Damaged Queen (Darkness Within Duet 2)
She wasn’t going to complain about that. She liked his touch and had missed it. Even though it was only holding hands, to Harper, it felt really important.
“Would you like something to drink?” he asked.
“A whiskey.”
“I want you to remember this. We’re going to have something a little lighter.”
“You intend to control what I drink now?”
“Yes. I don’t care if you like that or not.”
She rolled her eyes.
“You know that just makes you look sexy as fuck.”
She smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Do.”
She chuckled.
“I’ll get wine.”
He let go of her hand, and she watched him walk away.
Staring around the apartment, it didn’t give anything away about the man. Draven had always been a private person, and he never trusted anyone. Even when they were kids, she never saw anything that screamed it was his room or his space.
He returned with two glasses of wine, and she took a long drink.
“You’re nervous?” he asked.
“Wouldn’t you be?”
“I guess I would. Especially if I didn’t know the truth.”
“You’ve got a couple of scars you hadn’t before.”
He rubbed his face and smiled. “Yeah, I do.”
They sat in silence for a few moments. Harper drank her wine, and the nerves hit her hard.
“I’m out,” he said.
“What?”
“I’m out of the trafficking, the drug trade, the guns, all of it. It’s gone. I’m done. A clean slate. After everything, I’m all out.”
“I didn’t think it was possible for you to do that.” She frowned.
“It’s always possible. There just have to be certain sacrifices. You’ve just got to learn to sever ties where necessary, cause a shitstorm of problems, and all the while, know what you’re planning to do.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I had Axel by my side. He never wanted any part of this and had hoped we’d be out of the trade forever.”
“It never happened?”
“No. When you left, I didn’t even question my father about it. I just accepted it, as if I knew deep down, you’d leave. You’d find some way to escape me, to run from all of this. I know now that you didn’t, but it set off something inside me. I became the monster I always knew was there. I have a darkness within me, Harper. I can’t get rid of it. I’ve done a lot of bad things, and I wish I could change them, but I can’t. Especially when it comes to you. You’ve now got scars on your back because of me.”
“Don’t think about it. We’ve all done a lot of bad things. I’ve done a lot I’m not proud of.”
“I’ll never forget what I did. It’ll always be my punishment.”
She licked her dry lips. Her wine no longer held any appeal to her. “What happened?”
“Tillie’s dead. So are all the people you saw around the table and their witnesses as well. They’re all gone.”
“You killed Tillie?”
“Yes. I also released those women as well. They’re back home.”
“Oh.”
“I’ve also sent some information to a group of men, an MC that I know deals with women who are being trafficked or have been. I believe they’ll find the women who have already been sold and will try to locate them.”
“Really? They can do that?”
“Yes. From my understanding, they can do anything.”
“Wow,” she said.
“Yeah, I know.”
“I can’t believe you killed Tillie.” She had wanted to. Hitting that bitch had given her immense satisfaction that had lasted for days, far longer than anything else.
“It was easy. She was my first stop. Once I took care of her, it was easier to work my way up the chain.”
“I thought Tillie was connected to someone bigger?”
“She was. Tillie was a first-class bitch, and she liked money. She loved power, and once I showed her owner what she’d actually been doing all this time, he was more than happy to have a deal. The information she had to trade with, for my life and Axel’s.”
“Information?”
“Tillie had been gathering evidence and money. She intended to either blackmail her owner, or sell it to the highest bidder for protection. With killing her, I got the details and also made sure there were no repercussions, which helped to wrap everything up quite nicely. Axel took care of the rest. He handled the negotiations, and helped get us out.”
“Is that the end of it?”
“Not quite.”
“Each fight came with risks, but I realized I wanted out completely and so, I’d take any fight that meant certain death. I no longer wanted to be the man my father had created, but my own person. I didn’t want this life. It’s not my legacy to keep on fighting for. It’s his.”
He told her how he and Axel fought each opponent, selling off information for a once in a lifetime offer of getting out. They used Alan’s information that he’d kept hidden to help set them free. It had never been done before, but he and Axel had done the impossible. There were men who had stuck by his side, and who were loyal to him and him alone. Men who were ready to see him into any venture he saw fit.