Keep Her From Harm Read online

  He paused at the door, and turned back to look at his father.

  “Don’t do anything stupid.”

  “I can’t guarantee that. I am my father’s son after all.”

  He left the office, and made his way out of the main stairwell, down toward the casino, and out the front door.

  “You really don’t like the Denton name, do you?” Gabriel said.

  Damian stopped and turned to see that Gabriel had followed him. “What do you want?”

  “I’ve heard a lot of shit about Ivan Smith. He’s a petty criminal that has an entire town under his thumb. The women he fucks tend to end up on drugs, and whoring themselves out for him and their next fix. He keeps them doped up, and shit like that. He’s also got an internet business with the girls. People at home pay to see some sick shit, and believe me it is sick.”

  “I don’t want to know about your porn habits.”

  “I don’t need porn to get off.” Gabriel stepped closer to him. “Look, I get it. You hate my guts, and I can deal with it. You’re not the first person to hate me, and at least now I know why my father didn’t like me all that much.”

  “Colton?”

  “Yeah, who else would I be talking about? I’m used to being looked at with disgust and everyone pretty much hating me. Believe me, I’ve got a thick skin because of it. You don’t like your name, and I get it. I do. You want to take on Ivan, I’m with you. I don’t like anyone that hurts women.”

  Damian frowned at the man in front of him. “You were going to kidnap my sister.”

  He sighed. “I didn’t say that I didn’t make mistakes. Everyone does, but I didn’t hurt her.”

  “Because you didn’t get your fucking hands on her.”

  “I’m trying here, Damian. You think I wanted to know about this shit? You think I want to know that my mother fucked your dad, and that I grew up with a man hating me for probably knowing about it. I’m now part of a fucking family that can’t stand me. Cut me some slack. You want to kill Ivan, give me a call.” Gabriel slapped a card against his chest. “I won’t ask again.”

  Gabriel walked off, and Damian stared at the number on the card. Now he felt like the world’s biggest asshole.

  “You really don’t need to treat him like shit, you know,” Abel said, coming out.

  “Where’s Jacob? Isn’t he his bodyguard?”

  Abel shook his head. “Ever since the news came out of Dad being the father of Gabriel, shit has hit the fan. You’ve not been around to see it. News travels fast, and then Mom was pissed. Jacob is trying to deal with the cleanup. We’re all trying to deal with how weak this can make our family and our name look.”

  Damian smirked. “How the fuck can this make us look weak?”

  “Open your eyes, you fuck. Dad had a kid with our enemy’s woman. She may be long dead and so is our enemy, but all of a sudden, there’s a kid that is older than Jacob. The next one in line. Not to mention there are Coltons still alive. You see what I’m getting at here? This is a delicate situation, and Jacob is trying to show a united front. Not to mention the fact that we all had another brother that none of us knew about. Gabriel is part of us, Damian. If you saw past your own fucked up issues, you’d see that.”

  “When did you become the voice of reason?” Damian asked.

  “I have a son, Damian. Evan’s growing up fast, and then I have Harper. I have a family. You’ve got Martha, and now you’ve found your woman. What do you want me to say? I’ve got no choice but to fight, and so have you.” Abel looked up at the casino. “I know you feel responsible for Betty. Harper lost her best friend, and I’ve had to hold her as she cried herself to sleep at night. I don’t know what you’re going through, but I know you’ve got to handle it your own way. I’m with you. What I’m asking is to keep your shit together as much as you can. I know that seems like a lot to ask, and it probably is. There’s more going on here than Gabriel and Dad.”

  Damian stared at the ground. “Tell Harper she can see Martha any time she wants. I have no problem her being involved in her life.” Martha was the only thing left of Betty, and he wasn’t going to deny Harper that. “I will try to figure out what the fuck is going on, and I’ll deal with my shit inside here.” He pointed at his head. “I’ve got to go.”

  “See you around.”

