~Savannah~

Day two of the hostage situation, as I’ve come to think of it, was more exhausting than day one. I shouldn’t have gone in to work, and if it weren’t for the fact that I have to make things look as normal as possible, I wouldn’t have. It’s not like I’m getting much done. I stared at the same report for two days straight and never turned the page.

I finally left the office an hour early today and took a drive around the city. Driving calms me. I like to listen to music, or turn the radio off altogether and enjoy the silence.

Also, I’m ninety-eight percent sure that my car isn’t bugged, so I can relax a bit.

I’ve just turned down my street, toward my house, when the throw-away phone rings.

“Yes,” I say.

“It’s done,” Lieutenant Jacobs says on the other line. He’s the only one with this number, so there’s no question of who it is. “Larry is in custody, as are the two men they hired to survey you and your family.”

“We’re safe.”

“You are. I have more to tell you, but I have a ton of paperwork to get through here, three men to interrogate, and I need to go have a meeting at the prison.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome. Go live your life, Savannah.”

He ends the call as I pull into my driveway, right next to Eli’s car.

I frown and then shrug. It’s not unusual for Eli to drop in, although it’s not as common now that he has a wife and a baby.

I walk into the house and freeze at the scene before me.

Eli is sitting on the couch, and every single photo that Lance gave me is spread out before him on the coffee table. I laid them out last night, as a reminder to myself of why I had to be strong and trust that Lieutenant Jacobs would take care of things in the right way.

But I certainly didn’t intend for my brother to see them.

“Hello,” he finally says. I turn to close the door, but instead find Declan, Beau, and Ben walking up my steps. I whirl around to look at Eli and he just nods. “Yeah, I called them.”

“Great,” I mutter and walk into the room. I haven’t figured out how to explain this yet. I was taking it one minute at a time.

And now I have four angry men in my living room. Ben won’t even look me in the face, but he’s looking at the photos. They all are.

“Savannah,” Declan says, his voice full of pain as he looks over at me.

“How long?” Eli asks before I can say a word. “How long has this been going on?”

“First, I need to tell you that it’s over,” I reply and stand firmly, my hands on my hips. “As of about five minutes ago when Lieutenant Jacobs called me.”

“So you do answer your phone,” Beau mutters and holds the photo of Mallory closing her shop after dark.

“It was a throw-away phone. My cell was tapped.”

“What the fuck is going on, Savannah?” Eli demands, his voice deceptively quiet.

“Don’t you dare swear at me,” I reply. “Put the photos down. They don’t matter anymore.”

They do as I ask, and then they all just stare at me, except Ben, who still hasn’t said a word and won’t look at me.

I’ve lost him.

“It seems Lance didn’t take kindly to me moving on with someone else,” I begin. It takes me a while to tell the whole story again, as I don’t want to leave anything out. When I finish telling them about the call I received this afternoon, the room is quiet.

“You didn’t have to do this alone,” Declan says.

“You shouldn’t have done this alone,” Eli agrees. “Van, why did you keep this from us?”

“Because you would have tried to fix it.”

“Of course we would have,” Beau says. “That’s what family does, Van.”

“No.” I shake my head and sigh in frustration. “I spent the majority of my adult life living in fear because I thought I was protecting you. All of you. And damn it, I was protecting you now, but not out of fear. Not this time.

“I didn’t need you to fix this for me. I fixed it. I knew what to do. He scared me at first, I’m not going to lie. But nothing I did after I left the prison was out of fear. It was strategic, and it kept us all safe while the police did their jobs.”

“Jesus,” Beau whispers and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I want to throttle you and hug you, all at once.”

“Daddy said the same thing,” I reply and smile when they all look at me in shock. “I dream of him sometimes. He said that to me the other night.”

I swallow hard and then look them all in the eyes. Especially Ben. “I’m sorry for the worry and now the fear that I caused you. I love you all so much. I know that you feel like you need to protect me, and I wouldn’t have you any other way.

“But I’m a strong person. Stronger now than I ever was before, and I need you to trust in me. I need you to know that I would never do anything to betray you, or hurt you. And damn it, if there’s a threat against my family, I’ll do whatever it takes to protect them.

“He threatened to hurt you. To hurt the babies.” I let a tear fall. “I can’t have that, and I’ll be fucking damned if that evil piece of shit is ever going to think he can do that to me again. He underestimated me, and he lost.”

“You’re incredible,” Declan says and takes my hand in his, giving it a squeeze. “I also want to throttle you, but I get it. We all get it.”

