Page 40

Chapter forty

Damien

I'm standing in my father’s office with the other men, watching her from afar. She kicked ass at Twister, but didn’t win a single game of Uno. She’s probably feeling sick from all the food my mom has made her eat, but she’s not showing any signs of it. I told my mom not to push food on her, but I didn’t tell her why. I probably should have though, because Ashia is too nice of a person to say no. So far, she’s taking everything my family has thrown at her like a champ. They love her.

Once the kids wanted to play again, she came out with us and played ‘The Princess’. She was fantastic, and all of the little girls swooned over her when she sang The Little Mermaid to them. I don’t think I'll ever get used to hearing her sing. She puts me in a hypnotized state every time. Even when she sings something as childish as ‘Part of That World.’ Now they think she’s an actual princess, which to me? She’s a fucking queen.

Watching her play gently with the girls was breath taking. She was gentle, and up lifting. Told them all how pretty they were and that if they wanted to be a princess when they grew up that they damn well could be. They just stared at her in awe, as if true royalty was speaking to them.

After that, we all went out and played football, now that’s when she won the boys over. She likes watching football, and actually knows all of the rules. So, when we realized she was small and fast enough to slide her way through the boys, she became a star player. She’s not afraid to get down and dirty and I love that about her. I don’t know how I found her, or was lucky enough to see her through that window, but fuck I'm so glad I did.

Melanie handed Ashia her newborn son twenty minutes ago, and she hasn’t taken her eyes off of him. The way her eyes gleam at him and the smile she flashes is just different. Longing. Sincere. When she puts him on her shoulder I catch her smelling him, and it’s like an invisible feeling washes over her. Her body relaxes and she looks so at ease it makes my heart weep. I'm sure her ovaries are screaming right now, and I'll be sure to come inside her tonight. I know she’s on birth control, but with the way I'm pining for her, I don’t think it's going to matter.

She’s loosened up since we got here, not a bit of nervousness showing from her. My family likes her, and she likes them. She fits in perfectly with us, and the way that even my Nana was raving over her really filled my chest. My dad even seems to like her. Which is surprising. Well, he hasn’t said anything bad or off-putting about her, and that’s an excellent sign. As if he knew I was thinking about him, he speaks up.

“So, Damien. We need to have a word.” I turn to my dad and lean against the wall. His tone is serious. Not that it ever isn’t, but there’s three different moods you can catch him. Stern, serious, and pissed off. This sounds like a mix between serious and pissed off.

“Yes sir?”

“Get all of your cousins that work for you and bring them in here.” He clenches his jaw and crosses his arms in front of him. Showing that it was definitely a demand and not a request.

“Do you want to know about my sales reports, Dad?” I smirk, trying to gauge what he’s upset about.

“Not that work.” A heaviness grow over my chest. I figured my dad had been watching me. Anytime something big happens, he calls me the next day asking how life is. I think that’s his subtle way of checking in. For him to corner us in his office for a discussion, this is serious. I turn and open the double glass pane doors leading to the living room. The first one, besides Ashia, to attract my attention is Danielle.

“Dani? Get everyone and come in here for a minute, please.” I shoot her a look that let’s her know what ‘everyone’ I’m talking about.

“Okay kids, time for bed.” She says to the kids, and I watch Ashia reluctantly hand the baby back to Melanie before I look back to Dani. “We’ll be right there.” I nod, shut the doors back, and turn to the men.

“Roman? You, Jack, and Easton give the rest of us a few minutes.” They nod and walk out, leaving the rest of us. There’s only silence as we wait. My cousins all look at me with curiosity and confusion. I just nod at them, trying to reassure them that I’ve got this. Only a few minutes pass before Dani, Melanie, Lauren, and Kelsey walk in. There’s twenty-five of us cousins total. Ten girls, fifteen boys. Four of the girls work with me, and twelve of the boys. If any of my cousins wanted work, I’d find something for them to do, but it’s not often that any of them are in harm’s way. If ever. “What’s going on, sir?”

“There’s more of them than I thought.” He says, eying them all skeptically. “I admire what you do, Damien. You do it without orders, for the right reasons, and you save people in the process. However, I need you to think about this family.”

“I do think of this family.” I declare.

“By bringing them into it?” He says angrily.

“We chose this uncle John.” Lauren chimes in, and I immediately scowl at her. The only person here who needs to fall victim to my father’s wrath is me, and I don’t want him to upset them. “We may not have known what this was when we first asked him, but we’re in it now. He showed us, gave us a choice, and we decided.”

“They don’t do anything dangerous. The girls don’t go out into the field, and the men mainly do surveillance.” I say to him.

“I understand that, but with your situation escalating, have you thought that it wouldn’t matter?” We all fall silent to his words. My father is a very commanding, very intimidating man. I couldn’t imagine being the one under his knife. I’ve been close enough, I don’t need to experience the real thing. “I’ve protected this family. We all have good lives. You're playing a dangerous game.”

