“Hey, Reesie Piecie. Is it okay if I stop by?”
“Yeah. Is everything okay?” she asked nervously.
“Everything’s fine. I just didn’t want to drop in unannounced in case you and Duke were doing things I’d much rather not know about.”
Reese laughed. “What? Like making another niece or nephew for you?”
“Shut it, Reesie. See you soon,” I said and disconnected before she could say anything else.
As we got closer, I could tell Harper was letting her nerves get the best of her. I placed my hand on her thigh and gave it a light squeeze. “You worried, baby?”
“A little,” she confessed.
“Tell me what you’re worried about. What do you think is going to happen?” I asked.
“I don’t want this to ruin your friendship with my brother,” she quickly answered.
I believed there was truth to her answer, but I didn’t think that was the only thing she was worried about. “What else?”
She chewed on her bottom lip before finally answering me. “I know you two fought when you found out about Duke and Reese. I don’t want you guys to fight again. I don’t handle that kind of violence well. You know, maybe we should wait and do this at the clubhouse or call Phoenix and ask him to come over to Duke’s.”
“Baby, Duke and I didn’t get into a fight because of his relationship with my sister. I beat his ass because I found out he had a wife while he was fucking and impregnating my sister. I don’t have a wife I’ve kept hidden, and you’re not pregnant, so everything should be fine. You’re not pregnant, right?”
She laughed. “No, I’m not pregnant.” She was silent for a few beats before she said, “He’s still going to be upset. He’s very protective of me, and he’s not going to like this one bit.”
“What aren’t you telling me, Harper?”
“Too much to tell you right now,” she said with a sigh. She was right. I had just pulled into the driveway to see Duke and Reese waiting on the front porch.
I squeezed her thigh once more. “Let’s not keep them waiting.”
We exited the car and silently made our way to the porch with Titan glued to Harper’s side. Duke’s arms were crossed, and the scowl on his face was aimed directly at me. Reese, on the other hand, was grinning and glancing back and forth between the two of us and the dog.
“Hey, Harper! Is that your dog?” Reese asked.
Harper’s response sounded meek and timid, nothing I’d ever heard from her before. “Yes, this is Titan. He’s a service dog.”
“He’s beautiful. Can I pet him?”
I glanced at Titan. He focused on what he perceived as a threat, and that was Duke. “Uh, I don’t think that would be a good idea right now, Reesie Piecie,” I said, and darted my eyes to Duke.
Reese followed my gaze and formed her own scowl when her eyes landed on Duke. She glanced back at me, then to Harper, seeming to finally register this was not an average visit. “What’s going on, Carbon?” she hesitantly asked.
I took a few steps forward and suggested, “Maybe we should go inside and sit down.”
“No. Here’s fine. Start talking,” Duke ordered, anger radiating from him.
Duke’s animosity was met with a growl from Titan as he placed his body in front of Harper and kept his eyes on Duke.
The tension was mounting by the second. Focusing my attention on the dog and Duke, I didn’t see what was happening with Harper until it was almost too late.
Reese gasped. “Harper!”
I turned back to see her swaying on her feet, her eyes wide and unfocused. Duke lunged for her, leaving me only a split second to make a decision and I prayed it was the right one. Instead of trying to catch Harper, I went for Duke, taking us to the ground. A flurry of activity was happening around us. Reese was screaming. Titan was barking. Duke and I were rolling across the yard. When we came to a stop, I jumped to my feet and spun toward the girls. Reese was kneeling a few feet away from Harper who was on the ground on top of Titan. I breathed a sigh of relief and made a mental note to get that dog a steak for dinner. He’d used his body to keep Harper from hitting the ground when she fainted.
“What the fuck, man?” Duke snarled.
“He thought you were going to attack her, which means he was going to attack you. I knew if I went for you, he would take care of her,” I explained as I stalked back to Harper.