this killer very well,” Damen told him over the speaker. “And he’s going to come after you again and again and he won’t give a shit about how many of you he takes out. He won’t even give a damn if the girl gets caught in the crossfire.”
“Who exactly are you and why did you call to warn us?” Gunner demanded.
“Oh, I think you know exactly who I am.”
“Pretend that I don’t and explain it to me,” Gunner retorted.
“Let’s just say I’m an enforcer of sorts,” Damen replied. “I work behind the scenes as well as under the table for a group of men like Levi Silvers and his group. I’m one of a small group that Levi and his friends use to make a deal go smoothly and above board. We persuade good people to turn over their businesses to men like Levi and his friends. If they don’t want to play, then we show them why it’s the right thing to do.”
“You and your friends are fucking assassins then?” Gunner snarled.
“We have had to persuade some people in that manner, yes,” Damen admitted.
“Why are you here then? Why did you come after Becky?”
“My mission was to come here, find her and take her back to her real father. I’ve been looking for this girl for a very long time, most of her life in fact. We came close to finding her once a very long time ago, but we just missed her. I think she would have been around four at that time.”
“Actually, she was closer than you realized,” Gunner informed him. “She was watching you guys storm her house from a car on the road.”
Damen paused before he asked, “And how would you know that?”
“She remembered it, she said one of the guys found her bunny and brought it out to a man in a black limo.”
“Son of a bitch,” Damen swore under his breath. “So close.”
“Tell me something you little maggot,” Gunner snarled. “Did you know who she was when you saw her at Blacky’s? She said you were there a couple of times watching her as she suffered under his hands.”
Damen didn’t say anything for a moment that stretched out to an uncomfortable silence. “No, I wasn’t sure then. He only verified it before he lost his head.”
“Yet, you still left her there, you fucker. Knowing she was being abused, knowing that Blacky would probably kill her. He almost did you know? Just before he intended to leave town, he beat her again and then he was going to leave her in an abandoned warehouse where no one would ever find her. If I hadn’t been there looking to find my daughter, she would have died and no one would have found her until it was too late.”
Damen didn’t say anything for a moment then said, “Blacky got off too easy, didn’t he?”
“So the man who shot at her tonight? What’s his story?” Cobra asked.
“Jase?” Damen's voice came from the speaker. “He’s a heartless, stone cold killer and he enjoys his work very much.”
“Does he work for the SANG group as well?” Gunner wanted to know.
Again, Damen was silent on the other end of the call. “So you’ve uncovered a lot of information on us already. More than most people ever could.”
“So tell me something,” Gunner spoke again. “Why the fuck does Levi Silvers want her so bad?”
“She’s his daughter,” Damen answered simply.
“Does he know this bastard Jase almost killed her tonight?”
“No, but I’ll be sure and let him know.” Damen growled.
“You can also tell him,” Gunner went on. “His man is going to die in the very near future. My men aren’t going to let this go. He took a shot at us and we’re going to hunt this bastard down and end him. He isn’t going to get a second shot at her or us.”
“Is she well at this time?” Damen finally asked.
“Why the fuck should I tell you anything more than I already have?” Gunner demanded.
“Because I feel responsible for what happened tonight. I didn’t fire the bullet but I knew Jase was here and I didn’t watch over her as close as I should have. Tell her I’m sorry for that will you? Seems I’ve always been too late to save her and bring her back home to her father but I know she’s been safe all these years. Well, she was up until I found her at Blacky’s. When I saw glimpses of her, I knew I’d seen her before.