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Benedict glares at us when we walk into the room, his face tight, his eyes narrowed. He doesn’t trust us, but that’s fine – we don’t fucking trust him either. Still, he’s our only chance to get out of this alive. No war. No fighting. No guns. No death. That’s what we want more than anything. To return those we love home safely and end this war once and for all. The only way we can do that is through this man right here.
He looks to Cohen, and then his eyes move back to me. “This is what you settled with? After everything you’ve been through, you pick a biker?”
I’m offended, to be quite honest. He thinks because he has money, and nice things, that he can have any girl he wants, and they’ll just do as he asks without hesitation. Not me. I’m not going to be that girl, nor will I ever be.
That’s exactly what he likes about me, and the only reason he keeps coming back for more.
I don’t take his crap.
“This biker,” I say, crossing my arms, “has done more for me in the past few weeks than anyone else in my life. I’d say I’m pretty damned lucky. But we’re not here to talk about me, are we...”
Cohen looks at me, and the expression on his face makes my heart flutter. My words meant something to him. Hell, they meant something to me even if I didn’t realize it when I was saying them.
“What do you want? Did you come to accept my offer?” Benedict asks. “If so, can you uncuff me because this isn’t comfortable.”
“Poor baby,” Cohen mutters, his voice more than a little sarcastic.
Benedict shoots him a glare. “Why is he here?”
“He is here because I want him to be,” I say, crossing my arms. “Now, I did discuss your offer with the club, and they don’t trust you, which is to be expected.”
“You’re making a mistake!” Benedict cuts me off before I’m done.
I put up a hand. “I wasn’t finished. They don’t trust you, but we would like to take you up on your offer, so we’ve secured something to ensure you don’t turn on us...”
Benedict’s face goes a touch lighter. Just a touch. I think he already knows exactly what I’m about to present. Cohen pulls out his phone and dials Zariah, who answers immediately. She doesn’t show her face. Instead, she has the camera right on Angelica. Benedict jerks in his chair when he sees his daughter sitting on the bed, staring at the camera. He doesn’t get the chance to speak to her. The phone goes dead.
Exactly how we wanted it.
Cohen puts it back in his pocket, and we both stare at the man sitting in front of us, his face wild with anger.
“We have no intention of hurting her,” I say, my voice calm. “However, if you so much as attempt to go back on your word or try to do something to harm anyone in my family, we will harm her. I promise you that. You want your family safe? So do I. She will be released safely the moment the job is done. Do we have a deal?”
“If you so much as harm a hair on her head...” he growls, jerking in the cuffs.
“You do right by us; we’ll do right by you. She will be released safely. I give you my word. Now, do we have a deal?”
He glares at me but nods sharply. “We have a deal. I will eliminate the problem, return your girl safely to you, and then we’ll all go our separate ways never to fucking cross again.”
It’s rare to hear Benedict swear, which tells me we’ve done the right thing taking his daughter. He’s worried, he’s angry, and now I’m far more likely to believe he’s going to keep to his word, which is exactly what we need.
“If you wish me to finish this, you’ll need to release me,” he goes on, voice tight, “I’ll need to make calls, get this set up.”
I nod. “I’ll have some men come in to watch you.”
Cohen and I turn and walk out, closing the door behind us.
Cohen spins quickly, grabbing me and pressing me against the wall, kissing me with a ferocity I’ve never felt from him. His mouth is hard and rough, and he is ravishing my lips like a man who will never taste a woman again. I whimper and curl my fingers into his hair, kissing him until my mouth hurts. Then I pull back. “What was that for?”
“You are the strongest, most fuckin’ beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. Seein’ you like that, takin’ charge, fuck me...it does things to me.”
My cheeks heat. “Really?” I say with a sly smile.
“If I had time right now, I’d fuck you so god damned hard you’d lose your voice from screamin’, but unfortunately, we’ve got a little girl to save and a war to finish.”
“You’re right, we do. To be continued...”
He chuckles. “Oh, it’ll be continued.”
I pull out my phone and dial Alarick to give him the good news. He organizes for Samson and Zariah to watch Angelica, not wanting Samson anywhere near this. Then he sends Kendric, Bohdi, and Mykel to the room to watch Benedict while we get this started.
It feels like we’re so close.
This is nearly over.
God, please let this go to plan.
If we deserve something, anything in the world, it’s this.
The club needs this to be done with.
I need this to be done.
We all just need this to be over.
~*~*~*~
“YES,” BENEDICT SAYS, phone held in his hand on speaker so everyone can hear what he’s saying.
That was another condition of our deal, we have to be able to hear everything he’s saying, and if he wasn’t willing to do that, then we wouldn’t agree.
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.