Chapter 83 CHAPTER 83
LISA'S POV
"What is it?" Damien said into the phone. "Alright, get the cars ready."
He took one look at me and turned to grab his gun. "Stay here." He ordered and walked out of the office.
"What is going on?" I asked.
"Alexander and Victor are meeting to finalize their alliance. You were right. They are working together." The growl in his undertone symbolised unexpressed rage.
"What if it is a setup? What if they intend to ambush you? What do you plan on doing?" I asked, trying to match his brisk movement.
"Well, we'll find out when we get there. Until then, I want you to stay put. Don't go anywhere and make sure the boys know where you are going." He walked away.
I frowned and followed behind him as if I had not heard the instruction. "No!" I said, and he halted in the middle of the hallway.
"What is it now, Lisa? I don't have time for another argument. I'm trying to keep you safe. Why don't you understand that?" He asked.
"And I'm not going to sit here as if I am not also a target in this war of yours. What if Alexander has his men come here in your absence? What if he tries to take me again?"
"I think it is best that we stick together. What do you say?" I asked, trying not to start another argument, but also determined not to stay at home.
Damien stared at me as if noticing I was being conspicuous, but after a moment of deep consideration, he gave in.
"Let's go." He said. "But make sure you stay in the car or wherever I say you should and don't get involved, Lisa."
I nodded, knowing quite well that I would do the opposite of that. I watched him pack his most lethal weapons, a double set bullet proof vest.
The way he cocked his gun, the way he moved made his muscles flex, and I felt my heart skip at the sight of each movement. I loved him. I loved Damien Paulo, and for some stupid reason, I didn't care what horrible, dreadful thing he may or may not have done in his past. What mattered most to me was that he trusted me enough to tell me the truth and not leave me in the dark.
That in protecting me, he trusted me to keep myself safe too, even if he were the monster I needed saving from, I wanted it to be my decision, not his.
"What are you thinking about?" He asked, breaking the silence that had maimed the moment for a while.
"Nothing." I lied. Shit! There, I went. So much for being trustworthy.
"Don't lie to me, Lisa. I hate lies. You know that." He stopped what he was doing and placed his attention on me.
"I know that, Damien, but so do I. And in order for us to trust each other, the truth has to be laid bare between the two of us. I want the truth, Damien." My heart raced desperately for it. I wanted him to be honest so badly, so that it didn't hurt anymore.
"I can't. I can't talk about it, but this whole thing is not what you think it is, Lisa. Every single person you see me fight against today, I once fought for. I made sacrifices that were never honored, just to be labeled the villain at the end of the day. Do you know how hurtful that is?"
His words held the brokenness of a man dragged through pain, and I felt it.
"My father betrayed us. He left us. We were attacked for a war he started. We went through the hell of a world he created, and I built it from the ground up. What he left to suffer. I cut my losses, and I made my work with it."
"I'm not a saint, Lisa. I have never claimed to be one. I have never even thought I could be one, but I did my best to save those around me, only to have them stab me in the back for the sake of their loyalty to the syndicate. Victor denied that job when his family was on the line! The job that killed the people I loved! The same job that, despite how horrendous it was for me to do, I still got betrayed by him!"
He spoke with a rage that stemmed from grief, fury, anger, hurt, and brokenness. I had never seen Damien Paulo look so broken. Duke walked in at that moment, and Damien put his composure back in place, sniffling to wipe the melancholy of the moment away.
The ride was a quiet one between Damien and I; the stench of our last discussion still hung in the air, even though now we were after a new threat.
"When we get there, Duke and Jack, you come with me. We'll wait at the back side of the building. Set up a sniper shot from this angle." Damien gave orders expertly. He had gotten first hand set up of the location of their meeting.
My heart beat heavily in my chest as we approached the location. Tension rose in the air as if we all knew with one breath that this might be our last mission. I watched Damien's men prepare to move, each holding onto the things that meant the most to them, and the faces of all those dead people came into view again.
The goal was to fight and win, the aim was to stay alive long enough to see the end, but each of these men knew. They knew that most of them might not make it or return injured in the least.
We parked a few miles away from the building. The rest of the journey would be covered on foot.
"Lisa, stay close to me. I'll get you to a safe place close enough for you to get back to the cars. The cars aren't safe, but I'll make sure to come for you." He said, and I saw that he meant it.
I nodded while breathing through my mouth. I followed closely behind him until we got to one of the buildings, a bit far from the meeting spot.
Damien turned to look at me.