She swallowed while he stayed quiet for a few moments. When he spoke his voice was tight and low. “I’ve never forced myself on a woman. I don’t need to.”
For some reason, she must have been feeling froggy enough to challenge him. She needed a little more common sense. “Not from what I’ve seen.”
He raised a hand beside her face, and she flinched, but he laid it on a shelf close to her head. “Maybe I should prove myself now.”
He stepped in closer, leaving hardly an inch between them. An invisible force raised her chin, leaving her ridiculously thinking the man had magical powers. What was she doing? Walk away, Takiyah.
His mouth came down. She willed herself to turn her head. A wave of fear came over her that he’d prove himself right and her wrong. To her disgust, she trembled and raised her palms to brush his chest. A hair away from her mouth, he stilled. She had a millisecond to move, but she couldn’t. His lips brushed hers for an instant, and then he dipped around to her ear.
“Should I go on?” he whispered. “Will a little tongue action prove it?”
She smacked him as hard as she could. Pain stung her fingers, but that bastard didn’t even recoil. He just stood there, leaning over her, too damn close and too full of himself. She glared at him, panting from desire and anger.
“Why do you keep coming on to me? It’s obvious you like blonds and pale skin. From the way you strut around here, you don’t lack the confidence to go after Adele or any other woman you want. So what’s your game?”
He was about to respond when her phone buzzed. She dug it out of her pocket and answered when she saw that it was her mom calling from home. “Hey, Ma. What’s going on? You know I’m working my shift.”
“Keen’s not home yet, and I’m getting worried.”
Takiyah gasped. Her stomach knotted in fear. “Did he call?”
“No. I phoned the school, but they said he left a couple hours ago.” Takiyah heard the tremor in her mother’s voice, and her worry tripled.
“Ma, calm down. I’m sure he’s okay. I’m going to go looking for him, but you just try to relax. Your heart doesn’t need the stress.”
Her mother’s voice rose. “How can I relax when my baby is lost?”
“He’s not lost, Ma. He’s just out probably fooling around with his friends, but when I find him, his ass is in trouble. He knows he’s supposed to go straight home after school. I’ll call you when I find him.”
She disconnected the call and started around Duke.
“Anything I can help with?” he asked.
She stopped and looked at him. “You can stay out of my face. Right now I have to think about my son. He’s late from school, and my mom doesn’t know where he is.”
“I’ll drive you.”
“I can drive myself.” She left him standing there and went to find Creed. After she informed him about having to leave, she grabbed her purse from her locker and ran from the restaurant. In a short while, she was driving around near her son’s school.
Takiyah checked every small group of teenagers, hoping to spot her son. The neighborhood where they lived couldn’t be classified as anything but the ghetto. A lot of the houses were run down. Graffiti stained the walls in alleys and sometimes on storefronts, and crime was at an all time high. In fact, she had taken the extra job hoping to be able to move to a better neighborhood in a few months.
Every day, she worried about her son walking home from school and someone messing with him. All they had was each other and her mother. Keen’s father was a decent man but completely unreliable.
After driving around almost forty-five minutes, Takiyah thought she saw a familiar burnt orange jacket in one of the alleys. She found a parking space and hurried into the alley. On any other day, she wouldn’t be caught dead in this area, especially with the sun going down.
She spotted him in a group of boys, and one had his arm wrapped around Keen’s shoulders and was handing him something. Keen reached up to take it, and all Takiyah could think was that Keen was being pressured into taking drugs.
“Keen,” she shouted, and elbowed several of the boys aside to grab him.
“Ma.” His eyes widened. “What are you doing here?”
“That’s my question. What did you just put in your pocket?”
“Nothing.”
She knew a guilty look when she saw one. “Out with it. Now.”
Keen usually obeyed her on the spot because she didn’t play with him, but he hesitated in front of his friends. Her anger rose, and she looked around at the group of boys. They all appeared to be about Keen’s age, maybe a year older. One boy looked about sixteen or seventeen. The innocence was either gone or hidden from every one of them. Angry eyes and bad attitudes met her gaze.
“What are you all doing out here when it’s getting dark? You should be home doing homework.”
“Why don’t you mind your business, lady?” one of them said.
“Yeah, before we make you,” another added.
She put her hands on her hips. “You think I’m scared of you? Keen is my business, and we’re leaving right now.”
The boy who looked to be the oldest stepped forward and grabbed her arm. “He’s not going anywhere.”
Keen pulled Takiyah’s arm to get her out of the boy’s grasp, but the bigger boy held on. Takiyah did everything she could not to show her fear or the ache in the strong grip. This boy could do damage if he wanted to. They all could.
“Leave my mother out of this.” Keen put himself between them. “I’ll just take her home.”
“Out of what?” Takiyah jerked on her arm, but she couldn’t get loose. If she socked the fool, she might be able to get away, but doing that would only teach Keen to handle problems with violence. Starting it herself might escalate the situation. She and Keen couldn’t do a thing if the boys decided to attack them.
“Tell you what, Keen,” the big boy said. “You come talk to me, and your mommy goes home.”
“Okay,” Keen agreed.
