by Rebel Hart
Benji.
Benji was on the other side of the door.
He walked with a limp and his arm was cradled against his stomach. But I saw he was packing heat. On both hips, actually. The bruises on his face and his split lip filled me with pride, but also regret.
Because I should’ve killed that asshole when I had the chance.
A rush of nerves poured over me as my hand fell to the doorknob. I reached my other hand out for the wall and softly drummed my fingers against it. I held my breath as I flipped the lock, sliding the door chain out of place. I turned it slowly and tried my best to control my movements. Because I sure as hell didn’t want to betray how anxious I was about this plan.
Then, as the door eased open, my eyes fell upon a massive black SUV still shining its fucking lights against the window of our motel room.
Benji grinned up at me as I looked down at him. Then the sound of a door opening caught my ear. My eyes traveled over the top of his head and I watched as three other men get out of the vehicle. I studied them as they slammed their doors, obviously wanting to announce their presence. They buttoned up their suit jackets and made their way for the sidewalk, sunglasses covering their faces.
I didn’t recognize them at all.
Then another car pulled up.
Time to start the game.
“You got something you want to say? Or should we just start shooting?”
Benji snickered. “Really, Max. Is that any way to greet family?”
“Just answer the question.”
“Or I could simply draw my weapon and put a bullet in your chest.”
I heard Dani moving, and it filled me with relief. As Benji smirked up at me, I clocked her sliding off the bed and pressing herself along the wall. I prayed my cousin couldn't hear the soft rapping of her fingers against the plastered wall before she slipped into the bathroom. And the second I heard that door click behind me, I threw caution to the wind.
“Come and get some, then, I guess,” I said.
The second he lunged at me, I slammed the door closed. I heard his entire body hit it full force before the sound of crunching cartilage sounded in my ear. My smile practically split my face in half. I flipped the lock and backed up, moving to the dresser. I opened the first drawer and pulled out my shotgun as someone slammed against the door. I stuffed my pockets with ammunition and loaded the damn thing as Benji struggled to get the door open.
The sound of a muffled pistol sounded before the doorknob became nothing but a piece of useless metal on the floor.
“Gotta pick the right lock first!” I exclaimed.
Benji snarled. “When I get my hands on you, you’re dead, Max. You hear me? Dead!”
I stuffed a pistol into the back of my jeans and flipped my jacket over it. And just as the door came crashing in, I leveled my shotgun. The door slammed against the wall, with the corner embedding itself into the plaster. Benji strode in with a muffled pistol pointed directly at my face, so I decided to return the courtesy.
I raised my shotgun to his eye level as I backed closer to the bathroom door.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Benji asked.
“A dead man, soon enough.”
He snickered. “And yet, I’m pretty sure you’re going to be the dead one in a minute.”
“If you wanted me dead, you would’ve already shot me.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong, Max. Because unlike your father, I enjoy watching people squirm. Especially people who tried to keep me down all these years.”
I shrugged. “Sorry for assuming you had more potential. I guess even presidents get it wrong sometimes.”
His hand started trembling. “I never took you for the running sort, Max. But I suppose love makes men do stupid things.”
I stood in front of the bathroom door as a disgusting smile swept across his face.
“Hello, Bambi. Enjoying the bottom of that bathtub?”
Fuck.
I heard the bathroom door open behind me and I prayed to any god listening that nerves weren’t clouding Dani’s judgment. I needed her to remember her part in this plan. I made sure to take my place between her and Benji . But it worried me when I didn’t feel my leather jacket creeping up my back.
Come on, Dani. Take the fucking gun.
Benji seemed oblivious to her behind me. “Your brother showed his true colors tonight, you know.”
I nodded. “I’m sure he did.”
“He chose the winning side. Want to know why?”
I shrugged. “I’m sure you’ll tell me anyway. Pompous men always do that.”
He chuckled. “He knows your ship is sinking. He knows your father is going to change the way the game is played. And he knows he can cash in if he’s on the right side. See, Max? Money rules all. And your father has a great deal of it. How does that make you feel?”
“I guess relieved. Because I sure as hell don’t want to put up with cowards like John.”
His eyes ran down my body. “At least one of you has some self-preservation skills.”
“He’s a coward and nothing more. Just like you.”
“You’re the one who ran, Max. Who’s the coward now?”
The suited men behind him chuckled, and I gritted my teeth to keep from firing back.
“What has my father offered you anyway, Benji? Hmm? What the hell is so important that it’s worth turning your back on the people who treated you like family? The people who are family?”
“That’s rich, coming from you. Because when I tried to make myself family and pledge your pathetic little crew, you denied me. Time and time again. Doesn’t really sound like family, does it?”
“All I wanted was the best for you. You’ve got smarts, Benji. You could’ve gotten yourself a degree and really made something of yourself instead of scraping the bottom of the bucket of what this life has to offer. That’s what I wanted for you. And instead, you decided to get selfish. To throw it all away, and for what?”
He chuckled bitterly. “For family, Max. For loyalty. For camaraderie. But you don’t care about any of that shit, do you?”
“I’ve always cared about you, Benji. About family. About life, and love, and loyalty.”
