Rules of Bennett: The Complete Collection

by Ember Michaels

  “I’m pregnant, not handicapped, Bennett. I’m fully capable to protecting myself. I’ve done it once before,” she protested.

  As I looked down at her, she had that same defiant look in her eyes that Stephanie used to have when she was upset about something. It used to piss me off to no end because I’d eventually cave to her just to see her smile that beautiful smile of hers. But I couldn’t do that to Aurora. Caving in to Stephanie was what got her killed. She’s practically begged me to just let her stay home that night against my better judgment, only because she didn’t want to see my father just yet. My gut told me not to leave her alone, but that defiant look of hers and her pleading made me change my mind, which sealed her fate.

  Aurora could get mad at me all she wanted, but I wasn’t changing my fucking mind.

  “I’m doing this for your own good,” I said, softening my voice. I could understand her frustration, I really could. She was right; she’d done everything I’d asked. But this pregnancy—while not surprising considering all of the unprotected sex we’d have—came out of nowhere and threw a wrench into the plans. It wasn’t something we’d planned; all we could do was adapt and adjust. I couldn’t even fully blame her for how she was reacting. Between her pregnancy hormones, still getting adjusted to being married, and now the news of a baby, I couldn’t even begin to imagine the mental and emotional turmoil she was going through. I just wish she could see I wasn’t the enemy right now.

  “You’re doing this for your own peace of mind,” she snapped. “You don’t even give a damn about me to want to suddenly care about my well-being.”

  I sighed deeply and wrapped my arms around her. “I care a great deal about the baby inside of you, Aurora,” I said slowly. “I want to grow to care just as much for you also if you’d stop fucking fighting me every step of the way. I told you I wanted to see where this goes. Shouldn’t wanting to keep you safe show you that?”

  “The only thing you want to keep safe are your own interests,” she scoffed, pulling away from me. “As far as I’m concerned, you and I have nothing to talk about if you’re not here to tell me you’ve changed your mind.”

  And two weeks later, we were still in the same predicament of her hardly speaking to me.

  “How’s that couch life treating you?” Saint teased before tossing popcorn into his mouth. I glared at him, exhaustion and frustration putting me on edge. It was one thing for her not to talk to me, but a completely different thing to not being able to touch her. The one time I’d practically forced myself on her, she’d just laid there like a silent, warm doll, taking whatever I gave her without a sound. I had to give it to her; her resolve was like an iron-clad shield, and it was grating on my last fucking nerve.

  I ignored Saint’s question and turned my attention onto KC. “Any information yet? It’s been weeks,” I stated, running a tired hand down my face.

  “I have the info for Brian. He’s back in town,” he said as he typed away on his computer. “I’ve been intercepting his phone records to see if he reveals anything about Wilson’s location or anything helpful.”

  “Then send him information to me. I guess I’ll go ahead and deal with him,” I said, adrenaline slowly replacing the exhaustion. I’d waited for years to come face to face with Stephanie’s killer, and now I was so close I could literally smell the blood. When I was done with him, I would move on to the puppet master and end this once and for all.

  “It’s coming your way,” KC said, and my phone vibrated soon after that. “Oh, now that I’m thinking about it, I have your new tracking system set up. If you still have the serial number for her chip, I can activate it on the new system instead of you having to implant a new one.”

  “Thank fuck,” I said and opened up the old app to read the serial number off. He quickly typed it in, his brow furrowed as he concentrated.

  “Okay and…done. She’s back up and running. You can delete the old app now. You should be able to see her in the new one,” he said and looked up at me.

  I opened the new app and sure enough, she was active again, the chip showing her still barricaded in the bedroom. “Perfect,” I said with a nod. “This gives me peace of mind for when I have to go out to handle business.”

  “You know she’s going to be pissed, right?” Nyxin said.

  I shrugged. “It’s a sacrifice I have to make in order to keep her safe.”

  “But leaving her home can put her in danger, too,” Saint noted. “I mean not to bring up bad memories, but Stephanie was left home alone.”

