Chapter Seven
Gabriel entered his family’s apartment, and was surprised to see how clean it was. Ever since he’d talked with Damian, he’d been wanting to talk to Wyatt and Owen. Both of his brothers had been distant of late, and it had come as a shock to them about his parentage. If the Dentons were under attack, something in his gut told him he did have to look close to home.
He had no intention of taking out the Dentons. They were his family, and that meant something to him. It would be easy to tell them all to fuck off, and to hurt them from the inside, but he wanted to be part of their family. All of his life he had felt like he didn’t belong, and his mother had told him that he was someone special and to never turn out like his father. Now he didn’t know what to think.
Closing the door, he waited for his brothers to arrive, and within seconds Owen and Wyatt were there, eating out of a bag of chips.
“What’s up?” Owen asked.
Neither of them looked guilty, and he’d seen them at their worst growing up.
“There’s rumors spreading that there is a divide within the Denton household,” Gabriel said, watching both of their reactions.
“I take it news of you has gotten to their enemies,” Owen said. “That’s not exactly hard to do. You’re the son that one of them didn’t want to claim.”
“Everything seemed fine to me today at dinner,” Wyatt said. “There’s tension between Charlotte and Maddox, but that’s to be expected. You’re a son that appeared out of nowhere.”
He was very much aware of his parentage.
“Damian thinks you two could be feeding information to their enemies.”
“What the fuck? Since when do you believe that cocksucker?” Wyatt asked.
“He doesn’t like us, and why the fuck would we take out Denton? Not only did the rid us of the scum that is our father, we’ve finally got a life. I don’t have to be seen in shame,” Owen said. “I have a life now. I can hold my head up high, and that is all I’ve ever wanted.”
Their father, the Colton name, had been associated with human trafficking, and that wasn’t just all. Exploitation of children, slavery, and every despicable thing he could think of, his father, the one he’d known as his father, had been responsible for.
“So you’re a Denton now, and you’re going to turn your back on us?” Wyatt asked. “Is that how this is going to go?”
He saw the disappointment in his brothers’ eyes, and he felt like an asshole. He released a breath and sighed. “I don’t know what to think.” Running a hand down his face, he began to remove his tie. He was getting tired and weary of everything.
“How about instead of accusing us of shit we didn’t do, you ask for our help? We’re still your brothers, Gabriel. What do you need?”
“I need to know who is feeding their enemies stories about there being a divide within the Denton family.” He moved toward the fridge, taking out a beer. “They have organizations, gangs and shit that hate their guts and will do anything to get rid of them, or to take away their businesses. They control the city, and everything has to go through them for a cut of the profits. To some that is a steep price.”
“What do you think it is?” Owen asked.
“I think the Dentons are fair. I’ve seen the way they work.” He glanced at the apartment. “Where’s Emma?”
“She’s at work. She’s working in administration for Maddox.”
“Oh, I had no idea.”
“You’ve not exactly been around a whole lot since you got your new family.”
Gabriel closed his eyes, taking a few seconds to get his temper under control. “You’re still my brothers, and I love you. We have a real chance here. Don’t you want to take that?”
“We do, which is why we’re heading out. The good thing about being seen as the scum of the world, people tend to talk, to show everyone else that they’re better than you,” Wyatt said. “We’ll be back with info for you. Make yourself at home.”
Within seconds he was alone in his brothers’ apartment, and he felt like the worst guy for accusing them. Wyatt and Owen had wanted to settle the score six months ago. To try to take something back for themselves, and he’d been part of it. Of course that had all changed when the truth of who his father really was came out. Now it was just one fight after another.
****
Three weeks later
Damian didn’t go looking for the rumors. Gabriel asked him to wait, and that his brothers were onto something. Instead, Damian focused on Ivan, and being around Mia. He didn’t want to leave her behind, and he found any excuse to make it back home every day, early. At night, he would spend hours watching her sleep. He’d always been a light sleeper, and he’d never needed more than a couple of hours to get him through. Since meeting Mia he hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol, and he’d been able to get his shit together. The guilt was still there over Betty, and he doubted it would ever go away. He didn’t love the woman, but he felt responsible for her. Uncle Stuart tried to help him, but like he told him, the woman he hurt was still alive. Betty had taken her life. Harper also visited often. He’d noticed that Lou, Harper, Ruby, and his mother came to the apartment spending time with Mia. They were helping him win her over. He loved being around Mia, just taking time to get to know her. Whenever she was in the kitchen she was always going through the cookbooks she had open, and she’d suck in the corner of her lip.
When they were sitting together watching television he found himself looking at her rather than the big screen. For the first time in his life, he knew what real happiness was. He didn’t need the sex, or anything else. Just being near her was enough.
At home was when he was at peace. Work, however, was nonstop. His father kept him busy with Denton business. A couple of their girls had gone missing from their brothels, and he’d been put in charge of finding them. The two girls didn’t have any family, and it made searching for them a difficult process. He had several of their guys looking into last known sightings in the police force, but so far, nada.
His gut was telling him something bad was going to happen, and it was linked to the divide that had been noticed in the Dentons. Even Damian had seen it. Landon was back, and instead of the brothers working together as they had been known to do, many of them, himself included, had chosen to work alone.
