Bennett Mafia
Chapter 13 - BENNETT MAFIA

CHAPTER TWELVE

I had three ways to leave.

Find Brooke. Escape. Or put them in a situation where they needed to let me go.

As I drank my orange juice, ate my toast, had a second glass of juice and then finally a cup of coffee, I savored every taste, because if worst came to worst, a hunger strike was a last resort. But even then... I ran through the scenarios. They could put a feeding tube in me.

I winced at the thought.

I hoped it didn't come to that. I really didn't. Another seizure, maybe? Jonah said it was rare and didn't think I'd suffer one again, but I could fake it? Could I do something else where they'd be forced to take me to a hospital? Maybe. That was another last resort, so escape first.

I'd have to try. They kept telling me it was pointless, but I needed to find out for myself.

And that meant I had to be in my best health, so I asked for a third piece of toast as I ate all of the fruit Tanner had given me.

I wasn't thinking about the Hider male they'd killed. I couldn't. I couldn't even focus on Brooke. Escape was it for me. If I could just get out of their estate, I knew Blade would be waiting for me. He would've traced all the phones to this location. His tech skills were nearly unmatched. He was the best, and he was an asset the 411 Network utilized often. We'd been placed near Calgary for a reason. It was smack in the middle of the distribution line between Canada and the States.

I sat in the kitchen with Tanner and Jonah, who seemed content to sit in silence, for another hour before I started getting tired. Jonah noticed first.

"You need more rest to heal. You should sleep."

They called the guards, who took me back to the other part of the compound. I thought they'd take me to "my" room, even though I'd only been in it for a short time, but they didn't. They took me to Kai's apartment.

They left me alone, taking up their spots outside the door, and this time I did a more thorough search of the place.

The vents were too small to fit in.

The main window in the living room looked out over the same cliff the deck did. If I wanted to escape from this room, I would have to fall to my death. So that meant I needed to be able to move around the house more freely. There had to be another option elsewhere.

I really was tired. Jonah was right. I needed rest, so I crawled into Kai's bed and tried to not notice how good the sheets felt until I faded off.

...

I woke to darkness.

The curtains were pulled back from the glass doors, so moonlight filtered in, but it wasn't much. Then I sensed what must've woken me. A figure moved in the closet, and I heard rustling sounds. Clothes. Clothes being removed. A hanger clanging against another.

I didn't say anything, and after a moment he moved out to the main room.

Light flooded in from the bathroom before it faded, and I heard water come on. The light shone again when the door opened before it was flicked off.

The clock beside me said it was three in the morning. I had slept all afternoon and through the evening into nighttime.

My bladder was uncomfortable-that could also have been what woke me.

I didn't hear Kai come back, but I sensed him again. He paused at the end of the bed. "Should I turn the light on for you? Do you need the bathroom?"

I croaked, sitting up, "Yes. Thank you."

He flicked the light on, and it was blinding. I closed my eyes, keeping my head down as I got out of bed and hurried around him. I felt his gaze the entire time. The air electrified as I moved past him. I felt like I could breathe easier the farther away I got from him, and once I shut the door, I felt better.

Maybe just his presence had woken me?

I was pretty sure he intended to sleep with me. Was that why I was in his room? He hadn't pushed it before, and I hadn't considered it. Tanner had made no moves. Jonah either. The guards were all respectful. There'd been no lewd comments, no suggestion of anything sexual. But was that all done after tonight?

My body was calm. I wasn't reacting the way I should be in a kidnapping situation. It seemed as if old friends were keeping me away from home, but I could choose to leave if I wanted. That's how it felt to me, but that wasn't the truth. I needed to wake up to this situation.

Had there been something in that juice earlier? I'd watched as Tanner poured the first glass. He hadn't put anything in it, and he'd poured himself a glass later. He drank from the same pitcher. I saw him pour the coffee. Had he put something in my mug before putting the coffee in? But Jonah hadn't wanted me to drink it. That didn't add up with them drugging me.

I knew I was dehydrated from the night before. I'd vomited everything out of me and cried away the rest.

My body really was exhausted from the shock.

Now I was in Kai's bed, sleeping, and he'd offered to turn the light on for me? He was being kind, when I knew he was cold and ruthless.

My head began to ache, and after relieving myself and washing up, I was nervous to go back into the room. I was nervous about dealing with Kai Bennett.

Where had he been today?

I knew the storm from last night was coming again. Kai was back. Kai was the one who would demand my assistance.

I sensed him on the other side of the door. Again there'd been no sound. I didn't see his shadow, but I knew he was there before he spoke.

"We're going to sleep. That's all, Riley."

A lump formed in my throat.

Again with him being kind. Patient. Calm.

My body leaned toward him, as if he were the shelter for me in this storm.

