Rules of Bennett: The Complete Collection

by Ember Michaels

  I nodded. Bruce and Saint were with me the night I found Stephanie. The crippling pain of grief that came from a loss that big could be too much for one person to bear. I’d barely survived when I lost Stephanie; I wasn’t sure how I’d react if Aurora didn’t make it.

  “I can’t fucking lose my wife, man,” I finally said, angry tears burning my eyes. “I can’t do this a second time.”

  “She’s a tough woman, B. She’ll be fine,” Saint said, gripping my shoulder with a comforting hand. “Besides, I think she’s too fucking stubborn to let a single bullet take her out.”

  I sadly chuckled and shook my head. “You actually might be right,” I said, but I wasn’t sure. She didn’t look too good on the way here despite the fact that she still had a heartbeat. I wouldn’t be able to relax until I knew she’d made it out of surgery and was recovering, no matter how long it took to get her stable.

  “I gave a report to the guys at the house, so they’re all on lockdown. Three guys are on guard duty outside the panic room that Carrie and Liam are in and KC is locking down all accounts and monitoring the security feeds,” Saint said.

  “I want to hit Alec tonight,” I growled. “He won’t get away with this shit.”

  “Do we have the men for that?” Saint asked with a raised brow.

  “I called Hilcrest. He’s meeting me here to continue talking about that very thing,” I muttered and continued pacing.

  Minutes dragged on until it’d been two hours. The longer I waited for an update on Aurora, the more anxious I became. They always said that no news was good news, but waiting was fucking driving me up the wall. I needed to know if she was going to be okay.

  “You’re gonna burn a hole into the floor. Just sit down and chill,” Saint said from his seat.

  I glared at him as I continued pacing. “I can’t fucking chill until I know what’s going on with Aurora,” I growled. “I don’t understand why there’s no fucking update yet.”

  “Moreno?” I heard a deep voice say behind me.

  I turned around to see Chase Hilcrest and three of his men enter the waiting area. He carried a vase of roses that had a “Get Well Soon” balloon attached to it. I walked over to him and shook his outstretched hand.

  “Thanks for coming,” I said with a nod.

  “Of course. Any word on how she’s doing yet?”

  I shook my head with a sigh. “Not yet. I’m hoping no news is good news in this case.”

  “That’s the best way to think in situations such as this,” he said and looked to Saint. “How are you, young man?”

  “Ready to light the Russians up,” he responded with a frown.

  “That makes the both of us,” I agreed before looking to Hilcrest. “I’m assuming that’s what you’re here to talk about.”

  He nodded. “Yes, but I think we need a moment to talk.” He glanced around the room to the other men. “Alone.”

  Saint raised an eyebrow at me when he looked my way, but I nodded. “It’s fine. Give us a minute,” I said. He got up, eyeing Hilcrest warily as he and Hilcrest’s men walked out into the hallway, leaving me alone with Chase. I rolled my shoulders and narrowed my gaze at the aging man before me, frowning. “I don’t mean any disrespect when I say this, but I hope to fucking god that you didn’t come all the way here just to tell me that I don’t have your support.”

  He shook his head. “Of course not, Moreno. But I am here to make sure you’re making the best decision for your organization.”

  I frowned. “The fuck do you mean? My wife is in surgery right now fighting for her fucking life and you’re questioning my decision of wanting to strike back at the fucks trying to take her from me?” I snapped, unable to keep my anger contained.

  Being the rational man he was, Chase didn’t flinch. “Your anger and desire for revenge is warranted, Moreno; god knows it is. But you must look at the bigger picture.”

  “What’s the bigger picture, Chase? Because all I can see is my wife’s blood on my hands and clothes. What the fuck is the bigger picture that doesn’t include me annihilating the entire Russian bratva responsible for her condition?”

  “The fact that this is beyond you and your wife,” he said, his tone flat. I stood before him, fuming as I waited for him to elaborate. “Right now, you’re thinking of immediate justice, probably prepared to put together a rushed, half-cocked plan that could not only cost people their lives, but only make things worse.”

