Chapter Thirteen
“Mia’s in a little shock, and I gave her a sedative. She’ll be out like a light in a few moments,” Rick said. “She did this then?”
“She was at the door, and I was trying to keep Ivan distracted, and she just blew. It was … crazy.” Damian stared at Ivan’s body. “Is it wrong that I think it was good for her? She didn’t actually kill him though. At times, she was missing the body and hitting the floor. She was so intent on her anger, her rage, she didn’t see me snap his fucking neck.”
Rick chuckled. “I imagine it was. This piece of shit didn’t deserve to live.” Rick kicked Ivan’s side. “I’ll get rid of the body. She won’t have to worry about anything again, I promise.”
“Why are you all here?” Damian asked. His brothers, father, and uncle were all there.
“Westbrook told me what Ivan was going to do. I put an end to my torture attempt and decided to come and save my nephew. I thought it was rather nice of me,” Rick said. “I also wanted to let you know that the cops on Westbrook’s payroll have been handled as well. Let’s say a certain detective in charge got a nice big file on police corruption and bribery.”
“You’ve always been thorough. Westbrook is dead also?” Maddox asked.
“Yes, so my work here is done. After Mandy and I spend lunch with you, I’ll be taking her back home, and I’ll leave you back to your charming city.”
“Rick, you don’t have to go,” Stuart said.
“I do, actually. Mandy knows everything, but I think if she was to witness exactly what I was like firsthand, I doubt she would be ready to forgive me.” There was a knock on the door. “Ah, finally. Our cleanup crew has arrived.”
Damian was there to make sure the body was removed, and that everything was clean. The lamp was taken and would be disposed of. When all of his family had left, he went to the sofa, and picked up his woman, carrying her toward their bedroom. Even as she slept, he removed her shirt, and tossed it into a bag, handing it to Rick as he came back to collect it.
She was completely out cold as he washed the blood from her body, and then placed her in their bed. He climbed in beside her, and for the entire night, he watched as she slept.
When the sedative finally wore off, she turned to him with a gasp.
“Damian?”
“I am fine, Mia. Everything is fine. You saved me.”
“Ivan’s body?”
“It has all been taken care of. You do not need to worry about a thing.” He cupped her face, and made sure she was looking at him. “You have nothing to worry about, nor anything to fear.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I killed someone.”
“You have nothing to feel guilty about. Don’t cry for that son of a bitch.”
“No, these are not that kind of tears. I’m happy, Damian. I’m happy that he is gone, and I won’t have to worry about him again. Does that make me a bad person?” she asked.
“No. He had done nothing but hurt you. I don’t want you to think about him, or even worry.”
“What about the cops?”
“Again, you don’t need to worry. The cops have been dealt with. Everything is fine. I promise you, there is nothing for you to worry about. My family, that’s what we do, we deal with that kind of shit. Ivan was going to kill me, and then he would have killed you. Nothing changes. I promise.” He pressed a kiss to her lips, hoping to help ease her.
“Can you just hold me?” she asked.
“Yes, I would gladly hold you for the rest of my life.”
****
Ivan’s and Westbrook’s bodies were never discovered. Rick took Mandy home, and after everything he had seen, Damian believed it was for the best. Uncle Rick was the man they called when no one else could do the job. He didn’t ask questions. He got answers.
After killing Ivan, Damian thought Mia would need some therapy to help her get past some of her issues. As it happened, she got better. She had a couple of bad nightmares, but Damian held her, letting her know there was no way that she would ever be harmed.
His plans to marry her were put on hold as he and his brothers got Denton land back, and gained respect and security for their people. His father stayed head of the family, and everyone reported back to him.
In a curious turn of events, Damian made sure to always be partnered with Gabriel.
“Do you have cold feet already?” Gabriel asked, late one Tuesday evening.
“We don’t have cold feet. Mia is organizing the wedding, and we don’t want to rush it. With work, and then with the kids, getting married is not that easy.” Damian pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. They had just been to the docks to pay the guard for turning a blind eye to certain product being taken out of the country, mostly drugs and a few guns. They had dealings with some MCs that liked to party hard, and play even harder. They didn’t ask questions, and the contract had already been dealt with by Maddox. There was no message on his cell phone. “Have you had the legacy work on you yet? Any special woman waiting in the wings?”
“Nope. Maybe it’s not strong enough in me. I’ve got too much Colton.”
Damian laughed. “You’re kidding, right? Nah, you’ve got just enough, and you’ll see, the right woman will come around.”
“I told Owen and Wyatt, and they couldn’t stop laughing. They bring women into the casino now, and they are always pointing behind their backs as if she is the one.”
Damian frowned as he noticed they weren’t heading toward his apartment. They were using Gabriel’s car. “Where are we going?”
“We’re not finished yet. We’ve still got a few stops to make.”
“No, that’s not right. The dock was the last one to make.” Damian looked around. “Why are you taking me to my parents’ place?”
“Will you stop asking questions, and just let me do my job?” Gabriel asked. “I’m not leading you to the slaughter, and I’m not harming you. Please, just, do as I ask.”
“I don’t like this one bit.”
“Talk to Dad and your brothers.”
“Ha, you called him Dad. How does that feel?” Damian asked.
“Weird as fuck. How are you handling everything now?”
“You mean with Martha and Betty, and stuff?”
“Yep. You tried to kill yourself, or at least you were getting into a situation that would have resulted in you killing yourself. That’s some messed up shit, and you found your woman while doing it,” Gabriel said.
Damian rubbed his head. “I don’t really know what I would have done. When it came to Betty I felt responsible for her, and I felt like I had killed her. That wasn’t the case. Not even by a long shot. I was honest with her, and I wish things could have been different. I care about Betty, but I love Mia. I can’t compare the two feelings as they really are not the same.” It had taken him some time to come to terms with everything related to his daughter and to Betty. There would always be guilt as there was no way for him to pretend otherwise. Mia, made sure to keep a picture of Betty, and had even put together a special photograph album for his little girl.
They arrived at his folks’ home, and he was surprised to see several cars parked in front.
“What’s going on?” he asked. Climbing out of the car, he followed Gabriel into the house, and the moment the door was closed someone placed a blindfold over his eyes.
“What the fuck!” He tried to attack, but his father spoke.
“Just trust us son, and you’ll be okay,” Maddox said.
“This is crazy assed shit.”
“Yeah, well, you’ll love it.”
He rolled his eyes, and then was marched out of the house, and he felt the change in the air.
“We’re ready,” Maddox said.
The blindfold was removed, and Damian blinked getting accustomed to the light. Music came on, and as he looked down the garden that had been set out for a wedding, he saw Mia standing, smiling at him. “Happy Birthday, son,” Maddox said.
It was his birthday, and he smiled as his family gave him the best present of all, his woman, his wife.
When Mia stood beside him, he took her hand, and mouthed the words that he loved her. She did the same, and there was no way anything else could surpass the feelings she had inspired inside him.