“Yeah, only when it suits you though, right?”
“Stop twisting my words and--”
He cocked his gun. “All you wanted to be was right, Max. That’s all you ever care about. Being seen as some big man with big plans and big dreams. And always, always right. That’s why you pushed college so hard. Because to you, this life was a fallback. Because you had nothing else to give this world. Well, you know what? I chose this life. Even though I had another road to take, I chose this one. It wasn’t a fallback for me. It wasn’t a last resort just to stay alive. I love what I do and the people that surround me. I don’t let my want to be right cloud my judgment. You do, though. All you care about is being right instead of being in the right.”
I hated how true his words were.
“Max. Let’s be honest for a second. Can we be honest?”
“I’d rather you shoot me.”
He chuckled. “All right, honesty it is. You and your little crew are nothing but a bunch of posers. You have no power. No wealth. You haven’t had jobs in months. You’ve got nothing. You have nothing. You’re flies compared to your father. No, no, no. You’re the larvae of flies. And that man’s offering me more money than I could even dream of. He’s offering me a life. A real life.”
“Killing people and making ties with one of the foulest men on the planet is a real life for you?”
He shrugged. “If I have to get my hands dirty to earn it, I’m fine with that. Plus, I don’t plan on staying by your father’s side forever.”
“So what? You’re going to be his part-time enforcer before you take his place?”
He grinned. “You won’t be alive for it, so what does it matter?”
“I mean, you’ve been flapping your lips this entire time. Might as well fi
ll me in on the rest before you splatter my brains against the mirror. Right?”
“You think you can taunt me, but it won’t work. I know how this ends. I’ve seen it.”
“Seen it, huh? I wonder how my father would take to partnering himself with someone who has hallucinations. Guys, did you know he hears voices?”
He pressed the pistol to my forehead. “Shut up!”
I finally felt Dani lifting up my leather jacket. “And here I was thinking all you were good for was a punching bag.”
“Your father sees potential in me. Not my fault you didn’t.”
“All he sees in you is a dumbass that’s easy to take advantage of.”
Benji hissed, “He’s building a fucking empire, you ungrateful piece of shit. One sliver at a time. He knew he could pay the police off to broaden his operations. But he also knew that if you caught wind of what he was up to, you’d expose him. And you can’t build an empire from prison.”
I shook my head. “What the hell have you gotten yourself into, Benji?”
His smile grew positively maniacal. “There’s a lot of money in drug smuggling, Max.”
And there it was. The entire reason Benji was doing this. The entire reason my father had been hunting us down. Hunting me down. All for some measly drug-peddling. It had taken John over two years once he took over the Red Thorns to get us out of the drug game. And it still took me the better part of a year to really clean out the crew and get rid of the guys still dealing behind our fucking backs.
I should’ve known. I should’ve fucking known.
“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, Benji.”
His eyes grew wide. “With your father’s expansion, he’ll have control over this whole region. And his reach will grow, mark my words. Others will come. Others will want a home only your father can provide. A home they’d never find with you. Then there won’t be a damn soul to stand between him and his kingdom because you and your little deer will be six feet underground. And all by my hand.”
I pressed my shotgun into his gut as his eyes sparkled with something unrecognizable. An evil and a greediness I’d never seen anywhere. Not even in my father’s eyes.
“Any last words?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“Then let me have them. I promise I’ll deliver them to someone that I think will care.”
“I take it this is where you say, ‘which is no one.’”
He snickered. “Guess you aren’t as stupid as you look. So got those words for me?”
“Yeah. I do.”
I felt Dani’s warmth back away from me and I grew worried as to what she was doing.
“Come on. You really don’t want to keep me waiting, Maxxy-poo.”
I grinned. “You talk way too much.”
28
Dani
I drummed my fingers on the outer wall of the motel on the other side of the tub. Hoping and praying someone heard me. Then I quickly stepped out from around Max and held up my hands.
“Please! Don’t shoot.”
Benji’s eyes stayed locked with Max. “Truth be told, I can’t believe you’re still here, Bambi. Maybe you aren’t the doe-eyed waste of space I thought you were.”
As much as I wanted to lash out at him for the insult, I let it roll off my back. Benji had said enough in the last few minutes to get both Max and Rupert off the hook. As well as throw Benji in prison for a very, very long time. All I needed was to keep people from firing any guns. Because if gunshots rang out, that destroyed everything. There were supposed to be precautions in case Benji came in with guns blazing. But he hadn’t. He came here to say what he needed to say first.
And we got it recorded.
Just a few more seconds, Dani. Stall him.
Benji’s eyes returned to Max. “Any last words, you two?”
I shrugged. “Only a few.”
Max hissed. “Dani, shut up.”
I snickered. “Funny that you think you can make me shut up.”
Benji grinned. “Cute. Now, what is it?”
With my arms hanging slack at my sides, I rolled my shoulders back. I felt the pistol I’d taken from Max’s belt band pressing against my side. I wasn’t sure if anyone could see it. Part of me hoped they did, but part of me hoped they didn’t. So without wasting any more time, I launched into the only plan I’d quickly formulated in my head.
