“About Duke,” he said, as if I should know what he meant.
“What about Duke?”
“He was missing.”
Was Carbon only capable of uttering one sentence at a time? I inhaled deeply and tried to keep my tone from showing my frustration, “Was missing. So he’s not now?”
“No, he’s in the hospital right now, fighting for his life.”
“What?!?” I screeched.
“Yeah, Reese heard about him missing last night and was pretty upset, so she came to hang out in my room. She gets like that when things like this happen because of what happened to our family.” I had no idea what happened to their family but it wasn’t the time to ask. “Early this morning, Duke’s sister called to tell Phoenix that Duke was at the hospital having emergency surgery. They said it was bad, but I don’t know any more than that. When Reese found out, she cried herself to sleep in my room.”
“Oh, wow, um, maybe I’ll just go check on her,” I hesitantly suggested. I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to go into Carbon’s room. These bikers had a lot of rules and I hadn’t learned them all yet.
“Nah, let her sleep. She’ll come out and talk when she’s ready. If you try to push her, she will shut down and I’ve seen that shit last for months before.”
“Okay, if you think that’s best.” I didn’t really agree with him, but he knew her better than I did. “Is there anything I can do to help with stuff with Duke or things around here?”
Carbon looked at me and raised an eyebrow, “Can you cook?”
“Um, yeah, I can. I’m not a gourmet chef or anything, but I can make some decent meals. Why?”
“Because the prospects we have now can’t cook for shit. I swear people in prison eat better than this crap they’re serving us. You start cooking for us and as long as it is better than this shit, I’ll make sure you get paid.”
“Oh no, I don’t want any money. I’ve been staying here for free. I’ll be happy to cook.” Plus, it would give me something to do. If Reese was in one of her moods and Dash was busy, which happened more often than one might think, I was left to myself. I enjoyed reading and being able to watch whatever I wanted on television whenever I wanted, but I was used to being active and busy. I needed something to do that would either be physically challenging or productive in some way. Cooking for a large number of bikers would likely be both.
“Congrats, you’re the new Blackwings MC Chef. Make whatever you want and if we don’t have the stuff you need stocked, make a list and I’ll have the prospects go get it.”
“How many people do I need to cook for?”
“Usually around 20 for breakfast and 30-40 for lunch and dinner. If we are having a party or another club is visiting, the numbers will be a little different, but you’ll know ahead of time,” he explained.
“Okay, I’ll be in the kitchen getting started.”
“Better you than me, kid.”
***
Hours later I had made lunch for 30 bikers, cleaned and organized the kitchen, made the longest grocery list in the history of grocery lists for the prospects, and was almost finished putting away the groceries when I heard footsteps coming up behind me.
I turned quickly to find a haggard-looking Dash striding toward me. “You okay?” I asked.
He shook his head and continued toward me. When I was within arm’s reach, he slid his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me to him. His other hand went to the small of my back and his lips pressed against mine. He groaned and held me tightly to him while he kissed me with a ferocity I had not expected.
Finally, he pulled back, leaving me a bit dazed and unsure of my ability to stand independently. I placed my hand on his cheek and caressed it softly, “What happened?”
He pressed his forehead against mine and sighed. “Can’t say much. Club business, but Duke is in the hospital and it’s bad.”
“I know.”
He leaned back and furrowed his brows, “You know?”
“Carbon told me Duke was missing last night and was found this morning at the hospital having emergency surgery. How is he? Is he going to be okay?”
“Don’t know, darlin’. He’s in a medically induced coma right now. A machine is breathing for him. He was stabbed. It’s fucking bad.”
I gasped, “Someone did that to him? Why?”
