You Will Obey (Rules of Bennett Book 4)

by Ember Michaels

  Saint caught me by the arm to stop me. “I didn’t mean any disrespect,” he started. “I just want you to be careful. He can get…volatile when he feels like he’s being played with.”

  “And sitting on his lap isn’t playing with him,” I said. “What do you expect me to do? Not only am I married to this man, but I’m pregnant now. I’m going to have to figure out something with him if I’m stuck here, right?”

  He sighed deeply. “Just be careful, Aurora. I’m not telling you how to feel, but don’t pretend to feel something because you have a different agenda,” he said. Brittany stopped in the kitchen and looked at me.

  “There you are,” she said and rushed over to me. “I’ve been looking all over for you. I got you something else for breakfast.”

  She pulled me away before I could say another word to Saint, his words sending a wave of dread over me. If he was already on to me, it would only be a matter of time before Bennett realized what I was doing.

  “I think Saint is just too observant, not to mention he’s always staring at us. It’s fucking weird sometimes,” my dark alter said with a scoff. I sighed as I sat at the dining room table with a plate full of a fruit assortment, a croissant, and yogurt.

  Saint stood next to the doorway, his head on a swivel as I ate my breakfast. The taste of the fruit made my stomach swim with nausea. I couldn’t understand how I was fine before yesterday afternoon and then morning sickness just hit me all of a sudden. A part of me was sad. There were so many firsts that I was supposed to have that I was robbed of. My father was supposed to walk me down the aisle and give me away to the man I would spend my life with. My mother was supposed to help me plan my wedding and even my baby shower, helping me pick names and come up with nursery ideas for my first baby. I was supposed to be able to call her to ask if certain symptoms were normal or what I should be doing right now. But all I had were the gates of my hell and a man who had his nails deeper than I’d thought, holding me tighter in his clutches.

  Savannah came into the dining room with a bright smile. “OMG, congrats!” she all but squealed as she rushed over and hugged me. I couldn’t even pretend to share her excitement because it was nothing to be excited about. Her smile faded when she saw the lack of mine. “Still in shock?”

  “This isn’t what I wanted,” I murmured as I stirred the yogurt around, no longer having an appetite.

  She released a soft sigh and took my hands into hers. “I know it’s not ideal but think about it. You’ve always wanted to be a mom. You used to talk about it all the—”

  “Yeah and I also wanted to be married to Heath, not…” I cut my eyes to Saint, who stood as still as a statue, staring at me. I sighed. “It doesn’t matter.”

  Savannah gave me a small smile and gave my hands a small squeeze. “Maybe this is what you guys need to bring you closer together. I’m sure he’ll open up to you more since you two are going to have to figure out a way to get along.”

  “But what if he doesn’t? What if my feelings for him never change? I can’t imagine that it won’t be a good environment for a baby to grow up in if their parents hate each other,” I mumbled.

  She giggled. “I think you’re the only one experiencing the hate.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “Am I missing something?”

  She glanced back at Saint before turning back to me. “When he was asking me what to do for you for your date, he seemed genuinely interested in making you happy. I don’t know for sure, but I think he wants to make something of your marriage. Like, for real. I’m pretty sure that’s more so the case now that you’re pregnant with his little baby,” she said excitedly as she placed her hand on my still flat stomach.

  I gave her a small smile and moved her hand. “This is all just a lot right now. I haven’t even fully processed that I’m married and now a baby is thrown in the mix.” I looked down at the uneaten food on my plate. “I can’t eat right now. I think I’m going to go lay down.”

  “You need to eat,” Bennett stated as he walked into the dining room. “The doctor left medicine for your nausea as well as prenatal vitamins that I had Brittany go and get.”

  “Oh my god,” I muttered under my breath.

  He narrowed his eyes at Savannah and frowned. “Isn’t there work you should be doing?”

