The Everest Brothers: Ethan - Hutton - Bennett

by Scott, S. L.

  I don’t know why I’m on edge. Is it seeing my family for the first time since my kidnapping, or is it that they helped organize it? I know. My heart just aches thinking about it.

  My father is paler than I’ve ever seen him, feeble in ways that start to temper my anger. I’m not sure if it’s age or his body rotting him from the inside out, but I turn to Bennett. “He doesn’t look good.”

  Bennett doesn’t say anything. I know he’s struggling with his own anger toward that man, and I’m surprised he’s been able to hold himself back. His knuckles are paying the price—whitened fists rest on his thighs.

  When I turn back, my asshole of a brother takes the box from the counter and steps back. His mouth is running. By his expression, he’s pissed. “He’s not going to give the box to Lars,” I say.

  His hand finds mine, and he takes hold. “You’re not getting out of this vehicle, Winter.”

  Turning back, I’m met with worry. I give his hand a squeeze. “I know.”

  Lars stands well above my father and brother, and by size alone, he’s intimidating. To most. “Braden’s a dickhead to fight this.” As if my brother can hear me, I say, “Give him the fucking box.”

  “Are you willing to leave without it?”

  “You know I’m not.” I don’t look behind me because I also know he’s probably fuming over this situation.

  Fred argues with Lars as well and comes around the desk, pointing toward the door. Lars relents and comes back to the vehicle. Coming to the other side of the SUV, Bennett partially rolls down his window. Lars says, “They’re not giving it unless they can talk to her.”

  “I’m right here.” Both of them turn to me. “I can talk to them. I have a few things I want to say as well.”

  Bennett’s eyes narrow. “You’re kidding me, right? They had you kidnapped, not knowing if you were going to be raped or killed or both.”

  Lars says, “We can’t stay here. The area has not been secured.” He looks down the street and then the other way before returning to us. “We have to leave it.”

  “It’s my mother’s.”

  He replies, “I understand, but it’s not safe for us to be here.”

  Bennett releases me and runs his hands through his hair, stressed. He knows how important this is to me, but says, “He’s right. I’m sorry, Winter.” When he turns back to Lars, he signals toward the front. “Get in.”

  “No.” I shoulder the door open and dash from the vehicle as Bennett swipes to grab me. “Winter!”

  Lars is hot on my heels by the time I reach the door, drawing everyone’s attention from inside in the lobby. I swing it open, and Lars catches it. He doesn’t say a word but follows close behind me as I enter.

  Fred greets me with the same unfriendly tone he’s had for years, “Ms. Nobleman.” No eye contact, only acknowledging me out of obligation to his job.

  I smile as polite as I can, trying to kill him with kindness. “Fred.”

  Braden stands before me like someone who’s gotten away with murder. I survived. I’m sure to his disappointment. He says, “The queen herself decided to grace us with her presence.”

  “So glad to see you too, brother. Still living with your daddy?”

  His laugh has lilted more toward a cackle as he holds the box hostage in his arms, taunting me. “While I’ve been saving the family farm, I hear you’ve been traipsing around Europe.”

  “You could have called,” my father says.

  “Why? You knew where I was.” Held captive in Paris. Shot at in New York. I have a feeling he’s known all along, just like Bennett’s theory on him being the key.

  “And how would I know that?” His eyes move above my head as a gentle caress curves around my shoulder. I look back. I didn’t hear Bennett enter the lobby, but I’m glad he’s here. With him on my side, maybe this won’t be so bad. One can hope.

  “Mr. Everest,” my father says as if he’s greeting a peer on the golf course. He reaches to shake his hand, but Bennett doesn’t move. He doesn’t even bother speaking to him.

  A spark of recognition strikes Braden’s eyes, and his expression morphs, suddenly very interested in us with dollar signs floating in his eyes. Asshole. The grin that splits his cheek is . . . wretched . . . not finding another word that fits better for that creepy expression owning his vapid features. “Good going, sis.” Turning to Bennett, he adds, “She bagged an Everest. Guess getting Mom’s looks paid off.”

