by Bella Jewel
He had no problem with it.
I don’t have a bad feeling about this, and considering my gut is usually pretty good at reading things, I’d say that’s an excellent thing. I think Benedict is far more worried about his company, reputation, and life to care about Blanche, Dax, and Peter. Though, I do want the chance to see my uncle, to look him in the eye before he is taken from this world.
Maybe I’m bitter because of the life I have endured for the last five-plus years, but the fact is, death doesn’t scare me. Not with other people. I don’t care that those men are going to be taken out, that they will no longer be here. I honestly couldn’t give a crap that they’ll never walk another day on this earth. Briella has said she is concerned about it and the guilt that might follow, but I know when she can breathe easily again, she is going to feel so much better.
As for Kendric, and his need to have Dax admit to everything so his charges are dropped, Benedict has a plan for that, too. He has a friend of a friend who is a reporter and is going to make an announcement when all of this blows up about the operation they were running and how it went bad. It’ll be all over the news, and Benedict, with all his power, is going to ensure Dax is linked to the murder of Bennett and not Kendric.
He assured us everything would be cleared.
I have to trust him. We all do.
It’s really our only chance.
“You want me to get all of them?” The man on the phone says, snapping me back to the here and now.
“All of them,” Benedict orders. “We are going to take down that operation ourselves.”
“Any chance of this coming back on you?”
“None,” Benedict confirms. “They’re all going to stop breathing. Nobody will be there to speak. It’ll be a big police bust, and they’ll think they’ve taken down everyone involved. I’m a silent partner for a reason. Make sure all the money is transferred away from them before they’re taken care of.”
I glance at Cohen, but he’s staring intensely at Benedict.
“Make sure it cannot be traced, too.”
The man makes a sound of agreeance. “I’m on it, boss. It’ll be done.”
“You make sure that girl is out of there safe before you do anything. That is the number one priority. You get her out; I’ll give you instruction on where to take her.”
“Confirming her name is Lilian, she’s approximately sixteen or seventeen and has brown eyes and dark hair?”
“Correct.”
“I’ll have it done. Await my call.”
Benedict hangs up the phone and glances at Alarick. “Happy now?”
“I will be when this is over. You’re certain Kendric will be cleared?”
“You underestimate my power,” Benedict scoffs.
“It’s not your power I care about. It’s the fact that I don’t fuckin’ trust you. That man deserves to walk free because he had fuck all to do with what Dax was running in our down. You have his name cleared, or our deal is off.”
“Sit down, biker,” Benedict mutters. “I’ll have his name cleared. I have more people on the police force than you could possibly imagine. I run that fucking show. Blanche is mine, and he’s the best there is. You give me zero credit. This will be finished by days end.”
“You’re confident,” Cohen growls. “Anythin’ could go wrong.”
“It won’t,” Benedict says. “I’ve handled far worse than this. My men far outweigh what Blanche has running over there. It’ll look like a deal gone wrong, and the media will have a field day with it. The cops will love it. They’ll think they’ve uncovered a massive operation that is now finished, and that’ll be the end of it.”
“You’re sure that’s how it’s going to go?” I ask.
“One hundred percent. You should know by now, Aviana, that I’m just that powerful.”
Oh, I know he is.
I fucking know it.
“Just make sure it’s done, so we can take that poor girl home safely. She doesn’t deserve what’s happening. I hope you know these little operations you’re running, they’re sick. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
Benedict grins. “Money is money, sweetheart.”
“Those girls have families!”
“You’re wrong,” he says casually, “they don’t.”
“You’re horrible.”
He shrugs, not a single care in the world. “Perhaps, but I can live with that. Are we done here? I’d like to eat something.”
I grit my teeth.
Cohen walks over and takes my arm. “Let’s take a walk.”
We turn and exit the room, the other men stay with Benedict. Cohen takes me to the large gardens at the motel we’re staying at, and we stroll past the duck ponds that compliment them. It’s a nice place, if only they knew the kind of dealings that were going on in their rooms. They’re be horrified, no doubt.
“Can’t worry about what else makes that man so powerful, babe,” Cohen says as we walk. “You gotta worry about what you can change. I’d love to take him out, too, but a man that powerful...it’ll come back, and it’ll destroy us. Can’t save the world.”
“I know,” I exhale. “I just hate that this is happening in so many places and to so many young men and women. They might not have families, they might be on the streets, but they don’t deserve that. Imagine the trauma...I just...I know how it feels.”
“You ever goin’ to tell me what happened to you those years you were away?”
“Does it matter?”
“It does to me.”
“Why, so it can upset you?”
“No, so it can fuckin’ show me what I did to you and remind me never to make a bad decision like that again.”
I sigh and stop, turning towards him. “You thought you were helping me, Cohen. You thought I’d be sent somewhere safe. You weren’t to know that deal would go wrong.”
“I could have done more...”
I shrug. “Talking about it doesn’t change anything. I was with a man who was cruel, harsh, and nearly broke me, but the thing is...he didn’t. I escaped. I got out. I’m free now. He did not beat me.”
