Page 42 of Protecting His Woman
“Because you think if you had failed, they would have given you another task?That would have made you weak.You didn’t complete your initiation, and couldn’t do a simple task.They’d have killed you within a week.Their goal was not to win you over, Frank.It was to kill Vicki, and to take me out.They wanted Old County.That was their goal.You were just a means to make it happen.”
“I never wanted to hurt my family.”
He looked toward the kid, and it was like this had given him an attitude adjustment.Frank was crying, but Damion wasn’t going to comfort him.
“What happens now?”Frank asked.
“I’m going back to marry your sister.”
“I mean, with me?”
“You can either attempt to join another family and see where that leads, or accept you’re a fucking Reid and a civilian, and see the fucking power in that.If you can’t stand that, then I guess what you do is up to you, but you’re not going to last ten minutes outside.What is it going to be?”Damion asked.
“I would like to be there to see my sister get married, and I want to make it up to you,” Frank said.“Please, any way I can, I don’t want to die.I don’t want to be this person.”
“Then start by working hard and don’t panic your sister or fucking hurt her, because if you do that, I’m going to have to kill you.”
It was a good bonding experience, Damion felt.
****
Arriving at the church, he saw Neil was already there, and he climbed out of the car.“I’m not dressed,” Frank said, looking down at his torn jeans, stained shirt, and well-worn jacket.
“Vicki will not care how you look.You know that, and I’m not going to keep her waiting.”He checked the time.He had three minutes to be in his spot, and Damion rushed to the head of the altar and waited.
Just as he got comfortable, the music changed, and his woman began to make her way toward him.
He was aware of people being alerted to what happened to The Lords.Damion would allow the rumors to circulate, and they would all know.Coming after his woman, or her family, would forfeit their lives, as well as their families.There was no way he was going to let anything happen to this woman.
Neil lifted the veil over her head and stepped out of the way.He placed her hand in his, and Neil gave him a quick warning not to fuck this up.Damion had no intention of messing up.He loved Vicki.
Marrying her was just the beginning.Living in Old County, they had to make do, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have a lot of fun while doing it.
Epilogue
Ten Years Later
“Damion is going to kill me,” Tank said.
Vicki rolled her eyes.“He is not going to kill you.I’ve been working for you close to fifteen years, don’t start with me.I know this job.”
She grabbed the two plates and carried them out to the main dining area.Her hair was pinned back, and she wore a pair of maternity jeans and a bright pink tunic, which made her feel happy.
Helping Tank while he was short-staffed was what she enjoyed.Besides, Damion was coming to the diner, where they occasionally enjoyed a meal as a family.Glancing to their table, she saw Luke reading a book.He always had his head in a book.He was their oldest son, born nine months after their wedding.
Her wedding, finding out she was pregnant, Damion bringing Frank back—had been a whirlwind of a time.
Marrying Damion had also been shocking.She went from Vicki Reid to Vicki Archer.It surprised her that her family also asked Damion if they could take his name.They became one big, happy family.
None of them mourned their mother’s passing.They moved on, finding a future together.
Pete and Smithy finished high school, went to college in Old County, and were currently writing software and investing in games.They were a small company at the moment, but were making it a success with their ideas.
Dhalia finished high school, entered beauty school, and was now a working makeup artist, and all of Old County kept her busy.
Then there was Betsy.Her sister, now fifteen years old, still with three years of high school to go, knowing she was going to do great things with hair.Dhalia and Betsy planned to join forces and open their own beauty salon.
Vicki was Damion’s wife, the mother of three children—Luke, Natasha, and Charlie—with a fourth on the way, and it would also seem the local sounding board for all the town’s problems.She was who they came to if Damion did not respond fast enough.