  He waited for Abel to leave, heading back into the casino. It wouldn’t be long before his brothers had to go and deal with their own personal chores to do with the Denton name. Since Gabriel had arrived, they had been swapping and changing certain areas. Damian sometimes dealt with their brothels, other times their money-lending guys, and then there was the drugs. They had businesses all over the world, and to work in their city, they had to come straight to Denton territory, which of course was the casino. This was where business was made, and men were either brought into the fold or killed.

  For the past six months he’d done nothing to help the Denton name. He’d been drinking his way down a bottle of whiskey, hoping for oblivion at the end of it.

  They all had their vices, each one of the Denton men. Jacob, his oldest brother, loved control. Oliver once had a thing about screwing other men’s wives, but that had changed the moment he met Ruby. Abel had been into violence, and was still into it, but his passion was now his family, his love of Harper keeping him straight. Gideon, he didn’t know what the fuck his brother was into, only that he had a lot of secrets, and liked to meddle. Gideon was the one who’d revealed Gabriel’s identity, and brought all of the Coltons out of hiding. Landon was a troublemaker, or had been until he was sent to England.

  Then there was himself. Damian loved control, dominance. There was once a club he would frequent where he wore a mask, and was able to fuck and to hurt every available woman there. All night he’d spend spanking the fuck out of woman’s asses, or torturing their nipples, making them come, screaming for more.

  He never took a woman who was unwilling, and since Betty had come into his life, he’d done none of those things.

  Life had changed a lot, and he didn’t know if there was any way he was ever going to get back who he was.

  ****

  “How is this possible?” Mia asked, pointing to the mountain of boxes that had been delivered while he was out.

  “I ordered shit, and guess what? It’s arrived. I pay extra for the pleasure.” He winked at her, and moved toward the first boxes. “Look at this, red lingerie.” He opened the box and held up a very sexy set that she would never wear.

  “Give me that,” she said, taking it from him. “What do I do with all of this stuff?”

  “Easy.” He picked up a large pile. “Follow me.” She did, through to her bedroom, and then her new walk-in closet. He dumped the boxes on the floor, opened the top one up, and took the item out. It was already on a hanger, and he lifted it up, showing it off, and then placed it on the rail. “These are magical things.”

  “You’re teasing me now,” she said.

  “Exactly. I bought them for you, Mia. We’re friends, remember, so I want to see you wearing them, and I want to see you having fun.”

  “It’s going to take some getting used to. Being friends, and all of this.”

  “Don’t worry. Now, get dressed into something that is not well worn. I don’t want to see you in those clothes again. You work for a Denton, and we do have a reputation to protect.”

  She pulled out the walkie-talkie, and handed it to him. “Will you go and feed the two kids then please? They are at the table in their high-seats playing.”

  “It will be my pleasure.” He left her alone, closing the door behind him. Staring at the large luxury closet, she shook her head. There was no way this was real. It had to be a dream. She pinched herself, and yet, she didn’t wake up. Putting the box Damian had finished with to one side, she began to remove the other boxes, until she had put away some lingerie and several sets of jeans and shirt. She decided on the red lingerie set, and with the full length mirror in the closet to see, she tugged the pan
ties up her thighs, and then placed the bra across her breasts, securing it at the back. Lifting her blonde hair, she was somewhat shocked by how nice the bra felt. She’d been in underwear that just seemed to cut through the skin, and not fit at all well. Next, she pulled on the jeans, and then the shirt, leaving the hair to cascade down. Staring at herself in the mirror, she was shocked. She looked … pretty. Yes, her ass was still big, as were her breasts, and her waist dipped in then sprang out over large hips, but the clothes gave her an actual shape.

  Leaving the closet and then the bedroom, she found Damian between their children, feeding them.

  “What do you think?” she asked, getting his attention and giving him a little twirl. “You don’t think it’s too much?”

  “You look stunning.”

  “I’m going to go and put everything else away so it doesn’t cram your sitting room.”

  “That’s fine. Kids are eating, which makes a change.”

