“We’ll leave in a minute. Just waiting on something,” I said, just as my phone vibrated.
KC: Chip is disabled. Get out of there now. Moreno men are on route to your location.
“We gotta move now,” I said to the guys as I took Aurora by the hand. Her brow furrowed in confusion.
“What’s with the urgency? Did something happen?”
Not wanting to alarm her, I smiled. “Our plane is ready. Don’t want to miss our flight, do we?” I replied, pulling her along.
She smiled and followed me without question, the rest of the guys falling in line behind us out of the warehouse.
I helped Aurora into the car and passed her the pack of wet wipes I’d put in the car door when I slid in beside her. She wasted no time in plucking a few out and wiping the leftover blood from her hands as best she could. She shimmied out of the white suit and rolled it up into a ball before tossing it on the floor.
“If you said we were going on vacation alone, why are the guys coming?” she asked. I frowned as I checked the tracking app on the phone.
“Aurora” chip is no longer active.
I sighed deeply, hoping this didn’t bite me in the ass later.
“We won’t share the same room, but I’m not taking you anywhere without having security,” I said idly.
“Understandable.” She slid a little closer to me, putting her hand on my phone screen to signal that I needed to put it away. I looked up as she moved to straddle my lap. “Thank you for the surprise. It was perfect.”
I put my phone back in my pocket and grinned at her. “Guess I’m not ending the night with blue balls after all, huh?”
“Not when you’ve promised to tie me up and fuck me within an inch of my life,” she purred, leaning down to kiss me.
“Where are we headed, boss?” Joseph asked from the driver’s seat.
“Airport,” I said, not taking my eyes off Aurora.
“It’ll be nice to be on a plane with other people for once,” she teased. I smirked and wrapped my arms around her waist.
“You won’t be,” I said.
She stared at me for a few moments, confusion filling her eyes. “You’re taking me on—”
“No,” I interrupted. “That was my father’s private jet. I bought my own. Didn’t think it would be a good idea to trigger my wife on what’s supposed to be a relaxing time.”
Even if the plane didn’t trigger her, calling her my wife definitely did. Every time I said it, her eye twitched and a look of irritation would pass through her gaze. You’ll accept it in due time, gorgeous, I thought to myself as I watched her force a small smile on her lips.
“How thoughtful of you,” she said, her tone flat.
I tightened my arms around her. “But seriously, we’ll get there faster if we take a private jet. Then I can give you the second half of our date,” I reminded her.
That brought a smile to her face. She reached down between us and grabbed my belt.
“Then I guess I should just show you my appreciation until you can give me what you promised,” she murmured as she slowly loosened it. I watched her as she slid off my lap and onto the seat next to me. Desire burned in her eyes as she held my gaze, her hands working as if on autopilot as she unbuckled my belt and unbuttoned my slacks. “How long until we’re at the airport?”
“What’s the ETA for the airport?” I called out to Joseph. He glanced at the GPS screen.
“About 45 minutes as long as traffic stays as it is,” he replied.
“Thanks,” I said and reached over to roll the partition up before looking to Aurora. “You have 45 minutes to show me how appreciative you are.”
She only grinned in response and pulled my cock from my boxers, stroking it in her hand a few times before putting it into her mouth. I relaxed into the seat as her warm mouth and eager tongue took me in. After a few moments, she stopped and sat up, her skin pale.
“I think I need the driver to pull over,” she said.
“Pull over? For what?” I asked.
She reached over me and pressed the button to roll down the partition. “Can you pull over please?” she asked. He looked at me through the rearview mirror and I nodded. The car had barely stopped before she opened the door and jumped out, vomiting in the grass.
I sighed, putting my cock back into my boxers and fixing my pants. There was no way in hell we could continue. The last thing I needed was for her to throw up on my lap while I fucked her throat. I got out of the car and moved over to her.
“I guess what you just did to Stewart finally sank in,” I said as I folded my arms across my chest, leaning against the car.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “No. I’ve been feeling weird all day. It just finally came out.”
“Are you sick?”
“I don’t know.” She stood upright. “I think I’m fi—”
She hunched back over and vomited again before she could finish her sentence. Bruce got out of the SUV parked behind us and moved over to us.
“Is she going to…oh,” he said when he saw the whole scene.
“Yeah…I don’t think Hawaii is a good idea right now,” I said. She raised a finger as if to tell me to wait, unable to get words out when she threw up again.
“Was it because of what she just did?” Bruce asked.
I shook my head. “All the nerves and guilt in the world wouldn’t produce that much vomit,” I said. Aurora finally stood, her skin a lot paler than it just was.
“I really don’t feel so good,” she said, just before her eyes fluttered and she hit the ground.
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” I mumbled. At least she didn’t fall into her own vomit. “Tell Saint we’re heading home instead. I need to get her looked at. No way I can take her to Hawaii in this condition.”
“Will do,” he said and retreated back to the SUV. I opened the car door, scooped Aurora into my arms, and put her into the backseat. Once I was in the car, I looked to Joseph.
