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“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...”
Her voice is so pained it makes me feel like I might just vomit. I cross my arms and rub them, trying to make my body feel just a touch better than it feels right now. It doesn’t work. I still feel as though I’m going to lose it and start screaming at any second.
“Did you see him die?” Alarick asks her, his voice quieter when he speaks.
“No, but...he couldn’t have lived. He couldn’t have. You didn’t see it.”
Alarick glances at Bohdi, and in a careful voice, he orders him to call the local hospitals.
Could Samson still be alive?
I don’t want to allow myself to even hold hope because it’ll be even more crushing if it isn’t the case...but...miracles do happen. They happen every day. Look at me, I never thought I’d be here, I never thought this would be how my life ended up after I was given to that monster, but here I am.
Do I dare hope?
Bohdi starts making calls, and we all wait with baited breath as he hangs up from each hospital with a shake of his head. It’s the last hospital he calls that he turns towards the window and starts speaking in a low voice. Then, he hangs up and turns towards us. “There is a man in critical condition in surgery right now that matches his description.”
“Let’s move,” Alarick says. “Bohdi, you and Mykel stay here and keep an eye on that fuck. Girls, go back to your room and let that poor girl rest. We’ll keep you updated.”
I nod and help Briella and Merleigh take Lilian from the room. They take her to another room while I stop and glance at Cohen, who is pacing up and down the hall, anger in his eyes, tension in his body. I walk towards him, taking the risk that he might lose it at me, and reach out when I get to him and take his face in my hands. “There is a man in the hospital matching Samson’s description. He’s in surgery. They’re going to see him now.”
Cohen’s eyes widen, and he murmurs in a low, broken tone. “Is it him?”
“I hope so.”
“Fuck,” he exhales. “I can’t take this feelin’, Aviana.”
“I know, honey. I know you can’t.”
“It fuckin’ hurts. Feels like my damned heart is bein’ torn from my chest.”
“I know,” I say softly, leaning up to kiss him. “Go with them, see if it’s him. Stay by his side. I love you.”
The words come out without thought, and I stiffen. I didn’t expect those feelings to even be real, let alone those words to come out so naturally, but they did, and they feel...well...okay. Perhaps I’ve always loved Cohen. Perhaps the anger has simmered down and let those emotions free? I don’t know. All I know is that at this moment, I mean it one hundred percent.
“You love me?” he asks, his eyes searching my face.
“I do, yes.”
It’s the truth.
The beautiful truth.
“Fuck,” he murmurs, leaning in to kiss me. “Love you too, babe.”
Shit.
Those words.
They hit me right in the feels.
I have to fight a whole lot harder to keep those tears at bay now.
“Go,” I say, my voice croaky. “Go and be with him.”
Cohen kisses me again, and then he’s gone.
This day has been both the worst and, weirdly, the best...
Today, I started to find myself again.
Today, I began to remember who I am.
Today, I fully found my freedom.