The Benefactor

by Nana Malone

  I shook my head. She couldn’t be calm right now, so I had to be calm for both of us. It didn’t matter that I wanted to kill Todd. It didn’t matter that a man I’d considered a friend was now presumed dead and another employee of mine was seriously injured. None of that mattered. What mattered was being there for her. Being strong for her. Helping her through this unimaginable situation. When she was steadier, I would react. And it wasn’t going to be some calm acceptance of shitty things that happened to people. It was going to be full of wrath and vengeance and fire.

  “I’m so proud of you for making it up here. You fought like a champ, and I am so proud of you. I want to wipe the blood off your mouth, but we need to take the washcloth and your T-shirt to the police.”

  She shook her head. “I just want to shower.”

  It killed me to deny her anything. Especially this. But I couldn’t let her get in that shower. “I know. But you’re evidence right now. I don’t want to clean you up too much, but let’s get you out of your T-shirt.”

  She shivered. “Ben, he called me a whore. Said that someone had told him I was, but he didn’t believe it until he saw for himself. Do you think he was watchi—” She cut herself off and dragged in a shuddering breath. “He’s been with me for weeks. Why now? Did someone put him up to this? Fenton? I know Fenton is creepy, but is he capable of hiring someone to kill me? He has no reason to want me dead.”

  She was asking all the questions I didn’t have answers to. Answers I wanted to beat out of Todd. “I don’t know. I don’t know what anyone is capable of. All I know is that I need to keep you safe, okay?”

  How do you plan on doing that?

  “Nowhere is safe. They were watching me. Us. He said he knew about Paris and about what I’ve been doing with you. I can’t go back to the loft. Don’t make me go back.”

  That motherfucker. I’m going to rip his throat out with my bare fucking hands. “We’re not going back to the loft. We’ll go to my house. It’s secure. Safe.” What a fat crock that was. It wasn’t safe for me to be there unless I could figure out how to outrun ghosts. “The police are on their way. When we’re done with them, we’ll get you out of here. On my life, I will keep you safe. You need to know that.”

  Watery dark eyes lifted to meet mine. “Why would someone want to hurt me?”

  My gut roiled. They weren’t after her. They were after me. And they’d gotten to her because I’d been asleep on the job. This was my fault.

  “Tell me what hurts the most.”

  She hesitated only a moment as if she was doing a mental catalog of her pain. “My feet. I didn’t feel them before. I guess I was too cold. But now…” Her voice trailed.

  I snatched another fluffy white towel from under the sink before kneeling in front of her with tweezers from the top drawer.

  First, I gently found the offending shards and pulled out the larger bits. Her feet were a ravaged mess. Bloody and cut to shreds. With each wince of pain from her, I resolved to kill Todd slowly. Then, using soap and water, I cleaned off her feet, gently before I grabbed the set of clothes that East had brought out, likely left behind by some ghost of pussy past.

  I slid my palm up the back of one of her calves and pushed her legs farther apart. I picked up the soft flannel, pulling the pajamas up her legs, running my fingertips over the soft skin behind her knees and up her thighs, then helping her hips lift so she could get them on. Then I slowly raised what was left of her T-shirt up over her head, trying not to get distracted by her breasts.

  I worked methodically, first wiping the blood off her neck and chin with one towel, setting it aside, then using another plus soap to properly clean it all off. When she was clean, I tugged the fresh T-shirt over her head and helped her arms through the sleeves.

  “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there. You’ve done nothing to deserve this. Just know that anyone who comes after you is coming after me. And from now on, I will tear off the head of anyone who touches what’s mine. Do you understand?”

  “I’m so scared, Ben.”

  “I know.” I stepped between her legs and tucked her close. “So am I.”

  Truer words had never been spoken.

  2

  Olivia

  I wasn’t used to someone taking care of me. All four of them hovered.

  They had tea and broth at the ready. I’d had more than one blanket offered, and Drew kept asking if he could call anyone for me.

