Daddy's Home #2

1. Louis v. The Society

CHAPTER ONE

Louis v. The Society

"...he attacked you?"

With a tear-stained face, Deja looked down at her bandaged arm. "I… t-tried to f-fight him off..."

"Did he use a weapon?" the detective asked.

"N-no… It was all such a blur… I nearly lost consciousness when he ch-choked me..."

"Did you use a weapon on him?" the second detective asked.

She looked up at the detectives, crowding her hospital room. "...yes… it-" A knock at the door interrupted their discussion, and a cold chill ran down Deja's spine as Ian and Keith entered the hospital room.

"This is a private investigation. I'm going to have to ask you to leave-" one detective started.

"Your Captain has permitted us a moment with Ms. Louis to make sure she is alright," Ian interrupted.

"But, we-"

"This is family business . Kindly get the fuck out," Keith snapped impatiently.

The detectives looked at the Donovan brothers, perturbed by their offensively intimidating presence. "We'll be right outside, Ms. Louis."

Deja didn't like that the detectives seemed frightened of the Donovans, but she had anticipated that, considering their reputation.

She didn't want them to leave, but Keith was already closing the door.

Leaning against the door, he crossed his arms over his chest. An uncharacteristically serious expression on his face as he glared at her.

Keith had never looked at her like that before. It scared her shitless.

Ian approached the bed. His blue eyes darkened, staring down at her, roaming over her injuries. "...are you in pain?" Ian asked.

Deja shook her head. "...Not too much. The ibuprofen kicked in..."

Ian nodded as his jaw twitched. "...what… happened, Deja...?"

She carefully considered her words. "Everything was going well… Dinner was romantic. But then… we got into an argument, and… Jax just… snapped. He tried to kill me… and I fought back."

Despite not looking at each other, she noticed both brothers' facial expressions shift skeptically. "What were you arguing about?" Keith asked.

"Returning to the lab. I told him how far behind I was in my project… but he didn't want me going back without supervision." She looked toward Ian. "I reminded him how devastated I was that he ordered the hit on JP, killing not just my partner but my friend… and he… lost it ."

Ian looked at her curiously, dissecting every word. "And yet… you managed to fight off a… 6'4, 225-pound man..." Keith inquired.

Deja tilted her head back. "How do you think I got these marks?" She shuddered when Ian abruptly wrapped his hand around her neck, gently rubbing his thumb over the dark bruises lining her throat. His penetrative gaze unsettled her. "I… grabbed a kitchen knife… and-and stabbed him..."

Ian's thumb stopped moving. "...you stabbed him...?" he asked, surprised.

"I had to defend myself, or he would have killed me," she insisted.

Ian's face fell. "He would have never killed you, Deja.

Killed for you , yes. But not. You . He was madly in love with you.

Fucking obsessed. He would have died for you-" Ian said tensely before stopping himself.

Deja had never seen Ian angry. His gaze softened as he chuckled ironically. "...I guess he did..."

Placing his hands in his pockets, Ian stared at Deja. She shakily exhaled, unnerved by their silent gaze. "Have they found his body?" she asked.

Ian paused. "...yes… they did… It's charred beyond recognition from the fire that coincidentally burnt down his entire estate. I imagine… an autopsy will be rather… difficult..."

Deja lowered her gaze. She could hear skepticism and frustration in his voice. "I'm… so sorry about your brother-"

"Are you?" Keith asked, raising a brow.

"You actually look fairly relieved," Ian added.

"And who can blame you?" Keith persisted. "You hated him… right?"

"I loved Jax," Deja snapped. "But he tried to kill me. Regardless of what you think, I'm the one who almost died. And I defended myself."

A seemingly empathetic smile painted Ian's handsome face. "Yes, of course… you're the victim here..." he hummed.

Her gaze switched from Ian to Keith, who approached her bedside.

Dragging his fingers over the blanket, Keith grabbed her hand.

He turned it over, tenderly kissing each finger.

Keith’s sharp blue eyes flickered up at her.

"Your ring is missing… I guess it fell off while you were… fighting for your life… right?"

Deja felt Keith was trying to call her bluff. "Don't worry, baby girl," Keith smiled innocently. "I'll find it for you..."

She looked between the brothers, confused. "I thought you guys would be more upset?"

"Oh, believe me… we're heartbroken," Ian said casually.

Deja shook her head. "It's fine if you don't believe me-"

"What would we believe otherwise?" Ian asked. "That it wasn't an accident? That you had actually planned to kill him?"

