My heart dropped. I could barely handle the twenty he gave me at the safe house, and I was about to get double that? With everything I’d already been through, I didn’t know if I would survive such a punishment. At this point, maybe death wouldn’t be so bad.
“Do you understand?” he asked again.
I took a shaky breath, unable to stop my body from trembling. “Yes, sir.”
I looked up at the chains that bound me, wrapping my hands around to grab them for support. There was no warning before pain shot across the back of my right leg. I bit my lip to keep from screaming, but my leg nearly gave out.
The next strike came, this time across my ass. Bennett didn’t count the lashes as he had when he'd punished me at the safe house, only pausing briefly between each strike before delivering another. The only sounds that filled the room were my pathetic whimpers as I tried not to scream and the sound of what felt like a riding crop whistling through the air before it hit my skin. The pain soon turned into an unbearable burn, and I couldn’t be quiet any longer.
My arms burned as I squeezed the chains, forcing myself to remain on my feet as he delivered strike after strike. My vision swam as my body slowly started to give out, my screaming sounding distant even though it came from my own body. Throughout all the chaos, my alter ego appeared as she always did, her arm outstretched in the silent request for me to take her hand. Fresh red welts appeared on her fair skin every time Bennett hit me, but she didn’t flinch or show any signs of pain.
“Are you ready now?” she asked.
I wanted so badly to be strong, to keep my dignity about myself to show him that nothing he could ever do would break me. But with each hit, my legs grew weaker until I practically dangled by my arms as Bennett continued to pummel me with burning licks.
I can’t survive him, I thought.
“That’s why I’m here. If he wants to fill you with darkness, I will give him what he wants.”
I can’t do this anymore.
“Then allow me to,” she said.
I didn’t know what was on the other side of her or what it would mean for me, but it was the ticket to freedom that I'd wanted. I desperately wanted out. I didn’t want to hurt anymore. I didn’t want to suffer another second. I’d been as strong as I could all week, but I just couldn’t do it anymore. Bennett won. He’d successfully broken me.
With tears in my eyes, I reached out for her. She was too far away, and I couldn’t reach her, sending helplessness through me.
Please. Help me, I begged. Her devilish smile grew terrifyingly large before her cold hand slipped into mine.
“Goodnight, Aurora,” she said, and everything went black.
BENNETT
Seven days of Hell was successful, but I felt everything except victorious.
Aurora hadn’t spoken a single word outside of “yes, sir” and “no, sir” ever since we’d left the Retribution room four days ago. It was so bizarre witnessing the exact moment she broke.
I’d probably been on number twenty-nine of her lashes, her screams filling me with satisfaction. Then she just…stopped. Her body remained limp, and she didn’t make a single sound as I delivered the rest of her lashes. By the time I’d finished, her back, ass, and the back of her legs were covered in angry red welts, some of them bleeding a tiny bit.
I’d walked around to stand in front of her. Her eyes were blank as she stared ahead, looking through me instead of at me. Any time she spoke, she almost sounded robotic. Her voice was low and flat, and she never looked me in the eyes when she did speak.
Maybe the punishment worked a little too well.
I kept her locked in the bedroom, watching her through the camera when I wasn’t around her. Any time she wasn’t eating, sleeping, or in the bathroom for any reason, she just sat in the middle of the bed, staring off into space. I kind of wondered what went on in her head, or if anything went on in there after what she’d been through.
“Are you ready for the next person on the list?” Bruce asked from the doorway to my office.
I sighed as I powered off my iPad, nodding at him. “KC have all the information I asked for?” I asked as I rose from my seat and walked around my desk.
“He said he did. This is the last local person, I believe. The others are out of the country somewhere.”
“That doesn’t matter. I’ll hunt them down wherever they are,” I mumbled as I stepped out into the hall, locking the door to my office before following Bruce down to the conference room in the bunker.
“Any changes with the girl yet?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Not yet. I’ll give her a few more days before I gauge how severe she is,” I said.
“Bennett, can I talk to you for a second?” Carrie said.
I rolled my eyes as I turned around to face her. The bruises she’d sustained from her attack had slowly faded into light purples and yellows on her face, but her left arm was still in a cast.
She frowned at me, her green eyes almost drilling a hole into me. I already knew what this conversation would be about; she’d been on my case all last week about it. She’d bugged me every day about going to talk with Aurora or to at least see how she was doing, but I wouldn’t allow it. I didn’t need anyone interfering with the plan I had, which included keeping Carrie away from her so she didn’t continue entertaining Aurora’s sudden obsession with Stephanie.
“I’m busy right now, Carrie,” I said, returning her frown.
“This will only take a couple of minutes,” she replied.
I sighed deeply and looked at Bruce. “Tell the guys I’ll be down in five,” I said. He nodded and continued onto the bunker, leaving me in the hall with Carrie. “What is it?”
“What the hell did you do to her?” she asked, her voice sharp. “She won’t say a word now. She’s literally just a zombie. How is that going to help anyone?”
“What I do with my property is none of your fucking business,” I stated, slowly becoming irritated. “The only thing you should be focused on is getting better and staying the hell out of trouble. I also told you to stay away from her.”
