You Will Break

by Michaels, Ember

  “Shit,” I hissed. “I have to go back downstairs to—”

  My phone vibrated with a text message. The screen showed a text preview of Hank’s address and photo. I grinned to myself. That man was too smart for his own good sometimes, always saving me time, energy, and resources when I needed information fast.

  “Go downstairs for what?” Bruce asked as he pulled up the GPS in the car. “What’s the address?”

  “That would’ve been what I had to go back downstairs for. KC just sent it to me,” I said and entered the address into the GPS. Once the route pulled up on the screen, Bruce backed the sleek car out of the garage. I looked over at him when we got through the security gates. “So, Savannah, huh?”

  He sighed deeply, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “I know your rules about not showing favoritism to whores, but she’s—”

  “Don’t worry, man,” I interrupted with a chuckle. “Hell, see what happened between Stephanie and me? When it happens, it happens.”

  He visibly relaxed a bit, but his shoulders remained tensed. “I’m not in love with her,” he said.

  “But you care enough to get upset when she has clients,” I responded idly, watching Aurora on my phone. She’d just left the bathroom and got back in the center of the bed, resuming her usual activity of staring at nothing.

  “I know what she is, so I know she has clients to tend to. I just hate that they hurt her.”

  “That’s what they pay for.”

  “I know.” He sighed, his grip on the steering wheel tightening again.

  I glanced over at him and frowned. “Got something you want to say?” I asked cautiously.

  He looked at me before turning his eyes back to the road. “How much do you sell your girls for?” he asked slowly.

  I fought the urge to grin, instead stroking my chin as if I were in deep thought. “Price depends on the girl most of the time, but I don’t sell the ones who make good money,” I said.

  His shoulders slumped a bit in defeat. “I see.”

  “Why? You interested in buying my top girl right now?”

  He frowned and glanced at me. “If she’s your top girl right now, I’m sure I couldn’t afford her, granted that you’d sell her at all,” he mumbled.

  “You’re probably right,” I said with a shrug. “Savannah would be about…$20 million or so.” When his shoulders sagged a bit, I reached over and playfully punched his arm. “But I wouldn’t charge my head of security full price.”

  “Probably still can’t afford it,” he mumbled again.

  “If you can’t afford $100,000, then what the hell are you doing with all the money I pay you?” I asked with a grin.

  He slammed on brakes, damn near sending me through the windshield.

  “What the fuck, man?” I shouted.

  “Are you fucking with me?” he asked, his eyes widening.

  I scoffed. “I may have to charge you more for nearly killing me, you fucking lunatic.” I straightened my suit jacket and settled back in my seat. “Fucking hell, man.”

  “Sorry,” he said.

  I shook my head as he continued down the road. “To answer your question, yes, I’m serious. It would get Aurora to shut up about her at least. And with everything you’ve done for me since day one, it’s the least I can do,” I said.

  “Thank—”

  “But let me be clear,” I interrupted, holding up my hand. “If she escapes and does something stupid, like call the police or some shit, I’m going to hold you responsible.”

  He nodded. “That’s fair. She won’t.”

  “We’ll see, won’t we?” I said. “She can’t leave the compound until this war is over though.”

  “If I pay for her now, can I bring her out the bunker?” he asked, glancing over at me.

  I sighed deeply. Bruce and some of the other men lived in the townhouses farther back on the property. They weren’t as secure as the main house, and I wasn’t too sure I trusted a traumatized woman to live in an unsecured property, especially when Bruce would be busy most of the day. Still, I trusted Bruce and his judgment. I didn’t know if he and Savannah had a budding relationship or if she was using him to get out of there, but I had to trust he knew what he was doing.

  “She can come out of the bunker, but she can’t leave the main house just yet,” I finally said. “I can put her to work in the house and maybe put her in a bedroom upstairs near Aurora until all this is over with.”

  Bruce nodded his head, a slight grin on his lips. “I can live with that,” he said. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me just yet,” I said, relaxing into my seat. “Just don’t make me regret this decision.”

