Rules of Bennett: The Complete Collection

by Ember Michaels

  I turned my eyes away from the door further down the hallway and cleared my throat. “Sorry,” I murmured, following him down the opposite direction.

  He unlocked the large, heavy wooden door with a single thumbprint before pushing it open. Everything still looked as it did when I was first down here, except new girls sat on the couch where Kerry, Chasity, and Rylan once sat when I arrived. Since their deaths, the air down here seemed to change, the girls more solemn and careful. An uncomfortable quiet cloaked the place, the only noise coming from a reality tv show playing on television.

  “Seven minutes,” Bennett said, nodding toward a corner.

  Savannah’s red hair stood out like a sore thumb. Her arms were wrapped around her knees as her head rested on top of them. I rushed over to her, wincing as I got on my knees in front of her. Her head jerked up when I put a gentle hand on her knee.

  “What the hell happened to you?” she asked, her eyes wide.

  I shook my head. “A punishment, but I’m not here to talk about that because I don’t have much time. Are you okay?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m about as okay as any paid whore would be in this situation. All I do is get fucked, cry, get fucked again, eat and sleep,” she spat before turning her eyes away.

  “I’m so sorry about all of this,” I whispered, tears rolling down my cheeks. “I promise I’ll fix this.”

  “How? You’re just as trapped as I am.” She bit her bottom lip, tears welling up in her eyes. “We’re going to die here, aren’t we?”

  I furiously shook my head. “I’m going to get you out of here, I swear. I already have a plan.”

  She wiped away a stray tear and glanced over my shoulder, where Bennett probably stood watching us like a hawk.

  “What plan?” she asked.

  I glanced over my shoulder at Bennett, who pointed at his watch. Turning to Savannah, I sighed.

  “This may sound crazy, but I’m going to try to get him to fall in love with me,” I said slowly.

  Savannah scoffed. “Does he even know what that is? No man as evil as him can love anyone or anything.”

  “That’s what I thought, too, but I learned about his ex, Stephanie. He gets angry when anyone talks bad about her—”

  “No offense, but what does a dead whore have to do with anything?” she interrupted.

  “Look, she’s his weakness. For now, I’ll play the part. I’ll do what he wants and behave. I’ll learn what I can about Stephanie to use to my advantage and see if I can get him to trust me enough to get close to him. If I get close enough, I can kill him—”

  “No,” Savannah said with a sigh. “You can’t kill him.”

  I raised an eyebrow. The man was basically the reason she was here; he’d raped her and had others do the same. Why didn’t she want me to kill him to set us free?

  “I don’t understand,” I said.

  She placed her hand over mine and shook her head. “You can’t kill him,” she whispered. “He’s just a…puppet, I guess. Even if you kill him, you have to deal with whoever is pulling the strings.”

  Then it dawned on me. Wilson. Bennett’s death would only cause me to end up with Wilson, who seemed so much more capable of unspeakable torture. She was right, though. Bennett only came after us because Wilson sent him. How in the hell would I get Bennett on my side to help me take out his own father?

  “You have to go after the head of the beast in order to save us all. I know you’ll think of something. You always do,” she said with a small smile.

  “Time’s up, Aurora,” Bennett called from behind me.

  I sighed and leaned forward, hugging Savannah. “I love you. I promise I’ll get us out,” I whispered.

  She grinned at me when I pulled away and nodded. “And make sure that fucker pays for everything he’s done to us. To all of us.”

  BENNETT

  I watched as Aurora slowly got up and moved away from Savannah, her head low. Savannah turned her gaze from me when I looked back, and I couldn’t help but smirk. The first time I met her, she was bright with confidence and a take-no-shit attitude, but all it took was the right circumstances and tools to break anyone down. Even Aurora, who swore I couldn’t break her, was no longer the woman she was prior to our little tango in the Retribution room. And in a way, I was a bit aggravated that she’d broken so easily because now I was bored as fuck.

  “You were right,” I heard her say as we left the bunker and reached the kitchen.

  “About?” I asked, keeping my eyes forward as we maneuvered through the house.

  “Accepting that I’m stuck here,” she replied. “I mean there’s no point in fighting a battle I know I won’t win in the end.”

  “Shame that I had to do what I did in order for you to see that,” I murmured.

  “So, when I’m not at your beck and call, what am I supposed to do around here?” she asked.

  I fought the urge to grin. At least she kept some of her sass.

  “We’ll worry about that when I’m sure I can trust you while you’re moving around on your own,” I answered.

  “It’s not like I can go far,” she muttered as we reached the bedroom. She immediately walked over to the bed as she’d done every time we entered the bedroom, sitting down on the edge of it.

  The bruises that once plagued her body slowly faded, faint purple coloring still visible along her right cheekbone. She looked at me with bright eyes, curious and calculating.

  “Is there something you want to say?” I finally asked, leaning against the dresser.

  She shrugged. “What am I supposed to do? All you’ve done is keep me locked in a room since I’ve been here.”

  “Because you haven’t learned how to behave,” I said. “You can’t even follow simple directions and you think I’m going to let you run around here unattended?”

