DAMON
The Lion’s Den seemed to be at the center of everything. I’d sent Madden and Cian out to find out what they could about the new owners of the damn club. Laoise and Tiernan were tasked with trying to track down the girl from last night and I was here waiting for the rest of my guys to arrive.
I was growing restless with the lack of information so far. As much as I wanted to trust Cian to let his guy handle the hunt for what we needed to know, I couldn’t. I wanted my own guy on it too, I needed something concrete for when I made the call to Stryker. It wouldn’t do the current deal I was brokering with them any good, if they found out I was keeping this from them and I didn’t trust any of these Irish not to run back to Lennox Senior if it meant getting back into his good graces.
“Damon,” Jonah answered before the phone even had a chance to ring. He sounded wary.
“Is everything okay Jonah?” I asked, I needed his full attention. I couldn't have him distracted.
“Yeah, everything is fine, just some personal shit, you know how it is.” He sounded tired, I felt a little bad I was about to drop even more work on him, but its what he signed up for. “The shop is going fine, I hope you don’t mind. I’ve set the bills to come out automatically, Found some discrepancies with some of the suppliers, but I need you to sign off on the fix. I also want to talk to you about something.”
“Okay, that sounds fine, give Ty the suppliers with the discrepancies and send me what needs to be signed,” I replied, mulling over how to tell him the rest, this was going to pull him away from Phee. After I finished this conversation, I had to call Killian and let him know what had transpired. “The reason I called is I need you to find out as much as you can about the Lions Den and its owners. You need to work fast and get this information to me ASAP, you also need to do it under the radar.”
“Has something happened?” I could hear the apprehension in his voice as he answered, It wouldn’t take long for it all to get out but right now Jonah needed to be focused.
“Nothing that you should be concerned about,” I tried to coddle him, “I just want to be prepared, I don’t want to walk in blind to any situation, and the Ducane brothers have been visiting this place more this week than anywhere else. I need to know who the new players are.”
“No worries, I’ll have the information to you within a few hours,” Jonah affirmed. I could tell he had more to say, but I had other business to take care of.
“Thanks Jonah, I appreciate it,” I ended the call and checked my messages again to see if the others had anything to report back. Nothing but a message from Ax letting me know they’d be arriving within the next hour or so.
After sorting out rooms for the guys, I picked up my phone and dialled Stryker. As much as he loved his father, I knew I’d be able to talk to him confidentially about what had happened before having to inform Killian about the situation. I had to have some viable solutions before going to the most senior Lennox otherwise our deal would most likely go sour.
It would be better to call Stryker first because he’d be able to help when it came to getting his father to let me handle the rescue mission down here. It would also kill two birds as he’d be able to break it to Phoenix for me.
“Is my cousin safe Damon,” Stryker said before I could even get a hello in. The fucker must have been sitting by the phone waiting like a sixteen year old waiting for her boyfriend to call because I swear the thing didn’t even get a chance to bloody ring.
“Hey Damon, how was the ride to Claymore, oh it was great thanks for asking mate.” I snarked back, a little niceties go a long way, and yes he was pissed that he had been relegated to spectator in this operation but still.
“Yeah sorry man, I get what you’re hinting at, it’s just family, you know how it is.” His apology was semi sincere, with just a touch of annoyance at being called out. “But answer the question—is my cousin safe?”
“That’s what I’m calling about. I wanted to talk to you first before contacting your father.” I started, my voice even and calm There was no way I’d let on that I was worried, even the slightest thread of emotion in my voice would have him making his way down here. Not that I’d be able to stop him once I finished. “Paige and her guys went to an underground fight last night as part of a recon mission. There was an incident outside and Paige was taken.”
“What the fuck?” Stryker yelled down the line, in the background I could hear him fiddling with things, drawers opening and shutting. He was wasting anytime getting ready to come down here. “What do you mean she was taken? Fuck Dad’s going to kill the fuckers when he finds out.”
“Just what I said. When Madz and I rolled up to the motel, Cian and two others were outside in a heated discussion,” I paused, so that he could take in what I had said. “As I approached I could overhear what they were talking about, I made Cian talk, Paige had gone outside to get some air, Cian had followed her out, as they were about to head back inside they heard someone crying out for help.
They made their way towards the commotion. According to Cian, some guys were trying to stuff a girl into a waiting SUV. Paige decided to intervene, they had the upper hand until back up came in, knocked Cian out cold and when he came to, they were all gone.”
“Dammit, always trying to be the hero,” Stryker cursed, he could barely hide the rage that fuelled his darker side. “What have you uncovered so far? I know you’re not calling without knowing something so spill Damon.”
This was the part I’d been dreading. “Cian had warned Paige about going last night, told her he felt as though it wasn’t safe, the Ducanes have been in talks with the owners of the fight rings, they are planning some sort of tournament, cash prizes and all that but they are also planning on giving away females.”
“Say what?” Stryker sounded shocked, I gave him a little time to process it all, frankly I still couldn’t believe it, but regardless until I had something more concrete it was all I had to go on.
“I don’t know much about the Lion’s Den, my guys stopped going after it changed hands months ago, the old owners have gone to ground, but I have someone on it, I should have more to go on by the end of the day.”
“Listen, Damon. I can’t keep this from my father, if he finds out you know what will happen.” Stryker warned, already confirming what I already knew.
“I’m not asking you too, just asking for some time, so I can get enough information and then I’ll call him myself. I just need help formulating a rescue plan.” It was my time to ask for his help, the clock was ticking on Paige’s safety. “You know this is the sick fucks form of revenge right?”
“Kinda figured as much when you mentioned their names, but surely they wouldn’t be dumb enough to hit the same family twice?” He lamented, I mean yeah he had a point, they would be stupid to go after Paige a second time, but there was no telling just how far Alexander Ducane’s brand of crazy went. “Let me know when you get the info on the club owners, if you find anything else out make sure you let me know, I’ll give you until tomorrow to tell my father, after that all bets are off.
“Appreciate it,” I couldn’t hide the relief in my voice as I answered him. “Don’t worry I’ll let you know as soon as I have something figured out. Tell Phee I said hi.”