The Forgotten Grandson

Chapter 3

Saul was quick for an older man. His fist came straight at Damien’s face. Damien saw it early and leaned back. The punch cut through empty air.

Saul swung again, harder this time. Damien stepped to the side. After a few more misses, Saul was breathing heavily. His arms looked tired and slow.

Damien took one calm step forward. His fist hit Saul right in the upper belly. The older man dropped to the floor, holding his stomach and trying to breathe.

“Stay out of my way, old man,” Damien said.

He opened the nightstand drawer and took out a thin necklace. It had a small Yin pendant, but the Yang half was missing. He slipped it into his pocket and walked out of the house without looking back.

Saul’s voice followed him down the stairs. “You’re fired! If I ever see your face again, you’re dead!”

Damien kept walking. Of course he was fired. It was the perfect end to a perfect night. No wife. No money. No family. No job. Everything he had was gone in one day.

He walked for a long time with no real direction. The cold air helped a little, but not enough. After a while he found a noisy bar with bright lights and loud music. He pushed the door open and went inside.

The place was packed with drunk people laughing and shouting. The TV was turned up too high. Damien sat at the counter and ordered a beer. It had been months since he drank anything stronger than water. Tonight he could not think of one good reason to stay sober.

Five beers and three shots later, the noise in the bar suddenly dropped. Almost everyone was staring at the door.

Before Damien turned his head, a sweet flower smell reached him. A woman stood at the entrance. She was more beautiful than anyone he had seen in a long time. Her skin looked smooth and clear. Her dress fitted her body in a way that made every man in the room go quiet. But it was her eyes that stood out most. She looked sure of herself, like nothing could shake her.

She looked around the bar once. Then her eyes stopped on Damien. She walked straight toward him. The whole room watched her move.

“Are you Damien Delaney?” she asked.

Damien looked at her face. She really was beautiful. But his night had already been bad enough. He did not feel like talking to anyone. He took a long drink of beer and waved the bartender over for another one.

“Not feeling very talkative, are you?” she said. There was a small spark of interest in her voice. He did not look special, but if he really was a Delaney, maybe there was more to him than what showed on the outside.

He ignored her and ordered one more beer.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she said, sitting on the empty stool next to him. “You might as well stop ignoring me.”

Damien glanced around the bar. Every man was staring at her like they were starving. “This place isn’t safe for you,” he said quietly. “I’d leave if I were you.”

“So you do talk,” she said. A small smile appeared on her face. It softened her look and, for a short moment, made the heavy feeling in Damien’s chest ease a little.

He went back to his drink. He was not interested in whatever she wanted.

A drunk man finally found the courage to walk over. His breath smelled strongly of whiskey.

“Sweetheart, if he doesn’t want you, I’ll take you,” the man said with a wide grin.

The woman looked at him once and decided he was not worth answering. She turned back to Damien.

“I’m Angela, by the way. We need to talk. It’s important.”

The drunk man got angry fast. How could any man ignore a woman who looked like that?

“Hey, asshole, can’t you see the lady’s trying to talk to you?” he yelled. “Why are you even talking to him? What does an angel like you want with someone like him? Look how dirty and tired he looks.”

Damien let out a short, tired laugh. A drunk man calling him dirty after the night he had felt almost funny.

“Did I say something funny, asshole?” the man asked, stepping right up to Damien’s side.

Damien kept sipping his beer and said nothing.

The drunk man swung his arm across the counter. Bottles flew and smashed on the floor. Beer and glass spread everywhere.

“You can ignore the lady all you want, but you don’t ignore me,” he said, voice rising. “You think you’re better than me just because some pretty woman is paying you attention?”

Angela watched quietly from her stool. If this really was Damien Delaney, the drunk man was nothing more than a fly buzzing around something much bigger.

“I was enjoying my drinks,” Damien said in a calm voice.

“You should have thought about that before acting cool,” the man said, flexing his arms. “Get up and face me like a man.”

Damien had taken enough for one day. The whole world seemed determined to step on him, and he was done letting it happen.

“Look, buddy. I’ve had a really bad day. Before I beat you up, I’ll give you one chance to say sorry.”

The drunk man and his friends burst out laughing. They wiped their eyes and leaned on each other. The whole bar stopped what they were doing to watch. Free entertainment was better than anything on the television.

“He really thinks he’s some kind of action hero.”

“Next he’ll try to save the pretty lady and drive away in a fancy car.”

Damien had already noticed something about Angela when she first walked in. She was beautiful, yes, but her body looked strong and trained. She did not need anyone to save her.

The drunk stepped even closer. “Hey, asshole. If you kiss my feet, I’ll let you leave this place alive.”

Damien looked at the man and the small group of friends behind him. A bar fight almost felt right after everything that had happened. At least it would let him get rid of some of the anger sitting heavy in his chest.

He stood up slowly. The whole bar went quiet. Even the television seemed to lower its volume. Everyone held their breath and waited.

Damien decided to give them one last chance. He turned to leave.

The lead drunk blocked his path and threw a wide, slow punch. Through drunk eyes it must have looked strong and fast. To Damien it was slow and easy to read.

He grabbed the man’s arm and twisted it hard behind his back. The drunk screamed like a child. Damien’s elbow hit the side of his head once, short and sharp. The man dropped to the floor and did not move again.

A single loud gasp filled the bar. It had happened so fast that most people were still trying to understand what they had just seen.

Angela’s lips curved into a small, satisfied smile. She had found the right man after all.