“What the hell just happened?” Heath asked.
Kandice pushed her chair out from the table. “I’ll go check on her,” she murmured.
“Yeah, me too,” I said and looked to Heath. “I’m sorry. I’ll be right back.”
Kandice and I walked out of the glass sliding door and into the cooling summer air. The view from my terrace gave me the perfect view of the Greenville, SC skyline, constantly reminding me of how lucky I was. Despite practically being abandoned by my family without any kind of explanation, I’d made my life into something worth being proud of. Maybe sending me across the country was the best thing my parents could’ve done for me after all.
“Kyle cheated and she’s pregnant,” Savannah said without turning to face us.
Kandice and I exchanged glances before focusing back on her.
“How’d you find out?” I asked, glancing through the window at the guys awkwardly still sitting at the table.
“The woman called while he was in the shower a few days ago. I’d answered his phone, which isn’t nothing new. I mean he asks me to answer it sometimes, so I answered her call and she got really defensive and asked why another woman was answering her boyfriend’s phone.”
“Yikes,” Kandice said and took a gulp of her wine.
“I just pretended to be his sister and told her he’d call when he finished fixing my shower.” Savannah sighed. “I went through his texts after that. They’d been having an affair for the last few months. The nights where he says he has to work overnight at the hospital, he’s usually with her. And the nights he’s with me is when he tells her he’s working overnight.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said, moving over to hug her.
“She’d sent him pictures of her ultrasound and he’d said how he was so excited about becoming a dad. I don’t know what I’m more upset about really, the fact that he cheated or the fact that he’s going around acting like nothing has happened when he has a whole secret life he’s living.”
“You deserve so much better than him, Savannah,” Kandice said, stroking her hair. “Plus, Kyle isn’t all that anyway. You said his dick was weird.”
Savannah laughed and wiped her tears. “It really is weird,” she said. “And small, too.”
“See? Now you can make yourself available to guys who don’t have small, weird dicks,” I added with a grin.
She looked up at us and smiled. “Thanks, guys. I just…sometimes I feel like something is wrong with me because all of my relationships suck.”
“Maybe take a break from dating and figure out what you want. When the time is right, the right one will come to you,” Kandice said.
Savannah nodded. “You’re right. I think that’s what I’m going to do for now.” She looked up at me. “I’m sorry for dropping that bomb at the table. I probably ruined tonight.”
“No, it’s fine. I figured something was wrong the moment you guys got here. But Kandice and I are here for you if you need us,” I reassured her, giving her a tight squeeze.
When we looked through the glass door, Kyle was no longer at the table. Savannah scoffed.
“I hope he left,” she muttered and then sighed. “Let’s go back inside before dinner gets cold.”
*
“Crazy night, huh?” Heath said as we finished cleaning up. I sighed and leaned against the counter.
“I don’t even know how to describe it. I feel bad for Savannah, you know?”
“Yeah, that’s pretty fucked up. As soon as you guys went outside, he started babbling about having to leave and damn near teleported out of here. I hope she’ll be okay.”
“I hope so, too,” I said. Heath put down the dishcloth and crossed over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist.
“But the best part about tonight was you becoming my fiancée,” he murmured. “I can’t wait to make you my wife.”
I smiled. “I can’t wait either,” I said. “Vanessa Grady has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”
“Mrs. Vanessa Grady. Don’t forget the Mrs,” he corrected and kissed me.
“We’re getting married,” I whispered as I gazed at my ring.
He took my hand into his and kissed it. “We are. Now about what we started earlier…”
I squeaked in surprise when he scooped me up and put me over his shoulder. He walked out of the kitchen and into the living room, putting me onto the couch. The moonlight pouring through the floor-to-ceiling windows washed over him, casting shadows on his broad shoulders and face. I watched as he slowly pulled off his shirt and tossed it aside.
“How did I get so lucky?” I murmured.
He joined me on the couch, settling between my legs. “I ask myself the same thing,” he replied and devoured my mouth.
Chills ran up and down my spine as his warm hands slid underneath my shirt. His strong hands squeezed my breasts through my bra, a low growl of lust rumbling in his throat.
“Take me,” I whispered in between kisses.
“I plan to, doll face,” he replied lifting my shirt. I sat up and pulled my shirt off. He’d barely given me enough time to get my bra off before he was kissing my shoulders and chest. My pussy throbbed with need as he sucked my nipple into my mouth, his fingers caressing the other one.
A soft moan left my lips as I ran my fingers through his brown hair, watching as he lapped at my peaks until they were both hard. He moved down to unbutton my jeans, pulling them down my legs as he peppered my thighs with kisses. Just as he grabbed the top of my panties, my phone rang on the coffee table.
“Ignore it,” I breathed, anxious to feel his tongue on me. He grinned in response and pulled my panties down my legs, settling in between my thighs.
“Mmm,” he groaned as he took my clit into his mouth. I gripped his hair tight in my hand, arching my back as his tongue started a delicious assault on my pussy.
“Yes, just like that,” I moaned. My legs trembled in pleasure as his tongue moved faster against my clit, the pressure of an orgasm slowly building within me.
