Page 9 of Duchess (Royal Harlots MC: National New York Chapter #1)

Duchess

T he last I heard was that Rhea Barton had been managing the famous Rouge Roulette, a high-end strip club located in Downtown Los Angeles.

Roulette was the name given to her by her Uncle Derek Masterson, one of the founding members of the Hellbound Lovers MC.

Her father was Nick Barton, President of the HLMC.

Let’s just say, my girl was well-connected.

The name fit her. Knowing Rhea was like playing Russian Roulette.

You just never knew when she'd go off. She'd been my best friend all through college.

We'd been brought together by fate, and the sound of a revving V-Twin engine turned us both the fuck on.

She was a business major while I majored in finance, which meant we had several classes together.

When she heard I was brought up in the Royal Bastards MC, she was all about knowing every detail of my life.

We had that in common: the motorcycle club life, and the dream of creating our own club one day.

It wasn't a far-fetched dream, just one that never came to be when we parted ways.

We had been inseparable until I met Alan two years ago.

Things went sour then, and I hadn't heard from her since.

I could only pray Rhea wouldn't reject me.

I couldn't do what I had planned, without her.

It was a reach. But maybe, just maybe, I could make her dreams come true.

Cheesy right, but fuck did I hope it worked.

As I entered the bar area I smiled. The Rouge Roulette was just how I imagined it. An old Russian restaurant turned into a strip club. Staggered stages were placed along the front of the bar while more private stages rose above the floor connected to private rooms along a staircase.

The place smelled of money and booze as dollar bills floated onto the stage while a pretty little thing swirled around on the pole showing her ass to every seedy businessman who wanted a taste.

I smirked, knowing they'd need to pay high dime for one of these girls to spread their legs for them, let alone fuck them.

"Can I get you anything, Sweetheart?" The young bartender with the light green eyes winked at me and I smiled at him seductively.

"Actually," I leaned in, whispering, as if telling him a secret. "You wouldn't happen to know where Rhea Barton is, would you?"

He pointed to the top of the stairwell. “You’re welcome to go on up but she’s not seeing anyone today.”

“We’ll see about that,” I whispered, as I made my way up the winding staircase.

At the top of the steps stood two bodyguards.

They barely looked at me as I approached, but I could feel them stiffen on either side of me.

Testing their limits, I reached for the door and one of them reached out to me, placing his hand around my wrist. They were quick to react which made me think they’d be perfect for what I had in mind.

“Can we help you, ma’am?”

Except for that. I was just called ma’am by a man old enough to be my father. I sighed in frustration. How I hated that word. “Can you please tell Rhea that an old friend is here to see her?”

“What old friend?” The other man leaned in, finally assessing me.

“Name’s Stephanie Winters.”

The door flew open and on the other side of it stood a beautiful bombshell of a woman. She’d gotten curvier since the last time I saw her, and she’d perfected the art of makeup, but she was still my best friend.

“Hands off her,” she stated to the guy at my right before those big hazel eyes stared right back at me.

I smiled awkwardly as I stood there in my leather jacket and ripped jeans. Not much different than when she’d left me. Suddenly, she engulfed me in a big bear hug.

In a whisper only I could make out she said, “Where the hell have you been?”

Grabbing me by the hand, she dragged me into her corner office and sat me down. The space made me smile. It was extremely contemporary with white couches and a white shaggy rug where a giant silver Lab lay staring at us both.

I stared back at his big hazel eyes, and she laughed. “Don’t mind Legend, he won’t bother you.”

She handed me a brandy glass and smiled. “Not unless I tell him to.”

I rolled my eyes and continued to make my way around her office, detailing her large glass desk and leather chair. The office looked right out onto the floor where you could see the dollar bills flying.

Roulette came and stood beside me. “Girls get all they make on stage. I get what comes in at the door and the bar. Their job is to make sure those men spend money at that bar, or the private lounges.”

“Looks like you’ve got a good deal here.”

“It’s alright. It’s all owned by the Hellbound Lovers. My Uncle helped me purchase it.”

“I’m sure he’s thrilled with what you’ve done with the place.”

She laughed. “Not much he can do. It makes money and they get a cut. It's also a safe haven. Anyone who steps on Hellbound Lovers territory gets the benefits of not getting killed.”

I nodded. “Good deal.”

I sat down across from her on the couches and set my brandy glass down on the pure black concrete coffee table that sat in the center of the room.

“Why are you here, Stephanie?” Roulette was good at being blunt and addressing the elephant in the room.

I paused for a moment before responding. “I need your help.”

She frowned and scooted up in her chair. “What’s wrong?”

“Alan got himself killed nearly twenty-four hours ago.”

“Well, shit. Always knew he was bad news.”

I gave her a stern look. “Thanks.”

“He may have been bad news but he left me with a shit ton of money. Money that technically isn’t mine. Money I’m pretty sure he’d been skimming off the top from jobs he did for the Turks.”

“Fuck.”