Damian was leaving one of the strip clubs that they owned when he got a call. He saw it was Gabriel.
“What’s up?”
“I found those two girls, and you’re not going to like it.”
“They’re dead, aren’t they?” he asked.
“Yep, and they’ve, erm, it’s not pretty, not by a long shot. These girls, they’ve been tortured for days. You need to head out to the warehouse at the docks. I’ve called the others. They need to see this shit.”
“I’m heading there now.” He climbed into his car, setting up the voice speaker so he could drive and talk. “Do you have any other news?”
“Yeah, a lot you’re not going to like. Do you remember Bruce? The friendly little soldier who worked for the Coltons and Dentons?”
“The fucker that died a few months back. Of course.” Bruce had been his mother’s bodyguard until they had all learned the truth of his treachery. He’d died, and good riddance to the piece of shit. However, he had warned them within seconds of his death that there would be others. Being a Denton, you always had enemies. It didn’t matter where they went. There was always someone wanting to rise up, to prove their worth.
“Well I think we’ve got someone who is willing to take us on to take what rightfully belongs to us,” Gabriel said. “I’ll see you when you get here.”
The call disconnected. Whatever was waiting for him at the warehouse docks, he wasn’t going to like. Damian had forgotten how fucked up his life had become since he’d come of age. Spending his time in the bottom of a bottle had numbed him to everything.
Since the moment he had proved himself, he’d been working for his father, fighting for his cause. He wasn’t the oldest Denton, but he also wasn’t one to ignore either. Many had thought they knew him, but he’d always had the upper hand.
His cell phone started to ring again, and he saw it was Mia.
“Hey, babe, what’s up?” he asked.
“Babe?”
He chuckled. “Trying something new. You know me.”
“I do, and I’ve come to realize that you are very strange. I was just letting you know that I’m taking Martha and Reese out for a walk in case I’m not back.”
Damian glanced at the timer and saw it was a little after two. He tried to be home by three, or four at the latest. “I’m going to be late tonight. Take one of the guys on the door with you please. It’s for your protection.”
He heard her sigh. “I don’t like having people follow me.”
“It has been a month, and so far Ivan’s made no move to try and take you. I’m not going to give him that chance. Especially if he thinks I’m being sloppy in your protection detail. Please, do it for me.”
“Fine, fine. See you later, Damian.”
“You certainly will. Take care.”
“You, too.”
She hung up the phone, and he found himself smiling. He loved her. There was no way to describe his feelings for her, only that it was strong, and he couldn’t help it. She consumed every part of him, and calmed him in ways nothing ever had.
He loved hearing her talk. She was an amazing mother, and she cared for both of their kids. For short times, he could pretend they were a normal couple.
It was stupid, but he had grown used to pretending in a lot of things.
Parking at the warehouse, he saw several cars parked up, and it was just another sign of the divide among his brothers. None of them were backing each other. There was a higher risk of one of them screwing up and getting hurt, which made him sick to his stomach.
Climbing out of the car, he saw Gideon waiting.
“Are you ready for this?” Gideon was older than Damian by five years.
“Are you trying to baby me?” he asked. His older brothers were always protective of him, just like he felt the same for Landon and Tamsin. Gideon still hadn’t found the woman destined for him. Age didn’t determine when they found their woman. Landon had found his even before Damian had.
“I’m trying to prepare you. It’s not pretty, and it has even screwed with my stomach.”
Damian paused and looked at his brother. They had all seen some sick shit in their time.
He closed his eyes, knowing he shouldn’t enter that fucking room, but also that he didn’t have a choice. Letting a breath, he nodded. “I’m ready.”
“No one is every fucking ready for this shit.”
Gideon followed in behind him. The first he got was the scent of death, of decay, and he covered his nose. Then he saw Gabriel with his back turned to the sight, and finally, Damian saw what had all the men looking disgusted. On a dirty mattress were the two women, and the only way he knew was because there was a picture of the two women on either side of the mattress. The faces were unrecognizable. The bodies were naked, and they had been ruined. Their breasts had been cut off and patched together, but they had been dead some time. The stench was rotten. Their legs had been splayed open, and their bits cut off. The women had been beaten, cut, hurt, every manner of torture imaginable.
Damian got close and saw the initial W carved into their stomachs. “What the fuck is that?”
“It’s Westbrook,” Gabriel said. “My father had some dealings with him years ago, but that is the symbol, and he does it as his calling card.”
Gabriel was pale.
“I’ve heard of Westbrook,” Maddox said. “He’s a petty criminal.”
“No, he was a petty criminal. About a year ago he approached me and my brothers. He wanted to recruit us. Anyone connected to my father, Colton, he wanted on his team. I didn’t think much of it. Said he was building forces, that there was something that he wanted, and because they were so consumed, they’d never see him coming.” Gabriel frowned, looking at the women. “We’re all divided. Your rule has been law for so long, but that doesn’t mean that there are people out there that want to take your place. Jacob and Abel have families now. The news of who I am was divisive, and the Dentons have always been strong together, where there haven’t been any areas of weakness. You’ve worked as a family, fought together, and in the past few months, that hasn’t been the case. When you show weakness, there is always someone willing to take your place. To fight dirty to get it.”