“You don’t control me,” she snapped. “You may have everyone else under your thumb, but I’m not one of your little whores who follow your every command.”
“I don’t control you, but I control her. If I have to put someone outside her door to keep you out of her room, then that’s what I’ll do. I’m not starting this Stephanie shit up again with her.”
“Even if what she said was true? That they are sisters and that your father took Aurora when he had no claim to her?” she asked.
The information hit me like a ton of bricks, but I forced myself to keep my expression neutral. This whole time I thought Aurora was spewing bullshit just to get under my skin, and it turned out that she’d been right. I didn’t know what Carrie expected me to do about it though. Letting Aurora go was out of the question.
“Even if it is true, she’s here now, and she’ll remain here. I don’t know what you want me to do—”
“You can start by letting her go. She doesn’t deserve to be here, and she doesn’t deserve the life she’s living. It’s not fair to—”
“Stop,” I said, interrupting her. “Begging for her looks pathetic on you. I don’t care what dirt you’ve dug up or what you found. Aurora isn’t leaving. She’s seen too much and knows too much, and I’m not taking that risk just because you want to put on a cape and save her.” I cocked my head to the side as she glared at me. “What, is this your attempt to make up for your lack of action when it came to saving Stephanie?”
The blood drained from her face as she stared at me, her mouth opening and closing as she struggled to find the words to say.
“Yeah, I learned that you were at my house the night she was killed,” I said, putting my hands in my pockets. “I’m only going to say this one more time. Stay away from Aurora and let go of any ideas you have about ‘saving’ her from this life.”
“Or what?” she ask
ed. “You going to hurt me like you’ve hurt her? Or better yet, are you going to kill me like you do anyone else who crosses you?”
“Don’t be fucking ridiculous,” I snapped. “Just stay away from my property.”
I walked away from her before she could utter another word. I almost growled from extreme irritation. After listening to her fuss about Aurora while Aurora was locked in the bunker, I was over her tantrums and demands. She was one more outburst away from being put in the guest house just so I didn’t have to deal with her.
“Sorry about that, guys,” I said when I reached the conference room, taking a seat at the head of the table. Bruce, Saint, Nyxin, and KC all sat around the table, their conversations ceasing when I entered. “So, who’s next?”
Saint squinted at a paper in front of him. “Hank Mercy,” he replied.
I leaned back in my seat. “And who is he responsible for?”
“Your mother,” Bruce answered.
My heart sped up in my chest. For years I’d fantasized about what I’d do to the man responsible for taking my mother away from me. Any time I ended someone’s life, I always imagined it was the person responsible for tearing my family apart. It never filled the void that her death left behind though. The thought of ending the man who was actually responsible sent adrenaline raging through my veins, and I was anxious to get to him already.
“Do you have any useful info on him?” I asked.
“He beats his wife, he’s dealing with lung cancer, and he’s an overall piece of shit that should be dealt with,“ Nyxin answered.
I chuckled. “That’s quite the description,” I said. “And he’s local?”
KC finally spoke up. “Yep. About twenty minutes from here. Only problem is that he has his security system locked down. I’ve been trying to get into his system for half an hour and can’t get through.”
I rubbed my chin. Hearing that didn’t give me much confidence. Any other time, we’d just go in blind to get the job done, but I didn’t want to rush his death. I’d waited for this moment for over two decades. I’d visualized his death any time I missed my mother, so I wanted to take my time with him just as I would with the fucker who killed Stephanie.
“What’s his status within the organization?” I asked, curious about his tight security system.
It made me wonder if he was aware of the brewing war between Wilson and I or if he knew I was out for the blood of anyone who took someone important from me. Considering Wilson had already received three bodies from me already, I wouldn’t be surprised if my vengeance plan had made it through the grapevine already.
“From what I see, he retired when he was officially diagnosed with lung cancer two years ago,” KC said. “Wilson still pays him though; just not sure what he’s paying.”
“Since we can’t get into his camera system, we’re going to have to do this the old fashion way,” I said with a shrug.
My mind and body wanted to end him tonight, but I couldn’t risk the safety of my guys as well as myself. For all I knew, the bastard could be expecting us and have guys ready to take us out before we could even get to him. That just wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.
“I’ll continue trying to hack his system or see if I can get another buddy of mine to take a crack at it,” KC said.
I nodded in approval before looking at the other guys. “While I’m thinking about it, I need someone to guard Aurora when I’m not able to,” I stated, my voice flat.
I loved Carrie to death, but I didn’t trust her when she was out of my sight. She had a mind of her own and didn’t listen to a damn thing I said to her. With the information she had, my gut told me that she was probably hatching some kind of plan to help free Aurora, but I couldn’t allow her to do that.
Letting Aurora go would cause more problems than she realized, not to mention it would put her in danger since Wilson had his sights on her as well. With so many targets on my back, the last thing I needed was Aurora getting the police involved if Carrie freed her.
“Isn’t she still unresponsive or something? What the hell could she be getting herself into now?” Saint asked with a chuckle.
