Jim nodded. “You know, I’m not an expert on things, but I do know a lot about self-destruction. Keep pushing it, Maggie, and watch where you end up.”
With that, Jim walked away. I heard a few doors slam shut.
I was frozen for a few seconds.
“What was that about?” Maggie asked.
“I think that was Jim’s way of saying he likes you.”
“Interesting,” Maggie said. “He’s sort of become a distraction for me. I like stopping by here. Not just because you’re paying me.”
“You make it sound like I’m whoring you out to my brother.”
Maggie snorted. “When you put it that way…”
“Jim is just so…”
“It’s okay. I get it. I see it. I can navigate those waters.”
“You’re braver than me then,” I said.
A heavy pound echoed through the house. It sounded like someone was trying to smash in the front door.
I jumped and ran from the kitchen. I saw a hulking figure through the frosted glass of the front door.
When I opened the door and saw Duke standing there, I gasped. I expected him to call or something before just showing up. Or maybe just never showing up again. Even if he was still burning in my mind.
“Duke.”
“Belle, we need to talk right now.”
Behind me, Maggie said, “Everything okay?”
Duke looked beyond me, curling his lip. “Do you have something to do?”
I looked back and nodded to her.
“I’ll go check on Jim,” Maggie said.
I pulled the door shut behind me and followed Duke to the steps. He sat down and pointed to the spot next to him. Last time we sat on the steps together we made out for hours.
That was a different life.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
He looked at me. “What do you do for a living now?”
“Me? I work for a real estate developing company. Why?”
“Ah, shit,” Duke said. He jumped up and down the steps. He turned and looked at me. “You’re in trouble, sweetie.”
My heart sank. “I’m in trouble? For what?”
“The house and land here,” Duke said. “That’s what your parents started with, right?”
“Yeah.”
“They bought more land?”
“Yeah. Is that a problem?”
“No. Selling it is.”
“Selling land?” I asked. “Nobody sold land. My parents bought it all wanting me and Jim to build houses here. They had dreams for more kids too…”
“That never happened,” Duke said.
“No. It didn’t. My mother died. Remember?”
“Shit, sweetie, I’m not here to dive into the past. There’s a piece of land that touches yours out back. Did your father buy that?”
“Yes,” I said. “My father bought everything touching around here.” I slowly rose up. “Why?”
“Fuck,” Duke yelled. “You can’t lie to me right now, sweetie. If you lie I can’t protect you.”
“Lie to you about what?”
Duke walked toward the porch. His hands touched my waist. I was eye level with him as he stood on the ground, me on the steps.
“The piece of land behind you was sold to someone that’s no good for the club.”
“Impossible. I never signed a thing.”
“Sweetie, I saw it go down and I got a confession.”
“A confession?”
“One of the guys told me everything I needed to know.”
The way Duke said that made shivers run through my body. I didn’t want to know how he got information out of people.
“I don’t know…” I shook my head.
“The company you work for,” Duke said. “Could someone have forged papers? Something that could help you?”
“Impossible,” I said. “When Dad died, everything was split up. It was fifty-fifty between me and Jim. All my deeds and paperwork are with me. Nobody could do anything without me. Same for Jim.”