"That's silly..." Keith said, affectionately tracing her fingers. "After all, we're both killers as well. You wouldn't willingly put yourself in an impossibly fucked situation, such as killing the brother of two serial killers. You're way too smart for that..."

"Well, she could," Ian said, tenderly caressing her bandage. "Cut off the head of the snake and the body will wither… Isn't that the saying?"

Deja retracted her hand. "Are you just here to threaten me for defending myself against Jax?"

Ian smiled. "My beautiful… beautiful Deja..." Grabbing her hand, he lifted her fingers to his lips, tenderly kissing them and locking eyes with her. "You haven't the slightest idea… what you've done..."

"I haven't done anything, Ian, but fend for my life," Deja said defensively.

Ian patted her hand. "Make sure you stick to that script, sweetheart.

" He leaned in and tenderly kissed her cheek while Keith kissed the back of her hand before they both headed for the door.

"When they release you to go home," Ian looked back at her.

"Lock your doors. Keep a weapon by your bedside. "

"Another threat, Ian?" Deja muttered.

Keith snorted as Ian smiled. "...it's a warning, darling," Ian clarified. They both walked out, closing the doors behind them.

Staying overnight in the hospital, Deja barely slept. And when she did… she dreamt of Jax.

Once cleared for release the next morning, she gathered her pets when a detective stopped her. "Um… do… you have anyone who can take you home?" he asked nervously.

Deja frowned. "I was gonna take an Uber. Why? What's wrong?"

He sighed. "Tabloids work fast… There's a crowd outside-"

Deja's eyes widened. "Crowd?! What crowd?!" Looking outside the window, she couldn't believe how many people were on the lawn with cameras. "The hell?"

"Mr. Donovan was a very well-known entrepreneur-" he started.

"Yeah, I know," Deja muttered. She hurriedly slipped on her broken heels and pulled on her sweater, just barely covering her tattered dress.

"We can take you instead," the other detective offered.

"I would really appreciate that," Deja said gratefully. Following the detectives, Deja hesitated to walk outside, where journalists immediately accosted her.

"Ms. Louis! Is it true that Jax Donovan tried to kill you?"

"Ms. Louis! Were you just with Donovan for his money?"

"Is it true he funded your entire project? Is that why you were together?"

"Ms. Louis! Ms. Louis!"

Deja's heart beat fast against her chest as she tried moving through the crowd. She could sense her pets panicking. She felt naked in her torn clothes. "Ms. Louis-!" Someone tried grabbing her when they were violently shoved.

" Enough . Move !"

The crowd seemed stunned into silence, and for just a moment, Deja thought it was Jax.

It sounded just like him. But when she looked up, she saw Ian pushing several journalists aside.

Shrugging off his jacket, Ian covered her shoulders.

Sliding his hand around her waist, he led her in a different direction from the detectives' vehicles.

" Move !" Ian snapped at the journalists.

"Mr. Donovan, we're taking her home-" the detective started.

"No, you're not," Ian said dismissively, leading Deja to his Bentley. Opening the car door, Ian nudged her inside before slamming the door and walking to the driver's side. His car sped off, leaving the confused journalists behind.

Ian's cologne infiltrated Deja’s nostrils as she pulled his jacket tighter around her. She looked down at her pets before glancing at Ian. "Ian-"

"It's going to get worse," Ian said abruptly.

"The tabloids will eat you alive. They'll defame you and call you every name in the book.

They will tear you down. Jax knew how to handle them.

Keith doesn't. That's why he isn't here.

He's started many a bloodbath, and I don't have the time to handle him when I have much else to worry about… Like you ."

"I didn't ask for your help, Ian-"

Ian snorted. "I'm taking care of you, Deja… That's what Jax… would have wanted..."

When they pulled up to her apartment, Deja was relieved there were no journalists.

She grabbed her kitten while Ian grabbed her puppy and escorted her to her building.

Entering her apartment, Deja allowed her pets to run off.

She turned to Ian, who was leaning against her doorframe with his hands sitting in his pockets, cautiously watching her. "You don't have to stay," she said.

"I'm well aware..."

Deja sighed with exhaustion before heading for the bathroom. She stumbled on her broken heels when Ian caught her and picked her up in his arms. "Ian, I really don't-"

"And, I don't really care," Ian said flippantly, carrying her to her bed.

"You're angry with me. I'm angry with you.

Now we're both even." Deja looked at him, annoyed as he sat her on the bed.

Holding her gaze, he placed her foot on his lap.

"You don't realize it yet," he said, removing her heel. "But you need me."