Page 23 of Duke
He’s not wrong.
A wave of stubborn energy vibrates from her. “It’s fine if you need time to yourself, but I’m sure as hell not going anywhere until I walk out this door with you.” She lets out a huff as she spins around, giving me her back. “Leave the bathroom door open if you won’t accept help. We don’t need you hurt worse than you already are because you’re being a concussed idiot.” She curls up on the couch, keeping her eyes averted from me.
“The fuck,” I growl and leave Duke and Mason to deal with whatever bitch switch I’ve flipped on our girl.
I don’t stay in the shower long enough to have time to think. I know if I’m late to speak to my father, I’ll be in a worse world of hurt than I already am. Wrapped in a towel, I hurry out of the bathroom. Duke and Mason are in conversation at the table, which stops as soon as I appear. Lennon is still in a ball on the couch right where she was a few minutes ago. Digging around in my bag, I pull out clothes and drop my towel, dressing as quickly I can, only slowing when I have to work my arm up to put it through the sleeve of my shirt. Without thinking, I pull out a bottle of ibuprofen and uncap it. All eyes immediately fly to me, watching hesitantly.
I close my eyes and draw in a breath. “You have the good stuff, remember? I have Motrin. I’m taking four. Is that okay with everyone?” It’s hard to keep the snark out of my voice when I’m shaky and in pain. I hope they know what’s behind my words.
Mason gets up from the table, crossing the room to me. He approaches me cautiously. “We’re just worried about you.” He glances around the room, meeting Duke’s and Lennon’s eyes before he holds out his arms to me in that semi-tentative way that guys have with each other. “Bring it in.”
I let a few beats pass, scraping my teeth over my lip, then allow him to man-hug me while I wrap one arm around his shoulders. “Thanks.” A little bit of the tension begins to ebb.
Duke gets up, and we do the same, only before I can pull completely away, he puts a hand to my cheek, studying me. “This was some bullshit tonight. Lennon’s right. We’re not leaving this place without you. And we’re not letting you face off with your fucking father alone either. Period.” He presses his lips together, then pats my cheek before dropping his hand. “Stella Bella? You coming with us or staying here, baby?”
The shaky breath she drags in is audible, and when I really look carefully, I can see the way her jaw trembles, even as she works it to the side.Thisis my fault, too. “Little Gazelle? I—” Pausing, I wonder how badly I fucked up by letting the disappointment I was feeling in myself make me snap at her. Right now, looking at the sadness in her eyes as she turns her head to look at me, I feel like it’s worse. “Baby, I need you with me.Please.”
She blinks a few times, taking in the regret vibrating from me and nods, then unfolds herself as she stands from the couch. I hold my breath as she approaches me, but then she softly smiles up at me as she takes my hand, lacing her fingers with mine. “Let’s get this over with so we can go home and take care of you.” She lifts our interlocked hands to her mouth, kissing the back of mine.
Well, shit. At least I didn’t completely fuck everything up.
I don’t know which is worse, this walk to my dad’s office or the earlier one to the ring. The warehouse is mostly dark now. It’s turned into a ghost town in the measly fifteen minutes I was given to decompress and clean up. I’m relieved there’s no one else around to spout off about my performance.
“Glad the fucking crowd cleared,” Mason mumbles, voicing my thoughts as we get close to the office the OG Bastards share when business calls. And I guess Iamthe business tonight. Specifically, I’m a failed investment. My stomach churns with apprehension.
“Don’t think too much until we know what the asshole has to say,” Duke grits.
Lennon gives my hand a tug, making me stop right before I knock on the door. “Gideon, you’ve got this. I—” Her penetrating blue eyes flash with something I haven’t seen before, but maybe I’m imagining it. She doesn’t finish, only shakes her head.
My brow furrows, and without thinking, I turn the knob and throw the door open, only to immediately regret it. Morgan sits astride my dad, rubbing her sparkle-covered pussy over his cock, riding him like she’s the star of a dirty rodeo. His face is buried between her bare tits since it’s obvious he’s yanked the small triangles of her top to the side. Her head is thrown back, mid moan as we enter.
“Jesus,” I bark. “You said fifteen minutes.”
Derek—because I can’t even makeDadprocess in my brain so soon after witnessing this fuckery with Morgan—looks up with a practiced leer and pulls her top back into place. “Sorry, darlin’ I’ve got business to attend to.” He then picks her up and sets her on her feet, all while she lets out a whiny noise of exasperation. His eyes meet mine, and he smirks. “I was warming her up for you, son.” He bodily spins Morgan to face us, then slaps her ass to usher her out, which makes her squeak in surprise.
“Derek, what the hell?” I think she must be in a daze from the good time she’d been having on my dad’s dick because she doesn’t seem to have caught on yet just who interrupted her fun. Her face morphs into a frown when it finally registers. She looks from us—specifically me—to my asshole father and back again before she scowls.
“Go on back to your sorority house, Morgan,” my father intones, hardly paying attention to her… because he has his eyes on someone else.
I pull Lennon close to me as Morgan’s face reddens and her eyes flash. “Whatever.” She marches toward us and we part, letting her through. Glancing over her shoulder as she struts past us, she spits at me, “Sorry, I don’t fucklosers.”
My father chuckles at her words and leans back in the seat. “She’s a feisty one.” He wets his lips. “I see you’ve brought your little entourage.” His gaze slithers from one to another of us until it lands on Lennon again. “Sorry my son fucked up, honey. I’m sure that was disappointing to see him get his ass handed to him.”
I can sense the steam about to blow out Lennon’s ears, so I put a hand on her shoulder and squeeze. At first, I think she’s going to bite her tongue, but then she fires at him, “What’s disappointing is the idea that his own flesh and blood would talk about him that way. Especially when you’re the one forcing him into the ring like the disgusting—no,revolting—excuse for a father you are.”
He narrows his eyes on her, looking her up and down. “Yeah, things are making sense now.” I don’t get a chance to puzzle out his cryptic words, though, because he follows with, “Son, you’re turning out to be a worthless piece of shit. Get your priorities straight before you cost me any goddamn more money.”
This time, sensing Lennon’s rising fury, I belt an arm around her, then take my time answering. “That’s all I am to you, isn’t it? A paycheck?”
“Yeah. I won’t deny it. You were a hot fucking mess out there tonight. Pathetic. No help to me at all.”
Lennon struggles against me, huffing out, “None of this would be happening if you weren’t supplying him with illegally obtained prescription drugs.”
My dad’s brow raises, but he doesn’t respond to her at all, like her opinion doesn’t merit a bit of his attention. I didn’t know she knew where I was getting them. Did they all know? As I glance at Mason and Duke, it becomes crystal clear that they aren’t surprised at all by Lennon’s outburst. They’ve figured out the other half of my ugly truth on their own. Humiliation burns through me. My eyes flick to Lennon, who looks like she’s about to pull out her claws and rake them down my father’s face. “Don’t, Lennon. He can think whatever he wants. Old man, I hope you lost your fortune tonight.”
“Watch your mouth. One phone call to the team doctor and you’re fucking done, son.” He steeples his fingers together, smiling at me with a twisted, psychotic grin. “Or I can just stop paying off the tech at the drug testing facility at any time. Fuck you over good.”
The startled intake of breath from Lennon and the glances coming at me from Duke and Mason tell me they hadn’t seen the big picture at all. Just how fucking low I’ve sunk. I bow my head for a second. And fuck. We don’t need him getting ideas in his head.
