I pleaded with Damon not to do anything reckless. But of course, this was Damon. He pushed past me and stormed toward the front door. I followed him.

"What are you going to do?" I asked, fretting.

Damon yanked the door open. "I'm going to end this."

Terror spiked through me.

"I'm coming, too," I said.

"No."

"I'm coming," I insisted. "If you don't take me, I'll follow behind in my car like a stalker."

"I don't want you to see this," he said.

"If you think I'm going to let you go off—"

"And what are you going to do to stop me?" he said shortly.

My breath caught. I didn't think he would kill his father for real, but I had no doubt if the two of them were alone, one or both of them would could end up seriously hurt.

"You don't have to do this," I told him, trying to sound calm and reasonable. "You can talk things out."

"I've tried that."

"Then try again." I placed my hand on Damon's chest. "Please. Don't go getting into trouble over that bastard."

Damon stared at me. I stared back, resolute.

I'm not going to let you do this, my eyes said without words.

His gaze slid to the floor. He inhaled heavily. Then exhaled. He did it a few more times. I waited. When he looked up again, the rage in his eyes has lessened.

"Fine," he said reluctantly. "But I'm still going. I'm not going to let him terrorize me and my brother anymore."

I nodded. I didn't have any real plan, no idea what Damon or I could do to make his father go away once and for all, but I knew that beating him unconscious wasn't the answer.

"We'll figure it out," I promise.

"Let's just go," Damon said, averting his gaze.

I followed him to the car. The ride was tense. Damon tapped his fingers on the wheel in a nervous, repetitive pattern. I clasped my hands in my lap to stop myself from fidgeting.

Damon only lived a few short minutes from his brother's place. When we pulled up, I saw the man, Gareth Drake, standing out in front of a condo building just as expensive looking at Damon's. At least he hadn't actually gone through with his threat and approached Ian. No, he was just close enough to set Damon off. Just close enough to taunt him.

The car came to a screeching halt. Damon flung the car door open and jumped out.

I fumbled with the seatbelt in my haste. I didn't hear the first few words they exchanged. By the time I was out of the car, Damon's fists were already clenched. His father had raised a derisive eyebrow.

"You think I won't go through with my threat?" The man jerked his chin toward the condo entrance. "He's right in there."

"I told you what I'd do to you if you went near him," Damon growled. "You think I won't beat the shit out of you? Try me."

"Here's what going to happen," Gareth said. "You're going to give me another hundred thousand. You're going to do it with a smile on your face. And the next time I ask, you're going to hand it over without giving me any lip."

Damon laughed. "You're delusional. There's not going to be a next time. If you don't walk away now, I'll make sure you can never walk again."

I stood still, mind racing. If Damon's dad didn't stop threatening Ian, Damon was eventually going to snap. There had to be a way to stop this.

With slow, careful movements, I reached behind myself and took out my phone, keeping it behind my back.

"Really?" A smarmy smirk crossed his father's face. "You're threatening me with violence? Don't you remember what happened last time?"

Damon made a movement, as if ready to launch into his father with both fists.

"Stop this." I stepped forward and put myself in between Damon and his dad. Damon immediately tried to pull me behind him, but I shook him off. His father squinted at me, as if confused by my presence. "You need to leave Damon and his brother alone."

Gareth eyed me up and down. "Same one as before?" He leered. "Didn't think you fucked the same whore twice."

Damon tried to jolt forward with a raised fist. I rushed to place a hand on his shoulder. I rubbed up and down, soothing. His muscles were tense, his arm ready to throw a punch at the slightest provocation. I had to smooth this over.

Somehow.

"Damon's made his position clear," I said firmly. "You're going to walk away or we call the cops and have you arrested for blackmail."

A sick grin crossed his father's face. He flicked his gaze between me and his son. "She's cute. Funny. Maybe she's more than just a good fuck."

"You son of a b—"

"I'm not kidding," I jumped in before Damon could blow up. "Blackmail is illegal."

His father chuckled, slowly at first, then turning almost boisterous. "She doesn't know, hm?"

I frowned. "Know what?" I turned to Damon, questioning.

His eyes were pained. Haunted. His usual dynamic green eyes were darkened, almost hollow.

"My father's a cop," he said flatly.

I started, taken aback. A cop?

"You try anything with me and I'll have you arrested like last time," his father said.

My mouth dropped open. I turned to Damon slowly.

"Last time?" I asked.

With a clenched jaw, Damon nodded sharply. He cast his eyes down.

"Ian… got hurt." The pause made me think it was something more than that. I didn't interrupt. "I guess I went fucking crazy, I don't know. I barely remember what happened. Next thing I know, the cops are there and my dad's face is all busted up and I'm being hauled away."

"Of course, as a concerned father, I didn't press charges," Gareth said blithely. "Teenagers, you know? All full of hormones and testosterone, angry at their parents and lashing out for no good reason. But you're an adult now," his father continued. "If I decide to press charges, if won't go so well for you. And you can't just take your brother and run away like last time."

"Fuck you," Damon spat.

Shit. This was really bad. I gripped my phone in my hand, hoping, praying.

"All these little threats are cute and all," his father continued, "But we all know how this is going to go down. Give me my money."

"Like fuck I will," Damon said. "This ends now. No more showing up at my place. No more showing up at my brother's. I want you out of our lives."

"And how are you going to make me?" The words were eerily similar to the words Damon has said to me earlier, but the tone, the slimy way he said them, felt like slick oil running down my back

Damon's shoulders tensed even further, bunching, as if ready to pounce. Then his father said the one thing I knew would set Damon off.

"Give me what I want or I'll be forced to ask my other son. I wonder how Ian will react when he sees me again after all these years?" he pretended to muse. "As I recall, it didn't end so well for him, either."

And that did it. Damon snarled and launched himself forward. Gareth tried to duck out of the way but Damon was too fast. His fist connected with his father's jaw.

I screamed in surprise. "Damon, stop!"

Gareth grunted, head snapping back, but it didn't faze him for long. He immediately threw himself at his son, landing a punch in Damon's stomach. Damon reeled back with a grunt.

"Think you're such a big man, now?" his father taunted. "Think you can beat me?" Gareth swung his own fist at Damon's face. It connected with a sickening sound.

I yelled again. "Stop it!"

But of course they didn't. They continued grappling with each other and throwing punches, fists and mouths turning red with blood. They panted heavily, but neither of them seemed to be slowing down. It was an even match, for now, but I could see Damon's movements getting slower, weaker. It was only a matter of time before his father got the upper hand.

I stood, shaking, watching the fight and wondering what the hell I could do to stop this.

A voice rang out from a few yard away, an answer to my prayers.

Ian's voice.

"What the fuck is going on?"