She sat on the bed staring at me without a word. Her eyes followed me as I walked over to the side of the bed and sat next to her.
“How are you feeling?” I finally asked.
“Fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
“Then why ask?”
I sighed inwardly, my hands tingling to inflict pain on her from the frustration she’d caused me for two weeks and her smart-ass mouth. Even if she wasn’t my wife, I could never bring myself to hurt a pregnant woman no matter if she was pregnant with my kid or not. I was a monster, but even I had my own limits.
“If you’re feeling up to it, there’s an auction event tonight. It’s the first one we’d attend as La Fedeltá. I wanted to see if you felt up to going.”
“Oh wow. I get to come off house arrest,” she drawled.
“I could’ve not told you at all and went alone,” I reminded her with a frown.
“What would be the point in going? It’s obvious that even after doing all the bullshit you asked of me, you still don’t see me as your equal. You still see me as weak despite seeing what I’m capable of.”
I ran a frustrated hand down my face. She and I would never see eye to eye about this situation. Every time she brought it up, we’d just go around in circles until one of us got frustrated and walked away from the conversation. I truly understood her frustration, but what was so hard to understand that I’d made the decision to protect her?
“You remember when you had to fight for your life at the safe house?” I asked.
She furrowed her brow as she looked at me. “Of course I do. That’s why it’s fucking frustrating that you think I can’t defend myself.”
“It’s not that I don’t think you can.” I sighed deeply. “As my queen, you’re going to have more than one person coming after you. You did great with one guy, but what’ll happen if you have more than two or three coming after you?”
“Then prepare me for that instead of forcing me to be a sitting duck and relying on someone else to protect me,” she protested. “You keep saying all of this is to keep me safe, but what happens if the person you’ve assigned to protect me is killed? Then what?”
Knowing my father, it was a high possibility. Carrie had a point early. You have to shake your own insecurities about whether or not you can protect her and give her a chance, I reminded myself. Aside from wanting to possess her fully, I knew I didn’t marry a weak queen. I looked up into her determined eyes. I’d crowned her because I knew she was capable of ruling alongside me as the strong, dark princess she was growing to be. She was my wife, the mother of my baby, and the queen of my empire. To be strong as a whole, she and I had to be strong together, and that would require me to allow her to fight alongside me as she pledged to do when joining La Fedeltá.
As I promised her that she could do.
“All right,” I finally said with a sigh.
“All right?” she repeated. “All right what?”
“You’re right.” I held her confused gazed. “It makes more sense to prepare you than to hide you away from everything. Leaving you vulnerable and dependent on me or the guys won’t help you if anything were to happen to any of us.”
She nodded. “Glad you can finally stop being stubborn long enough to agree for once.” She gave me a small smile and it actually felt good to see it instead of her signature scowl she’d given me lately. “I guess you’re learning this whole ‘compromising’ thing when it comes to marriage.”
“I wouldn’t say that too quickly,” I said and stood up. “The first moment you give me a reason to put you back on the sidelines, I will. My priority is keeping you safe and if you do something to endanger that or the threat is too great, I’ll reduce your role.”
“Trust me, I won’t.”
I put my hands in my pockets and nodded. “Well, we have somewhere to be in a couple of hours, so get yourself ready.”
“Is there a specific dress code?”
“No.” I grinned at her as my gaze swept along her body. “But seeing you in my favorite color would be nice.”
She returned my grin and nodded. “I’ll see what I can find,” she said. After a few moments, I finally walked back out to see KC standing the in the hallway with his laptop in his hands.
“What’s up?” I asked with a raised brow.
He turned his computer around to show me the screen. “From Wilson’s texts, he’s going to be at the event tonight. I don’t know if he’s aware that you’re also coming, but I wanted to give you a heads up.”
“Shit,” I mumbled. It wasn’t wise to get into a gunfight in such a public place. I also didn’t want Aurora to be that close to him either. I thought about the last time we’d been together in a public place. He definitely didn’t care that it was a public place back then to send his men shooting at us, so there was nothing that’d stop him from doing so again. With Aurora being pregnant, I didn’t want to risk her getting caught in the crossfire or us having to run off to another warehouse since it’d be too dangerous to come back here with the children still hiding out in the bunker.
“He doesn’t expect you to come since you don’t usually go to these kinds of things, so I don’t know if he’s coming with a shitload of security or not,” KC continued. “But I’d be careful if you go. It could be the perfect place for Aurora to be snatched up there in the middle of an auction event.”
“Then I guess we’re going to have a little change of plans tonight,” I mumbled. There would be plenty of other events to attend later, but everyone else’s safety was more important. The only good that came out of this was that I now knew that Wilson wasn’t out of the country; he’d probably been here the whole time. Knowing that he was local meant that he only had a few places he could hide and unfortunately for him, I knew them all.
“Since he’s still in the country, you should be able to locate him better, right?” I asked him. He shrugged.
“I can try. It’s still giving me the same bullshit as it did before. But I can narrow the searches down and see if I can find something new.”
“Fine. I guess I’ll deal with Brian tonight instead,” I said and smiled. “Besides, I’m sure Aurora could use a little pick-me-up.”
