Chapter 90 Chapter 90
Damien's fury knew no bounds. "You defied me!" He turned the small centre table in his office over violently, letting it crash on the floor to its destruction.
"Do you know what could have happened to you?" He roared. I was still shaking from witnessing Claudia's death. That was the one thing I had not anticipated or prepared for.
Narrowly escaping death on my own, with nobody knowing where I was, had been the scariest thing for me. My blood ran cold, and I still felt like I was being showered by an ice storm.
"You never listen to me! You could have been killed or worse! How do you expect men to trust you when you keep doing things like this?" He was unbelievable. I had survived on my own, by sheer luck, yes, but I had managed.
"Are you listening to me?" He asked. I raised my eyes to look at him.
"Of course I am, all you've done is yell and throw temper tantrums. I freaking went on a mission that your men would never have succeeded with. What was your plan, huh? Find her out, bring her here, and torture her like you're doing to Marcus?"
"So, you suddenly feel like you are the expert on the organization's affairs now, are you?" He asked. "I have always handled things the way I handled them, and now, you want to tell me how to handle it? Fine! Go ahead, you want to call the shots, right? Go ahead!"
"What? You think I want any of this? Open your eyes, Damien! Marcus hasn't given you any useful information since you captured him. I took the risk, and I did everything to convince Claudia, and I got out of there! And you're talking about trust! Trust?!"
"Ever since I came here, you've been lying to me! You have hidden the worst secrets from me for your own selfish gain!"
"I have done nothing but try to protect you! Why can't you simply follow instructions!" His eyes were red with rage. "Your stubbornness is going to get you killed one of these days, and you'll have yourself to blame!"
"No, your world is going to be the death of me, Damien."
"Then take a front seat because until this whole mess is over, you're not going anywhere! Nobody is! I have had enough of everyone's betrayal and lies. I don't know who to trust in my own home."
"Do you think it is easy for any of them? They live their lives every day, unsure they would make it past the next war. They had families, loved ones, people who cared about them, but you don't realise that, do you? Everyone has something to lose, Damien."
"I know that. And they knew exactly what they signed up for when they came into the organization. Most of them were homeless; they had no dreams or aspirations. I gave them that, and then they just turned their backs on me?"
"You don't deserve that, either. Nobody deserves to be trapped in this world, Damien. It sucks people in and spits them out dead."
I sat back down on the chair in his office, dizzy from the whole ordeal.
"She gave me this," I said quietly, pulling out the flash drive with shaking hands. Damien's eyes assessed the device in my hand methodically and expertly, before taking it from me.
"She said the Syndicate has another leader that is not Alexander. She said somebody else has been fueling the war between the two of you. She said on the flash are names of people close to both organizations that could help you determine who your real enemies are."
He looked tentatively at the drive as if he couldn't trust it. I didn't want to think that way. If those men had killed Claudia over it, then it had to have been important and right.
"She died for it, Damien. I don't think that they would have killed her over it if it was not important."
He looked at me, and then back at it with a frown on his face.
"I'll take a look at it," he said reluctantly. He picked up his phone and dialed Duke. In less than a few minutes, he was there with Damien's laptop.
"Check on Marcus and let me know his status."
"Yes, boss," Duke replied, while eying the destroyed table with wide eyes. He looked to me, and I shook my head with a tired smile. Everyone knew Damien had anger issues, but he had never hurt me with it. Except the last time.
Duke's nod was barely visible, but it made me wonder what kind of person he was. Was he the kind who stood ready, waiting to put Damien in his place if he hurt any of the people around him unjustly?
Maybe it explained why Damien was so worried. He barely had the control he thought he had before. He had the reverence and terror of these people, but when it came to standing their ground, there was always one or two persons.
But that did not mean they qualified as traitors, but only as humans. I put my head in my hand and shut my eyes. My mind was filled with images of Claudia. The look in her eyes when he held the gun to her head.
I shook my head. Why did she take such a risk for Damien? It didn't make any sense. She had smuggled the diamonds for Victor, and she had helped him sabotage Damien severally, but what was it that made her decide this was worth dying for?
Fear shattered my resolve. Had she been trapped in this world as I had been? Had she been tired of running and decided she'd rather die? Was there a possibility that I was going to end up like her?
My stomach lurched in my throat. I felt like throwing up. Shoes planted themselves in my front, and I looked up to find Damien holding up a glass of water for me.
I took it, feeling queasy, and drank it. My lips, which felt dry, suddenly felt alive. My throat, which had been constricted, loosened up. It did not help my thoughts, but my physical body received strength.
Damien crouched in front of me.