  “I said I’d follow the rules,” she countered, her voice tight. “I don’t even know what’s expected of me as your pet. All you mentioned are three rules. What else?”

  “You’ll do whatever it is I want you to do,” I said and smiled.

  She stared at me, wringing her hands in her lap. “Like…what?”

  “Anything I want you to do,” I stated again. “If I want to fuck you, I can. If I want you to clean this entire house naked, you will. If I want you to take care of business, then I expect you to follow.”

  “So, basically your slave,” she said, her voice flat.

  I shook my head. “Slave is a little…harsh, don’t you think? Besides, it’s not all work and torture. You can enjoy things, too. When you learn not to make an ass out of yourself, you’ll see what I mean,” I said, pushing off the dresser and heading toward the door.

  “Wait,” she suddenly said.

  I turned to look at her. “What is it?”

  “Can’t we just talk or something?” she asked.

  I sighed inwardly. Of course, she’d want to fucking talk. I almost wished she was still mute and wanted nothing to do with me.

  “What are you so eager to talk about?” I said with a sigh, going back to lean against the dresser.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. If I’m stuck with you, I figured I could at least know something about you.”

  “I’m a killer, I hate small talk, and I’m not much of a talker,” I stated. “Anything else?”

  “Something I don’t already know,” she said with a frown, unamused. “I mean is there anything else you like besides making people miserable?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Bennett, everyone has one thing they like. There has to be something positive in your life that makes you happy,” she said, running a frustrated hand through her hair.

  I ground my teeth. Everything that once made me happy eventually disappeared. My mother, my childhood innocence, and then Stephanie…I was almost afraid of enjoying something in fear that it would disappear as well. My life was chaotic, and my mind was in an even worse state, but I simply accepted that as my life.

>   Underground organizations didn’t run on positivity, and it was best to keep your innermost secrets to yourself or else they’d be the cause of your death.

  Aurora continued looking at me, waiting for me to answer. My mind kicked into gear, analyzing her questions, her desire to talk and get to know me. Prior to her seeing Savannah, she’d hardly said anything to me unless I spoke to her. I smirked.

  “I do want you to know something,” I said as I put my hand in my pocket. “Before you go and plot against me, know that you can’t outsmart me. I can kill you way before you could even get a chance to touch me. Clear?” Her eyes widened, her skin slightly going pale. “I said are we clear?”

  “I…I wasn’t—”

  “That’s not what I asked you,” I stated, my voice firm. “Are we fucking clear?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Good.”

  “You should get help for your paranoia,” she finally said once she gained her composure. “Is it a crime to want to get to know my captor since I'm stuck here?”

  “Then what exactly do you want to know? My favorite color? My favorite food? What?”

  “Have you always been in this line of work?”

  I shrugged. “It's a family business. Of course.”

  “You've never wanted to do anything else?”

  “Nothing else would've paid me the millions I make doing this,” I said with a sigh. “I have a question for you though.”

  “What is it?” she asked.

  I stroked my growing facial hair as I looked at her. “How'd you end up with your boyfriend? Didn't seem like the type to be able to keep up with someone as sassy as you unless he was a bitch,” I mused.

  Her expression hardened at the mention of him. “My fiancé is off limits. If your ex is off limits, so is mine.”

  I shrugged. “Fair enough,” I replied. A flash of disappointment flashed in her eyes when I agreed.

  I didn't care either way about her fiancé. He was long dead and so was Stephanie. No need to have a therapy session with each other while dishing out what we missed about our significant others.

  “Why do you work with a prick like your father?” she finally asked.

  I met her gaze. “Did you not understand the ‘family’ in family business?” I asked with a raised brow.

  She gave me a nonchalant shrug. “I mean you're fully capable of running your own underground business. At this point, your father has to see you as a threat. He already knows what you're capable of. Probably why he’s keeping you under his thumb.”

  “I'm under no one’s thumb,” I muttered.

  “Is that why he came into your house to question you about your decision for your part of the business?” she asked, cocking her head.

  I rolled her words around in my head, the anger from that day slowly coming back to life. Instead, I pushed the thoughts aside, keeping my face neutral.

  “I liked it better when you were mute. Now you won't shut the fuck up,” I muttered, pushing off the dresser and heading to the door.

  “So that struck a nerve, I see,” she said.

  I turned around and smirked at her. “Is that your goal? To get on my nerves?”

  “No. I'm trying to have a conversation, but it's hard when you're making it one-sided.”

  “Because you want to talk about shit that isn't your business. Like I told you before, your biggest priority should be worrying about yourself.”

  “And how do I do that? I've been locked in rooms since I've been here. Do I count down the number of days it'll take for you to finally kill me to free me from this hellhole?” she spat. I ground my teeth but didn't respond. She sighed. “Scared you're going to fall for me, too?”

  I snorted. “I don't make the same mistake twice.”

  “Never say never.”

  “I’ll show you better than I can tell you. I'll be back later,” I said and headed toward the door again.

  “Bennett?”

