I stepped back closer to him and wrapping my arms around him. “You’re annoying sometimes, you know that?”
“And you’re an asshole,” he said and grinned, wrapping an arm around my waist. “Every time I try to do something nice, you just tell me how terrible or annoying I am and call me names.”
“You’re not so innocent yourself, sir,” I countered.
“I know that much,” he said, his voice dropping a couple of octaves. Something unfamiliar sat in his eyes as he looked at me.
“What are you thinking about?” I finally asked.
“Nothing important.”
Shouting sounded a few yards away, a group of kids fighting over a buckets and shovels in the sand. Their parents sat a few feet away from them, ignoring them for the most part as they drank beers and listened to the radio. I giggled.
“It’s almost as if we’re looking into the future,” I said.
“You’re already thinking of more kids?”
“I’m just saying in general,” I said and let go of him. One thing I’d noticed was that Bennett never really reacted to the pregnancy. I mean sure, he’d grown even more protective than he had before, but he never said how he felt. Then again, he wasn’t a man that talked much about his feelings. “You never talk about how you feel about the one you’ve already created.”
He squinted at me in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“The baby.”
“I know what you’re talking about. But what are you talking about as far as me telling you my feelings about it?”
“Exactly what I asked. I mean how did you feel when the doctor told you?” I asked.
He was quiet for a moment, looking out at the ocean. “Fucking terrified actually,” he finally admitted.
“Why?”
“It’s one thing to be responsible for myself or worried about others. A baby is completely different.” He exhaled deeply. “I can do many things, but I don’t know if being a father is one of them.” Looking back toward the blanket, he nodded toward it. “Come on.”
I followed him back over to the blanket, sitting next to him. He continued looking out at the water as his finger idly drew small circles in the sand.
“Why don’t you think you can be a good father?” I asked when he didn’t continue talking.
“How can I be a good father when I didn't have a good example?" he said looking over at me. "Even when I was a child, my father was never around. He was always working or disappearing for days at a time, leaving the nanny to raise me and Carrie. The man wants me dead for fuck’s sake. So how can I be a good father to my own child when I don't know what a good one is supposed to be?"
As much as I didn't want to, I actually felt bad for him. I could only imagine how hard it was growing up as a child in the mafia, and it was a reality that I wasn't too sure I wanted for my own child.
"When Stephanie told me she was pregnant, she begged me to find a way out. She always told me that she wanted a family, for us to get married. She said she didn't want to raise a baby in chaos, and things were definitely chaotic back then." He was silent for a few moments before he released a soft sigh. "I was so excited to hear that she were having a baby. It was almost as if that was the only thing I did right other than falling in love with her. I was so excited I told my dad, thinking that he would be happy for me.”
"He wasn't?" I asked softly.
He shook his head. "Instead of him being excited, he started telling me how distracting children would be at this stage of my career. He said that I should probably wait and possibly think about having her get an abortion.”
"Wow. Wilson really is a dick," I muttered, pulling my knees to my chest. A ball of dread sat heavy in my gut. If that was what he thought about children, it made me a bit nervous as to what would happen when he found out that I was pregnant. As if reading my mind, Bennett put his hand on top of mine and shook his head.
"He doesn't know about you. Even if he did, I wouldn't let anything happen to you."
"So, what happened when you told him no?" I asked. "I mean I assume that you told him no if you were excited about it."
"We went back-and-forth about it for a few moments, but he finally gave in. He said if that was what made me happy, he would support me." He shook his head, his expression sad. "But I made the mistake of jokingly saying that I was gonna leave the mafia one day to be a dad. He didn't like that too much."
"I can imagine," I murmured. "Would you have really left?"
"I would've tried my hardest. That was what she’d wanted, and all I wanted was to make her happy."
We sat in silence for a while, watching the waves roll in as we were both lost in our own thoughts. Hearing him open up for the first time made it so hard to see him as the monster I knew him to be. Now he was just…a man still dealing with a broken heart.
"Don't let a sob story get you off track," my alter hissed.
I'm not. But you can't say that his story isn't super sad.
"I'm not in the business of feeling sorry for people who have wronged me. And you’d do good to do the same."
"Well, I think you're going to be a great dad," I said with a light sigh. He looked over at me with a raise brow.
"What makes you say that?"
I shrugged. “Because I know you would try to be everything your father wasn't to you. So, I know you'll do your best to do right by our child."
"Yeah," he murmured. "I guess so."
I looked down at my reddening skin. "I think we better head home. If we stay any longer, I'll start to burn."
He nodded. "Let's eat really quick and we’ll get back on the road," he said and passed me a turkey and cheese sandwich with all the fixings.
"For someone so worried about not being a good dad, you're awfully protective and caring of them already."
The soft smile that formed on his lips nearly melted my heart. "Is it a crime to want you to eat?" he asked.
"No. I was just saying. You really shouldn't doubt yourself."
"That means a lot coming from someone who thinks I'm a maniac, a monster, and an overall bad guy."
I playfully rolled my eyes. "I just said that you shouldn't doubt yourself, not that you were the greatest guy on the planet for being concerned," I teased.
