Benson Siblings Series: A Dark Romance Boxset

by Sarah Bailey

  “I love that you’re so determined, but you don’t know your brother like I do.”

  “He doesn’t get to pull any of his protective brother shit nor does he get to tell you that loving me is wrong. I was days away from being sixteen, Brent. It doesn’t fucking matter. So what if you’re five and a half years older than me? We’re both consenting adults and we’ve danced around this thing long enough. I’m not wasting any more time on bullshit excuses and regrets.”

  She crawled over me and cupped my face with both her hands.

  “I love you. An emotion I never thought I’d be capable of after what Dad did to me. I never looked inside my heart, too scared to see what might be there. I knew, deep down, I knew I’d find you there. It terrified me. All of it.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I put us through so much pain all because I was afraid to face the truth. Don’t you see? If we let fear dictate our actions, we’ll only be hurting ourselves more.”

  She leant closer, her nose brushing against mine.

  “We’re stronger together. I’ll be right by your side no matter what he says. I’m never leaving you. I won’t throw this away. You’re the only person in this world to see me and love every part of me without conditions. I’m brave enough to admit I’ve made so many mistakes when it comes to us but telling Dante will never be one of those. We have to do this. Be brave with me.”

  Jen had nothing to be sorry for. We were both to blame for not admitting our feelings sooner. I reached up and tangled my hands in her hair, dragging her lips to mine and kissing her for all I was worth.

  “I love you, Jen,” I whispered against her lips. “I don’t want to hide anymore.”

  I could feel her smiling before she deepened the kiss. Whilst telling Dante gave me a shit ton of anxiety, I knew Jen was right. We couldn’t keep hiding. It would be better if we got it out in the open. No sneaking around. No pretending nothing was going on. We could be free after all these years of denying the very existence of us.

  She rubbed herself against me, making me groan as my hands trailed down her back and I cupped her behind. I’d never get enough of her.

  “Jen, fuck, I want you so much.”

  She pulled away, a wide grin plastered on her face. Then she hopped off me and snagged her robe.

  “Come get wet and soapy with me then.”

  Her robe was wrapped around her shoulders and belt secured within moments. She put her hand out to me. I’d be an idiot to say no to that. The next half an hour was spent with her pinned against the shower wall, crying out my name in ecstasy whilst I fucked her tight little pussy raw. When we were dried and dressed, I ordered pizza in and Jen went to find Liora and Dante.

  Liora watched us carefully throughout dinner which we had in the living room with the TV on. Logan was in his bassinet, still fast asleep despite all the noise from the TV. I think she was wondering whether either of us would acknowledge what she saw earlier. I happened to be waiting for Jen to broach the subject. So yes, I was still shit scared of telling Dante. Having Jen next to me calmed my nerves a little.

  Jen grabbed the remote and turned the sound down on the TV, causing both Dante and Liora to look at her.

  “We need to talk about something,” she said, glancing at me.

  “That sounds ominous,” Dante said with a raised eyebrow.

  “It’s not. I’m just going to come out and say it because I see no point in wasting time.”

  She reached out and snagged my hand, a gesture which did not go unnoticed. Dante’s brow furrowed and Liora smiled.

  “Brent and I are together.”

  The only sound in the room for a long time was the low level noise of the TV. Dante’s eyes were still fixed on our entwined hands. Liora put a hand on his arm, giving it a squeeze. He turned to her.

  “Okay?” she all but whispered.

  I don’t know what passed between them after that because I couldn’t see his expression. He turned back to us, his lip twitching.

  “It’s about time.”

  I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that. Shouting, raging, telling me he never wanted to see me again? Yes, I expected those things. This? Not really.

  “You’re not mad?” I asked, unable to help myself.

  “No… You think I didn’t know you liked her? I’m not blind although I have questioned your sanity on more than one occasion given how much trouble Jen is.”

  “Hey!” she butted in. “That’s unfair.”

  He grinned at her.

  “No, it’s really not. You gave him hell for no reason and yet puppy dog eyes over here…” He waved a hand at me. “…seemed continue to worship the ground you walked on regardless.”

  Puppy dog eyes? For fuck’s sake.

  “I do not have puppy dog eyes for Jen.”

  “Yeah, you kind of do,” Liora said, her green eyes sparkling with amusement.

  Jen looked over at me, a smile playing on her lips.

  “I’ve noticed that too.”

  I wanted everyone to just shut up. Why had I thought I’d been successful in hiding it? Fuck. Of course, he was going to know. Dante probably knew me the best out of anyone.

  “We’re getting off topic here,” I said, scowling. “You’re really not mad?”

  “No,” Dante replied, shrugging as he sat back. “It was obvious from day one.”

  I froze. He didn’t sound angry. He looked at me without any judgement or reservations.

  “But… she wasn’t exactly of legal age then.”

  He rolled his eyes.

  “What? Two days off being sixteen? Give me some credit, Brent. I didn’t think you’d take advantage of my sister when you knew she’d been assaulted the week before. I’m hardly fucking innocent man of the year myself. Do I judge you for that? No. Christ, you’re my best friend and I trust you to take care of this little madam over here.” He waved a hand at Jen. “If anyone can handle Jen, it’s you.”

