Chapter Eight
“This was fucking planned,” Maddox said. “We shouldn’t have gone to that fucking warehouse.”
“Did you see anyone?” Damian asked, looking at Gabriel.
“No. I didn’t. You think I enjoy being thrown into a fucking cell? Someone was there, had to be, and called it in.”
“Did you notice none of our guys were there,” Jacob said, blowing out a breath. “What are the chances that our boys are either dead, or unable to help us out.”
“I don’t get it. How can someone like Westbrook cause this?” Landon said. “We’re fucking Dentons.”
Stuart burst out laughing. “You’re only as strong as the men around you. Look at what happened. The brothels, the strip clubs, the docks, the drugs, even the cops on our teams. We’ve all been doing our own thing that none of us has seen a connection as we’ve not known the shit that is going on. Who has reported back to Maddox? Who has reported back to each other? Our own bullshit has caused this, and it all stems from him.” Stuart pointed at Gabriel.
“He’s not part of this,” Jacob said. “We’ve got lives of our own now. You can’t blame him. You want to point the finger, point it at yourself. That’s what I’m doing. I wanted to spend more time with Lou and my kids. So I did. I’ve fucked up, and you all need to own up to that shit.”
“Look, we’ve all had shit go down, okay? We’ve all got family. Our weakness comes from the revelation of who he is, what he means. Not to mention Damian’s recent visit to alcohol heaven. We’ve all turned the other way, expecting our job to be done by someone else. This is not something that has been happening overnight but for the past six months, and this is one of the causes. The Dentons have been known for their unity. For fighting together. We all turned our backs on business, and now we’re all in jail, and I smell those two girls. It’s burnt into my nostrils.” Stuart leaned his head against the bars.
“Rick has been called, and he’s on his way home,” Maddox said. “He can handle everything.” Rick was the youngest brother of Maddox and Stuart.
Stuart burst out laughing. “He’ll be keeping his woman back at England. If Westbrook wanted a war, he’s just got one.”
Damian looked at his uncle. “What do you mean?”
Stuart opened his eyes, looking at him. “You think Rick is a pussy? He’s a doctor, so he saves lives, right? Our father was never able to keep Rick on the straight and narrow.”
“He’s a force to be reckoned with. Him finding Mandy actually gave us a break. The bodies stopped building up. He always picked fights, and he never loses,” Maddox said. “Rick found his woman early, and from the moment he saw Mandy, he would follow her anywhere.”
“There’s no emotion inside him,” Landon said. “Mandy is the only person he cares about. That’s it. Mandy, family, and if you step on them, he’ll come crashing down on you. I wasn’t nice to Mandy when I was there, and he showed me some of his true colors.”
Damian had known that there was a lot of fear about Rick Denton, which he didn’t get. “He’s a doctor.”
Again, Stuart and Maddox laughed. “Yes, he’s a qualified doctor. Before he decided to settle on the profession, he liked to experiment. Dad often left him involved in torture to get what he needed. Fuck, that seems like a damn lifetime ago. It is. He moved to England a long time ago now, and only comes home for the odd visit.”
“We provided the opportunity for this,” Jacob said.
“And you’re going to have to help your uncle when you get out. Rick will need help, and don’t question him. Just follow his direction. You’re not going to like it. We need to get out of here, and we need him to do what he does best,” Maddox said. “Be prepared for some backlash. Lawyer told me that those girls made it into the news. Their faces, and then their bodies. This is where things are about to start tipping the scale. You’re all going to have to work together.” He looked at Damian, Abel, Landon, and Gabriel. “I fucked up big time. This is all on me, and if I have to, I will take the fall.”
“Don’t, Dad. They’ll get us out,” Jacob said. “We can handle everything else. You’ll keep an eye on our women, our family, everything.”
Gabriel nodded. “Wyatt and Owen, you’ve got to bring them in. They can help.”
