“Oh, déjà vu.” He cackled. “Does this scene remind you of something, bro?”
Bronagh got to her feet and grabbed my arm. “Leave us alone.”
Trent grinned. “Can’t do that, baby. Uncle Marco wants to have a chat.”
He gestured for us to exit the room with the gun, and we walked where he pointed without question. When we stepped into the hallways of Darkness, confusion gripped me. I kept my mouth shut as Bronagh and I walked ahead of Trent out of the hallway and into the nightclub. We came to a stop at a booth were Marco Miles was receiving a lap dance. Bronagh looked around the room, clocking Marco’s men, but I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he sent the woman away.
“You let me believe I killed him!”
Marco nodded. “I did.”
I wanted to wrap my hands around his neck.
“Just to keep my family in the business?”
Marco shrugged as he lit up a cigarette, inhaled, then exhaled, and blew the smoke in our direction, causing Bronagh to cough.
“Your brothers were born for this line of work, literally,” he said, his lip quirked. “I’ve heard lately that you have a way of getting pussy by just blinking. I could tie you into what Alec does if you’re interested? Brothers on Demand, it will be my, or your, next big hit.”
Marco, Trent, and the two men across the room chuckled at this, so I glowered at them.
“You’re nothin’ but a scumbag!”
I stood in front of Bronagh after she insulted Marco, and it made him laugh.
“Calm down, blondie,” he said to me. “I’m not going to touch your brother’s bit on the side.”
“He will kill you for this. I hope you know that. Dragging me here was strike one, knocking Bronagh out was strike two, and using her life as a bargaining chip to keep him in the business is strike fucking three.”
Marco thought he knew my brothers and what they were capable of, but he had no fucking clue the lengths we would go to protect one another.
“I can be very persuasive, Damien.”
I shook my head. “You won’t be able to talk your way out of this one or make up some bullshit story like you did with Trent. We aren’t the same people you took advantage of back in New York.”
The muscles in Marco’s jaw rolled from side to side. “You’re the men you are today because I fucking made you that way!”
“Which is exactly why this is going to blow up in your face,” I countered. “We know all the tricks of your trades. Each one of my brothers knows the ins and outs of how you do business. They do all your work while you sit back and reap the rewards. You would be nothing without them!”
“Nothing?” Marco roared. “Who the fuck built up this empire? Me!”
I laughed. “You and my dad until it went to your heads. His head is full of lead now and, trust me when I say, soon, so will yours.”
Marco wanted to hurt me—I could see it in his eyes—but just as quick as he got angry, he laughed and calmed himself down.
“I guess this side of him was what that little chinky bitch loved so much.”
I stared at Marco, then at Trent when he said, “She only liked him for his hair colour, which is exactly why I put a blond wig in my hole with her. No one can ever say I gave the bitch nothing.”
I close my eyes and dread filled me.
“Who did you bury in Trent’s grave if he is here?”
No one answered me.
“Who did you bury if he is alive?”
I opened my eyes when Marco said, “That little Asian chick you were dating or fucking. What was her name? Gala? She came to the house looking for you the day after the ‘incident’ and walked in on Trent being treated by a doc. Of course, I couldn’t let her walk out of there alive. She would have told you Trent was alive, and then I wouldn’t have been able to cash in on Dominic’s talent. Your brothers running shit for me was a plus, but getting Dominic where I wanted him was my true prize.” He chuckled. “After I saw the CCTV footage of him attacking Trent before you shot him, I knew your brother was a born fighter. Another plus was that kid’s body was the weight I needed for the coffin that was for Trent. She probably weighed as much as him back then.”
I couldn’t focus.
“You killed Nala and buried her in Trent’s grave?”
“Nala, that’s her name!” Marco snapped his fingers. “Cute little chick, put up quite a fight.”
I rushed forward, intending to kill Marco where he sat, but I wasn’t fast enough. From my left, a man blindsided me and rammed the butt of his gun into my face, bringing me to my knees.
“Damien!”
My vision swayed as I stumbled to my feet. I turned and watched as another man was dragging Bronagh away by her hair.
“Let her go!”
The man who had Bronagh pressed her to the floor, and rammed his knee against her neck, pinning her there.
“Matt, I need her alive,” Marco hissed. “Nico won’t be reasoned with if she is dead!”
Bronagh gasped and choked for air when Matt moved his body off her completely. I rushed to her side and helped her to her feet seconds later. She looked up at me and whimpered. I felt blood drip from my nose, one of my eyes was swollen shut, and I knew I had cuts and bruises all over my face. She reached up and ran her fingers over the swelling before whimpering and leaning into me. I pulled her against my chest and swayed her from side to side.
“It’s going to be okay, Bee.” I gently kissed her head. “He will come for us.”
There was no way in hell that Dominic wouldn’t come for us. He always protected me, and now, he protected Bronagh, too.
“Are you fucking your brother’s girl, D?” Trent asked, chortling. “That would be boss if you were.”
My hold on Bronagh tightened. “Don’t.”
Trent snickered. “Always the protector of females. That particular trait had you swimming in pussy when we were kids. I’m glad to see nothing has changed.”
Bronagh tensed in my arms. “He is a good person, you fuckin’ prick. He doesn’t need a reason to keep people safe!”
Trent’s eyes roamed over Bronagh in a way that twisting my stomach into knots.
“Say fucking one more time, baby.”
Bronagh glared at him. “You’re a vile creature.”
Trent narrowed his eyes. “You haven’t seen anything yet, baby. Let’s see what names you call me after I fuck that smart mouth right out of you.”
I pushed her behind me. “You touch her, and I will kill you for real this time!”
“Oh, I’ll be touching her. I seem to have a need to fuck Slater bitches,” Trent taunted. “Nala was a fighter, but I’m betting little Irish here will give me one hell of a time.”
My body went rigid.
“You said you killed her,” I said to Marco.
“I never said that,” he answered. “I said I couldn’t let her leave my house alive. She did die that day but not by my hand. She died by his.”
Trent looked proud of himself, happy even.
“I knew you loved her, and after she rejected me, what better revenge could I get on you for almost killing me? Killing your heart, of course. She screamed as well, so loud I almost wanted to cap her before I was even finished fucking her, but I didn’t. I got a shot at all her holes before I blew her mind. Literally.”
No one was quick enough to stop me from getting to my target this time. I slammed into Trent and knocked us both to the ground. I raised my hand and rapidly punched Trent in the face until hands yanked me off him.
“She was ten weeks pregnant!” I screamed, violently trying to reach Trent again. “I’ll kill you for this!”
Trent got to his feet and rubbed the blood away from his nose and mouth. “So I killed your bitch and your kid? Fuck me, talk about killing two birds with one stone, or one bullet as it was.”