Page 7 of Protecting His Woman

“Y ou’re a piece of shit , but you know that, right?” Annette said.

Damion sat on a chair. The Thames’s had provided another barn with a single window for Annette to recuperate while Vicki made the decision on what was to happen to her mother.

He had given Vicki the news on Saturday. It was now Monday. He was aware that on Sundays, Vicki took the kids to church and would often let them hang out at the park, where they would have a small picnic.

Damion wasn’t interested in making small talk with her family, so he kept his distance. Also, she had a decision to make.

Vicki didn’t see him, but he saw her. He always kept an eye on her.

Nearly everyone knew Vicki was off limits. It was why Jude was currently undergoing punishment in one of his “chambers.”

Neil had given Jude to him, and it was now up to him to decide what happened to that piece of shit.

Damion had wanted to end him quietly, but that felt too easy, and he wasn’t interested in easy.

So, for now, he was in a dark dungeon, with rats to keep him company. He hadn’t been given any food or water.

He saw Annette shaking. She had a full cast on her hand. From what Neil had told him, the doctor had to clean the dirt from the hand, then it took several hours to reattach it. She might not have full function in her hand. Not that Damion cared.

“Do you realize your life hangs in the balance of a decision made by your daughter?” Damion asked.

Annette continued to shake. The withdrawal was already attacking her body. She had been on a drug high for over three weeks, and now she was crashing. This was part of her punishment. Her whole body had to be on fire.

Damion looked at her, and she was so skinny, flesh on bones. There were bruises all over her skin, and it smelled like someone had pissed on her. The clothes she wore had stains on them, and he was pretty sure most of them were semen. She hadn’t taken a shower. She was filthy.

“Vicki will do the right thing,” Annette said.

“Really, because I also happened to mention that you were going to sell her virginity.”

That seemed to make Annette look even paler and this made him smile.

“Fuck you,” Annette said.

“You know, Neil doesn’t like you. He never liked you, and he didn’t even realize you were on his property.” He tutted. “He is desperate for you to become his property so he can do whatever he wants with you.”

Annette visibly shook.

“Didn’t you and him ... used to be a thing?”

Damion smiled as he recalled Neil had once been a good guy. The nice guy, back in the day, he’d been the kind of guy that would take his girl’s books and hold her bag. He’d hold doors open, and call everyone Miss and Ma’am. He’d been a good boy.

That all changed when he caught Annette, his girl, being fucked by two teachers. He’d changed. Gone from being the good guy, and overnight, he was looking very much like a man who could take over from his father, the leader of the Thames family.

“Fuck you.”

Damion laughed. “Until we know Vicki’s answer, you’re going to have to wait to see what happens to your life.”

“My daughter loves me.”

“Yeah, she probably does. But she has bills to pay, a house to keep, five kids to take care of, and whatever debt you have coming in. Vicki has to keep cleaning up your messes, and I promise you, Annette, with each little thing she has to do that prevents her from living her own life, you start to look less like a mom and more like a burden she wants to be rid of.”

Damion got to his feet. “I wonder what her decision will be.”

And with that, he left.

Neil was outside, waiting for him.

“You’re getting a kick out of this, aren’t you?” Neil asked.

“Annette had shit coming to her. All her life, she has gotten away with a lot.”

“You know there is a chance Vicki could be mine,” Neil said.

“You ever done the paternity test?” Damion asked.

“Fuck, no. She could be mine, and, like, ten teachers, and whoever she fucking fucked back in the day.”

“Those kids could be anybody’s. I know they’re not mine,” Damion said. “She is one bitch I never touched. She was poison.”

Neil laughed, but wasn’t entertained.

“You okay?”

“No, not really.” Neil rubbed a hand down his face. “I keep a tight fucking ship, and I don’t know how, but Jude managed to steal five girls. I don’t know who the fuck they are. None of them are talking and they’re in a bad way. I want them off my property.”

“You’re not getting Jude back,” Damion said.

“I know, and trust me, that little shit has cost me enough, and I know getting those girls back home will cost me. Just name the price, and deal with it,” Neil said. “I don’t give a fuck what it takes. I want nothing to do with it.”

Damion looked at him and had no choice but to go and see the girls. Stepping into the barn, Neil had kept them locked up in the cages. The girls were in bad condition.

