by Sam Crescent
In the past few weeks, there had been two other attempts on her life. One was trying to run her and Randy off the road. The person responsible ended up dead in the middle of the city. Someone had put a bullet through his brain, which ensured he was unrecognizable as well.
The second attempt was at a department store. This one she didn’t know if it was just a coincidence or not. Either way, Damon rarely let her out of his sight. In fact, Randy was the one down at the car while she came to see Daniella.
“Promise me, you will do whatever it takes to keep yourself and August safe?”
“I will.”
She wrapped her arms around her neck and held her close. “I love you, Daniella.”
“And I love you too. Don’t let this new husband of yours change you. You’re too good for anyone.”
She burst out laughing but was just happy to be able to help her friend again. After hugging each of them again, she left the apartment, heading down to Randy.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I will be.”
“Will she leave?” Randy asked.
“I hope so.” She blew out a breath. “I don’t know what to do right now, Randy. I can’t think without feeling sick for potentially putting them in danger.”
“When you started to help them, you put them in danger. There’s another shipment of girls coming in next week,” he said.
“Great,” she said. “I get married and a bunch of girls lose their freedom.”
“Your father never agreed to the sale and distribution of women. You should know that.”
“It doesn’t make this any easier, does it?” She blew out a breath. “I don’t know how he did it, you know.”
“Your father?”
“I want to hurt every single person who even thinks about touching them. Daniella, she was so young when she was taken. She should be in high school right now. Organizing prom or something.”
“You never went to prom.”
“My life is different. You know that. I’m not like other girls.”
Randy patted her hand. There was a time she would have seen that simple action as being condescending, but right now, she accepted it for the comfort it was.
****
In a few days, Damon would be a married man.
His father wanted him to move back into his home with his wife. He declined. Until Isabella was ready, they were staying here, in Drago’s home. He glanced around at the large house, imposing in its own way. The décor clearly spoke of a man of power.
Making his way upstairs, he paused on the corridor where he saw Isabella’s bedroom door slightly ajar.
She’d been avoiding him lately. The fitting had been a ruse. His men followed her to an apartment block. Slowly, little by little, he was able to paint a picture of his future wife, and she was a truly amazing woman. There was a fire inside her to do good, and he was never going to allow it to see burned out.
With every piece of new information, he found himself falling for her. It was insane to think of actually loving a woman, but he truly believed Isabella was the woman for him.
He stood at the entrance to her bedroom, lifted up his knuckles, and knocked.
She lifted her head. Paperwork was all over the bed. She wore a crop top and a pair of small shorts. Her hair was wild, as if she hadn’t brushed it after her shower.
“You weren’t down at dinner,” he said.
“I wasn’t hungry.”
“What is all this?” he asked, stepping into the room.
“You shouldn’t be in here.”
“Isabella, we’re going to be married very soon.”
“But that’s not today.” She didn’t look up.
“What is it you’ve got?”
She looked up, pushing some hair off her face. “If you must know, I’m looking at all the information my father had on the Boss.” She shook her head. “I want to get to the bottom of who is putting me in danger.”
He saw the tears in her eyes and within seconds, they were gone.
“What is all this?” he asked.
“It’s nothing. I’m tired of not knowing who is coming after me and I’d like to know. I want them to face me in person.” She put her hands on her lips and looked ready to hurt someone.
“Why is it important to you?”
“It’s my life. Of course it’s important.”
Damon stepped around her. He moved some of the paperwork out of his way and sat down. “When we get married, I don’t want there to be any secrets between us.” He rubbed his hands together. This was the most he’d ever spent with one of the women betrothed to him. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted her. Every waking thought was about her. His cock was in a constant state of hardness just to be close to her.
“What do you want from me?” she asked.
“The truth, but I can see you’re still too scared to trust me, so I’m going to be open and honest with you. I know.”
“What is it exactly that you know?”
“I know about the girls. The ones you save. The kids.”
Her mouth dropped open and she covered it with her hand.
“I know that after your fitting you went to a separate apartment building and there is someone you clearly care about. Now, I know there is more to you, Isabella, than meets the eye, but if I’m going to be able to protect you, I need to know all the details.”
“You don’t need to know anything.”
“I do. For your sake and for whoever you’re protecting.”
She paced the room and came to stop in front of him. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and protect her. Of course, he also wanted to fuck her brains out, that was a given.
“I don’t … this is hard. I, my dad, he knew. He was worried about it but so long as I wasn’t in any real danger, I’d be fine.” She ran fingers through her hair and took a deep breath. “I don’t know what to say right now.”
“Just the truth. You’re open and honest with me. I’ll do the same with you.”
“Is that how you want to play this marriage?”
“I don’t want to play anything. This marriage will be real. There will be no fighting or stupidity. It will be us against them.”
“The Family?”