  Bennett steps forward, but my hand whips out against his arm. “It’s okay.”

  My brother doesn’t know when to shut up, though. He adds, “You brought backup.”

  “I brought my friends. Do I need backup from my family?” I don’t know how our mother could produce that beast, but then I remember that my father insisted he “be a man” and suck in his emotions. He sucked so hard he lost them altogether. “I’ll take the box now, Braden.”

  My father stares at me like he’s seen a ghost. “In this light, you look so much like her.”

  “Nora. You can say her name. She loved you even when she shouldn’t have. You should give her the respect she deserves for trying to survive you.”

  Braden spits, “You’re such a bitch.”

  When he bobs forward like a school kid threatening others on the playground, Bennett steps in, and says, “Keep your distance from your sister. Do you understand, Nobleman?”

  “Is that a threat, Everest?” His slithering tongue lands hard on the T. My brother is the worst human ever.

  They hold their own against each other, but I’m not worried about Bennett. He’s clearly in the power position. His voice is smooth and deep, laden with menacing undertones. “That’s definitely a fucking threat.”

  “That will be enough, Braden.” My father’s voice catches us off guard, and I see him still staring at me. I’m the ghost that’s come back to haunt him. I’m the warrior my mother raised.

  Despite how little I feel in his presence, I stand my ground, but a shaky breath exhaled reveals my fear. I’ve never lived up to anything this man has expected of me. I was set up for failure the day I was born. Seeing him now, after what I’ve survived, I wonder why I cared. So much life wasted trying to appease him. No more. “I want the box.”

  My father’s arms open, and a smile that almost appears sincere slides into place. “Winter, I’ve been worried out of my mind.” He comes to me . . . He. Comes. To. Me. Miracles never cease.

  I stand there stunned, unable to will my arms around him. No tears come. Not even a loving embrace can erase what he’s done to me.

  He pulls back and taps his legs nervously. “I’ve been meaning to ask if you’ve received anything that might concern the company?” His nonchalance is anything but casual. Every word articulated has an underlying meaning.

  “What do you mean?”

  “If you received anything . . . there was unfinished business with your mother.” He waves his hand as if he’s shooing a fly away, then smiles. “Then I suddenly remembered maybe Winter can help since you were close to her.”

  “You were married to her.” I see a flash of irritation before his fake grin returns. I say, “What unfinished business?”

  Braden steps forward with the box again, taunting me behind my father’s back. “This is just trash, but you can have it if you give us what we want.”

  “I don’t know what you want other than me dead.”

  Neither of them even bothers to feign innocence. I shake my head. At least I know the truth.

  My father says, “Have you received anything from your mother? If you did, you need to give it to me right now.”

  From my mother? “I only had my mother’s locket, so I guess you’re shit out of luck.”

  When I turn to leave, my father says, “The locket! That’s it. You always did wear that piece of junk.”

  I take a breath, pausing before I turn back around. “I’m surprised you noticed. I thought I was invisible to you.”

  “Never invisible. Something your m
other left me to deal with. Always right there.” It’s impressive how my father can say cruel things in such a sincere tone. “A thorn in my side.”

  The reference makes me recall Bennett’s words—You weren’t born among the thorns, which makes me wonder why you grew them in the first place. My father is the reason I grew them. Braden sharpened them.

  Unlike them, Bennett cherishes me. He appreciates my prickly side as much as my soft petals.

  My father steps closer. “Where is that necklace? We can trade. This box for the locket.”

  I cup my throat feeling the bare skin but am quickly reminded he’s one of the reasons I no longer have it. I would never give it to him. “Why do you want it?”

  “I’m losing my patience. Where’s the goddamn necklace, Winter!” His commanding tone echoes through the lobby.

  Bennett steps around me, and stares down my father. “I’m losing patience as well. Give her the box.”

  “When she gives me the necklace.”

  I say, “I don’t know where it is. I lost it.”

  “Lost it?” His expression tightens, pained even. “You stupid girl.”

  Bennett takes my hand. “It’s time to go.”