Eli and Beau nod, and Ben has walked to the window. His hands are in his pockets, and he’s staring outside. He hasn’t said a word.

“I’m going to have to go through another trial, and it’s going to suck, but that’s okay.”

“And for that, we’ll be with you,” Eli insists and pulls me in for a strong hug. “No more lies, Van.”

“No more lies,” I agree. “I’m not good at it anyway.”

After a few more hugs, my brothers leave. Ben’s still at the window and silence screams around us.

I sit in a chair and wait, watching his muscles twitch under his black T-shirt. Finally, he turns around and locks his eyes onto mine.

“I’m so fucking pissed off,” he says. His voice is steel, matching every tight muscle in his body.

“I’m sorry.”

“No,” he says, shaking his head. “I mean, yes, I’m not happy with you, and we’re going to talk about that, but this rage is directed at him. All over again.”

“I took care of it,” I insist.

“He sat in a room with you and showed you all of the ways he wanted to destroy you and your family,” he says, making me swallow hard. I hadn’t thought of it like that. “He sent out people to terrorize you.”

“And you,” I reply. I shuffle through the photos until I find the one of the sniper. “He bought the house across from yours and had a man there with a rifle ready to kill you. Ben, he’s the reason you got sick, and your brakes were cut. He made it clear that the longer I stayed with you, the more he would make sure you suffered.”

“Being away from you was more suffering than he ever could have inflicted on me,” he says, stunning me. “You let him come between us.”

“Only until they were arrested,” I insist. “But if I’ve screwed this up so badly that you’re done, I understand.”

“I feel…betrayed,” he says and lets his hands fall to his sides. “You did this on your own, and I thought we were partners. You didn’t let me save you.”

“Ben.” I finally walk to him and cup his face. “You already saved me. It was time I saved myself.”

He crushes me to him, his strong arms locked around me. His face is buried in my neck, and it feels like he’ll never let me go.

“Don’t ever let me go,” I whisper.

“God, Angel, you destroyed me.”

“I’m so sorry,” I reply and kiss his cheek, his chin. “I had to play along, or else he would have done something horrible. And if anything were to happen to you, Ben, I don’t think I’d survive it.”

“Baby.” He kisses me now, long and sweet, as if he’s relearning every inch of my mouth.

I catch a whiff of the perfume that Lance insisted that I wear, and it makes me sick to my stomach.

“Ben?”

“Yes, baby.”

“I have to take a shower. I’ve been wearing his perfume, and every time I smell it, it makes me sick. I need to purge this house.”

“Let’s do it.” He takes my hand and leads me to the kitchen and fetches a plastic bag. “Lead the way.”

I pull him behind me, up the stairs and to the bedroom. The first thing I do is throw the Chanel No. 5 in the bag, then walk into my closet and purge the last of the clothing he bought for me years ago. It’s expensive, and it seemed wasteful to throw it away before, but I don’t even blink an eye as I shove every blouse and dress into the bag.

The last thing I reach for is my wedding band and engagement ring. They’re in their respective boxes, tucked in the back of a drawer. I don’t even open them, I just toss them in the bag.

“You’re throwing those out?”

“To be honest, I think it should be donated to a women’s shelter.”

His lips twitch. “That’s a great idea. I’ll sell the jewelry too and donate that money as well.”

“Ben, you don’t have to do that.”

“Yeah, I do. Let me do this.” He ties the bag closed. “I’ll be right back.”

I stay where I am and hear the front door open and then several minutes later he’s climbing the stairs again.

“It’s all out of here.”

“That feels good.”

He nods and leads me into the bathroom. Rather than start the shower, he runs a bath. “I’d like to sit with you in the bath.”

“No complaints here,” I reply.

He strips us both naked, and we sink into the hot water, not wanting to let go of each other. He begins massaging my feet and I reach for the soap and a sponge, washing the last of the perfume off my neck and wrists.

When I’m done, I sit back and sigh. “I was so afraid that I’d lost you for good.”

“Same here,” he says quietly.

“I said some pretty horrible things.” My eyes find his. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean them, and it was killing me, but I had to make it look real.”

“It was real.”

I nod slowly. “Yeah. And it was hell.”

“I’m not a controlling man, Savannah, but I am a man. I love you with everything in me, and I will always want to protect you. I don’t know any other way to be.”

“I don’t want you to be any other way. This will never happen again.”

“No. It won’t.” He pulls me to him. I straddle him and lay against his chest. “You’re everything good in my life, and you’re mine. I protect what’s mine.”

“So do I.” I lift my head and smile at him. “So do I, Ben. And that’s what I was doing.”

