Page 2 of Protecting His Woman
“Is that right?She begged.They all begged.You want me to go back to the Gun family and tell them that?”
“I didn’t do anything wrong.She was asking for it, and I gave it to her.”
Damion had heard enough.Pulling out his knife, he held the man’s neck and stuck the blade in, holding him still as he twisted the blade.
There was no time to talk.
“The Guns will not accept anything other than your death, and that is exactly what they are going to get.”He looked into the man’s eyes, not stopping until the last of his life had ebbed away.Once he was done, he pulled the knife out, wiping the blade on the man’s shirt.
He turned to a man known as Fisher.“I want his body sent to the Guns, and you tell the Wrights the deal is done, and they owe a debt I intend to collect.”
Case closed.The problem was settled and done.
Leaving the cabin, he made his way back to his car, and before he climbed in, he looked down at his shirt and jacket, which were stained with blood.This would not be the first, nor the last.The cleaning crew was already there to take care of business, and he removed his shirt and jacket, checking his pants to make sure they didn’t have blood on them.
One of the women took the blade, cleaned it, and handed it right back to him.There was nothing he could do about the girls that were pregnant.That was their own families’ problem, but he had just gotten rid of a pervert that walked the streets.
****
Vicki Reid tried notto get too happy about seeing Damion Archer enter the diner.She knew exactly who he was, what he was capable of, and knew everyone in Old County feared him.She should probably fear him as well, but there was a tiny problem—she liked him.He was the only person who talked to her with respect and didn’t treat her like trash or think she was like her mother.
She was not at all like her mother.Although she did try to love her mother, it was hard.Annette Reid was one of the town’s ...whores.She didn’t like to work for a living and often treated men as if they owed her something.No one owed her mother anything.She spread her legs for anyone who would take her, and then, when they got bored, she made scenes and spectacles.Vicki tried her best to do what she could, but her mother was a force that refused to go quietly.
The best solution was to hope she stayed in her drunken stupor, but even that was hard.Currently, Annette was missing.This also wasn’t unusual for Vicki.She was used to her mother randomly going missing for weeks or even months at a time.Most often she came back pregnant and would complain about the supposed father.
It was a nightmare, but it was one she was constantly trying to escape.Getting out of Old County was not easy.Once you saw the shit that happened on a daily basis, getting out was next to impossible, even if you were just a civilian.The one benefit to being a civilian was that it gave you an added layer of protection.You had a job to do to keep the town running smoothly, which was why she worked in the diner as a waitress, and she was a damn good one too.One of the best the Old County Diner had.
At twenty-two years old, she had built a reputation amongst the customers.They knew she was the daughter of Annette Reid, but that was all she was.She was nothing like her mother.There were some assholes who liked to think she was a whore in the making.
She had never had a boyfriend, never had sex with anyone, and kept to herself.She didn’t flirt, or allow any man to think he had a chance with her.To some, she was a good girl.To others, she was a prude.Either way, that suited her.
No one else was allowed to deal with Damion.No matter what section he was in, he always demanded she serve him.Vicki didn’t know why he did this, but Tank, the owner, told her that whatever Damion wanted, he got.
Martha, another of the waitresses, glared, but wouldn’t serve him.This was because when Damion came in, Martha refused to listen to Tank’s advice, and attempted to serve Damion.That had ended in disaster, and Martha in tears.
Damion was a particular customer.He liked his coffee done a certain way, and his food presented in a particular way.Vicki was more than happy to serve him.He was friendly to her, which she also knew was weird, because he was not a friendly man.
She had no doubt the man had killed someone since the last time she had seen him, but that no longer came as a shock to her in Old County.This is why civilians couldn’t leave either.They had seen too much.Leaving put you at risk.
She didn’t know if anyone had ever made it out alive.Even though she had spent most of her time craving a life away from her mother and Old County, she knew it was never going to happen.This was where she was stuck, so she made the most of it.
“Good morning,” she said, putting on a smile.“What can I get you today?”
Damion looked up and his gaze moved to her hair.This was also not a shock to everyone.
“What’s with the eighties hair?”Damion asked.
Vicki touched her side ponytail and smiled.“Betsy promised me today that my hair would help me find my Prince Charming.”
Her five-year-old sister Betsy had won the hearts of most people in town.She was a sweet girl with a soft smile, and she never had a bad word to say to anyone.Even the families, or potential gangs, liked Betsy.She seemed to be friends with all the leaders, or heads of the families.When she was out selling lemonade to raise money for a charity, everyone stopped by.Betsy told everyone she wanted to be a hairdresser and work in a salon.Everyone thought it was cute.
Vicki didn’t know how her sister had gotten into the hearts of most residents of Old County.She was loved, and for Vicki, that was a blessing, seeing as the little girl had a serious case of wanderlust.She was always wandering out and about.Their mother was not a good parent.It was up to Vicki to take care of her, along with her other siblings.
Betsy had done her hair today, and pulled it into a side ponytail, with the cutest little scrunchy that had a bunch of sharks on it.So cute.
“She did, did she?”
“Yep, and seeing as a five-year-old knows everything, who am I to complain?”she asked.
