Keep Her From Harm

by Sam Crescent

  “Mia, I’m sorry for this intrusion. This here is my oldest brother, Jacob. I was just telling you about him.” She smiled at him. “Then you’ve got my half-brother, Gabriel Colton, which I can’t for the life of me think why he’d be here.”

  “Consider me reinforcements. Your dad—”

  “Our dad,” Damian said. “The cheating bastard that he is.”

  “Cheated before he even met your mother. It’s not cheating.”

  “So your mother is just a whore!” Damian growled the words, and Mia gasped as Gabriel had Damian’s head down on the table with a gun pointed at it.

  “I dare you to say something else about my mother!”

  “I swear if you don’t move that gun from our brother’s head, I will shoot you in the cock, Gabriel, and I’ve come to see how much you love using it.” Jacob turned to her. “Sorry. Family business.”

  “It’s fine.” She thought her life was crazy. There was no way her life was as crazy as these two guys who seemed intent on killing each other.

  Chapter Three

  Damian stared down at the little boy in the car. He was fast asleep, and Mia had her hand against his chest, every now and then shushing him. Did she even realize she was doing it? Or that she was offering her son comfort? He watched as she loved her little boy even with his two brothers in the front.

  Just the sight of Gabriel made him so fucking annoyed. He’d seen how sad his mother had been when the truth had come out. Of course, Maddox Denton had welcomed him with open arms. As if his family wasn’t fucked up enough, he now had half-siblings, and step-fucking-siblings. They all made him sick to his stomach.

  “Where are we going?” Mia asked.

  “We’re heading back to my family’s place. We can stay there tonight, and then you can move to my apartment. You’ll meet Martha, and I’ll show you a few things. You can meet the family. Don’t worry about anything though. They’re fucking crazy.”

  She smiled, but he saw that it was forced. Did he scare her? She didn’t seem fazed by the gun that had been pointed at his head. It wasn’t the first time he’d been threatened, and he doubted it would be his last.

  Forcing a smile to his lips, he watched as she stared out of the window.

  “So, Mia, is it?” Gabriel asked, sitting in the passenger seat at the front.

  “It is.”

  “How did you meet this asshole?”

  “It’s a long story, and I don’t think he’d like for me to tell it to you.”

  Gabriel shrugged, and Damian shook his head. He really didn’t like him. Once a Colton, always a damn Colton as far as he was concerned. There was nothing Denton in his blood.

  “Why don’t you tell me?” Jacob asked. “I was the one that was called and asked to come and pick you guys up.”

  Mia looked at him, and this time he shrugged.

  “I was talking to Ivan Smith when Damian crashed into his office. To cut a long story short, Damian grabbed me and hauled me out of there, and promised me a job, and a way to take care of Reese. It was a better deal than what I was getting.”

  “What deal were you getting before?”

  “Ivan made sure I had no choice but to go to him. He didn’t want me working, and I didn’t want to owe him anything.”

  “Ivan Smith is a piece of shit,” Gabriel said.

  “Takes one to know one.”

  “Fuck you, Denton. Ivan is bad news. You’re lucky you didn’t get mixed up with him,” Gabriel said.

  “I’m aware.”

  “Where’s the father?” Gabriel asked.

  Mia burst out laughing then, and she quickly covered her mouth. “I’m so sorry. It’s not really funny at all, and I really, really shouldn’t laugh.” Laugh she did, and she tried to keep her voice down.

  “Have I missed something here?” Jacob asked.

  “Ivan,” Mia said.

  “What?” Jacob spoke again.

  “The father of my son is Ivan.”

  Silence filled the car, and Damian looked toward his brother, who raised a brow. He shook his head, letting him know that he would talk to him about it later.

  “Do I even want to ask?” Gabriel asked, turning to look at her.

  “Nope. Believe me, you really don’t want to know.”