  “Big man,” Braden says sarcastically, “Are you going to save her, Everest?”

  “I don’t need to save her. She’s doing fine on her own. I’m just here for moral support . . . Or to fuck someone up if they try to fuck with her.”

  I do a double take. It’s not that I didn’t know my giant could indeed fuck someone up, it’s that he’s so gentlemanly to me. He’s also right. It’s time to go by about eighteen years when it comes to my brother and father. I reach for the box once more, but Braden pulls back. “Necklace or nothing.”

  He’s going to make me fight until the bitter end. Tears pierce my eyes because as much as I knew they didn’t love me, it hurts when the truth finally sinks in. But I won’t let these tears fall. Not over him. Raising my chin, I turn to my father, and say, “Everything I ever did was for you and to save a company you ran into the ground. I made a deal with the devil to get him off your back—”

  “The fuck you did,” Braden spits. “Before you claim to be Joan of Arc in this fucked-up mess, let me make it very clear, sister, that we saved our own necks. So you standing here is only a stroke of luck on your part, and well played on fucking the mark.”

  “Fucking the mark” makes no sense to me, but Lars and Bennett are suddenly in action. Lars says, “Step back, Winter.”

  Bennett blocks me from my father and Braden, and then says, “Get in the car.”

  This time, I push my stubbornness aside and listen because something’s wrong. I turn to leave, but Braden has to open his mouth one last time. “You think you’re so important. You’re not, Winter. You’re nothing, just like that woman you idolize in your head.”

  I whip around, my anger getting the best of me. “Don’t talk about her like that. She loved you.”

  “She’s dead, and now that you managed to get the one thing that mattered to me taken away, you’re dead to me, too.”

  I want to hit him. I hate him so much. “The company? Money. That’s all that matters to you?” I’ve lived through years of this abuse, and I’m over it. “You can have all of it since your inheritance wasn’t enough.” Inheritance triggers a faint memory . . . my trust fund. I didn’t get it on my twenty-fifth birthday. With Braden still staring at me, I add, “It’s tainted, just like you.”

  “That’s all you got?” he asks, egging me on for more.

  “That’s all.” Before I leave, I take one more solid look at them. Hard. Cold. Callous. Cruel. That’s all I see in them. There’s no winning with them, only losing. “You’re evil,” I say, “inside and out, just like the McCoys.”

  The box is dropped, the sound of glass breaking shatters my heart. Braden’s eyes are wild with rage. I’ve seen that look before. He’s so much like Kurt that I don’t know why I never saw it before. They’re two of the most hideous humans, both consumed by greed and revenge. Braden says, “You said you’d sacrifice for us. Time for you to step up.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Bennett’s hand tightens around my wrist. “Winter, go. Now,” he grits between his teeth.

  But that brother of mine . . . “Did you really think Kurt would let you get away with this? Like he’d be fine with you fucking his enemy?” He charges me but hits a wall named Bennett. Lars grabs him from behind and throws Braden down. As I rush for the door, I look back when my brother yells, “You’ve doomed us all to death, you whore.”

  A light flickers in his eyes, a dawning of a new idea. “Oh shit,” he says, his head hitting the floor. “This is your plan. Fuck us over by fucking that guy for the big payday. Fucking hell! Why didn’t I see this coming, you clever cunt?”

  I stop in the doorway but don’t turn back. “You’re wrong.” I would never hurt Bennett.

  He chuckles maniacally. “He was hired to track you down. Should’ve figured you’d fall for him. Your heart is as weak as mother’s.” His words are cut off as I let the door close behind me.

  The leather is cold, and even though the heat is on, I’m frozen to the bone as I slide across the back seat. Angling toward the building, I take one last look at my so-called family, welcoming the pain of the door behind me as it digs into my back. My brother’s soul is lost. I just hope it’s not too late for mine. I need someone who believes in me, someone who sees through my defenses and bad decisions.

  I need Bennett. I’m safe in his love. Treasured.

  I watch as Bennett picks the box off the floor and tries to leave, but my father blocks the door. What the hell? They start yelling . . .