“No!” She wrapped a hand around Keen’s arm. He was already taller than her if not thicker, even at thirteen. If he decided to throw off her hold and walk away, she wouldn’t be able to stop him.
“Mind if I cut in on this dance?”
All of them turned to see who was speaking, and Takiyah was shocked to find Duke approaching them calm as he pleased. The bastard had followed her, and she hadn’t even noticed.
Duke reached them and plucked the boy’s hand off Takiyah’s arm as if he flicked away a speck of lint. All the boys went on alert. Duke touched Takiyah’s shoulder and drew her backward. He did the same with Keen, which made her think he’d been watching them for a few minutes before he spoke. Keen looked more like his dad. The only thing she’d given him was a bit of color and the frizzy hair on his head.
“Why don’t you kids get going?” Duke said. She expected him to smile, but his expression was tense and serious.
The biggest boy stepped forward and reached a hand inside his jacket. Duke with his big form blocked her and Keen a little more. His presence was all of a sudden so overwhelming, if he were her enemy right at that moment, she’d cow like a little baby. How did he do that with just a few inches of movement and the set of his jaw?
The boy wavered for a second but then raised his chin in defiance. “Mind your business, old man.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Duke said. “If you’re bluffing, you’re going to get hurt. If you’re not, well, you’ll get the same result.”
No one moved or spoke for a second. Takiyah felt bile in her throat. They had never been in this kind of situation before. She had taught Keen to keep his head down and mind his business. Don’t linger on the street, calling attention to himself. The strategy had worked over the last couple of years with them living in this area after her divorce.
The boy and Duke stared each other down, and then the boy slowly pulled his hand from his jacket. Takiyah tried to push Keen behind her, but he stubbornly refused to move.
When the boy’s hand reappeared, he swung his fist fast and hard at Duke.
Like the badasses in the movies, Duke caught the fist and shoved it back. The boy landed on his ass, and his friends guffawed, calling him a punk. The boy scrambled up off the ground and went at Duke again. Duke stopped him with strong fingers around his wrist and twisted it so that the boy spun around. Duke squeezed his shoulder while holding him prisoner by his wrist.
“Make the right choice, and walk away, kid. You don’t want to scrap with me.”
The boy cried out, and Takiyah grabbed Duke’s arm. “Let him go, Duke. He’s underage.”
“He deserves what he gets when he faces off with an adult.”
She tugged on his arm, but unless he was ready to let go, she wasn’t going to force him. “He gets it. Please, let go.”
Duke gave him a shove, and he stumbled almost hitting the ground again. Accusing eyes turned on Duke. “I’m going to remember this. You better watch your back.”
Duke grinned for the first time. “Bring it on, kid. If you’ve got the balls.”
Takiyah’s head swam. He must be insane. The group of boys ran off, and the three of them were left alone in the alley. She faced Keen and checked him over in the waning light. “Are you okay, Keen? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
Her son had eyes only for Duke. “How did you catch his fist like that? Did it hurt? I bet you’re a great fighter, aren’t you?”
Duke was all relaxation now, stuffing his hands into his pockets and grinning. “I do okay.”
Takiyah grabbed her son’s jacket front and tugged. “Let’s go. We’re having a conversation when we get home. March your butt to the car!”
“Ma, you don’t have to get so upset. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Not a big deal? Don’t… I can’t… Just please, Keen, get in the car. I need some time before I talk to you.” She made sure he was settled before she started around to the driver side. Duke seemed to be waiting for a gushing thanks, but as far as she was concerned, he could wait the rest of his life.
“I’ll follow you home,” he offered when she said nothing.
“I don’t need you to follow me. I didn’t ask for your help earlier.”
“So you could have handled what happened in the alley by yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Beautiful and a good fighter? Nice combo.”
“Everything isn’t solved by throwing fists.”
“I wasn’t aware I’d thrown a punch.”
“You know what I mean. It’s obvious you like trouble. Just stay away from my son and me. We don’t need you, Duke. I told you, all I want to do is handle my own business and live my life. Keen and I have been fine all this time, and he’s usually a good, obedient boy. So thanks, but no thanks. Good night.”
She climbed into her car and drove off, leaving him standing there in the street. Maybe he wasn’t so bad since he had helped them out, but she wouldn’t allow him to make a habit of it. She and Keen would be fine no matter what.
Chapter Four
Creed frowned down at his son and pinched the edge of the diaper with two fingers. Duke thought he would pass out at any second. “You’re looking a little green around the gills, cuz.”
“Shut the hell up, and help me with this.” Creed held out the diaper, but Duke raised his hands in defense.
“No way. He’s your son.”
Creed gagged a couple times. “How can he be so tiny and smell so bad? When is Shada coming back?”
“Come on, bud. Don’t you want to do a good job so she’ll be proud of you?”
“I’d accept her nagging me all day and night if I didn’t have to smell this.”
Duke watched him bathe his baby while he leaned against the doorjamb. Creed had ordered Shada to take a break and go shopping with her sisters-in-law. His cousin had bragged that he could look after their son for once because he had been helping her care for the baby ever since he was released from the hospital. Duke thought Creed Jr. was still really small, no bigger than a child’s doll, but he seemed to be doing fine. Creed was another matter.
