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  “That’s never going to happen. You can blackmail me all you want. Hurt me. Make me wish I’d never been born, but you’ll never have me. I’m not yours to own.”

  I sat back, watching his eyes flash with anger.

  “I’ll break you. You will be mine.”

  “You can try. Hell, you can do whatever you want.” I waved my hand. “I’m not scared of you. You’re just a little boy playing at the big bad wolf and it’s pathetic. You think I don’t know what it’s like to be in the claws of a monster already? You seem to think you know so much about my family, so tell me, do you know why Fi and I became mute all those years ago?”

  Fuck it felt good to say that. He was pathetic. Blackmailing me was the only way he could get to me. To have me. But he’d never really have me in the way he clearly wanted.

  He frowned and looked away as if my question confused him. So he didn’t know. He had no idea what my father had done to Fi and I. Very few people did. Not something you wanted out in the public sphere. I didn’t need anyone else feeling sorry for me or pitying me for what happened.

  “You really have no idea.” I bit my lip. “Oh, Max, you think you have all the cards, don’t you? It’s such a shame. Go on, tell me, are you going to release all our secrets now? Because let me tell you, the scandal wouldn’t just engulf Bensons, it would bring you down too by association.”

  He brought his gaze back to me, hard and uncompromising, but I didn’t flinch. I didn’t back down. I crossed my arms over my chest and raised an eyebrow.

  “What makes you think you can bring me down?”

  “Oh well, I can’t say it will look too good on you if it became public knowledge you blackmailed your way into my company.”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  “Try me. Just fucking try me.”

  Our food was completely forgotten in this battle. I didn’t care, having lost my appetite anyway. I might have been scared shitless of this evening before, but that was before I realised I still held some of the cards. Max was a stupid little boy trying to play a big man’s game.

  Brent will be proud of me.

  We stared at each other for a long moment. Then he laid his hands flat on the table in front of him.

  “It seems we are at an impasse.”

  “Looks like it.”

  I knew what I wanted. Max out of my company and my life. Somehow I didn’t think that would be happening any time soon.

  “The deal still stands, Jennifer.”

  “I have a new stipulation.”

  He glared, but then his expression cleared and he sighed.

  “What is it?”

  I leant forward, a smile playing on my lips.

  “You’re not going to touch me again. If you dare lay a hand on me, I will destroy you. Are we clear?”

  He ground his teeth and his jaw clenched.

  “Fine,” he said through gritted teeth.

  My smile widened and I picked up my knife and fork.

  “Shall we?” I indicated the food with my head.

  Despite my stomach churning at my audacious and downright dangerous behaviour, I wasn’t going to let this meal go to waste. I’d taken a risk and it’d paid off for now. But things could still backfire. Things could still fall apart and go down in flames. So I had to be careful.

  He gave me a sharp nod before he picked up his own knife and fork.

  A civil meal with him I could do now I’d taken the threat of his touching me off the table.

  ***

  I trudged up the steps to the house feeling weariness set in. Unlocking the door, I walked in and heard the baby screaming upstairs. So much for Logan being a quiet baby. I made my way to my room, cleaning off my face and changing into a set of pyjamas. Then I went into the living room, finding Liora and Dante trying desperately to appease their son.

  “Not like that,” Liora scolded, smacking Dante’s hand away.

  “What the fuck do you want me to do? He’s not hungry and he doesn’t need changing.”

  I sighed, rolling my eyes.

  “Have you two tried rocking him?”

  They both looked up at me. I wasn’t some kind of baby expert, but these two were absolutely clueless. I wondered where Liora’s mum was but decided not to ask. Perhaps they wanted to prove they could do this by themselves.

  “When did you get home?” Dante asked.

  “Like five minutes ago,” I told him, coming further into the room. “Can I?”

  Liora nodded so I came around and picked up their son from the sofa. Afie had always quietened down when I put her on my shoulder and rocked her to sleep.

  “How long has he been awake?”

  “Too long,” Liora said with a sigh.

  I patted Logan’s back and walked around the room, rocking him on my shoulder. He was still screaming, but that didn’t bother me too much. I started singing softly, trying to assure him he was okay and he just needed a nap. After a few minutes, he started to quieten down and after ten more, he promptly fell asleep.

  “How the fuck did you do that?” Dante asked when I handed his son to him.

  “Magic,” I replied giving him jazz hands.

  He scowled and marched away out of the room to put Logan in his cot. Liora slumped on the sofa, looking exhausted. I sat next to her.

  “How you doing?”

  “I didn’t think having a baby would be this hard. It’s only been a two days.”

  I rubbed her shoulder.

  “It’ll be okay.”

  At least I hoped it would. She turned to me, her eyes narrowing.

  “What’s going on between you and Brent?”

  I froze and immediately had no idea what to say. If I told her, would she reveal it to Dante? And how had she even noticed when she’d been so focused on having Logan? Then again, Liora was pretty sharp and quick on the uptake.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m not stupid, Jen. The two of you have stopped bickering like children. You spend a ton of time together. I caught you sleeping with your head in his lap. So you tell me.”

