Later that night, Jacob entered the basement of the red zone district. His father and mother were still there, as were his uncles. While he’d been with Frank, he’d put the call through to make sure the fucker who was shot in the leg was still alive and breathing when he got back.
The rest of the night had gone by without a hitch. He’d taken Lou with him on several runs, scooping up cash, and keeping an eye on basic business. All the while, her bruise had gotten deeper, covering her cheek.
Riley was pissed at him.
He didn’t need her twin to be pissed at him. Jacob was already pissed at himself. No one hurt his woman.
“Where is he?” he asked.
Maddox moved aside from the basement, and he walked down. Abel sat in a seat in the corner. The two men, David the manager they had put in charge, and the one who hurt Lou, were sitting in the middle chained to each other.
“I’m sorry, man, I thought I was doing a good thing.”
“A good thing? I checked the books, David. You’ve been scamming off these women for months,” Abel said.
“You touched my woman,” Jacob said, pointing at the man he didn’t know.
“Look, every bitch in here wants to be touched.”
Slamming his fist against the man’s face, Jacob thought about Lou, her smile, her face, now with a bruise. He’d been so busy dealing with David that he’d not been there to protect her while she’d been protecting an underage girl. Over and over he slammed his fist, alternating between his hands, landing against the man’s face. Jacob didn’t stop. He kept on hitting him.
Only when he’d had enough of hitting did he go for the bat that Abel was holding. This was another element that made the Dentons different. They were all more than happy to take care of business.
He didn’t stop, tuning out the man’s scream as he thought about Lou. No man was ever going to lay a hand on her, he’d make damn sure of that.
Chapter Seven
“Lou’s gone back to work,” Riley said, climbing into the car Friday evening. He carried two cups of coffee and placed them both in the cup holders. They had already had one night together, and Jacob was impressed by him. His father had done well picking Riley out of a lot of applications.
“What?”
“Lou’s back at work. She wouldn’t listen to me even though half of her face is black and fucking blue. Fucking woman, I tell you she just can’t stop. She’s always had to be doing something, as otherwise she goes crazy.”
Riley was dressed in an expensive suit, but Jacob didn’t accept anything less. “I told her that I spoke to Frank.”
“Exactly¸ and she spoke to him that she wanted her shift back. Staying in her apartment baking oatmeal cookies isn’t going to keep her going for long.”
“Lou bakes?”
“Yep, she has for a long time. It was something she learned when we were young. Mom and Dad employed a cook, and Lou would spend all hours in the kitchen with her. They got close, and then because our parents are fucking evil, they fired her ass, leaving Lou heartbroken about it for weeks afterward.”
“Speaking of your parents, we’ve got to pay them a visit.”
“What about?”
Jacob paused. He didn’t know if it would be a good idea to tell Riley his father’s suspicions. Landon had been approached in high school about doing more fights, and they believed it was the Moores who’d done it.
“Come on, just spill. I know you’re going to be wanting to have more than a date with my sister. Whatever else you’ve got about our family, just hit me with it. I know that our family isn’t the most liked.”
“Most liked?”
“Yeah, we’ve got older brothers that are petty criminals that just piss everyone else off. My parents are hungry for power and money. They find out that you’ve got a thing for Lou, and they would be all over it. They’re gaining enemies every single day.”
“How are you and Lou not affected by your parents?”
“You mean, why are we so different?” Riley asked.
“Yeah.”
“By the time Lou and I came along, they’d already been dealing with the fights. They weren’t around all that much. We got nannies, cooks, staff to take care of us. They’re awful people, shit parents, but they knew how to pick a decent nanny. Put simply, Jacob, we weren’t raised by our parents.”
It made a lot of sense to Jacob. “You can tell.”
“I know our parents, and even our brothers aren’t liked. We’re used to it.”
“How does Lou handle your fighting?”
“She doesn’t, not really. We’re brother and sister, twins, but to be honest, we’re really great friends as well. I know, clichéd as shit, but it’s the way it is with us,” Riley said.