Rules of Bennett: The Complete Collection

by Ember Michaels

  I sighed, pushing the thoughts to the back of my mind as Joseph pulled up to the doors of the hotel. I wasn’t going to give Bennett another minute of my energy tonight. We’d deal with our situation after I’d had some time to regroup and figure out what I wanted. And in the meantime, he’d better figure out what he wanted or else La Fedeltà would be the only thing resembling a family that he had left.

  BENNETT

  I sighed inwardly when I got her voicemail for the sixth time, hanging up the phone before dropping it into my lap. I knew I'd fucked up big time and it would take more than flowers and an apology to clean up the mess I'd made of my marriage tonight.

  "Give her some time to cool off, man," Saint said, glancing over at me before focusing his gaze back on the road.

  "Yeah," I idly said, but he had no idea what I'd done.

  I couldn't even remember the last time I'd put my hands on Aurora, and there was no excuse for what I'd done tonight. I wasn't even angry at her; I was angry in general and she happened to catch the heat of it. I may have said some shit I didn't mean out of frustration, but seeing the tears spilling from her eyes fucking crushed me. She was right. I hadn't been the best husband and father lately and as each day passed, I was turning into my father right before my eyes. She and Liam didn't deserve that shit and even I deserved better. I was probably the last person she wanted to talk to right now, but I needed to make this shit right.

  Picking up my phone again, I called her once more, growing irritated when it went straight to voicemail. Again. As the house came into view, I was so anxious to talk to her that I nearly wanted to jump out of the car and run to the house as if that would get me to her faster. I drummed my fingers against my thigh, anxious to get into the house. Saint and Nyxin talked amongst themselves, but I couldn't even focus on the conversation. Each minute that passed by revealed a deep-rooted fear that I'd forgotten about as my work consumed me.

  The thought of Aurora leaving again.

  When she'd left me after Wilson was killed, those couple of months without her made me fucking miserable. I guess I got a little too comfortable with her and Liam being here, and it made me think that they'd always be here when I got home. Aurora was strong-willed and stubborn, which I knew would eventually bite me in the ass if I didn't get that shit under control. I always thought I had more time, more chances, but the defeat in her eyes that appeared tonight was a glaring red flag that my time might've been up.

  "Do you need anything else tonight or are we off duty for now?" Nyxin asked when Saint came to a stop in the garage.

  "You're off tonight. We'll meet back up in the morning," I said as I quickly got out and headed into the house. No sooner than I reached the kitchen, I ran into Carrie, who was on her way out. She glared at me, a frown on her pouty lips.

  "You know, you have some nerve," she ground out, pushing my shoulder.

  "What the fuck are you talking about?"

  "How could you treat Aurora like that?" she snapped under her breath in case someone was close by. "She's your wife."

  I sighed deeply and scrubbed a hand down my face. "I know, I fucked up. Tonight was just a bad night and—"

  "It doesn't matter if you're having a bad night, Bennett. You hit her, for fuck's sake!" she hissed.

  I grabbed her arm and pulled her into the dining room. "Will you keep your fucking voice down? I know I messed up. I feel fucking terrible about it because she didn't deserve that. Like I said, I was already angry and when Gio told me she'd gone into the bathroom with another man, I just...fucking lost it," I admitted.

  She shook her head. "You should know your wife better than that, Bennett."

  "And she should know me enough to not fucking provoke me with all the stress I'm under," I fired back. While I'd admit to my wrongdoings, Aurora wasn't innocent either. This wasn't the first time she'd done shit to purposely get under my skin. She'd made the comment about how I never had time to love her but always had time to punish her. It wasn't that I didn't love her; shit was just entirely too hectic and kept me away from her more than I'd wanted to. It wasn't like it was intentional, but I couldn't get her to understand that.

  "Well, you two need to figure it out because this entire situation between you two is toxic. You're being a dick and putting your mafia family over the family you created for yourself and your wife is provoking you just to see you longer than a couple of minutes, even if you spend that entire time arguing," Carrie said, adjusting the strap of her purse on her shoulder. "Anyway, I'm going home. I'll call you later."

