Authors: Sam Crescent
Hope (22 page)
Shelley turned wide eyes to her. “Are you being serious?”
“Yes. One of the men who were captured by Damon and Pearce
declared the farms part of Grimes’s land, on his behalf. Then one of the men
admitted the truth to Damon. Grimes’s wants to take back all the land and own
this area as well.”
Shelley glanced in the direction of the office. Without
letting Penny speak, the other woman stood and moved towards the office. Penny
did everything she could to keep up. Shelley slammed open the door.
“Is this true?” she asked, her voice high-pitched. Penny
looked behind them to see several workers at the club crowding around them.
Damon glared at Penny, and she smiled at him.
“That depends on what you’ve heard,” Don said.
The other woman walked into the office and slapped the man
in charge. Don stared at Shelley in shock. His hand stayed at his side. Penny
moved toward Damon. Her man wrapped his arms around her.
“You shouldn’t have told her anything,” he said.
“The biggest problem is the secrets. Everyone has a right to
know what’s going on,” she said. Damon ran his fingers over her stomach. She
leaned against him watching the two people before them. There was a bright red
hand print on Don’s cheek. The red marks looked striking on his face.
“Next time, Damon, keep your woman on a tighter leash.”
“What are you going to do, Don?” Shelley asked.
Don stared at Shelley. Penny saw the look on his face. The
other man didn’t know what to do.
“Shut the door,” Don said.
Damon closed the door leaving the four of them inside the
office. Penny saw the communication between Don and Shelley. They were a couple,
and it was clearly shown in their language to each other. Don reached out to
take Shelley’s hand. The older woman denied him, shaking her head. “No, this is
not a fight you get to back down from. You need to go out there and show Grimes
and all the other leaders that you’re not going down without a fight.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“It can be that simple. Grimes
is
going to need those men to farm the land, Don. He won’t attack them. He’ll give
them a choice to either work for him or die. If he finds you there, he won’t
strike out because he’s afraid. If he wasn’t afraid, he’d have come straight
for you,” Damon said. He stood behind her and offered Penny his warmth.
“It won’t work. I know what Grimes is like. He won’t stand
for it.” Don shook his head moving away.
“You’ve got plenty of men to fight for you. Pearce told me
to give you this. They’re ready, and when you’re willing to do something about
it then use it. Penny and I are heading back there tomorrow. I hope you’ll be
joining us.”
Damon tightened his hold on her shoulders and steered her
out. He moved her around the back of the club, up the stairs into the room
saved for her. There were no other women to take the room, so Shelley had saved
it for her. She heard the sound of the lock going in the door.
The bed looked inviting after the nightmare they’d been
through. She sat down on the hard mattress staring at him. “That must have been
tough,” she said.
“You’ve got no idea.” He sat down next to her. Damon reached
for her hand and squeezed.
“Do you think he’ll fight?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. There is a lot I don’t know.”
“Whatever happens, I’m here. I’ll always be here beside you.
No matter what happens in the future. I love you.”
Damon caught her face between his palms and kissed her.
“You’re the reason I’m prepared to fight another day. I love you, and I hate
this shithole.”
She touched his hands. “We’ll get through this.”
“I’m sorry you had to see me kill
”
Penny pressed a finger to his lips. “Don’t think like that.
You did what you had to do. I love
you,
Damon. Nothing in the world is going to change that.”
He pulled her close. She wrapped her arms around him
relishing the heat of his body.
“You can take the bucket of water first. I’m going to get us
a drink from the bar.”
Penny watched Damon leave the room. She smiled as she
removed her clothes. The love she felt for him was undeniable. When he’d been standing
overlooking
he meant. Now, being in love and seeing there was a reason to fight for life,
she knew what he’d been trying to say to her. Life was worth living so long as
you had something to live for.
****
Damon walked down to the bar feeling the weight of the world
on his shoulders. He’d never defied Don in anything. He’d been a good and loyal
worker. He shook his head.
Kelly sat at the bar nursing a drink. The moment he turned
up her whole attitude changed. She thrust her chest out and smiled at him.
“I thought you’d forgotten about me,” she said.
“Give it a rest, Kelly. I’m not in the mood.”
“Is the princess giving you a hard time? I can show you a
better way to spend your evening.”
“No, Kelly. That princess is my woman.”
Her hands wrapped around him. The scent she wore disgusted
him. “I’m sure I can change your mind. I can blow your world.”
His hold on her arm tightened. Damon pulled her to the front
and placed her on the bar stool.
“I’m taken. I’m with Penny, and anything you thought we had
up here, is gone. I never wanted that from you.”
“I was just a willing body?” she asked.
The tears in her eyes were false. They’d fucked, and there
was nothing else between them. “Forget about it, Kelly. They’re not going to
work with me. They never did.”
He took his drink and the one for Penny.
“What’s gotten into you? You used to be so much fun,” she
said, rubbing her eyes.
