Keep Her From Harm (The Denton Family Legacy 4)

“I’m just thinking about my father and brothers locked up there, and Uncle Stuart.”

“Do you think you’ll get them out?”

“Yeah, we have to.” There was no way his uncle was going to take over and run the Denton family business. His father told him that if needed they would have to hold Rick back from being put in jail. He was a law unto himself, and would likely cause more damage to his own reputation before this was over.

Becoming a doctor hadn’t tempered the monster inside him. Only his wife Mandy had. Mia closed her eyes and began to yawn. “I’m so sorry. I feel so sleepy.”

“Then get some sleep, baby. You don’t have to worry about a thing.” He pressed another kiss to her head, and watched as she started to fall asleep. It wasn’t long before she passed out, and sleep took her. For several minutes he watched her, loving the peace that washed over him. Spending time away from her was an agony he couldn’t begin to describe. Abel, Jacob, and Oliver had all felt the same way, and he wondered if this was the same feeling Landon felt.

It was crazy. When sleep wasn’t easy to come by, he made his way out of his childhood bedroom, which had changed over the years. There were no large posters of movies he loved or even calendars of naked girls. He’d been a classic teenager, and his bedroom had gone through many transformations.

Leaving the bedroom, he made his way downstairs, and found light coming from his father’s study. For the first time in his life, he actually missed his father, and knew jail wasn’t the place for him.

Entering the office, he saw Rick still up and still working. His mother, Charlotte, was passed out on the sofa with a blanket thrown over her.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

“No. There’s a lot of shit to do.”

“I’d be spending time with my woman right about now, and believe me that is where I would want to be, but as it happens, I’m cleaning up after my brothers’ mess.” Rick continued to type even as he spoke.

Damian frowned, wondering what he’d seen, or even what he was doing. Before he could say something, Rick started talking.

“You know we Dentons have a reputation for sticking together. No matter what happens, we are united as one. It doesn’t matter if we’re hit, we will band together. You try to take on one, you take us all on. We’ve always been a big family, and one day soon I hope to add to the fold, but right now there’s no way in hell of me sharing my woman. I’m a self-centered prick. I don’t deny that. Thankfully, I’ve got a few years before I’m sterile I imagine.” Finally, Rick looked up at him, and typing ceased. “This person you got, Lewis, he is good. Anyway, back to what I was saying. Oh yeah, that’s right. Family, unity, love, and all that fucking shit. Your father fucked up when he screwed the Colton whore. It wasn’t supposed to end up with a kid, but you know what? We got Gabriel, and you got Wyatt and Owen mixed in with all of this. They’re good men. I can see that, and your father can see that. The problem you’ve got is as a family, this little hiccup caused this.”

“No, it didn’t.”

Rick slammed his hand on the desk, waking Charlotte up. “It did, and you don’t for a second interrupt me, boy. That’s what you are. You’re a fucking child, and so are all of your brothers, and to a point so is mine. They didn’t tell you to get your head out of your fucking asses and deal with the problem. You treated this entire situation like a bunch of girls, and guess what? It’s come to bite you in the ass.”

“I think that is quite enough, Rick.”

“With all due respect, Charlotte, shut the fuck up. I don’t want to hear your shit because my brother screwed a woman before he even met you. Get over it. So what? Gabriel is alive, and you’ve got an extra couple of sons and daughters to pamper. They took their eye off the ball, which at this present time has cost a great deal of people their lives. Not just those two women at the warehouse. There have been two cops that in the past hour have died. Don’t worry, I’ve already got our lawyer onto it to help the family. It’s the least I can do. You want to know what I do, Damian? I clean shit up. That’s what I do. It’s what I’ve always done. When I left, it was because there was nothing to clean up. Maddox and Stuart had a handle on everything. Instead everything turns to shit in a matter of months. He fucked a Colton and Gabriel’s here. Get over it. I have. He’s my brand-new nephew. Grow some fucking balls. If you don’t, say goodbye to this life, and to that woman you’ve got upstairs because this doesn’t come easy.” Rick shook his head. “I never should have gone.”

“Why did you go?”

“Maddox and Stuart sent him away,” Charlotte said, finally speaking up. “They couldn’t keep up with the never-ending pile of dead bodies, and the cops demanding to speak to Rick at every turn. Discovering Mandy, and her getting a job in England, your father and uncle thought it would do him good.”

“Charlotte, you need to leave,” Rick said.

Damian was shocked when his mother just turned away, and left. “You can’t order my mom around in her own home.”

“I can when what I’m about to show you would hurt her.” Rick spun the laptop he’d been typing away, and Damian took a step forward. “Like I said, Lewis is brilliant.”

The laptop was showing the torture of the two girls, not only that, but it was also showing Ivan Smith and another guy dumping the body. Rick pointed at the screen. “That ugly fucker is Westbrook. Who is the guy with him?”

“Ivan Smith. You just beat the shit out of one of his guys.”

“He’s the one you want to kill?” Rick asked.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Great. We’re all on the same side. I’ve sent this to the lawyer, and he’s working on getting our family released. Until then, go and get some sleep.”

“You’re not going to go after them right away?” Damian asked.

“Nope. We’re going to make it a family affair.”

****