Maddox chuckled. “You really don’t have think much of me, do you?” He shook his head. “Wyatt and Owen have been working for me. I knew something wasn’t quite right, but between you, and shit with Charlotte, and I take my fucking eye off the ball. I love Charlotte, and with everything going on, I didn’t demand shit from you. My only concern was for Charlotte, and that is my fault. It’s the first time in over fifty years that I did, and look what happened. They have a job, and a place. I wouldn’t push them aside. They’re still your brothers.”
“I’m sorry,” Gabriel said. “They never said anything.”
“Yeah, well, I asked them not to. I figured the less people knew the better.” Maddox leaned back.
Damian looked at his family. He couldn’t believe he was standing in a prison cell with his family.
“Don’t worry. You’ll figure this out, and we can handle everything they throw at us,” Gideon said.
Damian didn’t like leaving any of his family behind. Whatever was going on, they needed to resolve it sooner rather than later.
****
Forty-eight hours later
The last person Damian expected to see was Rick, especially dressed up in a suit with no trace of his uncle around. Usually Rick was the good boy. The one that was always teasing. He’d only ever seen Rick with Mandy, and from what his father and Stuart had told him, that wasn’t the case anymore.
Rick sat behind the wheel as they all got strapped in. “Right, here is an update on shit. Ruby’s friend Lewis has pinpointed that the call came through from an Ivan Smith.”
“What?” Damian asked.
“How about you guys get me up to speed as we take a little detour toward the townie that got my brothers arrested? Jail does not look good on either Stuart or Maddox, and with them locked up, it means I can’t be home with my wife,” Rick said.
“Why didn’t you bring Mandy along?” Abel asked.
“She doesn’t need to witness what is about to happen. From the moment I met Mandy, I promised myself I wouldn’t continue in this life. She deserved a man who was like her, a man who didn’t have a darkness inside him. Now come on, tell me everything you know.”
So they did. Among all four of them, they told Rick everything they needed to know. Whenever they went quiet, he would click his fingers demanding attention. As soon as they were finished, he started.
“So Ruby got in touch with Lewis, the computer genius, and the moment Gabriel here entered the warehouse, the call was placed within seconds. It came from an Ivan Smith. Now Ivan Smith has gone missing. Yeah, I know. But he’s also been placed with this Westbrook guy. Now I know Westbrook. Anyone met him?” Rick asked.
“Yeah, I did. He’s got a scar down his face.”
“It’s not the only one he’s got. Several years ago, when Mandy was here, we went to a bar, and as she was ordering us some food and drink, Westbrook approached her. Told her that she’d be a damn good candidate to be fucked by a bunch of men for the net. I was a good little boy, told him to fuck off, and finished date night with my brothers and our women. Anyway, to cut a long story short, no one says shit like that to my woman. I went back, and he now wears my mark. I cut up his ugly face, and cut off his nipples for good measure. I know him. His MO was what I did to him. My guess, the fucker has been having a beef with the Dentons because of me. I’ve got no problem with that. I’ll finish what I started.”
Rick pulled up outside of the club in the town where Damian first met Mia.
“If he’s not here, why are we here?”
“Because I want to pay a visit, and now is the time to get a message across,” Rick said.
They all climbed out of the car.
“Wait,” Damian said. “What about the others? We can’t leave them in jail.”
“We won’t. Again, Lewis, computer nerd, is working on it. He can trace those two girls, their last movements, and he’s got access to the security footage. They’ll be out as soon as he can prove it wasn’t them,” Rick said, moving forward.
“Wait, what about the cops on our side?” Abel said.
“How the fuck do you guys get anything done?” Rick asked. “Does Maddox wipe your asses after you take a fucking shit?” He pointed at all of them. “You get things done by acting. Your brothers, father, and uncle are in prison for two murders they didn’t commit. Act now before they think for a second they can build up a case. There is no fucking way I’m going to stay and deal with this shit longer than I have to. Now, let’s go and get some answers. The cops are not here to help you. Don’t worry about them.” With that, they followed him toward the strip club that Damian himself had visited, hoping to find someone willing to end his fucking life.
Rick kicked the doors open without using much force, or if he did, it didn’t show. One man charged at him, and Rick slammed the man’s head against the wall. Damian never seen his uncle in action, and he was shocked exactly how strong and deadly he was. He, Abel, Landon, and Gabriel hadn’t lifted a finger.