  “I swear you won’t. If anything bad happens, I just might put a bullet in myself,” he said.

  I nodded to let him know I was listening but kept my eyes on my phone. Now that I had the clean slate with Aurora to do as I wanted, I couldn’t make up my mind on what I wanted to do with her. The new information about her being Stephanie’s half-sister fucked with me a bit. She and the woman I loved shared the same blood, which made me hesitant about how I wanted to proceed. Deep down, I knew she wasn’t Stephanie and she never would be, but it didn’t stop my heart from wishing she were.

  “How are you going to get the girl to talk?” Bruce asked.

  I closed the camera app on my phone with a sigh. She would be a tough nut to crack after all she’d been through, but I knew it would take some time. I knew something like this was possible, and it was something the doctor had warned me about when I’d consulted with him about how to handle her afterward.

  “I’ll figure it out,” I finally answered. “I have a few tricks up my sleeve to try. All I can do is take it a day at a time.”

  “Fair enough,” he said and rolled to a stop. “We’re here.”

  I looked out the window to see a small cottage-style home at the end of the street. Faint yelling came from the house, the curtain in the large window in the living room drawn open. A tall, lean man stood in the front of the glass yelling at a petite woman who sobbed before him. The man suddenly struck her across the face and continued to berate her as she remained crumbled on the floor, sobbing.

  “He seems pleasant,” Bruce mused as we looked on.

  I only grunted in response. It wasn’t like I could have much of an opinion when I wasn’t any better than he was. The only difference was that I wasn’t in a relationship with Aurora. I pushed those thoughts aside because comparing myself to the man responsible for my mother’s murder wasn’t why we were here.

  “Wait, you see that?” Bruce said suddenly.

  I squinted through the window. “See what?”

  “There, in the corner,” he said and pointed.

  The only thing that sat in the corner was a metal drum with a flame sticker on it. Just as I was about to question the significance of it, Hank finally stopped yelling and flopped down in lounge chair. He reached down and picked up a nasal cannula and slipped it on, taking a few deep breaths.

  “An oxygen tank,” I murmured.

  “We wouldn’t even need to enter the house. If you had a sniper rifle, you could hit it from street,” Bruce replied.

  I nodded. That was probably the best plan because we couldn’t get into his security system to properly enter his home undetected.

  “Yeah, that’s what we’re gonna have to do,” I said. “I’ll send some guys here tomorrow to keep an eye on him, and we’ll come back tomorrow night to deal with him,” I said.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Bruce said, starting the car.

  As I looked at Hank a final time, I wondered what my mother saw when he entered our family home and gunned her down. I wondered if she begged him for her life or if he caught her by surprise. A new rage bubbled up inside me, and suddenly, taking him out by a sniper rifle didn’t seem as if it would be enough.

  “Wait a minute,” I said, putting a hand on his arm when he moved to put the car in drive. “I’m going to go talk to him really
quick.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  I grinned. “I’m just going to talk. I’m not going to kill the man yet,” I said and opened the door, stepping out onto the sidewalk.

  The neighborhood was relatively quiet except for a random dog barking down the road. The air was warm, but a light breeze blew through, keeping my suit from feeling too stuffy.

  I walked up the cobblestone path leading to the front door and rang the doorbell. As I waited, I buttoned the middle button on my suit jacket. Hank yelled for the woman to get the door, and my fingertips itched to end him right then. But I had to be patient if I wanted the vengeance I’d dreamed about for years. I put my hands in my pockets and waited.

  The woman answered the door, the rims of her eyes still red from crying. A small bruise formed on her cheek, the redness slowly turning more purple. Her brown hair was thrown in a ratty bun, and her oversized clothes hid much of her figure. She partly hid behind the door and peered out at me. She left the chain attached so the door wouldn't open completely.

  “May I help you?” she asked, her voice small.

  “Hey there, gorgeous,” I said, smiling. She blushed a bit and dropped her eyes to the floor, suddenly shy. “Is Hank available?”