  “Hilcrest—”

  “I’m not done,” he said, his voice firm. I tightened my jaw and stared at him, my body vibrating in anger. “You have to think logically, son. You’ve given yourself the reputation of being a hot head; it’s how you make yourself vulnerable because people know how easy it is to rile you up. When you were under your father’s wings, you had someone higher than you to clean up the messes you made due to being quick to react in bloodshed. Now, you’re the higher up. Everything you do and the orders you give will have lasting consequences for not just you and your family, but your entire organization.”

  I released a deep sigh and put my hands on my head as I turned away from him. I hated when people fucking made sense. He had a point. Hell, I could’ve simply followed Alec’s lead and took some time to formulate a plan in order to hit him where it hurt, just as he did for me today. We were already suspicious of his silence since he didn’t immediately react to the death of Mikhail. The fact that I could possibly be sending my men on a suicide mission just to prove a point did nothing but make me look as if I was an incompetent leader.

  I sank down into a chair and glared at him. “Then what the fuck do you propose I do then, Hilcrest? Let them get away with putting a hit out on my wife?” I asked bitterly.

  “They won’t get away with it. But you need to take a moment and regroup,” he said, closing the distance between us. He put firm hands on my shoulders, giving me a gentle squeeze. “Right now, your wife and son need you. That should be your main priority. When you go head to head with the Russians, your plan needs to be logical and solid. You can’t do that when you’re running off of adrenaline and anger.”

  Even though it pissed me off to basically have him tell me to refocus my efforts elsewhere, I knew he was right. Me flying off the handle two years ago was a big part of the reason I was caught up with the Russians to begin with. If I wanted to put La Fedeltá on a positive path, I knew there was shit within myself that would have to change, which included reacting out of emotions instead of ruling with a rational mind.

  “I hear you,” I finally mumbled.

  He gave my shoulder a firm squeeze. “You know you have the support of the Hilcrest Family whenever you need us. But I think you need to take care of your wife and plan something that’ll hurt them just as deeply as their attack hurt your family. I know it’s so easy to be caught up in anger, but you’re the boss of an entire organization. All of your decisions have to be weighed with both a rational mind and the best interest of your organization as a whole.” He straightened his posture. “I didn’t agree with a lot of things your father did, but he was a very calculated man. It’s what made the Moreno Family as powerful as they were.”

  I nodded in agreement. Despite the fact that Wilson turned out to be a manipulating, disloyal fuck, he always kept a level head about everything. He was always hard to read. I’d witnessed him appear unbothered in the face of his enemies while he was organizing precise attacks in the background. He never let anyone see any emotion from him, saying that was the only way to survive in this business. I was sure that he was the reason I’d been alive for as long as I’d been, as my impulse reactions should’ve put me in a grave long before now.

  “You’re right,” I said with a frustrated sigh, just as Bruce stalked into the room.

  Bruce looked to Hilcrest and then back to me with red-rimmed eyes. His clothes were covered in Savannah’s blood, his chest rising and falling quickly as he stared at me.

  “What’s the plan for the Russians?” he asked, his voice dar
k. “I want to put a bullet in every single last one of them.”

  “I’ll give you two a minute,” Hilcrest said and excused himself.

  I sighed inwardly as I stood to my feet. I already knew what he was about to say. The grief and anger that reflected in his gaze was the same grief and anger I saw when I’d look at myself in the mirror after losing Stephanie. All I wanted back then was the blood of the people responsible for her death. When you were that angry, you didn’t want to hear shit that didn’t have anything to do with the blood you wanted to spill.

  “I’m sorry about Savannah, man,” I started.

  He tightly shook his head. “What the fuck is the plan for the Russians, Bennett? I see that Hilcrest is here, so is he giving us men or what? Tell me the plan so I can dead these fucks.”