I frowned at him. It frustrated the hell out of me that he found her antics and bullshit hilarious, saying she was “entertaining” to him. Her antics were the least of my worries when she wasn’t even talking right now—or doing much of anything for that matter.
“I’m not worried about her,” I said as I shook my head. “It’s Carrie I’m worried about. When I’m not with Aurora, I need someone posted outside Aurora’s room so Carrie doesn’t sneak up there.”
“Nyxin furrowed his brow in confusion. “What’s wrong with Carrie? Did she do something bad to where you can’t trust her anymore?”
I smirked across the table at KC. “Why don’t you do the honors and inform everyone about what’s going on since you’re the one who pulled the information for Carrie in the first place?” I said, leaning back in my seat.
KC sighed deeply, rubbing his temple. “Well, to make a long story short—”
“No, don’t make it short. I want them to know the beginning and end of this fuckery you got roped into,” I interrupted. “Now continue.”
“Carrie came to me asking if I could look into Stephanie's and Aurora’s contracts. She said Aurora had confided in her that Stephanie told her they were sisters and that she didn’t belong her.”
Saint shook his head. “I don’t understand. Are you talking about another Stephanie? Because we were all there that night to know what happened to Bennett’s Stephanie,” he said with a frown.
“Oh, it gets better,” I mused. “Tell them the source of the information.”
“Carrie said that it came from a dream Aurora had. Aurora claimed Stephanie had been reaching out to her in her dreams.”
“Was this before or after she went crazy?” Nyxin asked with a chuckle. “That’s some wild ass shit.”
“But what’s wild is that the things Aurora said actually checked out,” KC said, leaning back into his seat. “I found Stephanie’s contract. Her last name is DuPont, daughter of Sergio DuPont—also the father of Aurora DuPont.”
“Knew it,” Bruce said.
“Holy shit,” Saint exclaimed.
“There was something else I found. Aurora said she isn’t supposed to be here, that Stephanie was the one Sergio signed over to Wilson. When I looked into Aurora’s contract, one can’t be found for her. Your father keeps a detailed paper trail for everything regarding his business, yet there’s no trail for Aurora aside from documentation that you retrieved her and that she was now in your possession,” KC concluded.
Everyone looked to me, waiting for me to say something.
“What are you going to do about that?” Bruce asked, his eyes shining with curiosity.
“What am I supposed to do exactly?” I asked, leaning forward and folding my hands on the table.
“Are you going to let her go?” KC asked.
Nyxin scoffed. “The first place she’d run to is the cops, especially if Bennett doesn’t free her friend as well,” he said.
Bruce bristled as the mention of Savannah, putting him back on my radar to question him about it later. I turned my attention back to Nyxin.
“Exactly. She knows and has seen too much to let her go. It’s unfortunate she got caught up in shit that had nothing to do with her, but there’s nothing I can do about that now,” I said.
“And finally, Aurora told Carrie that she witnessed Stephanie’s murder in the dream as well,” KC stated.
I ground my teeth, remembering when Aurora told me about the dream she’d had, her words so real that it was almost as if I had relived that painful night all over again.
KC kept his gaze on me as he continued. “She said the shooter had said ‘courtesy of Wilson Moreno’ before he shot Stephanie in the head. Carrie confirmed she’d heard the same thing while she hid in the closet.”
Everyone’s eyes were on me as I fought to keep my emotions
off my face. KC slid a single paper to the center of the table. Bruce retrieved it and slid it over to me.
“When she told me that, I went hunting for her contract to see if her death was indeed an inside job. That was what I found,” he said, nodding toward the paper in front of me.
My heart ached just knowing the contract responsible for killing the love of my life was before me. Even with everyone’s eyes on me, I still struggled to lower my gaze to look at the contract.
Bounty Name: Stephanie DuPont
Bounty Amount: $18,000,000
Reason for Bounty: Threat to organization/Threat to Bennett Moreno (son/heir)
Bounty Hunter: David Clemmons
The muscle in my jaw ticked as I tried to restrain my growing anger. A threat to the organization? A threat to me? I thought back to how excited I’d been when Stephanie said we were expecting. Wilson had been content with the news until I told him I’d thought of leaving the business so I could raise my baby in a safe, less chaotic environment.
He’d had her killed before the ink on the contract was even dry. When I’d finally called him with the news of her death, he went on a rant and said we’d find the person responsible for hurting “family.” Meanwhile, it’d been him the whole time.
I stared at the bounty hunter’s name. “Where is David Clemmons now?” I asked. I read his name repeatedly, memorizing it. KC’s keyboard keys clicked as he typed on his computer.
“He still works within the organization; he’s one of Wilson’s top hitmen,” KC said with a sigh.
“I bet the fucker is,” I mumbled, turning the contract.
Wilson must have known what I'd been up to. He would have heavy detail assigned to protect someone as important to him as Clemmons seemed to be, especially during a war. It would take some time before I could properly get to him, but he was on my list of people I needed to visit in due time.
“So, are we doing anything tonight?” Bruce suddenly asked, looking at his watch.
I raised my eyebrow at him. “Got somewhere else to be?”
“Just asking,” he said with a sigh.
Rules of Bennett: The Complete Collection Page 32