  Damian took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, trying to offer her comfort. She glanced down at their hands, and squeezed his hand back before pulling away. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

  He couldn’t stop looking at her. After all this time, he had finally found her. If he’d been a few minutes later or even earlier, he’d have never known, and would probably be dead right now. That was why he’d gone into Smith territory. He wanted to hurt, and to die.

  That had changed the moment he stared at her.

  She kept looking out of the window as the scenery passed, and he heard her sigh. Reese continued to sleep, and she still held him, almost as if she was afraid he’d disappear.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “I’m fine. You?”

  “You don’t let him go.”

  “It’s the first time we’ve traveled in a car, and I don’t want him to be sick or scared.”

  “You have a car seat but never travel by car?”

  “The car seat came with the pushchair. It was a bargain, and he loved being in it. Sometimes it’s easier to rock him to sleep in this.”

  She looked tired, worn out. He would take care of her now. She wouldn’t have to worry about Ivan again, and when he had learned everything he needed to, he was going to pay Ivan a personal visit.

  Within the hour they had pulled up outside of his parents’ home, and the moment the car stopped, his mother was outside.

  “You called and told her?” he asked.

  “Yep,” Jacob said. “She was worried about you.”

  He left the car, and immediately his mother held his face, turning it this way and that. “Damian Denton, never do that to me again. I was terrified.” She pressed a kiss to each cheek, and he scrunched up his face as she made a fuss of him.

  “Hey, Mom.”

  “Now, tell me what the hell is going on.”

  Mia stepped out of the car, and held Reese in his car seat close to her.

  “Mom, I’d like you to meet Mia. I’m going to be taking care of her, and she’s going to be taking care of Martha.”

  “Hello, Mrs. Denton.”

  “Please, call me Charlotte.” His mother looked toward Jacob and Gabriel. “Hello, boys.” Then she was herding Mia into the house, and he saw that his father was standing in the doorway.

  “Mom still not talking to Dad?” Damian asked.

  “Last time I checked, no, she wasn’t,” Jacob said. “I’m going to head home. I’ll see you all in the morning.”

  Jacob climbed back behind the wheel and headed out of the grounds.

  Damian wasn’t about to stay and linger. Ignoring Gabriel and his father, he made his way upstairs to find his mother and Mia in the nursery where Martha was sleeping. He watched from the doorway as Mia placed Reese gently into the spare crib. His mother always kept the nursery updated for her grandkids.

  “Thank you so much,” Mia said.

  “I’ll leave you two alone,” Charlotte said.

  Damian entered the room, and moved toward his little girl. The pain of guilt struck him hard as he stared down into his beautiful daughter’s face.

  “Are you okay?” Mia asked.

  “Yeah, I’ll be fine.” He stroked Martha’s cheek, seeing Betty in her cute baby features. The curse was something he would have to live with for the rest of his life. Knowing that because he couldn’t love Betty the way she wanted, she’d taken her own life. He didn’t want to live with that, but would do so.

  “She’s so beautiful.”

  “I know.” He chuckled. “I’m her dad, so of course I’m going to think she’s the most precious thing in the world, and she is.” I’m sorry, baby girl. I’m sorry for being a fucking asshole, and for
leaving you. I won’t do it again. “I’ll get you settled into your room for the night, and that way you can get some sleep.”

  She reached out, gripping his arm. “Thank you.”

  “What for?” he asked.

  “For being nice. It has been a long time that someone has been this nice to me, and I appreciate it.”

  Damian wanted to tell her about his curse, about how they were destined to be together, but he didn’t. She didn’t feel anything. From what he had learned from his father and uncles, the women didn’t have a clue about how devoted their men were. Even his mother had fought his father every step of the way.

  “Sometimes we just need someone looking out for us.” He took her across the hall where her bedroom would be. “You should find everything you need. Night wear, bathroom is through there. If you look in the cabinet above the sink Mom always keeps spare toothbrushes.” He moved toward the side of the bed. “And there’s also a little nursery radio thing for you to hear Reese.”

  “Wow, you really do think of everything.”

