"Thank you."
"Did Uncle Benny give it to you?"
"He did."
She gasped. "Like a married ring?"
"A wedding ring, yes," I said and giggled. She frowned.
"But I didn't see you in your dress," she said and crossed her arms over her chest, pouting.
I gave her a soft smile. "I didn't have a dress, but I promise you'll get to see it one day."
"Deal," she said with a grin. She ran off to her bed for a moment, fiddling with something before she slowly walked backwards to the table. When she turned around, I snorted. "Look, I'm a mommy!"
She carried a baby doll in her arms and had a small pillow stuffed under her shirt to look as if she were pregnant.
"Your daddy isn't gonna like that," I said.
"He said he's not old enough to be a grandpa," she said. "But when I'm big, I'm gonna have a lot of babies."
"Oh really? How many babies?"
"Nine!" she said, holding up six fingers. I giggled.
"That's a lot of babies," I said. "How are you going to take care of them all by yourself?"
"My boyfriend is gonna help me over there!" she said, pointing to a blonde hair boy I'd seen the last time I was here. He sat in a corner with two other boys playing with trucks and shrieking when they'd crash into each other.
"That'll be your life if you end up with a son," my alter said in my head.
"Aurora, are you and Uncle Benny gonna have babies since you're married?" she suddenly asked.
I gave her a small smile and patted my stomach. "We're growing one right now," I said. I was almost jealous of the excitement that danced in her eyes. The pure excitement that came along with blissful ignorance.
She skipped around the table and stood next to me, frowning. "But your belly isn't big," she said.
"It's still small, but it'll be bigger soon," I said.
"Aurora," I heard from the doorway. I looked over to see Bennett standing there, his hands in his pocket as he looked at me expectantly. "We have business to handle."
Giselle skipped off at the sight of Saint and I sighed inwardly. Standing to my feet, I made my way to Bennett, ready to assume my role as queen. As a pretender. As a liar.
"Anything for the Family, right?" my alter said. It was a price I was willing to pay, but how much would it really cost in the end?
BENNETT
“Do you have everything set up for your ‘meeting?’” Bruce asked as I led Aurora out of the bunker.
I cut my eyes at him and smirked. There was no meeting for us to attend; I'd just wanted to take her out of the house for a little while. Maybe I needed a break from this shit, too. After last night, I had a shit ton of ass kissing to do in order to get on her good side.
I couldn't even begin to explain the events of last night. It’d been years since I tapped into the volatile darkness that’d consumed me, as it was a place that even I didn't like to venture into. It was why I'd told Aurora to stay in the car. I needed to be sure that I could handle seeing Brian and not completely lose my shit. This was a man whose murder I fantasized about for three years. But just the sight of him sent me over the edge. The man that destroyed my life. The man that took the most important thing away for me stood only inches away, and there was no way I could fight the monster that waited to end him for three years.
Seeing him sent old memories to the forefront, as if I was reliving that night all over again. I saw Stephanie's lifeless eyes and her bloodied body littered with bullet holes. I'd felt the grief that I had experienced that night all over again. I knew seeing him would wake up old demons, but I didn't expect it to be in that magnitude. And fuck, was I paying for that after what I did to Aurora.
I didn't want her to see me like that. She already had her ideas of what kind of monster I was, but it was nothing compared to what she saw last night. It was the monster that didn't care. The monster that would destroy anyone in its path, even her—the very person I wanted to protect.
“Do I need to change clothes?" she asked suddenly, breaking into my thoughts.
I looked over at the jeans and white tank top she wore shook my head. "You're fine as you are.” I looked down at her bare feet. "But you need some shoes."
She walked away when we reached the ground floor to get shoes as I stopped in the kitchen.
Savannah looked at me and smiled. “Hey! Are you missing something?” she asked.
“No. I just wanted to check to see if you were finished with the basket,” I said, frowning when I didn't see it. "Where is it anyway?"
"Oh, I asked one of the guys to put it in the car," she said with a sheepish shrug. "I figured you wanted to keep it a surprise."