  “Can we stop talking about me like I’m not here?” Jen interjected.

  I let go of her hand and wrapped an arm around her.

  “We know you’re here and I don’t think you’re a handful at all unlike misery guts over there.”

  She smiled at me and my heart stopped. Did she have any idea how beautiful she was when she smiled like that? As if it was a unique smile she only gave to me. One which said I love you always.

  “Don’t you mean brooding and grumpy?”

  “Well, he’s that too.”

  Glancing at Dante, I found him scowling with Liora rubbing his arm, a wide smile on her face.

  “You can be a little brooding,” she told him which only made him scowl at her instead.

  My phone started ringing. I dug it out my pocket, checking the display. Sighing, I answered it.

  “Hello?”

  The only thing I could hear was sobbing. Uncontrollable sobbing.

  “Cam? Why are you crying? What’s happened?”

  I felt Jen shift next to me and found her eyes on me when I looked at her, an expression of concern on her face.

  “Brent,” my sister wailed. “He took them. He took my daughters.”

  A cold chill ran up my spine.

  “What? Who did?”

  “Sid and his brother. They… they forced their way in and took them. They were screaming and crying, but he didn’t care. My daughters, Brent! My daughters are gone.”

  I jumped up. I was going to kill Sid. He didn’t heed my warnings and he was going to fucking regret the day he decided to mess with my family.

  “Listen to me very carefully, Cam. You’re going to phone the police when I hang up, do you understand? I’ll be there as soon as I can. I don’t care if you don’t trust them, you need to report him. He can’t be allowed to get away with this.”

  She sniffled down the phone a few times.

  “Okay,” she sobbed. “Okay. You promise you’ll be here?”

  “I pr
omise. I’ll leave straight away. We’ll get them back.” If it was the last fucking thing I did. “Promise me you’ll phone them.”

  “I promise.”

  “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

  “Okay. Thank you, Brent.”

  I think that might have been one of the only times Cam had ever thanked me in her life.

  “Phone the police, Cam.”

  I hung up and stuffed my phone in my pocket. Jen was up and by my side, putting a hand on my arm.

  “What happened?”

  “Sid took the girls,” I told her as I started towards the door. I had to get to my sister’s. I had to help her.

  Jen tugged on my arm, pulling me to a halt. Why the fuck was she stopping me?

  “Where are you going?”

  “To Cam’s.”

  “Then I’m coming with you.”

  I wouldn’t stop her. Hell, I fucking needed Jen there with me.

  “Okay.”

  I tried to start towards the door again, but she stopped me.

  “Brent, slow down. Look at me.”

  I shuddered, feeling tension coiling inside me. Cam needed me. Her daughters needed me. I looked at Jen, her blue eyes searing into mine. She reached up and cupped my face, her expression so soft and loving. It made my heart fracture.

  “You can’t go rushing off like this, okay? I know Cam needs you, but we need to make sure we have enough stuff to be there for as long as it takes to find them.”

  My shoulders drooped. She was right. I needed to be with my family for as long as it took to resolve this.

  “They’re my nieces,” I choked out.

  “I know. Shh, it’s okay, come here.”

  She pulled me to her and hugged me tight. Her warmth settled into me. She radiated with understanding and comfort.

  “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered, rubbing my back. “I’m right here with you. I promise.”

  Then she let me go, kissing my cheek and giving my arms a squeeze.

  “Come on, go pack your things and we can go after that.”

  I nodded. Jen waved to Dante and Liora who were both staring with wide eyes as if they couldn’t quite believe what they’d seen. She dragged me from the room and pushed me towards the stairs. I went down to my flat on automatic before throwing a week’s worth of clothes into a bag. What the fuck would I do without Jen? I’d have just run off and not thought about anything other than getting Cam’s kids back.

  I walked back upstairs to the house. She was waiting for me in the hallway with her coat and shoes on, the car keys dangling from her black manicured nails. I took them and we left the house, setting off within minutes. She kept touching me the entire way there, as if reassuring me she wasn’t going anywhere. I needed those simple gestures to keep me sane.

  “Do you think she called the police?”

  “She better have. He came in the fucking house and just took them, I think that warrants police involvement.”

  “I know, but you said Cam doesn’t trust the police.”

  I sighed. That was true. This matter overrode that distrust. He couldn’t barge into her house and take his daughters against their will. Sid had only been granted supervised visitation rights. The drug addicted fucker didn’t even deserve that, but it’s not like I had any control over what the courts did.

  When we finally pulled up outside Cam’s house, there were already two police cars sitting outside. I breathed a slight sigh of relief as I got out with Jen. She took my hand as we walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Dad answered the door. He had Kayden resting on his shoulder, fast asleep.

  “Oh good, you’re here, son.”

  Dad didn’t usually answer the door so I knew this was serious. Jen and I walked in when he stepped back.

  “Cam’s in the living room with the police.”

  “And the boys?” I asked.

  “Billy and Kyle are upstairs.”

  I was a little surprised Billy was actually home. He always seemed to be out these days, but I suppose his sisters had just been taken.

  Jen stepped forward.

