"Judging by your tone, I'm assuming this is pretty serious."
"It is."
"Is this something that shouldn't be talked about over the phone?"
"It is."
He was silent for a moment. "Very well. I'm having breakfast with Veronica right now, so give me about half an hour or so. She should be gone to the country club by then."
"Great. I'll see you then."
"Talk soon, my boy," he said and hung up.
I looked to the guys as I put my phone in my pocket. "We have to be to Hilcrest's in half an hour. I'm going to need one of you to stay here with Aurora and Liam," I said, just as someone knocked on the door. We all paused and looked toward the door, glancing at each other. There shouldn't have been no one else coming up here and without a key, they shouldn't have been able to get on this floor.
"I need someone's gun," I murmured.
Bruce pulled his from his holster and handed it to me. I cautiously walked to the door with the gun drawn as the knocking continued.
"Who is it?" I called out.
"It's your sister, you idiot," Carrie replied on the other side of the door. "Let me in! I really have to pee!"
I rolled my eyes and unlocked the door, opening it to see Carrie bouncing from foot to foot. A woman dressed in the uniform the receptionist wore last night stood next her. She blushed under my gaze and dropped her eyes, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
"My apologies, sir. She said she was a family member. I called up to the room but no one answered and you guys have all of the available keys allotted to you."
"It's fine," I said and stepped aside for Carrie to enter. She rushed past me in search of the bathroom, leaving me with the receptionist. "Well, thank you."
"Of course, sir. Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you," she said and scurried back down the hallway.
I shook my head and closed the door, handing Bruce back his gun when I reached the living room. "Back to what we were talking about," I started. "I need one of you to stay with Aurora and Liam while I'm away at this meeting."
"I'll stay," Saint volunteered.
"What if I wanted to stay?" Nyxin argued.
Saint rolled his eyes. "Other than the fact that Aurora doesn't really care for you because of your mouth? But by all means, feel free to stay and risk getting punched in the gut," he said, holding up his hands.
Nyxin frowned. "On second thought, the meeting seems like a safer place for me to be," he said, causing us to chuckle.
"Well, that's settled then. Let's go ahead and get on the road. I'd rather be early than late," I said.
"I'll go get the car," Bruce said and walked out of the room with Nyxin in tow.
I turned to Saint. "I'm leaving my world in your hands, man. Protect them with your life," I stated.
"You got it, Boss. I got them," he said with a nod.
I walked past him and moved over to the bedroom door, slowly easing it open. Aurora was laying Liam in the crib, looking over her shoulder when she heard me. She rubbed Liam's back for a few moments before she finally turned to face me, wrapping her arms around herself.
"Leaving already?" she murmured.
I nodded. "I have to meet with the head of the Hilcrest Family. Hopefully it won't take too long."
She was silent for a moment before giving me a sad grin. "I guess date night is canceled for tonight, huh?"
I closed the space between us and wrapped my arms around her waist. "I wasn't sure if you'd be up for it after what happened."
"It'll take my mind off of it at least. Plus, you promised to devour me on the kitchen counter, so I'm holding to you to that," she grinned, wrapping her arms around my neck.
"Um, ew," Carrie said, standing in the doorway.
I chuckled, ignoring my sister. "Deal," I agreed, kissing her. "I'll be back soon."
"Alright. Be safe," she said on a sigh as I let her go.
"Always," I said and looked into the crib at my sleeping son. My jaw tightened at the thought of someone pointing a gun at him, of someone scaring him, of someone threatening to take him away from me. I'd burn this entire city to the ground with my rage if anything happened to him and Aurora, but I knew I had to play this smart. And as I kissed my wife one last time, I vowed that I wouldn't rest until Alec and all his men knew that I wasn't one to fuck around with.
"You okay, Carrie?" I asked her.
She nodded. "Yeah. Just a little frazzled from what happened at the restaurant and now starving. I hope you're leaving us with money to order food," she said, holding her hand out.