Cohen takes my face in his rough hand, giving me a gentle expression. “You’re a fuckin’ warrior, do you know that?”
“Oh, I know it.”
He chuckles. “If you want to do something, something for the things you can’t control, then why don’t you use some of that money left to you and open yourself a big center for people who have been sold, or abandoned, or left on the streets alone. Give them a place to be. Give them hope. Stop people like Benedict being able to touch them.”
I look to him, my heart swelling. That is the most incredible idea. I have been wondering what to do with money like that for days, wanting to give it back in a way it would count. That counts. My god, does it count.
“You’re incredible,” I say, smiling up at him. “That is the best idea I’ve ever heard.”
“We’ll discuss it more when this is over, but I know one thing about you...if you can give back, if you can help in some way, then you’re goin’ to find your peace. Your inner peace.”
My smile widens. “When did you become so wise?”
He grins. “Just now.”
“Well, I must admit, it’s quite charming.”
He grunts. “Don’t get too fuckin’ excited.”
I laugh. “Come on, let’s go and get Lilian home to her daddy.”
“Fuck yeah.”
Here goes nothing.
21
NOW – AVIANA
“Why haven’t we heard anything?” I ask, pacing the room, rubbing my arms as nerves begin to eat away at me.
It’s seven p.m., and we still haven’t heard anything. There has been no word, nothing on the news, and Benedict hasn’t been able to make contact with the man in charge. Has something gone wrong? Is this going to blow up in our faces? Is he double-crossing us, and we just don’t know it? So many questions and so little answers. I’m frustrated, and it feels like I�
��m walking on eggshells as we wait to see how this is going to end.
Surely it’s our turn for it to end, right?
Surely.
“What have you done?” I demand, glaring at Benedict with a look that promises I’ll make him wish he didn’t double-cross us if that’s what he’s doing.
I swear, I will make him pay.
“I haven’t done anything, Aviana. Give it time. You’re overreacting,” he says calmly, but even his face shows that he’s feeling some sort of anxiety towards the whole situation.
“Is there any way we can tune into some sort of police radio here?” Kendric asks, his voice incredibly skeptical. “See if there are any reports?”
“I have people,” Benedict says, pulling out his phone and dialing.
Of course he has people.
He is people.
A man answers the phone with a careful tone. “Benedict?”
“I’m not here to call in my favor yet, Favian. I need some information, you give it to me, and I might just be a little kinder on you when I do call in that favor.”
“What do you need?”
“Police report from the last few hours. Anything happening out there that we should know about?”
“Of course this has something to do with you.”
“So, there is something...”
“Huge trade deal went wrong, fucking guns and death everywhere. They all turned on each other, and it became an all-out war. All our men are currently on scene. It’s a mess. We have handfuls of girls that were going to be sold, and an investigator dead who was running the whole show, but I don’t need to tell you that, do I?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I appreciate the information. Are you able to tell me, were there any left alive?”
“As far as we can tell, only the women. The men are all dead. As I said, they turned on each other. Clearly one betrayed another, and it blew up. You care to share anything about those men with me?”
“All I know is that one of them is responsible for the death of Constable Bennett and set the man who is going to trial up for it. If you dip a little deeper, you’ll find that and be able to close the case. That’s all I can offer you.”
“I’ll take that with me. Anything else I can do for you, Benedict?”
“Not right now. I’ll be in touch soon, though.”
“I’m sure you will.”
He hangs up the phone, and my heart is racing as Benedict turns towards me and says in a calm and rather cocky voice, “Satisfied?”
“I will be when I know Lilian is returned safely.”
Cohen reaches for my hand, taking it and squeezing it.
“Give him time. He’ll return,” Benedict says casually. “Then, you can let me and my daughter go and get the hell out of my city.”
“You’re hardly in a position to be calling the shots right now,” I scowl at him.
Benedict grins and then turns back to watch the television playing in the background. I press against Cohen, closing my eyes and trying to keep it together. I want this to be over, so we can all finally be free. I know this club needs it so much more than I do.
“It’s goin’ to be okay,” Cohen says to me, pulling me into him, his big arm wrapped around me.
“Yeah, I know.”
Alarick’s phone rings, and Zariah’s number flashes across the screen. He answers it, his voice tight. “They’re not here yet, but we have confirmation that the mission has been carried out, and they’re on the way back.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Zariah says, her voice seemingly panicked. “That’s not why I’m calling.”
Alarick glances at Cohen, his face suddenly going a shade lighter. “What the fuck is goin’ on, Zariah. Speak to me now.”
“Samson...he said he was going to the bathroom and...he never came back. I was hoping you’d call and say Lilian was returned and Samson had come over there. He’s gone, Alarick. I didn’t want to bother you, but...”
“Fuck,” Alarick barks. “Fuck me. Where the hell has he gone?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’m going to hang up and call him. I’ll get back to you.”
He hangs up and immediately dials Samson’s number. It goes to voicemail.
My heart lodges in my throat, and I feel like I might just vomit from fear. Samson wouldn’t miss the return of his daughter, which leaves only one option...he went to retrieve her himself. Perhaps he doesn’t trust Benedict. Perhaps he just wanted to make the people who hurt his little girl suffer, either way - it’s so dangerous. So incredibly dangerous.