  But that’s when I hear the click of the handle. I sit up to look behind me, but the door flies open, and I’m yanked into arms I don’t recognize. A cloth covers my mouth too fast for me to scream and too drowsy to fight.

  Life leaves my limbs, and my body becomes a rag doll as I’m dragged into a waiting van. Bennett dives across the backseat of our SUV, but the door is closed, shutting him inside. The van door slides shut, blocking my view.

  The sound of squealing tires against the cement and yelling are the last things I hear, the men who kept me in the crate the last I see before my world goes black.

  31

  Bennett

  The sound of gunshots fills the cold air, the echo bouncing between the buildings. “Drive! Drive! Drive!”

  Rubber skids against cement as the pedal is floored, putting the vehicle in pursuit. The passenger side door I flew through slams closed just as I tuck my legs inside the vehicle.

  Sitting up, I see Lars running down the street in front of the SUV still shooting until we pull up next to him. He jumps in, and we’re going again. “What the fuck?” he shouts. “Why was her fucking door unlocked?”

  He presses his phone to his ear and starts calling out GPS coordinates. “Faster,” he demands. I’m not sure if he’s talking to the driver or the person on the other end of the line. When his head whips around, he tells me to buckle in.

  I ignore him, needing to be able to jump out when we catch them. But the red lights on the van are heading out of range too fast to catch.

  “Don’t lose them,” I say from the back as I drag my hand over the leather where she sat. Winter was here. Right here. “Fuck. They came out of nowhere.” I feel numb with her gone.

  “We’ll catch them,” Lars says, turning back again.

  “They chloroformed her, Lars.” The words claw up my throat as I realize she’s helpless. “She can’t fight.”

  “She’ll fight,” he replies. I’m thrown against the door where she was taken from when we make a hard right. “Buckle in, Bennett.” The car turns left down an alley.

  We all realize it at the same time. “Don’t stop,” I say, not accepting this is over.

  The driver glances at Lars as the SUV slows down. “We can’t catch them. Their lead is too great, and the vehicle won’t—”
<
br />   “Don’t you fucking give up. Don’t give up,” I shout. “She needs us.”

  He says, “The traffic’s too heavy, Mr. Everest.”

  “Then I’ll get out.” I get up, but Lars shoots a command.

  “Sit down. I can only keep track of one of you right now. It’s either Winter or you. Choose.”

  “I choose Winter.” I sit back with adrenaline still coursing through me. One more turn and their taillights are gone. Vanished into a sea of red lights and horns honking. “No! No. Find them.”

  “There’s traffic ahead, but I don’t see any vans, sir,” the driver says.

  “Find them!” The vehicle comes to a stop due to traffic, and I jump out, running as fast as I can. Lars calls my name, but I weave between cars and keep running until I hit the intersection. Standing in the middle, out of breath, I turn in circles, scanning every vehicle. I don’t care that the traffic light is green or cars are driving around me.

  I only care about Winter. “Fuck!”

  Lars runs up next to me, huffing. “Sidewalk, Ben.”

  “She’s gone. Into thin air. Gone.”

  He pushes me from behind. “Get out of the fucking street.”

  I step into a crowd of gawkers, some taking my picture, some filming the spectacle. Pushing through, I find space in front of a law office where I try to catch my breath. The muscles in my thighs start to give, and I squat down. “They took her from a car that was supposed to protect her.”

  Lars leans against the window, and his head drops down. “I fucked up.”

  “They’ll kill her this time. They didn’t last time, so she doesn’t have a chance this time.”

  “She does,” he says. “She’ll fight.”

  “When she wakes up,” I remind him.

  He nods, but his eyes stay trained to the surroundings. “It’s not safe out in the open. We need to get to the vehicle.”

  “It’s not fucking safe in there either.” I stand back up and start walking down the street. I don’t even know where the SUV is, but I keep moving.

  His phone buzzes every two seconds, alarms sounding. Lars finally answers, “I have him. Where are you?” There’s a pause. “We’ll meet you around the corner.”