"And everything is in there, right?" I asked with a raised brow.
She grinned and nodded. "Of course. Sandwiches, drinks—"
"Non-alcoholic?"
"Of course. No alcohol for the pregnant woman." She was silent for a few moments, looking at me with dreamy eyes. "It's a really nice thing you're doing for her. She's going to love it."
I ran a hand through my hair. "I can only hope she does. She's a tough nut to crack sometimes."
"She likes that kind of thing. No matter what kind of woman she is now, I think she still likes when people make an effort to do something nice." Her eyes drifted along me and shrugged. "Maybe it'll mean more coming from someone like you."
Before I had a chance to ask her to elaborate, Aurora appeared in the kitchen again, her arms wrapped around herself.
"Are you ready?" she asked. I nodded and moved over to where she stood.
"Have fun at your meeting!" Savannah called out after us. Aurora glanced back at her briefly before looking to me. As we walked away from her, I pulled out my phone and opened the app tracking Aurora's chip. After the last hacking, I couldn't be too careful. It was risky to leave the house without my security, but I wanted her and I to do something normal for once, without others hovering over us. If they were to still hack it, her last location would be the house instead of where we were going. I disabled her chip, my chest tightening with worry when I saw that she was disabled again.
"Why's everyone being so weird about this meeting?" she asked with a frown. I shrugged and slipped my phone back into my pocket.
"Maybe they're just weird people," I mused, fighting the urge to grin. She frowned but didn't protest any further, only following alongside me as I led her through the rest of the house.
"So, where's this meeting?" she asked when we reached the garage.
"You'll see," I responded. She stopped walking when I strolled over to the Lamborghini. I looked back at her. "Are you coming?"
"You're driving?"
"Is that a problem?"
She looked around before setting her gaze back on the car. "I mean...you haven't driven since you drove us home from the safe house. It's weird to have you driving."
"It's not like I don't know how to," I said and chuckled, opening her car door. "Are you going to get in the car, or would you like to give me a Driver's Ed test?"
She looked around again. "Where are the guys?"
"Where they should be; working. Is that okay with you?"
"They aren't coming?"
"No. Just us."
"What if something happens at this meeting?"
I sighed and walked over to her, putting my hands on her hips. "I'm more than capable of protecting you on my own. Besides, nothing will happen. I can guarantee it. I've been friends with these people for years," I said, though I was lying through my teeth. I knew one thing though; she'd be very hard to surprise anything when she was someone who asked a million questions when she thought I was up to something. "Do you trust me?"
"You really wanna ask me that after last night?" she asked with a raised brow.
"Good point," I said with a nod. "Well, can you trust me enough to know that I got your back?"
She pursed her lips and released a deep breath. "Fine," she finally said. "Let's go then."
She walked over to the car
and slipped into the passenger seat, glancing at the covered basket in the small backseat. "Is that for the meeting?" she asked, gesturing to it when I got in the car next to her.
"Yeah. They'd asked me to bring a couple of things," I said idly and started the car. She jumped at the sound of the engine, looking at me with a frown.
"Do you even know how to drive this thing?" she asked.
I smiled. "Of course I do, gorgeous, but you may wanna buckle up."
"Oh hell," she muttered and quickly snapped on her seatbelt.
The air was warm as we drove down the road, her open window fluttering her hair around her face. She leaned forward and turned the radio up, a slight smile on her face.
"It feels like it's been ages since I'd heard a song on the radio," she said, bobbing her head to the pop music coming through the speakers.
I smirked over at her before turning my eyes back to the road. "You call that trash music?"
"I'm almost afraid to ask you what kind of music you like," she said and scoffed. "It's probably some weird screaming and demonic moaning that you play at sacrifices."
I snorted, which was even worse than my terrible attempt at trying not to laugh. "I know I say I'm the devil, but that's a bit far, don't you think?"
"Nope, it sounds about right." I could feel her eyes on me as she sat in silence for a moment. "Well, what kind of music do you like then?"
