine, and I startle for a second.
Slowly, I turn my head. “He fucked me. Right there on that table while the rest of them watched. All I remember about him is that he h-had a scar. All along his jaw. The man who raped me.”