Page 62 of Claim

“You have brothers to exact the damage necessary for people like him.”

“I wanted to be the one to execute justice.”

He cocked his head to the side. “What are you leaving out?”

“Security nearly caught us, and I called—” I hesitated for a second and said, “a friend to get us.”

“You called a friend? Doing a job with another person was bad enough, but a fucking friend, an outsider before one of us?” The outrage in his question told me how much I’d fucked up. “This shit stays in the family. Whenever you need help, call one of your brothers.”

“I intended to call you, but I didn’t realize I dialed Damon until he answered.”

“You called Damon? Are you kidding me?” Lucian shifted his body to face me, irritation blazing in his dark eyes.

“What?” I couldn’t hide my confusion.

“What’s going on with you two?”

I folded my arms across my body. “It’s none of your business.”

“The hell it isn’t. You’re my sister. I have all the say in the world.”

“Did I ever ask you about all the women you slept with before you met Elaine?”

“The hold he has on you is dangerous. I won’t fucking have it.”

“He doesn’t have any hold on me. I called him, and he picked us up. We spent the night at his place and then left the next morning. That’s it. I haven’t seen him since.”

“That’s it, my ass.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

“If you’re talking about his submissive that killed herself, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m not expecting anything from Damon.”

“You say that now, but I’ve watched it happen with all of his past women. They fall for him to the point of obsession. They will beg for any attention he’ll give them because when he is with them, he makes them feel as if they are the center of his world.”

“Are you saying he uses them and throws them away?”

“That’s the thing. Damon Pierce never lies. He is brutally honest and upfront with every one of them. They know love isn’t part of the equation. They know he won’t ever pick them in the middle of a crowd as some grand gesture. And every one of them thinks they are the one to change him and get him to fall in love. I refuse to let you become the next name on that list.”

“As I said, you don’t need to worry about me. I already decided not to see him again.”

Surprise flashed in his eyes. “What brought you to make that decision?”

“No matter how intense things got between us, he never truly dropped his guard. He knew so much more about me than I did about him. There was no balance. I’m worth so much more than a man who pushes me away every time guilt overwhelms him about his deceased sub. I’m not her and won’t live in her shadow.”

Pride lit Lucian’s eyes, and then he nodded and smiled. “You think like a woman who knows her worth.”

It took all my strength not to burst into tears. For the first time in my life, someone saw me as more than a fuckup.

“Living away from the family taught me many hard lessons.”

“You come to me in the future. Is that understood?”

“Is there a future for Keith, or are you planning to pay him a visit?”

“First, I’ll need to pay Pierce a visit and punch him in the face for setting this shit with Randolph in motion.”

I frowned. “What does any of my issues have to do with Damon?”

“Let’s put two and two together. You told the man who claimed you in the middle of my club that someone assaulted you, ruined your reputation, and then continued to do the same shit to other women. What do you think that man will do after hearing said information?”

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