I gritted my teeth.

I needed to remember he'd killed that man. I needed to remember Cord and their father. Brooke had been scared of him.

But.

Even as I tried to remember all of those things, my body was still drawn forward. I sagged toward the door, wanting to open it and step out. He was seductive without trying to be seductive.

My hand shook as I opened the door, and there he was. My stomach jumped to my sternum. My heart picked up its pace.

He wore only sweatpants, the waistband hanging low. I couldn't help myself. I took in every single muscle of his chest and stomach. Even his hips were defined. He straightened from where he'd been leaning against the doorframe and his eyes darkened, turning completely black as he looked me over too.

I became self-conscious in only a T-shirt and a pair of boxer briefs I'd found in his closet. I'd changed before crawling in bed after breakfast.

I was wearing his clothes, with no bra.

His gaze settled on my chest. I felt my breasts hardening.

"Tanner told me you didn't kill the others," I blurted, needing to think of something else, to change the mood. "Is that true?"

It worked.

Kai's eyes whipped to mine, and though he didn't move, I felt him pulling away. A wall slid between us.

His face hardened. "Yes. Your friends are alive. Your Network was notified of their capture, along with yours."

They already knew. I had notified them, but I held my tongue.

His eyes began to smolder, and a taunting glint showed as he said, "But then again, you already knew that since you're the one who called them."

Now I snapped to attention.

How had he known? Had the Hiders told him?

He chided softly, "You think one of my men left that phone by accident?"

Everything in me fell to the floor. Hope. Rebellion. Strength. It was gone now, and I knew what he said was correct. Everything had been thought out, even the bait for me to take.

It was then I realized the real reason they'd taken me. It all clicked in place.

I'd been a fool.

Despair washed over me. "You didn't take me because you thought Brooke notified me, did you?" It was true. I felt it now, and I saw an arrogant look flare over his face. "You took me because of the 411 Network." He'd kidnapped me, knowing I would call them if I had a chance. And I did exactly what he wanted.

His tone was soft, but it sent chills down my back. "Your friend Blade isn't the only tech specialist at the top of his game. We have one of our own." He leaned toward me, his breath an irritating caress on my face as I closed my eyes. I couldn't move away, but I wouldn't lean toward him.

He moved closer until I could feel the heat from his body. He was an inch away. I could hear him breathing.

"Your friend does not know where you are, and your cooperation is no longer needed. Your network is looking for Brooke for us, to get you back."

His hand touched my arm, zapping me with the contact. His arm curled around me, tugging me against him. Sensations seared through my insides. He bent down, his breath now on my neck.

"With or without your help, I will get my sister back, and then you will be released. Until then..." He ducked, swinging me up into his arms.

I gasped, my arms grabbing his neck in panic. But I didn't need to. He cradled me against his chest as he returned to his bedroom. He moved to the side of the bed I'd been lying on, closest to the balcony, and laid me down.

He stared at me before pulling back, and I couldn't move.

"I didn't intend this, if it matters to you. You were supposed to be taken and put in a nice, comfortable room. You were supposed to be given anything you wanted, except your freedom, and your Network would hand-deliver my sister to me for your safety. I wasn't even planning on talking to you, except to ask about Brooke, but here you are."

His hand went to my face, his thumb on my bottom lip. He traced it, and I couldn't suppress a shiver.

It wasn't a bad shiver. That was the problem. I would never understand my reaction to him.

He stepped back, his hand falling away, and triumph flared in his eyes. "Sleep tonight, Riley. That is all I ask of you." He moved to the other side of the bed.

I slipped under the covers and felt the bed move as he joined me. The light went off a second after that.

"What happens if I kill you in your sleep?" I asked. "You trust me to sleep here, with you?"

He laughed softly. "No, but for some reason I can't make myself have the men take you away. So for now, you stay. If you kill me, then you'll die as well." "Are you going to hurt your sister when you get her back?"

He didn't laugh this time. "She thinks I will, but no. She ran with the wrong assumption in her mind. That is all I can say."

"Why?"

He sighed, barely a foot away from me. I could feel it.

"Tomorrow we can talk. Perhaps you'll find some answers. Until then, I am tired. I have been traveling all day and had many meetings. I want to sleep. Sleep, Riley." But I didn't, even long after he did.

I heard his breathing even out, and I tried rallying inside.

I made myself remember that male Hider. I remembered seeing the guard pull the trigger, the spray of blood, and the way his body slumped to the floor.

He died because of me, and I vowed I would find his family.

I tried to summon the energy and courage to slip from the bed, get to the kitchen, and find a knife. I envisioned stabbing it deep inside Kai.

I had to make that guy's death stand for something. I had to.

That promise was the only way to make it right in my head. Because instead of getting up, I fell asleep.