by Lydia Rowan
“No, but it’s a start,” Damien replied.
Lucian smiled. “You’re an optimist again?”
“I’m trying. Play the next recording,” Damien said.
Tremaine’s voice again filled the room.
“Thank you for hosting me, sir. The items you requested will not be difficult to obtain. But they’ll be costly,” Tremaine said.
The conversation continued from there, and they listened to the next recording, one that was remarkably similar. Nothing they heard was completely damning, but together, they clearly established Tremaine’s dealings with foreign governments and some of his other criminal activities. They would be enough to send him to trial for treason.
Lucian looked at Damien and Damien looked at him and then glanced at Lacey. “We got him,” Damien said, hardly able to believe what was happening. He’d thought killing Tremaine was the only way, but now he saw a new path, one that would give him the justice he deserved.
“We got him?” she asked.
Damien nodded and from the corner of his eye he could see Lucian agreeing.
“I’ll get the team together. You guys get some rest. This ends tomorrow,” Lucian said.
18
About an hour after Lucian had left, Damien made his way upstairs to look in on Donovan.
He’d put the boy in his childhood room. He held no affection for the room; it was simply four walls, but even without sentimentality, looking at his son sleeping, knowing that he would be a part of his life, that he had Lacey back, and that soon he would be free from Tremaine had Damien’s heart full almost to bursting.
“Beautiful, isn’t he?”
Lacey walked to stand next to him, and Damien looked at her, saw the softness in her face as she looked at their son.
“He is,” Damien said, slightly awed by how much he loved the boy already.
She looked at him and they stood for a moment, silent.
“I’m sorry, Damien,” she said quietly.
He lifted his hand to cup her cheek, stared into her eyes. “I know.”
Then he pressed his lips against her forehead, entwined his fingers with hers, and walked to her bedroom with her, and after she quietly closed the door, he stood in front of her.
She reached for him, but Damien didn’t respond, just stood still, trying to absorb the sensation of Lacey’s soft, warm lips against his, her warm palms against his skin, the tips of her full breasts grazing his chest.
Her touch was both gentle and demanding, but there was warmth, a lack of the desperate urgency she’d had before.
Different from any time they had been together.
When she brushed her lips down his jaw, Damien reached for her, pulled her body close and began to do the same, kissing her jaw, down the skin of her neck.
Their caresses were calm, unhurried.
No less passionate, because there would always be that between them, but there was an ease to them, a comfort.
She had told him everything; he had done the same. There were no more secrets between them, and even more improbably, there was hope.
Hope that they could be together, be a family, though Damien didn’t dare say it out loud.
But it was there, in the way that she touched him, peeled his shirt off his shoulders, did the same with his pants.
It was there in the way he did the same, taking his time interviewing every inch of her beautiful brown skin, kissing each patch as it was revealed. Paying attention to her, trying to both memorize and relearn her, reconcile the Lacey she was now with the one she had been years ago.
He lay flat on the bed and pulled Lacey atop him.
She watched, her thighs caging his body as Damien stared at her.
Unprompted, she aligned herself up with him and then slowly lowered down, the movement as unhurried, the feeling of entering her intensified by her soft palms against his sides, the backs of her thighs against his, her softly panted breaths.
When he was fully inside, she paused, but only for a moment, and then she repeated the process, lifting all the way up until only the barest tip of him stayed inside her and then slowly lowering herself down.
Down and then up, over and over until Damien thought he might go insane from the sweet tension that was building inside him.
But he didn’t rush, didn’t try to reach for his climax, because he wanted to enjoy this moment for as long as he could.
He couldn’t say how long they stayed that way, his hands exploring her body as she moved up and down him in slow, controlled motions, but soon her breath became heavy, her motions less so, and she froze, clenched around him, and moaned her silent climax.
19
“So that’s the plan?” Seth Faber said as he stared at Damien from across the small conference table on the Silver Industries jet.
Damien had only just made Seth’s acquaintance, but he could already see what kind of guy he was, one who wouldn’t just take a plan, especially one as crude as Damien’s, and run with it.
Probably hadn’t worked to his disadvantage in the service, and Damien appreciated the freethinking, probably would more than once before this was over.
“Yeah, that’s the plan,” Damien said.
Seth looked at him incredulously. “You do know that walking up to his house and ringing the doorbell is not a plan, right?” he asked.
“It is if you’re not a pussy,” Adam Reins said.
Adam was reclining in one of the plush leather seats, legs stretched out in front of him, looking at Seth.
Seth glared at Adam and then turned his attention back to Damien. “Who was the friend who tipped you off again?”
“Artemis Crow,” Damien said.
“Haven’t heard from Crow in years,” Adam said.
“He’s retired out in California,” Damien said.
Seth shuddered and Damien laughed, but the moment of levity was short-lived.
He was crawling with impatience, ready for this to be over.
Lacey and Donovan were stashed away with Lucian’s men watching over them. Now Damien, Lucian, Adam, and Seth were making the cross-country flight to Maryland.
