He nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. “A contract is a contract after all.”
“I wasn’t a contract, so fucking explain that,” I snapped. “I thought my father was an asshole who was entirely too overprotective. But this whole time he was trying to protect me from yours.” I took a step toward him, rage building within me. “Your asshole father ruined my sister’s life and stole mine. You can take this however you want, but I want Wilson dead. If you try to stop me, I can put you on my list, too.”
After staring at me for a long moment, he chucked me under the chin and smiled. “You’re so sexy when you got that ‘dark princess’ thing going on,” he said and walked past me.
I spun around and glared at him. “I’m not fucking joking around,” I snapped.
“I never said you were. But if you have any plans of killing my father, you can take a number,” he said. He looked down at Stephanie’s grave. “Do you think you’re the only person who’ve lost something at the hands of him?”
“Then why aren’t you doing something to get to him? Why are we just sitting around waiting for him to attack?” I all but screamed. He only looked at me, his expression indifferent. “You don’t understand—”
He held his hand up. “You actually don’t understand,” he interrupted. “This is the mafia in real life. This isn’t an action movie where you can run into his house with guns blazing and walk out a hero for taking down the bad guy. Wilson isn’t stupid; he’s well aware that I’m coming after him so he’s doubled his security and probably preparing his men. I’m not going to put my men at risk with a half-assed plan, so when it happens, it’ll be done right.”
My body trembled with anger as I stared at him. He was right, absolutely fucking right and I couldn’t even argue with that. A hot tear rolled down my cheek.
“Then what do we do?” I asked, my voice cracking. “I want him dead.”
“That makes two of us.” He walked closer to me, reaching up to brush my tear away. “Taking him down is going to require us to work as a team. That means we don’t have time for your bullshit or anything that’s going to earn you a trip to the Retribution room, clear?”
“Yes, sir. But I want to be prepared for this, Bennett,” I said. “I don’t want to be shoved into a room or a bathroom again.”
“Aurora, this is a battle bigger than you—”
“No,” I ground out. I was so sick of people trying to “protect” me by hiding me away. I thought I’d proved myself when I took down the Russian in the bathroom. I thought I showed him what I was capable of when he let me kill the man at the club. I wasn’t this fragile flower that needed a man to protect me. I’ve been protecting myself my whole life and I damn sure didn’t need him tell me I couldn’t handle this. “I’m not weak.”
He dropped his hand from my cheek. “I know you aren’t.” Something flashed in his eyes as he looked at me, something akin to sadness. “I couldn’t protect Stephanie and I have to live with the guilt of failing her every fucking day. I refuse to let anything to happen to you.”
His words stumped me a bit. The concern in his hard gaze gave me pause.
I released a soft sigh. “I know, but that’s why I’m asking to be prepared. I’d rather die trying than live as a coward.”
I was a bit relieved when his serious expression broke into a slight grin. “What cereal box did you get that slogan from? It’s a good one,” he said.
I gave him a playful shove. “Bennett, I’m being serious. I want to be apart of this. I need to be a part of this.”
He stepped away from me and paced in front of Stephanie’s grave, his eyes never leaving it. I wrapped my arms around myself, waiting for him to speak. Wilson’s demise was just as important to me as it was to him and I knew we’d need to find a way to work together in order for us to get what we wanted. I just needed him to trust me.
“This will only happen under one condition,” he started.
I nodded. “What is it?”
He stopped pacing and met my gaze, his face serious. “What are my three rules?” he asked.
My mind reverted to our very first encounter, when he had me bound on the plane. I’d never been so terrified in my life. The look he had on his face was the same as it was on the plane.
“My rules are simple. You will bow, you will break, you will obey. Follow them, and you’ll survive. If you don’t, I’ll hurt you in ways that’ll make you wish you were dead. Now repeat what I just said.”
“I will bow, I will break, I will obey,” I said, my voice trembling. “Follow them, and I’ll survive. If I don’t, you’ll hurt me in ways that’ll make me wish I were dead.”
He stopped in front of me. “You have bowed and you have broke, but you don’t listen very well.” I stared at him without a word. “Are you ready to obey?”
It was such a simple question with a heavy meaning. In order to work with him, I had to play by his rules. At this point, I’d do anything to get my hands on Wilson, even if it meant making a deal with the devil.
“What will it cost?” I whispered.
A sinister smile formed on his lips. “Everything,” he replied. “Think you can give me all of you? Mind, body, and soul in the name of revenge?”
I thought of everything I’d gone through thus far. Bennett was a small part is an orchestrated puppet show, but now it was time to close the curtain on the puppet master. Everything had a price, and in order to get what I wanted, I had to give Bennett the last part of me.
My soul.
I mean it goes with your plan anyway. It would make him fall for you, which was your end goal, the small voice reminded me. Though it was right, it didn’t account for what I’d lose at the end of all this, granted that he and I survived. As he looked at me, waiting for an answer, I thought of everything I’d already lost at the hands of Wilson Moreno. I looked down at the grave of a woman that tethered Bennett and I together. No matter what it took, I’d do this for my parents. For Heath. For Savannah. For my sister.
“Well? Are you ready to obey, dark princess?” Bennett asked again.
I squared my shoulders back and took a deep breath. “Yes, sir.”
“Good girl,” he murmured.
There was only one seat for a king in Hell, and the ultimate battle for it loomed dangerously close. I would die before I allowed Wilson to take anything else from me. Despite everything I’d been through with Bennett, we were finally on the same page with one common goal: kill Wilson Moreno. You couldn’t go through life untouched when you’d wronged so many people. I promised I’d make him pay for everything he’d done.
“Let’s go, gorgeous,” he finally said, holding his hand out to me. “We have work to do.”
Taking a deep breath, I put my hand in his and allowed him to lead into the darkness to the point of no return. The old me was gone, a darker, blood-thirsty soul in its place. I was hungry for revenge, for justice.
I’m coming for you, Wilson Moreno, I thought. And I won’t rest until you’re dead.
Other Books By Ember Michaels
Rules of Bennett trilogy
Rules of Bennett
You Will Bow
You Will Break
You Will Break Page 19