  She jumped up to her feet. “I’m sorry,” she said to him and gave me an apologetic smile. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

  Bennett dismissed Saint and sat at the table next to me. “Do I have to feed you like a baby?” he teased with a smirk.

  “No,” I murmured, dropping my eyes down to the bowl of yogurt. He was silent for a while as he watched me eat before he cleared his throat.

  “So, I’ve been thinking,” he started. “Since you’re pregnant now, my main priority is to keep you safe. You understand that, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “With that being said, I can’t allow you to take part in mafia business when it comes to taking care of Wilson,” he said.

  I stopped mid scoop of eating my yogurt and looked at him in disbelief. “What?” I asked. There was no fucking way he was taking this back. I’d practically signed my life over to him in exchange of being able to do this. It wasn’t like either of us knew I was pregnant before I signed anything and now he was just taking it back?

  “I can’t guarantee your safety if you’re out there with me.”

  “But I don’t care about that!” I exclaimed.

  “I do,” he stated firmly.

  Fresh tears of anger and frustration sprang to my eyes as I stared at him. “You can’t do that,” I stated, upset that my voice shook. “I signed my life to you. You can’t just go back on your word.”

  “I’ll do whatever I have to in order to keep you and my baby safe, and you’ll be safer at home. This isn’t up for debate,” he said, the hard gaze in his eyes telling me he was serious.

  I put my spoon down and scoffed, wiping at a stray tear that fell. “Great. So, you get everything you want; a wife, a baby, full control over me and I get nothing. I fucking did all of this for nothing. I pledged to you for nothing.”

  “Aurora—”

  “Just forget it, Bennett.” I slid my chair back from the table and stood. He caught my arm and narrowed his eyes at me.

  “You need to sit down and eat,” he stated again, a warning laced in his voice.

  I snatched away from him. “Or what? You want to drag me down to the Retribution room?” I shook my head. “You’ve just proven that I’m not your equal. All I am is still a glorified pet to you that you do what you please with. Even under the guise of giving me ‘everything I want,’ you still manage to strip away everything that matters.”

  “You’re mad at me because I want to fucking protect you?” he asked, his voice tight with irritation. “You were just the one sobbing in the fucking shower last night because you were afraid of ending up like Stephanie.”

  “That didn’t mean that I didn’t want to be a part of killing your father, Bennett!” I screamed. “You’re so stuck in your own head and your own guilt to realize how unfair this is.”

  He put his hands in his pockets and wiped any emotion off his face. “My decision is final, Aurora. Feel what you want to about it, but I’m not changing my mind.”

  “Was that your plan all along? To trick me into signing just so you could tell me I couldn’t help?” I asked, but he didn’t respond. I shook my head and walked away from him, going into the bedroom and locking the door. He’d lied to me, and I could only blame myself for believing such an illusion.

  BENNETT

  She didn’t talk to me for a fucking week.

  She’d locked herself in the bedroom and it was only then that I hated the fucking locks in the house. I couldn’t find the key to the door to unlock it from the outside, and she wouldn’t let me in on the inside. One of the guys stood outside her door to at least keep watch on her, but she wouldn’t say anything to anyone other than Brittany when she brought her fo
od. Half of the trays came back with the food hardly touched. Even when I went with Brittany to deliver the food, if Aurora even assumed that I was with her, she wouldn’t take the food. I could get she was pissed, but she was starting to piss me off with her antics.

  I made my way up the stairs and walked over to the bedroom door, knocking firmly.

  “We can’t talk about anything if you won’t come out,” I said, loud enough for her to hear. There wasn’t a response. Nyxin looked at me and smirked but didn’t say anything. “Aurora, open the door.”

  There still wasn’t an answer. I crouched down and looked through the peephole to see the sunlight lazily filtering into the room, her shadowed form underneath the sheets as if she were asleep. It was fucking killing me that I hadn’t been able to physically check on her to make sure she was okay. She could be dead in bed for all I knew but she was so fucking stubborn when it came to getting what she wanted. All I wanted to do was keep her safe and suddenly I was the fucking bad guy. Everyone teased me about being in the doghouse for upsetting her, but I’d take that if it meant her and my baby would be safe. I’d made so many mistakes with Stephanie that I was adamant on not making them again. I just wish she would understand that.