  "Yeah, okay. Drive safe," I mumbled before moving away to find my wife.

  By the time I reached the bedroom, I released a small breath when I saw her dress thrown across the bed. The bathroom door was closed, but nothing sounded from the other side. I loosened my tie and pulled it off before kicking off my shoes, sitting on the ottoman at the foot of the bed. Nothing happened for a few minutes, which set my teeth on edge. Maybe she heard me come in and now doesn't want to come out, I thought to myself before I pushed myself up to my feet and walked over to the door. I leaned against the wall and rapped on the door with my knuckles, listening for a few moments. Nothing.

  "Baby, I'm sorry," I murmured, resting my head against the cool wood of the door. Still no response. "I fucked up tonight, I know. I just...I wasn't in a good head space, and I took that out on you. You know I never want to intentionally hurt you." I cringed. There was that word again—intentional. Sometimes it didn't matter what my intentions were; my actions still hurt her. I cleared my throat to try again. "Can you come out so we can talk, please?"

  Still nothing.

  With a sigh, I reached for the doorknob, expecting for the door to be locked but it wasn't. It opened effortlessly, the silence on the other side of the door a little unsettling. "Baby, I'm..."

  But the bathroom was completely empty, no sign of Aurora anywhere. I looked in the shower to see that it hadn't been used yet, which meant that she'd only taken her dress off and changed into something else. My heart beat a little faster in my chest. Maybe she's in Liam's room, I thought to myself, praying that was the case. But when I got to my son's rubber ducky-themed bedroom, the emptiness of it tightened my chest. Neither she or my son were here.

  I stormed over to his closet and ripped the door open, noticing his car seat was gone. She fucking left and took my son with her. I rushed back to my bedroom and pulled my shoes back on, frantically trying to call her again.

  "Hey, you've reached Aurora—"

  I hung up and tried again as I raced down the stairs.

  "Hey, you've reached Aurora—"

  "Fucking pick up!" I bellowed, ending the call and hitting her number again.

  "Hey, you've reached Aurora—"

  "Fuck!" I snapped, when I hung up again and immediately tried again.

  "Hey, you've reached—"

  I immediately hung up and called Carrie, my heart beating so fast that it would probably explode. "Pick up, pick up, pick up," I said under my breath as I paced the floor at the bottom of the stairs.

  "Sheesh, I literally just left. Why are you already calling me?" she said upon answering.

  "Where the fuck is Aurora and Liam?" I snapped, unable to control my anger and anxiety.

  Carrie scoffed. "I'm surprised you care that they're gone. You've hardly noticed they were present when you had the—"

  "Spare me the fucking lecture, Carrie," I interrupted. "Where the fuck is my wife and son?"

  "I don't know where they went."

  "Don't fucking lie to me!" I bellowed just as one of my security guards came into view. Carrie fussed in my ear as I stomped over to the burly man. "Hey, have you seen my wife come back through here?"

  He nodded. "Yeah. Her and Carrie were carrying shit out to the car," he said.

  "Thanks," I said and turned my attention back to my phone, the line growing quiet. "Do you want to retry your fucking answer now, Carrie?"

  She sucked her teeth. "She didn't tell me where she wa
s going. She just said she needed some time to herself," she said.

  "I swear to fucking god if you're lying to me—"

  "I'm not, Bennett," she snapped. "And after the way you acted tonight, maybe you need to panic for a little while to realize what your life would be without them around because it's pretty obvious that you're taking your wife and son for granted."

  "She can be in fucking danger, Carrie—"

  "She can more than hold her own, Bennett. Leave her alone and give her some space. You both need to cool off for a night or two," she fussed. I hung up on her, not wanting to hear her nagging bullshit. I needed to find Aurora. Without her chip activated or her phone on, I couldn't track her to see where she was. The only thing I could think to do was to call Joseph, my anxiety growing so high that I wanted to scream in fury. Why couldn't she just fucking stay here? Because you keep giving her reasons to leave, the rational voice in the back of my mind reminded me.