“How is she, by the way?” he asked. “Everything’s good with the baby?”
I nodded. “Yeah. She’s eight weeks along.”
“That’s crazy.” He grinned. “Kind of hard imagining you being a gentle dad.”
“People couldn’t imagine me as a husband either but yet, here I am,” I said with a chuckle.
“You’re right about that,” he said with a chuckle. “Well, I’m going to go get to work. The faster we can resolve this situation, the sooner you can enjoy your wife and the fact that she’s pregnant.”
“Yeah…I don’t know about all that, but I can use one this less to stress about,” I said with a grin.
I re-entered the bedroom when he walked away and found Aurora no longer in bed. The shower ran in the bathroom, so I crossed the room and entered. She jumped in surprise and wiped water from her face when I opened the shower door.
“What the hell?” she exclaimed. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“Change of plans.” My gaze swept along her naked form, pushing back any filthy thoughts that tried to form. “We aren’t going to the event anymore.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Seriously, Bennett? You—”
“We have other business to handle,” I interrupted.
Her earlier annoyed expression quickly morphed into curiosity. “Oh. What’s going on?”
“Something I’ve been waiting to do for a few years now.” A slow grin pulled across my lips. “We have the location of Stephanie’s murderer. And I think it’s time we pay him a visit.”
AURORA
I stood around in the garage with Saint as Bennett took a last-minute phone call. Saint looked at me and grinned.
“You can get in the car if you want,” he said. “You don’t have to
stand around.”
“I’m fine. But thanks,” I said.
He nodded as he leaned against the grill of the SUV, folding his arms across his broad chest. “Giselle asks about you,” he said.
I looked at him in surprise. I hadn’t seen her much since Saint brought her out of the bunker for fun day. A small smile touched my lips as I thought of her saying she liked my “new hair” when she saw my new wig. I fought the urge to touch my belly. I still didn't even know how I felt about my own baby. Before today's ultrasound, I didn't have much attachment, only thinking of it as another way to hurt Bennett. But seeing it on the screen for the first time and hearing its little heart beating made me feel something I couldn't explain. I'd looked to Bennett to his eyes fixed on the screen, an emotion I'd never seen on his face. It was like a mixture of awe, hesitation, and excitement that he was unsure of how to process. It was one thing to know you were pregnant, but a completely different thing to actually see and hear it for yourself.
"How is she?" I finally asked.
"Ready to go home," he said and sighed. "I'm ready to get this shit over with. I hate keeping her down there."
"I'm sure," I said, making a mental note to ask Bennett to take me to the children tomorrow. "Where's her mom?"
Saint clenched his jaw as he exhaled. "She died."
"Oh." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Yeah, well, shit happens," he said as he bowed his head.
I looked toward the door for a moment before turning my attention back to him. "She didn't die from—"
"No," he interrupted quickly. "Anaphylactic shock from a bee sting. A fucking bee sting."
"That's terrible. I'm so sorry," I murmured. It seemed like a good bit of these guys had experienced some kind of loss or pain. It made me wonder if that was why he'd joined, to have some kind of outlet for the pain that he walked around with. I couldn't imagine how much it probably hurt to look at his daughter, who probably reminded him of her mother. I discreetly clasped my hands in front of me, my hands resting on my lower belly. "From what I've seen, you're a good dad."
He looked up at me and gave me a small smile. "Thanks." He was quiet for a moment. "I know it's probably hard right now with everything you've been through and our current situation with Wilson, but I think you should be a little patient with Bennett right now. He's struggling with his own shit and—"
"And I'm not?" I asked with a raised brow.
He pursed his lips together, a flare of annoyance flashing in his eyes. "I know you are; I'm not saying you aren't." He looked toward the door leading into the house briefly as if to make sure no one else was around. "When Stephanie told him she was pregnant, it was all he could talk about. Bruce and I rode with him to his father's for the meeting and the whole way there, he couldn't stop gushing about becoming a father."
"I can't imagine a man like Bennett gushing about anything," I said flatly. Saint chuckled.
"He wouldn't shut up about it actually." He was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. "We were joking around about names and what kind of father we'd think he'd be. I mean he was happy before when it was just him and her, but her being pregnant brought something pure out of him. I don't think I'd ever seen him that happy. He told us that he was thinking about leaving this life because Stephanie always said she didn't want to have a family in this chaos, and I didn't blame him a single bit. There are days when I want to take my daughter and leave this shit, too."
"Then why don't you?"
Saint smirked. "I'm sure you know the answer to that."
"Bennett told Wilson he'd wanted to leave," I said.
"Yeah. So, when we got back to the house and found her dead, I wasn't surprised." His gaze was hard on me. "Everything he's doing is to protect you. I know it fucking sucks, but he just doesn't want the same events to happen again."
"But a deal is a deal," I reminded him. "I did everything I said I'd do; it's not like I asked to be pregnant." I stood a little taller. "Besides, he and I have come to an agreement for now. We'll see how long it holds ups."
"How long what holds up?" Bennett asked as he appeared in the doorway.
Saint smirked at me and pushed off the front of the SUV and walked over to the driver's side as I shook my head. "Nothing. We were just talking about things."
