“Perfect. I’ll do that. Also, be sure to call me when he returns. I want to make sure he makes it back safely.”
“Will do. I’ll be in touch,” he said and hung up.
I looked at Bruce. “They’re ready to leave with our supplies. I’ll let Kyler know he can get ready to leave,” I said. Bruce nodded, but didn’t move from his place. “What?”
“Can I give you my honest opinion?” he asked.
I rubbed my forehead. I wasn’t in the mood for anyone else’s “honest opinions” about my situation with Stephanie, but I entertained him anyway. “Sure, why not?” I replied sarcastically.
“I think the pain will get better when you let go of your guilt. You can’t heal if you still blame yourself for something you didn’t do.”
“I may as well have pulled the trigger for leaving her alone, and you fucking know it,” I bit back.
“There was no way you could’ve possibly known something like that would happen when you left. We had no enemies or bad blood with anyone. You know as well as I do that her death was an inside job.”
The muscle in my jaw ticked as I ground my teeth. He wasn’t wrong. Things were relatively calm back then, which was why her death was such a shock. The number of gunshot wounds she had told me it was a personal attack, someone who wanted to teach me a lesson. It wasn’t something that I’d thought about before because I couldn’t fathom my father wanting to hurt me that deeply, especially when I’d done everything he’d ever wanted of me.
“Is it making sense now?” Bruce asked, cutting into my thoughts.
I met his gaze, anger vibrating within me and replacing my earlier sadness and grief. Things regarding Stephanie's death had become so much clearer from that night, even more so with the information Carrie brought to me. I made a mental note to call her in the morning to talk to her about it in more detail.
“I guess it is,” I finally said.
“We’ll find out who was responsible for it, and we’ll handle them accordingly,” he said with a nod. “As well as your father.”
I shook my head. “If anyone deals with my father, it’ll be me. I want my face to be the last thing he sees when he takes his last breath,” I growled.
My father always preached about how important loyalty was to our family. Meanwhile, he wasn’t loyal to his wife, his daughter, or even to me. I was done being the puppet in his deadly game. I’d finally cut my own strings, and now I wanted the blood of the puppet master.
And I wouldn’t stop until I spilled it.
Bruce and I went back out into the living room to find Kyler back in the house messing around on his phone.
“Vinnie is ready to meet you at the halfway point to drop our supplies. They’re about to leave the main house, so you should probably go ahead and get going,” I said as I quickly texted the coordinates to both him and Vinnie.
He nodded without a word, grabbing a pair of keys from the coffee table and heading out of the house.
“So now that Wilson’s ass kisser is no longer in the house, are we going to come up with an actual plan or what?” Nyxin asked as he peeked out the window.
I grinned at him. “I’m glad you picked up on that. I swear I don’t trust that guy. I wouldn’t be surprised if my father planted him for another reason,” I said, the very thought sending a shiver of dread skating down my spine.
“I don’t put anything past Wilson. That man would stab you in the back and try to convince you he didn’t do it even though you can see the blood on his hands,” Saint said, shaking his head.
I looked around the living room and frowned. “Where the hell did KC go?” I asked.
“Bed,” Bruce said as he sat on the sectional.
“Gotta rest that nerd brain of his,” Nyxin joked.
“Well, the plan I mentioned earlier is still what we need to do, but we need to be careful about how we go about it. If Kyler is indeed someone my father planted, I’m sure he’s going to tell him what we’ve talked about. So, I need someone to get KC up now so he can make sure everything on my end is secured. I don’t need Wilson’s camp hacking my shit,” I said.
Nyxin got up to get KC, my mind still running wild with all kinds of conspiracies my father was probably a part of. I looked to the remaining men sitting around me and released a deep sigh.
“So, I need to tell you guys some information I received recently,” I started.
Bruce leaned back in his seat and smirked at me, probably thinking I was going to tell them about the conversation he and I just had in the playroom.
“What’s up?” Saint asked as Nyxin and KC came back into the living room.
“What’s the emergency?” KC mumbled, flopping down on the couch as he rubbed his eyes.
“First, I need you to secure my servers so my father’s assholes can’t hack me to figure out what we’re doing. That also goes for my cameras for the main house as well as the cameras here,” I said.
KC grabbed his computer from the coffee table with a nod and immediately got to work.
“What’s the information?” Saint pressed.
I leaned forward on my elbows, bracing myself for what I was about to reveal. When Carrie first brought it to my attention, I thought she had been dramatic, but I also believed her information was incorrect. From what I could tell at the time, there was no way my father would kill his own wife, even if he had killed one of his men. It didn’t make sense, but after I saw his true colors at the meeting, I realize anything was possible. Anyone was on the table if he felt he’d been crossed, no matter if you were a loyal worker or his own blood.
“It’s come to my attention that my father may be responsible for a lot of other things that would’ve been considered an act of betrayal to this organization,” I started.
“O…kay, like what?” Nyxin asked.
“I think he’s responsible for killing one of his men and tried covering it up by saying they were killed while on a mission for him. I also think he’s responsible for my mother’s death as well as Stephanie’s,” I said.
