Chapter 6

Damien

“How did this happen?” I said in thunderous tone as I peered between Ollie, and the rest of the men behind him.

“They breached the entrance. W…wwe didn’t see them come through and when realized it, we tried to our best to..”

“Tried!” I spat. “If you all can’t defend our territory. You’re showing the enemies that we are weak.”

“You need to calm down Damien!” Hugh said, and I furrowed my brows.

“I can’t calm down.” My voice increased, and saw fear take over the eyes of my men.

“You have failed me. All of you.”I said with my eyes landing on each, and everyone of them. “And you know what happens when you fail me.”

I watched as they dropped to them knees. Their face covered in more fear as they looked at me.

“We are sorry boss.” They said. “We didn’t mean to—“

“Silence!” I growled, raising up a hand. “Your pleads won’t save you. You all will be punished once I return.”

Then my gaze focused on Ollie. “I want the keys to the truck. I’m going to the city.“

The minute my men walked away. Hugh faced me with a stern look on his face.

“What are you going to the city for?” He asked.

I was silent and his eyes grew. “Don’t tell me you want to go after the girl?”

“She’s useful.” I declared.

“Useful?” Hugh repeated. “To you or to the gang because it’s starting to sound like you are letting her—“

“Don’t start with this distraction talk. She helped us get the watch, she’s going to help us do more. She’s important.”

“I hope so.” With that Hugh walked away.

I headed to the truck, and hours later I arrived at the city. I made my way to Alberto’s hideout— which was a warehouse in the depths of the city.

It was nearly midnight when I arrived. Alberto’s men were everywhere, loading crates of what I assumed were weed bundles into trucks. Their gruff laughter echoed loudly as I passed them, pulling my hood to hide my face.

A tall, bearded man barked at me before I even got close to the door.

“You! Quit skulking around like a stray dog and hand that parcel to the boss. He’s been expecting it.”

I nodded without a word, gripping the parcel he shoved into my hands.

“Wait!” He called out and I paused midway. I heard him take a step forward.

I was about to be caught. I moved my hands to my pocket where I kept my gun, preparing to strike.

“Hugo!” A voice called, and the man stopped walking.

“There’s an emergency upfront.” The voice said. “It’s a code red, and the boss would be furious if we don’t tackle it.”

I heard his steps regress and without sparing any moment I walked quickly.

I have been to Alberto’s hideout before so I knew my way around it. The minute I sighted his office I pushed the door open.

Alberto who was sitting behind a desk with a cigar in hand, glanced up. His expression turned sour as he barked.

“You filthy bastards don’t ever learn. How many times have I told you to fucking knock?”

I locked the door behind me, flipping my hoodie back to reveal my face. “Who are you calling a filthy bastard, Alberto?”

His eyes narrowed, and his hand instinctively moved toward the gun on his desk. I did the same thing, pulling my pistol and pointing it directly at him.

“You’ve got some nerve walking into my space with a gun,” Alberto said, cocking his pistol and aiming it back at me. “You just walked into a lion’s den, and now you’re going to meet your death.”

I didn’t flinch. “I’m not afraid of you, Alberto. Now, where’s the girl?”

His smirk was infuriating. “Girl? I have no idea what you’re babbling about.”

I stepped closer, my gun remained fixed at his direction. “Don’t lie to me. Tell me where Allison is, or I’ll paint these walls with your blood.”

He chuckled. “Try it.”

“You’re going to regret what you said.”

“A Santiago never regrets, just as a Santiago can’t never be easily fooled.” His chucking stopped and his face grew serious. “You thought I wouldn’t figure your plans out. Did you?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking neither do I care, I just want the girl.” I spat, taking a step forward.

“Act clueless all you want but it’s sad that you thought you could steal from me and I wouldn’t figure it out? You knew that watch was my heirloom, didn’t you? You thought taking it and delivering it to the gang in the East lands would rattle me. You wanted to cause a war.”

I clenched my jaw, trying not to let my shock show. Alberto was sharper than I’d given him credit for. But I didn’t let him realize that.

“I want the girl. Now.”

He dropped back in his chair, laughing. “You’ll get the girl when I get my watch.”

“That’s never going to happen,” I spat, my finger tightening on the trigger.

Before I could think twice, I fired a shot. The bullet grazed his arm as he let out a curse, retaliating with a shot of his own. The bullet shattered a lamp inches from my head. I dove behind a shelf, firing again.

I watched Alberto moving closer. I waited for the right moment to strike, the second I spotted the right opportunity I stood up.

“You’re going to meet your last day, Alberto!” I roared, kicking his gun from his hand.

He staggered back, and I lunged at him, grabbing him by the neck.

His face turned red as I tightened my grip. “You forget who you’re dealing with, old man. Now, tell me where you’re keeping her!”

I guess the sound of our gunfire seemed to have alerted his men, because they started banging the door.

Alberto yelled at to them, urging them to save him.

I Ignored his cry for help pressing my gun on his head. “Tell me where the girl is!”

“She’s not with me anymore!” he croaked.

“Liar!” I slammed his head against the wall. “Tell me the truth before I send you to join your father in his grave!”

“She escaped!” he cried. “I kept her at my second base, but she slipped through my fingers! That’s the truth!”

I hesitated, scanning his face for lies. Then he added, “Look at my desk! There’s a letter I sent to Samuel, asking him to be on the lookout for her.”

I glanced at the paper, seeing the words scrawled in his messy handwriting. He wasn’t lying.

Fury boiled in my veins. “You lost her,” I growled.

Before he could respond, I pulled the trigger. Blood splattered around the room as his body slumped to the floor. The door burst open, but I was already climbing out the window, disappearing into the night.

As I hit the ground and sprinted into the shadows, a vow echoed in my mind. ‘I’ll find her. I don’t know why, but I won’t stop until she’s back in the highlands with me.’