Chapter 37: The Tying Up Of Loose Ends

The Penthouse Suite, The Silverwire Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada....

Duko opened his eyes to find Rae sitting up in bed watching him sleep. He was confused for a few moments before recalling what had occured the day before. He had hoped that he had reassured her that everything would be alright, but she didn't appear to have been convinced. He smiled while she sat with her arms folded across her chest and her red hair wild on top of her head. She wasn't in the mood for jokes and narrowed her eyes at him anyway. Duko chuckled again pulling her into his kiss as she pretended to fight him off before returning it not in the least over her annoyance from earlier. Duke sat back against the pillows on the bed and looked her right in the eyes. It was clear that she had something to say and he was willing to listen, she was quite feisty when she'd been upset and it made her all the more endearing.

"What's got you in a mood?" he asked already knowing the answer.

"I would like us to start seriously considering where we are going to live." she said. "As nice as this penthouse is, it's not home and with the way things are going now I believe we need to start trying to figure out where that is."

Duko nodded in agreement.

"I suppose that's your call." he replied catching her off guard. "Pick any state or city it doesn't matter to me so long as you're happy with the choice."

Rae couldn't believe what she was hearing.

He was letting her choose where they were going to live and she didn't have to twist his arm about it?

"You're letting me choose?" she said still stunned by the implication.

"I don't see why not, I ain't much of a home choosing person...mostly on the road since I was sixteen and the military from there...afterwards I just kept living on the road." said Duko as he awaited her response.

"Well..." began Rae. "What if...I wanted to live in New Jersey?"

"Then New Jersey it is." replied Duko never taking his eyes off her. "You just say the word Mrs. Lovell and I'll get us squared with Costa and we'll be off but there's a stop I wanna make along the way."

Rae looked at him curious as to what this stop pertained to.

"My old man lives in Cedar Springs Colorado, I gotta stop in while we're passing through and see about him." said Duko with a serious expression. "He and I aren't too good with speaking these days, but he's family and he has a right to know that he's got a new daughter in law."

Rae was overjoyed with the news and it quickly melted away her initial rage. She couldn't help herself, launching into Duke's waiting arms and kissing him as he returned her kiss with a bit of intensity of his own. He pulled her body closer to his own inhaling her natural scent while the full brunt of her weight rested on him.

"Rae." he said as she rested her head against his chest.

She seemed at peace with the decision to move to New Jersey, to finally have a home for the first time in her life. Rae was even more pleased that her new husband was eager to show her off to her new father in law.

"Do you think your father is going to like me?" she asked considering the fact that there was still the vast difference in their respective ages despite the legality of their union.

"My only interest is in informing him of the addition to the family." replied Duko not at all bothered by the possibility of his father being upset by the turn of events. "Think of it as more of a courtesy than seeking his approval, he lost that privilege a long time ago."

Rae sighed.

She did wonder what kind of life her husband had when he'd been her age. He spoke a bit about leaving home at sixteen himself and she wondered if that was as much a disaster for him as it had been for her.

Duko kissed Rae on the top of the head and continued to hold her to him.

"I've got some business to finish up and money to collect before we head out." he said. "I suggest you grab something to eat and shower before we hit the road, this is the last time we'll have to see this place."

While Rae didn't like the idea of him still dealing with Dan Costa, she knew it was only to collect their money so they can hit the road. She'd been looking forward to their trip, just not having to endure being on his motorcycle for the duration of said trip. Duko smirked knowing that she'd been adversed to the idea of getting back on his bike, but she was willing to do so if it meant they finally got a home.

Duko kissed her once more and watched as she climbed off the bed and made her way toward the bathroom. He stretched and yawned before getting to his feet taking note of the damage he'd done to the bedding the previous night. The sheets were shredded quite a bit and the damage to both the wall and the headboard was interesting to note as well. He slicked back his messy dark hair and went over toward the mini fridge popping open a can of ice cold beer and grabbed the T.V. remote.

He took a few moments to flip through the channels as the news once more spoke about the ongoing investigation into the recent string of vicious maulings and there had been new victims on the list of the dead. Duko sipped his beer and sat at the edge of the bed unsure of what to make of the recent attack as he hardly remembered much about the previous night. There were vivid flashes and a few screams, but nothing that couldn't have been attributed to his PTSD from his combat days.