I nodded to Aurora. "She has everything I do. There's plenty of money for you to buy as much food as you can eat."
"Fine," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Anyway, Saint is going to stay with you guys until I get back. Don't go anywhere until I know the coast is clear, Carrie," I said.
"Why would I leave? Someone owes me breakfast," she said and went to join Saint in the living room. I looked back at Aurora.
"I'll be back, gorgeous."
"Alright. Love you."
"I love you, too."
It felt different leaving her this time, a heavy feeling settling in my stomach as I walked away. Maybe it was because my fears materialized today to where I was afraid to leave her. So much shit could've gone wrong in that bathroom this morning. I could've lost my entire world all because I wasn't there to protect them. But I knew I had to get back to work. That was the only way I could keep them safe right now. Saint gave me a knowing nod as he paced the living room. I knew I was leaving them with a man I trusted more than anyone. Now I just had to fix the fucking mess the Russians were creating for me.
Forty-five minutes later, Bruce, Nyxin, and I walked up the stairs to the Hilcrest home. The front door opened before we even reached the top, his housekeeper waiting for us.
"Welcome, Mr. Moreno," she said, bowing slightly when we approached her. "Mr. Hilcrest is waiting for you."
I nodded and followed her into the house, looking around the large foyer as she closed the door behind us. It always confused me as to why Hilcrest had such a big house when it was only him and his wife. Without other people here to guard him, it was too much open space, too much of a vulnerability.
"There you are, son," Chase's voice boomed as he appeared from another room, a cigar in his mouth. "I got it from here, Sam."
"Yes, sir," she said and bowed slightly before scurrying off.
"Good to see you again, Chase," I said, shaking his outstretched hand.
"It's always great to see you, too, son," he said and motioned for us to follow him. "Let's head to my office. I have this nice aged bourbon that I think you boys will like."
We walked through the spacious hall until we reached his office, which looked more like a mancave than it did an office. Two couches sat on the far wall with a bar stretched across another wall. A large, flat screen tv was perched up on the wall, random philanthropy awards and art decorating the space. Another woman rushed into the room and immediately began putting ice in glasses, pouring bourbon in four glasses and putting them on a tray before she approached us.
"Thank you," I said with a slight nod. Bruce and Nyxin grabbed one as Chase grabbed one and shooed the woman away.
"Let's have a seat, shall we?" he said. We walked over to the couch and sat as Chase plopped down in a recliner. "So, what seems to be the problem, my boy?"
"Russians," I started, taking a sip of my drink. The alcohol was smooth going down, the warmth swirling in my belly. "Oh, that's nice."
"I told you so," Chase said as he raised his glass to me before taking a sip. "And are these the same Russians that your father was working with?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I learned that my father promised him these contacts in exchange for setting me up to kill the current sitting bosses at the time. Even though Wilson is dead now, they're still demanding these contacts."
"You could always find new contacts, can you not?" Chase asked, taking another si
p of his drink.
"Probably, but with starting a new family, I needed to be able to keep the businesses running. I couldn't afford to start from scratch just yet," I admitted.
"We can always find you new connections, my boy. There's nothing a few phone calls can't fix. It's definitely nothing to get worked up about."
"That's not the only problem," I said with a sigh. "One of them approached Aurora and Liam this morning when they were out with my sister for breakfast."
Chase paused in his sip and narrowed his eyes at me. "Is that right? They're okay, yes?"
"Shaken up, but they're physically fine. Aurora said the man held her at gun point while threatening her to get me to turn over the contacts. Then he fired a shot before aiming his gun at my son, threatening to harm him," I ground out, the words sending a fresh wave of anger through me. "I can't let that go unpunished, Hilcrest."
"Nor do I expect you to," he agreed. "Family always comes first and sometimes you have to rule with an iron fist when someone tries to challenge you."