  “Just give her some time,” Nyxin finally asked when I started banging on the door again.

  “She had a fucking week already,” I ground out before pounding on the door again. “Aurora, open the fucking door!”

  After a few moments, the door finally flew open. She looked at me with red-rimmed eyes, bags starting to form under them. Her arm was wrapped around her stomach as if she was in pain, her mouth slightly twitching as if she were trying to suppress a wince.

  “What do you want?” she asked, her voice tired.

  “I wanted to make sure you’re okay,” I said. “You’re hardly eating, and you haven’t come out of the room in a week.”

  “Why does it matter?” she asked. “I’m ‘safe’ in here, right?”

  “I’m not going to fucking apologize for making sure you’re safe,” I ground out.

  “Of course you aren’t,” she drawled. “If that’s all, I’m going to lay back down. I’m tired.”

  She moved to close the door, but I caught it with my foot. “No, that’s not all,” I stated and pushed the door back open. She scoffed and turned to walk away from me as I entered the room and closed the door.

  “Don’t touch me,” she said when I moved to wrap my arms around her.

  “Knock it the fuck off, Aurora,” I stated firmly. “You’ve pissed me off for the week.”

  “And you’ve fucking lied to me,” she snapped. “You probably never intended to let me be a part of it anyway.”

  “I’m a man of my word. I meant it when I told you that before, but I didn’t know you were pregnant then. Had I known, I wouldn’t have agreed to that shit, let alone let you join La Fedeltà.”

  “I’m pregnant, not handicapped, Bennett. I’m fully capable to protecting myself. I’ve done it once before,” she protested.

  As I looked down at her, she had that same defiant look in her eyes that Stephanie used to have when she was upset about something. It used to piss me off to no end because I’d eventually cave to her just to see her smile that beautiful smile of hers. But I couldn’t do that to Aurora. Caving in to Stephanie was what got her killed. She’d practically begged me to just let her stay home that night against my better judgment, only because she didn’t want to see my father just yet. My gut told me not to leave her alone, but that defiant look of hers and her pleading made me change my mind, which sealed her fate.

  Aurora could get mad at me all she wanted, but I wasn’t changing my fucking mind.

  “I’m doing this for your own good,” I said, softening my voice. I could understand her frustration, I really could. She was right; she’d done everything I’d asked. But this pregnancy—while not surprising considering all of the unprotected sex we’d had—came out of nowhere and threw a wrench into the plans. It wasn’t something we’d planned; all we could do was adapt and adjust. I couldn’t even fully blame her for how she was reacting. Between her pregnancy hormones, still getting adjusted to being married, and now the news of a baby, I couldn’t even begin to imagine the mental and emotional turmoil she was going through. I just wish she could see I wasn’t the enemy right now.

  “You’re doing this for your own peace of mind,” she snapped. “You don’t even give a damn about me to want to suddenly care about my well-being.”

  I sighed deeply and wrapped my arms around her. “I care a great deal about the baby inside of you, Aurora,” I said slowly. “I want to grow to care just as much for you also if you’d stop fucking fighting me every step of the way. I told you I wanted to see where this goes. Shouldn’t wanting to keep you safe show you that?”

  “The only thing you want to keep safe are your own interests,” she scoffed, pulling away from me. “As far as I’m concerned, you and I have nothing to talk about if you’re not here to tell me you’ve changed your mind.”

  And two weeks later, we were still in the same predicament of her hardly speaking to me.

  “How’s that couch life treating you?” Saint teased before tossing popcorn into his mouth. I glared at him, exhaustion and frustration putting me on edge. It was one thing for her not to talk to me, but a completely different thing to not being able to touch her. The one time I’d practically forced myself on her, she’d just laid there like a silent, warm doll, taking whatever I gave her without a sound. I had to give it to her; her resolve was like an iron-clad shield, and it was grating on my last fucking nerve.

