“I think we need to have a little chat, boys.”
He took a seat behind his desk, clasped his hands together, and looked from each of my brothers until his eyes landed on me. He didn’t speak for a long moment, and I found myself playing with the ring on my middle finger that my dad gave me after my first successful run. I hated it, but I had to keep it on my finger until I was free of this life.
“Where is Damien?”
“At our place,” I answered. “He doesn’t need to be here for this.”
Marco raised a brow and sat back in his chair. “Is that so?”
“Look”—I leaned forward—”can we get past the bullshit and straight down to business? None of us have time for this.”
Marco, who looked incredibly interested in what I had to say, waved his hand, giving me permission to speak.
“We know what Damien did means he has a life debt hanging over his head, but instead of him paying that debt with his life, my brothers and I have decided we will pay it by working it off for you ... if you’ll agree, that is.”
I held my breath as Marco digested what I said.
“Let me get this straight.” Marco tilted his head. “You four will work for me, working Damien’s debt off, and in return, you just want him to remain unharmed?”
“Yes,” the four of us said in unison.
“Deal,” Marco said almost instantly.
I knew he would like my deal and eventually accept it, but I didn’t think he would be so ... eager.
“How long?” Alec asked.
Marco looked at him. “How long what?”
“How long will be work for you?”
“Well,” Marco began, “Trent had a promising future heading runs for me, but now that he is dead, I’m losing profit he would have brought to me. Let’s say once you guys earn at least ten million for me, we can discuss job termination.”
Fuck.
I got a decent profit in my run for Marco, but it’d take me years to rake up ten million for him. Trent would have never made Marco ten million bucks, and he fucking knew it. He pulled that number out of his ass, but I couldn’t say a word against him on the matter, and he knew it. Not when Damien’s life was on the line.
“I’ll teach the guys how to head a run and—”
“That won’t be necessary,” Marco cut me off. “Runs are your thing, Ryder. I’ve other jobs that your brothers will do for me.”
I looked at my brothers then back at Marco, and said, “Like what?”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” he answered. “I’ve other shit to deal with, thanks to your baby brother, so before I leave, I wanted it understood that we are in agreement. You four work for me, and Damien remains unharmed.”
“Unharmed and uninvolved in our new operation,” I pressed. “We work for you, not him.”
Marco nodded. “Good, that’s a deal to me.”
He left his office then without a word, and for a long moment, my brothers and I remained seated and didn’t say a word as silence embraced us. I was relieved that Damien’s life was no longer under active threat, but I was all too aware that it would be if my brothers or I didn’t do a job well done for Marco. Worry piled onto my shoulders, but I refused to let it show. I had to be strong for my brothers; I had to be.
“Come on,” I said, getting to my feet. “Let’s go home and get some food. We can talk when we’re alone with Damien.”
They got to their feet, and Dominic looked at me, and said, “It’s gonna be okay, isn’t it, Ry?”
“Yeah, bud.” I forced a smile. “It is, I promise.”
I would do everything in my power to keep that promise to my brother because if I didn’t, it would mean the end of my family ... and I wasn’t going to let that happen. Not a fucking chance.
CHAPTER FIVE
Twenty-eight years old ...
“It’s busy tonight,” I shouted to Damien as he plonked down next to me.
He nodded, and leaned his head back against the seat. “Kane wants to go home already.”
I sighed. “We haven’t even been here long.”
“He wanted to leave before we even got here.” Damien shrugged. “You know him and crowds; they don’t go together.”
Truer words had never been spoken.
“Where’s Dominic?”
“Getting ready for his fight,” my brother answered. “Alec and Kane are with him.”
I nodded my head in understanding, then raised my brows when Damien got back to his feet. “Where are you going now?”
“I’m restless on Dominic’s behalf,” he answered. “I need to find a girl and kiss her. I’ll meet you ringside when he’s is fighting.”
With that said, he walked away and got lost in the crowd, making me laugh. I didn’t get up to go and find Dominic. Once he had Alec and Kane with him, I knew he was looked after. I looked down at my phone and scanned through my messages. I felt eyes on me, so I looked up, and when I noticed two incredibly attractive women standing in front of my booth, staring directly at me, I pushed my phone into my pocket and gave them my full attention. The woman with the stunning breasts stepped forward and smiled while her friend stepped behind her, hiding from my view.