“Wow,” Saint said, running a hand down his face. “Those are pretty heavy accusations you’re throwing around.”
“I know. I’m going to call someone in the morning to try to get more information about this. If it turns out they’re right, I’ll have even more reason to kill him,” I said.
Everyone was silent for a while, digesting what I’d said.
“So…in the event that this is true, how do you begin to hunt a man like that?” Bruce asked. “We all know he’s so heavily guarded that it would take forever to actually get to him. By the time we ambush him, he’d have us distracted with other people while he makes his escape.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” I replied. “There’s no need to get worked up without concrete proof. Right now, it’s just a…hunch, if that’s what you want to call it. I just want it known that right now I don’t trust my father at all. Once we get this situation squared away with the Russians, I’ll investigate it further.”
“I swear your father is a fucking snake. Can’t we branch off and be our own organization so that we don’t have to be under him?”
“That’s the plan. I can’t work with someone I can’t trust, and I think with this war, it’s severed our ties to each other anyway,” I said.
“Good fucking riddance,” Bruce said with a yawn. “When is Kyler supposed to be back with supplies?”
I looked at my watch. “The halfway spot is about an hour and a half away. It shouldn’t be too long if he doesn’t encounter any issues on the way there,” I said.
“Well, I’m going to get a few minutes of shut eye until he gets back,” Bruce said, settling down on the couch and closing his eyes.
“I’m with Bruce. I’m tired as hell. May as well get the sleep we can right now. Always hard to sleep when war has been declared,” Nyxin said with a yawn.
I nodded and rose to my feet. “Yeah, you guys can take some time to rest. I’m probably going t
o do the same and check on this demon spawn of a woman who never fucking listens,” I said.
Saint chuckled. “You gotta admit that her fire keeps shit interesting. She’s definitely entertaining to watch,” he mused.
“It’s all fun and games until her antics get her or one of us hurt trying to protect her after she fucks up,” I said with a smirk.
Moving over to the bedroom door, I unlocked it and stepped into the room to find the bed empty. I shook my head. This was exactly what I was fucking talking about. Considering the bathroom light wasn’t on, I knew she wasn’t in the bathroom.
A cool breeze washed over me, bringing my attention to the open window. She was gone. I pulled the phone from my pocket to pull up her tracking device, confused to see that she was still on the property. Moving over to the window, I looked through the blinds to see a figure sitting in the rocking chair on the porch.
I shook my head. This woman never fucking listened and always found a way to get under my skin with her bullshit.
I closed and locked the window, making a mental note to replace the screen. The guys looked at me when I came back out of the bedroom.
“Something wrong?” Bruce asked, sitting back up.
I looked at Saint. “Your entertainment is outside on the porch,” I said.
He raised an eyebrow. “How in the hell is she on the porch? We would’ve seen her go out the door,” he mused.
“Because she climbed out the window. I swear she exists just to fuck with me,” I mumbled and went out the front door.
Aurora was asleep in the last rocking chair. I ground my teeth when I saw her wearing Stephanie’s dress. Had her hair been blonde, I would’ve almost thought she was Stephanie if I wasn’t in my right mind. Even though she’d come outside without permission, I couldn’t say I was mad. She could’ve run before I realized she was even gone. Maybe she was smart enough not to run, but it was surprising that all she wanted was to sit on the porch.
I watched her while she slept. Exhaustion and pain tightened her sleeping features. The night had been rough for all of us, more so for her with all she’d gone through at the meeting as well as her punishment.
Tonight had been the first time she’d been outside since she’d been in my possession. So many things that the average person took for granted was one thing she had to sneak to have. A part of me felt bad.
In our earlier days, Stephanie used to tell me that she felt like a bird trapped in a cage. No matter how hard she flapped her wings, she couldn’t fly anywhere. I wasn't as hard back then as I'd grown to be. Stephanie had me wrapped around her finger, and the moment I freed her from her cage, she wrecked my heart in ways I didn’t expect.
But Aurora wasn’t Stephanie.
Stephanie was mellow, always going with the flow and not the type to rebel or break the rules. Aurora was the complete opposite, a hardheaded firecracker who took no demands from anyone and preferred to take the hard route. She seemed insistent to not listen to me. If I told her not to touch the stove because it was hot, she’d probably touch it anyway just to prove to me that she didn’t have to listen to me. Even though it infuriated the fuck out of me, I had to admit that she kept me on my toes and kept things interesting between us.
I leaned against the railing of the porch and loudly cleared my throat. A smirk pulled at my lips as Aurora jumped, looking around with frantic eyes before her gaze finally settled on me. She jumped out of her seat.
“I-I-I’m sorry. I was just restless…I haven’t been outside in so long and…I can go back inside if you—”
I waved a dismissive hand at her. Even if I wanted to discipline her, it wouldn’t be tonight. I was mentally exhausted and just didn’t have the energy to deal with her bullshit anymore tonight. “Just sit down and shut the fuck up, woman. You’ve stressed me out enough for tonight,” I said and sat in the rocking chair next to her. She remained standing, looking at me as she wrung her hands. “Sit. Down.”