I shrugged. I hadn't even listened to music in a while myself. My life was nothing but work and thinking about revenge against Stephanie. The last time I'd listened to music was when Stephanie was alive, as she always played music when she'd get ready for our date nights.
"I mean I don't listen to much, but I tend to like hard rock when I do," I finally said.
"Typical. That's what I figured you'd like, either hard rock or metal or something," she said. She was quiet for another moment before she added, "Heath used to listen to that a lot when he'd cook. He used to say that it helped him think."
I glanced over at her, sadness etched on her face as she looked out the window. This whole time I'd been angry over my loss from Stephanie as if I hadn't taken away the very person she'd loved as well. We'd never talked about him; it wasn't like I could blame her. He was a sensitive subject and considering that I was the one who murdered him, I'd be an asshole to press her to talk about him.
The rest of the ride was silent until we approached the coast of the beach. She sat up in her seat and looked around, squinting at the scenery we passed. Her confused expression only deepened when I finally pulled into the parking lot and shut off the car.
"The meeting is at the beach?" she asked, her eyes looking at the passing people with beach umbrellas, coolers, and bags.
"Yep." I got out of the car and pulled my seat forward, grabbing the basket and blanket out of the backseat. She only sat there, looking at me as if I'd lost my mind. "Are you coming? You don't want to be late, do you?"
She opened her mouth to speak but closed it. I walked over to her side of the car and opened the door, watching as she slipped out and stood next to me. We both pulled our shoes off when we hit the sand. Her touch was warm when she grabbed onto my arm to keep her balance as her feet sank into the warm sand. I had to admit it felt nice. Not just her but doing something as normal as going to the beach, being around other people that weren't my employees, or something as simple as smelling the ocean air.
"Why would your friend think to have a meeting in the open like this?" Aurora asked, her gaze moving over all the other beach goers who laid out on beach towels, danced near radios, or played with frisbees and balls.
"Do you not see this view? The beach is a great meeting place," I mused, but she wasn't convinced. I sighed. "Okay, fine. The meeting isn't necessarily formal."
"Then what is it?" she asked.
I chose a spot in the sand that was still a good deal away from the others but close enough to the water. "Because this is a meeting I'm having with my wife."
She folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her gaze at me. "So, what, this is some kind of date that you had to lie about to get me here?" she asked, her tone flat.
"Would you have said yes if I told you what it was?"
"Absolutely fucking not. I hardly even wanted to speak to you today, let alone have some kind of date as if last night didn't happen," she snapped. "Let's just go back home."
She turned on her heels to walk away, but I caught her elbow. There were multiple reasons why I couldn't let her run off. With her chip disabled, I couldn't afford to have her running around by herself.
"We're already here. Let's just enjoy the time here. You can ask me whatever you want. You can ask me about last night, my past, whatever," I said. She stared at me for a long moment before releasing a deep sigh, her eyes on the basket I held.
"So, this is a picnic," she said, and I nodded. "I guess that was pretty thoughtful. I didn't take you as the type of person to pack sandwiches and such for romantic lunches."
"I had a little help," I said. I placed the basket on the sand and Aurora helped me spread out the blanket before she sat down on it and looked up at me.
"Well, let's see what's in it," she mused. I sat down next to her, dropping my shoes in the sand next to hers and opened the basket. She looked inside to see the sandwiches and fruit, giggling when she saw sparkling cider. "Non-alcoholic bubbly. How considerate."
I smirked at her sarcastic tone. "I could've bought whiskey and had you drink ocean water," I teased.
She playfully pushed me. "You're an asshole. Even when you try to be nice, you find a way to ruin it with the things you say."
"Didn't want you to think I was getting soft," I said and chuckled. She leaned back on her elbows, soaking up the sun.
"I wish you would've said we were coming here. Though I guess it didn't matter because I didn't have a bathing suit to begin with."
"Any of the bra and panties you have are perfectly fine to wear in public," I mused. She rolled her eyes.
