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“I do, and I’ve come to realize that you are very strange. I was just letting you know that I’m taking Martha and Reese out for a walk in case I’m not back.”
Damian glanced at the timer and saw it was a little after two. He tried to be home by three, or four at the latest. “I’m going to be late tonight. Take one of the guys on the door with you please. It’s for your protection.”
He heard her sigh. “I don’t like having people follow me.”
“It has been a month, and so far Ivan’s made no move to try and take you. I’m not going to give him that chance. Especially if he thinks I’m being sloppy in your protection detail. Please, do it for me.”
“Fine, fine. See you later, Damian.”
“You certainly will. Take care.”
“You, too.”
She hung up the phone, and he found himself smiling. He loved her. There was no way to describe his feelings for her, only that it was strong, and he couldn’t help it. She consumed every part of him, and calmed him in ways nothing ever had.
He loved hearing her talk. She was an amazing mother, and she cared for both of their kids. For short times, he could pretend they were a normal couple.
It was stupid, but he had grown used to pretending in a lot of things.
Parking at the warehouse, he saw several cars parked up, and it was just another sign of the divide among his brothers. None of them were backing each other. There was a higher risk of one of them screwing up and getting hurt, which made him sick to his stomach.
Climbing out of the car, he saw Gideon waiting.
“Are you ready for this?” Gideon was older than Damian by five years.
“Are you trying to baby me?” he asked. His older brothers were always protective of him, just like he felt the same for Landon and Tamsin. Gideon still hadn’t found the woman destined for him. Age didn’t determine when they found their woman. Landon had found his even before Damian had.
“I’m trying to prepare you. It’s not pretty, and it has even screwed with my stomach.”
Damian paused and looked at his brother. They had all seen some sick shit in their time.
He closed his eyes, knowing he shouldn’t enter that fucking room, but also that he didn’t have a choice. Letting a breath, he nodded. “I’m ready.”
“No one is every fucking ready for this shit.”
Gideon followed in behind him. The first he got was the scent of death, of decay, and he covered his nose. Then he saw Gabriel with his back turned to the sight, and finally, Damian saw what had all the men looking disgusted. On a dirty mattress were the two women, and the only way he knew was because there was a picture of the two women on either side of the mattress. The faces were unrecognizable. The bodies were naked, and they had been ruined. Their breasts had been cut off and patched together, but they had been dead some time. The stench was rotten. Their legs had been splayed open, and their bits cut off. The women had been beaten, cut, hurt, every manner of torture imaginable.
Damian got close and saw the initial W carved into their stomachs. “What the fuck is that?”
“It’s Westbrook,” Gabriel said. “My father had some dealings with him years ago, but that is the symbol, and he does it as his calling card.”
Gabriel was pale.
“I’ve heard of Westbrook,” Maddox said. “He’s a petty criminal.”
“No, he was a petty criminal. About a year ago he approached me and my brothers. He wanted to recruit us. Anyone connected to my father, Colton, he wanted on his team. I didn’t think much of it. Said he was building forces, that there was something that he wanted, and because they were so consumed, they’d never see him coming.” Gabriel frowned, looking at the women. “We’re all divided. Your rule has been law for so long, but that doesn’t mean that there are people out there that want to take your place. Jacob and Abel have families now. The news of who I am was divisive, and the Dentons have always been strong together, where there haven’t been any areas of weakness. You’ve worked as a family, fought together, and in the past few months, that hasn’t been the case. When you show weakness, there is always someone willing to take your place. To fight dirty to get it.”
“Nah, this doesn’t have fuck all to do with being divided. This is a pile of shit. Westbrook has been building this for years, but how?” Gideon asked, and then burst out laughing. “By drawing in the small townies. That’s how. Think about it, he can’t take the city, but we have fuck all to do with the townies. We supply to them.”
Damian looked at Gabriel, them both saying the one name. “Ivan.”
“Damian, I’ve told you to leave shit like Ivan out of this,” Maddox said. “It’s good business.”
“That’s the point. They’ve been taking our business, and Westbrook has been waiting for the perfect time.” This came from Gideon.
Damian frowned, and looked at the women. “Okay, okay, so they take two of our women. I don’t see the big deal. Do any of you? It doesn’t seem like a huge deal.”
“It’s not,” Jacob said. “And that’s the point. Two women like this, pushed aside, until the detail of the W reaches us. The girls leave, turn to him, and if they don’t, they end up dead. It all starts like a domino effect. Take out our girls, then the drugs with the townies, then slowly, take out our shops.”