  “Yeah, alone. I’m not leaving her alone. She’ll be protected,” I ground out. The guys shared a look with each other but didn’t object. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”

  “But happy wife, happy life and all that. I can’t even begin to imagine the hell a hormonal, pregnant woman can cause,” Nyxin said and chuckled. I ran a frustrated hand through my hair. It was definitely true, as an unhappy wife was making my life pure hell.

  A solid knock sounded on the doorframe, Josh standing there. “The doctor’s here,” he said.

  I stuffed my frustrations away as I stood, looking back to my men who stood around my office. “We’ll continue working tomorrow. Get ready for tonight and we’ll meet in the garage at six,” I said. They all nodded and filed out. Tonight was an auction gala that I was hesitant about attending. I had a duty to show up since it was the first event I’d attend as the head of my own family instead of on my father’s behalf, but I also had a duty to protect those in my family. It was an opportunity to include Aurora so she could cut this silent treatment shit, but the imposing danger that could be waiting for us put me on edge.

  As soon as I entered the main house, Carrie was on my heels. She bounced excitedly next to me, biting her bottom lip as she suppressed a squeal. I looked down at her and frowned.

  “Can I help you with something?” I asked.

  She smiled and jumped up and down. “I saw the doctor had equipment with him this time!” she shrieked as she looped her arm through mine. “Is he doing an ultrasound today?”

  I shrugged. “I guess so.”

  “Can I see? Please? I haven’t seen a baby in so long! Please, please, please?”

  “Control yourself, Carrie. It’s just an ultrasound. She’s not about to give birth,” I muttered as we walked up the stairs.

  “I know, but this is exciting. You’re about to have a baby, Bennett; a mini you!” She frowned slightly as soon as she said the words. “Well, hopefully he doesn’t inherit your crazy tendencies.”

  I chuckled. It was still surreal to even think that I’d be a father if things went smoothly. The news of the pregnancy had finally settled into my mind, but I was still hesitant to get excited about it. I didn’t want to create an attachment only for Aurora to miscarry for whatever reason or something happened to her. My heart never fully recovered from my first loss, so I didn’t want to set myself up to be crushed by another one, especially when this bullshit with Wilson wasn’t resolved.

  The bedroom door was open finally, the doctor carrying things inside. He looked at me and gave me a nod of acknowledgement.

  “Good to see you again, Mr. Moreno,” he said as he began setting everything up. Aurora shifted in bed, her skin still pale. She looked unwell, which sent an unusual wave of worry through me. She looked at me briefly and immediately diverted her eyes away.

  “What’s with the audience?” she mumbled when she noticed Carrie’s presence.

  “Sorry, I just wanted to see,” Carrie said and looked between me and Aurora. “I mean I can leave if you want.”

  Aurora shook her head. “It’s fine,” she murmured. I walked over and stood on the side of the bed, watching the doctor as he plugged in the ultrasound machine. Carrie bounced around on the other side of the bed and I couldn’t help but to grin at how excited she was.

  “Is this ultrasound going to tell us the sex of the baby?” I finally asked to break the awkward silence in the room.

  The doct
or shook his head. “Probably not this time. I think she’s still too early for that, but the ultrasound should officially tell me how far along she is.”

  “How long before we’re able to know?” Aurora asked.

  “You can know as early six weeks, but usually around twelve.” He turned the machine on and grabbed a bottle of jelly. “Are you ready, dear?”

  She looked at me, something akin to anxiety and fear in her gaze. I gave her a subtle nod but kept my distance, putting my hands in my pockets to keep from going over to her and touching her. She nodded to the doctor and settled back onto the pillows, lifting her nightgown to expose her stomach. The room was silent as the doctor put gel on Aurora’s stomach and moved a wand around. I kept my eyes on her as she watched the screen.

  “Why don’t I hear anything?” she asked, panic slightly laced in her voice.

