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damian

I stared at Talie as she slept, resisting the urge to pull her into my arms and wake her. She was breathing lightly, her face peaceful. It hadn’t been twenty-four hours since Jack and Percy had taken her, but other than sore ribs, she seemed to be fine.

I was still a complete fucking mess.

She hadn’t left my sight since then. I had every intention of staying glued to her side until the crippling fear of losing her dissipated. We hadn’t ventured out of the apartment since leaving the hospital.

My eyes darted to my phone on the nightstand when it vibrated.

Moving slowly to keep from waking her up, I slipped out of bed.

I hissed out a breath when I reached for my phone, forgetting my upper arm was stitched up.

Luckily, the bullet didn’t nick the bone but got buried in soft tissue.

While it wouldn’t take too long to heal, the pain was annoying every time I moved my damn arm.

I snatched my phone up with my other hand, reading the text.

Ash:

Got his laptop. He didn’t send it anywhere else. Your family is in the clear.

I closed my eyes, blowing out a breath. That was one less thing I had to worry about.

Whatever Jack had on my father—and me—was gone now.

I’d known some of Christian’s and Jude’s business associates weren’t exactly upstanding citizens, but before all this, I’d had no idea how far it went.

They had shell companies set up to launder money. Companies I’d helped with unknowingly.

I glanced down when another text came through.

Ash:

Your dad and father-in-law are wrapped up in some deep shit. Be careful what you sign at the office. Talk later.

Great. Whatever he learned was bad enough.

He didn’t want evidence of it. My stomach churned as I paced in front of the bed.

When my eyes landed on Talie, my heart squeezed.

I didn’t want her caught up in any of this shit.

Jude and Christian would never change their ways.

Not when they grew their fortune doing it.

I crept into the bathroom, leaving the door slightly cracked before finding my dad’s number in my phone. He picked up after the first ring.

“It’s handled,” I said coldly.

“Handled?”

“Whatever Jack had, it’s gone,” I informed him. “It will never see the light of day.”

He cleared his throat. “Good, that’s good. Jack survived. He’ll stay in the hospital until he’s medically cleared. Then he’ll go straight to jail. I already talked to the detective. They’ll be charging him with a long list of things.”

“You aren’t worried he’ll spill your secrets?” I asked.

“My lawyer had a talk with him at the hospital. He won’t talk…” he trailed off before chuckling cruelly. “If he even survives long enough to go to jail.”

“I thought he was out of critical care?”

“He is. But some of our business associates are not happy with him. He’s a loose end.”

“Stop,” I cut him off sharply. “I am not going to be a part of it.”

“Come on, son,” he pressed. “You’re saying you’re happy he survived? After he kidnapped your wife?”

My fingers tightened around the phone. A part of me agreed with him. Did that make me a shit person? I wasn’t sure how long his time in prison could be, and I never wanted to worry about him coming after Talie again.

He sighed. “We can talk about it more at the office tomorrow?—”

I scoffed. “I knew you’d try to back out. I’m done, Dad. Done with business. Done with you. I had my lawyer draw up the contract. I’ll have it sent to you tomorrow. I fixed it. The deal was that Talie and I would be free.”

“Damian, think clearly,” he snapped, annoyance laced in his voice. “This will be your empire someday. You can’t just walk away. Jude won’t allow Natalia to leave.”

“Walking away is exactly what we’re doing,” I said firmly. “Neither you nor Jude will stand in our way.”

“You can’t do this,” he growled, his rage growing with each word. “I won’t sign it. Stop acting like a fucking child. You’ll be in the office tomorrow, and we’ll talk about it. If you want to keep the little club, we can work that out too.”

“There’s no talking about it. You’ll sign it.”

“You don’t give me orders.”

“I fixed your problem, Dad,” I said slowly, letting threat creep into my voice. “I have everything that Jack took. Enough to bury you and Jude.”

The heavy silence dragged on as I waited for his response. This was the first time I’d ever stood up like this to my father, but there were no nerves. No regrets. I knew what I wanted and didn’t care what I needed to do to get it.

“You think you can blackmail me?” he finally questioned. “If you do, it will also hurt you. You’re part of the business. The shady parts too.”

“I don’t care.”

“Don’t care?” he sputtered in disbelief. “You’d be sending yourself to prison.”

“You’ll be in handcuffs right next to me.”

“You’d rather spend years behind bars than work with me?”

“Yes.”

“You’re doing this for her,” he accused, as if it were a secret.

“My wife doesn’t want this life. I’ll do anything to make sure she gets what she desires.”

“You lovesick idiot,” he raged. “Your marriage was supposed to be nothing more than a business deal.”

“It was always more.”

“Don’t do this.”

“It’s already done. Let me spell this out for you to make sure there isn’t any misunderstanding.

” I paused, letting the words sink in. “In the contract you and Jude are about to sign, there is a list of stipulations. You’ll be cutting me from the business.

I don’t work with you anymore. My life is my own.

Jude will not contact Talie unless she initiates it.

She is free to do whatever the fuck she wants. ”

“You’re saying neither of you want to be part of the family anymore?” he asked bitterly. “This will break your mom’s heart.”

“I’m not cutting her out. I’ll see her whenever she wants. Just like Talie will still have a relationship with her sister. It’s you and Jude we’re leaving.”

“Damian—”

“If either of you fail at obeying the contract, the amount of money you’ll lose will make the lawsuit from a couple years ago look like pocket change.”

