Protect

by Bailey, Sarah

  “I’ll let you in a little secret of my own. You see, Jen might not have told her family about your little attempt at ruining her life, but I don’t happen to be family. And I’ve learnt some very interesting things about you today.”

  I heard a slight sob from next to me. I desperately wanted to go to Jen and make sure she was okay but dealing with Max came first. Closing the distance between Max and myself as he backed up against the wall, I stared down at him.

  “How about I start with you embezzling money from your own parents?”

  The blood drained from his face. Idiotic little stuck up prick.

  “Or should we talk about how you’ve almost ruined your own company by mismanaging their funds?”

  “Shut up, you don’t know anything!”

  I almost laughed, but I was too angry with this little shit.

  “I know everything.”

  “I can still bring them all down. Just watch me.”

  Shaking my head, I refrained from putting hands on him even though I really wanted to beat Max to a pulp.

  “No, you can’t. You see, I had a nice little chat with our mutual friend, Marcus and whilst you were here making a nuisance of yourself, I destroyed anything you have on the Bensons. You can cry wolf, but who’s going to believe the boy who stole money from his parents and his own company? Hmm?”

  “You’re lying.”

  “Am I? Are you sure about that?”

  I wasn’t lying. I knew ways of getting rid of shit like that. It’d taken me longer than it should’ve. Mostly because I had to get someone to help me hack into Max’s accounts so I could get proof of his fraudulent activities. Whilst Aiden officially worked with Ben at his tattoo shop, he also on occasion was more than happy to do things for me. He hadn’t asked questions, merely got on with it, and within an hour, had what I needed.

  “You still haven’t told me who you are and why you’re doing this.”

  I stepped back and smiled at him.

  “Oh, I didn’t forget. Who I am is irrelevant. All you need to know is you’re going to burn. Perhaps not today, but soon enough. You should really find better friends, Max, and not ones who are willing to rat you out the moment they smell trouble.”

  His eyes narrowed, but he stayed against the wall.

  “Who are you talking about?”

  “You were just a pawn in Marcus’ personal vendetta against Zach Benson, but you were too stupid to see it. Nobody messes with this family and gets away lightly. Don’t you know why everyone was so fucking scared of him or did Marcus decide not to share that little piece of information with you?”

  I thought his face couldn’t get any whiter, but it did.

  “I suggest you run along before I change my mind about breaking that perfect nose of yours for hurting my fiancée.”

  His mouth opened and closed several times like he was a fucking fish. Idiot clearly thought he was some kind of god with his looks, but he was nothing but a sad little boy who liked to hurt women for his own sick pleasure.

  “What? You’re engaged to Jennifer?”

  “She’s mine. Come near her again and I will make it hurt. You’ll wish you never laid eyes on me. Understood?”

  He chose the wrong moment to get cocky. Puffing his chest out, he tried to get up in my face.

  “She belongs to me.”

  I lost my patience. Max went flying back into the wall as my fist connected with his jaw. And then I hit him again just for good measure. He put his hands up, cowering away from me.

  “What the fuck?”

  “Perhaps now you’ll understand how serious I am.”

  “You didn’t have to hit me.”

  I almost laughed.

  “That was for hurting Jen, now get out. You wouldn’t want your face to meet my fist again.”

  Max’s eyes flashed with fear, holding his mouth as blood trickled down his lip. Then he stumbled away from me and out of the office.

  I took a breath, shaking out my fist out before I crouched down next to Jen. She stared up at me, tears welling in those beautiful blue eyes.

  “Brent,” she sobbed.

  “Shh, come here.”

  I wrapped her up in my arms and held her to my chest as the dam broke.

  “I was so scared he’d hurt our baby. He tried to strangle me again.”

  I wish I had hit the fucker a third time, but it didn’t matter. Everything I’d found would bring his life crashing down around him.

  “You’re safe now. He’ll never hurt you again. I promise.”

  If he tried, I wouldn’t hesitate to beat him to a pulp. I wasn’t a violent man, but if those I cared about were threatened, there’d be no telling what lengths I’d go to. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel some satisfaction from decking Max.

  Jen clutched me tighter and cried on my chest until her tears dried up. I held her the whole time, murmuring how much I loved her.

  “I keep crying all the time,” she mumbled.

  “You’re allowed to cry.”

  “I don’t cry! Stupid hormones. You’re not allowed to tell anyone about this. It ruins my image.”

  I couldn’t help chuckling.

  “What? Your non-nonsense, independent woman, I can do anything I want and nothing’s going to get in the way of it attitude? We both know that’s an act, Jen. You’ve got a soft little heart under that hard exterior.”

  “Shut up… Ugh, only you’re allowed to see it.”

  I kissed the top of her head.

  “Your secret is safe with me.”

  “It better be.”

  She pulled away and stared up at me with watery eyes.

  “I guess today I was the stupid damsel in distress and you came riding in on your white horse to rescue me.”

  She wrinkled her nose at the prospect and I grinned.

  “Vanquishing the enemy with my sword and shield?”

  “Something like that. You said you’d protect me and you did, so I guess I owe you an apology for not believing you before.”