  The doctor continued moving the wand and pressing buttons on the machine. “I’m just taking measurements right now, dear,” he said idly as he squinted at the machine. “It looks like you’re eight weeks on the dot. I’d place conception to be around…when I was called here after your Hell week. That was also when I reminded Bennett again that you were overdue for your birth control.”

  Aurora cut her eyes at before turning her attention back to the screen. It was hard to believe that it’d been eight weeks since then. There’d been so much shit going on that it was so easy to lose track of time. It seemed like yesterday when I picked her up, but I was sure it probably felt much longer to her.

  The doctor turned a small knob on the machine and then we all heard it. The loud, clear sound of a heartbeat filled the room and my own heart constricted in my chest. I’d never gotten a chance to experience this with Stephanie. She was murdered hours after she’d revealed the news to me. To see the small mass on the screen and hearing its life with my own ears sent an array of emotions through me, reminding me that the baby was real. That it had a chance. And that I needed to do whatever it took in order to protect it.

  “Oh wow,” Carrie gushed with tears in her eyes.

  The expression on Aurora’s face was unreadable. I wasn’t sure if her eyes were teary because she was happy and excited or upset because she couldn’t escape the reality that she was actually pregnant.

  The doctor pointed at things on the screen and explained what he’d pointed at, but I couldn’t hear anything over my baby’s fast heartbeat. Just the sound of it reminded me of how unprepared I was for this. We were in the middle of a deadly war; I couldn’t even celebrate the fact that she was pregnant. Then again, she and I weren’t a traditional couple, nor was her pregnancy planned. Considering the current state of our “relationship,” we weren’t in any kind of position to celebrate.

  “Bennett?” Carrie called out, snapping her fingers in front of my face. I blinked to see everyone staring at me, the doctor packing his things up.

  “I’m sorry. I’m a bit preoccupied,” I mumbled and looked to the doctor. “Did you say something?”

  “I was telling your wife I’d be back in two weeks to check her again. I’ll need to do some bloodwork on her today with her looking a bit peaky.” He looked to Aurora. “How’ve you been feeling lately?”

  “Okay, I guess. Just sleepy and nauseous,” she said with a shrug.

  “Probably because you’re still not eating enough,” I said with a frown.

  The doctor nodded. “Yes, you’ll need to eat more. You’re eating for two now, so you’ll have to eat more times throughout the day to keep your strength up,” the doctor said, which made me smirk at her.

  “Sounds a lot like what I’ve been saying lately,” I mused.

  She ignored me and turned her attention back to the doctor. “I’ll try to eat more,” she said.

  “You’re taking the prenatal vitamins I left during my last visit, correct?” he asked, and Aurora nodded. “Good. Well, I’m going to draw a couple vials of blood really fast and let you get back to resting.”

  “She’s had wine at a brunch a few weeks ago,” I said. “Is that going to have an effect on the baby?”

  “It wasn’t even a lot,” Aurora interjected. “It was only a glass and I hadn’t had any since then.”

  “She should be fine—”

  “I’m sitting right here,” she ground out. “Don’t talk as if I’m not sitting a few fucking feet from you.”

  He looked at me as if he expected me to do or say something, but I shrugged and grinned. “My wife is the one talking to you, not me.”

  He adjusted his glasses and shifted uncomfortably. “My apologies, Mrs. Moreno,” he said. “You’ll be fine. Everything looks good with the ultrasound as of now, but I’ll do further testing on the bloodwork and we’ll go from there.”

  He took a strip of ultrasound pictures from his portal thermal printer and handed them to me before getting her prepared to draw blood. Carrie skipped over to stand next to me, looking at the pictures as well.

  “How exciting is that?” she murmured, as she looped her arm through mine and squeezed. “I’m so damn excited. You won’t even need a nanny or anything. Auntie Carrie will be here!”

  “Slow down a bit,” I said with a chuckle. “Let’s worry about that when they’re delivered safely. You should know not to put all your eggs in one basket in this life.”

