Rules of Bennett

by Ember Michaels

  “Then what does it matter?” she whispered.

  “Wait, before you pull the trigger, I still need his last words,” I cut in. “Anything you want to say to your daughter, Sergio?”

  He slowly brought his eyes up to the camera. Sorrow and regret filled his gaze as tears crested his eyes once more.

  “Aurora, baby, I’m sorry,” he said and shook his head. “This is all my fault. I should’ve thought about the long-term consequences of my actions and I didn’t. I never intended to hurt you, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I’m so, so sorry.”

  “Annnnd scene!” I exclaimed and then nodded to Farrah. “Go on with the grand finale.”

  “I’m sorry, Sergio,” she cried, her hands shaking as she raised the gun once more.

  “My love, please. Don’t!” he exclaimed.

  The gun went off and Sergio gasped. Farrah dropped the gun and fell to her knees, crawling over to him. A grin formed on my lips as I walked over and retrieved the gun from the floor, watching as Farrah held onto her dying husband.

  Sergio gasped for air, the hole in his chest leaking blood.

  “I’m so sorry,” Farrah cried, holding his face in her hands. “I love you so much. I’m so sorry, Sergio.”

  I rolled my eyes, but continued filming them, as the best part was coming up.

  “I…love…you,” Sergio choked out right before he took his last breath.

  I moved around to stand closer in order to catch Farrah’s wide eyes search Sergio’s face, smiling when the realization of his death hit her.

  “Sergio! No, no, no, no!” screamed, her head falling to his lap.

  “What did you expect would happen after shooting the man in the chest, you murderer?” I asked.

  She only sobbed in response, wracked with grief. I handed Bruce my gun.

  “Take off the suppressor,” I murmured. Once he did, I passed him the camera and took the gun back from him, walking over to Farrah. “Still filming?”

  “Yep,” Bruce said.

  I looked down at the distraught woman. I couldn’t begin to imagine how it felt to have just killed your lover and lose your child forever. But I wasn’t in the business of feeling emotions or caring about how someone else felt.

  “Farrah,” I called out.

  She slowly looked up at me, makeup running down her face as her sobs turned into hiccups. I held out my gun to her.

  “It’s your turn now,” I murmured.

  Her forehead creased in confusion as she shook her head. “I don’t understand. I did what you asked.”

  “You should’ve listen to your husband,” I said with a grin. “You can’t win playing games with the devil. So now it’s your turn. Take the gun.”

  She stared at me for a long moment, before her shaky hand took the gun.

  “Good girl. Now put it to your head,” I instructed.

  “God, no. Please don’t make me do this,” she cried.

  “Put it to your head, Farrah,” I repeated.

  “I did what you asked!” she wailed.

  I sighed deeply. “I don’t like repeating myself. Put. The gun. To your fucking head.”

  She shook as she raised the gun to her head. “Please,” she begged. Tears flowed from her eyes, her mouth pleading with me to not make her do it.

  “Pull the trigger,” I said.

  She shook her head. “I can’t! I can’t!”

  “Farrah,” I said, holding my hand out to Bruce. He handed me his gun and went back to filming the scene in front of me. “Pull the trigger or I will. You have until the count of three. 1.”

  “Please, God, no!”

  “2.”

  “God forgive me!”

  “3.”

  I fired my gun, shooting her in the head. She collapsed in a heap at her husband’s feet, her blood pooling on the hardwood floor.

  “Nice shot, boss,” Bruce said.

  “Thanks. You can cut the camera now. I think that’s enough footage for their little princess,” I said. I passed Bruce his gun back and retrieved mine from Farrah, putting it into the waistband of my jeans. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Once we were back in the truck, I called my father.

  “It’s done,” I said when he answered.

  “Very good,” he said. “I’m assuming you’re ready to get the girl?”

  “Yeah. How fast can you have the jet ready?”

  “It’s ready for you. You know where to go, right?”