  I looked down at my hands. This conversation wasn’t one I wanted to have right now. To be honest, I wanted to go downstairs and curl up in bed with Brent so I could tell him about my evening with Max.

  “We’re just friends I guess.”

  “Just friends?”

  I shrugged, not wanting to meet her eyes.

  “Yeah… he’s not so bad really.”

  She snorted, making me look up. Her face registered her disbelief.

  “I’m surprised you noticed considering your determination to spend your entire life hating his guts.”

  “Consider it personal growth. Holding onto teenage grudges doesn’t do me any favours.”

  Besides, the real reason I’d spent this entire time hating him had everything to do with me hating the way I felt about him deep down. Hating that I wanted him. Hating the strange connection between us which had been forged all those years ago when our eyes first met. Had he felt the same way all this time? Did he realise we were meant to be? And would he even tell me if that was the case? Perhaps he’d thought it was wrong considering I’d been fifteen the day we met and he’d twenty one. I couldn’t exactly say it wasn’t, but it didn’t change facts. Brent and I had always been on a path to collision. It’d been a question of when not if.

  “Well, if there was more to it, then we’d all be happy for you.”

  My eyebrows shot up.

  “What? Yeah right. As if Dante wouldn’t kick the crap out of Brent for touching his sister.”

  “So you do like him like that.”

  I scowled.

  “No, I don’t. I’m just saying.”

  Oh I did. I more than liked Brent. I wanted marriage and babies with him. Though admitting those things made me feel all kinds of crazy. It might be considered far too soon to think about those things, but when you’d known someone for twelve years,
it didn’t feel too soon at all. More like a long time coming.

  “Hmm, you keep telling yourself that.”

  “I do not like him like that. What gave you that impression anyway?”

  She smiled at me.

  “You’re getting awfully defensive.”

  “Ugh, shut up. Why are you getting on my case all of a sudden? Do you want me and Brent to be together or something?”

  She shrugged and stood up.

  “I’m just saying it wouldn’t be a bad thing. You could resolve some of that sexual tension simmering between you at all times. As for your brother, he wouldn’t hurt Brent over it. He knows Brent would take a bullet for you if necessary. He just wants you safe and happy, you know that.”

  “What sexual tension?”

  She laughed and shook her head before walking towards the door.

  “Oh, Jen, you really are clueless. Ever since I’ve known the two of you I’ve seen it lingering. You might claim to have hated him, but really, I think the two of you just needed to resolve your attraction to each other.”

  She didn’t give me a chance to retort, strolling away out of the room. My mouth was hanging open. What the fuck did that even mean? How had everyone else noticed this apart from me?

  I closed my mouth and got up to check if the coast was clear. I turned out the lights as Liora had gone upstairs and snuck downstairs, locking up the house before going down to Brent’s flat. I found him in the kitchen pouring over his laptop. He looked up when I walked in with a grin on his face.

  “Hello girlfriend.”

  I rolled my eyes but it didn’t stop me going over to him and sitting in his lap whilst I wrapped my arms around his neck.

  “How was it?” he asked, stroking my side and staring into my eyes.

  “Before I get into all of that, you wouldn’t believe the conversation I just had with Liora.”

  He cocked an eyebrow.

  “Oh?”

  “Well, Logan was screaming so I calmed him down before Dante took him upstairs then I get Liora giving me the third degree.”

  “About what?”

  I sighed, my fingers curling into the hair at the back of his head before I leant closer and brushed my lips against his.

  “Jen?”

  I pressed my mouth more firmly against his, needing to kiss him. The relief I felt at his lips moulding to mine gave me a sense of peace. I rested my forehead against his when I pulled away.

  “Liora thinks we have a lot of unresolved sexual tension and apparently, she’s thought that the entire time she’s known us. It sounded like she’d be happy about us being together, but I didn’t tell her, of course.”

  “Unresolved sexual tension? Where did she get that idea?”

  I shrugged.

  “It’s pretty resolved now.”

  He grinned, his hand drifting under my top and stroking against my bare skin.

  “Don’t you think we should keep trying? Perhaps it’s not completely resolved just yet.”

  “Don’t you want to know about Max?”

  He lifted me up off his lap and set me on the table before his hands were on my shorts, tugging them down my legs.

  “Not right now.”

  All thoughts of what happened with Max and my conversation with Liora flew out the window the moment he dropped to his knees and buried his face between my legs. I don’t think I had a coherent thought for quite a while after that. Brent made good on his promise from earlier and multiple orgasms were aplenty for the rest of the night.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Brent

  So Liora was onto us. In all honesty, it didn’t bother me as much as it should. She could tell Dante, but somehow, I didn’t think she would. Liora was just as much as my friend as she was Dante’s wife. She didn’t tell him everything, confiding a lot of things in me instead. Particularly during her pregnancy and when she found it hard to cope with his moods. Those two loved each other deeply, but even they weren’t perfect. Every relationship had its ups and downs.

