Page 4 of Bad Duke

ALEX

I sit in my office with the heavy bass vibrating the walls surrounding me. My eyes are fixed on the ring I’m holding that belonged to my mother.

“Be a better man than he is.” I hear her voice in my head and see her smile when I close my eyes.

Ever since I left the estate earlier today, I’ve thought about what my father said. For the past ten years, I’ve lived my life exactly the way I’ve wanted. No titles, no responsibilities. I haven’t even allowed myself to think about having to go back there.

Tonight’s a big night, this place is reopening after a massive renovation and there's been a huge hype built around it for months. I should be downstairs, showing my face and giving the people what they came here for. Everyone wants to party with the bad boy who fell off his noble perch. Almost all the headlines I’ve read about myself are nowhere near true. I don’t even pay attention to the kiss and tell stories anymore because half the time, I can’t even remember if they’re true or not. Maybe my old man's right. Maybe, this life I’ve been living is all one big distraction from who I really am and what I’m supposed to do.

A loud knock at the door has me placing the ring back in the box and shoving it in my top drawer. Patrick is the largest of my men and when he steps inside, he’s looking very pleased with himself.

“We found him, boss.” His smile is dark, just like his fucking soul and I can see he’s already planning in that sick head of his how Danny and his friend are going to suffer.

“Where is he?” I clench my fists. After the day I’ve had I’m feeling inclined to have a little fun with the asshole myself.

“Levi’s pulled the car up down the alley beside the staff entrance, he’s got him in the boot of his truck.”

“Well, have him brought up here.” I give him his order and smile to myself when he leaves to see it through. Ever since my meeting with my father this morning I’ve been on edge, getting some answers out of Danny Poulton should help take that edge off.

I pour myself something strong while I wait for my men to drag him up here, using the staff corridors and staircases to avoid being seen by all the people who are out to have a good time tonight. The door eventually bursts open and I slowly turn around to face the thieving, little bastard.

“Ahhh, Danny boy.” I smile at the helpless wreck that gets thrown into the room, watching as he stumbles across the floor towards my desk.

“You’ve been tough to find. If I didn’t know better I’d say you were hiding from me.” I tilt my head and take in his fear while his head moves side to side.

“Take a seat, I’m sure you want to explain your absence to me.” I smile politely at the piece of shit while gesturing to the chair on the other side of my desk. He slowly drags himself up off the floor, cradling his rib cage, and refusing to make eye contact with me.

That’s never a good sign when you're hoping one will tell the truth.

“So, let's just go over the last time we saw each other. I recall trusting you with a very valuable delivery, one that I’m told didn't quite reach its location, whole.” I remind him, noting how his hands are shaking and his eyes are fixed on his knees.

“Do you want to offer me an explanation?”

Danny shakes his head and starts to weep under pressure.

“C’mon, Danny, I don’t want your tears. I want answers.” I lean forward resting my elbows on my desk.

Again he shakes his head and it makes all those weak tears he’s crying fall into his lap.

“Do you want to explain to me how your brother managed to afford the best lawyer in the district to clear his ass of those rape charges he had over him?” I wait for the useless fuck in front of me to give me something and grow the bollocks to look me in the eye.

“SPEAK!” I yell, so loud that it shocks the two men who brought him to me. It’s not often I raise my voice. But tonight I have other things on my mind and I don’t wish to waste my time on low-life cunts like this one.

“I needed the money, Alex. If he’d have gone down on those charges you know what would have happened to him, and I swear it wasn’t true. That girl… She lied.” He finally looks up at me, with red-rimmed eyes that are begging me to understand. I nod calmly back at him because I understand the predicament he was in. I know about the girl Joel Poulton’s been accused of raping, I also know where Joel was the night it was supposed to have happened.

“That block you took had a street value of over £20,000.” I remind him.

“And we were gonna replace it. Jamie took his 5k share, I took mine to help my brother and we put the rest on a fight. We were gonna buy another block with the winnings before the buyer collected. We thought we had ten days,” he explains as if that makes all this okay.

“Replace it with what? You know I don’t distribute shit, Danny. And who in their right fucking minds puts their lives on the result of a fucking fight?” I slam my hand hard at my desk and make him jump.

“We were told it was fixed. Jamie’s dad?—”

“Oh, right, Jamie’s dad.” I lift up the file I’ve got on my desk and take a look at Danny's accomplice.

“Jamie Adams. I stare at the mug shot DCS Winslow sent me when I asked him to look into the guy for me. “Father’s out of jail on probation, he seems like the kind of man to put your faith in,” I hit back sarcastically. When I see the shame that’s on the guy’s expression I decide to cut him some slack and get this over with.

“I understand why you needed the money, but I can’t have men stealing from me and let it go unpunished.” This idiot is Trent’s cousin, and I feel a duty, as his friend, to go a little easier on him. But I did not get to where I am today by letting shit like this slide.

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