Rules of Bennett: The Complete Collection

by Ember Michaels

  “Fuck you,” he growled. “Fuck all of you!”

  Bennett’s men put bullets in the heads of Wilson’s men and their lifeless bodies crumpled to the floor off to the side. I walked over to Bennett and held out my hand. “May I have the final touches, please?” I murmured.

  He smiled at me and reached into his pocket. “Of course, gorgeous,” he replied. He pulled out the small box and electrodes and put it in my outstretched palm. It felt a bit strange to actually be holding the device that caused me so much pain on a couple of different occasions. Bennett used this on me when he made that video to humiliate me, shocking me every time I didn’t comply. He used it when he raped to keep me awake because he wanted me to feel every ounce of pain he dished out to me. But now it was my turn. It was my turn to make someone hurt, to make someone scream. To make someone beg me to stop.

  I walked back over and placed the electrodes on Wilson’s back, and secured the small box with the Velcro around his waist. When everything was set up as I wanted it, I nodded to Bruce, who stood near the door. He flipped the lights on in the room and I took Wilson’s phone from my pocket. I opened the app he had for the dark web livestream and started my own, pointing the camera at Wilson.

  He refused to look up at me, but that was completely okay. He wouldn’t be able to control himself in a few moments.

  “Welcome to the first livestream of La Fedeltá,” I started as confused comments began to roll across the screen. “You’re probably wondering why Wilson is on this side of the camera. Well, lucky you, I’m going to tell you what kind of situation he’s in right now.” I cut my eyes over to Bennett, who only looked at me with what I could only describe as a mixture of guilt and awe. I was sure he picked up on what I’d just said; they were the same words he’d said on his own video before my parents were killed. “Wilson has done a lot of bad things over the years, like killing his own wife, killing his son’s pregnant girlfriend—who was also my half-sister, putting hits on my parents, and then capturing me illegally.” I looked down at him and smiled. “It’s high time you pay for that, isn’t it?”

  “Fuck you!”

  “Soon you’ll be begging me to stop.” “

  I don’t care what you do to me. I’ll never beg anyone for anything. I’m not weak; I won’t break.”

  I smiled. He of all people should know that he wasn’t immune to breaking. I gave him a firm pat on the cheek. “Oh, you’ll break,” I said and cracked my neck, fully embracing my dark alter. “We all break.”

  Moving behind him, I positioned the sex machine closer to him until the head of the dildo was against his ass. No matter how much he tried to move, neither he or the machine was going anywhere. He yelled insults and threats as I stood behind him, but they were cut short when I rammed the dildo into his ass. His scream was so loud that I winced, the sound appearing even louder in the empty, hollow room.

  “You…fucking…bitch,” he panted when he finally stopped screaming long enough to say anything else.

  “Let’s see how long it takes you to break,” I mused and turned on the machine. As Wilson screamed again, I moved to stand in front of film, making sure the camera was on his face. “I want the audience here to see your agony as you get fucked like the pussy you are. You weren’t even man enough to kill any of these people; you got your men to do your dirty work. Didn’t you just say that was cowardly? To make other people do your dirty work?”

  He didn’t verbally respond to me, only screaming for me to make the machine stop. The comments rolled rapidly on the screen.

  Rip his asshole open!

  Man, I sure wish I could’ve had the honors of being that dildo. I bet his asshole is so tight.

  What the hell is going on?! Is that Wilson Moreno?!

  It’s about time that prick got what was coming to him.

  I pressed a button on one of the remotes I had in my hand and stopped the machine. Wilson panted, tears of agony running down his face and drool dripping from his mouth. I alternated the remotes in my hand until the remote for the electrodes was on top. Wilson’s body tightened and shook violently for a few moments when I pressed the button on it, a strained grunt leaving his lips until I finally released the button.

  “Whoops,” I said sarcastically. “I accidentally went up to its full power.”