  “We do. I’ve got to go and talk with my dad. I’ll see you in the morning.” He stepped toward her, and she stayed still. All he wanted to do was tug her into his arms, and hold her close. He stopped himself from doing that. Instead, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, and left.

  He made his way downstairs to find his mother in the kitchen. His father and Gabriel was also stood there, and he saw Landon was as well. He thought Landon had flown to England to spend some time with his own girl, Sarah, but clearly, he hadn’t.

  “Is that your girl?” Charlotte asked.

  “Yes, that’s my girl. The moment I saw her in Ivan Smith’s office I knew who she was.”

  “And she has a son,” Maddox, his father, said.

  “You shouldn’t talk about having a son,” Charlotte said, turning to glare at him. “Don’t even think to judge that woman upstairs.”

  “I think I should go,” Gabriel said.

  “No, this is as much your home as anyone else’s,” Charlotte said. “You’re a Denton, and I told you that.”

  “I’ve upset you.”

  Charlotte took a deep breath and smiled. “There are a lot of things that upset me in this world, Gabriel. Your birth isn’t one of them. I wish I had been able to have known you and your mother.” She turned toward him. “Damian, I hope this means you’re sticking around now. I look forward to getting to know Mia and Reese. I’m going to bed.” With that, she left the kitchen, leaving his father looking toward her.

  “She’s your girl then?” Maddox asked.

  “Yes, she’s my girl. I’ve also got a problem with Ivan Smith. I’m going to do some more digging. When the time comes and I want to hurt that bastard, you’re going to let me.”

  “We don’t get messed up in petty squabbles,” Maddox said.

  Damian smirked. “No, according to you we just knock them up. I can’t do that to Ivan. First, he’s a guy, and second, I’d never dream of sticking my dick there. Goodnight.”

  He wasn’t in the mood to deal with his family drama tonight.

  ****

  Gabriel watched as Damian left the kitchen and then Landon, until it was just him and Maddox, his father. His real fucking father.

  “I’m public enemy number one right now.”

  “You fucked my mother, and knocked her up as some kind of revenge tactic on my father. I can understand their anger.”

  “Really?”

  He shrugged. “You strike me as the kind to spout off about family loyalty and shit like that, and yet you didn’t even wait around to see what screwing my mother did. I don’t know if she knew I was yours or Colton’s.” He didn’t like thinking of the man he’d grown up with as his father, and he didn’t have a clue about Maddox either. It was all … strange.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For what exactly? I don’t actually know what to do anymore. I’m not a Colton, and I’m not a Denton. I’m … nothing.” He laughed. The only person who seemed to accept him was Jacob, and that shit was messed up as he was older than Jacob by a matter of days. From what Jacob had told him, all of this should belong to him, but Gabriel didn’t want it. He didn’t want any of it.

  The truth was, he didn’t have a clue what he wanted anymore.

  “I never meant for any of this to happen,” Maddox said.

  “You really don’t know how to apologize do you?”

  “You want to apologize for you being alive.”

  Gabriel shook his head. There were moments when Maddox Denton seemed to be such a nice guy, much better than the man he’d grown up with, and then there were times he couldn’t fucking stand him, which was now.

  He liked Charlotte, and he even liked all of his half-brothers. Jacob had told him that they would come around very soon, but he just needed to give them time. Everything was a new adjustment. Even his own siblings, Owen, Wyatt, and Emma, seemed to have taken a step back from him. They all lived in a flashy new apartment, and he knew that Lou had made friends with Emma, along with Harper and Ruby. All three women were wives of the Denton brothers.

  “I’m going to head out.” He didn’t want to stay here, not with Damian hating him so much.

  “Wait. You heard Damian. You are aware of the Denton legacy, right?”

  Gabriel turned to look at his father, and frowned. “Legacy?”

  “Yes. When we find the right woman, the woman destined to be ours, we will do everything and anything to claim her.”

  “That’s not going to touch me,” Gabriel said.

