Chapter 9
Damien
The Next Day
My gaze keeps drifting to the clock on the office wall, and I sigh, finally relieved to see the time hitting noon.
After we brought Zeke home last night, he went straight to sleep, and Ashia’s been taking care of him all morning.
Thankfully, there’s not much to take care of.
He’s not an infant, but he’s still a little groggy from the medications they gave him at the hospital.
So, when he’s asked for something like a drink or food, Ashia has tried to get it for him.
I, of course, haven’t let her lift a finger today because of how sore she is.
The thought makes me smirk to myself, and fuck, if I’m not hard all over again. If she wasn’t hurting today, I’d probably try to take her again while Zeke is asleep.
He’s supposed to nap around midday, which makes him sound like a fucking kid, but the psychiatrist said he needs lots of sleep.
I hate having to treat him this way, and the thought of having to do so turns my sudden arousal into anger.
Does he need to be supervised and watched like a hawk?
Absolutely—but this feels wrong, even though I know he isn’t himself right now.
He does seem a little better, though. It could be because of the anti-depressant cocktail they gave him at the hospital, but I’m surprised with how cooperative he’s been.
Normal Zeke would’ve laughed in Ashia’s face if she told him what to do, but since the moment we got him in the car last night, he’s been strangely compliant.
It could be the meds, or it could be because she’s the one that found him, and he doesn’t want to upset her any more.
He does care deeply for her, and I’m sure that fact is weighing heavily on him.
Once we finally went to bed last night, Ashia was able to talk about the scene when she first arrived, and what he said to her when he woke up. I hope most of his decision was influenced by the alcohol, but I know exactly how he feels and what went through his mind.
Ashia isn’t dead, but not long ago I thought she was, and I couldn’t bear it.
Those few minutes felt like an eternity in hell, and I decided right then and there that I wasn’t going to live without her.
Zeke is clearly stronger than I am, because he’s still holding on.
At this point, it’s probably more for Ashia’s sake than his own, but sometimes, you have to live for others before you can live for yourself again.
My home office is a little sparse since we had to clear everything out, including the alcohol, but it’s working out nicely today.
I wasn’t going to leave Ashia alone with the task of taking care of him, but unfortunately, there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done.
It feels wrong making decisions without Zeke’s input, but he doesn’t need distractions right now.
He needs to heal as best as he can, and dealing with what we need to isn’t going to help him with that.
Which is why Satori, Kade, and I are meeting in my office here at home and not at the Attic.
We can’t trust Zeke around firearms, and the Attic is like the Costco of weaponry.
A part of me really wants to believe that his attempt was a one off and that he realizes the mistake he made, but we’re not taking chances.
Not only is he my wife’s brother, but he’s one of my best friends, and I won’t lose another.
I can’t.
“Okay, so all of the non-disclosure agreements have been signed by our men, and the contracts that you all put together have been sent over for them to review before we sit down with each of them,” Kade says confidently, and I nod in acknowledgment. “What did you want to discuss about privileges?”
“Everyone’s role comes with certain clearances and access to our system.
If they’re ground men, they won’t be able to update the map, location toggle, or anything like that.
That’s strictly for those with higher authorizations.
It’s in the new files we made for the men.
” I hand most of them over to Kade, and less than half of the stack to Satori—just to continue to prove my point.
He’s actually been quiet today, and I’m not sure how to feel about it.
It could be because he knows we’re dealing with a lot, and he actually has a conscience, but I’m still not one hundred percent sure about that.
We’ve been mostly communicating with Kade, because I don’t get a twitch to my eye when he opens his mouth.
Over the past week, I’ve put Satori through the ringer, and he held his own.
We’re equally matched in combat, and while we’ve only tested that in sparring matches, Kade’s surveillance videos of him in action only prove his abilities.
As much as I don’t want to admit it, he’s good.
Really fucking good, and his men are thoroughly trained.
They’re fast learners and quick to adapt, which in this line of work is practically a necessity.
After we took the mercenaries in a couple of months ago, the transition of adding others was simple.
Mel got them housing fairly quickly, and shockingly, everyone is getting along.
There’s less tension than there was before, and it could be because in reality, a lot of us are one in the same.
Sahara may have been a larger organization than we were, but obviously a lot has changed.
“I know we’ve been avoiding the conversation because everything around here has been so crazy, but before this goes any further, I need to know what the hell happened.
Why are you all here?” My question is genuine, but it’s also cautious.
We don’t need any more trouble than we already have, and I can’t risk Sahara bringing any trouble with them.
Their main objective was Dust, but they’re gone now.
So, how did they get into this situation in the first place?
“Well, as you know, we were dealing with Dust as well.” Satori finally speaks up.
“We thought we finally got them under control. There were less warehouses, less abductions, murders, and overdoses. So, we kept at it, thinking we were finally making a dent in it. But then we got word that Hugo was here now. It wasn’t long after you and Kade last spoke that we got hit. Hard.”
He actually chokes up some and clears his throat.
I wait for him to continue, but he just takes a deep breath in.
The thoughts alone clearly haunt him, and while I know this is difficult, I need the answer.
My men, my wife, and my child are all more at risk if something were to follow them here, and I need to put them first. I try to give him a minute, though, and let him compose himself before I urge him to continue, but Kade beats me to it.
“They blew up our HQ, and we lost contact with the other branches we had across the country,” Kade continues grimly.
“We lost a lot of good men that day, and a lot of our resources. After we got a head count for anyone left, we moved across the state and went to our secondary location just outside of Spokane. That location wasn’t nearly as fortified or stocked as what we needed to start back up, but we tried for a while.
We couldn’t do half of the work we were doing, but we mostly sent small groups at a time back to Seattle to at least stop what we could.
Then we heard of Hugo’s death, and Dust slowly disappeared.
There’s obviously more crime, but Satori and I discussed teaming up with you until we could get back on our feet.
So, we gathered everyone we had left between the deaths and drop-outs, and we headed this way. ”
I take a deep breath and glance at Satori as he fidgets in the chair.
Images of the warehouse explosion zip through my mind, and it’s almost like my body reacts the same as it did then.
My muscles tighten, and they ache faintly, like the ghost of the agony I endured is still buried deep within each fiber.
Their ghosts seem to match my own, and as unfortunate as it is, I start to sympathize with Satori.
He may be a hateful bastard, but perhaps there are reasons behind it.
“Is there anything or anyone who could’ve followed you here? Anything at all that we should be prepared for?” I ask softly, but seriously.
Kade shakes his head, seemingly sure.
“No. Because we were so inactive the past few weeks, we don’t believe there’s any reason for someone to have trailed us.”
“Okay, good,” I say, leaning back on the couch.
“Well, you’ll see in the new files that we’ve divided the men up.
Some patrolling the streets, lookouts on the roofs, and doing our general operations for public safety.
At some point, everyone is going to have that rotation, but we also have rotations for the Attic and basic operations.
A few others and I are still tracking down some problems of our own, so we need your men’s focus to strictly be public safety until we can get back to that spot. ”
Kade raises an eyebrow, genuinely confused about what I mean. Satori’s eyes finally meet mine again, and I watch as he focuses on me—like he’s listening harder than he was before.
“Are you talking about the mass poisoning?” Satori asks.