  I ignored Saint’s question and turned my attention onto KC. “Any information yet? It’s been weeks,” I stated, running a tired hand down my face.

  “I have the info for Brian. He’s back in town,” he said as he typed away on his computer. “I’ve been intercepting his phone records to see if he reveals anything about Wilson’s location or anything helpful.”

  “Then send his information to me. I guess I’ll go ahead and deal with him,” I said, adrenaline slowly replacing the exhaustion. I’d waited for years to come face to face with Stephanie’s killer, and now I was so close I could literally smell the blood. When I was done with him, I would move on to the puppet master and end this once and for all.

  “It’s coming your way,” KC said, and my phone vibrated soon after that. “Oh, now that I’m thinking about it, I have your new tracking system set up. If you still have the serial number for her chip, I can activate it on the new system instead of you having to implant a new one.”

  “Thank fuck,” I said and opened up the old app to read the serial number off. He quickly typed it in, his brow furrowed as he concentrated.

  “Okay and…done. She’s back up and running. You can delete the old app now. You should be able to see her in the new one,” he said and looked up at me.

  I opened the new app and sure enough, she was active again, the chip showing her still barricaded in the bedroom. “Perfect,” I said with a nod. “This gives me peace of mind for when I have to go out to handle business.”

  “You know she’s going to be pissed, right?” Nyxin said.

  I shrugged. “It’s a sacrifice I have to make in order to keep her safe.”

  “But leaving her home can put her in danger, too,” Saint noted. “I mean not to bring up bad memories, but Stephanie was left home alone.”

  “Yeah, alone. I’m not leaving her alone. She’ll be protected,” I ground out. The guys shared a look with each other but didn’t object. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”

  “But happy wife, happy life and all that. I can’t even begin to imagine the hell a hormonal, pregnant woman can cause,” Nyxin said and chuckled. I ran a frustrated hand through my hair. It was definitely true, as an unhappy wife was making my life pure hell.

  A solid knock sounded on the doorframe, Josh standing there. “The doctor’s here,” he said.

  I stuffed my frustratio
ns away as I stood, looking back to my men who stood around my office. “We’ll continue working tomorrow. Get ready for tonight and we’ll meet in the garage at six,” I said. They all nodded and filed out. Tonight was an auction gala that I was hesitant about attending. I had a duty to show up since it was the first event I’d attend as the head of my own family instead of on my father’s behalf, but I also had a duty to protect those in my family. It was an opportunity to include Aurora so she could cut this silent treatment shit, but the imposing danger that could be waiting for us put me on edge.

  As soon as I entered the main house, Brittany was on my heels. She bounced excitedly next to me, biting her bottom lip as she suppressed a squeal. I looked down at her and frowned.

  “Can I help you with something?” I asked.

  She smiled and jumped up and down. “I saw the doctor had equipment with him this time!” she shrieked as she looped her arm through mine. “Is he doing an ultrasound today?”

  I shrugged. “I guess so.”

  “Can I see? Please? I haven’t seen a baby in so long! Please, please, please?”

  “Control yourself, Britt. It’s just an ultrasound. She’s not about to give birth,” I muttered as we walked up the stairs.

  “I know, but this is exciting. You’re about to have a baby, Bennett; a mini you!” She frowned slightly as soon as she said the words. “Well, hopefully he doesn’t inherit your crazy tendencies.”

  I chuckled. It was still surreal to even think that I’d be a father if things went smoothly. The news of the pregnancy had finally settled into my mind, but I was still hesitant to get excited about it. I didn’t want to create an attachment only for Aurora to miscarry for whatever reason or something happened to her. My heart never fully recovered from my first loss, so I didn’t want to set myself up to be crushed by another one, especially when this bullshit with Wilson wasn’t resolved.