  She gave me a small smile. “Be positive for once, Bennett. The baby’s here right now and that’s what matters. You should be excited no matter what happens in the end.”

  “It’s called being realistic, Carrie. I’ve been down this road before,” I reminded her as I put the pictures in my pocket.

  She frowned up at me. “Can we talk in the hall for a second?”

  “We can when the doctor finishes and I have a chance to talk to Aurora,” I said. After being locked out of here majority of the time she’d been in here for the past two weeks, the last thing I wanted was to leave and give her the opportunity to lock me out of the bedroom again.

  “It’ll only take a few seconds,” she said and pulled me toward the door.

  The doctor looked at me with a raised brow. “Is there a problem?” he asked. Aurora looked at me, the expression on her face indifferent.

  “Don’t come out of here until I come back in,” I said, just as Carrie pulled me out into the hall and shut the door behind us. “What is it?”

  “If you keep living in the past, you’re not going to appreciate the present for what it is,” Carrie said with a frown.

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  She narrowed her eyes at me as she put a hand on her hip. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. Going back on your word about Wilson, not getting excited about the baby. You’re still stuck in the past.”

  “It’s not like it isn’t a relevant concern,” I ground out.

  “I’m not saying that it isn’t, but you have to let go, Bennett.” She let out a small sigh. “She’s not Stephanie.”

  “I know what the fuck she’s not,” I snapped. “I don’t need you or anyone else reminding me of that. Why the fuck is everyone making me out to be the bad guy because I’m trying to fucking protect her? If my father even gets a hint that she’s pregnant, that’s it. He’ll stop at nothing to hurt her just to get back at me. I’m not going to allow that to happen.”

  She grabbed my arms and squeezed. “I know, I know. Look, all I’m saying is that you two need to be working together. I know you’re worried, but putting her on the sidelines after you’ve crowned her is going to look suspicious anyway.”

  I ground my teeth, pissed off because she was right. If she didn’t come to the event tonight, people would ask questions or make assumptions that could get back to my father. It could also put the house at risk of an attack if they realized she was at home without me.

  “Why not let her be involved until she really starts to show? I mean right now it’s not obvious, so I don’t think she’ll be in that much danger, right?”

  “Carrie—”

  “You owe
it to her to at least show that she can handle her own. If things go wrong or it proves to be too much for her, you can at least say you gave her a chance and have a legitimate reason to pull her.”

  “Her being pregnant is a legitimate enough reason to pull her—”

  “That’s a sexist reason to pull her,” Carrie said with a frown. “There’s nothing wrong with her due to her being pregnant. You’re better equipped to protect her this time around. Instead of trying to hide her away, forgive yourself for what happened to Stephanie and let go of your own insecurities.” She gave me a soft smile. “You’re going to be an amazing, overly protective dad to your very beautiful, healthy baby soon and you should enjoy every second of that, not spend time already preparing for everything possible to go wrong.”

  I stared at her for a long moment. It didn’t matter what I said or did, people just wouldn’t understand. No one would understand the pain that came with learning your girlfriend was pregnant, only to find her gunned down only a couple of hours later. One minute, I’d been in the car with Saint and Bruce talking about how excited I was about a baby and everything I’d do if it were a boy or how protective I’d be if it were a girl…only to find that future ripped from me before it even had a chance to form. Now Aurora was pregnant and my father was on a rampage, which put her at risk of succumbing to the same fate.

  “Are you done?” I finally asked. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

  “You’re impossible sometimes. I’m just trying to help you out so that you can sleep in the same bed as your ‘wife’ instead of making her push you further away.”

  “I can handle my wife, but thank you for your concern,” I said sarcastically and walked away before she could say another word.

  The doctor was putting a Band-Aid on Aurora’s arm by the time I walked in, both of them looking to me. “I’ll call you with the results of the bloodwork as soon as I get them and will come back to do another ultrasound in two weeks,” he said as he put the vials of blood in a red biohazard bag with an ice pack in it. I nodded and remained near the door until he finally left, leaving Aurora and I alone.