  “Yeah, I remember. I’ll check in when I get back.”

  “Sounds good, son. Talk to you soon,” he said and hung up.

  Putting the phone in my pocket, I started the car. “Time to pick up my package.”

  *

  Six hours later, KC, Bruce, and I landed in Greenville, South Carolina. Adrenaline coursed through my veins at the thought of having her, even more so at the thought of seeing her face when she saw what happened to her parents.

  We settled in a hotel for the day. I could’ve taken her in broad daylight, but there were other things I needed to do to ensure this went smoothly. You couldn’t just take a makeup mogul without people wondering where she was or risking someone investigating her disappearance.

  “KC, I need you to hack her phone,” I said, looking over the mini bar options with a frown. As expensive as this room was, they sure skimped out on the good alcohol and snacks.

  KC pulled out his computer, tapped on it a few times, and then looked over at me. “Anything you want in particular?”

  “I need texts sent to a Heath, Savannah, and Kandice,” I said.

  “Gonna kill them too?” Bruce asked before tossing a handful of Fritos into his mouth.

  I scoffed. “I don’t kill everybody, Bruce. What fun would that be? Besides, that’ll do nothing but bring more attention to Aurora’s disappearance.”

  “So what’s the plan for them? Having witnesses won’t help either,” he countered.

  I grinned. “They’ll be witnesses, but I have something for them. You’ll see.” Looking to KC, I added, “Send texts to those three telling them to be at her house at 5:30. She has an announcement to make.”

  “You got it,” he said with a nod and began typing on the keyboard.

  “Do you have all the business papers?” I asked Bruce. He wiped his hand on his pants and flipped through the folder on his lap, finally nodding.

  “Yep. Everything’s here, boss,” he answered.

  I nodded and moved to sit in the empty chair near them. “Good. Let’s finalize these plans and get ready, shall we?”

  We spent the majority of the day going through different scenarios and casing the building she lived in. Because she lived in a penthouse, she had a special key that was needed to even get the elevator to take you to her floor.

  “I can make a copy of it if you have a keycard from her building,” KC said.

  “Is that even possible?” I asked with a raised brow.

  KC smirked. “Almost anything is possible in tech. If it’s controlled by a computer system, it can be hacked,” he said.

  “Well, I don’t have one from her building. Can’t we use our hotel key?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Hacking the keycard from here will only give us access to all the rooms here. It’ll be useless at her building.”

  “We can always get the master key from whoever is at the front desk,” Bruce said, cracking his knuckles. “I could use a good fight.”

  I looked at my watch. Time was running out and we’d have to leave soon in order to get there before Aurora did.

  I sighed. “That’s what we’re going to have to do, as we don’t have time to do all that now. We need to go.”

  We packed up our belongings and headed back downstairs to the blacked out SUV. As Bruce drove, KC busied himself with hacking into the camera system of her building to make sure they were down by the time we arrived. I looked at her picture once more, anxious to get my hands on her. She looked so innocent and pure, and I would
savor every minute of breaking her until she was nothing but a shell of her former self.

  Bruce pulled around the back of the building and he and I got out, leaving KC inside to hack what he needed to.

  “Cameras are down, so you’re good to go,” he said.

  “Thanks. We’ll make this quick. Call me if anything looks weird,” I said.

  “Will do,” he said with a nod.

  I walked around to the front of the building with Bruce following close behind me, walking inside the ritzy lobby. A short, chubby man behind the desk looked up at us, his eyes bored as he looked back down at a sport magazine laid out in front of him.

  “Can I help you with something?” he drawled. So much for Southern hospitality.

  I plastered a smile on my face. “Yeah, I’m here to see my brother Heath? He’s in a penthouse in the building, I think,” I replied.

  The man sighed deeply and shook the mouse of computer. “Name?”

  “Jared Grady,” I answered, reciting the name I’d picked up when I’d dug into his past. The man clicked around for a few moments before reaching into a drawer and pulling out a silver key card.