"That's not a bathing suit, but it'll have to do for now. These jeans are hot in the sun."
She wasted no time pulling her shirt off, jumping to her feet to pull down her unbuttoned jeans. My gaze fell onto her still smooth stomach, imagining how it would look as it grew round as my child grew within her. She plopped back down next to me with a sigh. "That's a lot better. Maybe I'll get an actual tan instead of looking pale and sickly."
"A tan would be good for you," I said as I unbuttoned my shirt. I pulled it off and placed it next to her pile of clothes, leaning back on my hands. "It's been forever since I've been to a beach."
"Why? You have the freedom to go wherever you want."
I shrugged. "I don't know, really. Wilson kept me busy with so much shit after Stephanie died." I fought the urge to grind my teeth. "He said it was better to stay busy because then the loss wouldn't hurt so much."
"Did it help?" she asked, looking over at me.
I shook my head. Keeping busy only kept my mind occupied during the day. It didn't do a damn thing when I was lying in bed at night and her side of the bed was cold. It didn't help when I had nothing to do or if I walked into my bedroom and could still smell her.
"Not really," I said. "It just put a small Band-Aid on a wound that was way too big."
"I see." She was quiet for a moment. "I know this is a family business and all, but did Wilson not give you a choice to join?"
"He did. I just didn't know what else I'd wanted to do. He'd groomed me for the position I had, so it was just something I expected. I wanted the money he had, and I knew this was the only way to get it."
She frowned at me. "You know that's not true, right?" she asked.
"It was the mindset I had back then," I said. If I were honest, I couldn't see myself doing anything else. My father did give me a choice, but all I wanted back then was money, power, respect, and women. It took years to learn that none of that was worth all the shit I'd lost in exchange for everything I thought I wanted. Now I was br
inging a baby into this. While it would be nice to have my own heir to this organization, I wouldn't force anything on them. This life wasn't for everyone, and I refused to let that same darkness consume my children. I fought the urge to grin at the thought of my kid. It would be a special kind of karma to have a kid who was gentle and sweet and neither of their parents was that way.
"I always loved the beach," she said, cutting into my thoughts. "I always told myself that I'd have a beachfront house and spend the rest of my days there. It was where I was the happiest."
"Why not move there then? You had plenty of money to," I mused.
She narrowed her gaze at me. "Because of you and your father," she muttered. "How could I enjoy anything when my father had me looking over my shoulder for 'the bad man' for years?"
I nodded slowly. "Fair enough," I said. "I'm sure that was hard."
"Hard?" She scoffed. "While you were eager to take over your father's business and living a great life, I moved from place to place just to stay off your father's radar. I spend majority of my childhood away from my family and was forced to forget my true identity just to keep me safe. My life was turned upside down all because your father is a greedy bastard who wasn't happy with the one woman he got in the contract."
"Mafia business is mafia business," I said with a sigh. "Had your father just did what he was supposed to do, you wouldn't have been on my father's radar at all."
"He was trying to do what was right for our family," she snapped.
"But look where that got you in the end?" I reminded her. It was a fucked-up truth, but it was the reality of this life. Everyone–even the people not even in the mafia—knew the age old saying that you couldn't get out of the mafia unless you went out in a box. In trying to do right by his family, he got him and his wife killed and his daughter in captivity. The trade-off wasn't worth it in the end.
She looked out at the water. "You know...the day before you came...it was the best day of my life. I'd launched a new make-up palette that sold out in an hour and made my first million in an hour. My friends all came over and we had this amazing dinner." Her eyes glassed over as she blinked rapidly a few times before she sighed. "And Heath proposed." She looked down at the ring I'd given her, her old ring from Heath now gone. "While I'd been so happy—the happiest I'd been in a while—there was still this heavy feeling of dread that all of this was too good to be true. With my luck, I knew something was going to ruin it." She turned her eyes to me, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "So, imagine how unsurprised I was when my father called to warn me about you and your father."
Rules of Bennett: The Complete Collection Page 55