I nodded. “But there’s someone else. Alan was working with a man; Obsidian calls him Killian. He’s offered the Duchess a deal to set up a secured pick-up location to get rid of the product, in exchange for help in getting the Turks off our ass.”

“The Duchess?”

“It's a code name I go by when handling money for the Turks in the black market. I didn’t want to use my real name although Alan shit on my privacy when he gave security my entire identity when I first started.. Let’s just say he fucked me over in more ways than I could count.

I now have to sell a stolen Turkish shipment worth millions that Alan hid in a warehouse in Los Angeles.

I need to do this without the Turks knowing, without the cops finding us out, and I need to do it quietly and quickly before time runs out.

I get these clients what they paid for, and I get my freedom.

But I can’t do it without your connections. ”

“Motherfucker!”

She stood and began to pace. “How much money?”

“A lot of money.”

“And what are you going to do with all that money?”

“I haven’t thought that far into it yet.”

“What was in the shipment?”

“Motorcycles. Top of the line.”

“Holy shit,” she looked back at me. “Harleys?”

I nodded. “Probably. I spotted a couple Cyclone Roadsters, some Ducati, a StreetFighter.”

She turned to me. “That bike goes for nearly eleven mil!”

“I told you. It's a lot of money. Whatever we sell, we get a cut.”

“How the fuck did he get his hands on those?”

“Alan moved shipments for the Turks. I’m assuming their connections were used. All I know is he has that stolen product which is probably why they put a bullet in him. And I’m next if they find out I know where it is and haven’t handed it back to them.”

“If I do help you, what’s to say they won’t put a bullet in me?”

“I can't guarantee your safety, Rhea. But I can make you disappear after.”

“This is beyond…”

“Crazy, I know. Listen, I’m good with money, Rhea. And Obsidian is amazing at what she does in hacking systems. She could give us a whole new identity. A whole new life.”

“Who says I need that, Stephanie?”

“You will if you want to ride with me.”

She stopped pacing and looked down at me. “Ride?”

“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. You remember the Royal Harlots?”

She smiled. “The club name we’d chosen to use. Yeah, I remember it.”

“I’m doing it, Rhea. I’m gonna build the club and I want you to be my VP in all this.”

“Are you crazy?”

“You know you’re not the first one to ask me that in the last twenty-four hours.”

“You’re going from the Mafia to God knows what type of business…”

“I haven’t figured that one out just yet.”

“Ha!” She guffawed, raising her arms in exasperation. She shook her head. “I can’t do this. You need to leave now.”

I leapt out of the seat and rushed over to her. “Come on, Rhea. This can’t be all you want in life?”

“It’s what makes me money.”

“We can have so much more,” I whispered to her, almost begging her.

“Why me?”

“Because you’re the only person in this world who had my back once. The only person I fucking trust with my life. I was just too stupid to see it and I fucked up. I'm here to make amends.”

“Your father is going to flip the fuck out when he realizes his daughter created a motorcycle club.”

I moved my head side to side in agreement. “He may, and the Harlots may just look like a means to escape, but it’s not. We’ll make our world. Either way, I need a business and I need your business ideas.”

“Bitch, is that all you want from me?”

“You’ve got the business mentality; I’ve got the numbers. What more can you ask for?”

“First, what are we going to do with that shipment?”

“So you’re in?”

“I’m probably as crazy as you are, but I’m willing to hear you out.”

“Okay,” I shook my head, excitedly.

Rhea thought for a moment and then sighed. “You can count my uncle out, he won’t buy hot items like that. What about your connections?”

I shrugged and then something clicked. I looked up at her and raised a brow. She stared at me and without me saying a word, she realized what I was thinking and began to shake her head.

“It’s a bad idea, Steph.”

I bit down on my lip. “You know he’s the one resource we have who may be interested in buying.”

“Making deals with someone like that could go sour fast.”

“Rancid is a piece of shit who will get his hands on anything of value, Rhea. Colt could convince him to buy it.”

“You haven’t talked to your brother since that shit went down.”

“I know. And as much as I hate him for what he did to Jameson, and to my father and his good name, he is still my brother. And goddamn it he owes me.”

“Are you going to tell your dad?”

I gave her a side glance. “He’ll kill me.”

She nodded in agreement. “Yeah, but at least you could give him a heads up on what your plans are. Just in case.”

“I’ll talk to him eventually. Right now, we have our priorities. I’ll get in contact with Colt, and we’ll figure it out. For now, handle your business here.”

I got up to leave when I remembered the most important thing. “Hey, do you think the HLMC could do me a favor?”

“It doesn’t hurt to ask.”

“There’s a little boy. Obsidian’s little brother. They have her threatened with killing him if she leaves. Is there a way they could help?”

Roulette nodded. “They don’t play when it comes to children. I’m sure they could help in that area. Let me make a few calls and I’ll keep you posted.”

“Thanks, babe.”

“Oh, and Steph,” she called out to me as I waited for the elevator.

“Yeah?”

“Watch your back! I’m not going to your funeral, bitch.”

I laughed as I got on the elevator. She was a crude bitch, but I loved her.