Bennett saw Dean’s right hand clench into a fist. Knowing who you were dealing with always helped in manipulating the situation. Just a bit more and this party will be over.
Dean took a step toward Bennett, but what he hadn’t foreseen was Alex intervening. He grabbed hold of Dean’s shoulder as he spoke. “Don’t say it, Bennett. Zoey’s our sister. I’m not happy to see who she chose, but I’m willing to give you a chance. Hurt her, and you won’t need to worry about Dean coming after you. I’ll crush you myself.” Alex’s tone never changed, but the look in his eyes was one Bennett hadn’t seen before. He was serious.
I might have to keep my eye on Alex. Not the pushover I thought. I don’t normally miss something like that. What’s got me distracted? Bennett nodded and said, “Understood.”
His agreement had nothing to do with being intimidated by any of them. He knew once he collected the cigars he didn’t need to see Zoey again. He could handle everything over the phone. Yet, something in him said to keep the act going. He wasn’t sure exactly what was causing this gut feeling, but he wasn’t about to ignore it.
“Bennett, what my brothers are trying to say is that we love our sister, and we want to make sure your intentions are honorable,” Logan added.
Honorable? Not in the least. “Zoey is special to me.” It wasn’t a lie. He’d been attracted to her since the moment he met her. And somehow he did care. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be here now. That much he was willing to admit to himself. Anything more than that wasn’t possible for someone like him. His life didn’t allow time for any permanent attachments. Even to someone as lovely as Zoey. Especially to someone as lovely as Zoey.
“Good. Treat her that way,” Logan said as he brought his cigar back to his mouth.
Shaun broke up the tension between the brothers. “I’ve gotten to know you, Bennett. She seems to care about you. All I ask is you keep the smile on her face that she had when the two of you finally decided to join us in the dining room.”
I’d love to, but trust me, you won’t like me when you find out the truth. “I’ll do my best. So are we going to talk or smoke these things?” Bennett held up his cigar. He eyed Dean who finally lit his and took a long drag. About fucking time.
The rest of the conversation was about their personal business matters. None of which mattered to Bennett. At least, not at this moment. But I’m sure it won’t be long before one of you requires me to protect your ass. Again.
Chapter Five
Bennett stayed by Zoey’s side as she said goodbye to her last guest. When she closed the door, he saw her shoulders slump and heard her let out a heavy sigh. He knew tonight was difficult for her. Lying was part of his job. It got him into places that otherwise he would’ve been denied. He didn’t even feel any guilt about it.
Zoey pulled it off like a professional. He was impressed. Yet, looking at her now, her body language revealed the truth. Glad to know she’s not comfortable living a lie. Makes me respect her more.
It wasn’t that he didn’t respect her before. He just couldn’t help but recall the reports on her. That type of woman never appealed to him. Why he was so damn attracted to her regardless of her past was a mystery to him. And it’s going to stay that way. Being here with Zoey is only a job. There is no way I’m going to let it go on any longer than needed. Even if it means pissing off the Hendersons once it’s over. He thought back to Alex’s words and cringed. “Hurt her, and you won’t need to worry about Dean coming after you. I’ll crush you myself.” She knows it isn’t real, so at least I won’t hurt her.
“The hard part is over. Now rest.”
Her voice was so soft he barely could hear her. “Never over.”
What does that mean? What’s never over? He knew it wasn’t the party causing her to feel that way. Whatever it was shouldn’t trouble him. She’d hired him only for one purpose. There was no need for her to know exactly why he wanted the DNA. If at any point she questioned him, he would have to come up with some lie. He knew she’d flip if she thought he was questioning who her father was as well.
He had the DNA samples bagged and ready for delivery. All he needed to do was walk out the door and give them to his courier to take to Jon Vinchi. Stay focused. Find her mother.
“Zoey. I need to leave.”
She opened the door for him before she turned around. That’s when he saw her eyes glistening on the verge of tears. He was immune to them. Bennett would never forget the price his best friend paid because he couldn’t resist a woman’s tears.
They’d been on patrol and had come upon a woman kneeling on the ground crying. He’d told Sam to leave her alone, to keep walking. They had their orders; they weren’t allowed to make contact with any of the locals. Sam had hesitated for a moment, but all of a sudden he’d turned around and headed right back to the woman. No matter what Bennett said, Sam wouldn’t stop. His last words had been, “I can’t just leave her there, crying alone.”
When Sam had reached out to help the woman up, she’d looked up at him, smiled, and set off the explosives. Sam hadn’t had a chance. The explosives killed them both instantly, and damn near took him as well. Bennett had never forgiven himself for not trying harder to stop him. And to this day, the only effect tears had on him was to make him flashback, remembering Sam.
Now if a woman started to cry on him, it was the last time she ever heard from him. Tears didn’t represent sadness; all he saw were lies and manipulation. He was a man no one could control. Sometimes I can’t control myself.
However, in some strange way, he knew Zoey’s tears weren’t manipulative or meant for him. They were from something deeper than what she’d shared with him. These emotional wounds weren’t just about finding her mother. Bennett didn’t understand how or why, but he knew it. Felt it. And he didn’t like it one bit; he wasn’t used to this gut-twisting reaction to anyone or anything.