  Things would never go back to the way they were before Logan had come into our lives, but they’d go back to normal soon enough. And I’d told them I wouldn’t mind babysitting if they needed a couple of hours alone. The things I did for my best friends. It wouldn’t be too much of a chore. Not in the way taking care of Cam and her kids was. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my nieces and nephews, but dealing with my sister’s crap? That I could really do without.

  When Jen told me about her conversation with Max, I was equal parts proud of her and worried at the same time. She’d taken a huge gamble by pressing him like that. Maybe she should’ve kept her mouth shut, but then again, she’d extracted a further concession to their deal. He wouldn’t lay hands on her. Pity I didn’t fucking trust a word he said, but it would have to do for now. If this kept her safe, then so be it. My top priority was making sure Jen wasn’t in harm’s way. I guess that’s why I was at the prison today.

  Did I really want a conversation with her father? No, but the lengths I’d go for Jen’s sake were infinite. For all of them really. This situation had the potential to go very wrong and I was determined to set it to rights.

  Jen had no idea I was here today. It’d taken a few days for me to arrange visitation, but now I was here sitting in front of Zach Benson. Someone I despised with every inch of my being for what he’d done to his kids.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here,” he said with a hard glint to his blue eyes.

  “Yeah, well, neither did I, but needs must.”

  “What brings you to this fine establishment?”

  I stifled the urge to roll my eyes.

  “I have questions.”

  He splayed his hands out.

  “By all means, ask away. I have time.”

  He had all the time in the world. That’s what concerned me. No doubt concocting various nefarious plans in his sick head.

  “Did you not take James’ warnings seriously, Zach? He told you to leave your kids alone.”

  He eyed me for a long moment before settling his hands in his lap and leaning back in his chair.

  “I haven’t contacted any of them.”

  “That doesn’t mean you haven’t found a way to dig your way back into their lives.”

  “They are still my children.”

  I scoffed and then I really did roll my eyes. Yes, he might have had a hand in bringing them into the world, but he wasn’t their parent. He was their monster.

  “On paper perhaps.”

  He stared at me with unnerving intensity. Zach had that way about him. His very presence was a carefully constructed façade and one he didn’t often let people see past. I did. I knew what kind of sick, twisted thoughts lurked behind his mask. He’d never change and I was fucking glad he’d likely never be released. The man didn’t know how to show remorse.

  “Tell me, what do you know of their activities then?”

  “Well, of course, I know Dante is married to Angus’ little chit of a daughter, but James told me as much. He brought his little girlfriend to see me. Quiet one that. Seen hell in her life no doubt. As for my daughters, well, Fiona is with a man eleven years her senior and Jennifer is still a stubborn little miss.”

  I cocked my head to the side, wondering how he knew about Fi and Jensen, but I suppose Zach had his ways. It was neither here nor there. I was here because of Jen.

  “I’m going to ask you something and I want you to answer me honestly. Don’t worry, I didn’t come empty handed either, but first you’re going to tell me the truth.”

  I hated to do this, but the only way to get Zach to talk was by giving him something in return. Dante would likely kill me, however, he’d also thank me for saving his fucking company and family from ruin.

  “Go ahead.”

  “How do you know Maximillian Graves?”

  If Zach was ruffled by me asking, he didn’t show it.

  “I don’t.”
>
  I narrowed my eyes.

  “I told you to be honest.”

  “I am. I have no reason to lie to you.”

  He had many reasons, but I wasn’t going to lay them out for him.

  “Who else knows about the blood debt, Zach?”

  His mouth twitched.

  “Other than those involved?”

  “Yes.”

  He moved his hand, laying it on the table before he started to drum his fingers on it.

  “Felix and Teddy Williams.” The Benson’s solicitor and doctor who happened to be brothers. “Marcus, but of course, you knew that already.”

  “Who else?”

  “No one.”

  I sat back and frowned. None of this added up.

  “Do you trust all of them not to have revealed it?”

  “Of course. It wouldn’t do to allow that little piece of information to come to light. Not when it would destroy the company I built from the ground up. You think I don’t care about my children, but I assure you, I have no interest in seeing them fall into ruin.”

  This poked a huge hole in my theory.

  “Then who would want to see them fall?”

  “I couldn’t tell you. In case you’ve forgotten, I’m locked up behind these four walls.”

  I sighed, rubbing my face. This wasn’t what I wanted to hear. Zach might be a slippery bastard, but somehow, I knew he was telling the truth. And whilst he had his ways of getting information even from behind bars, if he didn’t know this, then it meant other forces were at play here.

  “What’s happened, Brent? You wouldn’t have come here unless you had a reason to suspect me of something.”

  I could hide it from him, but what would be the point? He said he didn’t want the company destroyed and I believed him.

  “Max Graves knows about the blood debt. Has evidence of it and is using it to blackmail Jen. He wants her and will stop at nothing to have her, even bringing down Bensons in the process.”

  His fingers stopped drumming on the table before he smiled slowly.