“I’ve got them in withdrawal right now,” Neil said. “I’ve got the doctor on speed dial to come and deal with them, but they need to be home with their families.”

Damion pulled out his cell phone, went to each girl, took a picture, and then left. He had contacts outside of Old County. No one wanted anything to fucking do with the town, and it was up to him to deal with shit like this. This was part of the job he hated, as it always came with a fucking price.

After leaving Thames’s territory, he paid a visit to Jude, fed him, beat the shit out of him, then left, leaving him locked up.

Once he was done, he had no choice but to start making negotiations when it came to the girls. It was easier if they were wanted. It made it a lot harder to get the girls to a safe place if they were picked up off the streets.

This day was fucking shit.

****

V icki had a horrible day at work.

It was rare for Old County to get tourists, but from time to time, they came through.

Today was one of those days, and whenever they got tourists, there was not a lot they could do but wait it out and hope for the best. Vicki had been polite and tried to advise that they leave town.

If tourists entered Old County and saw bad stuff, it would be impossible for them to leave.

The newly married couple were looking for places to hike, and they also wanted a hotel room.

Old County didn’t have any hotels. Of course, this would start people asking what kind of town didn’t have hotels.

Some tourists came because they heard the rumors that once you were in Old County, you couldn’t leave. Some of them got to leave, others didn’t.

Vicki listened to Betsy’s day, telling how she had read some books and they were learning right and wrong.

It was amazing to hear Betsy finally loving school.

Of course, she would complain about the lack of hair-playing classes, but Vicki tried to make it up to her.

Dhalia, Smithy, and Pete were all up in their bedroom, studying.

She would go up from time to time to see if they were lying to her.

All three wanted a better life than the one Mom had.

Dhalia was a little like her, and spent all her spare time in a book. Vicki had been bullied for who her mother was, and she had a feeling they all got the same. There was nothing they could do about who had given birth to them.

Frank was nowhere to be seen, as usual.

Betsy was coloring and chatting animatedly.

Vicki continued to stir the tomato sauce, and she then moved to the fridge, grabbing some cheese. She had finally gotten to the store for groceries they were going to need for the week.

Frank asked for beer, and she hadn’t gotten any.

There was no way she would waste money on beer.

There was a time Frank contributed to the food bill, now he did nothing.

She paid for everything, and that was fine.

She just had to budget the money a lot better.

With Christmas coming up, she had saved a little so she could give everyone some gifts.

It was going to be tight, but as long as nothing broke or needed fixing, she would be fine. She had gotten the knack of fixing stuff around the house. She only called an electrician or plumber when it was absolutely necessary.

“Dinner’s ready,” Vicki said, calling her siblings down.

She heard their footfalls as they came downstairs. She served up the sauce, sprinkled on cheese, and placed it at the table.

“This smells good, Vic,” Smithy said.

Dhalia said the same, as did Pete.

Just as she sat down, Frank entered the kitchen, and Vicki knew he had been drinking. His eyes were a little glazed over, and he looked unshaven.

“Frank,” Betsy said, jumping off her chair and running toward him.

He held his arms out and hugged her tightly. “Hey, little munchkin, how are you doing?”

“Having dinner, you have to have some,” Betsy said, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the table.

Frank sat down, and Vicki got to her feet to grab his food. She had placed it in the microwave, in the hope of him coming home. She always saved him a portion of food. If Frank didn’t eat it, someone else would, either cold or warmed up.

“So, big sis, are you going to ask us what we think you should do?” Frank asked.

“Stop it,” Vicki said.

“What’s going on?” Pete asked.

“It’s nothing.”

“It isn’t nothing, and you know it,” Frank said.

Vicki looked at her brother, and he smirked.

“So, are you going to let that old whore rot for good? She deserves it.”

Dhalia looked toward her, along with Pete and Smithy. Betsy didn’t say a word.

“We’re not talking about this,” Vicki said.

“Talk about what?” Dhalia asked. “What is going on? You can’t keep us in the dark.”

“It would seem our dear little mommy has crossed the line.” Frank tutted. “The rumor is, it’s up to the daughter to make the decision. She has the choice to keep Mom a civilian and fucking protected, or send her to the Thames’s and become their property.”

“How did you find out about that?”