CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX —I’ll do anything for you!

The week ran by fast. Too fast. For Damian who had finally succeeded in getting his woman to admit that she actually wanted him, every moment spent away from her was torture. They were always together most of the day. At night, they navigated from his penthouse to her apartment. Being with her was fun. Whenever he wasn’t with her, he felt an emptiness within. Nothing could fill that emptiness except her hearty smile. She could make his heart swell merely by looking at him with those seductive eyes.

Right now, even work didn’t fill the space she had taken up in his heart. Today, however, he had deliberately left her side. She had no idea what he had been up to lately even though she suspected he was doing something. For her sake, he couldn’t tell her just yet. This was a good affair that he had to see to. This morning, James had called that he had the Latinos and he was going to drill them himself for stressing his woman so much. His PI didn’t agree to those terms though and was giving him a tough time with the location. He was bent on having the procedure without the boss’ involvement. “Why?” he screamed at his screen. At the moment, he was being shown a video of the men. A total of six Latinos were strung up on their chairs. And James was questioning them. Yet, he couldn’t be there. He had no idea where they were “Why, dammit” he yelled, standing up.

James’ face came on the screen again. “Because you’re directly involved boss.” he replied then adjusted the camera to face the men again. “I’ll begin questioning them when you give the go-ahead” he informed the boss. The man could have his head later. This he did, for his good. Hopefully, he would realize that soon enough. “Can I proceed?’ he asked again. This time, he didn’t show his face.

Though his face remained hidden, Damian could see the smirk behind the voice. They were to return the men after drilling and questioning them. It was the lawful thing to do even if every fiber in his being screamed against it. not even Axel was aware of the men being here. He started pacing his office, watching the men angrily. One of the men glared at him. He was the one in the middle, and he was sure he had seen him once or twice at SMUGSHOT. If only he was there, he would have wrung off his neck. He fisted his hands in anger, glaring at the men in turn.

Perhaps being here was a good thing. Though murdering someone for the woman he loved sounded appealing right now. It wasn’t a good thing to do. He wasn’t going to do something she would regret later. And this was surely going to be just that. A regret! He was sure Ainsley would never quite be able to live with the idea of her man murdering people for her sake. These past few days had been ecstatic for them. He wanted nothing ruining it. Ainsley was as sweet as she was sexy. Feisty and calm. She kept him on his toes. He could never tell what she would the next instant. And his heart swelled with pride for finding her. The thought of her made him grin. His anger simmered.

Finally, he managed to calm down. Sitting back in his chair, he leaned back to watch the drill. His PI was someone he could trust to handle the affair perfectly anyway. With a smug smile, he gave the command. “Yes, you can start the drill.”

“Are there more if you out there?” asked James behind the camera.

Damian watched the men. His part was to read their appearance and demeanor. There was a missing Latino. That was what James thought anyway. He searched their faces for any clue. Their faces weren’t giving anything away. Probably because they’ve been beaten to a pulp. The faces right now looked soaked up in the blood. They must have resisted when James and his men rounded them up. “The middle man is the head.” he said more to James than the men. His demeanor showed he was in charge. The others had turned to look at him coyly when the question was asked. “He is the man you need”

“Okay, boss.” James said, tilting the camera to focus on the man in the middle. He had suspected he was the ring leader. He signaled to one of his men to begin the drill. The man appeared on the screen, showed his weapon, and set it up on the middle Latinos’ left leg. “Begin” James gave the command.

“It’s a drilling machine.” the man began explaining as he set the tool on the Latinos’ leg. “Once I insert it and it starts drilling, you lose your left leg in two seconds.” he showed the man the pointed tip.

The Latinos jerked angrily as the man began the drill but refused to give up his man. That was their backup plan. The man he was asking for was somewhere right now, planning their escape.

“No one’s coming.” the man said, then started the machine. The Latinos’ cussing and screams were swallowed up by the machine. His left leg was soon covered up in the blood and crunched bone.

“He doesn’t know where he is, okay” screamed one of the men who couldn’t look at the sight anymore. The others like him had their shut and their faces away from the sight too. “None of us know”

“Is that so?” asked James. He signaled for his man to continue. The man was their weakness. He could see that now. They just needed a little push before they give up the location. His man had barely started when the same man who spoke up earlier started to blab about the last man’s location. “Good job. Now it didn’t take so long to have that. Did it?” he laughed wickedly. Coming in front of the camera, he spoke to his boss. “We’ll get the man and let you know what we have”

Damian gave a curt salute and the screen went off. He was barely standing when he noticed the commotion outside his office. “What the heck?” he said as his father stood at the entrance. His secretary was obviously stopping him from going in. Knowing his father, the man was pissed off. He doesn’t take lightly being turned down. Pressing the intercom, he spoke to his secretary to let him in.