“If it needs to be.”
She tucked her wild hair behind her ears. “I help women who have been tossed aside. They come to the Family by the black market, container ships, or some random girls they pick off the streets.”
“How do you find them?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I hear about shipments, and sometimes, I take them before they can be sold. If I can, I send them back home.” She pressed her lips together.
Damon was aware of lost women, some suspected of being dead. “All this time that was you?”
“I don’t always work alone,” she said.
“Who?”
She shook her head.
“Isabella.”
“I have a cop friend, okay?”
Damon looked at her in shock. All this time he’d been trying to protect her and there was a fucking silent target on her head. “Does Randy know?”
“Yes. My father knew as well.”
“And they didn’t try to fucking stop you?” This explained why her father said there were some things he needed to find out for himself. This was fucking one of them. Now it was his time to pace.
“Why would they stop me? We’ve got cops in our pocket all the time.”
“Not the kind of cops that will help you to protect these women, Isabella.”
“It’s not like that, okay? He’s not pumping me for money, or for anything. We’re not even friends. We’ve got an agreement. That’s all. You don’t have to start worrying about every detail.”
He shook his head, ran his fingers through his hair, and wanted to go and find her so-called protector and kill him.
“If the Boss has anything to do with your attempted murder, this is all he needs to get every single Ca
po on board. They won’t even need to hide their intention in secret. You will be killed. Tortured even, and there won’t be any kind of protection. Your dad won’t be there to stop them. They’ll just keep on going until the job is gone.”
“Are you trying to scare me?”
“No, I’m stating a fact.”
“I’ve been working with this man for over two years. He knows who I am and who I’m connected to. All he ever wanted to do was help. He knows how far the Family’s pockets go. He’s willing to do what it takes to help, that’s all. To stop them from hurting everything it touches. I give him what he needs and we help those women and kids. Some of them, Damon, they’re not even of legal age. Not that it’s right what happens. Do you agree with selling women? Are you on their side?”
“I’m not on anyone’s side, Isabella.”
“I don’t … I can’t marry you unless I know your stance on this.”
“Are you fucking real right now?” he asked.
“Yes!” She slammed her foot down.
“You know you look like a child right now.”
“I don’t care. I need to know what you think about the men who sell women. I need to know.”
He growled. She’d just revealed information that would put her up for the get-killed list, and she wanted to know if selling women were part of his morals. Fucking hell!
“If you must know, I don’t have a hand in selling women. It’s one area I’ve always disagreed on. Don’t mistake this for me accepting what you do. Some of the women, they come into the profession because they want to. Those are the kinds of women I don’t mind helping and dealing with. Taking, stealing, selling, hurting women or girls who want no part in this life, that’s where I draw the line.”
“Have you ever been with a prostitute?”
“Don’t ask me questions you don’t want the answers to.”
“Was she stolen?” she asked.
“Damn it, Isabella, drop it.”
“No! I’m asking questions I want the answers to. I’m not hiding behind anyone or anything. I want the truth and I’m willing to stand here to get it. Doesn’t that tell you something?”
“It tells me you’re fucking stupid!” He shook his head. “Yes, I’ve been with a prostitute. No, she wasn’t stolen. I was thirteen years old and my dad said I was to become a man. Most sons end up having their first time taken care of with an experienced whore. It’s just the way it goes. Now if you’ll excuse me.”
“Where are you going?”
“To find out who your fucking contact is.”
“Why don’t you just ask?”
Chapter Seven
“You look beautiful,” Henrietta said.
Isabella’s stomach twisted and turned as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. The woman staring back at her looked afraid. Her wedding day had come around way too soon. Damon had insisted on bringing the date forward. He wanted their names connected as soon as possible.
Her contact on the police force was still alive but he’d called her after Damon went to speak with him. Any time she called her contact, he was to get back in touch with him. He’d invaded her life, her meaning, what made her get up in the morning to help the people who were hurt.
She ran her hands down the silk wedding gown. It was really beautiful. No expense spared, just like everything else in their world.
Damon was still pissed with her and now she was to go down to the main church and to marry him.
She’d wanted her wedding at her house. He’d refused. In a church, the Family were less likely to try to kill her, and after she took his name, then all bets were off and they’d deal with him. She’d be pushed aside, expected to have kids.
There was a knock on the door and Randy appeared. “Are you ready?”
She shook her head.
He entered the room, closing the door behind him. “You’re having second thoughts?”
“I don’t want to … become some … mom he pushes aside, Randy. I worked too hard. Dad wouldn’t have wanted this.”
“Your dad went to him, Bella.”
“But why? Why train me? Why make my years with him so miserable for him to take all of my training and to push it aside because it means nothing?”
“It doesn’t mean nothing and you know that. It means everything. You can’t think for a second that as you marry today, that’s it, your life is over. It hasn’t even come close to beginning.”