Bennett cut his eyes to Saint before looking to me, his eyes flashing with appreciation. "You look sexy," he said, taking in my black pantsuit. His finger trailed down the center of my bare chest. "And you're not wearing anything under this jacket."
"I'm not," I confirmed, though anyone with eyes could see that.
"Bold," he said and gave me a wicked smiled. "Especially around me."
Bruce and Nyxin came down the stairs into the garage. "Shot gun," Nyxin said as he moved toward the SUV.
"Everyone ready to go?" Bruce asked.
"Did you put the stuff in the truck already?" Bennett asked, which Bruce nodded in response.
"Where's the nerd?" Saint asked.
"Fuck you, Saint," KC said with a scowl as he entered the garage. Saint only chuckled and got into the SUV along with the others. Bennett looked at me.
"You ready?" he asked. I nodded, getting into the car when he opened the car door for me. I could feel the anxious energy rolling off of Bennett in waves, unable to be still as we made our way down the road. His leg bounced next to me and I couldn't help but feel a little bad for him. The man we were going to see was essentially the person who'd physically destroyed his life by killing Stephanie. I couldn't begin to imagine the many times he probably thought about his night since her death, imagining all the ways he'd avenge her if he'd gotten the chance.
I put a hand on his knee and squeeze, which stopped him from bouncing his leg but he didn't look at me. "Are you going to be okay?" I asked, my voice low.
He glanced at me. "I'm fine," he stated, his tone flat.
"Your body language doesn't say you're fine."
"I said I'm fine, Aurora," he responded tightly, removing my hand from his knee. I sighed inwardly and folded my arms across my chest, turning my attention to the window instead.
"You'd think he'd be more excited considering he's about to kill the man responsible for Stephanie's death," my alter said with a tsk. "Instead, he's been a bit of an asshole."
I think he's just a little anxious. I wouldn't doubt there's a bunch of emotions he's feeling right now, I mused. When given the chance, I was sure I'd probably feel the same way when it came time to kill Wilson.
My alter scoffed. "Aww, look at you protect your hubby and baby daddy. How precious. Are you gonna fall in love with him, too? Fucking weak idiot."
It's not being weak. There's no reason to be a bitch about it. People still have feelings.
"Where were his feelings when he hurt you? Where were his feelings when you were in hell and reached out for me? Where was all these feelings that you mention when you needed them?"
I think you should be quiet now, I thought as I ground my teeth, but it only laughed.
"Make me."
And I knew the perfect way to do it.
I slid closer to Bennett and placed a soft kiss on his cheek and putting my hand on his. He glanced over and me and frowned. "What is it?" he asked.
"I just wanted you to know that I'm here for you is all," I murmured. He made me nervous with the way he looked at me, the irritation and malice in his eyes. It reminded me of the man I knew him to be, the one I knew was still lurking around inside of him that was just waiting for the perfect time to strike.
"I keep telling you I'm fine," he said and shrugged me off.
I sighed and slid back away from him, my alter cackling in the back of my mind. "So, how'd that work for you, princess?" it said and cackled some more.
The rest of the ride was filled with an awkward, deafening silence almost. Bennett spent his time occupied with tapping away on his phone, no doubt probably communicating with the guys in the truck.
"How much long
er until we're there?" I finally asked but he didn't respond. "Bennett, can you say something?"
"I would think my lack of words would hint that I'm not in the mood to talk," he mumbled, still typing away on his phone. I narrowed my eyes at him and frowned.
"What the hell is wrong with you? You were fine before we left and now you're being an asshole for no reason."
"There's nothing wrong with me. I just have too much on my mind right now to talk," he said. "We'll be there soon. Just sit there and be quiet. You should be glad you're here in the first place."
I scoffed. This man just wasn't capable of turning over any kind of new leaf; all of his leaves were dead. He'd be "nice" for a little while and then some switch flipped inside of him, revealing what I already knew he was. He could pretend to be good all he wanted but we both knew the truth. After Stephanie died, he wasn't capable of being that guy anymore.
"At the end of the day, that won't matter," my alter said. "We'll be gone soon anyway."
I highly doubt he's really going to let me go.
"If you play your cards right, maybe he will."
I rolled my eyes. I'm pregnant. I'll be lucky if he lets me leave the property by myself, let alone leaving completely, I thought.
"Bigger miracles have happened. Just get through this little hiccup and we'll cross that bridge after Wilson is killed. Once the main threat is eliminated, maybe the jackass will relax a bit," it said.
I sank down a little more in my seat, praying that it was right. Bennett switched so much between his moods so often that it was hard to even gauge how to interact with him at times.
"Are you anxious?" I finally asked him. He continued typing on his phone before he looked at me, his brow furrowed.
"Anxious about what?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. I guess about tonight. I'm sure you thought about this for a long time."
"Yeah, I have."
" I mean something like that would have to make you anxious. At least anxious to get to him," I said.
"There's nothing to be anxious about. We know where he is and by the time I return home, he'll be dead. Why would I be anxious about that?" he asked sarcastically.
Rules of Bennett: The Complete Collection Page 53
