“You get it now? You’re mine, Jennifer. You’re going to do exactly as I tell you or I’ll ruin you for good.”
He let go of me and stepped back. I gasped, choking as I tried to breathe oxygen back into my lungs. He watched me silently as I struggled, holding my throat which hurt like a bitch. I stumbled away from him, gripping the edge of the bathroom counter. My eyes found the mirror and I noticed the red hand mark around my neck. I stared and stared. He’d strangled me. He’d fucking marked me.
He came up behind me and ran his fingers over the marks, a deadly gleam in his eyes and a smirk on his lips.
“Next time, you’ll keep your mouth shut, do you understand?”
I nodded, flinching at his touch and not trusting myself to speak.
“That’s my good little sweet pea,” he cooed.
That pet name. He taunted me with it. He knew exactly how to hit me the hardest.
“Don’t worry, your secrets are still safe. Consider this a warning. I don’t want to hurt you but I will punish you for misbehaving.”
He bent his head down and placed a kiss on my neck. When I tried to flinch away, he gripped my chin and held me in place.
“You’re a very beautiful girl, Jennifer. You and Fiona were always so aloof. Everyone called you the weird twins because you wouldn’t talk when you came back to school after that summer, but they all still wanted you. I wanted you.”
My limbs shook. The man behind me downright terrified me. A monster in sheep’s clothing.
“I like my women compliant and obedient. I will break your fiery spirit and then you really will be all mine.”
I’d never be his. Never. Giving into a man like Max would be like giving into my father. I’d be stronger than that. I’d survive this just as I survived Zachary Benson.
“Whatever you say, Max,” I whispered, my throat raw.
He let go of me and stepped away, walking towards the door.
“You run along home now, sweet pea. I shall tell my family you’re unwell. Don’t forget what I said. One wrong move and your life comes crashing down around you.”
He unlocked the door and walked out, leaving me alone. I took a minute to attempt to compose myself. Holding back the tears welling in my eyes and the desolation in my soul, I hurried out of his parents’ house, grabbing my coat on the way. I pulled the collar up to hide the marks on my neck.
As I made my way home on the tube, my heart sank to my knees. How the hell could I get out of this? Max made his intentions clear. He wanted all of me. Parts of me which didn’t belong to him and I wouldn’t give willingly. I’d never be compliant or obedient for him.
Brent called me a firestorm the night we’d first been together.
I wouldn’t let my fire go out.
Not for anyone.
Even so, my heart ached and I wanted to curl up and cry. Max made me feel weak, helpless and terrified. Just like my father had.
By the time I unlocked the front door, I felt weary down to my bones. The house seemed far too quiet and still. Where was everyone?
It didn’t matter. No one could see me like this. I trudged upstairs to my room, throwing off my coat when I got there. I slipped out of my shoes, flipping the bedside lamp on when I froze at the sound of my bedroom door opening wider.
“Jen,” came Brent’s deep voice.
“What do you want?” I bit out.
My heart burnt in my chest, desperately wanting him but knowing I couldn’t have him.
“Haven’t you looked at your phone? I’ve been calling you.”
I frowned, tugging it out of my bag and finding several missed calls, voicemails and text messages.
“No. What’s going on?”
“Liora’s in labour.”
I spun around, my mouth dropping open.
“What? The baby’s coming?”
Brent came into the room, frowning heavily.
“Yes. I came back to pick up the car seat… Jen, what happened to you?”
I stared at him, unsure of what he meant until I realised his eyes were on my neck. I raised my hand to it, covering up the marks.
“N… Nothing.”
He reached me and gently tugged my hand away. His fingers stroked over the marks, making me tremble.
“Who did this to you?”
His voice was laced with anger and his gold flecked eyes were full of agony as if it pained him to see me hurt.
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing, Jen. Who touched you like this? Who hurt you?”
I brushed his hand away.
“It doesn’t matter. We need to go to the hospital. Just let me change.”
I attempted to back away but he stopped me, holding my shoulders. His touch was so gentle, as if handling a frightened animal and it broke something inside me.
How could I tell him what Max did? What he said to me? How could I reveal the blackmail? There was absolutely no way.
“What happened?” he asked, his voice softening.
Tears pricked behind my eyes. His expression destroyed me.
“I can’t tell you,” I whispered.
“You can. Tell me who did this, please.”
How could I trust him when he’d unwittingly broken my heart? But I longed to. Longed to have him hold me and take all of my pain away.
I shook my head.
“No, you don’t understand. It’ll only make it worse.”
He pulled me closer and cupped my cheek. The gesture broke through all my resolve along with the soft touch of his fingers against my skin. Tears began falling down my face.
“You can trust me.”
Could I? Would he help me? Would he do so without telling Dante? He’d made it clear he wouldn’t choose me over my brother even though there was no real choice to be had. Dante was his friend but I wanted to be his girl. My brother would understand if I explained it. If I told him how I felt about Brent. If I admitted the truth.
“I’m so scared,” I sobbed. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Shh, it’s okay. I’ve got you. We’ll work it out together, okay?”
I wanted to believe him. So fucking much.
“You have to promise me something.”