“Weren’t you crowing about him the other day to the kitchen staff?”
“I wasn’t crowing, but even if I was, look at him. He’s perfect, and he looks like a Marquette.”
Duke dared to move closer and peered into the tub. Creed had laid the baby in his own green tub that was shaped like a whale. His big hands moved carefully as he handled the baby. “He looks like a peanut.”
Creed growled with offense. “He’s beautiful.”
“Well, he’s got a lot of hair at least.”
“You won’t be so critical when you have your own.”
Duke shook his head. “No way. I have no desire to tie myself down with kids. I’ll enjoy my mini-cousins and leave it at that. I hear Talicia and Stefan are trying.”
Creed frowned. “Yeah, but no luck so far. Never mind about them. When are you going to settle down? That stunt you pulled last week…”
Duke shrugged. “I helped an old lady.”
“Don’t give me that. What really happened, Duke?”
“The usual.”
“Like you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong?”
“Sounds familiar.”
Creed finished with the bath and wrapped his son in a towel to carry him to his room. Because he didn’t have much else going on at the moment, Duke tagged along. He dropped into a chair near the window and stretched his legs out. Creed cooed to his son while he dressed him. Duke scratched the back of his head. Would having a child really change him?
“Trouble finds you,” Creed said. “No matter where you go. You were thrown out of the army. Now every other week I have to bail you out of jail. When are you going to be responsible? You’re what thirty-three?”
“You wish I was younger than you.”
Creed snarled at him. “A year! Anyway, you need to learn some responsibility, settle down—get your own damn house.”
“Yours is so comfortable.”
Creed ground his teeth. “This is not a joking matter, Duke. When I’m done with you, no one is going to be there to bail you out.”
“I never asked you to help me.”
“You crashed Damen’s wedding.”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t crying out ‘help, help’ when I did it.”
Creed might have cracked a smile, but it disappeared in an instant. “I know you’re a good man, but you’re also reckless. You don’t need to take on every lost cause.”
Duke thrust to his feet and moved to stare out the window. “Drop it, will you? I am what I am, and no one is going to change me.”
“What about Takiyah?”
Duke stiffened. “What?”
His cousin stood, holding the baby against his chest. “I’m not asking if you think she’ll change you. I’m asking when you’re going to stop playing games with her. She’s not your type of woman.”
“Hey, I thought you would be the last person to block me from dating a woman of a different race.”
“Her race has nothing to do with it. I’m talking about an intelligent woman, someone who’s serious and trying to make a living for her and her family. Every time I’ve seen you with a woman, she’s of a certain caliber, women who are just as irresponsible as you are.”
“Don’t worry, cuz. Takiyah knows I only want her friend, and Adele is definitely my type.” For some reason, an odd sensation started up in Duke’s chest. He recalled the kiss and the way he’d come on to Takiyah in the storeroom. At no time had he thought of Adele while he had Takiyah cornered. In fact, the way his body reacted to Takiyah shocked the hell out of him. He’d realized before then and after, he couldn’t stop chasing her. For that reason alone, he stuck with his original claim, that he wanted Takiyah to get Adele to see him. The idea that he would go to such lengths or even use another woman was ludicrous, but he wasn’t ready to examine what was really going on with him.
“Leave her alone,” Creed said.
“That’s an order.”
Duke’s eyebrows rose, and he smirked. “I didn’t know you could order me around in my personal life.”
“This isn’t about your personal life. You harass her at the restaurant, and so far she tolerates you. When the wind changes, she’ll be filing charges. Besides that, you ran out after her the other day without a word to me. I had to hear it from Basil, and you didn’t come back until almost closing! Do you assume I’ll put up with you no matter how you act just because we’re family?”
“I don’t think that at all.”
“Well then act like it, damn it. I’m losing my patience with you, Duke.”
Duke folded his arms over his chest and went back to gazing out the window.
“You think you have a permanent get out of trouble card with the family since you helped Talicia and Stefan?”
“I didn’t do what I did to gain favor.” He glanced at Creed. “She’s doing all right now, huh? Shada likes her?”
Creed smirked. “I wouldn’t call it like. They did go shopping together with Heaven. Shada is tolerant of her for Stefan’s sake, but…”
“But what?”
“Come on. He wants a bottle. Let’s go downstairs.”
Duke followed his cousin out of the room and downstairs. Creed’s house had six bedrooms. He used two for his family, although the baby stayed in Creed and Shada’s room at the moment. Pete, Creed’s bodyguard used another room, and Duke occupied a third. Thus far, he had seen no reason to get his own place and rattle around in it by himself. While he liked to call himself a lone wolf, and when he entertained women, he did so at their house, he also enjoyed family. Since reconnecting with the brothers, he felt reluctant to go off again. Marquette’s restaurant held a certain charm that kept him going in to work, even if it was for a menial task like waiting tables.
They walked into the kitchen, and Duke grabbed a cold beer from the fridge and dropped into a chair. He twisted off the top and chugged half the bottle. “So is there a possible blow up between Shada and Talicia?”
Duke Page 3