  I pinched the bridge of my nose, realizing it was my own fault that she was gone. My biggest fear was materializing right before my eyes, and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to fix this so easily.

  "Yeah, Boss?" Joseph said upon answering.

  I blew out a breath, trying to calm myself. "Joe, I only want a straight answer for the question I'm about to ask you. Don't bullshit me, man."

  "Is this about Aurora?"

  The muscle in my jaw ticked at the sound of her name. When I'd talked to him not too long ago, he'd told me he'd taken her home. If he knew she'd left and decided to withhold information me, I wouldn't be wrong to slit his fucking throat. But just as easily as the thought formed, it melted away. He'd probably been working under her orders. Everyone who worked for me knew they were to respect her and her wishes just as they would mine. She was the extension of me, so I couldn't be mad at him for not being straight with me when I called him the first time.

  I sighed. "Yeah, man." I ran a frustrated hand through my hair. "Did you take her somewhere?"

  He was silent for a moment. "Sir..."

  "I just need to know if she's somewhere safe," I said.

  "She is." After another bout of silence, he sighed deeply. "I took her and Little Moreno to the Chateau Marmount in West Hollywood. She was pretty upset."

  I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. "I know, and rightfully so."

  "I wasn't trying to disrespect you or anything when I told you I'd taken her home earlier. She just didn't want me to tell you," he quickly said.

  "I don't hold that against you. As the queen of my empire, if she gives you orders, you follow them. You did what you had to do."

  "Thank you for understanding."

  "Well, thank you for the information, Joe. Have a good night," I said and hung up. I made my way through the house, heading for the garage when I ran into Saint. He looked at me with a raised brow.

  "Something wrong?" he asked when I grabbed the keys to my Lamborghini.

  "Aurora and Liam are gone," I said.

  "Gone? What the fuck? Should I come with you?"

  I shook my head. "They're not in danger. Joseph took them to a hotel in West Hollywood, so I'm going to go talk to her."

  "Do you think that's a good idea tonight?" Saint said, stopping me in my tracks. I spun around and glared at him.

  "What the fuck do you mean is that a good idea?" I snapped. "Me going to find my wife and son isn't a good idea?"

  Saint frowned. "You know damn well that's not what I meant," he said, his voice firm. "I'm just saying, man. After the fight you guys had, she left for a reason. Maybe she just needs a little space or something."

  "There's plenty of space in this big ass house. She didn't have to leave," I replied, noticing how tight my voice was from the fear of losing her.

  Saint held up his hands to surrender. "Okay, Boss. Do what you need to do. I'm just trying to be neutral here because you're both at each other's throats since neither of you want to see each other's side," he said.

  I swept my gaze up to the ceiling. I couldn't deny that he was right. I'd admit that I didn't talk to Aurora about a lot of the shit going on, which left her in the dark about how busy I truly was. I wasn't home enough for her to talk about the shit going on with her or whatever stress she may have been dealing with due to my absence. Our current situation was nothing but an intense communication breakdown and the fact that my wife missed me, but I was so caught up in my own shit that I put her and her needs on the back burner. As my wife, she should always come first. If La Fedeltà disbanded tonight, she and my son were all I'd have left. I didn't want to sacrifice them for a family of men that could leave at any moment. I knew what I needed to do; I just hoped my wife would give me a chance to make that up to her.

  "You're right," I finally said with a nod. "I'm going to go talk to her and hopefully convince her to come back home."

  "Maybe you both need some time to cool off after tonight—"

  "And what if she gets upset because I don't come after her?" I interrupted. "She's already under the impression that I don't care about her. Maybe this is some kind of fucked up test to see if I'll care that she's not here."

  Saint stroked his chin in thought before he nodded. "That's a good point," he said. "But considering that you can't reach her, I'd assume she doesn't want to be found. She knows you could track her through her phone with KC’s help and the fact that she has it off, I'd assume she doesn't want to be bothered."