She lowered herself into the rocking chair, wincing a bit as she fidgeted in the seat until she was comfortable. We sat in silence for a while, the only sounds outside being the wind and a cricket or two.
“Why didn’t you run?” I finally asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I just said. You could’ve run, but you only stopped on the porch. Why?”
“What would be the point of running? You would’ve found me wherever I would’ve gone,” she muttered, wrapping her hands around herself.
I nodded. “Definitely right about that.” I looked over to her. “If you wanted to come outside, you could’ve asked.”
She focused her gaze on her hands. “You and I both know you would’ve just kept me locked in that bedroom. You wouldn’t have let me out if I just asked you.”
“You never asked, so you wouldn’t know,” I said.
I noticed her trembling a bit in her chair. She rubbed her arms and looked up at the moon in silence. An array of emotions flickered across her face, but they disappeared when she sighed.
“So, what’s going to happen to us now?” she asked. “Do we have to stay here for a while?”
I rocked for a few moments as I thought over my answer. “We’ll be here for a couple of days, and then we’re going back to the main house.”
She didn’t say anything for a long moment, which was fine. The silence was comforting when my mind was in chaos. It was nice to take a temporary breather to sit and just…be. For so long, I felt as if I had a battery in my back that forced me to keep going with little rest and even less time to myself. Being here, while painful, gave me a sense of peace. It almost felt as if Stephanie was here with me.
“It’s a full moon tonight,” Stephanie said as she looked up at the sky, taking a sip of her hot tea. I wrapped my arms around her waist.
“Does that mean something special? Or is that a new creative way to tell me you want me to fuck you in the moonlight?” I teased and planted a kiss on her neck.
She giggled and turned around to face me. “See, I love when it’s just the two of us,” she said as she wrapped her arms around my neck. “I love when you’re in a good mood. You’re calm, less stressed, and you’re the man that I fell in love with.” She sighed. “I wish you could leave that life behind.”
“You know it’s not that easy, baby doll,” I said, resting my forehead against hers. “You can’t just leave the mafia.”
“But what’ll happen if we want to get married or if we have children? I don’t want to raise a baby in all this…chaos and madness. It’s not safe, Bennett.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say, Steph,” I said with a sigh and let go of her, irritation starting to replace my calm mood.
She’d brought up this topic so much lately, and it was becoming tiring to have to keep repeating myself. I couldn’t just leave my father. He needed me, and I’d pledged my loyal to him and the organization when I agreed to take over a part of his business. I didn’t get special privileges just because I was his son; besides, I wasn’t even sure if I was ready to leave anyway.
“Do you love me?” she suddenly asked.
I met her sad gaze, my mouth settling into a hard line. “You know I love you more than anything, Steph,” I replied.
“Enough to leave this life behind some day?” she asked cautiously.
I released a deep sigh. Of course, she’d ask me something like that. As I thought of my answer, staring into her eyes as she waited for me to speak, I thought about how happy she made me. How she was the only good, innocent thing I had in my life.
Everything in my world was pitch black with no gray areas, and she was the only sliver of light that reminded me the world wasn’t completely filled with filth and destruction. The thought of losing her and the happiness she instilled within me made my chest ache. If I ever had to choose between her and this life I'd built, I’d choose her every time.
“I believe so,” I finally said.
She gave me a small smile and wrapped he
r arms around me. “Even though that wasn’t a sure yes, I’ll take it,” she said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss me.
I brushed a lock of her blonde hair from her face and kissed her again. “You mean everything to me, Steph. You know that, right?”
“Yes,” she murmured.
“I can’t make you any promises, but I do promise I’ll try my best to find a way out of here for us,” I said.
She smiled that beautiful smile of hers, the one that always lit up her face and always gave me butterflies.
“I love you so much, Bennett,” she whispered before she reached up and kissed me once more.
“You have a lot of pictures of Stephanie here,” Aurora said, cutting into my thoughts. I blinked and cleared my throat, trying to get a grip on myself.
“Yeah, well, this was her house,” I muttered.
“This may probably sound stupid considering you’re always an asshole to me, but I’m sorry she was taken from you,” she murmured.
I glanced over at her to find her looking down at her lap, fiddling with her hands.
“Why?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I guess I just know how that pain feels,” she said and looked up at the moon. “Even looking at the pictures in the house and seeing how you are now, you definitely aren’t the guy you were with her.”
“None of that matters now,” I said tightly.
“I guess it doesn’t,” she said softly and looked ahead. “Um…Bennett?”
“What now?”
“When did you get flags on your truck?” she asked.
I followed her gaze to see a black SUV barreling down the gravel with white, blue, and red flags flapping in the wind on both sides.
The fucking Russians.
“Get in the house right now,” I ordered. “Go in the bathroom, lock the door, and get in the shower. Don’t fucking come out until I tell you to.”
She didn’t waste any time, scurrying out of her chair and into the house with me on her heels.
The men immediately sat up when I rushed into the house, my heart pounding in my chest.
“The gates have been fucking breached,” I panted. “The Russians are here. Follow me so we can armor up. It’s time to spill some blood.”
Rules of Bennett: The Complete Collection Page 16