Chapter 6 The devil kneels: His secret weakness
CHAPTER SIX
I flinched as the man's hand reached for my brown locs, pushing them gently off my neck.
My breath hitched, my blood running cold. As I felt his cold gun touch the nape of my neck.
Just then I realized marrying Damien didn't just clear my family's debts; it also put me in a world where being tortured, threatened, or held at gunpoint was normalized.
Surely I couldn't count how many guns Damien had in this house, and any of them could kill me in the wrong hands.
This realization makes me tremble.
Damien's eyes were wide, a mixture of fear and anger. “Let’s settle this … like men,” he pleaded. “Touch a hair on her head and I’ll peel your skin off with my bare hands, Goddammit!”
“Put your gun down,” the man behind me spoke.
“Don't hurt her,” Damien urged.
“Put! Your gun! Down!” The man barked.
His gaze never leaving mine, he slowly moved his head to the ground and placed his gun.
“It's going to be okay,” he assured.
“Kick the gun away from you,” the man ordered.
Reluctantly, Damien kicked the gun, and it slid across the floor until it was far from his reach.
Just then loud footsteps emerged from behind us, and six armed men rushed into the building. Damien's gaze followed them as they untied the man on the chair and led him out of the place.
“You got what you want; let her go,” Damien begged.
The man behind me laughed, “Just like that? You have grown weak, Damien; you were never so easily defeated. Is it because of her?”
“Please… Don’t hurt her.”
The man's loud laughter echoed through the air. “Please? The Damien Davenport is begging? What will you do if I kill her right now?”
Damien’s brow creased, “You gave your word, you shit!” He barked.
“I'll let her go, on one condition.”
“What?” Damien asked, his jaw clenched in anger.
“Kneel…beg.”
Without hesitation, Damien dropped to his knees, one knee and then another. “Please, you cannot hurt her,” he begged desperately.
The man's fist clenched tight against my arm. “You want to save her that badly, huh?”
He slowly pulled away from me, taking a step back. “We got what we want … for now.”
I heard him retreat, and I didn't dare look back to see what he looked like lest a bullet go through my head.
Immediately, Damein stood up from the floor and rushed towards me; in a swift moment, he wrapped my trembling body in a tight hug.
My hands jittered, fingers unable to hold still as I relaxed into his hug. His breathing was ragged, and I could feel him shaking as well.
“Don't fucking do that again.” He slowly pulled away from the hug and gazed into my eyes. “I almost lost you today,” he said in anger, not for me, but instead for the people who had tried to hurt me.
“I…I” I couldn't find my words.
His green eyes searched mine, like he had just seen me for the first time.
He cupped both sides of my face in his hands, observed for a second, and then pressed his lips against my lips. His touch seemed to wash my fears away as I eagerly kissed him back.
I slowly pulled away. “You lost that man for me.” I spoke, my voice barely audible, “If it wasn't for me, you'd still have your hostage. I'm sorry.”
His fingers stroked my cheeks. “Don't be. I have you; that's all that matters. I'll get what I want, but you, Charlotte, you come first.”
Footsteps approached from behind, and I immediately turned around in alarm, and my gaze caught three men dressed in black suits with a gun in his hand.
“Boss,” one of them said.
I sucked in a deep breath, my hand flying to my chest, as I realized that it was one of Damien's guys.
“Boss, we saw Lorenzo's boys take our hostage out of the compound, but we were too late to stop them,” he explained.
Damien slowly stepped forward. “Who should have been guarding the gate?” He asked in a rather calm tone.
“The three of us”
Damien nodded and stretched out his hand. “Can I see your gun?”
They exchanged confused glances before one of them finally obeyed, his feet crunching against the dry grass as he moved closer.
“Go back to where you were standing,” Damien instructed as the gun touched his hand. “Stand behind me, Char,” he instructed, and I obeyed immediately.
“We are sorry, the hostage boss,” one of them pleaded.
“Hostage?” Damien let out maniacal laughter. “Hostage?!” He cocked his gun and aimed it at their heads, his eyes blazing with anger.
I took a step back as I heard the gun in his hand cock.
