Page 62 of Baby Duke

The backhand wrenches my head to the side, causing my teeth to clack together painfully. Mother fucker, that hurt.

I glare at my dad.

"Thought you just said you didn't like to dirty your own hands,father." His title spits out of my mouth scornfully.

His face is twisted in fury, transforming his normally handsome features into something ugly and old. Fuck does it age him.

He swings his other fist, and I don't bother blocking it as he slams it into my ribs. I groan, bending at the waist as if that could somehow mask the pain vibrating through my bones.

"It's about damn time I taught you a lesson, boy! You have had your whole damn life handed to you on a platter, and you repay me by defacingmyname?"

"Well, maybe that is the problem, huh? Maybe you should have raised me to view the world through my own eyes and not yours!" I scream, reveling in the power I feel for standing my ground. It is something I have never done before when it came to him. Vincent Mazzuchelli reigns this household with an iron fist, any who dare step out of line get taken care of. By someone else's hand, apparently.

Dad sends another fist flying, but this time I don’t let it land. No. This time I block it, then follow it through with a punch of my own. The metallic scent of blood bleeds through the room as my father's teeth cut into the lip I've just mashed against them. Before he can retaliate, I move behind him and force him into a headlock he can't escape from. He struggles, spitting and cursing like a fucking psychopath until he finally realizes that I am the stronger man here and he was going nowhere.

"Who is the fucking man of the house now, huh?" I smirk.

"You insolent little fuck! I am your father! Imadeyou! And I can take it all away!"

I laugh. "And ruin the Mazzuchelli name in the process? I don't think so. Now, I want to know everything about the empire I am set to inherit. I want to know what the fuck The Den is and how it makes so much money."

Dad bursts into laughter, strained with madness. Who the fuck was this man?

"Saturday night, my son. Saturday night, 10 pm. I will let my men know to expect you.”

Dad took off after that, screaming at the staff to pack his bags for the week as he fixed his crumpled suit from our scuffle. He left me in the office without bothering to lock it up behind him, leaving me with free reign to investigate. Whether intentionally or not, that was what I planned on doing.

I message the boys, and they arrive shortly after, witnessing Dad's furious departure in surprise and confusion.

"Dude, I have never, and I meannever, seen your dad lose his shit like that! The fuck happened?" Law asks as he and Brett walk through the office doorway, Brett following at a more cautious rate.

"We had a disagreement," I say, sorting through the paperwork on the desk.

Law snorts. "Well, that is fucking obvious. You’re literally sitting in his chair without a care in the world."

"What happened?" Brett cut in, his voice stone cold and serious.

Instead of answering, I toss him the invoices I had been studying last week. He sits down opposite me without a word and starts reading. His frown deepens with each page he eyes.

"What is the Den?" he asks finally, placing the paperwork onto the desk and lining up their edges to keep them in a neat pile.

"The Den?" Law cuts in curiously. Unceremoniously, he picks up the papers and quickly shuffles through them before throwing them carelessly back down. Brett glares at Law before reaching over and neatening the pile again. "Holy shit! That place is raking in the dollars, dude! What is it? A strip club?"

"That is exactly what I plan to find out. Saturday night at ten. You boys with me?"

Law claps his hands together. "Fuck yes! Let's go get down and dirty with some sluts!" Brett and I both glared at him. "What? If the pussy is willing, then so is my cock!"

"We don't even know if itisa strip club," Brett says levelly, looking back down at the business plan for Mazzuchelli's in front of him. He has been a hundred percent focused on the task at hand, his keen eyes picking up on little clues that I had missed and Law hadn't bothered to even look at. "I'm going with an underground drug ring or fight club."

I nod absentmindedly. Anything seems possible at this stage.

For the next hour or so, we run through some plans. Jotting down notes on what we do know about the elusive Den. East and Roe arrived around twenty minutes back, their feminine giggles and chatter echoing down the empty halls.

I had messaged East earlier to let her know that Father was off for business for who knows how long. Looks like she saw the opportunity for rule-breaking and took it without a thought. Vincent was very strict with whom he allowed into his home to influence his only daughter. Theirchatter had died away with the slamming of the back door. I could only assume they had gone to the pool.

The image in my mind of Roe sunbathing in a tiny bikini had my cock throbbing and my mind straying. The guys were getting antsy, too, not that Law could ever sit still for long anyway.

"All right," I sigh. Law leaps to his feet and Brett isn't far behind. "I haven't even said anything yet, and you're both ready to gallop home," I say in exasperation.

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