Page 5 of Protecting His Woman

“A nnette is still in Thames’s territory. No sign of her leaving anytime soon. They had a shipment of new product and I’m guessing they are using it on her,” Delphine said.

Damion sat back in his office chair, and he held a stress ball within his grip.

Last night had been incredible. Vicki had been amazing company, but he knew she was stressed about her mother and also about Frank.

There was nothing he could do with either, as both were playing dangerous games on their own terms. All he could do was offer to clean up the mess when it was over.

If he interfered, he broke his own rules, and he wasn’t doing that shit.

“I fucking hate Annette,” Delphine said.

“You said the house was well kept and the kids fed.”

“Yeah, because it is Vicki’s responsibility.

She is the one that stays home, she has the room in the attic.

Even the attic was fucking clean. I checked the whole place out.

Vicki has everything mailed to her. All the bills, the rent, you name it, she pays for it.

The girl keeps nothing for herself. Every cent she has goes to that house and those kids.

She does the yard work, takes them to school.

She even attempts to do repairs on her own car.

” Delphine took a seat. “The girl is a saint, and I know she got some grief for being Annette’s daughter.

Even I thought she would end up like her mother. Fucking slut that she is.”

“You’re not holding back.”

“Betsy is a cutie-pie. Frank’s an asshole.

We already know what path he is taking. Then you have Dhalia, Smithy, and Pete,” Delphine said, counting them off on her fingers.

“With Betsy, Frank, and Vicki, that is Annette’s six kids.

I mean, fuck me, there is probably even going to be a seventh one after her latest bender.

” Delphine shook her head. “Betsy is the youngest.” She shrugged. “What did she have to say to you?”

“It was a date, Delphine. I’m not going to start spilling dating secrets.”

“I tell you, that woman needs a break.” Delphine smiled. “You know, I don’t recall you ever being into a woman.”

Damion just looked at her, not interested in making small talk.

“I should warn you, if you’re going to dive into her, I’d wear a rubber. Something tells me Vicki would be just as fertile as her mother.”

“You can leave.”

Delphine laughed and got to her feet. “If you ever need me to babysit again, or slap the mother around, or ... I don’t know, to encourage Vicki to marry you, just let me know.”

“I doubt you would help my cause.”

She pressed a hand against her chest. “You hurt me.”

This made him raise his eyebrow, and she laughed.

“Anyway, Vicki needs a break, poor girl. I think she felt like she had kids from a young age.” Delphine whistled. “You know where I’ll be if you need me.”

She always went back to the florist to help her parents. Even after all this time, the florist was a lucrative business and one of the best in Old County.

Damion had been the perfect gentleman last night.

They enjoyed a nice meal. Vicki hadn’t known what to order for herself, so he had ordered her the spaghetti carbonara.

Betsy had told him many months ago it was her sister’s favorite.

That girl didn’t miss a thing. He thought she was so adorable, and his feelings hadn’t changed.

Working his way through his emails, he checked the latest facts and figures to see everything was up-to-date.

All rents were paid, the local taxes were paid.

No one was behind. This was part of the work.

Next, he checked through the petitions that were sent his way, along with a few requests for business expansions.

He would have to deal with them separately, and as he was working through stuff, Tank came into his office.

“Shouldn’t you be working?” Damion asked.

Tank was a large man, heavily inked, and at one time had been into the family life. He’d gotten out, become a chef, and didn’t step foot into that world anymore. He was a civilian, and any secrets he knew would die with him.

“This came in the mail,” Tank said. “It is addressed to Vicki.”

This got his attention. “Vicki has mail directed to the diner?”

“No, this is why I opened it. You need to look inside.”

Damion got to his feet as Tank put the box on his desk.

All the important paperwork was out of the way, and he opened the box.

There, inside, was a hand. It didn’t take a scientist to know it was a feminine hand, and from the ink on the wrist, it was her mother’s hand.

Blood soaked the ice, and inside was a single note.

“You’re needed,” Damion said, reading the note. “Does Vicki know about this?”

“No, I brought it straight to you.”

“Good. Keep it that way.” Damion opened his front desk and pulled out the envelope. “Here is your request for the expansion. Work can start in a week.” He held out the forms and Tank took them.

“I didn’t bring this to you, for this reason,” Tank said.

