****
Forty-eight hours later
The last person Damian expected to see was Rick, especially dressed up in a suit with no trace of his uncle around. Usually Rick was the good boy. The one that was always teasing. He’d only ever seen Rick with Mandy, and from what his father and Stuart had told him, that wasn’t the case anymore.
Rick sat behind the wheel as they all got strapped in. “Right, here is an update on shit. Ruby’s friend Lewis has pinpointed that the call came through from an Ivan Smith.”
“What?” Damian asked.
“How about you guys get me up to speed as we take a little detour toward the townie that got my brothers arrested? Jail does not look good on either Stuart or Maddox, and with them locked up, it means I can’t be home with my wife,” Rick said.
“Why didn’t you bring Mandy along?” Abel asked.
“She doesn’t need to witness what is about to happen. From the moment I met Mandy, I promised myself I wouldn’t continue in this life. She deserved a man who was like her, a man who didn’t have a darkness inside him. Now come on, tell me everything you know.”
So they did. Among all four of them, they told Rick everything they needed to know. Whenever they went quiet, he would click his fingers demanding attention. As soon as they were finished, he started.
“So Ruby got in touch with Lewis, the computer genius, and the moment Gabriel here entered the warehouse, the call was placed within seconds. It came from an Ivan Smith. Now Ivan Smith has gone missing. Yeah, I know. But he’s also been placed with this Westbrook guy. Now I know Westbrook. Anyone met him?” Rick asked.
“Yeah, I did. He’s got a scar down his face.”
“It’s not the only one he’s got. Several years ago, when Mandy was here, we went to a bar, and as she was ordering us some food and drink, Westbrook approached her. Told her that she’d be a damn good candidate to be fucked by a bunch of men for the net. I was a good little boy, told him to fuck off, and finished date night with my brothers and our women. Anyway, to cut a long story short, no one says shit like that to my woman. I went back, and he now wears my mark. I cut up his ugly face, and cut off his nipples for good measure. I know him. His MO was what I did to him. My guess, the fucker has been having a beef with the Dentons because of me. I’ve got no problem with that. I’ll finish what I started.”
Rick pulled up outside of the club in the town where Damian first met Mia.
“If he’s not here, why are we here?”
“Because I want to pay a visit, and now is the time to get a message across,” Rick said.
They all climbed out of the car.
“Wait,” Damian said. “What about the others? We can’t leave them in jail.”
“We won’t. Again, Lewis, computer nerd, is working on it. He can trace those two girls, their last movements, and he’s got access to the security footage. They’ll be out as soon as he can prove it wasn’t them,” Rick said, moving forward.
“Wait, what about the cops on our side?” Abel said.
“How the fuck do you guys get anything done?” Rick asked. “Does Maddox wipe your asses after you take a fucking shit?” He pointed at all of them. “You get things done by acting. Your brothers, father, and uncle are in prison for two murders they didn’t commit. Act now before they think for a second they can build up a case. There is no fucking way I’m going to stay and deal with this shit longer than I have to. Now, let’s go and get some answers. The cops are not here to help you. Don’t worry about them.” With that, they followed him toward the strip club that Damian himself had visited, hoping to find someone willing to end his fucking life.
Rick kicked the doors open without using much force, or if he did, it didn’t show. One man charged at him, and Rick slammed the man’s head against the wall. Damian never seen his uncle in action, and he was shocked exactly how strong and deadly he was. He, Abel, Landon, and Gabriel hadn’t lifted a finger.
With two men dead, Rick stood in the center of the room. “Now we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Where’s Ivan Smith?” One man stood and was about to run when Rick grabbed a chair, and threw it at him. Gabriel was on the man, knocking him clean out.
Picking up one of the guns, Damian pointed it at one man as his brothers did the same, giving Rick the backup he needed.
“You’re going to fucking die,” the big guy said.
Rick laughed, grabbing the man’s shoulders and shoving his head through one glass table, after another. “Sorry, didn’t fucking hear you.” When that wasn’t enough, he pressed the man’s face against the glass until he was screaming. “Wow, you do make it look like I’m hurting you. I’ve not even gotten started.” There was no emotion on Rick’s face, and it startled Damian.
The uncle he had known was nowhere to be seen.
His uncle used the big guy to completely trash the club, throwing him around as if he was nothing more than a rag doll. Blood dripped on the floor.
“You know what, I’m bored.” Rick grabbed a gun and shot the one that Gabriel was guarding. Two other men dropped, and then he pointed the gun at the man. “Tell me!”
The one Abel held down whimpered. “He was called by Westbrook. He’s gone to the Westbrook casino.”
Rick smiled, and shot the big guy in the face, causing the guy who’d blabbed to scream. The big guy fell down. Everyone was dead, apart from the guy who’d spoken up.