All he needed to do was walk past her and out the door. There was no obligation for anything more. Do your job. So why was his gut tangled up in a knot as he looked at her? Fuck.
When he stepped forward, he found himself pulling her into his arms instead of walking out the door as he’d wanted. It didn’t matter what his head was telling him. He was somehow powerless to stop himself. “Sweetheart, what’s the matter?”
“You wouldn’t understand.” Zoey choked out the words, her face buried in his chest as she sobbed.
He reached up and tipped her head up to face him. “Try me.”
Zoey’s mascara ran down her tear-streaked cheeks. Bennett took his hand and tried to wipe them away. She sniffed and tried to smile at him. Is kindness so unfamiliar to you that even such a simple gesture makes you happy?
“Why don’t we go and sit and you can tell me what’s got you so upset?” He took her by her hand and led her to sit on the couch. She didn’t try to resist and seemed to welcome him taking the lead.
Zoey sat quietly as though in deep thought. He wanted to push her, but he knew if he did, she’d clam up and what was troubling her would stay bottled up inside. Even now, he wasn’t positive he could get her to open up to him totally. Why would she? I’m no one to her. She has family she could go to. Should talk to.
“Bennett. You don’t need to stay. I know you have someplace you’d rather be.”
“I’m where I want to be,” he said as he continued to hold her hand, his fingers interlocked with her tiny ones.
“Why?”
Her question caught him off guard. Mostly because he didn’t have an answer. Hell, he couldn’t explain it to himself. He only knew it was the truth. Yet, that wasn’t going to suffice. He didn’t do emotions, and the last thing he wanted was to try to figure out his own. “Consider it part of the job.”
Instantly he felt her tense and try to pull away from him. Who could blame her? He was an asshole. She was sitting here in turmoil, and he just told her he didn’t care, that being there was part of the job. Her brothers are right. I shouldn’t be anywhere near her.
/> “Then I suggest you get back what you’re being paid to do.”
“Zoey. I’m sorry. That was . . . not what I meant to say.” Unfortunately, it was exactly what he’d meant to say.
“I wouldn’t blame you if you had.”
“Why?”
He could see she didn’t want to discuss it, but he knew she needed to.
“It’s not easy to talk about, Bennett.”
“Many things are not, but sometimes they are easier after you do.” He was speaking from personal experience. When he’d left the Marines, there were things that’d haunted him, things he’d needed to discuss. Even to this day he fought the flashbacks. Bennett had seen too many of his buddies who kept everything bottled up inside and chose to escape in a bottle or with drugs. He tried helping them, and he’d been able to reach a few and give them a job, a purpose again. But there’d been many that’d slipped through the cracks with unseen pain. He knew if it wasn’t for Doug Atwood counseling him when he had, he most likely would’ve been another statistic. Doug’s was one number he’d never delete from his phone. Although he hadn’t needed to reach out to him in almost two years, he wasn’t foolish enough to believe that meant the ghost from his past wouldn’t return. He never knew what was going to be the trigger, and when it was going to blindside him.
Bennett understood asking someone to trust and open up was easy, but nearly impossible for them to do. Even his closest friends didn’t know what he’d faced when he left the Marines. It wasn’t only what he’d seen, but what he had to do. No matter how many times he heard it said that he was only doing his job, it didn’t help him sleep at night. The people may be nameless, but their faces and the looks in their eyes wouldn’t ever fade. This anguish was something he’d carry with him until the day he died. A turmoil he carried alone. And I’m keeping it that way.
Yet, here he was asking Zoey to do what he was incapable of doing. He knew he should respect her wish for privacy, let her sort through her feelings alone, but something drew him to her and wouldn’t let him leave. Not until he knew she was okay. He knew he’d stay as long as she needed him.
“You wouldn’t understand, Bennett. No one would. I’ve lived it, and I don’t even understand it.”
“Whether or not I understand isn’t important. It’s that you know I’m here to listen.”
She turned her face up to meet his eyes, and he saw so much pain and confusion in them. All he could do was hope he wasn’t adding to it. His life—his business—depended on reading people, so why was he having such a difficult time pinpointing anything with Zoey? She wasn’t a complex woman by any means. But, oddly, he found himself saying or doing things out of the ordinary around her.
“Tonight was the first time I’ve ever had my entire family over.”
He arched a brow. Bennett didn’t have a large family, but gatherings were a standard occurrence with them. “That’s a good thing.”
She shook her head. “You’d think so. But all it did was make me remember why we seldom get together. I mean we barely do now, once a month we go to Brice and Lena’s for brunch. But I’m the only girl in the family. I should’ve been hosting something all along. Sadly, I never have. Worse than that, I never wanted to. I’m a horrible person.”
Bennett squeezed her hand. “No, you’re not. Why are you trying to fit into someone else’s mold?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Your family dynamics. You’re all different, but that doesn’t mean you don’t love each other. Trust me. I was outside with your brothers long enough to know how much they care. I’m not a man to be fu—messed—with, yet they had no problem threatening me if I hurt you. They didn’t do that because of what you served for dinner.”