  He panted, sucking in big gulps of air. I could only imagine how much worse the shock was considering that he had metal studs in his asshole as well. I alternated between the sex machine and shocking him, but one thing remained the same. I didn’t feel anything. I thought I’d feel vindicated or powerful for inflicting similar pain to the same man who had caused me so much pain my whole life. But no matter how loud he screamed or how much he bled, it didn’t fix anything he’d done. Bennett walked over to me and kissed my cheek, taking the remote from my hands.

  “I think you’ve had enough, gorgeous,” he whispered. Tears burned my eyes, but not because I was angry at him for cutting my moment. He was right. The longer I stood there, the longer my dark façade broke. I signed my life away for this and in the end, it wouldn’t feel like anything. Anything I did to this man wouldn’t give me back the life I lost, the people I lost, everything I lost. And that thought alone sent me on an emotional rollercoaster.

  Bennett took the phone from me and ended the live stream, tossing it aside on the ground before taking me into his arms. “Why don’t I feel any better?” I murmured as tears rolled down my cheeks.

  “Because nothing fills that void,” he replied. “Not even revenge.”

  He let go of me and motioned for me to stand with Bruce and Nyxin. We all watched as Bennett removed the dildo from Wilson and unstrapped him from the bench. Wilson only fell over onto the floor, wailing in pain. He looked up at Bennett with fresh tears in his eyes and wet with sweat.

  “Bennett,” he forced out. “Please forgive me.” Bennett took his gun out and pointed it at him. A storm of emotions passed across Bennett’s face as he hesitated. “We’re all we have.”

  “Did you think about that when you had my mother murdered?” Bennett asked, his voice unusually calm. “Or when you had Stephanie murdered? Or all the times where you actively tried to have me murdered?”

  “All I asked of you was loyalty—”

  “I’ve been nothing but loyal to you,” Bennett spat, his finger tightening on the trigger. “I dedicated my very life and soul to you! You were never happy unless I was 100% focused on my work. You never wanted me to be happy; I was nothing but just a puppet to do your bidding.”

  “You’re my son, Bennett,” Wilson groaned, his breaths coming out short and quick. “I just wanted what was best for you. I’ve always wanted what was best for you.”

  “No.” Bennett shook his head. “I should’ve known you were up to something when you sent me to get a woman who looked just like my murdered girlfriend. I’ve been blindly following you for years and its done nothing but led to losses that I don’t know I’ll ever recover from. You’ve made attempts on my life more than once, even planting the very man you were going to pay to kill me.” His eyes flared with anger. “You’re no father of mine.”

  I jumped when the gun went off. Bennett’s face was blank of emotions as he emptied his gun into Wilson, only stopping when the gun clicked. Wilson lay lifeless on the floor and it was as if a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. It was over. No more having to look over my shoulders. No more having to wonder when someone was going to attack us. No more threats from Wilson or his men. It was finally over.

  Bennett let out a deep sigh as he finally lowered his gun and bowed his head. I couldn’t imagine how I’d feel killing the man that gave me life, raised me, and then betrayed me. “Let’s get this cleaned up,” he murmured. The men all jumped into action, but Bennett stopped me when I moved toward them. “Go check on Giselle. We’ll handle this down here.”

  I nodded, kissing him briefly before leaving the room. One of the men left with me, walking me to the door to unlock it. When I entered the
main house and closed the door behind me, tears burned my eyes.

  I was sure of my decision now. Whether or not Bennett would be able to handle it would be a different story.

  BENNETT

  Numb.

  That was all I felt when I shot him. When I burned his body in the fire pit. When I became fatherless.

  I was the last to leave the fire pit, long as the sun had set and cast the backyard in darkness aside of the bright moon in the sky. When he took his last breath, it was like dark cloud finally left. There was no one sending veiled threats anymore and no one to attack us by surprise. The little boy in me that loved my dad was sad that it ended this way. He was the last blood family member I had until my child was born, but it was a sacrifice I would make again and again if it meant that my child would be safe.