  “No need. Strong, independent women don’t need knights in shining armour.”

  She reached out and ran her fingers along my jaw.

  “This one does.”

  My heart thumped against my chest. The soft and adoring look in her eyes hit me like a ton of bricks. Who’d have thought Jen would ever look at me like this? That she’d love me in the way she did.

  “I’ll never not need you. Especially not now you’ve knocked me up and now I’m an emotional, horny mess.”

  We both stared at each other for a long moment before bursting out laughing. That was certainly true. Not that Jen hadn’t been into sex before, but now she was insatiable. I couldn’t complain about our very loud daily romps. I know they’re loud because Dante complained about it yesterday. Not in front of Jen, but he pulled me aside and basically said if I didn’t stop making his sister scream, he’d kick us out of the main house. What could I say? I loved it when she let go, but I could imagine he didn’t exactly appreciate listening to his sister in the throes of orgasm. I told him to suck it up if he expected us to babysit Logan for him and Liora, to which he huffed and walked off. I think I got my point across.

  “Come on nympho, I’m breaking you out of work early. We need to go talk about this with D and well, I need you there to make sure he doesn’t kill me when he finds out what we’ve been keeping from him.”

  “Are we really safe from Max now?”

  “Yes, I expect he’s received a summons from his parents right about now. He won’t be bothering us again. Trust me.”

  I’d made sure of it. Revealing his financial misconduct to the right people would bring him down. If they wanted to involve the police, they could. I preferred to remain anonymous and keep Bensons and their company out of the firing line.

  “Have I told you how much I love you?”

  “No.” I leant towards her. “I really don’t think you hav
e.”

  She smiled before I kissed her and the rest of the world melted away.

  ***

  “You kept that shit from me?”

  Dante was pacing the living room, blue eyes a little wild after Jen and I had explained what happened with Max.

  “I couldn’t tell you. He would’ve ruined us completely.”

  I rubbed Jen’s arm as she watched her brother.

  “Doesn’t fucking matter, Jen. We deal with things as a family. You don’t go running off to save the fucking day when it comes to matters of the company.”

  She sprung up and pointed at him.

  “You weren’t there. You left everything in Fi, James and my hands. I did what I had to. He left me with no choice but to agree to his shit. I warned you about it, but no, you insisted we had to work with him.”

  He stilled before he visibly deflated.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Jen dropped her hand to her side.

  “W… what?”

  “I’m sorry. I should’ve listened to you. We needed that expansion plan to go ahead and there was no way we would’ve been able to do it without extra investment. I wanted to make sure the three of you could cope with it without me, but clearly, I was wrong to rush it. We should’ve waited. So I’m sorry. I never wanted you to go through anything like that.”

  She was silent for a long moment. I wasn’t sure what Dante would say, but this wasn’t it. It seemed he kept surprising the two of us at every turn. Perhaps he’d learnt his lesson from the way he’d handled Fi and Jensen’s relationship. Or perhaps he realised his sisters were more than capable of dealing with things on their own. Either way, it seemed he’d let go of his overprotectiveness a little. Besides, he had his son to worry about now. The twins could handle themselves. Especially now they’d both had therapy.

  “It’s okay. We all make mistakes. I’m not blaming you. The situation was shit, but it’s over now. It’s not like we could’ve changed it. Besides, if anyone’s to blame, it’s Dad.”

  Dante stiffened, his blue eyes growing dark as he turned on me.

  “As unhappy as I am about him being aware of Logan, I can’t blame you for it. He’s a manipulative piece of work and quite frankly, if you hadn’t gone to him, then this situation would’ve never been resolved.”

  I hoped now their father would be out of our lives for good now.

  “I didn’t want to tell him. He doesn’t deserve to know Logan.”

  “I know. He can’t get to us now. He’ll just have to live with never knowing his grandson. That is justice enough for me.”

  Jen looked at the floor, her hand going to her stomach. She rubbed it a little before biting her lip. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. Something was wrong.

  “I’m going to see Dad next week with Jensen and Fi.”

  Dante’s head snapped to her and I felt like the world had dropped out from underneath me. My throat constricted. Jen couldn’t go and see Zach. What good would that do?

  “What? Why the hell would you do that?”

  “I need to, Dante. I can never get closure without it.”

  “Jensen agrees with this?”

  “Not exactly, but he understands why. It’s my choice. He’s never told me to go see Dad. I know it’s hard for you to understand, but I can’t move on from it. I just can’t. Therapy has helped, but it doesn’t address the root cause of everything, and that’s what he did to me and Fi. I want to look him in the eye without feeling terror at his very presence. He’s not allowed that power over me any longer. I have to prove to myself he doesn’t have it. Then and only then can I forgive myself for everything.”

  Jen had never told me that and she’d said a lot of things to me about her feelings towards her father. Dante said nothing. He walked around the sofa and pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair.

  “I’m so proud of you. I don’t tell you that, but I am. You’ve grown into a remarkable woman, both you and Fi have. You’re going to make an amazing mother. And even if I think it’s too soon, I’m pleased Logan’s going to have a cousin of a similar age to him. You deserve so much, Jen. I know you two thought I might be pissed off about your relationship, but I’ve always known how he feels about you. I trust him with my life and therefore yours.”