He only chuckled in response and took a huge bite of his sandwich. "This is good. You should try it."
I took a bite of the sandwich, the fresh lettuce and tomatoes giving it a satisfying crunch. He and I ate in silence, both of us looking out at the water in deep thought. My mind went over everything he’d said since we’d been here. The possibility of freedom made my skin tingle with anticipation. But while he said that I could be free, what would it really cost? He never said I could leave with the baby, and I would be stupid to think that he wouldn't continue to track me through my chip long after I was gone. It was something that I needed to think on long and hard, as I could just think about myself now that I was pregnant.
Once we finished eating, we packed everything back up into the basket and trudged back through the sand to the car. He slipped his hand into mine, making me feel warm all over.
"Thanks again for bringing me out here. It was nice to get out for a while," I said. He nodded.
"I think we both needed it. Besides, it's always nice to do things as a couple that feels somewhat normal."
His phone rang as soon as we got to the car. I slipped into the passenger seat as he loaded everything back up into the backseat before getting in car next to me.
"Yeah," he said upon answering, starting the car. I clicked my seatbelt into place and settled into the seat looking over at him. A look of dark anger passed over his features as he listened to someone on the phone. "He what?"
"What's wrong?" I mouthed. He held up a finger to me and continue listening.
"Fuck," Bennett hissed, his hand tightening on the steering wheel. "Is he okay? Has someone called the doctor yet?"
"Is something happening at home?" I asked, my heart bea
ting a little faster as I noticed the slight panic on his face.
He ignored me and continued listening to the person on the phone. "Yeah, I'm on my way home. Heighten security around the perimeter and make sure the inside is secure. Put a guy in the bunker to protect the kids. I'll be home soon," he said and hung up.
"What the hell is going on?" I asked as we quickly backed out of the parking space.
"KC intercepted some of Wilson's texts. He found Brian so he's at the house to 'end this' feud once and for all," Bennett ground out.
"Did someone get hurt?" I asked, expecting the worst.
He sighed deeply. "Saint’s been shot," he said, his voice tight.
My heart raced in my chest. And just like that, the peaceful time I'd had here was shattered by mafia business. The only thing I could hope for was that Wilson was dead by the time all of this was over tonight.
Then we sped out into traffic, and I clutched onto the door handle as anxiety course through me. I didn't even have to worry about Wilson killing me; Bennett would kill me before we even made it back home.
"Is he still at the house?" I asked as Bennett weaved in and out of traffic.
"KC said that his men retreated, but no one saw Wilson leave, so I don't know." He glanced over at me. "When we get home, you need to be careful. I don't know what we're walking into.”
This was the moment I had been waiting for, the moment that I sacrifice everything for. It was one thing to want to do this, almost to the point of obsession, but I was terrified now that the time was finally here.
“How are we going to make it back home on time to catch him?" I asked. We were still at least a half hour to 45 minutes away from the house, and that was only if traffic continues to move steadily as it was.
"We're in a Lamborghini. We’ll get home in no time," he said. I couldn't help but smirk. Always the calculated man, never doing things without a reason.
We raced through traffic, dodging in and out of lanes. We'd gotten so close to hitting a few cars that I nearly had a heart attack. Bennett looked over at me and grinned, putting his hand on my belly.
"Don't worry; Daddy's got you," he said, just as he swerved into another lane.
"If you keep driving the way you are, I won't even survive to make it home," I said, suddenly feeling nauseous. "Your driving is literally making me feel sick."
"We're almost home, gorgeous," he said.
After a half hour of road anxiety, we finally reached the gates of the house. Everything was chaotic when we arrived, the property teeming with more security than I knew we had. The gates opened and Bennett drove through, stopping in the garage.
"Leave that stuff in here," he said and jumped out of the car.
"Okay," I said, adrenaline coursing through me as I followed him. We walked over to his weapons arsenal in the back of the garage. I stared in wonder at the multiple guns before me, ones I'd only seen in movies. I had no idea what any of them were other than the standard pistol. He was so skilled as he grabbed a couple of guns that were mounted to the wall, putting magazines into them as a couple of his men came into the garage. The vulnerable man that had just been at the beach was long gone, now replaced by the hardened, killer mafia boss that I knew. He passed the guns off to them as they appeared before he turned to me.
"Part of me wants to lock you in the panic room until I secure the house,” he started, holding up a hand to stop me when I opened my mouth to object. "But I know you won't do it."
I looked down at the gun he held out to me. My hands trembled, anxious to spill Wilson’s blood as I slowly took it in my hand, the realness of this situation finally settling in. This was it, the final showdown that I was so desperate to be a part of.
"I need for you to be the dark princess I know you can be. This is life and death right now. It won't be anything like it was at the safe house when you went against the Russian on your own."
"I know," I stated.
He smiled. "There you go," he said. He put a couple of magazines in his pockets and passed me two for my pistol. I stuffed them in my pockets and followed him into the house where chaos ensued. Men were huddled around someone bleeding on the kitchen floor, a growl of pain sounding out.
