"Speaking of family, were you able to work things out with Aurora? Considering what we walked in on and how relaxed you seem right now, I'm assuming things went well," Saint said, changing the subject.
I ground my teeth. "Aurora made some demands last night that I'd promised her I'd meet, but I'm not sure if I can actually do it."
"Demands like what?" Saint asked, tossing the block some more.
I explained everything that happened last night, leaving out the intimate moment I'd shared with my wife. They all shook their heads when they'd learned what I agreed to.
"Why in the hell would you agree to move out of the house considering what's going on right now?" Nyxin asked.
"Does she not know everything?" Bruce asked with a frown.
I shook my head. "I haven't had a lot of time to talk to her about things yet. I didn't think it was important enough to worry her about. Besides, it's not like I've had a lot of time to talk to her about shit like that. She was usually asleep by the time I got home, and I'd rather not talk about mafia shit in bed," I said with a shrug. When they only stared at me, I sighed. "I told her we'd have a date night tonight, so I'll talk to her about it then."
"If sex is your end goal for this date night, talking about mafia shit may not be the best idea either," Saint said.
"But I do think it's a good idea for you to limit your work hours though," Bruce continued. "It would give you more time to talk to her about what's going on."
"And I'd also recommend getting on board with this wedding shit," Nyxin added. "It'll soften the blow when you tell her that moving may not be an option just yet."
I sighed as I ran a frustrated hand through my hair. Nyxin definitely had a point. The wedding that Aurora wanted seemed pretty important to her, so that could literally be my saving grace right now. The last thing I wanted to do was rock the boat after we'd finally come to an understanding, but I knew that communicating with her would give her peace of mind.
"Well, I have some shit to think about, fellas. But in the meantime, I'm going to take a shower really quick. There's something else I need to talk to you about, so don't leave just yet," I said as I stood.
"Yeah, go get your wife off of you," Nyxin teased. I chuckled and shook my head, grabbing the suitcase next to Bruce before heading to the bathroom.
But the moment I was in the bathroom alone, I grew tense. I'd downplayed the severity of the situation with the Russians. At this point, it was either hand over the contacts or there'd be a bounty on my head for what I'd done to them. Saint was right; I knew the longer I stalled on meeting their demands, the more danger I was putting my family in. But I couldn't afford to give them the contacts they wanted. It was hard enough trying to build a mafia family from scratch. Hell, I needed the contacts for myself. I couldn't afford to lose the streams of income I already had. But I knew it was only a matter of time before everything exploded in my face, taking down everything I'd worked so hard to build and protect.
Ever since Aurora had Liam, I'd asked her to take a backseat. I thought it would've been safe that way, keeping her home with our son where I knew she'd always be protected. But with her planning a wedding, she was leaving the house more often, leaving her vulnerable. Even though I'd wanted to have a nice, sexy night with her tonight, I knew I'd have to bring her into the fold of what was going on so that we could come up with a plan together. I didn't know what I'd do if something happened to her or Liam. They were all I had left, and I wouldn't sacrifice them for anything. I knew it would be best to get this situation under control before the Russians did something they couldn't come back from.
As I stood under the hot spray of the shower, I couldn't help but think of my father. Growing up, I never remembered seeing him stressed about anything. He seemed to always have things under control, everything moving like a well-oiled machine in the background. Sure, he was gone or busy a lot, but I'd never felt as if I were in danger. After my mother was murdered, my father used to always remind me that we were all we had and that we had to protect each other. He'd eliminated threats before they had a chance to strike and was always one step ahead of his opponents. I used to envy that, the poise and control he always had. He never reacted due to emotions; he used to say that emotions would get you killed. He was calculating, calm but deadly. I was the complete opposite, which was why he'd used me as a secret weapon for so long. Sometimes I wondered if that was why my own organization was slowly crumbling around me. Being an emotional reactor could come back to bite me in the ass, especially now that I had a family of my own.
A shudder rolled through me as I thought back to Stephanie's bullet-riddled body on our bed. Sometimes I had nightmares of Aurora being in the same predicament. There was always that gut-wrenching fear of coming home to find our bedroom covered in her blood or my son being hurt. I knew it came with the territory of the life she and I chose, but it didn't make it easier to think about. There were times when I thought about leaving all this shit behind and trying for something normal, but I also knew that wasn't realistic. The mafia was in my blood, whether it was with my father or not. It was what I'd been bred to do, and it wasn't something that could be shaken off so easily. Besides, the straight and narrow life wasn't something I could actually do. It may have sounded good as a thought, but the devil could never remove his horns.
I pushed the pressing thoughts from my mind and continued my shower. All of that shit would have to wait, and I'd deal with it in due time. I knew I'd have to break a couple of promises to Aurora until this situation was fixed, so the least I could do was not worry about work shit right now until it was time to check out of the hotel. Besides, I had to admit that it was a bit nice to spend this time with them. I couldn't remember the last time she and I had spent uninterrupted time with each other. I also couldn't remember the last time I'd woken up with her in my arms and not having to rush off to work or a meeting. It was nice to just have a second to stop and appreciate the shit I'd created, the life I'd created with her. And even though things were a little fucked up right now, I wanted to make the most of the moments we had, as tomorrow was never promised to those who walked the dark path.
