Formerly a decorated Marine with expertise in counterintelligence and weaponry, his services had proven invaluable during the recent attempts by enemies to destroy our business.
That’s why the first call I’d made after settling Lainey into a suite at Dreamscape had been to him. As part of his duties, he oversaw our illustrious computer hackers, whose skills enabled us to discover the secrets of anyone in the world.
Everyone had a footprint and no matter what lengths they’d gone to, or money spent to try to hide aspects of their lives, their activities, locations, and all information could be discovered.
That’s why it hadn’t taken any time for Jaxon to learn where Damien was holed up, a posh resort in the heart of the Vegas strip.
Not one of ours.
The asshole was so brazen after destroying the home I owned where Lainey was supposed to be protected that he’d spent the day preening in front of the cameras. While he’d acted as if he believed the hype surrounding himself, fondling the women fawning all over him as if it was his God-given right, I’d completed research on the man and his career.
Including the contract Damien had entered with our movie production company. There was a morals clause that he’d regularly ignored. His personal attack on Lainey including physical violence clearly violated the terms. I’d have a conversation with my brother on terminating his contract at Nina’s party the next day.
Now he was going to learn a very valuable lesson on how to treat women and what would occur should he fail.
Jaxon had easily discovered the abusive bastard had taken over an entire bar inside the resort. He was partying with his bootlicker friends who enjoyed every moment of sucking down expensive liquor on a tab that had yet to be paid. Not only was he a repulsive representation of the male species, but he was also notorious for skipping out on money owed to restaurants and bars.
It was way past time the man was taken down a peg or two. With my lack of patience and rage, the act of punishment wouldn’t take long, but would leave a lasting memory.
He was lucky I had no intentions of ending his life. At least not yet. The view from the cheap seats would only place a crushing professional target on Lainey’s back. I refused to place her in the crosshairs of corporate business.
While we’d brought a dozen additional employees who often moonlighted as security guards with us and they were certainly highly trained, they’d accompanied us merely to provide a visual understanding.
He fucked with the wrong man.
The noise even before we moved inside the bar was ridiculous. Once we did, my annoyance increased. It was barely six in the evening and the crowd Damien had gathered was already rowdy.
“How do you want to handle this, boss?” Jaxon asked.
I scanned the area, counting the number of other customers before answering. “We encourage his guests to leave. That will allow me to have quality time with Mr. Kane.”
He chuckled. “I haven’t seen you this riled up in a very long time.”
“You know how I react when women are used as objects.”
“Yes, I do. God help the man.”
I buttoned my suit jacket before moving toward him. While the Dmitriyev family was highly respected in Las Vegas and elsewhere, there were those who believed we were also the most dangerous people in the city. That usually boded well in cases of this nature.
We stood on the outskirts of the ongoing party, the lighting inside the bar keeping us in the shadows. A poor waitress was serving drinks and every time she leaned over in her short skirt, she was molested.
My anger was off the charts.
Thankfully, I’d learned to control my more extreme emotions a few years before. When the waitress finally freed herself from the animals, the look on her face was exactly the one I’d seen on Lainey’s.
She noticed us and another moment of fear momentarily crossed her face. When she neared where we were standing, Ipulled her aside, placing several folded hundred-dollar bills on her tray. “Take a well-deserved break.”
Her smile was her only response, but she scurried away leaving the playing field wide open.
I nodded to Jaxon and he directed our men to advance. The one thing I would always say about the people who worked for us, they were completely loyal, following orders without hesitation.
It took a few seconds for the drunks to realize they’d been surrounded by men with open jackets sporting weapons.
“What the fuck?” one of the party people finally blurted out, partially standing and even daring to puff up. Yet his eyes reflected uncertainty and even fear.
Good.
I’d remained just out of sight until they’d moved into position. Now I walked closer, taking my time doing so. Through the years, I’d tried to portray myself as approachable even though at six foot four, I was intimidating to most. Not today. I’d decided to kick up the heat a notch by wearing a charcoal suit and pitch-black shirt.
