Hero?

60

"Damon, I'll be leaving soon. I just wanted to make sure that you receive this." Ana hands him a piece of paper. On it is her email address and instruction in the code. Damon reads everything and raises his eyes to her. It's been some time since Ana has been able to shock him so thoroughly.

"Are you sure?" Damon demands of the girl in front of him.

Ana nods, "It's not any of my men, but someone is betraying me. Or my men have gotten much better at hiding things from me."

"I'll search my people. Ana, I'm sorry." Damon says pulling her into a hug and then caressing her face.

Ana returns his hug, "Nothing to be sorry for. Find that bastard and kill him for me, would you?"

Damon chuckles, "I thought you wanted your protege to kill Snake?"

"I'm not sure he's ruthless enough to kill his own father like we did. I'm not sure that I want him that ruthless either."

"You don't want him to be corrupted?"

Ana chuckles at Damon's words, "Oh he's plenty corrupted, I just don't know if I want him to get ideas about taking over all my men. Trinity would kill him if Michael managed to kill me, but..."

"But you don't want to die. I get it. Do you ever think about how your life would be if you had had different parents?"

"Not since the fire. As far as I'm concerned meeting you and having this life makes it all worth while. How about you?" Ana queries. This is something she has wondered about before for him. He really doesn't fit this life. He makes it work, but he should have had a better life than this.

"Almost everyday. But this is the only life I've ever known. Send me an email when you get to Hawk's nest, just so I know you're safe." Damon says reluctantly breaking the hug and stepping back. He is exhausted, he hadn't gotten any sleep and looking at Ana he knows that she hadn't either.
"You could come visit." Ana offers and Damon stills completely. "You'd either have to have a bag over your head or be drugged for the transport and you'd have to be willing to promise me no tracking  devices, not even your phone, but if you wanted to visit, I'd be happy to have you."

"I'd love to. I would need time to work things out with Calum." Damon shows more animation now than he had since last night.

Ana smiles at his words, "Very well, let me know and I will send someone down to pick you up."

Ana leaves Damon's room and runs into Calum. "Ana, before you leave, I would like to ask for your permission to touch Trina. I won't do more than what she allows, but I'd like to hold her hand and if she permits it hug and kiss her."

Ana smiles, "As long as you don't take things further than she wishes. She came to me the other night and requested the same thing. Calum stay the hell away from the clubs unless you are taking her dancing."

"I will. Damon's already placed Tony over the clubs so I won't have to go there. Thank you Ana. I'll do my best to redeem myself to both you and Trina."

"I've never trusted you, the one you have to redeem yourself to is Trina." With her words Calum winces and looks down.

"Hope you've learned your lesson. Trina deserves more than what you've given her. Damon told me the reason he cheats on his girlfriends is because they aren't worth it in his eyes. Trina better be worth being faithful to in yours. Not just someone to keep you from being lonely."

"I love her, Ana. I never thought I could love anyone like I love her. It's been hell being away from her."

"Then you damn well better treat her like she is the most precious thing in the world. Cheating isn't the way to show her that."

"You're absolutely right, Ana. I'll do everything I can to show her."

"You do that." Ana says dismissing him and going on out of the house.

Once out of the house, "Okay people let's load up and head out." Damon watches sadly as Ana and her people load up and head away from him.

"You let her go?" Calum says coming up to Damon.

Damon laughs humorousless, "Have you figured out a way to stop Ana from doing something she wants to do? Besides, she's finally starting to trust me again, I don't want to lose that."

"You put tracking devices on her vehicles?"

"Hell, no. Weren't you listening? She's starting to trust me again. She's got another traitor or we do. Information has been passed onto Snake, he knows that his son has joined Hawk." Damon says.

"How does she know?"

Damon starts laughing for real now. "He contacted one of Ana's assassin's to take him out. He has to ask Ana before he accepts freelance jobs. Michael will be kept to the estate until further notice."

"He's going to love that his father sent out a hit on him." Calum says and his voice carries in the still morning air.

"Who's father?" Michael says coming over to them. He had sent Ana off and is returning to the house now.

"Your's, he's somehow found out that you are part of Hawk now." Damon tells the young man everything. Ana isn't often wrong about people she trusts.

Michael looks a bit hurt at first but then a stone face comes over him, "It just goes to show how much he loves me then doesn't it?" He doesn't wait for an answer and pushes on into the house.

The other two look after him, "I think he might just become ruthless enough." Damon mutters to himself.

"What's that?" 

"Michael might just become ruthless enough to take out his father. His father doesn't have the guts to take out his own son though." Damon says thoughtfully watching the young man disappearing inside.

"How do you figure that?"

"He's trying to hire a hitman. He doesn't have the guts to do it himself. He knows Michael is here he could easily come here and take him out."