  None of them knew what to do in this situation.

  It was like having several annoying big brothers.

  When the police showed up, Ben spoke with them directly first and then loomed in the corner, prowling like a caged tiger, as they asked me questions. Bridge, East, and Drew made themselves scarce elsewhere in the house. When the police tried to get Ben to leave me alone with them so they could ask me more sensitive questions, he just gave them a pointed look that said, I’m happy to eat you if you upset her in any way.

  “You’re doing great, Liv. You’re doing everything you need to do. It’s going to be okay.” Ben tried to reassure me, but I wasn’t convinced there would ever be reassurance. If the police didn’t find Todd and arrest him, we’d never know who was watching me or why Todd had attacked me, and I’d be constantly looking over my shoulder in fear.

  How was I ever going to close my eyes again and not see him?

  I rubbed my hands up and down my arms and did my best to answer what I could. “What about Brian and Constance?”

  The short woman with the dark curly hair was matter of fact. “Constance Androlla is in the hospital. She had some minor injuries but is expected to make a full recovery. Brian Anderson’s injuries were more substantial.”

  Substantial was the understatement of the century. What else would you call a slit throat? “But will he be okay?”

  She exchanged glances with her partner and gave me a cryptic, “He’s in surgery at the moment, so we’ll see.”

  At the end of the question-and-answer session, Ben stepped forward. “I’ll provide all the security tapes that we have, so if someone’s targeting her, it should be apparent.”

  One of the detectives slid him a glance up and down, like she was assessing him. And then she asked, “What exactly is the nature of your relationship with the victim?”

  He opened his mouth, but it looked like he was more ready to snarl than anything, so I answered, “I’m his employee.”

  But he corrected me. “She’s my girlfriend.”

  The detective raised her brow at me. “It seems like you’re not sure, but he is.”

  I blinked at her rapidly. “It’s new.”

  She kept clicking her pen, in and out. In and out. Tick-tic. Tick-tic. Tick-tic. “Mr. Covington, can you identify where you were during the break-in and assault?”

  His brows furrowed, but it seemed like he’d expected that question. “I was here. You could ask my business partners. Outside of them, you can ask Drew Wilcox. And you can also ask Prince Lucas Winston of the Winston Isles, as we were on the phone with him at the time.”

  She angled her head. “Oh, I see. We’ll have our people verify your alibi.”

  He rolled his eyes and ran his hands through his hair. “Or, you can stop wasting time. She was in my loft. She’s my girlfriend. I have zero desire to see her harmed in any way, and besides, do I look like I have a chunk taken out of my hand? Why aren’t you out looking for Mr. Spivey? He attacked her in my home when he should have been protecting her, and he assaulted two of my other employees.”

  “I’ll have to ask you to be calm, Mr. Covington. In cases like this, we have to explore all options, including a boyfriend and/or boss.”

  “I’ll give you whatever you want as long as you actually work on finding Todd. You can have access to me as much as you like.”

  She assessed him again. “In that case, Mr. Covington, I will take you up on that.”

  It was my turn to scowl. Was she flirting with him? “Are we done?”

  She turned her gaze back
on me, and her lips tipped into a smirk. “Yes, Ms. Ashong, we are. Where will I be able to find you for more questions in case we need to follow up? We just want to gather some trace evidence and then you’re all set for now.”

  I opened my mouth to answer, but I had no answer. I couldn’t go back to my old flat because of Dexter. I wasn’t stepping foot back in the loft. I knew I’d still be able to smell Todd. The scent of cologne and sweat. No, I wasn’t going back there.

  But now where the hell do you live?

  Once the lab technicians were done scraping my fingernails and swabbing my mouth and took the tattered, discarded T-shirt, Ben stepped forward then and offered a card. “If you need to find her, I’ll give you access to her.” And then he shuttled them out.

