Page 7 of Protecting His Woman
“Yeah, it was a Friday night, and it must have been over twenty years ago now.I sat on a bench outside Mitchell’s home.I watched as a family brought a girl there.She was fighting them.I knew the girl.She was a good girl, came from a nice family that owned the local florist.She didn’t want to go to Mitchell.”Damion didn’t show any expression.“Everyone knew what happened.Everyone even contributed, or they found someone who wasn’t even in Old County.A wandering stray, who was looking for a better life.Mitchell didn’t care, as long as they were underage, and in most cases, unwilling.I sat outside his home, and no one paid any attention to me.I was a big guy, but no one really knew who I was.I listened, and I heard the screams.You could hear them outside on that bench.He had his windows open.He didn’t care what he was doing to her.”
Damion stopped, grabbed his glass of wine, and took a sip.
Vicki looked at his hand, and it didn’t shake, didn’t quiver.
“I got up from that park bench, and I don’t know, I just snapped.I walked into his garden, went up to his front door.He believed he was invincible and everyone was going to stay in line, that he didn’t even have any guards.I walked into his home, and I went to his bedroom.He had tied a belt around the girl’s neck and was choking her so he could rape her.She already had blood coming from her nose, and he had scratches.He’d broken her arm.He said he didn’t like them willing.I had packed a knife, and I walked right up to him, grabbed his dick, and sliced it off.Next, I stabbed him in the stomach, then sliced his neck.I killed him, and the room was covered in blood.”
He took another sip of wine.
“I saved that girl.Removed the belt from around her neck, got some clothes to put on her, and since the screaming stopped, some of the families came to see.I walked out of that house with the girl, holding my knife.I looked at all of them, and told them straight that Old County was about to change.If they had a problem, they could take me on.I held the same knife I had just used to slice up Mitchell.Then, I took that girl home.”
“Is that girl ...I mean, did she get out?”
“No, and you met her,” Damion said.
“Who?”
“Delphine was that girl.”
This shocked her.“What?”
“Yep, from that night on, Delphine was never the same.Neither were her parents.They didn’t willingly give her to be used by Mitchell.She was stolen from them, and they were held at gunpoint.When I arrived at their home, the leader of the family who had taken her was there, and that was when the first deal was made.The first law was simple: All civilians are off limits.The only exception to that is if a civilian wishes to join one of their families.That is the only time I will look the other way.”
“And that is how you took control?”Vicki asked.
“Yes.”
“Does it bother you that someone else might do that?”
“If they think they can, they can try.You see, the thing about being in control, is not allowing it to go to your head.I have not done this.I take nothing as my own.I do the deals that benefit the town.I pay myself a modest wage and make sure the town thrives.That is all I do.I never benefit from it myself.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“You know the motto—once in Old County, you’re staying in Old County.I was here, I can’t leave, I was not going to be a family leader.I don’t take well to orders.I like making them, and ensuring they are ...abided by.I have the job I need, and so far, the town of Old County is running smoothly.Better than it ever has.It is why the school has been able to run and function the way it does.Businesses are thriving.Life is good.”
She couldn’t deny it.Although she thought about her mother and Frank.“It’s not easy for everyone, though.”
“They make their choices, Vicki.There is nothing you can do about that.All you can do is try to be there when they need it most.”
She couldn’t help but feel awful.“I guess I was never a good enough daughter, or a good enough ...adult figure for both of them.”
“Stop,” Damion said.“You’re an amazing woman.I have watched you, and you have fought your mother’s reputation.The locals will not allow you to be hurt.You have worked your way into their hearts, and trust me, Old County is a lot of things, and it’s not loving.”
Vicki couldn’t help but laugh.“That’s true.”
“You did that, not anyone else.”
“Thank you,” Vicki said.
“You can only ever do so much, and unless you start to suffocate them and not let them out of the house, which is abuse, you’re doing the best you can, and they are not even your kids.”