“Take us home instead,” I said. Aurora’s head rested in my lap, her skin clammy. Not everyone reacted well to murdering someone. She’d been brutal when we were at the warehouse, but maybe that sliver of her moral compass she still had finally kicked in now that we were away from the scene. Whatever the case, I hope it was a simple case of what my guys and I liked to call the “guilt sweats” and her coming down with something.
To be on the safe side, I sent a quick text to the doctor to meet us at the house. We had too much work to do and the last thing I needed was for her to get sick. I couldn’t risk leaving her home alone while I handled business, so the quicker she was cleared, the sooner I could get this “wooing” show back on the road.
Aurora woke up when we’d arrived home half an hour later. Though she wasn’t as clammy as she was earlier, she was still pale. She got out of the car without a word and walked into the house. The guys all stood around the SUV and waited for me, grabbing their bags from the trunk when Joseph opened it.
“What’s wrong with her?” Saint asked as he slung his bag over his shoulder.
“I think she’s finally realized what’s done,” I said.
“She didn’t react that way when she killed Hank,” Nyxin said.
“All she did was bash Hank’s head in,” I reminded him. “It’s not every day that you cut off all of someone’s fingers, stab them multiple times, and then slit their throats all on your own.”
“I’d still have the doctor look at her just in case,” Bruce said.
“Agreed. Can’t afford for either of you to get sick,” Saint said. “Anyway, are we off duty for the rest of the night then? I need to go check on Giselle.”
“Yeah, you’re good for the night. Since the trip is canceled, we may as well get back to work tomorrow. We’ll meet in the lower conference room first thing in the morning.”
They all nodded and headed into the house. I grabbed my bag along with Aurora’s and sighed. So much for a trip to weaken her defenses, I th
ought to myself. Joseph closed the trunk and looked to me for direction.
“You’re dismissed. Thanks,” I said and left him in the garage.
Aurora was nowhere to be found as I walked through the house, but Carrie was.
“Is she okay? What’d you do to her? What’s wrong with her?” she asked as she followed me up the stairs.
“I didn’t do anything to her. She’s just sick,” I said, my tone flat.
She frowned at me. “Did she eat bad food at a restaurant or something? She wasn’t sick when she left—”
“Carrie, please,” I interrupted. “I don’t know why she’s sick. We didn’t go out to eat, not that it’s any of your business what I do with my wife. She’ll be fine.”
“But what if she’s—”
“Good night, Carrie,” I said when I approached the bedroom door. She huffed and stormed off when I entered and closed the door. Along with wanting life to go back to normal, I wanted to hurry up and resolve this Wilson problem so she could go back to living on her own. As much as I loved my sister, she was driving me up the fucking wall with her nosiness and questions.
The sounds of Aurora vomiting again echoed in the bathroom. Even if she was sick from what she’d done, it usually didn’t last thing long. “You okay in there?” I asked, putting the bags at the foot of the bed.
The toilet flushed and she finally came into view a few seconds later. “I’m fine. I think I’m just gonna get ready for bed,” she murmured. I nodded and she walked over to the sink. I sat at the foot of the bed as she brushed her teeth, my phone vibrating next to me. KC’s name popped up on the screen, which slightly confused me since there wasn’t a reason for him to call me since I was in the house.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I know you’re probably busy with getting Aurora situated, but I wanted to tell you that it’s a good thing you didn’t go on your trip,” he said.
“And why’s that?” I asked as I pulled my shoes off.
“Wilson knew where you were headed. Along with hacking into your chip system, he’s damn near gotten into everything.”
I paused in my movements, my entire body stiffening. “What do you mean everything?”
“Like everything. The house system, cameras, emails. I’ve spent forever trying to secure everything since then.”
“This day just keeping getting fucking worse,” I mumbled, running my hand down my face.
“I’ve secured everything for now, but I’m going to advise you to change things over. Since you’ve been on the same network with him for so long, I’m not surprised he’s finally done this.”
“You’re right,” I said and sighed. “We need new shit anyway now that we’ve gone my separate ways.”
“Right. We can work on that first thing in the morning and I’ll continue monitoring shit throughout the night. I secured the most important things, which are your bank accounts, the house security system, and your phone. I’ve taken the whole camera system offline for inside of the house until we can switch to a new system. They’re still active for the outside of the property,” he said.
“Yeah, okay,” I said. “What did he say about Hawaii?”
“His texts only said that you wouldn’t make it there. I can only assume they were either going to ambush you on the runway or they’d tampered with the plane,” he said.
I couldn’t help but to think of what could’ve happened if Aurora didn’t get sick. I’d thought I would’ve been doing something good by taking her away for a few days but that could’ve led to her death; hell, it could’ve led to the death of both of us. The only way to keep her safe was to deal with Wilson once and for all, and I was done waiting around like a sitting duck. Fuck waiting for the right time to strike and fuck killing others just to send him a message.
I was going to find him and get this over with once and for all.
“Thanks for letting me know. We’re having a meeting first thing in the morning. Make sure you’re there so we can figure this shit out,” I finally said.
“You got it,” he replied.