  I could hear some murmuring down the hall, deep voices that were completely indistinguishable to me. It sounded like a chorus of lions growling low, plotting an attack. When Ben returned, he kneeled in front of me. You can have a shower now if you want, then we’ll go home.”

  I shook my head vehemently as the bile rose. There was no way I was stepping foot back in the loft. “I can’t stay there.”

  “No, my love. I have a house in Belgravia. It’s down the street from Bridge’s place. There’s more security, ones we’ve vetted personally. Men who have saved my life before. Todd came from a service. I won’t be making that mistake again. You’ll be safe there.”

  He rubbed my knee, and like always, there was a lick of heat. Yes, of course, under normal circumstances, I wanted him, but in that moment, it was the adrenaline talking. Someone had tried to kill me, and my body was in full-on hey, let’s reaffirm that I’m alive and bone mode.

  But I needed to keep my head clear. In the course of a month, I had somehow gone from having a flat and a boring-but-steady job and life, to having no flat, a boyfriend I wasn’t sure was my boyfriend, no place to live, and a more interesting job that occasionally came with danger. I needed to get myself back on even footing.

  You were looking for a more interesting life. And now you can use your interesting life for your book.

  That was hardly what I meant when I said I needed more life experience.

  “Maybe I should leave. I don’t want to bring this to your door.” What if I’d put him in danger with something I’d done?

  His brow furrowed when I said that. “You’re safest with me.”

  “The hell I am. Ben, I was in your loft. With your security. Someone meant to keep me safe. Nowhere is safe right now.”

  “I know. And I’m going to make sure that Todd pays. Right now, you are the most important person in my life. You are everything to me. Together we will find out why this is happening, okay? I’m so sorry I left you in the loft alone. I thought you would be safe. That was an error in judgment. I will not make that same error again. This is my fault.”

  I shook my head at him. “You keep saying that like it’s your job to look after me. I look after myself.”

  “Not anymore. You’re coming home with me to Covington House.”

  I blinked at him. “You think now is the time for some macho bullshit? Someone tried to kill me, Ben.”

  “You think I’m not aware of that? Don’t you think it’s tearing me up inside that I wasn’t there when you needed me? You think I don’t want to rip everyone to shreds? Well, rest assured, all of those things are true. Now, I don’t know what I can do to fix the past, but what I can do is fix the future. And as of now, you are not leaving my side. You might as well get used to it.”

  I pushed to my feet. “Do not take that high-handed attitude with me and stop fucking yelling.”

  He blinked rapidly. “Fuck. I’m sorry. I’m just… scared.”

  My heart twisted, and my stomach knotted. This huge Viking was scared. He had a point though. I probably was safest with him. I might not have anywhere else to go, but at least I could continue to stay with him until I figured it out. “Okay, but no more of this me Tarzan, you Jane bullshit. I’m tired of people trying to tell me what to do. I’m not having it.”

  “Well, I’m always going to tell you what to do, especially if I’m right.”

  “Oh my God, even in times like this, you want me to try to strangle you.”

  “Yeah, actually, I do. That would let me know that you’re going to be all right.”

  I met his gaze, noticing the ice blue of his eyes had warmed to more of an aqua. “I think I’m very far from being all right.”

  “I know, but I’m going to help you get there, okay?” He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close. I snuggled in. My face planted into his chest and to that soft nook. It didn’t matter that I was five -foot-seven. He towered above me, able to lay his chin on my head.

  “Now, let’s get you a shower.”

  Ben

  Why the hell was she fighting me? I was only trying to keep her safe.

  Even though you were the one who put her in danger in the first place?

  I wasn’t sure if the situation was because of the Elite, because of Mills, or maybe because of my father’s history. Something had turned Todd. Even though he’d come through a service, he’d been with me for over a year. All I knew was that she was mine to protect.

  Are you sure about that? She doesn’t seem like one to be told what to do.