One way or another, his dealings with Tremaine would end before the night was out.
“So how do you think Tremaine is going to react to your offer?” Adam said.
“Poorly,” Damien replied, frowning. He was still certain that killing Tremaine was the only way to keep Lacey and Donovan safe, but after her worry, Lucian’s persuasive argument, Damien had given in on the issue. He wouldn’t kill Tremaine, not unless his hand was forced, but Tremaine’s life as he had known it was over.
“So why are we doing this again?” Adam asked, displaying much of the curiosity that he had only moments ago harassed Seth about.
“Because I want to see his face when he realizes I’m fucking up his entire universe,” Damien said. That wouldn’t satisfy him, wouldn’t even get close, but Damien would relish the moment.
Adam nodded curtly, and Seth smiled.
“Maybe this isn’t such a bad plan after all,” Seth said.
“I’m going to try to get some sleep,” Damien said, stretching himself out in one of the chairs.
The others went silent, and Damien stared out of the plane window, though sleep was not forthcoming.
He still marveled at how quickly things had changed, and now he was on his brother’s plane, headed to try to right the wrongs of the past.
And what after?
He’d be a father to his son, and spend the rest of his life loving Lacey.
••••
“What do we have?” Damien asked.
“Quarter-mile estate, looks like one man posted on each corner, one at the front door, one at the back,” Adam said.
“The back is where he’ll be. His office is there, and I doubt his habit of staying there has changed,” Damien said.
“So we’ll take out the perimeter guys, then the guy at the front, while you and Lucian head to the back?” Seth said.
A moment later, Adam and Seth set off, and Damien, after a deep breath, did the same.
He made his way toward the guard he’d spotted in the southwest corner of the estate and approached him quickly.
He might be out of practice, but his training came back to him quickly, and he rushed up to the man, trapping both his arms at his side as he rode him down to the ground.
The guy landed face-first, and Damien hit him in the back of the head with the butt of his own rifle to make sure he was out. The blow wouldn’t kill him, but he’d have a hell of a headache.
Damien slung the rifle back on his back and then moved to the southeast corner, catching up with Lucian as he finished taking out the other guy.
“Seth and Adam have cleared northeast and northwest and are headed to the front,” Lucian said.
“Let’s go, then,” Damien said.
Seth had been a little glib when he’d said they were going to walk up to the front door, but he hadn’t been completely off. Actually, they were going to walk up to the side door.
He doubted he’d catch Tremaine by surprise, but surprise wasn’t his primary aim.
Damien kept pace with Lucian, but was somewhat winded by the trip. When he got home, he’d need to work on the cardio.
“You holding up?” Lucian asked.
Damien didn’t have to see his brother to know there would be a smirk on his face. He redoubled his commitment to getting back to the gym, because there was no way he’d give his brother those kind of bragging rights.
“I’m good. The office is that way,” Damien said.
“Do you think he’s moved it?”
Damien shook his head.
“Tremaine is a creature of habit, old dogs, new tricks and all that,” Damien said.
“Then let’s go,” Lucian said.
Damien went out front and Lucian followed behind, moving stealthily up the slope of the manicured lawn.
Then, when he reached the French doors, he stopped, and watched as Tremaine sat, facing the doors, looking directly at them.
He stood, then walked over, opened the doors.
“No need to stalk around outside, Silver,” Tremaine said.
“Are you inviting me in?” Damien replied, managing to sound relatively nonchalant, though he wanted to rip the man’s face off.
“I’d planned to, but you seemed intent on your little game, so I figured I wouldn’t interrupt you. You ready to talk now?”
Damien didn’t answer, but he entered, Lucian behind him.
He saw the soldier standing in the corner but disregarded him. Damien was sure Lucian had spotted him too, and either of them could handle him if it came to that.
“Two Silvers for the price of one. My lucky day,” Tremaine said.
Damien said nothing, and Lucian didn’t either, but he knew both had the same thought. He wondered if Tremaine would feel that way when this was all over.
“So what’s made you come to see me after all these years?” Tremaine said.
“I should be asking you that question. You’re the one who started all this, after all,” Damien said.
Tremaine tilted his head. “Did I? Or was I minding my own business, leaving you and yours alone, when your brother there decided he wanted to disrupt a very lucrative business interest of mine in Bali?”
Lucian stayed calm, but Damien wanted to hug his brother for managing to get under Tremaine’s skin.
“So your issues with my brother mean you get to fuck with my family?” Damien said.
“Family? I wasn’t aware. I thought you and Lacey were over,” Tremaine said. “Who could blame the girl after all that unpleasantness?”
Damien scowled, but didn’t speak and didn’t lunge at him like he desperately wanted to. Instead, he stayed silent for a moment and then, when he was calm, or as calm as he could be in Tremaine’s presence, he continued.
“So that’s why you went after them? Because you didn’t think they mattered?”