  “It is. You’re my son, as are Jacob, Abel, Oliver, Damian, Gideon, and Landon.”

  “What about Tamsin?” he asked.

  “It’s never been a guarantee that women feel that same urge. Anyway, when you find the right woman, and you seem to zone in on her and everything fades away, that’s when you know you’ve found the one.”

  “That’s utter bullshit,” Gabriel said.

  “It’s not. Look at Damian. He was suicidal the other week, and now he’s willing to fight for his woman. Trust me, it is very fucking real.”

  Gabriel didn’t know what to believe or what to make of that. It seemed so far out of fucking reality, but when he thought about it, his father had mentioned about the Denton curse, how it made them weak.

  “I’ve got to go.”

  With that, he made his way toward the door.

  “You don’t have to go,” Tamsin said.

  He turned to see his new little sister sitting on the stairs. She wore a plain nightie, and her hair was mussed.

  “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

  She shrugged. “I heard Damian coming home, and how happy Mom was.”

  He’d had every intention at one point to kidnap this girl and use her as leverage in a tale of revenge that had seemed so important, whereas now, he couldn’t do it. This family was his home.

  “You should be asleep.”

  “And you should stop pretending that being who you are isn’t upsetting you.”

  He paused with his hand on the door, and turned to look at the kid. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “All of your life you’ve been a Denton enemy, and now you are one. That must take some serious adjustment. Stop pretending to be happy about everything. No one will blame you for being royally pissed.”

  He chuckled. “I think your father would take offense to that.”

  Again, she shrugged. “Mom told me that he’s too used to getting his own way, and it needed to stop. You don’t have to follow along if you don’t want. No one will blame you. I won’t anyway.”

  “You don’t have a problem with having a big brother.”

  “I have six of them anyway. One more isn’t going to hurt, nor is having an extra two. Your family is now our family.”

  “This coming from a nearly fourteen-year-old kid.”

  “I’m very mature for my age.” She stood. “Good night, Gabriel.”

  She was going to cause some
trouble as she got older, and he was really fucking pleased that he wasn’t going to be the one to have to deal with her.

  Chapter Four

  “I got it, Mom,” Damian said, taking the spoon from his mother, and pressing it against Martha’s mouth. His little girl opened up, and he smiled, relieved that he could at least get something right. She was in diapers, and he was so out of practice that morning. Martha had been screaming her little lungs off, so Mia had placed Reese in his arms, and taken over cleaning up the disgusting diaper.

  He glanced to his right where Mia was feeding Reese right now, and it was somewhat surreal. After the longest time, he’d found his woman. Twenty-six years old, and he’d finally found her. There were no words to describe what he was feeling. There was still that smidge of guilt, and that would always be there.

  “You have got the hang of it,” Charlotte said. “Martha’s a really good eater. You won’t have any problems.”

  “He had some problems this morning with her diaper,” Mia said. “I think he needs practice in changing them.”

  “I was once more than fine with changing diapers. I’m just a little out of practice,” he said.

  He’d not changed a diaper since Betty had killed herself. There had been no reason to do it, and he’d not even tried to be part of his daughter’s life. That was all going to change. He needed to take care of Martha, to be a dad to her.

  “So what’s the plan for today?” Charlotte asked just as Tamsin entered the kitchen.

  “I’ve not got school. I’m going to read a book. May as well, nothing else to do around here.”

  Charlotte groaned. “Not that again.”

  “What? Telling you how bored I am. I can’t even go around to friends’ houses or anything. I’m going to grow up a lonely old spinster, and I’ll have dozens of cats, and have no life.”

  Damian chuckled. “I don’t see that happening, little sis.”

  “Oh really? You know unless I have school I can’t leave the house. I have been housebound for well over six months, and you know what? It’s not fair. You’re all going to drive me crazy with your very perfect, fantastic lives. I’m Tamsin, the youngest sister in this little fold.” Tamsin held her hand out.