Page 113 of Cut Me Down

“No ma’am.” I feel a smile grow on my face, just as one grows on hers.

“Good girl.” She gently pats my arm.

Chapter forty

Damien

I'm standing in my father’s office with the other men, watching her from afar. She kicked ass at Twister, but didn’t win a single game of Uno. She’s probably feeling sick from all the food my mom has made her eat, but she’s not showing any signs of it. I told my mom not to push food on her, but I didn’t tell her why. I probably should have though, because Ashia is too nice of a person to say no. So far, she’s taking everything my family has thrown at her like a champ. They love her.

Once the kids wanted to play again, she came out with us and played ‘The Princess’. She was fantastic, and all of the little girls swooned over her when she sang The Little Mermaid to them. I don’t think I'll ever get used to hearing her sing. She puts me in a hypnotized state every time. Even when she sings something as childish as ‘Part of That World.’ Now they think she’s an actual princess, which to me? She’s a fucking queen.

Watching her play gently with the girls was breath taking. She was gentle, and up lifting. Told them all how pretty they were and that if they wanted to be a princess when they grew up that they damn well could be. They just stared at her in awe, as if true royalty was speaking to them.

After that, we all went out and played football, now that’s when she won the boys over. She likes watching football, and actually knows all of the rules. So, when we realized she was small and fast enough to slide her way through the boys, she became a star player. She’s not afraid to get down and dirty and I love that about her. I don’t know how I found her, or was lucky enough to see her through that window, but fuck I'm so glad I did.

Melanie handed Ashia her newborn son twenty minutes ago, and she hasn’t taken her eyes off of him. The way her eyes gleam at him and the smile she flashes is just different. Longing. Sincere. When she puts him on her shoulder I catch her smelling him, and it’s like an invisible feeling washes over her. Her body relaxes and she looks so at ease it makes my heart weep. I'm sure her ovaries are screaming right now, and I'll be sure to come inside her tonight. I know she’s on birth control, but with the way I'm pining for her, I don’t think it's going to matter.

She’s loosened up since we got here, not a bit of nervousness showing from her. My family likes her, and she likes them. She fits in perfectly with us, and the way that even my Nana was raving over her really filled my chest. My dad even seems to like her. Which is surprising. Well, he hasn’t said anything bad or off-putting about her, and that’s an excellent sign. As if he knew I was thinking about him, he speaks up.

“So, Damien. We need to have a word.” I turn to my dad and lean against the wall. His tone is serious. Not that it ever isn’t, but there’s three different moods you can catch him. Stern, serious, and pissed off. This sounds like a mix between serious and pissed off.

“Yes sir?”

“Get all of your cousins that work for you and bring them in here.” He clenches his jaw and crosses his arms in front of him. Showing that it was definitely a demand and not a request.

“Do you want to know about my sales reports, Dad?” I smirk, trying to gauge what he’s upset about.

“Not that work.” A heaviness grow over my chest. I figured my dad had been watching me. Anytime something big happens, he calls me the next day asking how life is. I think that’s his subtle way of checking in. For him to corner us in his office for a discussion, this is serious. I turn and open the double glass pane doors leading to the living room. The first one, besides Ashia, to attract my attention is Danielle.

“Dani? Get everyone and come in here for a minute, please.” I shoot her a look that let’s her know what ‘everyone’ I’m talking about.

“Okay kids, time for bed.” She says to the kids, and I watch Ashia reluctantly hand the baby back to Melanie before I look back to Dani. “We’ll be right there.” I nod, shut the doors back, and turn to the men.

“Roman? You, Jack, and Easton give the rest of us a few minutes.” They nod and walk out, leaving the rest of us. There’s only silence as we wait. My cousins all look at me with curiosity and confusion. I just nod at them, trying to reassure them that I’ve got this. Only a few minutes pass before Dani, Melanie, Lauren, and Kelsey walk in. There’s twenty-five of us cousins total. Ten girls, fifteen boys. Four of the girls work with me, and twelve of the boys. If any of my cousins wanted work, I’d find something for them to do, but it’s not often that any of them are in harm’s way. If ever. “What’s going on, sir?”

“There’s more of them than I thought.” He says, eying them all skeptically. “I admire what you do, Damien. You do it without orders, for the right reasons, and you save people in the process. However, I need you to think about this family.”

“I do think of this family.” I declare.

“By bringing them into it?” He says angrily.

“We chose this uncle John.” Lauren chimes in, and I immediately scowl at her. The only person here who needs to fall victim to my father’s wrath is me, and I don’t want him to upset them. “We may not have known what this was when we first asked him, but we’re in it now. He showed us, gave us a choice, and we decided.”

“They don’t do anything dangerous. The girls don’t go out into the field, and the men mainly do surveillance.” I say to him.

“I understand that, but with your situation escalating, have you thought that it wouldn’t matter?” We all fall silent to his words. My father is a very commanding, very intimidating man. I couldn’t imagine being the one under his knife. I’ve been close enough, I don’t need to experience the real thing. “I’ve protected this family. We all have good lives. You're playing a dangerous game.”

“It’s not a game. It’s people’s lives.” I cut in.

“It’s always a game, Damien. Always being played by someone with more money, more connections, more resources. I was going to let you play because of your mission, but now that the situation has clearly gotten worse, I need to protect the family. You included.”

“I am protecting them.” I say sternly as I step in front of everyone else. If he wants to belittle anyone, it's going to be me. He opens his laptop and turns it around to show the little shit podcaster. He snuck onto the crime scenes from last night and took photos.

“Does this look like protecting them? Your stunt, Damien, made national news this morning. Burning down a man’s house with bodies plastered on the front? Blowing up four separate warehouses? Thirty-eight bodies discovered? How’s that protecting the family?”

“I'm protecting MY family.” I angrily fire back at him. He scrunches his eyebrows at me confused, then looks out of the doors, and I know he's looking at her and trying to come to an accurate conclusion. I don’t look with him, careful not to lose his gaze as he looks back to me.

“They came after her?” I hesitate. Nobody asked why they came for her, and I know it won’t matter to them. However, it will to John Hartley. I swallow and shove the guilt down. Preparing to speak. Cooper trying to kill Ashia is no one’s fucking business, but unfortunately, it’s relevant.

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