She snorted and Henrietta tutted.
“No lady should make those kinds of sounds.”
“Damon is the best choice. He doesn’t want a wife he can hurt and push aside. Your father picked wisely, and all of your training won’t be for nothing. He will make sure of it. I promise.”
“I can’t help but feel this is all a nightmare waiting to happen.”
Henrietta laughed. “Sweetheart, most women think this on their wedding day. It’s not new.”
“You know, we’re trying to encourage her to get down the aisle. Damon’s doing this to protect you. This is also your father’s wishes. If you can’t do it for yourself, then at the very least, do it for him.”
“Is it hard for you to see your father down there?” she asked, changing the topic.
“Don’t do that and no, that man has no say in my life. He tossed me aside as if I meant nothing to him. The only real father I ever knew was yours, which is why I know he has done everything in his power to help you. If he wants Damon to take care of you, let him. It’s what your father wanted and he always had a good reason for it.”
She couldn’t argue with her father. He always had his reasons for doing everything, even if she didn’t always agree.
Glancing at her reflection, this was the last time she’d be a single, independent woman.
Independent? That’s a laugh. You’ve never been any of this all of your life.
Her father had made her believe she would be different. Her life had never been her own. This was all an illusion. She was never going to be free. Her father had done nothing but feed her a lie.
“Hey,” Randy said. He placed a finger beneath her chin, lifting it so she’d look at him. “Don’t be afraid or sad. Damon is a good guy.”
“Please, don’t feed me those lies. He’s earned his reputation. I’m not a fool and you can’t treat me like one.”
“Yes, he has all of those names and the way people deal with him, but he has been nothing but respectful to you.” Randy pulled her in for a hug. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be by your side ’til the very end.”
“You need to find a wife and have lots of kids.”
“I’m not bringing a woman into my world, and there’s no way I’d let any sons or daughters be at the mercy of this life.”
She pulled away, wiping at her eyes. “See, and now I’ve got to marry a man.”
“Your parents didn’t want this for you. They didn’t want any of this for you. I promise. Life happens and it’s complete and total shit.” He kissed her forehead. “You’re stronger than this. You can overcome all of this, and you don’t need any fucker to tell you differently. Damon will be getting a queen at his side, no one else.”
“You think I’m a queen?”
“I know you are. Now are you a fighter or are you going to run?”
She looked toward the door. She wanted to run. To get as far away from everything as she possibly could. Instead, she squared her shoulders, prepared for battle. This was her wedding day and even though she didn’t want to be married or be at the mercy of anyone, she had no choice. Damon was right, as was Randy. They were going to kill her for what her father owned. She would spite them all and be a force to be reckoned with.
Taking Randy’s arm, she made her way toward the aisle. Sickness swirled in her stomach as she got to the entrance. There were so many people. None of them were friends. Randy held his chin high.
Several of the capos had offered to walk her down the aisle. She’d defied them all by picking Randy. The bastard son. The only
father figure she had left.
The music started. Damon stood waiting.
With every single step she took, her heart raced.
Fear crawled down her back. She wanted to turn, to run, to find her freedom. To finally live a life free of all of this. Instead, she kept on walking.
This was what her father wanted and it was his last wish. She wouldn’t defy him. She’d make him proud. Her mother had gone through this. Her parents had found love. She didn’t for a second believe she would ever love Damon, but she could respect him and like him.
When Randy passed her hand over to Damon’s, she stood by his side, waiting. She didn’t cower or cry. Her back ramrod straight. Proud.
The priest began to speak. She ignored it.
Damon’s touch was gentle and she even felt him stroke her fingers as if to offer her some semblance of comfort.
By the time the priest announced them man and wife, no one stopped them from kissing.
He grabbed the back of her neck, holding her close. The possession was clear. She now belonged to him. No one could ever have her. She was all his.
Applause echoed around the church. She ignored it all.
“I promise you, you haven’t made a mistake.”
She didn’t think she’d made a mistake. Staring out at the Family, she wondered if they had regretted allowing this to go ahead. Holding on to Damon’s hand, she would make sure her man never fell. She’d keep him strong.
As they walked out of the church, rather than feeling hollow, she was energized. This was her life now and she would bask and accept it. No one was going to take this away from her.
Pictures were taken and with each flash of the camera, she felt certain in her future. She would be happy. It was what her father wanted, and she would fight to claim it for herself.
****
“I expected her to run,” Damon said, sipping at his glass of champagne, which he hated. The taste was too bubbly.
He preferred a really good whiskey, even on his wedding day. His wife stood listening to men and women congratulate her. Henrietta was by her side, and he’d noted the way some of the people treated the woman. To them, she was nothing more than a cook, but to Isabella, she was a rock of strength, one she needed right now more than ever before.