“Nah, this doesn’t have fuck all to do with being divided. This is a pile of shit. Westbrook has been building this for years, but how?” Gideon asked, and then burst out laughing. “By drawing in the small townies. That’s how. Think about it, he can’t take the city, but we have fuck all to do with the townies. We supply to them.”
Damian looked at Gabriel, them both saying the one name. “Ivan.”
“Damian, I’ve told you to leave shit like Ivan out of this,” Maddox said. “It’s good business.”
“That’s the point. They’ve been taking our business, and Westbrook has been waiting for the perfect time.” This came from Gideon.
Damian frowned, and looked at the women. “Okay, okay, so they take two of our women. I don’t see the big deal. Do any of you? It doesn’t seem like a huge deal.”
“It’s not,” Jacob said. “And that’s the point. Two women like this, pushed aside, until the detail of the W reaches us. The girls leave, turn to him, and if they don’t, they end up dead. It all starts like a domino effect. Take out our girls, then the drugs with the townies, then slowly, take out our shops.”
“Wait, Owen and Wyatt said there had been talk of several clubs being raided and that people are pissed because Dentons offered protection, and it wasn’t there,” Gabriel said. “Fucking hell. We’ve been declared war on, and we’ve not even been aware of it.”
“Hold the fuck on,” Maddox said. “Nothing has happened.”
“Girls have been quitting,” Abel said. “Handing their notice in, and not being able to be replaced. I told you that we had to close five places last week because no one was turning up. There was no revenue at all.”
“Then there have been random raids on our nightclubs,” Gideon said.
“The docks have been running slow,” Damian said.
“The underground fights are not happening either,” Landon said.
Damian looked toward his younger brother, seeing how pale he was.
The sound of sirens filled the air, and Damian looked toward the door. “Oh fuck!”
Before either of them could react, police and SWAT entered the warehouse, ordering them down to the ground.
Shit was about to hit the fucking fan.
Damian closed his eyes as someone knelt on his back, putting handcuffs on him. Westbrook had led them to this place, and now they had to deal with being on the wrong side of the law.
****
Mia paced up and down the length of Maddox Denton’s study as she listened to what the lawyer was telling them.
“You mean to tell me that they’re staying behind bars?” Charlotte asked.
“Damian, Abel, and Gabriel have alibis for their whereabouts during this suspected murder. Landon also. They are being released without charge as soon as they can have the paperwork drawn up. I need to get alibis for the others.”
“But we pay you this money to get them off. The police, my husband compensates them.”
“Charlotte, I hate to say this to you, but two mangled bodies were discovered with your entire family there. You’re lucky any of them are being released. Right now, they can’t place those three at the time of the suspected murder because of a paper trail those three have. The state of those girls, you’re talking thousands of dollars bail money.”
Mia had seen the news, and she knew Damian wasn’t capable of that stuff they were saying. What scared her even more, she’d seen something like that a few years ago. The body of a woman had been dumped in a park. It had later been found out that she was a snitch. Anyone who opened their mouths would be killed in exactly the same violent way.
Sobs filled the room, coming from Charlotte. “I can’t handle this. Maddox deals with all of this.”
“I’ve called Rick back from England. He’s the only one I know who can handle this.”
“What about the businesses? What about everything?” Charlotte said.
Mia went to the older woman, and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to give her comfort. “It’ll be okay.”
“Thank you, dear, but it really won’t.” Charlotte patted Mia’s hand.
“We’re going to go and make some drinks,” Lou said, taking hold of Mia’s hand, and leading her out of the room. Harper and Ruby followed.
Entering the kitchen, none of them spoke for the longest time. Mia’s heart was racing. The thought of being without Damian for even a night scared her. The guard that had been with her in the park had come to her, told her there was a situation, and that she had to come here to the Denton family home. From there she had learned that Damian, along with all of his family had been arrested for the suspected kidnapping and murder of two women. They weren’t even releasing the women’s names, just their pictures, and some camera crew had gotten images of the actual bodies. It was gross.
“They didn’t do this,” Harper said. “We all know this.”
“The problem you got is they’re going to have to prove they’re innocent,” Ruby said. “They’re going to have tails, and all kinds of shit. Cops have wanted the Dentons for years, and now they just happen to stumble onto them inside a warehouse with dead bodies. The dead bodies, and then the fact even some cops could be working for Westbrook. If they’re doing that, then they can manipulate evidence. Not ideal, I know, but something that can be solved. I need to call Lewis. See if something has been going on that I don’t know about. I know Oliver has been keeping secrets from me. Something big is about to happen, and I want them to be ready.”
“Who is Lewis?” Mia asked.
“He’s someone who can get information without leaving a trace. I trust him, and so does the Denton family.” Ruby ran fingers through her hair. “Oliver doesn’t have an alibi, so he’s not coming home anytime soon.”
Lou went to Ruby, wrapping her arms around her. “Neither is Jacob. We can do this. We can help them.”
Mia saw the unity in the women, and was by their side. She would do everything she could to help.