Duko finished off his beer and made his way toward the bathroom hearing the rushing of the water as Rae bathed in peace until the hulking brute of a man in the form of her husband came strolling into the bathroom letting out the heated steam when he opened the door and stood over the toilet bowl.

Rae could hear amid the rushing water that her Duko was urinating and smirked as she imagined him putting on a show while doing it. He finished up and slipped into the shower right along with her. She gasped when she felt his rough calloused hands move along her water slick waist and she felt the tell tale sign of his arousal when his enormous appendage brushed up against the back of her thighs. He took in the scent of her soaked red hair and kissed her softly on the top of the head.

Rae closed her eyes enjoying the feeling of being in the presence of someone that actually loved her and cared for her well-being. It was a good feeling, one that she would cherish always as she turned to soap up her body as Duko took it upon himself to wash her back and kiss her neck at the same time.

It brought a smile to Rae's face to have some assistance which prompted her to return the favor. She lathered up a wash cloth and began soaping up her husband's chest and abs loving the feel of them as she continued to smile as he allowed her to complete her task. It didn't escape her notice that Duke was quite an attractive man from head to toe and it seemed to please her all the more to bath him knowing that he now belonged to her.

Duko smirked knowing all too well what she'd been thinking as she small soap covered hands moved along his body. He closed his eyes enjoying the simplicity of her touch and the intensity of her focus. He had never felt so close to anyone in his life, least of a young woman he hardly knew but there was something about her, something that made him feel as if they'd been together for ages.

After a bit of a repeat of soaping each other up and rinsing off respectively, both Duko and Rae exited the shower to get dressed and get on with their various tasks for the day. Rae was all set packing up everything. She attempted to hand Duko his silver dog tags, but he refused them telling her to wear them and she slipped them around her neck as she ordered breakfast from room service for the final time.

Duko got dressed, his usual attire consisting of dark jeans and a white t-shirt this time around with the same heavy black boots and black leather jacket he favored. His hair was still slick from the shower and combed back despite it's length. He put on his sunglasses and swiftly exited the suite before Rae could inquire as to what he'd been up to.

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The Silverwire Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada....

Duko cornered Dan Costa just outside his office as he attempted to enter the elevator. He had not been too thrilled about The Caballero Associates having shown up at his room and putting their hands on him. Dan being fearful of the group had directed them to Duko as a person of interest, but found himself being slammed into a nearby wall via the angry Duko whom held him by the collar with strength unheard of.

"You fucking weasel." growled Duko narrowing his eyes at Dan whom had been trembling and attempting to keep from wetting his pants as he dangled off the ground.

"D-Duke...I...I panicked...I didn't know what I was doing..." explained Dan trying to reason with his very angry former associate.

"Shut up, you were saving your own ass and sniveling like the coward you always were." growled Duke still evidently enraged. "Give me my money swine and we'll call it square."

Dan stopped struggling seeing that there was a way to reason with Duko after all.

"I-I got it in the office..." he said as Duko let him down long enough to get to his feet and make his way toward the door.

Costa was a lot of things but stupid wasn't one of them. He made no sudden attempts to anger his associate any further and handed him a manila envelope filled with cash.

"I even added a bonus from the contracts you didn't finish as a sorry for ratting you out to The Caballeros." said Dan trying to smooth things over. "Look...I don't want any hard feelings between us and I already know what a relentless prick you could be..."

"I didn't do a thing to your target, apparently some wild animal has been attacking people for days and the news of more bodies had just piled up." replied Duko picking up his money. "It's like the creature did all the dirty work for me."

Dan sighed knowing that now he was definitely wrong for giving Duko over to The Caballeros.

"I'll be seeing you Duko." he said trying to remain hopeful of furthered assistance.

"Not this time." replied Duko as he turned and walked out the door.

He met up with Rae whom had taken the liberty of bringing her backpack and his yellow duffle bag along for the ride. They hopped on the back of his motorcycle and took off down the road leaving Las Vegas and The Silverwire Casino in the dust.