With two men dead, Rick stood in the center of the room. “Now we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Where’s Ivan Smith?” One man stood and was about to run when Rick grabbed a chair, and threw it at him. Gabriel was on the man, knocking him clean out.
Picking up one of the guns, Damian pointed it at one man as his brothers did the same, giving Rick the backup he needed.
“You’re going to fucking die,” the big guy said.
Rick laughed, grabbing the man’s shoulders and shoving his head through one glass table, after another. “Sorry, didn’t fucking hear you.” When that wasn’t enough, he pressed the man’s face against the glass until he was screaming. “Wow, you do make it look like I’m hurting you. I’ve not even gotten started.” There was no emotion on Rick’s face, and it startled Damian.
The uncle he had known was nowhere to be seen.
His uncle used the big guy to completely trash the club, throwing him around as if he was nothing more than a rag doll. Blood dripped on the floor.
“You know what, I’m bored.” Rick grabbed a gun and shot the one that Gabriel was guarding. Two other men dropped, and then he pointed the gun at the man. “Tell me!”
The one Abel held down whimpered. “He was called by Westbrook. He’s gone to the Westbrook casino.”
Rick smiled, and shot the big guy in the face, causing the guy who’d blabbed to scream. The big guy fell down. Everyone was dead, apart from the guy who’d spoken up.
“Good boy,” Rick said. “Now, you’re going to go to Westbrook and to Ivan, and you tell them that Rick Denton is coming to finish what he started!”
****
Mia rushed into the bedroom to find Damian standing there. She’d heard him arrive, and had been with Martha and Reese at the time. Charlotte was taking care of them. Seeing him standing there in his suit and just looking like himself, she rushed toward him, throwing her arms around his neck.
“You’re back.” He held her tightly, his mouth pressed against her neck. She closed her eyes, basking in his arms wrapped around her. “I was so worried.”
“I’m out, but it’s not over, not by a long shot.”
She pulled away, and he cupped her cheek, staring into her eyes. Mia stared into his brown ones, and then she looked at his neck, and at his shirt. “You’re covered in blood.”
“We didn’t kill those girls.”
“I know. They, erm, they showed the bodies once. I think they’ve stopped showing them now, but I recognized the damage that had been done.” She frowned. “There was a woman a couple of years ago. She had the same marks and stuff. She was dumped in a park near where I lived. I told the lawyer, and Lewis, all of this information. I hope it can help.”
“I can’t keep this shit from you. I wanted it to be different, but like all things that is related to my life, it’s fucked up. I’ve run myself a bath.”
“I can sit with you. Let me know when you’re decent.” She was just so happy to have him back. The past couple of days had been the hardest of her life. She had found herself waking in the middle of the night, and missing his presence. He didn’t know that she’d caught him watching her sleep. Sometimes he fell asleep, and she would lie in the bed, watching him.
When it came to Damian he inspired feelings she had believed were dead. She would stand in the shower, washing her body, and she’d touch her shoulder or her stomach where Damian had touched or grazed, and she’d feel a stirring, a tingle that awakened her entire body, making her want his touch again.
She waited for his call, and it came seconds later. Entering the bathroom, she froze as she caught sight of his naked body. She had known his was a large, muscular man, just not as big as he actually was. His shoulders were large, thick, and there were several tattoos up and down his arms. Her mouth went dry.
Feeling like a moron, and getting aroused just by seeing his naked chest, she forced herself to take a seat. Rubbing her hands together, she smiled.
“You like what you see?” he asked.
Her cheeks heated. “Please, don’t.”
“It’s nice to know that you like what you see.” He winked at her. “I certainly love what I see. Love it when you wear jeans.”
“Why?”
“It shows your ass off to perfection. Whenever I see you bend over, it’s hard to not just stare.”
“Because it’s huge?”
“No, because it’s sexy as fuck, and makes me think of doing stuff that you’re not ready for.”
Her pussy grew slick, and she pressed her thighs together, licking her lips. “Wow,” she said. “What makes you think I’m not ready?”