  I led her out of the study as my mates were getting ready to clear out. “I’m going to take her back to Covington House as soon as she’s had a shower. I need to call Brian and Constance’s families. I’m sure the police will do it, but I wanted to make sure they know that I’ll take care of everything for them.”

  “I’m already pulling all the feeds from the hotel, and the office, and I’ve sent them to your tablet, Ben.” East turned his attention to Livy. “I’m really sorry. You should have been safe in the building. I’m taking it personally that we missed something in Todd’s background check.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, and I couldn’t help the low growl that rumbled in my chest. He needed to take his bloody hands off. “I will help Ben dismantle him limb from limb.”

  “It’s not your fault. You weren’t the crazy man covering my mouth, right?”

  He shook his head. “But still. It shouldn’t have happened.”

  “You and Ben seem to be putting a lot of blame on your shoulders when it has nothing to do with you.”

  East’s eyes went wide at that comment, but, mate that he was, he kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t going to wreck me. He wasn’t going to point out that this, in fact, was my fault.

  Drew, on the other hand, couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “What are you talking about? None of this would have happened to you if not for Ben.”

  I glared at him. “Jesus Christ, Drew.”

  Olivia’s attention snapped back to me. “What does he mean?”

  “Let’s talk about this at the house.”

  I tried to take her arm, but she pulled it free just as Bridge was coming down the hall. “No, we’ll talk about it now.”

  Bridge’s brows furrowed. “We weren’t sure if it was Ben’s doing that got this started, but the attempted shooting pretty much confirmed it.”

  She had already done the arithmetic of two and two. Hell, we’d even discussed the possibility, but I had tried to downplay the scenario. And I hadn’t given her the full details of what had been happening because I didn’t want her to panic.

  She pinned her dark gaze on mine. “Shooting? When?” Her brow furrowed. “When the hell were you shot at?”

  I bit back a curse. “It happened a few weeks ago.”

  She blinked several times. “Someone shot at you?”

  Her voice was flat. Too calm. Fuck. “It was before you moved in.”

  More blinking. “You convinced me to move in because of Fenton and Dex.” Her voice rose ever so slightly. “But really, you were shot at and were worried that it was going to blow back on me?”

  I glanced around at my mates, seeking an assist. But Bridge and East just winced and tried to look anywhere but at her. Dre
w didn’t appear the least bit sorry.

  I was so fucked. What the hell could I say to calm the fury I saw in her eyes? It wasn’t like I could tell her everything. “My only concern was to keep you safe. I knew there was a risk, so I did what I had to do.” There. That was a solid response.

  “You did what you had to?”

  I watched her warily. She was clearly pissed. Where had I gone wrong? “You needed protecting, so I made the call.”

  East tried to help me out and nearly got bitten for his effort. “We all agreed that—”

  Those big beautiful dark eyes widened even more, making her other features appear even smaller. “You all decided?”

  “Uh, w-well, we…” he stammered.

  This was unraveling quickly. “Look, let’s get you home and rested, and then we can talk. You can ask me anything.”

  “Don’t you dare little woman me. I’m an adult. I could have handled knowing. But you didn’t trust me with that information.”

  “If you’d known, would you have been any safer?” I glowered at Drew. “And you, Drew. Why would you blurt it out like this?”

  “Mate, for real? She needed to know. I swear to God, sometimes I wonder about you.” He sighed. “For what it’s worth, Olivia, my idiot mate was trying to protect you.”

  Like I needed his fucking help. “Drew, mate, do me a favor and stop talking.”

  Olivia wouldn’t let me touch her. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest. “No, please, continue. I want to know what else he’s hiding.”

  Fucking brilliant. “And I will tell you when we’re back at the house, Livy. If you want to tell me that you’re not exhausted, completely knocked out, and need to get off your feet, fine, we’ll have this conversation right now. But if you can’t tell me any of that, then we’re going to have this conversation at home.”

  She glanced around at Drew, East, and Bridge. All had the sense to look chagrined. “Who the hell are you guys?”