Geoffrey hoped he did.

In his opinion, Micah was the best thing to have ever happened to Damon Romano. Micah softened some of Damon’s more ragged edges; he made him human. Some small-minded individuals might think anything – anyone – who softened a mafia don was a liability. But clearly they’d never worked for a savage like Damon Romano.

The day after Damon’s… tiff with Micah, Geoffrey had witnessed the man play amateur dentist on the uncooperative grunt of a rival cartel who’d been selling fentanyl-laced drugs under the Romano name. Damon had reduced the man to a bloody, blubbering mess with a rusty pair of pliers before deeming the information he’d spilled to be inconsequential and ordering his body to be dumped back out onto the streets – as a message.

Two days after that, Geoffrey had watched Damon shatter a man’s kneecaps for offering him a fuck with his high school-aged daughter when he was unable to repay a debt on time. Damon had impassively watched him howl on the floor in agony for an entire half-hour before shooting him square between the eyes, expression blank.

That was nothing compared to some of the more brutal scenes he’d witnessed over the years. Geoffrey had seen Damon crush men’s fingers with hammers, pry toenails out of their beds with pliers, and he’d seen all sorts of hardware store contents stuck into eyeballs.

Geoffrey shuddered at the vivid memories.

Yes, he’d take a Damon tempered by Micah over a Damon bereaved of him any day.

“Micah’s last name remains Hart… for now,” the man revealed after a moment. Damon eyed Geoffrey pointedly before transferring his glacial gaze to Ricky, the other man standing guard outside Micah’s door. “I trust you know better than to bring up any future arrangements with Micah – or anyone, for that matter.”

That was the thing about Damon. He didn’t even have to threaten you for you to know you were being threatened. The dried blood stains on his shirt only added to the dangerous aura surrounding him.

Ricky swallowed, immediately bobbing his head up and down.

“Of course,” Geoffrey agreed gruffly.

Damon offered them both one last hard look before nodding and walking away, but Geoffrey didn’t fully relax until he’d turned the corner.

While it was true that Micah brought out a hidden gentle side to Damon – and by “hidden”, Geoffrey meant so deeply repressed, it was damn near nonexistent – there was no denying no one was safe from his boss’s ire once it was provoked – no one except, perhaps, the man in the room behind him.

END

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fifer Rose is a happily married mother of four human children and two very spoiled cats.