“Ivan.”
“He doesn’t get to control me, Damian. I’m a big girl.” She felt his gaze slide down her body. “We can come back to this. You wanted to tell me something.” They needed to stay on track before she lost herself. There was a lot of shit happening all around her. Now wasn’t the time to think about her personal needs.
Needs she had thought had long gone.
“The Dentons are a name that instills fear in a lot of people but also a lot of respect. We’re in drugs, women, money, and anyone who wants to set a business up in our city, has to come to us. We control everything, and we get our cut. You once asked me if I’d killed anyone, and the answer is yes. To be a Denton, you have to prove your worth. I’ve fought, I have killed, and I have done a great many things for my family, and to make the world safer, in a way.” She had figured most of this out. “The thing is, there is a curse or a legacy. It’s known as the Denton family legacy. There is a great deal of speculation about it. Some think it’s a pile of bullshit. Others believe it’s our weakness, and I guess in a way they are right.”
“You have a weakness?” she asked.
“The moment we see a woman, the woman that is meant to be ours, we know. She is the woman we will love, desire, respect, and just be devoted to. I know to a lot of people that’s far-fucking-fetched, but guess what? It’s the truth. My brothers, Jacob, Abel, Oliver, and even Landon have gone through it. My father feels it for my mother. I never felt it for Betty, but she was aware that there would be a woman out there I loved more than anything else in this world.” He paused, and she watched as he swallowed. “I never lied to her. I always told her the truth. It didn’t matter though. It wasn’t enough. I could never love her like she had seen my brothers love their women. She wasn’t mine, and I accidentally knocked her up, Mia. You think I’m a good man, and I try to be. I fucking try, and I’m not good. I’m like Ivan. The only difference is I wouldn’t rape a woman to get what I wanted.”
She was shocked as she averted his head, and he wouldn’t even look at her. He rubbed at his eyes, and she just knew that he was crying. She really didn’t have a clue what to do. Men didn’t cry, did they? They never showed weakness, and yet Damian started to cry, snot-nosed ugly crying. His sobs filling the room, and breaking her heart, bringing her own tears to the surface. Unable to watch his pain any longer, she went to the bath, and climbed in, not even thinking what she was doing, and just knowing she had to do this. Straddling his waist, even though he was very much naked and she was dressed in jeans, she wrapped her arms around his neck. This was nothing sexual. Even as tears slid down her cheeks, she held onto a sobbing Damian. She felt the guilt coming off him in waves, and it broke her heart to see him this way.
“It’s okay. I’ve got you. You’re fine. Everything is going to be fine.”
“I thought she could handle it, Mia. I really did. I didn’t mean to get her pregnant, and I didn’t give her false hope either. I was real with her.”
She closed her eyes imagining the torment he must have been through ever since he’d found Betty dead. It was too much to even think about, and had her heart breaking for him.
“You can’t blame yourself, Damian.” She cupped his face. “You’re not the one who made promises you couldn’t keep. You were honest. You can’t blame yourself for that.”
“She’s dead because of me.”
“No. You were honest with her. You gave her everything that you could, and there’s no shame in that. This is not you, Damian. You didn’t tell her to kill herself. You didn’t expect anything like this. You cannot blame yourself.”
“How can you even look at me, Mia? I’m a monster.”
“I’ve seen monsters, and I’ve been with monsters. They don’t make me feel like this. You’re a good person, Damian.” She had known for some time exactly what the Denton family were. They were the kind of people that monsters were afraid of, and yet, she had seen and heard so much good about them. The guys who watched her talked often, and there were times she would sit and listen to them. Obviously, they didn’t know she was close, or if they ever knew, she didn’t know either way. “You’ve got a beautiful daughter. I will always be your friend, Damian.”
He stroked her cheek. “You’re the woman, Mia.”
“What?”
“The moment I saw you, I knew you were mine. You’re my woman, and I’m totally in love with you.” Then he grabbed the back of her head, pulling her down for his kiss. She didn’t fight him though. Sinking her fingers into his hair, she took the kiss that she had been thinking about for some time now, loving the feel of his lips against hers.