I paused when a door slammed in the living room, wiping the water from my face. Turning the water off, I listened, hearing what sounded like Aurora fussing. I sighed inwardly. So much for peace and happiness while we were here.
"Where the hell is Bennett?" she screamed. I stepped out the shower and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around my waist before I stepped out of the bathroom.
"What the hell is the problem?" I asked with a frown, walking back to the living room. The scene before me gave me pause. Aurora's eyes were pink and brimmed with tears as she bounced Liam in her arms, who also looked upset. "What's wrong?"
"I'll tell you what's fucking wrong," she snapped, storming over to me. "I want to know what the fuck is going on with you and the Russians."
I looked to the guys, who only shrugged in confusion. I turned back to Aurora. "What are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about," she repeated sarcastically, scoffing. "I'm talking about whatever the hell you have going on with the Russians right now. What do you have of theirs that they want?"
"I don't have shit that belongs to them," I ground out. "Where the fuck is this coming from?"
Liam began to cry again, Aurora kissing his head and rubbing his back. Saint walked over to her.
"Here, I'll take him so that you and Bennett can talk," he offered, but Aurora pulled away from him.
"Don't fucking touch him," she snapped. "I can hold my own fucking baby."
"Aurora, what the hell happened? You said you were going to have breakfast with Carrie—"
"Yeah, until someone from the Russian bratva cornered me in the fucking bathroom!" she screamed, angry tears streaming down her face.
Anger heated my body. "They did what?"
"I was in the bathroom with Liam, and someone followed me in there. They said they wanted contacts or some bullshit. H
e fucking fired a gun before pointing it at the back of Liam's head. What the fuck have you gotten us into, Bennett?"
"Oh fuck no. Fuck waiting around. I say we pay them a visit right now," Nyxin growled, and I was on the same wavelength. It was one thing to threaten me with bullshit, but it was another thing to try to harm my wife or son.
"Yeah, I'm thinking the same," I stated, trying to keep my growing anger under control as I focused back on my frazzled wife. "Baby, I know I said I wouldn't do anything work related while we were here, but I can't fucking let this slide."
"You need to handle whatever the fuck this is," she ground out. "I don't care what you have to do, but fucking handle it."
And that was all the permission I needed. I looked to the guys. "Give me a few minutes to talk with her," I said. They nodded knowingly before they filed out of the room, closing the door behind them. I walked over to Aurora and put my arm around her waist. "Did they hurt you?"
She shook out of my grasp and walked away from me, putting Liam down on the floor and handing him his rubber ducky to console him. "No, but that's not the point." She spun around and glared at me. "What the hell has been going on, Bennett? When did we have issues with the Russians?"
"We've always had problems with them," I reminded her flatly. "Did you forget the two men I killed on your behalf at that meeting we went to last year?"
"What contacts are they talking about? Why won't you just give them what it is that they want?"
"Because those are contacts that we could use with building this new family, Aurora."
"If we're already starting from scratch, then why can't we find new contacts?"
"It's not that easy—"
"Then we could ask our alliances for help, Bennett! You're making this shit harder than it needs to be!" she screamed. "Do you have any fucking idea how it feels to be helpless and unable to protect my son in that moment? That man pressed his gun to my forehead before he fired off a shot at a toilet and scared the shit out of Liam before pointing that same gun at the back of his head. And there wasn't shit I could do about it!"
It broke my heart to see how angry and scared she was. And it all boiled down to my stubbornness that was endangering my family. I sighed deeply and moved over to her, wrapping my arms around her and holding her close.
"I'm sorry, gorgeous," I murmured as she sobbed against me. "I'll handle it. You have my word on that."
"This is getting too close to home, Bennett. I will do whatever I have to do in order to keep Liam safe, even if that means leaving."
I shook my head. "You're safest with me. I can't protect you if you run off somewhere. The same way they found you at the restaurant, they could possibly find you anywhere." I tilted her face up to meet my gaze. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you or our son. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this shit earlier."
She shook her head and wiped her eyes. "I don't blame you for that," she murmured and sniffled. "I'd told you I wanted to take a backseat to mafia things because I wanted to focus on being a mother. I trust you to keep shit under control so that I don't have to worry about my outings being ruined with shit that you've done."
"I'll handle it, babe, but that's going to require me going back to work earlier than we agreed I would," I reminded her.
She nodded. "I know. Just...be careful, Bennett. I don't want you doing anything that'll get yourself killed either."
I smiled. "I'll do that to the best of my ability."
"I'm not kidding."
"I know you aren't, gorgeous. I'll be as safe as I can," I said and kissed her forehead. "But my priority is keeping you and Liam safe. You know that, right?"
"I know."
"And you know everything I do is for the both of you, right?"
"Yes."
"So don't worry your pretty little head about anything. The guys and I will get this handled, okay?"
She gave me a small smile. "Okay."
"Good." I wiped the single tear rolling down her cheek. "You know I hate it when you cry."
"Well, I'd like to not have a reason to," she mumbled.