"That's why I'm here." I scooted to the edge of my seat. "As you know, we're still in the process of rebuilding. After the fall of the Moreno Family, some men left, which has left me starting from scratch. I can't declare war on the Russians with the small number of men I have now. I wanted to know that in the event that things heat up with them, could I count on your support?"
Chase rubbed his beard as he studied me for a long moment. We all waited in silence as he took another sip from his glass, shuddering slightly. "Now that's some good alcohol," he stated and put his glass down. "I can do that for you, son. But there's something I need you to do for me."
I took a gulp from my glass, my mind coming up with a million and one scenarios of what this man could possibly want from me. "I'm listening."
"If I give you a hard drive, do you think your hacker buddy could find the information someone tried to delete from it?" he asked.
I shrugged. "I don't know much about that shit, but I can take it to him to see what he can do with it," I said.
Chase nodded. "Good. I'll send you off with the hard drive and in the meantime, you have the support of Hilcrest at your disposal if needed."
"I appreciate that more than you know. I'm trying to give Aurora peace of mind after what happened."
"Poor thing. I can only imagine how scary that was for her," he said, shaking his head before draining the rest of the alcohol in his glass.
"What information are you looking for on this hard drive?" I asked.
"Just...some missing video footage is all. The wife says one thing, and the missing footage of the security feed says another. You know how that can be."
I fought the urge to chuckle. I was pretty much asking this man to assist me in a war and all he wanted was to find footage to prove whether or not his wife was breaking her vows. "Well, if it's anything regarding tech, I'm sure KC can find it," I said as I stood.
Everyone else stood and finished their drinks, the woman hurrying over to us to retrieve our glasses. Chase walked over to a painting on the wall and pulled it from the wall, revealing a safe behind it. After putting in the pin, the door popped open and he reached inside, grabbing the hard drive box.
"Here you are," he said, handing it to me. "Hopefully your friend can expedite this matter for me."
"Of course. I'll give him a call when I leave here," I said with a nod. "Again, I appreciate your support in this. Aurora gives her thanks as well."
He waved me off. "You're a strong ally, son. I know things are rough right now as you establish yourself, but it'll get easier. I've worked with your family for a long time and aside from your father, I know the Morenos are good men," he said, clapping me on the shoulder. "Now you get back to your wife and that precious baby of yours. I bet he's growing like a weed."
"Yeah, and looks more and more like me every day."
"Isn't that precious. Soon he'll be walking and the next thing you know, they're asking for money and trying to drain you dry," he said and laughed. "Anyway, don't mind me. Just let me know what you need, and I'll make sure you have it. And get back to me as soon as you can about that hard drive."
"Will do, Chase. I'll be in touch," I said and looked to men. "Let's get to work."
We bid Chase goodbye and made our way back to the front door. None of us said anything until we were safely in the confines of the car, Bruce starting the engine.
"I'm assuming this means the hit is a go?" he asked. I looked over at him, a slow smile creeping on his lips as he waited for an answer.
"Of course," I mused, relaxing in my seat. "I think it's high time for the Russians to find out what happens when you poke the devil too many times. The time for talking is over. I think it's time to make things a little messy. What do you guys think?"
"Oh, fuck yeah," Nyxin said from the back seat, rubbing his hands together.
I grinned to myself. Alec had my full attention now, but it wouldn't be the attention he'd want.
Now the devil was awake, and he wanted his fill of blood.
AURORA
I flopped down on the couch next to Saint with a sigh. "You good, baby girl?" he asked, looking over at me.
"How long has this shit been going on with the Russians?" I asked, narrowing my eyes when he shrugged. "Don't lie to me, Saint."
"Probably since Wilson was killed," he answered. "Wilson was supposed to have given Alec these contacts, but Bennett decided to keep them for La Fedeltá instead. If Bennett gives them the contacts, they'll turn the other cheek and not seek revenge for him killing their previous bosses. If not...they're declaring war against us."