  I groaned. “Fuck, what now, Aurora?” I said, not even bothering to keep the irritation out of my voice.

  “You carry yourself as if you're a monster, the devil, but everyone has a weakness,” she said softly.

  “And only weak people let them show,” I tossed back.

  A solid knock on the door broke the tense silence that filled the room. I nearly breathed a sigh of relief, finally having a reason to leave before she called my name again. Though, what waited for me on the other side of the door wasn't ideal either. Carrie stood there with her face almost as red as her hair, and I already had an idea of why she was here.

  I looked at Aurora. “I’ll be back in a little while,” I said and stepped out of the bedroom, locking the door behind me.

  Before I could even open my mouth to say anything, Carrie slapped me across the face hard.

  “What the fuck was that for?” I asked, fighting to keep my own anger at bay.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you, Bennett? You could’ve killed her!” she spat in a low tone, aware that Aurora was on the other side of the door.

  “What I do with my pet is none of your damn business,” I growled. “And you’re very lucky I consider you family. Slap me again, and I promise you won’t get away with it.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Ooh, I’m so fucking scared,” she drawled sarcastically. “Quite frankly, you and everyone in this place can suck my ass; your father can be the first one.”

  “What does he have to do with anything?”

  “This!” She thrust a manila envelope in my face.

  I scanned over it and shrugged, not seeing what was special about it.

  “And?” I asked.

  “I found this in my mailbox yesterday,” she snapped.

  “Didn’t come from me,” I stated, trying to move past her.

  She jumped back into my path, thrusting the envelope back into my face. “There’s something in here that I need you to see,” she said.

  I sighed inwardly and looked around us. “Let’s go somewhere else and talk about this,” I said, noticing the people still milling about the hallway.

  She followed me downstairs to my office, closing the door behind her and wasted no time talking.

  “You know, I’ve always had doubts about my father’s death, but this wasn’t anything close to what I imagined,” she started, pacing the floor.

  “Let me see whatever it is,” I said, holding my hand out.

  She slapped the envelope in my hand and continued pacing. “Like, I know your father is a piece of shit and orchestrates a lot of murder, but—”

  “You think my father killed yours?” I interrupted, pulling out the contents of the envelope.

  “If he didn’t kill him himself, I’m sure he hired someone to,” she snapped, stopping her pacing to glare at me. “Just look at the pictures and tell me that you don’t see what I think you see.”

  I looked through the photos, my blood running cold when I saw my mother in them. Multiple pictures featured both my mother and Carrie’s father either hugging or kissing. I continued to flip through the photos and saw one of them was taken on the outside of our family home with my mother and Carrie’s father in the bedroom window as they undressed each other.

  “So, your father was having an affair with my mother,” I stated, nearly choking on the realization.

  “And I think your father had your mother and my father killed for it,” she stated matter-of-factly.

  I shook my head. “I don’t know, Carrie. I doubt he would’ve killed my mother. Punished her, maybe, but I don’t think he would’ve killed his own wife.”

  She threw her hands up in frustration. “Are you even listening to yourself? Wilson doesn’t care about anyone but himself. The moment your mother died, almost everything of hers disappeared from your house, right?”

  I thought back to how our family home was practically empty of my mother’s presence except for the single picture my father kept in his office. He’d quickly converted my baby sister’s nursery into Carrie�
��s room the next day without even taking a chance to grieve on the two family members he’d lost. I’d be stupid not to be suspicious of that, but I just couldn’t handle the idea that my father was the one who shattered our family.

  “So, what are you going to do about it?” I asked, redirecting the subject off myself.

  She looked at me, her green eyes filled with a mixture of emotion. “I’m going to confront him about it,” she stated, her voice laced with both confidence and determination.

  “Confront him and say that he killed your father?” I asked with a raised brow.

  “Not just that,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m going to confront him about killing my family.”

  I held my hands up. “Whoa. I kind of understand your thoughts about your father, but your mother is just missing, not—”

  “Don’t be a fucking moron, Bennett,” she snapped. “It’s been over twenty years. Do you really think she’s just ‘missing?’ And with all the resources your father has, I’m sure he could’ve found her had he actually wanted to.”

  “What does it matter, anyway? He practically raised you—”

  “Yeah, after he got rid of everyone else,” she interrupted. “I don’t believe my father was killed on the job like he told me he was. And when I find proof, I’m going to confront him, and he will pay for what he’s done.”

  “You should watch your words, Carrie,” I warned. “This is my father you’re talking about.”

  “You mean the father who's just using you to do his dirty work? The one who really doesn’t give two fucks about you unless you’re doing what he wants?”

  “Carrie—”

  “The one who's responsible for the death of your girlfriend and unborn child?” she screamed.

  A sharp pain traveled across my chest at her words. We glared at each other, the office suddenly going quiet. I couldn’t afford to let my own thoughts and theories cloud my judgment. All it would take was one bad move against my father before I'd have a bounty on my head, and I damn sure didn’t have time for that right now, especially without concrete proof.

  “I need you to get the fuck out,” I growled, my hands tightening on the edge of my desk.