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Nothing was getting between me and Laura Lavin, not even a jail cell.
CHAPTER14
Laura
To Bennet’s amusement, I couldn’t walk well the next day. Luckily for him, he treated me like I was made of spun glass, and that spared his life.
I watched him sitting with Benji after dinner, reading a comic book. My heart trembled in my chest. Shit, I had it bad for Bennet Archer. So bad that I might just never get over him, when whatever was coming toward us finally happened. Of course, we couldn’t stay here forever, and I’d half expected Bennet to make us leave today, but he hadn’t.
I didn’t regret being with him. A last hurrah, something just for me, before the winds of fate fucked me over again. Living in Brian’s house, I’d waited to see which disgusting old friend he’d give me to, jumping at every shadow. I’d long ago given up the hope that I would get to choose what to do with my body. Then Bennet Archer, a literal sex god, big, burly, superhero of a man, had rocked my world, and I wouldn’t regret it, even for a second.
“So, no games tonight, sweetheart. It’s time to tell me the truth,” Bennet said later, as he put another log on the fire and pressed a cup of tea into my hands. He was mothering me, and I was letting him. Just the thought of telling him made me feel cold, something it seemed he’d predicted. We’d spent all day with Benji, exchanging passionate looks when my little brother was occupied.
I traced the seam of Ben’s jeans and pouted. “And I thought we’d have an early night.”
“Don’t tempt me. There’s plenty of time to talk first,” Bennet said, taking my hand and sliding his fingers through mine. “Stop running away, Laura. It’s time to stop running and let me help you.”
I stared at the fire, and he stared at me. After a long, lonely silence, I started.
“I noticed Brian’s parties when I was about twelve. I saw the cars arriving, and the people going into the house, men, mostly, but I never saw them downstairs. Then, one night, I heard them, in the basement.”
Bennet’s hand tightened on mine, but he didn’t speak.
I forged on. “The basement was all done up with a bar and even some makeshift rooms down there. There’s a separate entrance, and that’s where they brought the women in. When I saw them, I knew it wasn’t just a normal party. They were sick, drugged, I know now, but then, I just thought they were sick. The men who arrived would choose who they wanted, and she’d be carried into one of the rooms. Brian wandered around, shaking hands, making business deals and networking. Those were his kind of people.” I felt sick as I spoke. “I didn’t tell anyone. Well, I told a teacher at school, but she went to Brian, and I got in trouble for telling lies. He told me that if I told again, I’d be one of the women next time, and he wouldn’t help me. I believed him.”
I looked at Ben who had gone pale. “Are you all right?”
He shook his head and let out a strangled breath. “No. I’ve never been so angry in my life. Go on, sweetheart, get it all out.”
“When I got old enough to stop caring about Brian’s threats, the parties seemed to die down. I didn’t have any evidence and it would be my word against his. Half the men at the parties were local business men, cops, politicians. It felt impossible to stop it. I was scared. A coward.”
“You were a traumatized kid,” Ben corrected.
I shrugged. My guilt was something I’d carry with me forever. “Then, a month ago, I heard the music, and saw the cars arriving. It was happening again. This time, Brian came upstairs and took Benji down there. I followed them. He told him how it was his legacy, and how he could rule the city with the secrets he’d keep on powerful people, if only he learned how to keep them happy.”
My voice broke, because, despite everything I’d seen, the sight of Brian leading my innocent little brother down the stairs into that house of debauchery filled me with dread.
“I got a knife from the kitchen and I went down there. Brian was standing with Benji, and Doug Greyson was talking to him. He told Brian that the best way to train Benji was to give him firsthand experience, and that a little leverage was ok, even over your own family. I lost it. I tried to stab Brian, but Doug got in the way, and then I don’t remember. I was trying to get to Benji. I just wanted to get to him.”
There it was. The whole ugly truth. I let out a breath, feeling lighter and more scared of Bennet’s reaction than I’d ever been of anything.
“I’m so sorry you’ve lived through that, sweetheart.” Bennet’s warm voice sounded in my ear, and my tension melted away. He wrapped me in a bear hug that was tight enough to nearly drive the cold out of my bones. He held me tightly for a long time, and I found tears wetting through his sleeve. Mine.
Finally, he pulled back when I calmed and carefully wiped my tears from my salt-crusted lashes. “You’ve lived a nightmare and survived it. You saved your brother from it too, and all those women who were going to have to continue to be drugged and assaulted at those parties. Don’t blame yourself, Laura. You’re not a would-be murderer, you’re an avenging guardian angel, and you put those twisted men in their place.”
His words seemed impossible, as did the respect in his tone. I blinked up at him.
“Really?”
“Really. Now, that’s enough tears and pain for tonight.” He stood up and lowered his hand for me to take. His eyes burned down into mine, stealing my breath. This sexy, brave, bad-ass man was looking at me like that? It seemed impossible, yet it was really happening. He stroked his thumb over the back of my hand. “Let’s go to bed, and you are going to let me kiss it better for you.”
CHAPTER15
Bennet
The next morning, I went for a run. Run was short for a mad sprint through the trees, across a river and up a mountainside, to release the fury in my chest that had burned into existence last night. I stopped when I was soaked with sweat and on top of the highest point around. I let my head fall back and roared up at the sky until my throat burned. The pain was good. It was steadying. I felt dizzy with anger, deranged almost. If Brian Lavin had been standing in front of me now, I was certain I wouldn’t have been able to hold back. I’d kill him with my bare hands.
Instead, I’d be forced to use other methods to punish the human filth who dared to claim parental rights over Laura and Benji.