  I could see Jen shaking and I knew she’d started crying. The smallest things set her off at the moment, which annoyed her no end.

  “Dante… I…”

  “Shh, I know.”

  She pulled away and stared up at him.

  “When… when we get married, will you give me away?”

  His face softened and he kissed her forehead.

  “I’d be honoured to.”

  “Thank you… I know I’m a brat and it drives you crazy, but I do appreciate you. I mean, I love you as well and all.”

  He shook his head and rolled his eyes.

  “Love you too… I need to go speak to Liora about all of this. You going to be okay?”

  She nodded. He patted her shoulder before striding out of the room. Jen slumped on the sofa next to me and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

  “You okay, firestorm?”

  Her blue eyes met mine.

  “Are you annoyed about me going to see Dad?”

  “No. I just wish you’d told me before.”

  She sighed and rubbed her face.

  “I was scared to. Everything with him is so complicated. This is about me and my closure. I know you support me, but it’s something I have to do with Fi.”

  “And Jensen it seems.”

  She gave me a sly smile.

  “Jealous?”

  “What? No.”

  Okay, so maybe I was a little. Not because there was anything between them. I wanted to be the one Jen relied on. I knew I couldn’t get annoyed about it. Jensen helped Jen in ways I never could.

  “He’s coming as moral support, he won’t actually talk to Dad. I don’t know if Fi will either, but I need her there.”

  “And you don’t want me there.”

  She reached out and took my hand.

  “I don’t know that I’ll be able to say what I need to if I know you’re there.”

  As much as it killed me, I also understood where she was coming from. She had something to prove to herself. And I would never stand in Jen’s way.

  “I didn’t tell him about the baby, but he knows we’re together.”

  “I won’t be telling him about it either. He doesn’t get that right. He’s nothing to me anyway. If I do this, then I’ll be okay. I’m stuck in the past and I need to move forward. I have to do it for me and for us.”

  I stroked her hand with my thumb. My firestorm. Such a strong woman. She knew what she needed to make things right in her own mind. And she had all the support she needed.

  “It doesn’t mean I don’t need you.” She moved closer, reaching up to put her hand on my chest. “I don’t want to be without you ever again.”

  “No?”

  She shook her head.

  “I need you and our baby needs you.”

  My voice stuck in my throat. I’d never get over it. Having Jen so open and honest with me. Her heart was mine. Everything about her. And I was hers.

  “I’m right here.”

  “I know.”

  And I’d be here for her forever.

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  Jennifer

  Everything with Max was settled now. He’d been removed as head of his company pretty quickly and replaced by a new managing director which meant I no longer had to deal with his stupid face. The new guy, Dillion Poole, was a nice. I’d had a meeting with him yesterday. He was looking forward to a long partnership with Bensons. Dante was happy since it meant we were able to move forward with our expansion plans. I was glad everything we’d worked so hard for wouldn’t crash and burn. We were going to be okay. The company was safe and the only way from here was up.

&nb
sp; Tomorrow I was going to see my dad which made me equal parts nervous and terrified. Right now, I was sat with Liora in the conservatory with cups of tea and a plate of biscuits in between us. Dante was upstairs taking a nap with Logan. He was exhausted after being up half the night on baby duty to allow Liora to get some sleep. They seemed to be sharing the parenting duties which surprised me, but Dante was determined to be a good father to Logan unlike our own had been to us.

  “So… you wanted to talk?”

  I nodded slowly, cupping my mug in my hands.

  “Jensen said I should speak to you about my fears of becoming a mother.”

  She gave me a soft smile as she reached out and took one of my hands.

  “You think I wasn’t terrified?”

  “You’ve not really talked about it.”

  “I still am. I just got thrown in the deep end and half the time I wonder if I’m even doing a good job. I’ve got a small person relying on me completely for everything. Anyone who says they’re not terrified is lying.”

  I took a sip of my tea, processing her words.

  “Don’t get me wrong, having Logan is amazing, but he’s hard work even with Dante being there for me every step of the way. You’d be surprised at how much he does. Hell, I’m surprised half the time.”

  I smiled. Dante doted on Logan. I’d seen the way he watched his son and the tenderness in his expression.

  “Overprotective brother… overprotective father.”

  She rolled her eyes, letting go of my hand to snag a biscuit.

  “So, talk to me. What’s bothering you?”

  I sighed and drummed my fingers on the table. So many things I didn’t even know where to start. Life was about to change drastically and in ways I wasn’t prepared for. It’d already changed so much in the past few months. Well, if I’m honest, things had started changing the moment Dad was sent down for the murder of my mother. Life had never really been the same and I wasn’t unhappy about it. That change had been good for all of us.

  “The usual things. Like can I do this? Will I even be good at it? But I suppose that’s not really the issue. Everything has happened so fast. I know I love Brent and I want this baby so much, but at the same time, it’s massive adjustment. I’ve never had a real relationship before. And now I’ve got impending motherhood to contend with on top of it.”