  “Just put that in the elevator and it’ll take you to the floor. Be sure to return it before you leave.”

  “I will, thanks,” I said, giving him a nod and heading to the elevator. That went a lot smoother than I’d intended, but that was fine with me. The less people dead, the quicker I could wrap this up and get back home.

  As the elevator inched its way up to the penthouse, my heart pumped hard in my chest. I couldn’t wait to see the look on Aurora’s face when the realization hit that her life as she knew it was over. That she couldn’t hide from the fate she was born into.

  That she couldn’t escape the hell she was about to endure.

  The elevator doors opened to a hallway decorated with abstract art. The air smelled of potpourri and apple pie, a signature scent that a woman’s touch was all over this place. Despite the homey scents, the actual decorations in her place told another story. The living room appeared so sterile with the white sectional couch, glass coffee tables and end tables, white rug, and white floating fire place that it didn’t look anything like the cozy home I’d assumed she’d have.

  “Who the hell are you?” a masculine voice as when I stepped into the penthouse. When he came into view, I grinned. He was the perfect, cookie cutter boyfriend with his dark hair, green eyes, and hard body. He frowned at me, his hands balled into fists at his sides as he looked between me and Bruce.

  “You must be Heath,” I said calmly, walking further into the penthouse. When I approached the living room, two women hopped off the couch, alarmed.

  “Heath, what’s going on?” one of them asked, looking at him nervously.

  “If you’ll all have a seat, I’ll tell you,” I said with a smile.

  “I think you need to leave, bro,” Heath growled.

  I sighed and pulled my gun from my waistband, holding it at my side. “Don’t make me repeat myself, bro,” I said, mocking him.

  He clenched his teeth together and sat, the women following suit. I looked over the red-haired woman sitting next to him. Savannah, according to my research. If I’d had the time, I would’ve taken her and put her to work. My clientele had a thing for red heads with pale skin and she would’ve made me so much money. The woman next to her had skin as dark as chocolate, her curly hair pulled into a high ponytail. Her long legs and thick thighs in the short dress she wore tempted me to drag her off into a bedroom and show her a good time, but again, time wasn’t on my side. The quicker I got this over with, the quicker I could grab Aurora and get back to California.

  “So I’m here for Aurora,” I started. When they just stared at me, I chuckled. “Sorry, I forgot. You guys know her as Vanessa.”

  Heath’s eyes widened as anger fired in his eyes. “What do you want with her? She hasn’t done anything to anyone,” he growled.

  “You know, so many people keep saying that, but it doesn’t change the fact that her father used her as collateral,” I said with a shake of my head. “So now I’m here to collect my property.”

  “Are you going to kill us?” Savannah asked, her voice small.

  I walked over to her, reaching out to caress her cheek. “Oh no, baby doll. I actually have an opportunity for you all.”

  She flinched at my touch, pulling away from me. Yep, my clients would have a field day breaking you down, I thought to myself.

  “Heath, you’re a chef, right?” I asked.

  He glanced over at the girls in slight shock before looking at me. “Yeah, why?”

  “Ever thought about having your own restaurant?”

  “All the time,” he said with a shrug.

  I looked to Savannah. “It must be hard to see Aurora achieve everything you wanted, huh? You know, with the makeup company that was basically your idea, but since you didn’t have the money, she went to took it from under your nose. Don’t you want to be a makeup mogul?”

  “More than anything,” she whispered.

  “And you, Kandice,” I said, watching as her eyes widened. “You’re a dancer. Haven’t you wanted your own dance studio?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “So here’s what’s going to happen,” I interrupted. “In exchange for your silence, I’ll give you all startup money for your own ventures. No strings attached. I won’t own anything or interfere with anything. Your company will be 100% yours.”

  “What’s the catch?” Heath asked.

  I grinned at him. “I’ll give you that in exchange for your silence,” I said. “When Aurora and I leave, no one is to speak of her, report her as missing, or go to the police.”