“I know.” He kisses me softly and then takes the kiss deeper, stronger. I rise up on my knees and then sink down over his hard erection, and we both moan in relief.

“Missed this,” I mutter against his lips. He can’t respond. He grips my hips and guides me up and down in the most delicious pace, until we’re both a panting, orgasmic mess.

I collapse on top of him and kiss his chest, impressed that I can move any part of me.

“Angel?”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to wash your hair.”

He can still smell it.

“Okay. Do I have to move?”

He chuckles. “Yes.” He guides me back to the opposite side of the tub and then steps out of the water. Without drying off, he urges me to lean forward and begins to wash my hair. I close my eyes and sit still, letting him scrub the soap into foam, and then rinse the soap out. His hands are big and strong, and it feels good to let him take care of me.

When he’s done, he lifts me out of the water and wraps me in a towel, then leads me to the vanity in my bedroom.

“Have a seat,” he says.

The excitement from the last few days has caught up with me. I’m exhausted, both physically and mentally and he knows.

He combs my hair out, then blows it dry. I sit and watch him through half-closed eyes and admire the way his muscles flex with each motion.

“You’re just ridiculously handsome,” I murmur when he flips the dryer off.

“I won’t be leaving,” he says.

“No, I definitely want you to stay with me tonight.”

“Ever,” he replies after we both get into the bed. It’s early, but it feels like I just ran a marathon.

“Ever?”

“Ever.” He kisses my lips and snuggles his naked body against mine.

“Does this mean you want to live in my house?”

“Do you prefer it here?” he asks, and I can see that if I say yes, he won’t hesitate.

“Home is where you are,” I reply sleepily. “Here or there, it doesn’t really matter.”

“I love you, Savannah,” he whispers in my ear as I feel sleep pulling me under.

***

“Are you sure about this?” Lieutenant Jacobs asks me three days later. I’ve asked him to meet me, Ben, and the rest of my family at the prison today. It’s a gloriously beautiful day outside, matching my mood.

“Oh, I’m sure.”

He nods and leads me to a room. I go in alone, but there’s an observation room connected to this one with a big, mirrored window. They can see in, but I can’t see them.

But I know they’re there.

Another door opens and in walks Lance. He’s in handcuffs and ankle cuffs, and this time they don’t let him loose.

I’m not that pompous.

I’m surprised to find that looking at him doesn’t make my stomach tighten, or bile rise in the back of my throat. My heart doesn’t race.

I feel disgust.

“What do you want?” Lance asks.

“A couple of things,” I reply and lace my fingers on the table top. I don’t move my eyes from his because I want to see him as I speak. “First, I want you to take one last long look at me, Lance, because this is the last time you’ll ever see me.”

“That’s awfully optimistic of you,” he says with a smirk, but I can see in his eyes that the confidence from a few weeks ago is gone.

“No, it’s true.” I sit for a moment and let him look at my face, my breasts, my hair. “Do you see me?”

“You’re right in front of me.”

“Oh, that doesn’t matter. I was right in front of you for years, but you didn’t see me. Do you see me now?”

His lips pucker but he doesn’t reply.

“Good. Because you’re looking at the woman who broke you, Lance.” He smirks again, but I keep talking. “You tried to break me, but you didn’t. I took you down, and I want you to sit in your tiny cell and think about that for the rest of your pathetic life.”

“Fuck you.”

“No. No, you won’t ever do that again either.” He moves to stand, but I cock an eyebrow. “Sit the fuck down.”

He tilts his head to the side and drops back in his seat.

“I didn’t say you could leave.”

“What is this, Van? You show up here and act all tough? You’re not tough. You’re nothing. You’re a pathetic piece of shit, and you may have got my brother arrested, but he’s not the only contact I still have on the outside. I can have your family killed any time.”

I don’t turn around to see, but Lance’s eyes rise above my head and I know the observation window has been turned off and that he can see all of my family sitting there, listening.

“Oh, I brought them along.”

He glares at me, but it doesn’t matter.

He doesn’t matter.

“You can’t hurt me, or them, ever again. It’s over right now. I’m ending it.”

He snarls. “You don’t say when it’s over.” He’s yelling now, and I stand, turn my back, and walk away. “Do you hear me? You don’t say! I say!”

The door shuts behind me, finally closing that chapter of my life for good.

Ben meets me in the hall and pulls me in for a hug. “So proud of you, Angel.”

“Me too,” I reply and smile up at him, and the rest of my family standing behind him. “Let’s go home now.”