  "Well, the most she can do is turn me away if she doesn't want to see me," I ground out bitterly. "I'll be back."

  I left him in the kitchen and jogged to my car. I wasn't afraid of many things, but losing two pieces of my heart wasn't something I'd take lying down. Saint was right; Aurora and I needed to talk. I didn't want to overthink about her reasons that pushed her to finally leave, as I hoped the leave was temporary. I hadn't noticed much of her or Liam's clothes missing, but then again, she could've simply taken enough things to get her to where she was going before she could buy more for them.

  As I sped down the road to West Hollywood, I replayed our conversation in my head. Aside from hitting her, I'd said some fucked up shit to her tonight. I was too angry to clarify what I meant, which was a grave mistake considering the topic at hand. I wasn't trying to tell her that the mafia was more important than her and Liam; I was trying to tell her that it was important in general. They were counting on us, their families were counting on us being able to give them paying jobs. Our financial livelihoods depended on making this work and I just needed her to be patient with me.

  But how can she be patient when she doesn't even know what's going on? I gripped the steering wheel tighter in frustration. I couldn't even say I was turning into my father—I was already there. I remembered overhearing my mother and father fighting about the same shit. That was probably the reason she ended up in the arms of Carrie's father, all because he happened to be there and show her the attention she so desperately needed. One thing was for sure though. I wouldn't allow history to keep repeating itself. While La Fedeltà was important, my wife and son were my life. Hopefully I could get my wife to understand that...granted that I could get her to talk to me.

  When I stepped into the lobby of the five-star hotel, I strolled over to the check in desk. A woman with chocolate brown hair that swept her shoulders looked up at me and gave me a bright smile. She looked pretty young, maybe in her early twenties.

  "Welcome to Chateau Marmount, sir. Are you wanting to book a room?" she asked, her voice soft.

  I smiled at her and shook my head. "No, I'm actually meeting with my wife and son. I believe they've already gotten a room."

  "Oh! Well, feel free to go on up then."

  "Actually..." I leaned against the counter, holding her gaze. Her porcelain skin turned a light shade of pink as she dropped her eyes shyly. "I tried to call her to get the room number, but she may have fallen asleep, as I can't reach her. Could you by chance tell me which one it is?"

  "Sure," she said with a smile and turned to h
er computer. "May I have the name please?"

  "Moreno. Aurora Moreno."

  “And could I see a form of ID, please?”

  I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my wallet, sliding my driver’s license out and handing it to her.

  She glanced at my license for a moment before her fingers moved along the keyboard with speed and accuracy before she nodded. "She's in one of the penthouses. One second; I can get you a key."

  I drummed my fingers along the countertop, trying to keep myself calm. The woman wrote the room number on the card holder she slipped the key into before handing it to me. "Thank you for your help, baby doll," I said with a wink.

  She blushed. "Of course, sir. You'll need to put the key into the slot in the elevator to get to the penthouse floor. Please feel free to call back down here if you need anything."

  I nodded to acknowledge her words before turning on my heels and strolling to the elevators. My heart beat a little faster in my chest. I wasn't entirely sure what I was expecting when I got here. Now that I was here, doubt started to creep in. What if Saint was right and me being here just would've made things worse? What if she really did need some time away from me and didn't want to be found? I inhaled deeply and blew it out as the elevator doors closed me inside, waiting for me to insert my key to take me where I needed to go. I stared at the "P" button, knowing that my wife was on that floor...upset, betrayed, and hurt. All because I was an asshole to her.

  "Too late to back out now," I murmured to myself, putting the key into the slot and pressing the button for the penthouse. I paced the small space until the elevator dinged, the doors opening up to a quiet floor. I stepped out into the hallway and glanced down at the room number written on the keycard holder. I slowly walked down the hall, looking from door to door until I finally found the one that my wife and son were behind. I pressed my ear against it, hearing Liam's soft cries on the other side. Taking a deep breath, I slid the key along the card reader and let myself in.