  “There’s no plan right now, Bruce,” I said with a sigh. “I just spoke to Hilcrest and he made a good point about not reacting off of emotion. I need to—”

  “Hold on a second,” he interrupted before releasing a sarcastic chuckle. “You’re telling me that we’re going to let these mother fuckers get away with this shit?! My fucking girl is dead, Bennett!”

  His angry voice echoed in the waiting room, passing people giving us bewildered gazes. I ground my teeth to keep my own annoyance at bay. I knew he was acting out of pain; I’d been there, so I couldn’t hold that against him.

  “They won’t get away with it,” I promised, my voice tight. “But I need you to trust me on this. They’re expecting us to throw together some half-assed plan of attack because I have a history of acting on my emotions instead of logic.”

  Bruce only shook his head, his face turning red as he stared at me. “I’ve been by your side doing everything you’ve asked of me and you’re telling me that I have to fucking sit around and wait before I put these sons of bitches in the ground for what they’ve done to Savannah?” he bellowed. “Since Savannah isn’t your wife, I guess she doesn’t fucking matter, right?”

  “You know that’s not what the fuck I said. She was Aurora’s best friend,” I snapped. “You think this shit is easy for me? You have no idea how prepared I was to attack those fucks tonight—”

  “Then why the fuck can’t we?” Bruce snapped, getting in my face.

  “What the fuck is going on in here?” Saint asked, coming into the room. “They’re calling security because y’all are scaring the other patients on this fucking hall.”

  As I looked at the fuming man that I considered to be my brother, I knew that he wouldn’t accept any answer I gave him. It didn’t matter how logical the idea was or whether or not it was the best idea. He was simply operating on revenge, pain, and grief.

  “Because I said we fucking aren’t right now,” I said, answering Bruce’s question.

  His chest rose and fell as his eyes blazed with anger. “You better think long and hard about this, Bennett,” he growled.

  “I have to act in a way that’s best for the entire family—”

  “She was my fucking family!” he snapped, shoving me.

  “Whoa, you two need to cut this shit out, man,” Saint exclaimed, getting in the middle of us.

  “If you don’t do something about them, I fucking will,” Bruce growled, pointing his finger in my face.

  “You don’t have my permission to act on behalf of La Fedeltá,” I fired back.

  “I don’t need fucking permission to act on behalf of Savannah,” he spat.

  “You have a direct order to stand down, Bruce. Don’t let your anger put you in a fucked up situation,” I growled, preparing myself for a fight.

  He looked at me in disbelief. “I thought you’d understand how I felt right now, especially considering how I readily went to war to help you avenge Stephanie when you wanted to burn L.A. to the ground for her,” he said with a scoff.

  “And I do understand, Bruce, but you have to understand the position I’m in as well,” I said firmly.

  “Look, now is not the time for us to be turning on each other,” Saint said as he gripped both of our shoulders and squeezed. “This is exactly what Alec wants, to break us up from the inside. We’re a family—”

  “Fuck this family,” Bruce spat, shaking himself out of Saint’s grip. “Why the fuck am I putting my life on the line for a man who can’t give me the same courtesy that I’ve given him for the last eight years of my life?”

  “How the fuck can you even say that? I didn’t say we wouldn’t retaliate; I simply said we needed a better fucking plan when the emotions of today die down,” I fired back. “I’m trying to keep us all alive—”

  “What the fuck do I care if I’m alive when she’s not?!” he bellowed, tears filling his bloodshot eyes. “She’s fucking gone, man! Gone!”

  And when he broke down in front of me, my heart broke for my brother. I pulled him into a tight hug, doing my best to absorb his grief. Saint was right; now wasn’t the time to turn on each other. I wouldn’t give Alec the satisfaction of tearing apart my organization before I could even get it off the ground completely. While this was a major setback, we’d recover from it and come back stronger than we were before.

  Well, granted that my wife pulled through this.

  “I swear to you they’ll pay for this,” I said to him, my voice low. “Every last one of those fucks will pay.”

  “My girl is gone,” he wailed. Security appeared in the doorway, taking in the scene before them. Saint ran his hands over his head, sadness tightening his strong features.