“I know.”

“I like Vicki. She is a good girl, and she doesn’t need to get wrapped up in this mess.”

“I know, and trust me, she won’t.”

The Thames’s had just broken a fucking rule. Civilians were not supposed to be messed with. Annette went to them first. She was having a good time with them. Now, they were going to have to deal with him.

Opening his drawers, he pulled out some guns, loaded his holster, added some extra ammo, and then got his hunting knives.

“I’ll be around for lunch, and I expect Vicki to be able to take her lunch with me.”

“I’ll arrange everything. Do you need help?” Tank asked.

“If you help me, you’re back in the life, and that will put a target on your back. I’m good.”

And with that, he walked out of his office, closing and locking the doors.

His men followed him, taking the car behind him. He climbed inside his car, reversing out of his spot and spinning the wheel to take him to the edge of Old County. That is where the Thames family resided, right near the river. They found it funny to live near the river, with their name as Thames.

Damion didn’t give a fuck who they were or why they did the shit they did. Right now, they had broken his fucking code, and for that, they were going to pay the price.

As he arrived at the main house, the man at the front door went for his gun.

Damion had his pointed out his car window, and shot out the man’s knee.

He was not here to kill, but to give a warning, and with the hand on ice, he had time to make this right.

Grabbing the box, he shot out another man’s knee that came out of the house.

“What is all this fucking shooting?” the Thames’s leader, Neil, came to the front door. He wore a white wifebeater shirt, and he looked pissed. “What the fuck are you doing here?” Neil asked.

“You want to tell me why you’re breaking my rules, and why, right now, I have every fucking right to shoot you in the fucking head?” Damion said.

Neil frowned. Leaders of families didn’t frown when shit was brought to their front door. The man he shot first cried out.

“Shut the fuck up,” Neil said. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Damion tossed the box to the ground, and by accident, the hand fell out. “You and I both know that is Annette’s hand. Now, you’re going to tell me why you’re asking the daughter, and told her she is needed.”

Neil held a hand up, walked inside his home, and within seconds, he pulled out a young woman with long, black hair, dressed in shorts and a bra.

She looked so skinny, and Damion knew that was from years of drug abuse.

Most of the women within the Thames’s were slender.

They also had the capital T inked on their arms, which made them Thames’s property.

Neil had a gun to her head. “Tell me what happened now.”

The woman started to cry, and for that, she got a slap to the face. Damion didn’t give a fuck. The woman knew the score, and if Neil hit her, then he knew his family and what they were capable of.

“Jude wants fresh meat, and Annette said her daughter was a virgin, that she would be fresh meat, but she also said there was no way she was going to come into Thames territory. Not unless she was going to protect her mommy, as she loved her mommy. Jude ... drugged Annette and chopped off her hand. She’s out in barn seven, and he’s keeping her filled with drugs. ”

Neil hit her hard, and the girl knocked out on the main porch.

“I had nothing to do with this,” Neil said, holding his hands out.

“But you know there are going to be consequences.”

Neil nodded. “Yeah, I fucking know. Call the fucking doctor and tell him he needs to perform a miracle and attach a fucking limb.” Neil bent down, picked up the hand, and shoved it back in the box. “Come on, barn seven is around back.”

Damion didn’t let his gun go, but he also knew Neil was many things, but he didn’t use the products he made, and most times he kept a tight ship.

“Jude sounds like a real piece of work,” Damion said.

Neil laughed. “He believes he is an entrepreneur and wants to expand into trafficking. Like I said, we don’t do that shit in Old County. There are rules, and I’m guessing this is his way of saying, ‘fuck the rules.’”

They opened up barn seven, and that was where he saw Annette lying on a mattress. Her wrist was bound with a blood-soaked sheet, with her arm popping a vein, and still fucking alive.

****

T here was a lot of talk around the diner today, most of it about Damion visiting the Thames place. Usually when Damion was visiting places, it was because they broke the rules. He didn’t go anywhere, they came to him. When he had to go somewhere, someone was going to end up dead.

Vicki looked into the bathroom mirror at her reflection. She wasn’t afraid. Maybe if she lived anywhere besides Old County, what she knew about Damion would terrify her.

She wasn’t afraid. She didn’t even care. How fucked up was that?