Money talked more than anything when it came to my father. Which was why I made sure he would lose millions if he broke our contract. It was a good thing Ash had the blackmail Jack had taken, or I wouldn’t have had enough to make him agree.

“I give it a year,” he sneered. “Until you realize life without money is nothing, then you’ll both come running back.”

He hung up before I could respond. My chest filled with satisfaction as I tossed my phone on the bathroom counter. He didn’t need to give me an answer to know what he’d do. Money over anything—even his own son. I’d send the paperwork tomorrow, and he’d sign it before lunch.

Opening the door, I went still when I saw Talie standing right in front of me.

My eyes raked down her body as my dick stirred.

She was wearing one of my white t-shirts where the hem reached the top of her thighs.

I knew she wasn’t wearing anything underneath, which wasn’t helping my dirty thoughts.

But when my eyes met hers, it was easy to see she wanted a serious conversation.

I strolled out of the bathroom, giving her a smile. “Eavesdropping, wife?”

“Are you really blackmailing your dad?” she asked, the hope swirling in her eyes making this all worth it.

“Not only him,” I corrected her. “I’m blackmailing your father too.”

“Will it work?”

“It’ll work,” I promised, wrapping my good arm around her, leading her back to the bed. “It’s early. Go back to sleep.”

“I’m not tired.”

Ignoring her protest, I gently pushed her back on the bed. “Lift your arms. I want you naked.”

“Damian, we can’t tear your stitches.”

I tsked. “You think I’d fuck you when your ribs are bruised?”

“I’m sure you would if I asked.” She smiled seductively before tugging off my shirt. “Or you can watch me touch myself.”

“I had enough of that torture on the yacht,” I muttered. “If you get off, I’ll be the one doing it. But that’s not what I want right now. Lay on your stomach. If it doesn’t hurt your ribs.”

She shot me a confused look before flipping over and lying down, tucking her arms under her face. My eyes dropped to her firm ass, my dick hardening despite myself. Fuck me. She was perfect. I sat on the mattress next to her, leaning back against the headboard.

My injured arm uselessly stayed at my side as I raised the other one to rub her back. She let out a moan when I massaged her shoulder.

“I’ve been waiting for you to ask,” she mumbled, keeping her face turned away from me.

“Ask about what?”

“The money in my account.”

I chuckled. “I know where it came from. It’s yours.”

“No. It’s the money I took from you.”

“What’s mine is yours, baby,” I recited the words from her email when I’d found out she stole from my safe all those years ago. “I never expected you to give the money back.”

She turned her head, her cheek resting on her crossed arms as she looked at me. “That’s not what you said when I first came back.”

“I know. I lied.” I continued massaging her, switching between a light and hard touch. “Don’t get me wrong—five years ago when you took it, I was angry. But not anymore. Not even when you came home.”

“Really?” she questioned doubtfully.

“Really,” I confirmed. “I let you believe I was mad about the money when you came home because I wasn’t going to admit the real reason to you. Not when you had hatred simmering in your eyes every time you looked at me.”

“What was the real reason you were angry?”

“Because you would rather leave again than stay here with me. I didn’t blame you, but my emotions aren’t rational when it comes to you.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “That’s not true anymore.”

“Good. Because I have no plans to let you go again.” I moved my hand down to her ass before massaging it. “Why didn’t you spend it?”

“I didn’t need it. I got into the music scene pretty quickly. I stayed with friends I met or at cheap hostels. Sometimes rentals. I never bought furniture or anything. I only traveled with two suitcases.”

“Why didn’t you spend it?” I repeated. “This time, I want the truth.”

She sighed contently, my massage clearly relaxing her. “I knew what the money meant to you. I wanted to hurt you when I left, but not that much. I was always going to give it back.” She hesitated. “But now I feel bad. If I hadn’t taken it, then you never would have gone into business with Percy.”

“Don’t regret the past,” I said quietly. “It’s done. You spent five years away from me, and since you’re back, I have every intention of savoring every damn day with you.”

I trailed my fingertips up her spine before massaging her neck. She didn’t say a word, her low moans keeping my dick rock hard. I’d have to deal with it later since I wasn’t rubbing her body for sexual gratification. This was because I loved having my hands on her, and it was making her happy.

“Do you think we’re really free?” she whispered. “That my dad will leave me alone?”

I leaned over, kissing her shoulder. “I swear to you, Talie. You’re free to do whatever you want.”

She raised up on her elbows. “What if I don’t want to live here? What if I want to travel or start fresh somewhere else?”

“Then we move.”

“Your club is here.”

“We’re talking of expanding. Pick a place, and I’ll open another one wherever you want to go.”

Her lips parted. “You’re serious?”

“Deadly.”

Her eyes glittered as she grinned. “What if I want to move to Alaska?”

“Please.” I laughed, pulling her into my chest with one arm when she sat up. “You love the music scene far too much to move somewhere so desolate.”

She snuggled against me as we lay there in silence.

Soon, her breaths evened out as she fell back asleep.

I kissed the top of her head, tightening my hold on her.

While I loved Club Facade, I was telling her the truth.

I would be more than happy to move. Ash, Rhyett, and I had been talking about opening another club.

It was easy to guess why Talie wanted to leave. Everyone knew her here as Jude’s daughter and my wife. There was no getting away from the gossip and rumors of our world. Even if we separated from our families, we would always be tied to them here.

If she wanted to leave, then we’d leave.