My ringing phone cracked through my hazy cloud of lust.
“It might be Savannah,” Heath murmured from between my legs, though he didn’t stop what he was doing.
“I’ll call her back in the morning. Keep going,” I moaned, my hips bucking against his mouth in desperate need.
As soon as the phone stopped ringing, it started up again.
“Fuck!” I exclaimed, sitting up. Heath sat up as well.
“It’s okay. We have all night,” he said and kissed me. I sighed as I grabbed the phone, but it wasn’t Savannah’s name that showed up on my screen.
“Can you give me a minute?” I asked him. He nodded, stood up, and headed into the kitchen.
I answered the phone, already knowing who it was without even recognizing the number. It was only one person that called me from different numbers.
“Do you know how late it is?” I asked in a harsh whisper.
“Hello to you, too, Aurora,” my father said. “I know it’s late, but this is important.”
I ground my teeth, shivering when the air conditioning kicked on and cold air washed over my naked body.
“What is it now?”
“Things are heating up here and you’re not safe where you are. You need to find somewhere else to go.” he said.
I held the phone away from my ear in disbelief, my previous irritation morphing into anger.
“What?” I exclaimed.
“You need to find somewhere else to go. It’s bad enough that your public company has put you on their radar and—”
“No, I’m not going to keep doing this with you,” I stated through gritted teeth.
“Aurora—”
“Don’t call me that,” I spat. “I’m sick of living in fear and watching over my shoulder when I haven’t done a damn thing to warrant that.”
“You don’t know what you’re up against,” he replied, his tone sharp.
“And whose fault is that? I’m not the one who left my 8-ye
ar-old at a train station with a stranger without so much as an explanation as to why I had to leave while you and Mom stayed in California!”
He sighed deeply. “You wouldn’t have understood back then, my love.”
“I’m fully capable of understanding now and you still refuse to tell me,” I snapped.
“It’s safer for you if you didn’t know,” he said, which had been the same answer he’d given me for years any time I asked him about it.
I scoffed and shook my head. “You know what? I’m done with this. Everything in my life is finally falling into place right now. My business is successful, I just got engaged—”
“Engaged? You know that’s not safe for you to do. You’ll just be putting someone else in danger!”
“I’m not letting you dictate my life with your paranoid delusions that someone is after me,” I stated firmly. “I’ve established a life here and I’m not leaving it behind just because you say so. Please don’t call me again.”
I hung up and tossed the phone on the couch next to me. The feelings from earlier came back to the forefront. Something in my gut told me that the things happening in my life right now was too good to be true. With everything happening in my favor, I knew the other shoe would drop and my father would find some way to ruin everything with his bullshit.
“Everything okay?” Heath asked.
I looked up at him to see him standing on the other side of the coffee table with a glass of whiskey in his hand, his jeans unbuttoned. As much as I wanted to tell him I wasn’t fine, I couldn’t bring myself to say it. Would I be putting him in danger by marrying him? Was someone truly after me? My father was convinced someone was coming after me when I turned 18, but they never did. I only heard from him when there was a problem, but how the hell was I supposed to know if this was the real deal or a false alarm?
“Who was that on the phone?” he asked and took a swig of his drink.
I ran my hand through my hair and sighed. “My dad.”
“The guy that pretty much abandoned you when you were a kid?” he asked. He came around the table and sat next to me on the couch. “What did he want?”
“Just up to his usual bullshit and paranoid delusions,” I said with a shake of my head. “I don’t want to think about it though.”
“Don’t worry about him. Whatever he says is gonna happen, he’s wrong. Nothing has happened, right?”
“Right.”
“And you know I’ll protect you from anyone, right?”
I gave him a small smile. “Of course.”
“Okay then. Don’t worry about what he says. Everything is going to be fine,” he said and kissed me.
I took his glass from him and took a sip, letting the alcohol warm me. “You’re right. But enough about him. We have unfinished business to handle.”
“I’m sorry we had to meet under these circumstances,” I said to Sergio as he sat before me, bound to a chair. He glared at me, blood running down the side of his head as his wife, Farrah, sat next to him whimpering. “I think you know why I’m here.”
“You’ll never get her,” Sergio spat. He growled when Bruce punched him in the face once more. Farrah screamed.
“Please! You don’t have to do this,” she begged, tears streaming down her face.
“I actually do,” I said with a deep sigh. “You can actually thank your husband for this.”
“Leave my wife out of it,” he sneered.
I chuckled and narrowed my eyes at Farrah. “Do you know why I’m here? Or rather, do you know why I’m looking for your daughter?”
Her teary eyes widened. “He said that your father would try to punish him for leaving that life behind. But please, she’s innocent in all of this,” she begged.
I tsked and shook my head. “So he didn’t tell you everything,” I said and looked back to Sergio.
“Don’t,” he said, cutting his eyes between me and Farrah.
“Farrah, my father would’ve killed him a long time ago for trying to leave, but—”
“Please, don’t!” he exclaimed, pulling at the zip ties that bound him.
