CHAPTER FIVE
Rhett was shocked to see a full crew already at work when he arrived. He was struck by the fact that he recognized these men as paranormal. As requested, he did not react but took the time to walk around, introduce himself, and learn everyone's names.
Damien stood back and observed for a few minutes, and then disappeared. He was a resourceful man. Where he came up with these men, Rhett had no idea he'd never met them before when hiring other crews, but that didn't matter; what mattered was that he could complete this job.
Half his thoughts were consumed by the work, but the other half was owned by Damien Russo. Last night had been epic, and he didn't use that word lightly. Many things had changed, and many things had been revealed. The connection he felt to the man was uncanny, yet also quite nice.
He wanted to believe everything he was feeling, all the revelations and everything Damien had told him, but there was still a small piece of doubt in the back of his mind that believed nothing was absolute.
Was their love for the ages, or would it fade over time?
That thought brought a veil of sadness that he quickly dispelled by engrossing himself back in his work.
There was plenty of time to work out his uncertainties, but he needed to stay focused on the task at hand.
Damien had gotten him a crew, and he was going to keep his mind there.
They could have the place completed in a couple of weeks, considering the size of the crew and the fact that all the permits were in hand.
He was walking to his truck to get a copy of the design plan that Master Rose had given him when he heard a familiar voice.
“I told you we’d be back. You didn’t need to hire another crew.” Andy whined as he came up abruptly and stood beside him. Andy seemed angry and stressed, but Rhett didn’t have time for his bullshit.
"I need men I can depend on, and that's not you or your crew," Rhett spoke plainly and honestly.
“I had a prior obligation that will be wrapped up in a day or two. There was no need to get an entirely new crew." He persisted, but it was only making Rhett uncomfortable.
“It’s done, and you're done. I don't need you or your crew." He said and then headed back inside the bar, leaving Andy in the alley. He took a quick look around and then headed down the north side out of view. William Henry had expectations, and Andy wasn’t going to disappoint. Parks was about to learn that you don’t step on powerful toes and get away with it.
Damien met with Master Rose and Drakon regarding the renovations, the difficulties that were arising, and shared the fact that Rhett Parks was his beloved. When his phone rang, the Master told him to answer it.
"We followed Andy, and he's back at the Blood Rose talking with your beloved." It was Ravi reporting. "From what we observed, Parks shut him down pretty quick, but Andy hasn’t left the site yet.”
“Go back to Henry and keep watch on his activities. I'll take care of Andy." He said and closed the call.
“William Henry submitted a bid on the Blood Rose renovation.” Master Rose remarked.
“He had a standard proposal, basic for a nightclub, satisfactory, I would call it. But I wanted creativity, and I wanted something that spoke solely to the character of the Blood Rose. I got that from Parks General Contracting.”
“Do you think he’s behind the harassment?” Drakon asked.
“Most likely. The cougar from last night worked for Andy.” Damien spoke up.
“Andy works for Henry and is currently involved in at least two of his projects. He never had any intention of working for Rhett; it was just a scheme to screw with him.” Damien told them and then added.
“I'll pay Henry Properties a visit." The Master stated. "You go check on your beloved."
“Yes, sir.” Damien quickly headed back to the Blood Rose. The crew he gathered were all capable of handling anything that might arise. Their connection indicated no problems, but he wanted to make sure his sweet beloved was not being bothered.
Andy found traces of the cougar having been there, as well as remnants of the explosive he'd devised. He’d tried to contact him late last night, but there was no answer.
He wasn't sure what took place, but the scene spoke of violence and probably death.
It wasn't Parks that humans did not have the juice to take out a cougar shifter, so it must have been someone from among this crew or one of Master Rose’s men.
That meant things were going to come to a head very soon.
He could either wait for the shit to hit the fan or act now and finish it before it started. He made a call to Mr. Henry and requested additional personnel. “He hired a crew.” He began. “Send me enough men and I will fuck this up.”
“They're on their way," Henry stated, his anger barely contained. "Do not fail me." He barked.
“Temporary setback.” Andy tried to assure.
“I’ll have these men on the run soon enough, and the site will be shut down.
" Henry did not respond; he simply closed the call. Andy knew he was on thin ice and had a lot to lose if this didn’t work.
The shifters working for Parks were strong and cunning, but fire was a wonderful equalizer.
No one, not even vampires and shifters, could survive fire.
He'd provided the cougar with a devise but still had three in his possession. Properly placed, he could bring the remainder of this club down along with the contractor and maybe some of his crew. It could work out just fine.
He planted a device behind the remains of the bar, and no one noticed him. He would stay out of sight until the others arrived, and then he'd use them as a distraction while setting off the firebombs. Yes, it was going to work out just fine, and Mr. Henry would reward him handsomely.
Damien entered the bar through the back entrance and moved towards the main room.
He could smell Andy, but he hadn't found him yet.
His acrid stench permeated the entire building.
He moved to the front of the building, which had sustained considerable damage, and saw his beloved there, working alongside his men.
He didn't bother him, but kept his eye on Rhett as he moved around looking for Andy. Damien moved carefully along the north side assuming perhaps, like the cougar, Andy decided to start there. He had no doubt the man was planning some sort of disruption, and he intended to put a stop to it.
There was a commotion in the main room, men yelling and things being thrown.
He turned, ready to go to his beloved, but saw that Drakon was already there, taking him out of the building to safety.
Then two men appeared in the north side entrance, along with Andy, who was carrying a couple of devices.