“I can always get another hostage, over and over again, but riddle me this: can I get another Charlotte?”
They looked at him speechless, their hands trembling like leaves and their eyes wide with shock.
“Charlotte almost died today; I cannot live with that.” His voice cracked. “You have to pay with your lives.”
As his fingers rested on the trigger, I suddenly shouted.
“Stop!”
Damien froze and turned to face me. “What is it, love?’
I didn't want to witness any killing, surely not because of me. “They didn't mean to let the enemies in...please don't shoot,” I urged.
He hesitated, “This is what I don't like about people who mess up char.”
I shook my head, placing my fingers on his outstretched arm. “Please,” I gently pushed it down.
Damien tossed the gun to the floor; he pulled me closer to him, and with a soft move, he pulled me up in his arms and let me into the mansion.
Soon we reached a door; he pulled it open and let me in, placing me on my feet as we walked.
It was a bedroom.
Beautifully furnished, the windows were lulled open, and sunlight peered in through the windows, casting a bright light across. His bed was a king-sized bed with blue bedsheets and pillows; beside the bed were two desks, each furnished with a vase of flowers.
I inhaled sharply; the smell of the room had a mixture of whiskey and expensive cologne.
My body jerked, and I gasped as the door shut with a loud thud. I spun around to see Damien gazing at me.
My brow furrowed, unable to read his expression. I asked, “Is…everything okay, Damien? I mean, aside from the fact that you lost a hostage today.”
His eyes darkened; one foot after the other, he strode towards me, stopping only a few inches away from me. “Can we stop talking about the hostage for a second?” He spoke, his voice almost able to whisper.
His hands rested on both sides of my arm, caressing it gently with his thumb. I looked up at him, captivated by his green eyes as I was the first time we met.
“I almost lost you today, love,” he spoke, the words poking at his throat, heavy. “Why did you go out there? Why did you have to …?”
He pressed his lips together, like the word weighed heavy on his tongue. “Why did you have to see me like that?”
My eyebrows picked together. “Like what?”
He reached for my face, cupping both sides of my face with his hands, and spoke, “You saw me torture that man; I wanted you to see that side of me.”
“What side?” I asked, genuinely confused.
“Dangerous,” he swallowed, his eyes searching mine, begging that I still liked him.
“You are not dangerous.” I shook my head. “You protected me.”
As I noticed his green eyes well up with tears, something in me died, as if my heart was being ripped open, piece by piece.
“I love you, Damian,” I spoke, my hand reaching for his black locs as I pushed a few strands off his forehead.
He froze at my words.
“Say that again, please.”
“I love you, Damien,” I repeated. “I love you.” This time my voice was barely above a whisper.
But how could I not love this man?
He was the air I breathed. For years I have been tortured by my family, but with him… I felt alive. This man would lay down his life for me. I didn't care if he was a killer; I didn't care how many he tortured. He cared for me; that was all that mattered.
Without hesitation, Damien pinned his lips against mine, exhaling sharply as the kiss deepened.
Pulling away slightly “I love you too,” he whispered against my lips, breathless, before he pinned his lips back on mine.
~~Moretti’s POV~~
(A feared mafia boss, Damien, a longtime enemy)
I raised my brow in shock as one of my men, Luca, whispered in my ear. I looked around the gala I had attended, each and every one of them whispering one person's name.
Damien Davenport.
“Repeat that again,” I said to Luca.
Luca nodded and drew back to my ear again; with one hand cupping my ear, he whispered, “Damien Davenport got to his knees and surrendered defeat because of a woman.”
The news was outrageous; Damien was the devil himself. Devils didn't kneel down before men.
I thought for a second.
Maybe this was my chance. Three years ago, Damien surprisingly got spoken files of me that could implicate me.
A blackmail file.
Even though I was feared, I was his puppet.
I have tried to get it back but to no avail.
But if he now has a weakness, maybe, just maybe, I can u
se her to my advantage, even if it means spilling her blood.
“I think we should pay this…mystery girl a little visit, don’t you think?” I asked Luca, a mischievous smirk on my face.