“He went to find her,” Cohen says, his voice gruff. “I know him. He would have wanted to make sure she got back safe. Fuck. He’s so fuckin’ stupid.”
“Fuck,” Alarick growls, rubbing his face. He looks to Kendric. “Take Bohdi, go and see if you can find him. Mykel, ring the hospitals. See if anyone by that name has shown up. If he went to that scene, he’ll be fuckin’ killed. What was he fuckin’ thinking?”
“He’s smart,” Kendric says, but I can hear the hesitation in his voice. “He wouldn’t do somethin’ stupid when he’s so close to havin’ her back.”
Wouldn’t he, though?
Before we can say or do another thing, Benedict’s phone rings with the confirmation we have all been waiting for. He has returned, and he has Lilian. Benedict instructs him to come to the room, and I swear to god, we all stare at the door, holding our breaths, waiting for the moment he brings that girl home. To her new family. To the people who are going to take care of her.
A knock sounds out. Alarick pulls out his gun and walks over, opening the door.
His gun lowers. He makes a pained sound.
In steps Benedict’s man with a girl by his side. One look at that girl and there is no doubt she is Samson’s daughter. She is just like him, and oh, she’s absolutely beautiful. She’s also crying, big heavy sobs that make my heart immediately sore for her. I rush over before anyone can say or do anything, Briella and Merleigh both stand and follow, no doubt feeling the same way I do.
I reach her and carefully say, “Hi Lilian, I’m Aviana. We’re not here to hurt you, honey. We’re here to bring you home.”
She looks up at me, tears running down her face. “I know who you are,” she sobs. “That’s not why I’m crying.”
“What is it then?” I ask softly.
“They killed him. They killed him...”
My entire world stops.
My heart lodges into my throat.
For a second, I forget how to breathe.
“Who, honey? Who did they kill?”
“My daddy.”
“WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?” Cohen roars, lunging at Benedict, his hands going around his throat and tightening as he shakes him.
Benedict’s face goes a dark shade of red as he gasps, unable to push Cohen’s hands away because he is bound. Alarick and Kendric move quickly, jerking Cohen away and holding onto him as he roars with anger, trying with everything he has to get back to Benedict. Briella and Lilian are sobbing in the corner, Briella’s arms wrapped around the young girl, a blanket over her body to keep her warm. Merleigh is standing beside me, clutching my hand so tightly my fingers hurt, but I don’t pull away.
Tears threaten to roll down my cheeks. It takes everything in me not to break right now. I want to scream and break down, but I can’t. Everyone else is falling apart. Someone has to hold them together. Samson is dead. The very thought of that makes me sick to my stomach; it makes the ball of tears stinging my nose want to burst forth and not stop. I can’t give in to them, but knowing he didn’t even get the chance to meet his baby...it crushes the very parts of my soul I honestly didn’t believe could be crushed any further.
I’m breaking.
We all are.
“I don’t know where he is,” Benedict roars. “You heard my partner. He didn’t see Samson. He got the girl and got the fuck out of there. If that man is there, then you need to go and find his body.
I have nothing to do with this.”
“You’re a fuckin’ liar,” Cohen bellows, and my heart breaks for him. I want to go over and hold him, but that won’t help things right now. “You did this on purpose. You set this up. You couldn’t get away with not having one of us taken down.”
Benedict’s face is so hard his mouth is a pale, stretched outline. “I did nothing of the sort. I held up my end of the deal. If your friend wanted to go out there and risk his life, it wasn’t on me. How the hell do you think I could have planned him running away? Control your man, Alarick. I will not help any further if you don’t.”
“Take him outside,” Alarick orders Kendric and Mykel, his voice equally as broken.
The two men take Cohen outside, and he resists the entire time. When they’re gone, Alarick walks over to Benedict and leans down close. “You call every person you know. I want a breakdown of the bodies found at that scene. I want to know where he is. I want him home with his club.”
Benedict nods and begins making phone calls. Bohdi stands by the window, staring out, his body stiff. We’re all feeling this, every single one of us. How the hell are we going to get past this?
I glance over at Lilian, who has her face buried in Briella’s shoulder, sobbing so heavily it makes my heart ache. That poor girl, with everything she has been through, now she has to live with this, too? Nobody deserves that kind of pain.
I wonder how Zariah and Waverly are doing with Angelica? Do they know yet?
It’ll break their hearts, too.
Oh, Samson.
We sit in silence for what feels like hours as Benedict makes calls, trying to find out what he can. On his last call, he hangs up and looks to Alarick. “His body is not on scene. He isn’t there.”
“Where the fuck is he then?” Alarick barks, fists clenched.
“Someone took him?” I croak. “Why would they do that?”
“I don’t know,” Benedict says. “I have an officer calling the hospitals. Perhaps he was taken to one in an attempt to save his life.”
“I saw him get shot,” Lilian whispers. “They shot him so many times, he fell on the ground, and there was blood coming from his mouth...”