“What are you doing, son?” Axel asked stomping the office angrily. He was informed that his son just rounded up the Latinos and it was scary knowing how he felt about Ainsley. He knew she was the only reason he was doing this. Which left him even scared. He hoped he didn’t do anything regretful. There was a fine like he wouldn’t want his son crossing. Like the mother hen, every parent wanted to protect their kids from hurtful things. No one wants their wards crossing the fine line between bad and evil.

“I’m not doing anything wrong, Axel” replied Damian, glaring at his father. The older man was seated now across him with his smug smile.

“I ask you again, just what are you doing Damian?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Axel” he repeated, this time he stressed on his father’s stage name. He knew how that made him angry.

Through gritted teeth, Axel adjusted in his chair as he questioned the young man, “Would it hurt so much if you call me father like you used to”

Damian threw his head back, laughing so hard. He knew calling his father Axel repeated was going to cause some stir. But the man had always resisted. What suddenly changed? “You mean like when you were still my father?”

His fisted hands struck the table angrily, “Dammit Dame. I’m still your father”

“You lost that right to be the instant you chose your career over us. And walked out” replied Damian coolly, further infuriating his father. While speaking with him, his mind was on James and his men. He was sure they would have gotten there now. Why wasn’t anyone saying anything about the situation? He briefly glanced at his phone.

“And clearly you’re sticking your nose in that very career right now”

Yes, he knew that. He was in the musical background things he never wanted in the first place. But Ainsley was pretty upset about this issue, he wanted to see to the root of it. But he didn’t need to admit that to his father now. Looking at the man squarely, he denied the accusation. “I have no idea what you’re talking about”

He watched him keenly. Interesting! His fingers lightly tapped the desk anxiously. He could tell he was waiting for the news. His amused smile took in all his movement. The sweaty forehead. The restless fingers. The unnerving stare. If only he knew the instant he got the information that his son was sticking his nose here, he had his men followed. The Latino in question was now in his custody. He only needed confirmation to be sure. His chiming phone made him smile. Right on time, he mused, looking at his son who in turn checked his phone too. “Of course, you do.” he told his son. “You’re sticking your nose in my affair. Would you please, back off” he warned.

Damian took that the wrong way. “Have you come…”

Not letting him finish what he was saying, the man repeated himself, “Back off, Dame. This isn’t your domain”

“I’m not in your business, Dad.” he pointed out. “I’m in Ainsley’s. Note the difference”

That he called him dad didn’t go unnoticed by him. He smiled, “You’re growing soft on me.” he mocked. “Some might even say you’re falling in love”

“With who? You?” his laugher was loud and wicked. His eyes didn’t participate in the mocking laughter; neither did his glare change Since his son was clearly not going to admit what he was doing, he told him plainly “The Latino you wanted is in my custody. Let the others, go”

“If I don’t?” he asked, trying to hide his surprise. How did he know where to look? He should have known the instant the man walked in here that he had a plan.

“You won’t like the aftermath. Ainsley is a big girl. She can take care of herself”

“I think you should leave now”

“We should talk some more.” he said, maintaining his cool exterior. “About family?” he pressed, striking for a raw cord. He was watching him tensely, looking for that raw spot. “Your mother?”

“And you want to do this at my company?” Damian asked his father angrily. watching as he sat with his cool demeanor. Was he bent on making him go angry at work? Right in front of his staff?

“Well, the last time I came to speak with you.” he shrugged, “You wouldn’t give me audience”

“I can’t do this here with you. Please go” he said to the other man who stood his ground despite seeing his son losing his composure.

This was a good time to strike a bargain. “Do I set up a place then? Or visit?”

“Yes, anything” he agreed, dismissively.

“I’ll send you the address.” Axel stood up, “Or the plan. It could be at the house.”

“Okay.” he said, walking the man to the door, his phone dangling in his hand.

“Call off your men, and hand over the Latinos, okay.” he stood at the door. “Trust me, I’ll handle this”

He knew he would. “Okay.” he agreed, knowing he could trust him that much. The man looked at him wordlessly, and left. “Bye.” he called after him, gaily. As soon as Axel was gone, Damian called his men to give them the update. “You know what to do, James.” he said to his PI.