ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO THE BILLIONAIRE SINGLE DAD (Gabrielle and Damon) novel Chapter 14

DAMON’S POV

The man at the door opened it.

I walked into the room to find Rhys and two other men I couldn’t recognize.

“Where is Gabrielle?” I asked.

Rhys turned to me as he stood up. “Vani took her home a few hours ago. Did you do something to her?”

“No,” I answered. “Why?”

He shrugged casually. “He said she seemed pretty mad when he picked her up. I thought you did something.”

Maybe it was her work.

“I didn’t,” I said, moving to sit on the couch. “Why did you go see Carter today?”

“Not for any specific reason,” he answered.

I nodded. “He hasn’t been returning my calls. Did you get to see him?”

Rhys sat down beside me and offered a drink. “Man didn’t even leave his room. I told you I didn’t like him.”

“You don’t like anyone, Rhys,” I responded as I took the glass of scotch from him.

I took a sip, feeling the burn pass my chest as I turned my attention to the display through the screen door.

Two men were inside a ring fighting, and the room had gone quiet enough to follow every movement.

One of them was bigger, his build heavy and solid.

The other was leaner, quicker on his feet, and already circling instead of standing his ground.

As Don, the fighting ring was Rhys’s responsibility, and these men were competing for an opportunity to be sent to represent him in another country.

The bigger man threw the first punch.

It was direct and hard, aimed at the head.

The leaner one moved out of the way just in time, his body shifting to the side before stepping back in.

He landed a hit to the ribs, then another before pulling away again.

I watched without saying anything.

“He won’t last,” Rhys said calmly.

“Which one?” I asked.

“The fast one,” he answered. “He’s wasting too much energy in such a short time.”

He was right.

I took another sip of my drink, keeping my eyes on the ring.

The leaner fighter reminded me of myself back then. I relied on strategy and timing before strength.

It did not serve me well until I built the strength to match it.

I fought match after match with little to no rest, gathering bodies from an early age.

That was how I earned the name as The Pit’s Reaper.

I had killed enough people to fill a small community, and if the casualties of the massacre were counted, the number would run into the thousands.

But somehow, killing one more man now—Aiden Marlow—felt like the hardest thing to do.

And I had no idea why.

I continued watching the fight, suddenly feeling the urge to join them.

“I see why you invited me here,” I said, turning to my brother. “But it was unnecessary.”

Rhys exhaled and dropped his glass on the center table. “I fear it is necessary, brother. If you don’t do what you know you should, your wife might.”

That earned my full attention.

I sat upright. “What do you mean by that?”

“Gabrielle is planning something,” he said. “I don’t know what it is, but I can tell it’s not safe.”

I held his gaze, waiting for him to continue.

“What makes you say that?” I asked.

Rhys leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “She asked me to go see Aiden with her earlier.”

My jaw tightened. “And?”

“I said no,” he replied. “I told her it would end badly. She wanted me to rough him up, not kill him.”

“She wouldn’t ask you for that without a reason,” I said.

“Exactly,” Rhys answered. “But that’s not the part that has me concerned. When I refused, she let it go too easily.”

That didn’t sound like Gabrielle.

She was up to something, and I could tell.

I needed to stop her before it escalated.

I leaned back slowly, my grip tightening around the glass in my hand. “Where did Vani drop her?”

“He took her home,” he said. “She’s safe for now but I thought it was something you needed to know.”

The tightness in my chest eased up a little.

“She really wants Aiden gone,” I said. “She wants me to kill him. I don’t understand why. She’s changed.”

Rhys nodded once. “You’ve both changed. She used to be like you are now. But after everything you’ve both gone through, it’s only natural.”

I kept my eyes ahead.

The fight was still going on.

Rhys cleared his throat before speaking again. “This isn’t the only reason I called you. I heard some of Rocco’s loyalists are planning something.”

“I’ve seen enough,” I responded. “I have to get home before the girls go to bed. They prefer when I read them bedtime stories.”

He studied my face for a moment, then nodded. “You could totally win Father of the Year award.”

I placed my glass on the table. “That is my goal. Don’t kill anybody and don’t come home late.”

Rhys frowned at that. “I’m thirty-four years old,” he said. “I don’t need a curfew.”

“You need limits,” I replied, my voice low so only he could hear. “There’s a difference.”

He scoffed, leaning back in his chair. “You sound like a parent.”

“I am one.”

“And I’m not,” he shot back. “So I don’t need to learn responsibility or go home early to tuck anyone in.”

He did have a point.

But I ignored his words and moved towards the door. “We will talk about that dinner when you get home. Don’t come back late.”

I walked out of the room, the man by the door stepping aside immediately.

The noise from the ring grew louder as I passed, but I ignored it and kept my eyes straight as I moved.

I got to the car and stood there with my hand on the handle, trying to resist the urge to walk back in.

I couldn’t.

If a threat was resurfacing, maybe I didn’t have the luxury of trying to keep my hands clean.

Gabrielle was right.

As much as I hated to admit it, I couldn't be a normal man because I did not have a normal life.

I walked back into the building, and up the elevator to where my brother was.

Rhys frowned in confusion when he saw me. “I thought you were leaving.”

I took off my jacket and started undoing my cuffs. “Put me in the ring.”

Rhys froze for a moment.

Then he caught himself and whistled excitedly.

“I’m going to make a lot of money tonight,” he said, then turned to the men beside him. “See that my brother gets everything he needs.”

“Yes, Don,” they responded.

One of them moved ahead to clear the way, speaking into his earpiece as he stepped out.

Rhys grabbed his glass again, a grin spreading across his face. “You just made my night, brother.”

I did not respond immediately.

I adjusted my cuffs properly, then rolled my sleeves up to my forearms. “Call Gabrielle and tell her not to wait up for me.”

Then I turned and followed the other man out of the room.