Page 129 of Beni

Beni blinked.

Holy shit.

He should have known, really.

It was a stupid mistake to make. He’d told Neil himself, hadn’t he? If it was his brother, he would do anything for him. Follow Bene anywhere, if asked, or if he thought that’s what his brother needed.

No question.

Beni factored Neil’s love and bond in for his little brother to explain why he did what he did, but not once had he thought about the other sibling. Neil had said his brother didn’t know about the fact that the gang was using him to manipulate him, but that didn’t mean it was the truth. Or even that the guy’s kid brother didn’t suspect something was up.

Yeah, a huge mistake.

Beni knew … it was already too late.

“Beni?” August said, her voice faint in his ear.

Shit.

She was still on the phone.

“Where the fuck is my brother?” the kid demanded.

He was all of seventeen.

That was it.

A baby on these streets, really. Not that it made any difference to the gang that recruited him, if the tattoos on his neck were any indication. Those tattoos told a story, one of a kid who had officially been initiated, and had done his crimes to earn his spot. All dangerous things, although who was Beni to speak?

Look what he had done today.

“Listen,” Beni said, his hand raising like that might help him, “your brother made a choice, and—”

The kid—Beni’s mind was struggling to catch up, and remember his name … Nathan, was it?—jerked the gun, turning it to the side as he forced through clenched teeth, “Shut the fuck up, man, and tell me where my brother is before I blow your fucking face off!”

“Beni!”

August, again.

He could see the gun was already racked back.

Safety off.

He stared down that barrel.

Ready to fire.

“I’m sorry about your brother, but—”

That was the wrong thing to say.

Nathan pulled the trigger.

Beni heard August’s screams long after he hit the ground.

“Beni! Beni!”

August held onto that phone tight enough that the sides bit into her skin. It was the only lifeline she had left to the man on the other end—the sound of a gunshot so unmistakable and loud. It hadn’t shot her, but it certainly felt like something exploded through her heart with pain shattering it into a million and one little pieces.