“It’s not a game. It’s people’s lives.” I cut in.

“It’s always a game, Damien. Always being played by someone with more money, more connections, more resources. I was going to let you play because of your mission, but now that the situation has clearly gotten worse, I need to protect the family. You included.”

“I am protecting them.” I say sternly as I step in front of everyone else. If he wants to belittle anyone, it's going to be me. He opens his laptop and turns it around to show the little shit podcaster. He snuck onto the crime scenes from last night and took photos.

“Does this look like protecting them? Your stunt, Damien, made national news this morning. Burning down a man’s house with bodies plastered on the front? Blowing up four separate warehouses? Thirty-eight bodies discovered? How’s that protecting the family?”

“I'm protecting MY family.” I angrily fire back at him. He scrunches his eyebrows at me confused, then looks out of the doors, and I know he's looking at her and trying to come to an accurate conclusion. I don’t look with him, careful not to lose his gaze as he looks back to me.

“They came after her?” I hesitate. Nobody asked why they came for her, and I know it won’t matter to them. However, it will to John Hartley. I swallow and shove the guilt down. Preparing to speak. Cooper trying to kill Ashia is no one’s fucking business, but unfortunately, it’s relevant.

“Her ex showed up the night we met and tried to kill her. So I killed him first. Turns out, he worked for them. So yes, they came after her. Wanting to know where he was and what had happened to him. They were going to take her, and kill her after they got what they wanted, but she wouldn’t give me up. Even to save herself. She protected me, my identity, and even killed someone for me, sir. This isn’t what you think.” His face remains solid, but I notice the softness in his eyes. He’s grateful to her, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that emotion come from him. “We’re together because we want to be.”

Zander steps forward.

“We all called and volunteered, John. He didn’t ask, and the reasoning doesn’t matter.” He says to my dad.

“No one fucks with the family.” Danielle says. “And she’s family now.” He looks at all of us, then looks directly back to me.

“Do you understand what you’re getting yourself into?”

“Yes.” I say without hesitation.

“You’re so sure.” We stare at each other intensely. Stuck in a silent fight for dominance and neither one of us backing down. “Nothing is ever as it seems.”

“I understand that. I'm not na?ve enough to ignore that this is bigger than some local drug lords, but I'm also smart enough to know that the man we want, the man in charge, is here. I'll handle it.” He finally blinks, and while that might not be much of a win, it’s one of the biggest I’ll get against my father.

“What about that larger group? Sahara? Could they be beneficial?” I can see his body start to relax.

“They’re busy and we don’t need them. They’re manic. Lose control sometimes.”

“What do you call this?” He puts his hand on his laptop again.

“Necessary.” I say sharply, as if I was spitting venom with my words. It was necessary for my little wolf to be protected, and I'll stand by my decision. And her.

My dad looks down at the ground in contemplation. He knows I won’t budge. If it’s one thing I got from my father, besides my combat skills and intelligence, it’s stubbornness. He looks back to me as he twists his wedding ring.

“I may not be physically able to fight anymore. But I can help.” My body shuts down instantly. Every breath that was stored in my lungs freezes and I'm not sure my heart is beating. That response is certainly not what I expected. He swore to my mother that he would never work a life of violence again. Even if we did need his help, I could never accept it. “If you think they won’t retaliate for your attack, you've got another thing coming.”

“We don’t want your help, Dad. You've done enough. I'm sure they’ll retaliate, that’s why me and the guys are coming up with a plan to leave the family out for a while.” The room then fills with my cousins asking what the hell I'm talking about. Everyone's questions getting jumbled together until my dad holds his hand up. Silencing everyone.

“I have contacts who can give you the supplies you need and soldiers. Trained mercenaries. They’re a little rough around the edges, but they'll get the job done.”

“You've taught me enough, sir.” He did. From the time I was five, until the time I was twenty-five, my dad taught me how me to fight. How to protect myself. How to shoot a gun. He’s why I'm so dangerous.

“You need more than what I’ve taught you, and I would like to give you that. All of you. One of the best qualities of this family is our loyalty. Unfortunately, it’s also one of our worst.”

“He’s right, D. We’re not going anywhere.” Zander says as he turns to face me, but I don't look at him yet. Keeping my stare on my father.

“You've done enough, Dad. You can rest, and they’ll follow orders.” I look behind me to look at all of them. Stopping to look at Zander and little longer before I look back.

“I'll rest when I'm dead. I'm not asking.” He takes a few steps towards me. Trying to look intimidating.

“I'm not either, sir. No. I'm working on something that won’t involve the family or the government. As much as you hate it Dad, you’re still tied to the government. It’s my mess. I'll clean it up.” We stare at each other again. Resuming our fight for dominance.