  After a few more moments, I finally crossed back across the grass, walking until I was in front of Stephanie’s grave. I looked down at her smiling picture, a small grin on my lips. “We did it, darling,” I murmured. “Maybe now I can live my life the way you told me to.”

  Nothing I did would bring her back, which only made me come to terms that I did all these things to make myself feel better, not to avenge her. It was why I still felt a bit empty even after the people responsible were dead. Vengeance and revenge didn’t fill those voids. I was slowly learning that the only thing that would fill it was to fill it with something else. And my something else was a wife and a baby.

  “I think it’s high time that I let you go,” I said with a sigh. “Wish me luck with Aurora, will you?”

  I pressed a kiss to my fingers before pressing them to her picture, walking away feeling a bit optimistic about the future. Aurora said that her mind was in a good place, so it felt positive. I’d already booked our surprise Hawaiian getaway to leave in a couple of days, and I was anxious to be able to freely enjoy my wife. We had the whole world at our fingertips now without having to be cautious of Wilson or any of his other idiots. Things are going to be fine, I thought with a smile on my face as I entered the house.

  Or so I thought.

  The moment I entered the bedroom, I knew something was wrong. It wouldn’t have been out of the ordinary for Aurora to be emotional, especially after what’d happened with Wilson, but Giselle also being inconsolable made me nervous.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, slowly closing the bedroom door.

  “I…don’t…want…Aurora…to…go!” Giselle sobbed, hiccupping between each word. Aurora wouldn’t look at me, only murmuring to Giselle and promising she’d come visit her. I stood there, a bit confused. We’d just had a conversation a few hours ago and she’d said her head was in a good place. How did that result in her wanting to still leave?

  “What’s she talking about?” I finally asked her.

  “Just give me a few minutes to calm her down and we’ll talk,” she said, still not looking at me. I ground my teeth and walked out into the hall, Giselle’s wailing becoming louder the longer Aurora stayed in there. A dangerous storm of emotions swirled inside of me. Maybe I read all the signs wrongs. Maybe visiting me in the hospital was something she thought she had to do. Maybe everything she did that made me think she was finally coming around was something she thought she had to do. In her eyes, she was only a prisoner, one who’d be conditioned to bow, break, and obey me. My heart surprisingly ached in my chest. Perhaps I felt something for her after all, otherwise, the thought of her leaving wouldn’t be crushing me.

  Aurora finally stepped out into the hallway after half an hour, wiping her eyes. “Should we go somewhere and talk?” she asked, keeping her voice low. “Giselle’s sleeping.”

  I took her down to my office, grinding my teeth the whole time. I closed the door behind us when we entered. “So, you’re leaving,” I asked, walking over to the front of my desk and leaning against it.

  “I’d like to, yes,” she said, finally meeting my gaze.

  “What changed?” I asked. I was usually good at reading people and everything she’d been doing made me think we were on the right track. Sure, she wasn’t in love with me, but I honestly thought she was giving it a chance just like I was.

  “Nothing’s changed, Bennett.” She sighed. “I’ve always wanted to leave. There hasn’t been a single day that’s gone by where I haven’t wanted to leave.”

  “I thought we were trying to work on things—”

  “Yeah, when I thought I had no choice,” she interrupted. “You’d told me that you had no intentions of letting me go, so I thought I just had to suck it up. But you finally gave me a choice and I’ve chosen.”

  I sighed inwardly. “I just don’t understand. I mean you being there for me when I was hurt and just…everything we’ve been through together. You’re pregnant with my kid, Aurora.”

  “It’s not like we’re in love, Bennett. This marriage, this pregnancy…it all happened out of circumstances that were out of my control. Is a forced family what you want?”

  “No! It’s why I’ve been trying to fucking be better for you so that you can see I wanted this to be real!” I exclaimed, becoming frustrated.

  “You’re the one who gave me the choice, Bennett,” she said. “Are you going to keep your word or are you going to try to go back on that, too?”