“Anything.”
I knew he might not agree but I had to make sure this stayed between us.
“Promise me you won’t tell Dante.”
“Jen…”
I gripped his hand where it rested on my cheek.
“You have to promise that. Please. Promise you won’t tell him.”
His eyes betrayed his conflicting loyalties. If he cared an ounce about me then he’d agree to my terms. Agree not to tell my brother. Dante finding out would ruin us all. Max had told me not to tell my family, but Brent wasn’t technically a family member. I knew I was trying to justify my reasons for wanting to tell him, but I didn’t care. This burden weighed on me and what Max did this evening couldn’t be taken back. He couldn’t undo it. The marks on my neck proved he’d hurt me. And he’d do it again if I stepped out of line.
“I promise.”
I barrelled my way into Brent’s chest, clutching him tightly as the weight of everything crashed down on me. Tears flowed freely, soaking into his clothes.
“Max did it,” I cried into his chest. “Max strangled me. He’s been blackmailing me. He knows everything, Brent. He knows our secrets and he’ll ruin us if I stop doing as he says.”
Chapter Fourteen
Brent
Every word which fell from her lips made my rage burn hotter. I’d had a feeling Max was up to no good, but this went so far beyond what I’d suspected. Jen was still talking, telling me how Max knew about the blood debt, how she was pretty sure he had more evidence and knowledge than he’d let on and how he’d insisted Jen pretend to be his girlfriend. Except after tonight, it was worse than that.
“He told me he’d break me and make me his,” she sobbed, clutching
me tightly. “He reminded me of Dad and what he did to me.”
I wrapped my arms around her, careful to be gentle. She didn’t need spooking right now. Not after that shit.
“Shh, I’ve got you, Jen. I won’t let him hurt you again.”
Her body shook against mine, her sobbing growing louder. I wanted to go around to fucking Max Graves’ house and beat the shit out of him for putting hands on Jen. My firestorm who was a broken mess right now. I was supposed to keep her safe and I failed miserably. I failed to protect the woman I loved even though she had no idea how I felt.
“I couldn’t stop him. Just like I couldn’t stop Dad.”
What the fuck could I say to that? Jen didn’t often speak about Zach and what he did, but clearly, this had brought up all her memories.
“He called me a weak, pathetic little slut. Is that all I am, Brent?”
I couldn’t with her question. I very gently pulled her away from my chest, tipping her face up and cupping her cheeks. She looked so lost. The sight of it shattered my heart. As much as rage burnt through me, I wouldn’t allow it to control me. Jen needed to be handled with care right now.
“Do you remember what I told you? That you’re a firestorm?” She nodded slowly. “That’s still true. You’re so strong and resilient.”
“I don’t feel it,” she whispered.
I leant towards her, pressing my forehead to hers.
“I see you. All of you. You shine so bright. The world is dark without you in it. That’s why you’re my firestorm.”
She choked back a sob. Christ knows I shouldn’t have said that. All my feelings were on the tip of my tongue, begging to be let out.
“Brent…”
“Shh, I know.”
I kissed her tear stained cheeks, feeling the wetness under my lips.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”
How could I live without Jen? The way she smiled. Her laugh. Her touch. Everything about her was perfect. Even when she was mad and shouting at me. A fucking tornado, barrelling her way through everything. She was still the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
I love you, Jennifer Cassiopeia Benson. You’ve always been the one.
“I’ll protect you, Jen. I promise.”
“How can you? He’ll ruin us if he finds out I told you.”
I leant back and stared down at her. My beautiful girl had no idea what I could do when I put my mind to it.
“He won’t find out. I’m going to get you out of this.”
She blinked as I dropped my hands from her face to her shoulders.
“You swear you won’t tell Dante?”
“I promised, didn’t I?”
As much as it killed me, I knew Jen wouldn’t open up to me unless I did as she asked. I wish I hadn’t knowing what Max was threatening, but Dante finding out wouldn’t help anyone right now. Especially not when Logan was almost here. They didn’t need any more scandals in their family. He deserved to raise his son in peace.
I’d sworn to protect the Bensons from any threats and that’s exactly what I would do.
“You did.”
“You’re going to have to trust me.”
“I do… but Max is dangerous.”
I needed to dig deeper into his background. Clearly the check I’d done wasn’t enough. He’d have secrets too. Ones he didn’t want exposing. Jen had given me a clue to what those might be. He liked to bend women to his will. That told me a lot about the type of person he was. It sounded very much like Max liked to control women regardless of the pain he inflicted as evidenced by the marks on Jen’s neck.
Plans needed to be made, but first, I needed to get back to the hospital after we’d cleaned Jen up a little. Her makeup streaked across her wet face and I was pretty sure she didn’t want to go looking like that.
“He is, but you have me in your corner.”
“How are you going to get me out of this?”
“I’ll work it out, okay? There’s a lot you don’t know about what I do for D. I’m going to need you to act like everything is normal for now. I promise, I’ll fix this. You can count on that much.”
I had no real idea how, I just knew I had to get her out of this situation. Not just for her, but for her entire family.
“Can I?”