"Hello, Andy." Damien said in a tone laced with finality.
Andy jerked back but then relaxed as he looked to the two men standing with him.
They were wolf shifters like Andy, but larger, and Andy assumed he was safe.
The fighting in the other room continued, and Damien took a deliberate step toward Andy.
"Get him," Andy yelled, and the two men charged at Damien, who easily side-stepped the one and punched his fist into the throat of the other, ripping open the tender flesh.
That one dropped to his knees and clutched his throat while the other made another attempt to slam into Damien, which failed.
The clumsy lout had no rhythm or finesse.
He allowed the wolf to take a couple of swings at him, but he was all muscle and no skill. Damien hit him several times in the abdomen and then once in the jaw, driving him backward. The man then went into a half shift, lengthening his claws and teeth before charging at Damien once again.
This time, Damien simply finished him by punching through his chest to his heart and pulling it out. It was a move that he had perfected over the decades and always caught people by surprise. It was just a matter of the right amount of force applied to the right spot.
The wolf remained in a half shift as he dropped to the wooden floor, lifeless and defeated. Damien looked up at Andy, who stood by the entrance with a bomb in each hand. Confusion washed over him and then panic took hold.
"What's your plan, Andy?" Damien asked as he slowly moved toward him, stepping over the bodies of the two wolf shifters.
“I’m going to burn this place to the ground and kill that halfwit contractor Parks.” He was sweating and looking around for assistance, but the rest of his disruptors were busy being killed in the other room.
Rhett, breathless and fearful, suddenly appeared in the entrance behind and to the left of Andy. He looked at Damien and then at Andy, but he did not speak. He stepped back, recognizing the situation, but was unwilling to walk away from Damien. That was commendable but also so foolhardy.
Andy’s grand plans were in chaos, and he was losing, so his actions were likely to be chaotic and unpredictable. Andy turned slightly and saw Rhett, and a diabolical smile touched his lips.
Damien saw it clearly in Andy's eyes the moment the thought crossed his mind. He was going to throw the firebombs at Rhett, and in that moment, Damien released his vampire.
He moved so fast it was a blur, leaving Andy no time to carry out his plan and no time to completely shift.
Andy managed a partial shift, but that was all he could do before Damien was on him, tearing the devices from his grip and ripping his throat out.
Damien remained there with his knee in the middle of Andy’s chest and watched the life drain from his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Damien. I'm so sorry." Rhett apologized and moved cautiously toward him.
Damien stilled his heart and calmed his vampire before turning to look at his contrite beloved.
“Drakon told me to stay by the warehouse, but I was so afraid that these monsters would hurt you.
I needed to make sure that you're alright.” He tried to explain himself and continued to move closer.
Damien stood and wiped his hands on a handkerchief before tossing it aside and turning to face him. “It's okay, my love." He said and held his hand out, beckoning him to come closer. “I understand.” He smiled. Rhett rushed into his arms and buried his face in Damien’s chest.
“Why, why would they do this?” He asked finally. “He had nothing to gain from running me off.”
Damien led Rhett out the side door and back toward the warehouse.
He held him tight to his side, feeling his panic slowly fading and peace taking over.
"He had plenty to gain and was willing to do anything to win.” He explained Andy’s connection to Henry Properties and Henry’s desire to take over this job.
"He's a multimillion-dollar property developer. Why in the hell would he care about one of my jobs?" Rhett was at a total loss. Drakon came up to stand beside them.
"He took it as an insult when Master Rose chose your company rather than his.
He needed to destroy you, and he used Andy to try to achieve those ends.
" Drakon explained further. He looked at Damien and added.
"The Master met with William Henry, and they had a long and intense discussion. He will no longer be a problem."
"That's good to hear," Damien remarked.
“None of this makes any sense to me.” Rhett reiterated.
"That's because you're a good man, Rhett, an honest, hard-working, ethical human being, and I love every part of you." He kissed him lightly and continued to hug him tightly. Drakon laughed and headed toward the back door of the Blood Rose, but before entering, he turned back and regarded Damien.
"Take your beloved home, Damien. It's time for you to take care of each other. We’ll clean this up.” He turned back and disappeared inside. Damien wrapped both arms around Rhett and squeezed him tightly to his chest. Suddenly feeling swamped by the fear that he’d pushed aside until this moment.
"I was scared too," Rhett said, recognizing what Damien was feeling.
"I don't want you to put yourself in danger ever again. Do you hear me?" Damien stated firmly and placed a few fevered kisses on Rhett's face and neck.
"I hear you, and I will never do it again unless you're in danger, and then I can't promise anything," Rhett responded and kissed Damien on the lips, a soft, feather-light kiss that landed and exploded.
Damien took over, and the kiss became ravenous.
They broke apart when breathing became necessary.
“I love you, Rhett, I love you to the bone." Damien could not help the desperate tone that had crept into his voice.
"I love you, Damien, and I'm even starting to like this crazy assed world you brought me into.
" He chuckled. "It's a little wild and woolly but doesn't lack for excitement.
" Damien smiled, all panic and uncertainty gone in the light of his beloved's beautiful eyes.
He scooped him up into his arms and headed inside.
“I think it’s time for a bath, don’t you?” He stated as he took the stairs two at a time.
“Only if you promise to join me.” Rhett teased and nibbled at his ear.
“That’s a promise I can keep.” He assured. “Having you in my arms all wet and naked. . . There is nothing better in this world."
“There is nothing better or even close," Rhett said as he stared into Damien's eyes.
THE END