  “Should I take him for you, Mr Coleman?”

  Dad handed a sleeping Kayden to her without any fuss. He was only a year and a half old. She placed him carefully on her shoulder and rubbed his back. Thankfully, he didn’t stir.

  “Thanks love. The poor little mite is exhausted. His mum’s been crying for hours. You’ll go in and see her, won’t you, son? She needs you.”

  I nodded and patted his shoulder. Dad might not have been the best father, but he cared about us in his own way. And he did love his grandchildren to pieces.

  Jen and I went into the living room, finding Cam with a couple of officers. When she saw me, she practically dashed across the room and flung herself on me. She sobbed on my chest, making almost intelligible noises. The two officers stared at me.

  “Hello, sorry, I’m Cam’s brother,” I said as a wrapped my arms around her.

  “PC Travers and PC Brown. You’re aware your sister’s daughters have been taken by her ex-partner, Mr Coleman?” the older one with dark eyes said.

  “Yes, she called me first. I got here as soon as I could.”

  He nodded.

  “I assure you we’re doing all we can to find them. I understand her ex-partner only has supervised visitor access to his daughters. Can you think of any reason why he’d want to take them?”

  I rubbed Cam’s back as she continued to cry on my chest, wracking sobs echoing around the room.

  “Shh, Cammy, it’s okay, I’m here,” I whispered to her before raising my voice to speak to the officer. “He came around a few weeks back saying he wanted to take them because he didn’t think Cam was looking after them properly. She does her best for her kids, but it’s not easy with six of them. I help as much as I can. I think he has a grudge against Cam and me because she has full custody and he only has supervised visitation rights. Who knows what’s going through his mind. He’s a heroin addict.”

  The other officer noted down what I’d said in her notebook.

  “Yes, your sister said as much.”

  They asked me more questions and I tried to answer as best I could with Cam still crying all over me. When they’d finished up and said they needed to speak to their colleagues, I led Cam over to the sofa and sat down with her. She clung to me like leech.

  “You’re okay, Cammy, they’re going to find the girls. You’ll get them back,” I murmured to her.

  Looking up, I found Jen with Kayden still sleeping on her shoulder standing by the door. Her eyes were soft and so full of understanding. I mouthed ‘thank you’ to her. She gave me a sad smile and a nod. Dad came in and patted her shoulder before taking his usual seat on his armchair.

  Cam looked up from my chest before her eyes followed mine and found Jen with her son. She stiffened and let out a small disapproving noise.

  “What is she doing here?”

  No matter how upset my sister was, I would not let her attack Jen.

  “Don’t start. I need her here.”

  “You need her here? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  She looked up at me, her dull eyes full of confusion.

  “It means you’re going to have to get used to her being around.”

  “I thought you said you were just friends.”

  Jen and I had never been friends. We’d always been something more. I stroked Cam’s hair back from her face.

  “I love her,” I told my sister, my voice low. “And I’m going to make her my wife one day. So please, try be nice for me.”

  Cam was quiet for a long moment before she sighed.

  “You mean that?”

  “Yes, she’s the world to me.”

  She nodded slowly and looked down at her lap.

  “Okay. If you’re that serious.”

  I smiled and ruffled her hair. It would take time for Cam to accept Jen, I knew t
hat but my sister knew me well enough to know when I’d made my mind up about something, it wouldn’t easily change.

  “Are you going to be okay? It’s getting late and Jen and I need to go check into a hotel. We’re going to stay until the girls are found.”

  She nodded slowly.

  “Yeah,” she whispered. “I have Dad, I’ll be okay.”

  Jen came forward and handed Kayden to his mum. Cam gave her a grateful half smile before she stroked her son’s hair back from his face.

  “Where’s Manny?”

  “He’s working the nightshift. He’ll come straight here when he’s finished.”

  I patted her arm and stood up.

  “Good.”

  As irritating as Manny happened to be, he was actually good to my sister. He had a steady job and wanted to provide for his son. Cam needed someone like Manny in her life. He hadn’t run away at the first signs of trouble and he respected Cam’s other kids. I had to admire him for that.

  We said our goodbyes to my sister and my dad. I spoke to the police again before I left. Sid wasn’t at his flat, but they were working on finding out where he’d gone with the girls. If he was with his brother, they could’ve gone anywhere. I hoped they’d get hold of him soon.

  I took Jen to the same hotel we’d been at before and paid for two nights. Who knew how long this would take. I was exhausted by the time we got into bed. I buried my face in Jen’s chest, holding her close as she stroked my bare back.

  “Are you okay?” she whispered.

  “No.”

  “The police will find him and bring the girls back.”

  “They must be so scared.”

  She clutched me tighter as my voice broke on the words. My poor nieces. They didn’t even like spending time with their father. Crystal, the oldest, had told me as much. I couldn’t imagine what must be going through their heads right now.

  “Shh, it’s okay,” she murmured. “Whatever you’re feeling right now, just let it out. I’m right here.”

  So I did. Jen continued to hold me whilst I let out choked sounds of pain. My fists balled in her t-shirt as anger and rage coursed through me. Sid was fucking lucky the police were involved because if it was me, I’d kill the son of a bitch.