  I stared at her in disbelief. “So, you really want to leave?” I asked again. Maybe I’d heard her wrong. Maybe this was just a fucked-up hallucination that I was having from the pain medicine. But the longer I stared at her and realized that I couldn’t snap myself out of this scene, I knew it was real.

  “Yes, I want to leave,” she murmured.

  “I want you to really think about this, Aurora,” I said, angry that my voice cracked as I spoke.

  “I’ve thought about it a lot at this point. Let’s be honest with each other, Bennett. How can I even begin to love a man who has done all the things you’ve done to me?” A single tear rolled down her cheek. “You keep mentioning the baby, but how do you think I’ll feel when I look at this child and know that they’re living proof of what I’ve endured by your hand? And when they ask about you, how can I tell them the truth without exposing the monster that you are? That I don’t know if they were conceived during a rape? How do I explain to them we have no family because of you?”

  And there it was, the hammer that shattered whatever heart I had left. Her words cut deep. Maybe she was right. We were doomed from the start. I didn’t deny that what I’d done to her was unforgivable, but I’d sincerely hoped we could work through it. I thought making progress to change would help, but sometimes you could cross a line that you couldn’t come back from. There was a strong possibility that I’d never see her or my kid again if she walked out the door, and maybe that was for the best. Wilson had screwed me up in more ways than one; perhaps I was bound to do the same thing. At least if my kid wasn’t around me, maybe they’d have a fighting chance of making something better of themselves. If it was a boy, maybe being away from me would make him a better man than my father was. A better man than me.

  I forced myself to keep my emotions from my face, but inside I wanted to scream. “I guess you’re right,” I finally said softly. “When do you want to leave?”

  “Tomorrow,” she answered quickly.

  “I’ll prepare your things then,” I said. She nodded and exited the office without another word, leaving me in silence. Just like that, my entire life shattered around me. I couldn’t explain the emotions crashing in one at a time as they all morphed into one heavy feeling of abandonment. Emptiness. Loss. At least with Stephanie, I knew she was dead and no amount of changing would fix that. But Aurora would still be walking the earth along with my kid, and I’d have to live with the fact that while she was alive, she didn’t choose me.

  She just didn’t choose me.

  I spent the entire night working on getting her things prepared, working on autopilot. As long as I stayed busy, it wouldn’t hurt so much. If I didn’t think about it too much, I could stave off the reminder that
I was going to be alone soon. I printed out the paperwork she’d need to sign before leaving and took it upstairs in the bedroom. She and Giselle were curled up together asleep, the sight along bringing tears to my eyes. I’d never be able to see her do that with our own child. When I defeated Wilson, I thought I’d finally be able to get everything that I thought I’d lost forever when I lost Stephanie. Wilson was right about one thing though.

  Bad guys didn’t get happy endings.

  I put the paperwork on the nightstand on her side of the bed and turned off the lamp that was still on. Sitting down next to her sleeping form, I sighed deeply and bowed my head.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t be what you need me to be,” I murmured. “Maybe this is my punishment for all the wrong I’ve done. After everything I’d done to you…I was stupid to think I deserved any kind of happily ever after.” I looked down at her sleeping face, her eyes puffy from all the crying she’d done this evening. “But I hope you’re able to find yours, wherever you end up. You deserve that.”

  With one last look at her, I stood and leaned back down to press a kiss to her temple before walking back out of the bedroom.

  “Are you going to say goodbye?” Bruce asked as he stood in my office. I shook my head and ran a tired hand down my face.

  “Probably best if I don’t. What time is she leaving?” I asked.

  “They’re heading to the car now,” he replied. I stood from my chair and walked over to my office window, looking down to see Aurora, Carrie, Savannah, and Giselle in the driveway out front. They all wiped their eyes as they hugged each other, Carrie and Savannah rubbing Aurora’s belly one last time. Aurora looked back at the house, her eyes falling on me in the window. She lifted her hands to give me a small wave, but I couldn’t bring myself to return the gesture. I walked away from the window and sat back in my seat.