“Will you shut the fuck up?” I snapped before smiling back at Farrah. “As I was saying, your coward husband traded your daughter’s life for his. He signed a blood contract with my father stating that when your daughter turned 18, she’d be Moreno property.”
“What?” she said in disbelief, looking at her husband.
“She was doomed before she was even born. And since your husband thought he could outsmart us by hiding her, that’s considered a breach of contract.” I turned to Sergio. “And you’ve worked with my father long enough to know what happens when you back out of a contract.”
“Then kill me and leave her alone,” he barked.
I grinned in amusement as he bared his teeth at me. It was almost comical how he thought it was as easy as him giving his life. If that was the case, he should’ve gone ahead and did that to begin with instead of bargaining his daughter.
“You know we don’t operate like that, Sergio. It hasn’t been so long that you forgot how we do things, has it?”
“I won’t tell you where she is.”
I laughed. “I already know where she is. And once I’m done here, I’m going to go get my property. And man, I can’t wait to get my hands on her.” His face turned red with anger. If he weren’t bound to a chair, I wouldn’t doubt that he would’ve tried to kill me. “I have so many plans for her.”
“Don’t you fucking hurt her,” he growled, spittle flying from his mouth.
I smiled. “I’ll do whatever I want with my toys,” I told him and gave him a firm pat on the cheek.
“Please,” he begged, his tone changing from his earlier growl. “She’s innocent in all this.”
“Still doesn’t change what’s going to happen to her.” I looked at the picture of her that I’d brought along with me before holding it up in front of him. “How does it make you feel to know that your daughter is going to be my little slut?”
He only stared at me, the expression on his face hard. Farrah only shook her head, silent tears dripping down her cheeks.
“How does it feels to know that she’ll be screaming soon when I stuff her full of my cock, knowing that it’s your fault she’s in such a position?”
He shook his head. “Please,” he whispered, a single tear rolling down his cheek.
“She’s going to be so confused, so scared,” I murmured, squatting down in front of him. “Fear is an interesting emotion, you know?”
“Bennett, I’m begging you.”
“Did you know the body’s response to fear is to lock up? Just imagine how good her pussy is going to feel squeezing my cock out of fear, all because you thought your life was more important than hers,” I concluded and stood up.
“I can’t believe you, you fucking bastard!” Farrah screamed at him. “I’d kill you myself if I wasn’t strapped to this chair!”
“Oh, would you?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. “You sure about that?”
“I’m sure,” she ground out.
I crossed my arms across my chest and grinned in amusement. “Bruce, cut her loose,” I said.
Bruce moved over and cut the zip ties from her wrist and ankles with a razor blade.
“Don’t try anything stupid, bitch,” he growled, pulling her out of the chair.
“Here are your options, Mrs. DuPont. You kill him, I’ll let you go free. Don’t, and I’ll kill you both anyway,” I said.
Sergio looked up to his wife with tears in his eyes. “My love, please. I didn’t want this to happen,” he begged. “I’ll fix this.”
“How can you fix this, Sergio? They’re going to look for her until they have her. You did this to her!” she screamed, slapping him across the face.
“Oh, this is getting good,” I mused. “But first, I need to record your final words to your daughter. You know, as an insurance policy.”
Bruce pulled out a camera and passed it to me. Turning it
on, I turned it on myself and smiled.
“Aurora, hey. You don’t know me yet, but you will soon. Though, when you see this, I’ll have you in my possession. Anyway, I’m with your lovely parents here.” I turned the camera onto Farrah and Sergio. “You’re probably wondering what’s going on, but lucky you, I’ll tell you what kind of situation you’re in. Your coward father here basically traded your life so that he could stay alive after leaving my father’s organization. He sent you to South Carolina, thinking we’d never find you, but surprise! Now daddy has to pay, and it looks like your mommy is going to do the honors.”
I pulled my gun from my waistband and held it out to Farrah. She looked at me with wide eyes before looking back at the gun, hesitating.
“Having second thoughts already?” I taunted.
Her hands trembled as she took the gun from my hand, holding it awkwardly in her hand. Sergio squirmed in his chair.
“Farrah, honey, look at me,” he pleaded. “You don’t have to do this. He’s just trying to turn us against each other!”
I held my hands up. “Actually, I didn’t do shit,” I said. “I’m just the messenger. I’m not the one who made the blood contract.”
“You’ve lied to me for years, Sergio,” she whispered, tears rolling down her full cheeks. “You told me the reason we had to send her away because she was in danger because they’d try to attack those you loved since you left that life behind.”
“She was in danger—”
“But it was from your own doing!” she screamed, aiming the gun at him.
“Oh, this is good footage. So much emotion; so much drama! You’re doing amazing, Farrah. The audience is gonna love this,” I said, pointing the camera at them as Bruce snickered next to me.
“It was the only way I could get out then. Even if they would’ve killed me, they would’ve gone after you too,” Sergio said.
“He’s actually right about that,” I said with a nod.
Sergio glared at me. “Shut the fuck up. You’re making this worse,” he snapped and looked back to his wife. “Baby, listen to me. Don’t do this. You can’t win with the Morenos. Every avenue you take with them will lead in death.”
Rules of Bennett Page 3