  “Um...” she nervously looked over her shoulder. “Who are you?”

  “Tell him Moreno would like to speak with him,” I said.

  She nodded and closed the door, securing the deadbolt. I couldn’t help but chuckle. They were definitely cautious, which made me wonder what the hell they needed to protect themselves from.

  Heavy footsteps sounded from inside the house before the door ripped open, the chain snapping from the frame as the muzzle of a gun pointed at my face. I stood still, my hands still in my pockets as I looked at him. He panted, his eyes blood shot and his breath reeking of alcohol. I heard a car door close behind me, Hank raising his gun over my shoulder as Bruce’s boots pounded up the pathway.

  “Drop the gun, or I’ll drop you where you stand,” Bruce growled.

  “The guns aren’t really unnecessary when I’m just here to talk,” I mused. “Bruce, put it away.”

  “I’m not putting shit away until he puts his away,” he replied, his eyes never leaving Hank.

  Hank looked at me for a few moments, slightly lowering his gun in confusion.

  “She said Moreno was at the door, so who the hell are you?” he asked, his speech slightly slurring. “You’re not Wilson.”

  “I’m Bennett,” I said with a grin. “I think the last time I saw you, I was still a child when you worked for my father.”

  He continued to stare at me for a long moment before raising his gun again, glaring at me. “Your dickhead father send you after me?”

  “Wilson and I are at war, actually,” I said with a deep sigh. Hank’s gun faltered a bit, so I used that opportunity to speak. “I’m only trying to talk to people who used to work with Wilson to figure out how I can get close enough to destroy his life before I actually kill him.”

  “How do I know you’re not full of shit?” he spat, pointing his gun at me again. Bruce mirrored his actions, his gun now pointing at Hank.

  I unbuttoned my suit jacket and reached inside my inner pocket, pulling out and unfolding the contract with my name in thick, bold letters, clearly marked as the target. “Is this proof enough?” I asked.

  His eyes quickly scanned the document before he looked to me. “He wants you dead, too?” he asked.

  I nodded as I folded the contract and put it back in my pocket. “Yes. So now I need to kill him before he can kill me. You were one of his top hitmen when you worked for him, so I figured you’d know a lot more about his inner operations,” I said.

  He finally lowered his arm to his side, his trigger finger relaxing. “Yeah, yeah, I might know some stuff.” He looked around his yard. “But we can't talk here, not tonight. He could have men anywhere watching us.”

  I fought the urge to roll my eyes. The man he was truly at risk of being gunned down by stood in front of him, but he was too paranoid to fully register that. Maybe he didn’t realize it was my mother he killed over twenty years ago. He was more worried about Wilson getting to him than he was about me, which was perfect for my plan.

  “We can meet in the basement of Club Secrets then,” I finally said. “My men can alter the cameras so it won’t show us coming or going. If you're worried about Wilson's men, you come in through the back entrance. Then no one can say they saw you.”

  He stared at me for a moment before his beady, frantic eyes scanned around us. “Yeah, okay. I’ll be there. Time?”

  “Ten. Do you know where it is?”

  “Yeah. Wilson used to hold meetings there. I’ll see you at ten then,” he said. “And don’t show up to my house again.” He slammed the door in my face and flipped the locks.

  I grinned to myself. After tomorrow night, I wouldn’t have a need to see him ever again anyway.

  Bruce and I walked back to the car, neither of us saying a word until we were back on the road.

  “What the hell was that? I thought we were just doing surveillance to figure out how to kill him, not setting a meeting with him to talk about Wilson,” he said.

  I continued looking out the window, watching the scenery pass by. “Wilson will be the last thing he and I will talk about,” I replied. “Little does he know, he just made an appointment with death.”

  AURORA

  Mentally breaking was an interesting thing.