“I’m in love and intend to keep her. Save your tears for
someone else.”
Damon left her at the bar. Her scent surrounded him like her
claws had intended.
Penny stood in his shirt when he entered the room.
“Before you think the worst of me the scent you’ll be able to
smell is from Kelly. She accosted me down at the bar,” he said. He put the
drinks on the counter and moved toward her. Damon sank his fingers into her
hair, pressed his nose against her throat and inhaled her glorious scent.
“There, all better.”
“Kelly was in love with you,” she said.
“No, she wasn’t. She wanted what no other woman had. I’ve
never been with anyone the way I’m with you.”
“I like that.” She sipped her drink.
“To the future,” he said, raising his glass in a toast.
“To the future.”
They
clinked
glasses staring into each other’s eyes.
Chapter
Twenty-One
The following morning Damon helped his woman into the jeep.
The sun was rising, and he was ready to get back to the farms. Grimes could
turn up at any time. He wanted to be prepared for him. Last night he’d slept
better than he had in years. The scent of Penny surrounding him and the love
she felt for him made him feel like he finally belonged.
“Do you think we should wait?” she asked.
“No. The sooner we’re on the road the better I’ll feel.” Damon
got behind the wheel, started up the vehicle and headed back in the direction
of the farm.
“What are your plans for the future?” she asked when they
left the city behind.
“George has agreed to help me get started on the farm. I’m
done with the city. I want to build us a future. We can have a future away from
all of that.” He pointed behind him at the passing scenery. Damon had spent a
great deal of the previous night planning it. He looked forward to spending the
future with Penny. For the first time in his life he was excited to be alive.
Penny awakened a need inside him to be a better man. For her, he’d always be
fighting to be better.
“I’d like that,” she said. Penny reached between them and
took his hand.
He smiled at her then concentrated on the uneven road
surface. The last thing he needed was to lose control of the vehicle taking
them to where they wanted to go.
They made a couple of stops to stretch their legs and made
it to George’s farm just after lunch. Pearce was waiting along the porch
carrying a knife.
Damon pulled up outside of the house and hesitated. The
other man looked serious. He climbed out of the jeep, grabbing Penny’s hand and
holding her against his side.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Pearce walked toward him. “One escaped. John is dead.”
“What happened?” Damon held Penny tighter. He stared across
the line of trees to see if he could see any kind of threat.
“One wanted to go and warn Grimes. John refused to go with
him, and
One
killed him for what happened.” Pearce
rubbed the back of his neck.
“Why? I don’t understand. They were thriving out here.”
“Edward said
One
had an issue with
you. Apparently, you killed his brother in the ring. He’s been waiting for a chance
to fight you ever since.”
Penny held his hand and stroked his arm.
“I don’t know who he is.”
“I have a feeling he’s the brother of the first one, Damon.
The first guy you killed. The guy that wouldn’t stop coming for you until you
ended him,” Pearce said.
“I’ll deal with that when it comes. I can’t think about him
now.”
“What did Don say?”
Damon relayed everything back to Pearce. He didn’t miss
anything. “I don’t know if he’ll come out.”
George, Laura, and Edward rushed out of the house.
Damon looked at Pearce for answers.
“I think they’ve adopted him. He’s become like one of their
children.”
Damon waited while they greeted him and Penny. He shook his
head at George letting him know he hadn’t been successful. Penny took their
belongings into the house, and he remained outside.
“Don’s not coming, is he?” George asked.
“I doubt it.”
George cursed.
Edward remained silent. Damon patted him on the shoulder and
picked up a shovel.
“I think we should continue on,” Damon said.
“Why?” This came from Edward. “Whatever we do is going to be
for nothing. I don’t see why I should keep on working when I know Grimes is
going to kill me dead.”
Damon ignored him and started moving out to the field.
“I’m with Damon,” Pearce said.
In no time at all, all four men were working. Damon kept
looking toward the house in the hope of seeing Penny.
“You’re completely smitten.”
He gave Pearce the finger and continued on with his work. Listening
to the other men singing Damon began to plan what he was going to do with
Tony’s
house. He’d need to fix the porch area and the door.
The fields were ready for him to start planting some seeds. He loved working
with his hands. Growing vegetables would be far more delightful than hurting
people. He looked down at his bruised knuckles and winced.
The years hadn’t been kind. He needed to stop breaking bones
and start fixing fences.
“Well, would you look at that,” George said.
Damon looked in the same direction and was shocked to see several
jeeps making their way towards George’s home. Pearce must have been successful
in recreating the beauty he’d collected them in. They all dropped their shovels
and made their way out of the house.
He stood with the other men as Penny, Laura, and the
children walked onto the porch. Damon opened his arms for his woman inviting
her close. She went with him without argument. Don’s jeep came to a stop. The
vehicle was driven by Trevor. Shelley must have remained at the club.
