Damian looked at Gabriel, them both saying the one name. "Ivan."
"Damian, I've told you to leave shit like Ivan out of this," Maddox said. "It's good business."
"That's the point. They've been taking our business, and Westbrook has been waiting for the perfect time." This came from Gideon.
Damian frowned, and looked at the women. "Okay, okay, so they take two of our women. I don't see the big deal. Do any of you? It doesn't seem like a huge deal."
"It's not," Jacob said. "And that's the point. Two women like this, pushed aside, until the detail of the W reaches us. The girls leave, turn to him, and if they don't, they end up dead. It all starts like a domino effect. Take out our girls, then the drugs with the townies, then slowly, take out our shops."
"Wait, Owen and Wyatt said there had been talk of several clubs being raided and that people are pissed because Dentons offered protection, and it wasn't there," Gabriel said. "Fucking hell. We've been declared war on, and we've not even been aware of it."
"Hold the fuck on," Maddox said. "Nothing has happened."
"Girls have been quitting," Abel said. "Handing their notice in, and not being able to be replaced. I told you that we had to close five places last week because no one was turning up. There was no revenue at all."
"Then there have been random raids on our nightclubs," Gideon said.
"The docks have been running slow," Damian said.
"The underground fights are not happening either," Landon said.
Damian looked toward his younger brother, seeing how pale he was.
The sound of sirens filled the air, and Damian looked toward the door. "Oh fuck!"
Before either of them could react, police and SWAT entered the warehouse, ordering them down to the ground.
Shit was about to hit the fucking fan.
Damian closed his eyes as someone knelt on his back, putting handcuffs on him. Westbrook had led them to this place, and now they had to deal with being on the wrong side of the law.
****
Mia paced up and down the length of Maddox Denton's study as she listened to what the lawyer was telling them.
"You mean to tell me that they're staying behind bars?" Charlotte asked.
"Damian, Abel, and Gabriel have alibis for their whereabouts during this suspected murder. Landon also. They are being released without charge as soon as they can have the paperwork drawn up. I need to get alibis for the others."
"But we pay you this money to get them off. The police, my husband compensates them."
"Charlotte, I hate to say this to you, but two mangled bodies were discovered with your entire family there. You're lucky any of them are being released. Right now, they can't place those three at the time of the suspected murder because of a paper trail those three have. The state of those girls, you're talking thousands of dollars bail money."
Mia had seen the news, and she knew Damian wasn't capable of that stuff they were saying. What scared her even more, she'd seen something like that a few years ago. The body of a woman had been dumped in a park. It had later been found out that she was a snitch. Anyone who opened their mouths would be killed in exactly the same violent way.
Sobs filled the room, coming from Charlotte. "I can't handle this. Maddox deals with all of this."
"I've called Rick back from England. He's the only one I know who can handle this."
"What about the businesses? What about everything?" Charlotte said.
Mia went to the older woman, and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to give her comfort. "It'll be okay."
"Thank you, dear, but it really won't." Charlotte patted Mia's hand.
"We're going to go and make some drinks," Lou said, taking hold of Mia's hand, and leading her out of the room. Harper and Ruby followed.
Entering the kitchen, none of them spoke for the longest time. Mia's heart was racing. The thought of being without Damian for even a night scared her. The guard that had been with her in the park had come to her, told her there was a situation, and that she had to come here to the Denton family home. From there she had learned that Damian, along with all of his family had been arrested for the suspected kidnapping and murder of two women. They weren't even releasing the women's names, just their pictures, and some camera crew had gotten images of the actual bodies. It was gross.
"They didn't do this," Harper said. "We all know this."
"The problem you got is they're going to have to prove they're innocent," Ruby said. "They're going to have tails, and all kinds of shit. Cops have wanted the Dentons for years, and now they just happen to stumble onto them inside a warehouse with dead bodies. The dead bodies, and then the fact even some cops could be working for Westbrook. If they're doing that, then they can manipulate evidence. Not ideal, I know, but something that can be solved. I need to call Lewis. See if something has been going on that I don't know about. I know Oliver has been keeping secrets from me. Something big is about to happen, and I want them to be ready."
"Who is Lewis?" Mia asked.
"He's someone who can get information without leaving a trace. I trust him, and so does the Denton family." Ruby ran fingers through her hair. "Oliver doesn't have an alibi, so he's not coming home anytime soon."
Lou went to Ruby, wrapping her arms around her. "Neither is Jacob. We can do this. We can help them."
Mia saw the unity in the women, and was by their side. She would do everything she could to help.
Chapter Eight
"This was fucking planned," Maddox said. "We shouldn't have gone to that fucking warehouse."
"Did you see anyone?" Damian asked, looking at Gabriel.
"No. I didn't. You think I enjoy being thrown into a fucking cell? Someone was there, had to be, and called it in."
"Did you notice none of our guys were there," Jacob said, blowing out a breath. "What are the chances that our boys are either dead, or unable to help us out."
"I don't get it. How can someone like Westbrook cause this?" Landon said. "We're fucking Dentons."
Stuart burst out laughing. "You're only as strong as the men around you. Look at what happened. The brothels, the strip clubs, the docks, the drugs, even the cops on our teams. We've all been doing our own thing that none of us has seen a connection as we've not known the shit that is going on. Who has reported back to Maddox? Who has reported back to each other? Our own bullshit has caused this, and it all stems from him." Stuart pointed at Gabriel.
"He's not part of this," Jacob said. "We've got lives of our own now. You can't blame him. You want to point the finger, point it at yourself. That's what I'm doing. I wanted to spend more time with Lou and my kids. So I did. I've fucked up, and you all need to own up to that shit."
"Look, we've all had shit go down, okay? We've all got family. Our weakness comes from the revelation of who he is, what he means. Not to mention Damian's recent visit to alcohol heaven. We've all turned the other way, expecting our job to be done by someone else. This is not something that has been happening overnight but for the past six months, and this is one of the causes. The Dentons have been known for their unity. For fighting together. We all turned our backs on business, and now we're all in jail, and I smell those two girls. It's burnt into my nostrils." Stuart leaned his head against the bars.
"Rick has been called, and he's on his way home," Maddox said. "He can handle everything." Rick was the youngest brother of Maddox and Stuart.
Stuart burst out laughing. "He'll be keeping his woman back at England. If Westbrook wanted a war, he's just got one."
Damian looked at his uncle. "What do you mean?"
Stuart opened his eyes, looking at him. "You think Rick is a pussy? He's a doctor, so he saves lives, right? Our father was never able to keep Rick on the straight and narrow."
"He's a force to be reckoned with. Him finding Mandy actually gave us a break. The bodies stopped building up. He always picked fights, and he never loses," Maddox said. "Rick found his woman early, and from the moment he saw Mandy, he would follow her anywhere."
"There's no emotion inside him," Landon said. "Mandy is the only person he cares about. That's it. Mandy, family, and if you step on them, he'll come crashing down on you. I wasn't nice to Mandy when I was there, and he showed me some of his true colors."