I closed my eyes and let the words marinate in my mind. All of this bullshit was over a few connections that we probably could've easily replaced? I needed to think of a way to get through to Bennett. Right now, he was being stubborn just for the sake of it after all the threats Alec and his men have tossed our way. But things were hitting too close to home for my liking.
"He's gonna get it handled. Don't stress yourself about it," Saint said, giving me a gentle push.
"I know he does. It's just...I've never been so scared in my life. If I were by myself, that guy wouldn't have scared me. But just the thought of something happening to Liam and the fact that I had no way to defend him or protect us...that was terrifying," I admitted, tears burning my eyes again. That man could've killed my son, could've killed me in that bathroom and there wouldn't have been a damn thing I could do about it with no weapon of my own or backup.
"You can't beat yourself up about that. Bennett will pay that guy a visit to show Alec what happens when someone fucks with his family. You're married to a psychopath, remember?"
I giggled. "That’s very true," I said.
We were silent for a moment before Saint spoke again. "His greatest fear is losing you, you know," he stated.
"He told me last night."
"Not just you leaving him, but of losing you. You know, like he lost Stephanie. He's not going to rest until the thinks all threats have been taken care of. That could possibly keep him from home longer than you'd want him to be."
I sighed. "Yeah, I assumed that was the case. The crazy thing is that I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Last night was just too perfect in the way it ended, as if it was too good to be true. I knew something was going to happen; I just wasn't sure what it was."
"Well, don't let this bullshit pop whatever happy bubble you guys have put yourselves in."
"What makes you think we're in a happy bubble?"
"Because I haven't seen Bennett look that relaxed since he brought you back to California," he said and chuckled. "And before you try to deny it, you do remember that the guys and I had to listen to you guys go at it for five hours on the plane ride back home, right?"
I laughed, my cheeks warming at the thought of it. Bennett spent that whole plane ride showing me how much he loved and missed me. There was no part of body that hadn't been touched by his hands, his lips or his cock b
y the time we touched down in California. The guys all made gagging noises when we finally exited the bedroom, telling us that they'd have to bleach their brains to remove the sounds of our lovemaking from their memories before Bennett told them a bullet to the head would be more effective.
"I won't argue with that. I kinda blew his mind last night, so I'm not surprised if he's pretty relaxed today," I said, dusting my shoulders off.
Saint chuckled and shook his head. "Spare me the details on that. It's bad enough that we walked in on a moment this morning," he said.
I shrugged. "Well, you know your boss has quite the appetite. I can't really help that," I said sarcastically. The severity of our situation began to settle once more, causing me to sigh. "Sometimes I regret having Liam, you know?" I held my hands up when Saint raised a brow at me. "I mean...I wish I hadn't brought him into this life. I love Bennett and I love my son, but I want to be able to go places without having to look over my shoulder for any enemies my husband has made who may want to kill me or Liam. Like...did I really just commit my little boy to a life of danger?"
Saint was quiet for a moment. "I worry about that when it comes to Giselle," he started. "When all that shit was going on with Wilson, it was always on my mind. It's not so much as her safety that I'm worried about because I always have that handled. My biggest fear is something happening to me and leaving her alone. And it would be my fault because I chose to stay in this life even though Bennett has given me opportunities to walk away."
"Why haven't you? Walked away, I mean."
He shrugged. "Would you walk away from family?" he asked with a grin. "I'm forever grateful for that man giving me a chance when no one would. So, no matter how dangerous shit gets, I'll always have his back because I know he has mine and my little girl's. I'll forever remain loyal to this family."
"You're too good of a man sometimes, you know that?" I asked with a smirk.
"I get that from time to time," he said and chuckled.
"Is that why you have the name Saint?"
"Not...necessarily, no. But that's another story for another day," he said, just as Carrie walked out of the kitchen and plopped down on the couch across from us.
Rules of Bennett: The Complete Collection Page 74
