Page 112 of Cut Me Down

“Then he went and found you anyway. D is suave.” Danielle says, winking at me to let me know she knows more than that.

“Yes he is.” We all laugh and some of the women comment on how Damien is ‘so smitten’. It makes me blush.

“So, do you have favorites when it comes to your clients?” Lauren asks me.

“Well yeah, you know you have some really good ones, and then some really bad ones.”

“D was telling me about this one client she has that’s, like, ninety or something, and he constantly flirts with her.” Melanie says.

“Ewe, I’m sure that’s awkward.” Amy says.

“It’s not like that.” I say to them. “I’ve had Charlie as a client since my second day there. His wife had just died, and he came in for Emmett, my boss, to cut his hair, but he was too busy, so I took him. He’s come to me ever since. Even when I…” I stop myself and shut my mouth as quickly as I can. I can’t believe I’m about to say all of this to these women. I just met them. I guess sharing with Damien has gotten so easy I just spill my guts on anything now. Great, thanks babe.

“When what?” Dani asks. I know she and Lauren have seen some pretty terrible things, but what about the others? Would they look at me differently if they knew about my past? I trust Damien so much, and I can't imagine his family being much different from him. I definitely don't need to tell them everything, but if I say forget it they might get offended, and I don't want that.

“When I was in a previous relationship, he attacked me. Hurt me pretty badly, and I couldn’t work for a few months. I was in the hospital for two weeks, and Charlie came to see me every day after he found out. Then when I tried to come back to work, I had to retrain my arm to do the things I needed to do. So, Charlie came in every day then too. We just shaved his head for a while so my arm could get used to holding the weight of the clippers again. Once I got that down, we let his hair grow out some and he’s let me cut it with scissors ever since. It was probably about two years ago that he came in one day after I had a really good day and he heard me sing. Come to find out that was his first date since his wife died, and he was coming in to build up some confidence. He said he didn’t even need a haircut after that. So now he comes in whenever he has a date. Haircut or not, and I wash his hair and sing for him. Charlie’s sweet, he’s not just a creeper, I promise. He’s crude, but sweet.”

“Oh my God, I feel like such a bitch now.” Amy says with her hand covering her mouth.

“No, don’t. I haven’t told Damien that story yet, so he doesn’t know. He’s very protective, so I can see how Charlie would make things seem weird.”

“Does Damien know about your attack?” Sarah asks and everyone’s eyes go wide.

“Oh my God, Sarah!” Melanie says.

“No, it’s okay. Damien knows everything about me.” I actually feel really proud to say that. He does pretty much know everything, and he’s been patient and gentle. Never really asking me himself, but just allowing me to talk about things. He’s never judged me, or looked at me different because of it, and I'm sure his family won’t either. I’d kill to have a family like his. I guess I sort of do now.

While we’ve been talking, all of the kids have been getting ready for bed. They have a room especially for the grandkids when they stay. It’s filled with bunk beds, star lights on the ceiling, and toys. It’s really cute how they all camp out together once a year. The adults all share rooms, but we’ll be staying in Damien’s old room tonight. I can’t wait to see what teenage Damien had in his room. Especially now knowing the secret nerd he is.

I look over to his mom washing the dishes. You would think that with all of these people they’d use things like paper plates and cups, but apparently they use this set every year. I feel terrible that she’s in there doing all of that by herself, so I get up and walk over to help her. She looks up at me and smiles as I get closer to her.

“Oh, you’re fine sweetheart, you go and have a good time.” She tells me as I walk up and stand next to her.

“I am having a good time, but I would like to help.”

“Damien said you’re a people pleaser.” She smiles as she says that, so I know he meant it as a good thing. “If you would grab a towel and start drying, dear. That would be great.”

“Yes ma’am.” I start drying the dishes in the dish rack and sorting them so I can put them away. She looks around the room at all of the women, and as the kids come and go she makes sure they’re in the living areas before glancing at me.

“So, I assume you support Damien’s business?” She says in a hushed tone so no one else can hear us over their loud laughter.

Play it cool, Ashia.

“Yeah, of course. I am also a fairly big nerd. So, I love his shop. It’s crazy how many collectibles he’s obtained.”

“That’s not the business I mean, dear.” My stomach drops, and the anxiety creeps in. I look over to her and she gives me a very serious look.

“You know?” I'm sure to keep my voice low.

“For about a year now. You'll find out soon enough, Ashia. Children can't truly hide anything from their parents. Especially with fathers like them.” She nods in their direction. “John’s been watching Damien for about three years. We’re proud of the work he does. Especially John. Has Damien told you about him?” I shake my head. “He was Special Ops, then a hired assassin. He did a lot of things he’s not proud of. The country he defended told him a target, he took them out. That’s all it was to him then. It wasn’t until I was taken he realized the mistakes he made. How innocent most of the lives truly were.” I snap my head back toward her. I watch her jaw clench as the painful memories resurface. Taken? Like one of his targets found out about the family and came for her?

“That’s awful, I'm so sorry.”

“I was gone two months when Damien and Emma were two. He says they were the worst two months of his life. They were also mine.” She swallows hard, and I stay silent, not knowing what to say. “They make a lot of enemies in the work they do, and they’re ruthless when they come for you. But we stay, and we wait, because we are what makes our men strong. Not the guns, not the tools, not even the men that surround them. Us.” She turns to me, very seriously, and I look at her. Focusing on her determined stare. “I don’t need to know all of the details of what Damien does, and I make that very clear to John. I don’t need to know a body count, or the money spent. I just need to know that you'll keep him strong. I need to know that you won’t break his heart. He is my son. The only baby I have left. If you can’t handle his life, then own up to it. Are you going to hurt my son?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” The words come flying out of my mouth. I even surprise myself, but I don’t hesitate, because I mean it. Down to the marrow of my bones I mean it. I’ve never felt so sure about anyone or anything in my entire life, and I plan to prove that to both of them. “He has me. Always. I know I haven’t known him long, and I know I just met you, but you'll be seeing a lot more of me. You'll get to know just how serious I am about him.” I killed someone for him for fucks sake, but I won’t mention that. That is definitely not normal ‘hey I just met you’ conversation. This may not be either, but every mom questions their son’s girlfriends. She grins and nods her head confidently. Almost as if she’s impressed by my answer.

“Good.” She turns back to the dishes. “So, I don’t need to threaten you then?” I huff out a laugh.

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