“You can. I know I’ve fucked up so many things between us, but I’m not going to fuck this up.”
Her blue eyes were full of emotion, drowning me with their intensity.
“You’ll keep me safe?”
I nodded. Jen didn’t need rescuing, but she couldn’t handle this on her own. Max Graves had no idea what he was up against and he wouldn’t see me coming.
“I thought you weren’t a damsel in distress.”
She bit her lip before dissolving into a fit of giggles and fuck if it wasn’t cute as hell.
“I’m not,” she protested through her laughter.
I tugged her back into my arms and held her tight. I’d protect Jen at all costs. My Jen. My firestorm. She pulled away when she stopped laughing.
“We should get to the hospital.”
“You need to get cleaned up first, no offence, but your makeup is ruined. And we need to hide these.”
I brushed my fingers over the marks on her neck, hating the sight of them. If I ever got my hands on Max Graves, I’d teach him a fucking lesson. But that wouldn’t help our cause in the slightest.
“It looks bad, doesn’t it?”
“Kind of. Does it hurt?”
“A little, my throat still feels raw. I really thought he wasn’t going to stop.”
I was fucking glad he had even if he’d hurt her. It would shatter me completely if I lost Jen entirely.
She moved away from me, grabbing her wipes off her chest of drawers and cleaning her face up. I sat on her bed, watching her as she moved about the room, taking off her dress and throwing on a pair of jeans and a top with a high neck which covered the marks. She pulled on a hooded jumper before stepping over to me. Even without makeup, Jen was absolutely stunning. She took my hand and sighed softly.
“Should we go meet my nephew?”
I smiled and stood up.
“Yeah.”
She kept a hold of my hand as we went out to the car. Fuck did I wish I could do this all the time. Have her hand in mine and show the world she was mine.
But she wasn’t mine.
And she never could be.
I’d promised to help her, but it didn’t mean we could be together. I still had too much to lose if I went down that path with her. That knowledge wrecked and ruined me, but I had to keep it together for both our sakes.
Jen was silent on the drive over, her eyes downcast as if all the memories of what happened to her weighed heavily on her soul. I wanted to take away her pain. Help her heal. It’s what I’d always wanted. To quell the darkness encompassing her and show her just how amazing she was. A strong, beautiful warrior. My firestorm.
“You okay?” I asked, pulling into the carpark.
“No.”
I parked up and reached over, brushing my fingers along her jaw. She leant into my touch.
“If it’s too much, just tell me and I’ll take you back home.”
“No, I need to be here for Dante and Liora.”
“Everyone else is here. Not sure the midwives are pleased with the whole Benson clan descending on their ward, but they won’t kick us out.”
“I want to be here.”
Jen had that determined look in her eyes. There was no arguing with her. I dropped my hand and got out of the car, going over to the machine to pay for parking. I had Dante’s keys so I transferred over the car seat to his car before we went upstairs to the ward.
“Look who I found,” I said as we walked into the waiting room.
James, Ellie and Jensen looked up.
“Hey Jen,” James said with a lopsided smile.
Jen wa
ved before making a beeline for Jensen and taking a seat next to him. I flopped down in a chair next to James, wanting to give her space.
“Do we know the latest?” I asked.
“They think it’s going to be a few hours yet. Fi said Liora’s holding up okay and Dante is a mess.”
“Well, shit, always knew he’d struggle with this.”
James dropped his voice low, “Pretty sure he doesn’t like seeing Liora in pain unless he’s inflicting it.”
I snorted, unable to help myself. James was on the nose with that one. Dante had been on edge the entire pregnancy since obviously he couldn’t risk the baby. He’d spoken to me about it on numerous occasions. Whilst I sympathised, I also told him to suck it up since it wasn’t like Liora had banned sex or anything. I got hit in the arm for that comment. I probably deserved it. Winding Dante up when he was in a mood wasn’t the best idea I’d ever had, especially when he’d been deprived of his outlet.
Liora, of course, asked me to keep an eye on him because she worried about the state of his mind. He did talk to her far more than he did me, but Dante was stubborn as fuck when it came to dealing with his shit. He never liked to appear weak or in need.
“You haven’t had to deal with him getting antsy and shit over it for the past eight months,” I replied, my voice just as low.
James smirked. For some reason, Dante had told him all about the hidden side of his relationship with Liora. Dante refused to tell me why, only that it’d been necessary. It’s not like he was ashamed of it, he just didn’t like his private affairs broadcast. Another reason why I needed to nip this Max situation in the bud.
I looked over at Jen. She seemed to be in a heated whispered discussion with Jensen. Her eyes met mine for a moment before she looked away. I could’ve sworn I saw immeasurable sadness in them and it cut me. I’d done that by ‘choosing Dante over her’. A problem I couldn’t fix. And it killed me.
***
Hours went by whilst we all waited. Ellie fell asleep on James. Fi came in and sat with Jensen for a while whilst Jen went to see Liora and Dante. I even made another appearance. They seemed to be holding up okay but you could tell Liora was exhausted and just wanted Logan here now.
Jen was asleep with her head resting against my shoulder when Dante came in with a wide eyed expression on his face.
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