“You made a mistake,” I said.
Benji blinked. “I take it you’re going to tell me what I’ve done?”
I nodded. “Yep. Your mistake was coming after us.”
He feathered the trigger. “Desperate people say desperate things. Why do I get the feeling you’re only stalling for time?”
I shook my head. “Nope. We knew you’d come. We counted on it, actually. And now? Here you are. Just like the pawn we thought you were.”
Max grumbled, “That’s enough.”
Benji’s hand trembled. “Let the woman finish. God, you’re always such an asshole, Max.”
I drew in a deep breath. “Did you really think Max would run? I mean, really. Truly. Running from a fight. Has he ever done that? Did you really think he’d do that?”
Benji’s eye twitched. “Tell your girl to shut up.”
Max shrugged. “I’m pretty sure she’s already showed you that she doesn’t listen to me.”
I smiled. “It’s kind of true. Max likes to portray that he’s got me on a leash. But his ass is mine for bailing him out of all this stuff.”
Benji hissed. “You didn’t bail him out of shit.”
I shrugged. “That’s cool if you think that. But if you shoot Max? You’ll never know how I got him out of that holding cell eight hours earlier than intended.”
Benji’s eyes finally snapped my way. “What?”
“You’re curious, aren’t you? How I knew when the crew needed to be at the police station. How Max got out of jail sooner than instructed. How I figured out that Max’s father had half the damn police department in his pocket. You want to know all these things, right? So you can report back to Mr. Ryddle like a good little puppy?”
“Seriously, gorgeous. That’s enough.”
Benji feathered the trigger again. “Let the woman speak.”
I smiled. “Thank you, Benji. Now where was I? Oh, yes. I was telling you exactly how I knew everything I needed to in order to get Max out of that holding cell.”
“Spit it out or eat lead, sister.”
“Wow. So very impatient. I’m sure Mr. Ryddle wouldn't like that one.”
Benji whipped his gun over to me. “Tell me!”
Max jumped in front of me again. “You keep that thing pointed at me, asshole.”
I peered from around Max’s body and grinned. “John did everything we told him to, Benji.”
He blinked. “What does this have to do with--?”
“Oh, I’m back to our current predicament. Where you said John was a coward? I mean really, Benj. Keep the hell up.”
“Dani.”
I patted Max three times on the back. Signaling to him that we still needed time. Just like the signals we’d talked about on the way to the motel.
And he shut up.
“Benj--can I call you Benj?--John did everything we asked him to. He’s good, too. Right? And you did exactly what we thought you’d do. You came right here, putting yourself in harm’s way with a gun you barely know how to wield. And where’s Mr. Ryddle?”
Benji swallowed hard. “I’m just fine with guns, thanks.”
“I don’t know, dude. The shaking of your hand doesn’t make me very confident.”
Max snickered. “You and me both, gorgeous.”
Benji roared. “Shut up and tell me what the fuck’s going on!”
I smiled. “Your loyal and stunning chief is lying in a hospital bed, safe and sound. While you’re out here doing all of his dirty work. Taking all of his bullets. It’s really a shame that you’re going to take the fall for him. But hey. You h
ad it coming, you asshole.”
Benji’s eye twitched yet again. “I think I’m going to enjoy splattering your brains against the wall first, Bambi.”
And as his gun moved back to me, Max started yelling.
“Now! Now! Now! Now!”
Sirens wailed and lights flashed. I heard tires squealing in the parking lot as something crashed against metal outside. I smiled brightly at Benji as his suited men started yelling at one another, shouting commands and scrambling to get into places to defend themselves. Benji peered over his shoulder and Max took the opening. He wrestled with the lanky man, scrambling to get the gun out of his hand.
“Come on, you piece of shit,” Max growled.
Benji looked up at me. “You bitch!”
I giggled. “Don’t get all nasty because I outsmarted you, dickhole. Also, the police heard everything. They know you were sent to kill Max. And me. They know you had a hand in my kidnapping.”
Max grunted. “A little help here, gorgeous.”
He forced Benji’s hand to the floor and I saw him trying to pull the trigger. So I raised my boot and stomped down onto Benji’s wrist. He cried out in pain as police swarmed the motel room, and I kicked the gun into the bathroom.
“You want to know what they also know?” I asked.
Benji growled. “I’m going to kill you. I’m going to slaughter you all!”
I dipped down to meet his eyes. “They know you’re on Mr. Ryddle’s payroll. They know you’re his right hand man. Which means you’re going to jail for life, sweet cheeks. All because you put your trust in the wrong damn person.”
Benji spat at me. “If you think I can’t make moves from prison, you’re sorely mistaken.”
I bopped his nose. “I’ll be waiting then, Bambi.”
Max chuckled as he ripped Benji from the floor. He was flailing and bleeding and screaming and cursing. Making a massive scene as Max tossed him into the arms of the S.W.A.T. officers clearing the room. I watched the suited men get hauled out in handcuffs. I listened to them read Benji his rights as Max wrapped his arm around me. I wrapped my arms over my chest and tucked myself tightly against his body, seeking his comfort and his warmth as Benji slung insults and threats around.
