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DAMON
Nothing I could do, would stop the sinister thoughts that crept through my mind, as I made my way over to the Lennox Compound. My princess had already experienced the kind of evil Alexander Ducane could dish out first hand, saw the aftermath his demented son did to her best friend, I didn’t want her to have to go through it all again. I wasn’t leaving this meeting without what I wanted.
The scent of the white rose hit me as I pulled to a stop in Stryker’s parent’s driveway, steeling myself for what was to come, I kicked the stand to my bike and made my way up the front stoop. Didn’t have to wait long, the door opened before I could knock.
“You didn’t waste any time getting here D,” Stryker noted as he pulled me in for a hug. His greeting wasn’t all that unusual around the beach house but this was a formal meet, and looking up behind him, I could see the disapproving look furrowed across his father’s face.
Traditions ran deep with the older Lennox, and I knew he was still a little unsure about me. However, if everything worked out the way I wanted it to, not only would we be future business partners but somewhere down the line we would be family, hell we practically already were.
“This couldn’t wait,” I patted his back as I walked past. Putting my hand out to greet the Lennox Patriarch. “Mr Lennox.”
Killian Lennox was a hard fucker to get a read on. The guy just stood there, looking at my hand for a minute before he raised his eyes to mine. “Mr Zammit, follow me.”
Well then guess pleasantries were not in our futures any time soon. Looking over my shoulder at Stryker just in time to see him roll his eyes. “Your dad always this frosty.”
“Only when it comes to family bro,” Stryker answered as he nodded in the direction his father had gone. “Come on, he wasn’t all that thrilled you decided to move up the meeting Damon.”
“Didn’t have much choice with what my guy uncovered,” There was no room for jokes now. When I delivered the info Jonah gave me earlier, two things would happen—the Lennox’s would either close rank or if I got my way, give me what I needed to bring my princess home. Leaving the door open to cement a non conventional partnership between the two organizations.
The hallway Stryker led me down was lined with paintings of rolling green hills, and ruined castles, a nod to their Irish heritage that stood out against the light walls. Down at the end was a huge floor to ceiling window that framed what looked to be another rose garden, this one a wash of red and pinks. Just before we reached the window, Stryker turned into a doorway.
The room that now greeted me was a stark contrast to the grays and whites of the rest of the house. It was dark and foreboding. Black woodwork framed the windows and bookshelves, the bar in the corner had gold trim and in the middle of the room was a large sleek black desk with a glass top. The man meant business and the room screamed it.
“Please sit Mr Zammit.” The deep timbre tone of Killian’s voice confirmed Stryker’s earlier statement. The guy was definitely none to pleased that I changed his schedule. The first seeds of doubt had started to set in, but I was Damon fucking Zammit, and I wouldn’t be taking no for an answer.
“Thank you sir,” was my only reply as I took his invitation. “And you can call me Damon sir.”
“Tell me Damon, do you make a habit of changing timetables son?” The annoyance heavy in his voice, had me looking over at Stryker just in time to see the slight shake of his head. I knew it wasn’t a great move, hell even I would have been pissed if a contact did it to me so I got where he was coming from.
“I apologize sir, however I’m sure when you hear what I have to say you will understand why it was important to do so.” It was time to lay my cards on the table, Paige was in some real trouble and it was time to put an end to her little Nancy Drew expedition. “I tasked one of my guys with tracking down Alexander Ducane.”
“And why would this be important information I’d want to know?” Killian Lennox sat back in his chair, resting his arms on his desk. I could see the cogs turning over in his head as he waited for me to continue. He knew the answer to the question already, he also knew I was invested in this he just didn’t know the extent.
“Well, sir because you and I both know if we find him we find Paige,” I answered, a smug smirk making its way across my face, as I handed him copies of the photos Jonah had given me. It was no secret that she had gone dark, none of her accounts had been touched, her phone pinged its location in her Escalade which had been parked in her parents' garage. “I believe it’s the angle we should have taken from the get go, but we were all concerned with just trying to find her.”
I watched as he perused through the photos, occasionally giving one to Stryker, before he looked up at me again.
“Thank you for your intel Mr Zammit,” Killian was about to dismiss me, there was no fucking way I was about to let that happen. “My family will take it from here.”
“With all due respect Killian, I didn’t share this with you to just be cast aside,” all formalities now out the window. He may be the head of a criminal organization, but so was I and if anyone was about to bring in my Princess it would be me. “We both know if you send your people in there to bring her back she will be gone again within hours, that girl can hold a grudge and the both of you know it.”
“With all due respect Mr Zammit, this is a family matter and to be frank you are not family.” Killian countered. If looks could kill then I’d be checking into Hell, but that wasn’t going to stop me.
“And I’d say that we’re already family Sir,” I answered back, fully aware he was waiting for me to elaborate. “Phoenix is like a sister to me, Paige’s absence had affected her. And I hate seeing my sister hurting.”
“What is your fascination with my niece Mr Zammit? Why do you want to be the one to bring her back?” He was an observant asshole, totally ignored what I’d said and went straight for the kill. It was a question I hadn’t been prepared for, and the way his eyes narrowed in on me, I knew he was after something that I wasn’t quite ready to admit to myself yet.
“She means a lot to my friend, her absence has been hard on her that’s all there is to it, and as I said before Phoenix is like a sister to me—I don’t like it when my family is hurting,” deflecting the attention off of myself, a cowardly move I know but I couldn’t answer him any other way.
“Ah yes, young Ms Brooks,” he acknowledged, “but if that is your only reason, surely my son could bring his cousin back.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right he could,” I relaxed back into my chair, crossing my legs, as I scratched my chin, musing over how I could deliver the next part without causing too much trouble. “But, he is the one she feels most betrayed by, I mean yes you kept her in the dark too, however, she expected that from you but Stryker here, well he went back on a promise he made her and it would be safe to say that she probably wouldn’t take too kindly to him showing up and dragging her back.”
“And just how do you plan on getting her back here?” Stryker asked through gritted teeth. He didn’t even hide his anger now, it was a low blow but I needed them to understand.
“Listen, I’ll lay it all out for you,” It was time to get real, both Stryker and his father were good at talking in circles, giving as little information in order to gain a lot from the other person, I felt the control slipping to their advantage and that just wasn’t how this was going to go. “My source and I have reason to believe that her cover has been blown and the Ducanes are getting ready to disappear. Worst case scenario; they know your family had Kyle, they know he is dead, I don’t think I need to tell you how it will go if they get their hands on Paige.”
I paused, giving them time to comprehend what I was saying. It wasn’t hard to deduce what I was alluding to. I watched as the pieces started to click together. The realisation that my Princess was in some serious shit should the fucking Ducane brothers decide to seek retribution. And if history tells us anything, it that that family always seeks retribution.