“You'll feel differently one day when you wake up and she’s gone.” I feel my chest get hot with his bullshit assumption. “Not because she left, but because they took her. Your enemies will always come after your family. That’s how they hurt you. I hope you don’t have to learn the hard way like I did. Any of you.” I turn to watch as they all look at him with worry filling their eyes. “I just want you all to be alright. I want to help. Please, son…” My dad doesn’t do well with any emotion other than anger. I know he loves me, but after Emma died and he finally retired, there wasn’t much emotion left in him.

We all turn our attention to the sound of the door opening, to see my Nana walking in with her cane. A short, curly haired, wrinkly woman who looks real sweet on the outside, but can be mean as hell on the inside.

“Fifty-three years old, and I still can’t get any privacy.” My dad says to my Nana.

“Now John, you can act like the head of this family all you'd like, but until I’m dead, I still hold that spot.” I hear Danielle laugh behind me. Dip-shit. “Something to add, Danielle?” She cuts a look at her that could kill a demon.

“No ma’am, I apologize.” Danielle holds her hands together in front of her and looks to the floor. You don’t get smart with Nana. She’s a sweet old lady, but do not fuck with her. I learned that when I was nine. I forgot to say ma’am when she addressed me, and everything tasted like lavender for a week from the soap bar she shoved in my mouth. I still can’t stand the scent.

“I need to speak to Damien alone.” Everyone walks out quickly. Scurrying away as quickly as they can. Well, everyone besides my father and Nana gives him a daring look. “John?” He gives me a quick glance before walking up to me.

“Just think about what I said.” He pats my shoulder as he walks past us. Nana turns to me once Dad shuts the door, and she lays her hand on my arm.

“He giving you trouble again?” She says in her heavy southern accent.

“It’s fine, Nana. It’s just about work.” She nods her head, though I’m not so sure she’s going to accept my answer.

“That girl you got out there, she’s a little spit fire, yeah? Nice and polite too.”

“She is feisty. One of the million things I love about her.” She nods her head again.

“She’s been through a lot, hm?” She wiggles her painted on eyebrows at me.

“Do not tell her about your sense of smell, Nana.” She had a very traumatic life when she was young, and she swears she can smell it on other people. She says she can tell if someone is good or cold hearted by how they smell. I remember how she was when Melanie brought her first boyfriend to meet her. It’s still one of the funniest days of my life.

“I won’t dear, I'll refrain.” I look out to see her, but my chest tightens when I don’t immediately meet her gaze. I scan the living room until I see through the back doors that she’s moved outside to the porch. Instantly relieving my worries. “So, you think she’s it? You've never liked one enough to bring her around before.” I meet her soft stare.

“Yeah, Nana. She’s it. I wish I could explain how I know that. She just…she’s everything to me. I love her.” She smiles and pats my arm before gripping it adoringly.

“There’s no need to explain, Damien. I knew your Paw-Paw for all of a month before we got married. Fifty-seven years of marriage, and five years of death separating us, and not once have I doubted our love. Your father only knew your mother for three weeks, and I know he feels the same for her. Us Hartley’s, when we know, we know.” She walks up close to me. “She must be one special woman. To claim your heart, was a miracle.” We laugh. “So, in that case.” She starts to take her wedding rings off of her finger.

“Whoa, Nana. I can’t take that…” I put my hands on hers to try and stop her.

“Yes, you can. And you will.” She puts her engagement ring into my hand.

“Paw-Paw gave that to you, Nana. I can’t.” My whole family knows the story behind the ring. He took his whole life’s savings to buy it for her. Then a man mugged him and stole it. He searched for days for the mysterious man and then killed him when he finally found him. He proposed to my Nana that night and come to find out that it was actually her father that stole from my Paw-Paw. She said yes when he proposed and confessed to him how she was glad her father died. She was even happier when my grandfather told her it was him that had killed him. Turned out my great-grandfather was an abusive piece of shit. Murder has always surrounded our family. I suppose it's tradition at this point.

“I had always planned on giving it to one of my grandkids. For some reason when you and Emma were born, I knew it’d be you. Your Paw-Paw would be just as honored as I am. If you'd rather get her something fancy with all of that money you got, then that’s fine, but…”

“No, Nana. This is…she’d love this more than anything else I could get her. Thank you.” She places her hand on my cheek and gently taps it.

“You were always such a good boy. Such a good son, good friend, good brother.” I actually feel my throat tighten to her words. “Emma would have loved her.” All I can do is nod. I know she would have. Anyone that would make me this happy would have lit up her world. Now me? I know damn good and well that if any man ever tried to get near my sister, my body count would have started much earlier. God help every man on this planet when Ashia and I have a daughter. “Now hurry up, get hitched, and start popping out babies. I'm trying to get to thirty great grandkids by the time I croak.” I roll my eyes at her, grab her elbow, and help her walk back into the living room. Unable to lose the smile on my face.

“I'll let her make that choice, Nana.”