  It was like being on a plane, switching from the pilot’s seat to a window seat in the economy class, praying that the new pilot didn’t crash and kill us both. I couldn't remember the rest of my punishment in the Retribution room, but I knew I hadn't felt like myself when I woke up. Any time Bennett spoke to me, it always sounded like he was under water or far away. My words seemed trapped, my vocal cords paralyzed with fear, but someone—or something—responded to him.

  It came from my mouth, but it didn’t sound like me. My voice came out flat, dead, and nearly robotic. I sounded as dead as I felt, which didn’t impress Bennett any, especially when I didn’t say more than what was needed to respond to him. It didn’t really matter to me, though. The less I had to interact with him, the better.

  The first two days after Seven Days of Hell were also hell. Nightmare after nightmare plagued my mind, memories of my past haunting me and premonitions of my future tormenting me. I was held captive since I couldn’t do anything except sleep in order to heal my body. I’d wanted to beg the doctor not to give me more medicine to make me sleep, but I couldn’t force myself to speak the words. With Bennett always present, I didn’t want to. Bennett thought he could get what he wanted from me, but I still had control over one thing that he’d wanted for the last four days.

  My voice.

  I looked up when the bedroom door opened, immediately dropping my eyes. A part of me trembled at his presence, that familiar fear creeping over me. It was hard to look at him without having a panic attack while remembering everything he’d done to me last week. The door closed and the room fell silent again, but I smelled a woman’s perfume along with his.

  “Vanessa?” a small voice said.

  I slowly looked up, my brows furrowing in confusion. She was the only one who reminded me of the life I used to have, the only one who still called me by the name that represented freedom—and happiness.

  She slowly walked over to me and sat on the bed, taking my hands in hers. I looked over at Bennett, who stood near the door watching me. He’d probably brought her to see me in an effort to make me speak, but I wouldn’t do it. Even while tears welled in my eyes as she touched my shaved head, I couldn’t bring myself to speak to her.

  “What in the hell happened to you?” she whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek as she looked at me.

  There were so many things I wanted to ask her. I wanted to know if she was okay and why Bennett brought her up here. I wanted to reassure her that I’d kee
p trying to find a way out of this for her.

  My brain screamed to tell her the things I’d learned about myself, but nothing came out. Despite the sad tears rolling down my cheeks, my face didn’t move to portray any emotion. I only looked at her. Her presence made me happy, sad, and guilty. I was so happy she was still alive, sad that she still suffered in the bunker with the rest of the girls, and guilty that she’d ended up here because she tried to help me.

  She gave me a small smile. “I have good news,” she murmured, her thumb caressing the backs of my hands. “I was bought by one of Bennett’s guys; Bruce.”

  Why in the actual fuck is that good news? I wanted to say, but I didn’t.

  I glanced over to the doorway, where Bennett still stood, watching me, his arms folded across his chest. Savannah’s voice pulled me away from him, and my eyes fell on her lit-up face.

  “I don’t have to be abused anymore,” she said with a content sigh. “Bruce was the only guy who didn’t hurt me when he spent time with me, and now he’s bought me for himself.”

  Good for you. I’m glad you’ll get out of here while I continue suffering in a place I don’t belong.

  “He said once the war is over, I’ll be able to live in his townhouse with him,” she continued. “But for now, I have to stay inside the house where it’s safer.”

  It’s actually because you can’t run away. You left one prison only to be locked away in another.

  “Bennett even says I can see you every day now,” she said, looking over her shoulder at him.

  I didn’t bother looking over at him. I could feel his eyes on me even without making direct eye contact, which sent dread through my body.

  Savannah squeezed my hands, her eyes filling up with tears. “Please talk to me, Vanessa,” she whispered. “I just want to know if you’re okay.”

  Exactly what I thought.

  I pulled my hands from hers and wrapped my arms around myself, dropping my eyes down to my lap.

  “That’s probably enough for tonight, Savannah,” Bennett’s low voice murmured from the door.

  She sighed and placed a soft kiss on my forehead before she got off the bed, leaving behind her floral perfume. Bennett murmured something to someone in the hall—probably Bruce—before he closed the door and locked it.