“I figured at the very least it would get your attention, and your brother’s. Maybe help him recognize he should leave me alone,” Tremaine said.
“You could have taken that up with me personally,” Lucian said.
“You’re stubborn, and I hate repeating myself. A visit with Lacey would have gotten the point across well enough,” Tremaine said.
Damien lunged at him, and it was only Lucian’s hold that held him back.
“Still a soldier in there, I see. But a good solider isn’t supposed to attack without orders,” he said.
“And a good leader isn’t supposed to be a scumbag criminal,” Damien replied.
Tremaine laughed. “What do you want, Silver? I gave you an opportunity. And I’m certainly not interested in your opinion. So you’re here. I assume it’s to call a truce of some sort?”
“Why would you think that?” Damien said.
“Because now I know your weakness,” Tremaine said. “You care, and you have something to lose. And, Damien, I don’t think you’ve forgotten that I’m more than happy, more than happy, to take it. So Silver Industries is going to stay out of my way. You’re going to stay out of my way, and I’ll see to it that the woman lives a happy, healthy life,” Tremaine said.
Damien was so angry he thought he might have pulled himself across the room, but he didn’t. He stayed calm, tried to breathe through the rage. “So that’s your offer?”
“My one and only, and the best you’re going to get. And please know that I’m only offering that because I respected your father, but I can easily forget that connection,” Tremaine said.
“I have an offer for you, Admiral,” Damien said, anxious to see that smug smile wiped off Tremaine’s face.
“I don’t usually entertain counteroffers, but I’m intrigued.”
“Do you have a television?” Damien said.
Tremaine frowned. “What?”
“You heard me, Admiral Tremaine. Do you have a television in here?”
He snapped and the soldier who had been stationed in the corner moved to a cabinet and pulled the doors open.
“Pick a news channel. Any will do,” Damien said.
The soldier pushed a button and the screen bloomed to life, the picture bright, the sound near blasting.
“Corruption at the highest level of the civilian defense industry? This blockbuster report just in,” the news anchor said.
Damien watched Tremaine as Tremaine watched the news story that laid out allegations of years of abuse, lies, dealings with enemies of the state by a well-respected retired admiral.
And as the report continued, Tremaine blanched, shaking his head first in disbelief and then in rage.
“They won’t believe you,” Tremaine said, his expression still smug, though Damien could see cracks in his certainty.
“You sure about that, Admiral? The public is really fed up with government corruption. I think they’ll believe it, and I think they’ll force the government to make an example out of you,” Damien said.
“What about your father, your family name? I’ll make sure all of his sins are revealed,” the admiral said.
“You already decided my name means nothing,” Damien replied, not even bothering to try to contain the anger in his voice.
Tremaine looked at him, and Damien could practically hear the calculation of his brain, see his mind try to play out the angles and find the one that would allow him to survive. He looked wildly, gaze landing on the man in the corner.
“McMillian! Get them!”
McMillian, presumably the soldier that stood in the corner, simply stood. “Good luck, Admiral.” Then, quickly and stealthily, he made his way out of the office.
Damien didn’t give him a second look. Whatever his reasons for working for Tremaine, it was clear loyalty wasn’t among them, and besides, Damien didn’t want to miss a moment of this.
“I have friends—people who’ll—”
“People who will turn their
backs on you just like you got them to turn their backs on me. You’ve got nothing, Admiral. It’s over,” Damien said.
20
Over.
That word hung in Tremaine’s head. The only thing louder was the voice currently blaring through the television.
Tremaine looked from Damien to Lucian, then looked at the spot where that ungrateful bastard had stood.
Fucking traitor had left him.
It shouldn’t have surprised him, but it did.
Tremaine then focused on the television screen, saw the caption on the bottom that proclaimed “Military Corruption?”
There was a picture of him on the screen now, younger then, but definitely him.
For a moment, Tremaine’s blood ran cold.
He looked to Damien, who smiled triumphantly, and that expression broke him out of his shock.
He had trained that boy, made him into something as his drunk of a father had wasted away. He made them all into something.
And this was how they thought it was going to end for him?
No.
He would retreat for now, but this wasn’t over.
Damien didn’t take his eyes off him, but Tremaine was too far away for Damien to reach him quickly. He pushed the button, listened to the smooth glide of the wood panel behind him giving way.
Saw the moment of surprise on Damien’s face.
“Always have an exit plan. You should know that,” Tremaine said.
Then he turned and ran down the tunnel the wood panel had hidden.
••••
“Fuck!” Damien screamed as he propelled himself across the room.
He managed to wedge his body between the door frame and panel before it slid shut, cried out as the heavy wood closed on him.
“A little help,” he said tightly, and a moment later Lucian appeared, pushing at the panel.
It was heavy, steel and wood as far as Damien could tell as he pressed his shoulder against the panel.
It wasn’t budging, but Lucian continued to push.
“Over here,” Lucian yelled. The sound was followed by the thunder of boots.