  Heath jumped up from the couch. “I’m not letting you walk out of here with my fiancée,” he barked.

  “Who the fuck is going to stop me, bro?” I asked with a smirk, my gun pointed at his head.

  “Why are you doing this? Why do you have to take her?” he asked.

  I scoffed and threw my hands in the air. “Did you not fucking listen earlier? Let me break it down for you. Her father used her as collateral to save his own life. Instead of him honoring his contract, he sent her here under a new name thinking he could save her. But he couldn’t. Now he’s dead and if you fuckers don’t get with the program, you’ll end up on my death list, too. Are we on the same page now?”

  Heath swallowed hard and sat back down without a word.

  “Very good. Bruce, the paperwork please,” I said, holding my hand out. He placed the folder in my hand and I pulled out the three contracts, placing them on the coffee table in front of me.

  “What’s this?” Kandice asked.

  “Your lifeline if you want to walk out of here,” I said with a shrug. “This is a binding contract. By signing this, you’ll each get half a million dollars to do what you want with it. You’re agreeing to not mention anything about what happens here tonight, report anything to the police, or come searching for her yourself. Doing any of these things will get you killed. It’s that simple.”

  “And if we don’t sign?”

  “Then someone will be picking your brain matter off the couch,” I said, my tone flat. “I’ll let you do the honors of signing first, Fabio.”

  Bruce held out a pen to him, to which he scoffed at. I raised my gun once more and the girls screamed on the couch. Suddenly the elevator dinged and the doors opened.

  “Guys, you won’t believe the day I had,” a feminine voice said as it entered the penthouse. “My phone is on the fritz and—”

  She stopped dead in her tracks when she’s saw the scene in front of her, yelping when Bruce grabbed her arm and dragged her to the living room.

  Her picture did her no justice.

  She was even more beautiful in person, makeup highlighting all her best features. Her maroon lipstick made me curious as to what that color would look like on my cock later. She wore a tight white dress that accentuated her curves, stopping in the middle of her creamy
thighs that I’d be between soon enough. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and even though I hated ponytails on women, it was fucking sexy on her.

  “What the fuck is going on?” she screamed. “Heath, who are these guys?”

  “They said they’re here for you,” he said. Though he spoke to her, he never took his eyes off of me and my gun. Smart man.

  “Here for me for what?” she shrieked.

  I sighed. “Fuck, this story is getting old to tell,” I muttered. “Your father basically sold you to my family as a baby. Now we’re here to collect you.”

  The color drained from her face as she looked at me, shaking her head. “No,” she whispered. “No, this can’t be happening.”

  “Oh, it’s happening,” I mocked with a chuckle. “But I’ll deal with you in a minute.” I looked back to Heath. “Are you going to sign your contract or no?”

  “Can I at least talk to her first?” he asked.

  I gestured to her. “Talk. She’s standing right there.”

  “Alone.”

  “Absolutely fucking not. But,” I walked over to her and took her from Bruce, putting the gun to her head. “If you don’t want to sign it, then I can kill her and the three of you and then no one has to sign. How about that?”

  “Heath, please! Just sign it!” Savannah cried, tears running down her makeup.

  “Might want to listen to the woman,” I said.

  “Heath, please,” Aurora said, her voice shaky with fear. “Just do whatever it is he wants.”

  “But he wants me to sign this to let him take you away and I never see you again!” he exclaimed. “I told you I’d protect you—”

  I shook my head. “You can’t protect her. Her own father couldn’t protect her. You’ll only get yourself killed.” I looked at my watch. “I don’t have all day, Heath. Sign it or don’t. It’s your life.” Bruce moved to Savannah and handed her the pen. Both she and Kandice wasted no time putting their bank information and signature on the documents, which left Heath. Again.

  “Last chance, Fabio,” I said.

  He stared at the document for a long moment before shaking his head. “I can’t sign my fiancée’s freedom away,” he said. “I’m going to search for her every day of my—”