Arnold carefully placed the infant in his crib. “You sleep well, Warren,” he whispered. This one, of all the boys, was Arnold’s favorite. Full of energy, grabbing at everything that came into reach and putting it in his mouth. It was too early to expect him to have a discriminating palate, but Arnold would make sure Warren knew quality, when he was old enough to know it.
He didn’t feel bad about considering him his favorite; the oath not to do genetic check was to ensure they couldn't play favorites with their own son. Warren wasn’t his. He looked more like Anakin, although he was in the thinner side, so maybe Alex?
Arnold rubbed the top of Warren’s head. “Doesn’t matter who your biological father is. I’ll still take care of you. Of all of you.” He might have a favorite, but he wouldn’t treat the others any differently because of it. He wouldn’t allow any of his brothers to do it either. Done were the days of pitting one brother against the other. Aiden had the right idea in the boy band; something to make them cooperate.
Maybe he could form a baseball team? He smiles at the idea of going to the park with them. Throwing ball, practicing batting. They’ll be the envy of every family out there.
His brothers did visit, Arnold had realized it when he’d returned from one of his sex breaks to find figurines and toy robots in each crib, with Whitney grasping the toy soldier with a tiny hand. Anakin’s toys.
The head nanny has confirmed that she had instructions to inform his brothers whenever he’d be out of the room for a few hours. Arnold had gotten over the irritation of this happening behind his back. These your his brothers’ sons too, they had a right to visit, and it made sense none of them wanted to see him; he had to disgust.
He steeled himself and forced himself to voice it. “I wish Arthur had more time with all of you.”
“I am so sorry,” a man said and Arnold spun to find an older tiger in an expensive dark green suit.
“Who the fuck are you?”
The tiger smiled, and as he spoke, “don’t you recognize your—” Arnold knew who he was and jumped the distance ready to lay into Arthur’s murderer.
Damian was fast, way faster than Arnold expected for an old man; he had Arnold’s wrist in his hand and was pulling him to the side. But Arnold was fast too, even as he fell off balance, he slammed his knee in Damian’s chest. Ha landed, was up as Damian straightened. Arnold was on him again, but the time, Damian was a blur.
Arnold didn’t see the hand grab his throat, lift him up and slam him down on the marble floor. It cracked and Arnold felt shards cut him.
“I did not come here to fight,” Damian growled, “But I will if you insist. I just need to know if you are certain you want to do this here, in front of them.”
Only now did Arnold hear the cries. He shoved Damian’s hand away and ran to the closest crib and picked up Wade, shushing and rocking him until he stopped. He eyed the monitor attached to the crib as he placed Wade back. Why hadn’t any of the nannies come to see what had made them cry?
“What have you done with the others?” Arnold hissed, moving to the next crib.
Damian straightened his suit. “I put them to sleep. I told you, I’m not here to fight.”
“I’m not interested in hearing you gloat.” Wyatt took longer to quiet. The nannies all said he was the finicky one. And he was the oner Arnold had the most problem not losing his patience with.
“I’m not here to gloat.” Damian bent over William’s crib and smiled.
“Touch him and I will rip your hand off,” Arnold warned quietly.
Damian’s hand reversed direction to go behind his back.
“Why are you here, if not to gloat?”
“Needed to tell you how sorry I am A—”
“Don’t you fucking say his name.” Wyatt finally quieted Arnold placed him back in his crib. The others had settled on their own in the meantime.
“Maybe we should go to another room,” Damian offered, “to avoid waking them again.”
“I’m not leaving them unattended with you in the house. For all I know you have a team ready to kidnap them the instant I turn my pack. Just keep your voice down.”
“Is death was never in my plans.”
“You fucking expect me to believe that? You go after my company, my club, what was supposed to come after you slandered us, an apology?”
“Those were so you’d remember your place. I’m your uncle, your elder. I would never cause physical harm to my family.”
“My family follows only one god,” Arnold hissed, “and it isn’t whatever thing you do. You turned your back on us.”
“I was cast out,” Damian snapped, “imprisoned and then castrated before being burned alive by your fathers. Don’t you dare tell me I chose this. Sahataan brought me back for his agenda, I didn’t have a say in it.”
“He wouldn’t been able to bring you back if you hadn’t already given yourself over to him, or are you forgetting the men you marked so you could kill the Society rats?”
“I don’t need to explain myself to you.”
“Oh you fucking think so? You just told me you didn’t want him dead, explain to my how come he is, and why you saved his killer from my wrath.”
“Because I was the one to punish him, not you. You think you could have done anything like how I made him suffer? You don’t have the stomach for it, boy. Wait until the FBI releases his autopsy to the press, before telling me you would have done worse.”
Arnold force his breathing to slow while Damian smoothed his jacket. He couldn’t fight him here, but the moment Damian left the room, all bets were off.
“I had a hand in his death,” Damian said, “But it was unintentional. I didn’t account for what the more extreme groups the Gray Church set up but didn’t have direct control over might do if I provided them with a specific target, rather than those vague names. I am sorry, Arnold. If it was within my power, I would undo this, I swear.”
“Why the fuck should I care what you would do if you could? Your agenda is pretty clear, kill the lot of us, starve my god. What, you wished Arthur had lived so you kill him last with the rest of us?”
“That isn’t my plan. Now that you’ve stepped down, I have no reason to continue harassing our family.” Damian chuckled. “Of course, now Denton is in charge, and that was never part of the plan.”
“Glad I screwed something else of yours.”
“You talked him into taking over? I’m impressed. I was certain I’d destroyed any confidence he had in your god. Still, I can deal with whatever he might have planned.”
“Is that it? You done with your speech? You leaving now?”
“Didn’t my brothers teach you to respect your elders?”
“You mean the beatings? The emotional torture? It didn’t work out how they’d hoped. We took them down hard.”
Damian smiled. “I suppose you did. I have one last assurance to give you, then I’ll leave. However this war goes, whatever you decide to do, I promise that nothing will happen to them.” Damian motioned to the cribs. “But before you do something rash, keep in mind that things are about to change. You would do well, for yourself and your family to be on the winning side.”
“You mean you.”
Damian’s smile was barely visible. He headed to the door and stopped, his hand on the handle. Arnold tensed, ready to move.
“Oh, before you decide to try to beat me, I’m the only one who can wake the people I put to sleep. Even my death will not on do it. It’s my understanding you are trying to be a better man than any of us, so consider if your anger at me is worth their slow and torturous death.”
He left the nursery and Arnold shook with the effort it took not to go after him. He wanted to scream, but that would wake the boys.
After five minutes of barely contained rage, a sleepy-looking sheep stumbled in. “Did, something—”
“Look after them,” Arnold growled. If he couldn’t kick Damian’s ass from here to Timbuktu, he needed to fuck a lot of them.