  She chuckled, and made her way toward the sitting room, gathering boxes. She repeated the same thing. Taking the boxes to her closet, putting the clothes on the rail, and then dumping the boxes to one side. Three trips it took her, and she also put the boxers that she had ordered for him on his bed.

  Entering the dining room, she saw that Damian had finished feeding Reese, so placing a towel over her shoulder, she picked him up, and began to burp him, rubbing his back.

  Martha was a little older and didn’t need burping.

  “My mother is doing a large lunch on Sunday, and she would love it if we go.”

  “I like Charlotte.”

  “I think she likes you, and that’s a good thing. My mother can be a bit of minx, or is it tiger, protecting her cubs.”

  While Damian had been gone she had done some searching online about the Denton family, and it had only given her more questions. From what she had learned, they were a crime family, but that had never been proven. She didn’t know what to think, and as she was reading through some of the media that was attached to their name, she’d been alarmed. The moment she saw Damian, all of those worries had been pushed to one side. He wasn’t a monster. She couldn’t believe it, and yet he’d known Ivan.

  “What’s wrong?” Damian asked, drawing her attention toward him.

  “Sorry?”

  “You’re looking all troubled. Is there anything I can do to help you?” he asked.

  She smiled. “It’s nothing. Not really.” She stared at him and rubbed Reese’s back. “Well, I kind of did a little snooping on the net about you, and I guess I have a lot of questions.”

  Damian smiled. “I take it some articles are not too kind about us. I told you that I’m in similar work to Ivan. I’m not like him, and neither is my family. We look after our own, and you’ll be protected here. You won’t have to sell your body, or an organ. I just want you to take care of Martha.”

  She nodded her head. “It’s just so surreal.”

  “I know. It’s a lot to take in so I won’t be telling you all about everything. You don’t need to hear that stuff.” He smiled, and she found his dimples to be the cutest thing. Quickly averting her gaze, she stared out of the window, rubbing Reese’s back as she did.

  “How did you come to know Ivan?” he asked.

  She blew out a breath. “He came to the neighborhood when I was just a teenager in school. It’s hard to know exactly what went on to be honest. One moment the neighborhood was fine. We didn’t have a lot of job opportunities, but we got along. Then Ivan turned up with his crew, and the drugs started flowing. I never took them as I’d seen what they were like on my mother. I knew I wouldn’t be an addict. Then one day it was like Ivan saw me and decided that he wanted me. I was on a date with another man. We’d been dating for about a year, and I think I loved him. I don’t know. Two weeks after that date, they found his body floating in the river. His dick had been cut off.” The past few years violence had been something she had been accustomed to. “Ivan would come around, and he’d flirt, and make my skin crawl, and it was a nightmare. Then I was at a party. I don’t know why I went. I was feeling miserable. I’d lost my job, only now I know he’d paid for them to fire me. I was drinking, and somehow I got lost. Ivan was there, and I couldn’t get away.”

  “You’ve been very brave,” Damian said.

  “I’ve not been brave. I had nowhere else to turn to. No money, no prospects. I couldn’t go to anyone because Ivan owns the whole damn town.” She turned to look at him. “Then of course I thought I would hate my baby, but the moment the nurse placed him in my arms, I knew that I loved him. That he was mine.” Tears filled her eyes and fell down her cheeks. “How is that for crazy?”

  Damian got to his feet, and moved toward her. He cupped her cheeks, and she didn’t flinch away from his touch. “You’re a fighter, Mia. You’ve done everything you had to do to protect yourself.”

  “I vowed that I would never ask him for help. I went to him anyway.”

  “You had no choice, and ta-da, you found me.” He pressed a kiss to her head, and she relished the comfort that he was offering her. “You’re a strong woman, Mia Banks. Never forget that, and don’t ever let anyone else tell you different. You’re a fighter through and through.”

  Her stomach twisted, and her heart fluttered at his kind words. For so long she had been fighting where everyone, even Mary, had told her it couldn’t be that bad to belong to Ivan. She saw past the ease of having a small king like that who wanted her. The moment he had his fill, he’d toss her aside, and she wasn’t about to succumb to the bastard.