"I'll do my best to make sure you don't," I said, stroking her cheek with my thumb. "But about this guy that you saw—do you remember anything about him?"
She shrugged. "He was pretty big, but there was nothing really memorable about him."
"What did he say to you?"
"He just said that his boss was asking for the contacts you had, and that it wasn't optional this time. I told him that I didn't know anything about that since I'm not really participating in mafia business these days."
"Right."
"But he's all, 'well you have a permanent seat on your husband's dick,' as if I'm a fucking messenger or something," she ground out bitterly. "Then he shot one of the toilets before turning the gun to Liam and..."
Tears welled in her eyes as she became upset all over again. I hugged her tightly, guilt running through me for not being there when she and Liam needed me. If this was Alec's way of getting my attention, he fucking got it. I was trying to keep a low profile right now since I didn't have the manpower to go to war with him, but I wasn't going to back down. I had a few alliances that I could utilize while possibly finding new contacts as well, but if Alec wanted to play dirty, so could I.
"I'll make them pay for what they've done," I promised. And they'd pay in the only currency I'd accept in situations like this.
In blood.
Once I was dressed, I went out into the hallway and motioned for the guys to come back inside. Aurora paced the living room floor as she fed Liam a bottle, worry reflecting in her eyes as she looked at us.
"What's the word, Boss? Are we handling these fuckers or what?" Nyxin asked.
"I need to get KC here. If Alec is going to send threats, I'm going to put one right on his fucking doorstep," I growled as I cracked my knuckles. "Second, I need to sit down with Hilcrest and let him know what's going on. If I'm going to war with Alec, I'm gonna need more manpower."
"Speaking of manpower, I have a few guys who wanna be down," Saint said. "They're men I can vouch for personally."
"I'll set up a meeting with them. But first, I need to deal with the fuck that was stupid enough to try to intimidate my wife."
"You may need to talk to Hilcrest first before you make a move on one of their men," Bruce said. "Killing another one of their guys is an act of war—"
"It was a fucking act of war when the mother fucker held my wife and kid at gunpoint," I barked, but then I took a breath.
I was doing it again, acting out of emotion instead of logic. Bruce was right. I had to lead this family in a new direction, and I had to stop doing things the same way while expecting different results. Alec probably did that knowing it would get under my skin. He knew I didn't have the manpower to take him on, which was why he was doing stupid shit to taunt me. As I looked over at my wife and son, I knew I'd have to be patient. As bad as my father was, I had to take a play from his playbook. I'd be cool for now, but Alec now had a target on his head that would be dealt with soon enough.
"Fine," I ground out. "I'll talk to Hilcrest and maybe Jerry and the Fabiano Family. But in the meantime, we need to build our troops."
"So, what do you need us to do?" Nyxin asked.
"Start recruiting more men. And I want a detail on Aurora and Liam at all times," I ordered. "Especially if she’s going around town for wedding shit. I'm not taking that risk."
Her eyes softened a bit as a small smile formed on her lips. "Wedding stuff? So...it's still on?"
"Since moving is kinda impossible right now with this Russian shit heating up, I think we should do the wedding instead of moving right now. I know how much that means to you," I admitted with a sigh. Her smile widened as she crossed the room, kissing me.
"I love you so much," she said in between kisses.
"Oh brother, do we need to step back outside? This is getting a bit X-rated," Nyxin grumbled.
I chuckled and kissed her fore
head. "I love you, too, gorgeous. And shut up, Nyxin. Weren't you just hounding me last night about spending time with her?"
"Well, yeah, but it didn't mean I wanted to see what the hell you guys do while spending time together," he said.
I shook my head. "I need to make some phone calls and I may have to leave. Are you going to be okay?"
She nodded. "Are you serious about the wedding stuff? I know you said at the club that—"
"We can have the wedding. Schedule whatever needs to be done and I'll be wherever you need me to be," I said. "I just need you to understand that things may be a little hectic for a while, and I'm going to need your patience."
"As long as you're not leaving me in the dark and breaking promises."
"I'll do the best I can to come home on time and I'll call you if I'm going to be late."
She stared at me for a long moment before she released a short sigh. "Fine, but don't use it as an excuse to not come home at all."
"Promise." I leaned down and kissed her and kissed the top of Liam's head, who was falling asleep in her arms. "I love you."
"I love you, too. Go handle your business," she murmured and headed to the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
I grabbed my phone from the couch and looked up Chase's number, hitting his contact when I found it. Pacing the living room floor, I waited as the line rang, my men watching me.
"Benny, my boy," Chase Hilcrest said upon answering, his jolly, cheerful voice bringing a grin to my face. "I'm surprised to hear from you."
"Yeah, I know. It's been a busy few months," I said.
"Oh, I bet. It's always like that when you're starting a new family from scratch. How's that beautiful wife and little boy of yours? You're being sure to make time for them, right?"
"That's a long story for another time, old friend," I said and chuckle.
"Then it sounds like you'll be coming over for drinks soon to tell me about this long story," he said. "Well, what do I owe this call, my boy?"
I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. "I have a situation that I need to talk to you about."
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