Bennett wasn’t sure where all his words of logic and consoling were coming from. Hell, I’m not even sure it makes any sense. But damn it, I hate seeing her hurt.
“I know it’s not about food. It’s just that I don’t think I’ll ever feel comfortable doing it. I didn’t even plan it this time. Lena stepped in and worked with Renita and Vincent. The success of this beautiful event was all theirs. Not mine. The entire party, just like you and me, was a façade. No different than everything else in my life.”
He realized right then that this had absolutely nothing to do with tonight. “Tell me what it was like.”
“What was like?”
“Growing up with James Henderson as your father.” He read enough about the man to dislike everything he stood for. Besides, there was nothing about his personal life in the report. He could only assume it was equally as bad.
“You don’t want to hear about that. It’s not pretty.”
Pain in life normally isn’t. “Let me be the judge.”
She pulled her hands away from his and folded them on her lap. He watched as she twisted her fingers so tightly it must’ve hurt. It was as though she needed to divert what was inside her.
“You can watch the news and see horror stories about abused families. No one ever thinks it happens in some of the wealthiest and most influential families.”
He needed to hold his cool. The thought of anyone ever hurting Zoey, never mind abusing her, made him want to snap. The man wasn’t alive any longer, yet the anger overwhelmed him, and Bennett still didn’t even have any details. Don’t talk, just listen.
“My brothers are . . . difficult men. There are good reasons for that. We grew up in the spotlight. Ironically, no one really knew who we were, or unfortunately that our father was truly a monster. They only saw, and believed, the façade my father allowed them to see. Controlling isn’t strong enough to describe him. It’d mean there were options. In his house you either did what he said, or you felt his wrath.”
“He hit you?” Bennett hadn’t meant to ask, yet he couldn’t hold back.
She let out a sarcastic laugh. “A beating would’ve been easier. The bruises would’ve faded away. He only slapped me once, across my face. Other than that he never physically touched me but what he did to me will never leave me. I can never trust anyone. I will always be . . . alone because of him.”
He’d only slapped her once? Good. Those scars can run deep. But what did he do to Zoey to cause her to never trust? “You trust me.”
She shot him a look of surprise. “I . . . why do you say that?”
Bennett smiled at her. “Actions speak louder than words, Zoey. You trusted me enough to come to me for help. You let me talk with your family when it scared the hell out of you, and now you trust me to talk about your childhood.”
“We hardly know each other, Bennett. How can I trust you?”
He could see the doubt in her eyes. It didn’t make any sense to him either, but it was factual. “You’re right. Yet here we are. So tell me, what did your father do?”
Zoey turned from him. “I can’t tell you that. It’s . . . something I try not to think about.”
“But you do. You’re thinking about it right now.”
“Bennett, I think you should go.”
“Why?”
She got up and walked away from the couch. “Because I can’t talk about that anymore tonight. I don’t want to think of anything right now. You say I can trust you?”
He nodded.
“Then I trust you will honor my request and leave me alone tonight.”
She didn’t turn away from him as she spoke. He knew if he didn’t leave, she’d never open up to him again. It was far from everything, but it was a start. At least he understood that whatever was eating her up inside had nothing to do with him.
He got up off the couch, walked over to her, and planted a kiss on her forehead. “You have my number. Call anytime.”
Without another word, he walked out of the house. He hated leaving her to face her demons all alone. He wasn’t sure it was the right thing to do. Once inside his car, he pulled out his cell phone. It was almost one in the morning. He quickly sent a text to his courier with the instructions as to where to pick up the package.
&
nbsp; Now all he could do was wait for Jon to get back to him with the findings. Jon had said it shouldn’t take long, but right now Bennett wanted to bring her closure. If he could, maybe it’d help her heal even slightly from the past.
He still felt compelled to help her. Before he could, he needed to know what her issue was. He was good at pushing for answers, but that was not the tactic he needed this time. He needed backup.
Pulling out his cell again, he called the one person he knew he could count on.
“What can I do for you, Stone?”
“Atwood, I need a favor.” Doug was the one man Bennett knew he could turn to, and without question, he’d help. It was a combination of his time served as a Marine and also his skill in counseling his comrades.
“You’ve got it. Where do you want to meet?”
“Boston, Massachusetts.”
“It’s cold up there in February. Wouldn’t you rather come see me in San Antonio?”
“It’s not me who needs you this time. It’s a . . . friend. She just doesn’t know she needs you yet. Will you come?” Bennett wouldn’t dare tell him who Zoey was. If he knew, he’d surely say no. He stayed out of the public eye, and what Bennett was asking could put him right in the center of attention.
“Send me the information, and I’ll be there.”
Bennett disconnected the call. He was going to need to get Doug on board helping him on this job without letting Zoey know what his role was. Hell, I’m not even sure how I’m going to talk Doug into lying. But I will. Zoey needs Doug. The pain and sadness I saw in her eyes tonight wasn’t manufactured. It was raw. I can tell she’s had years of practice holding in that pain. I will do whatever it takes to make her pain fade. Even if it means lying to her.
Virgin For The Fourth Time: Barrington Billionaire's Series: Book Four Page 6