Bennett rushed over to them, the group parting his presence. Saint was against the wall holding his side, his navy blue T-shirt soaked in blood.
"What the hell happened?" Bennett asked Nyxin, who was applying pressure to Saint’s wound.
"I have to get to my baby, man," Saint groaned, trying to stand up but the pain stopped him.
I moved over to him and put a hand on his shoulder, assessing the damage. "Giselle will be fine," I said to him. "She is in one of the safest places in the house."
"I have to get to her," he panted. He looked a bit more pale than usual, more blood being on the floor than what should be in order for him to have a fighting chance of surviving. He looked at me, his expression pained. Tears glisten in his eyes, but I was certain it wasn't because he's been shot. "If things go bad, tell her that Daddy loves her."
Tears burned my eyes as I looked at him. I couldn't imagine the turmoil that came with thinking you were going to die and leaving behind a kid that wouldn't understand why their parent suddenly didn't come back to them. As I looked over at Bennett, who attempted to give Saint comforting words, I couldn't help but think that this was the very same life that he and I would give to our own child soon. There would be times where he and I would be in situations that could result in us not coming home, and I was sure we would feel this very same turmoil that reflected in Saint’s gaze.
I took his bloody hand into mine and squeezed it. "I will tell her no such thing,” I said, a single tear rolling down my cheek. "You'll be fine, and then you can tell her yourself."
"Just in case," he whispered. "Tell her just in case I can't. Promise me.”
I nodded and squeeze his hand a little tighter. "I promise," I said. "Matter-of-fact, I'll go check on her right now and tell her that you'll come see her soon."
He gave me a small grin and nodded. "I can live with that," he said softly. Bennett looked to one of the guys next to him that I wasn't very familiar with and nodded toward the bunker door.
"Take her to the children and guard her," he said. "I swear to God if anything happens to her, you better hope you're already dead by the time I get to you."
"I'll protect the queen at all costs,” he said and jumped to his feet. I let go of Saint and followed the man over to the door leading to the bunker, walking in when he unlocked and open the door. I walk down the steps with him on my heels, closing the door behind him. No sooner than we were at the bottom of the stairs, a gun went off, and he dropped like a rock. I whirled around toward the dark hallway that led to the bunker that kept the girls. Wilson slowly came out of the darkened corner with his gun raised.
"We meet again, slut," he growled. My heart raced in my chest as he continued to advance on me, his gun still raised. With Bennett's security guy dead, I was now trapped in the bunker. You couldn't get in or out without an approved fingerprint. Since it was soundproofed, no one on the main floor would hear anything down here no matter how loud I screamed. When he was close enough to me, he reached out and snatched the pistol from my waistband and tossed it down the hall behind him.” Walk.”
"Walk where?" I asked, my voice trembling.
“Just fucking walk until I tell you to stop,” he growled, pressing the gun to the back of my head as he pushed my shoulder forward to signal me to move. I did my best to remain calm as we walked down the hallway. He stopped me when we got to the door of the Retribution room. I watched as he pressed his thumb on the security pad outside the door and it clicked open with ease. “You’d think my idiot son would remember to disable my access to the house I picked and set up for him.” He roughly pushed me inside and slammed the door shut behind us.
He flipped on the light switch, his eyes wild and angry as he stared at me. I slowly moved away from him as my gaze swept around the room. No
w that he’d disarmed me, I had to find another way to kill him. I couldn’t get out of this room on my own, so it was either kill or be killed at this point.
“I should’ve fucking left you where you were,” he growled, spittle flying from his mouth. “Ever since you came into the picture, you’ve been nothing but trouble.”
“You caused your own trouble,” I threw back. “It’s not my fault that the truth finally came out after you took me illegally.”
“Your father was a fool who knew better,” Wilson countered. “He knew there was no real way out. He was just unloyal just like the rest of them.”
“And that’s how you treat the people that pledged your organization?” I scoffed. “You’re always harping about loyalty, but you don’t have a single loyal bone in your body. If you did, we wouldn’t even be in this situation.”
His nostrils flared in untamed anger as he stared at me before he raised his arm and shot a bullet into the ceiling. “You don’t even deserve a bullet,” he finally said and smiled, the action sending a shiver of fear through me. “I’m going to make you suffer for as long as I can before I give you the gift of death.”
“Bennett won’t let you do that,” I stated, trying my best not to portray the terror I felt. It was like being trapped in a cage. With Bennett attending to Saint, he wouldn’t realize I’d been gone too long until Saint was taken care of.
“Bennett won’t be alive to care,” he sneered and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “How about we go ahead and call him up? Then we can really have some fun.”
I watched him as he pulled up Bennett’s number and called him, his eyes on me as he put the call on speaker. I looked around the room, despair filling me. Everything that could’ve potentially been a weapon in here were locked away, only Bennett having the key.
“So much for your plan,” the voice said. “He’s going to kill Bennett and take us.”
He won’t. I just need to think, I mused.
Rules of Bennett: The Complete Collection Page 57
