Chapter 54: A Home At Last

The Main Road, West Port, New Jersey...

Rae couldn't believe her eyes as she looked about the rather impressive city of Westport, New Jersey, and the amazing structures and shops that had been along their route to finding a new home. She could hardly contain her level of excitement as she gripped Duko's hand whole they pulled onto the side of the street. Rae had been at a loss for words as she found herself given to happy tears as she looked over at her husband and the father of her unborn child. He had given her everything she had ever wanted by way of their chance encounter and taken her from the life she never wanted to give her the one she always desired. Duke seemed to be confused by the onset of tears and tilted his head in the wake of it. She smiled believing him to look positively adorable at that moment as she leaned up and kissed him on the lips in reaction to his expression. He returned her kiss and they got back to sightseeing.

"Plenty of places are open for rental or ownership," he said looking around. "We could try renting a highrise for a while and then move on to the house when the baby gets bigger."

"It will feel so good having a place to call home after all this traveling to get here," said Rae ecstatic.

"I'll bet," replied Duke as he once more pulled back onto the busy street and began driving once more.

Rae turned her attention to doing a bit of sightseeing herself when she found herself falling in love with an elegant highrise building that seemed to be like something from her dreams and movies.

"Stop here Duke I think I've found it," she said with a smile as the rush of excitement continued to get the better of her.

Duko nodded and wheeled the car around to the front of the building. As it so happened, there was a sign-out front renting and it had been a very spacious two-bedroom place with a nice view and decent pricing as far as their newfound budget had been concerned. The location was perfect for the shopping center and possible schooling for the child and for Rae herself as Duke fully intended to support them while she finished her education.

Rae had been clever enough to convince the people to give them a tour of the place and found it all to her liking while Duke simply went along with whatever she wished as it had been her dream to have a home of her own. He had even given her the go-ahead to decorate the place as she wished he'd been more interested in simply coming home to her and his child.

With fine-tuned negotiation skills and of course the mention of their unborn child now and again, Rae managed to secure the place and Duke paid for it upfront leaving a good deal of cash for the rest of the decor and food for the time being. Rae was over the moon with excitement from having her own home far away from Trenton County and the horrors that had been her so-called parents.

Duko took a moment to move about the area and park their car while he sought something in the way of gainful employment.

The hulking werewolf left his wife to her plans and made his way down the street on foot taking in the sights and potential places for employment. While they had a good deal of money left over from his dealings in Las Vegas, Duke wasn't one to put all his eggs in one basket, especially when they had a child on the way.

Keeping to himself, Duke made his way along the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets and his mind on trying to obtain some form of employment to sustain their life in the city. He had not been much for gainful employ since he'd been drafted and aside from his drunken brawls from the past, he never made much money that didn't come from his pension and time abroad.

He caught sight of a paper sign for a seemingly appealing nightclub that had been looking for a new bouncer of sorts. It didn't require much effort aside from being a big muscular brute that could throw any unruly guest out on their ass and look intimidating enough for people to second guess whether or not to bring on a full-on hassle with a menacing opponent. The job requirements had been simple enough and he'd had a good deal of experience in the ways of brutal arts since his days in Las Vegas.

It was a legal job nonetheless and something that wouldn't worry Rae too much as his collaboration and prize-fighting days had been well and truly behind him. She had not approved of his dealings in Vegas, but she had been determined that they have something of a real life together.

He in turn felt that he owed it to her and the baby to have a fresh start free from drama and chaos. The kind of life he never had led to his rather unfortunate falling out with his father beforehand.

Duko entered the establishment, it wasn't as active during the time of day as it seemed to have been at night due to the need for a new bouncer and taking interviews. The veteran made his way inside the thin framed door and through the front portion of the rather elegant nightclub owned by a man named Mike Colletti. He had been the typical smooth talking dark complected man of the world type that came from those that did dealings in the seedy underworld. Duko had not been interested in his business outside of the bouncer position at the nightclub. He had aimed to keep his nose cleaned if only for the sake of Rae and the baby and to make his money without making bones in some organization.

Upon entry, he'd been treated to another man of impressive muscle mass but not quite on his level greeting him at the door.

"State your name and business," he instructed him making it clear that he'd been armed if anything had been amiss about his visit to see his boss.

"The name's Duke Lovell, and I'm here to inquire about the open bouncer position," replied Duko not at all phased by the weapon or the man's size. "I just moved here today and I'm in the market for a job closer with flexible hours due to my wife being newly pregnant."

"We got a family man here." said the muscle-bound man as he stepped out of the way and directed Duko toward the boss's office.

Duko did as instructed and headed toward the office unsure of what he'd find behind the dark wooden door that everyone seemed to have an eye on. Once he had passed through it, he traveled down a short hall where he came face to face with the man in charge of the establishment and possibly the town itself, Michael Vincent Colletti.

Mike Colletti had taken a liking to him from the moment he walked into the rather busy man's office. His dark eyes and sick black hair seemed to shimmer amid the dim light as he sat dressed in an impeccable suit down to the grey vest and slacks with shiny black dress shoes and a faint haze of cigarette smoke and expensive cologne filling the darkened office.

Mike sat in a large black leather armchair that occasionally could spin a time or two depending on his desire as his large oak wood desk had been before him piled high with paperwork and books from recordkeeping with the properties. As with all men like him that dabbled in both the working and underworld, he kept two sets of books and Duko had been well aware of it.

"My boy Rocco tells me you're looking for a job as a bouncer," said Mike observing Duko for a few moments. "It seems you're well qualified given your service record, I assume a big guy like you participated in the war way back when."

Duko nodded as he too observed Mike.

He didn't sense any dishonor in him despite his less-than-honorable dealings and he seemed to be a man of his word.

"I served over in Iraq for a time before being honorably discharged," said Duko once he'd made his assessment of the man before him.

"Sounds like you did your part defending our country and whatnot," said Mike his dark eyes seeming to bore into the very soul of the man whose blue eyes had been doing the same to him.

"Something like that," replied Duko not very comfortable with discussing his past with anyone.

"Understandable," replied Mike nodding his head. "Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, so what brings a guy like you to a place like this?"

"Just moved here today with my wife, we're expecting and I figured I'd have an income coming in by the time the baby gets here," admitted Duko to the strange man. "Figured I choose something close by that don't have to do with being posted behind a desk, I ain't really the desk type and know my way around cities more often than not."

Mike nodded as he listened and then turned his attention to the stacks of papers on his desk. He grabbed them firmly and proceeded to toss them into the wastebasket beneath his desk.

"Well, I believe I've seen everything I need to see when it comes to this bouncer position and I gotta tell ya I like what I see," said Mike standing on his feet as Duko stood before him. "I'd like to hire you as soon as possible, maybe starting tonight if you can manage...uh dress casual jeans a black t-shirt nothing fancy and nothin' flashy."

Duko shook Mike's hand delighted about the job opportunity.

"Will do," replied Duko meeting Mike's dark gaze once more. "It's good meeting you boss."

"Likewise Mr. Lovell, I got a good feeling about you," he said in a strangely pleasant tone. "And my good feelings are never wrong...see you tonight."

Duko took his leave of Mike and the club to tell Rae the good news. Not only did they have a new home, a fresh start, and a decent amount of money to get established but he had a new legitimate job to boot.

It seemed everything was coming along just in time for the new baby and he couldn't be happier.