Destroy Me by Laura Bailey Page B

whilst the man was a formidable opponent, Damien would never back down now. He did not consider his own safety in this. He went into operation mode, as though it were a mission to be accomplished like any other he had carried out. Chambers would have some strong back up; he was known to hire mercenaries with no real allegiance to any cause other than the dollar.
    His phone rang.
    “Ok, thankyou. Look after her for me. Stay alert. Chambers’ has set his sights on her. He just played his hand clearly in front of me. He wants her.”
    “Ok boss. What about you?”
“I’ll be fine.”
    “You need back-up too? Want me to meet you with some of the others?”
“No, I want you at the house Todd. Keep her safe for me please.”
“You got it.”
“Thank you.”
    “What are you going to do?”
    “I need to go get some things.”
    Damien knew he could trust Todd. He had saved Damien’s life on more than one occasion, putting his own on the line doing so.
    He drove for thirty or so minutes in the late morning traffic. Damien still found it hard to believe that Marc had lost control so dramatically. Over the years, he had often appeared unstable, had several times tried to ruin Damien’s business, in the hope of destroying his reputation but he had failed to do so. He had never issued personal threats as such, although maybe that was because, for years, Damien had refused to get close to anyone. He had closed himself off from developing any feelings for a woman, protecting himself from that, knowing he could not commit to anyone, knowing he could not stand to lose anyone and unwilling to take the risk.
    And then Tara had come along; had thrust into his world, with her pale fragile beauty and her fiery nature, and he had become lost in her, drowning in desire and something much deeper.
    Arriving at a storage facility he pulled out a pass and a small key from the passenger side glove compartment, got out of the car and opened the boot, pulling out a large empty canvas bag. Heading straight to the entrance, he went through and down a long corridor. Reaching his lock-up he went straight to a large black case on the floor. Using the small key he had brought with him he opened the box and found what he had gone there for; an unlicensed hand gun and two semi automatics; all  unregistered and unused before. They had been acquired on the black market, should such an occasion like this arise. It was an insurance he had never thought he would use. Now he was glad to have taken precautions. They were untraceable to him and that’s how he wanted it. He didn’t want to face a court case for the action he was going to take. That Chambers had once shot and killed innocent bystanders in the line of duty when they had been serving together was enough in itself for Damien to pass a death sentence on him. At the time Chambers had somehow managed to wriggle out of the charge against him, but Damien had never forgotten or forgiven him for it.
     
    Left behind at the house, Tara was unnerved by the reality of the situation. Damien’s men were there with guns.
    “It’s going to be ok Tara. We’re here. Nothing is going to happen to you. You’re safe,” Todd told her. But it was Damien’s safety which was worrying her; she felt sick at the thought of the danger he was in and the harm that could come to him. Where was he? Was he out there on his own?
    “What about Damien?”
    Todd laughed. “He can look after himself, don’t worry about him.”
    The house was full of men whose appearance would have terrified her in other circumstances; their appearance and arsenal of weapons a formidable sight. She couldn’t help but imagine a similar force of men coming for her; Chamber’s men.
    How the hell could things escalate to such extremes as this? Caught in the crossfire, she felt helpless, responsible, and unable to do anything to help Damien.
    “Where is Damien?”
    “He’s OK.”
    “But where is he? What’s he going to do?”
    “He will