I hung up and tossed my phone onto the bed beside me, putting my head in my hands. A solid knock sounded on the door, irritation filling me.
“What?” I snapped.
The door opened to reveal the doctor’s beady eyes as he poked his head in. “It’s just me, Mr. Moreno,” he said. “You wanted me to check on your wife?”
I waved for him to come in, standing to my feet. “Sorry. It’s been a long evening,” I apologized. “You can set up what you need.”
He nodded and opened the door completely, Saint carrying an IV pole into the bedroom.
“Where should I put this?” Saint asked.
I looked to the doctor. “What do you need an IV pole for?” I asked with a frown.
“You said that she’d been vomiting. It’s in case she’s dehydrated and I need to give her fluids,” he said adjusting his glasses.
“What’s going on?” Aurora asked from the doorway of the bathroom.
“The doctor’s here just to make sure you’re okay,” I said.
She rolled her eyes. “That really isn’t necessary. I said I was fine,” she said.
“Yeah, you said you were fine right before you threw up and passed out,” I reminded her. “Now I’m taking matters into my own hands.”
“Whatever,” she said.
“Give her a full exam. I need to step out for a second,” I said and gestured to Saint to follow me into the hallway.
“Of course,” the doctor said with a nod before turning his attention to Aurora. Saint and I walked out into the hallway, Saint turning to look at me as I closed the door.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“I just got off the phone with KC—”
“Is he not in the house?” Saint asked, his brows furrowed in confusion.
“That’s not the point,” I said, holding up my hand. “The point is that he told me Wilson hacked into everything I have. He knew about the trip to Hawaii, even with disabling her chip.”
“Shit,” he murmured. “We would’ve been walking right into the arms of death. We wouldn’t have been prepared for a confrontation.”
“I know. KC said that Wilson told whoever he was talking to that we wouldn’t have made it to Hawaii.”
“I wouldn’t doubt that he’d fucked with the plane or put people on the plane to take us out,” he said with a shake of his head. “It’s getting dangerous out here, man.”
“Even more so because Wilson is becoming highly unpredictable.” I ran my hand through my hair. “We have to find him and Brian and end this shit.”
“You’re telling me. Just thinking about how close to death we were makes me fucking uncomfortable, especially when I’m all Giselle has,” he said.
There was a whole room full of kids who were still at high risk, even more so if my dickhead father decided to attack my home. My men were counting on me to get them out of this alive, to protect the people that meant the most to me. Wilson was hitting too close to home after he’d hacked everything I had. I wasn’t worried about him touching my bank accounts; he had more money than he knew what to do with. It was simply a power move just to show me that while I was no longer a part of the Moreno Family, he could still control me like the puppet master he was.
“Just like I told KC, we’re going to discuss this at the meeting in the morning. Tell the others to pack a lunch or some shit because we’re not leaving that room until we have Wilson’s location,” I said, just as the bedroom door opened. I looked back at the doctor. “What?”
“My exam is complete. You may want to come inside for this,” he said, glancing to Saint.
“How the fuck did you do an exam that fast?” I asked.
“Because I started with what I thought her symptoms matched so that I didn’t perform unnecessary tests,” he said.
“Fine,” I ground out and turned to Saint. “Nine sharp.”
“Heard,” he said and walked away.
/>
I entered the bedroom behind him to find Aurora no longer in the bedroom. The shower ran in the bathroom “So? What is it?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest.
“It’s not a virus or anything, which is what you were concerned about,” he said, writing something down on his notepad.
“Good,” I said, breathing a slight sigh of relief. “I just wanted to make sure she wasn’t coming down with something. I was almost worried that she was actually sick and not just suffering from guilt sweats.”
The doctor looked up from his notepad, confusion on his old aged features. “Guilt sweats?”
“Usually happens when someone has their first couple of kills and the guilt hits,” I said and shrugged. “It’s a mafia thing. I don’t really expect you to understand.”
He adjusted his glasses with a frown. “I see. Well, it definitely isn’t ‘guilty sweats’ or whatever it’s called.”
“You just said she was fine,” I said.
“I said she didn’t have a virus or anything contagious; I never said she was fine,” he corrected me.
I ground my teeth as I became irritated all over again. “Then what the fuck is wrong with her?”
“Exactly what I expected to happen after I hadn’t heard from you after emailing and trying to call you,” he said and finally closed the notebook. “Mr. Moreno, your wife is pregnant.”
AURORA
“Pregnant? We can’t be pregnant!” the small voice protested. “As if we weren’t already trying to figure out how to get out of here after joining the mafia, he’s never going to let us go with a fucking baby!”
Will you shut the hell up? I need to think, I thought. I stood under the shower spray; my eyes closed as I thought over my conversation with the doctor. As soon as Bennett walked out of the room, the doctor opened the briefcase he’d brought with him and pulled out a urine specimen cup.
“After Bennett pretty much ignored my calls and birth control reminders I’d sent to his email, I’m almost certain that your vomiting is due to pregnancy,” he’d said.
Rules of Bennett: The Complete Collection Page 49