  “Damn, man,” he murmured.

  “I’m sorry, Bruce,” I said as I held him in a firm hug. “We’ll deal with them, and we’ll make sure they suffer.”

  And that was a promise.

  “We were notified of a disturbance. Is everything okay in here?” one of the security men said.

  “We’re dealing with a loss right now. Does it look like everything’s okay?” Saint asked, frowning.

  “Our apologies. We’re sorry for your loss,” the man murmured, his face going red with embarrassment as he motioned for the other man to follow him away from the waiting room.

  “I’m so sorry, Bruce. God knows I am,” I murmured, but I knew that deep down, that wouldn’t make him feel better. It damn sure didn’t make me feel better to hear people tell me how sorry they were about Stephanie. If something happened to Aurora, I’d be inconsolable. Just the thought of her not surviving made my chest tight.

  “Mr. Moreno?” another voice called out.

  I looked up to see a doctor standing in the doorway. Bruce pulled away from me and quickly wiped his face, forcing himself to gather his composure. My heart raced in my chest as I took in the doctor. He looked stressed and slightly exhausted, his scrubs sporting spots of blood on them.

  “Yeah,” I said, taking a few steps forward. “Before you say anything else, is my wife okay?”

  He nodded, sending a flood of relief through me. “She’s stable, yes. She actually got very lucky. The paramedics said that she was shot in the upper part of her stomach, but the entry wound was actually in the lower part.”

  “What the fuck does that mean then?” I asked.

  “The bullet tore through some muscle and fat, but luckily missed any major arteries and organs. The bullet going through the other party slowed down the trajectory, which probably helped her sustain less damage than she would have if she’d received the original shot.”

  Bruce pushed past me and left the room, and I couldn’t help but feel guilty. Savannah had probably seen the woman and took those bullets to protect Aurora. And now she was dead while Aurora was still alive. He probably resented the both of us, still angry that I wouldn’t plan an attack right this second, but I couldn’t fully focus on him. All I could think about was the fact that my wife was still here. She was alive; she’d be okay.

  “I need to see her,” I finally said.

  The doctor shook his head. “She’s sedated right now, so it’s best to let her rest.”

  “I wasn’t asking you,” I grow
led.

  “Sir, the hospital has protocols. She’s just left the operating room; she really needs—”

  “I believe this young man has requested to see his wife,” Hilcrest said as he and his men reentered the waiting room. He put his hands on his hips, which pushed back his coat to reveal the gun on his hip. “I’m sure five or ten minutes just to check on her wouldn’t hurt, right, Doc?”

  The doctor swallowed hard before giving him a tight nod. “I guess a few minutes wouldn’t hurt,” he said and looked to me. “I can only allow you back there and only for a few moments.”

  “Whatever,” I growled. “Lead the way.”

  I followed the doctor out of the waiting room and down the hall, not knowing what I’d see when I got to her room. I remembered how pale she looked in the ambulance, the beautiful dress she’d chosen to wear for our ceremony tainted with blood. This attack was a devastating blow to us. Aside from nearly losing my wife, I knew I’d have to support her as she processed the fact that her best friend was gone. It was always funny how life was sometimes. One minute you were preparing for a romantic wedding ceremony and getting dresses with your best friend and the next minute, they were gone forever. The anguish in Aurora’s voice as she screamed for Savannah would haunt me for a long time, even more so when I’d have to comfort her while she grieved the loss of her best friend.

  I walked into the quiet room, the heart monitor beeping softly as my wife slept. She still looked a bit pale, but she was breathing on her own, her dress replaced with a hospital gown.

  “How long does she have to stay in here before I can take her home?” I asked him, keeping my gaze on her.

  He frowned at me. “Sir, she’s been shot. It’s not like her injury is something small—”

  “I don’t recall that being my question,” I asked, frowning at him. “How long until I can take my wife home so she can recover?”

  “She will have to stay here until we know that she won’t need another blood transfusion and to make sure nothing else happens. She’s stable right now, but not out of the woods yet.”