  Even though her mother had been hard and at times vacant, she had always told Mia to fend for herself, to rely on herself. She’d begged her not to give in to the temptation of drugs, to be a good girl. That was exactly what she had done.

  She’d been good.

  Chapter Six

  Sunday came around quickly, and Damian liked how easy it had been falling into living with Mia. She was such a laidback woman, so calm, so caring. He’d woken up in the mornings to find her already sitting at the table, feeding their kids, with a breakfast keeping warm for him.

  He’d not eaten so well ever. His mother had always cooked for him, or he’d put together a sandwich, or eaten out.

  Mia sat beside him in the car and kept checking into the back to make sure they’re kids were doing all right. They looked so beautiful, and he smiled at Martha.

  “Will all your family be here?” she asked.

  “Yes, and my brand new extended family.”

  “Are you going to cause a fight? Have a gun pushed against your head?”

  “Nope. That’s for diners only.”

  She giggled. “You’re weird.”

  “Yeah, well it takes one to know one.”

  “Really, you’re calling me weird?” she asked.

  “Hell yeah, you don’t want to be anything normal. Normal people suck. Stay weird like me.”

  She laughed, and he loved that sound coming from her. It was so light, and every time she did, he found himself smiling along with her.

  “I’ve got to give Gabriel a chance. I’m not a total asshole, but it’s hard. Everything has changed.” He had been thinking about what his brother had said. To the outside world they were a united force, and the moment you started to show a weak link, someone would try to take away from you. He didn’t want that to happen, so he had no choice other to put his differences aside, and to accept Gabriel as his brother.

  “I’m proud of you. He’s only an asshole now, and not a total fucking one.”

  Damian threw his head back and laughed. There were a lot of times over the past few days that he’d said some pretty colorful things about Gabriel. Mia had always listened to him without saying a word. He enjoyed talking to her, and sometimes she’d share her own personal problems with him, which he liked a lot.

  When it came to Mia, he was completely infatuated by her. She was so beautiful, and there were many times throughout the night that he would sneak into her room.
He found watching over her calmed him. There was always a risk that he’d get caught because of one of the kids whimpering. He’d never been someone who could sleep for long periods of time.

  They arrived at his parents to find his two brothers, Jacob and Gabriel, outside. It was hard to think of Gabriel as his brother, but Damian was going to try. He’d make the effort, especially as he’d taken the time to look at the Denton situation, and he’d also seen a slight decline in the respect that he was given. He didn’t like it, not one bit.

  Climbing out of the car, Jacob came to help with Martha as Mia grabbed Reese.

  “If you head in, I’ll be with you in a minute.”

  “Okay. Try to be nice,” she said, smiling at him.

  He saluted her, and felt like a fucking idiot.

  “You really are smitten,” Gabriel said.

  “You’ve head of that legacy thing? The pesky little curse all of us men are supposed to have.”

  “Maddox mentioned it, yes.”

  “You don’t call him Dad?” Damian asked.

  “He’s not really my dad. He’s told me to call him that, but it doesn’t feel right.” Gabriel tilted his head, staring at him. “What’s it like? This pesky little curse?”

  Damian sighed. “It’s different for us all, I think. I don’t know.”

  “What does it feel like?”

  He saw that Gabriel was just curious. Part of him was tempted to be an asshole, but he had Mia and their two children to think about. “Everything falls away. The moment you see her, you just know in your gut that she is the best thing that has ever happened to you, and that you’re going to love her, hold her, and cherish her for the rest of your life. It doesn’t matter what anyone does or says, you will just love and hold her. Whenever I look at Mia that is exactly how I feel. There is no one else around that I could want, or even wish to have. She is it for me.”

  Gabriel sighed. “It actually sounds quite amazing. To have someone in the entire world be yours.”

  “There is a catch. Did Dad tell you about that?”

  “I should have known there was a catch. Go on, what is it?”