Page 30 of Savage Romance
Rattling off the address Conchita had volunteered, Ben pulled the door completely closed, fastened his seatbelt, and leaned his head against the headrest.
Without bothering with small talk or spouting questions, Lenny maneuvered the Bentley through the thickening afternoon traffic. Ben welcomed the silence and used the tranquility to gather his thoughts and plan his actions.
Ben wasn’t impressed with the neighborhood Zoe had chosen, and he wanted to get her the hell out of there. However, he needed to come up with a good reason for her to talk with him. Maybe groveling will help? Should I pick up some flowers?
He sighed and massaged his forehead with the fingers of his right hand. Fuck, I suck at this romance stuff. Time to man up, Dennehy. “Eh, Lenny, have you ever fucked up with a woman?”
His loyal chauffeur snorted. The sound from the always composed and polite employee was so startling, Ben opened his eyes and stared at the man.
“Of course, I do. Men do all the time.” He paused at a traffic light and gave Ben a glance from the corner of his eye. “Aah, maybe women do too, but I think we are more impulsive and more likely to put our foot in our mouth. Women though”—he eased the car into traffic as the light changed to green—“they can hold on to a grudge like no man can.”
Ben sloughed in his seat. “You got any advice?”
“How bad did you, aah, fuck up?”
Thirty-five minutes later, an expensive necklace in his inside suit pocket, Michael Connolly’s gambling debts paid, and Lenny’s heartfelt advice in the back of his mind, Ben strode up to apartment 6B in the rundown building. He stiffened when the sound of muffled voices drifted his way, and he noticed two broad-shouldered suit-clad dudes blocking the way to a door. A door with a sign 6B next to it. Oh hell.
From inside the apartment came the distinctive voice of one slimy fucker Ben really wanted to kill. “He didn’t pay, you know, and that makes you mine.”
Ben used his shoulder to wrestle past the two unexpecting bodyguards, whose entire focus was on the scene inside.
“I like a woman with pale skin. I bet you’ll mark up nicely when I use a whip on you… or a knife.”
Ben fought down the red haze in front of his eyes and—emphasizing and enunciating every word—he interjected, “I did pay.”
Zoe’s knees buckled as a welcome and familiar voice spoke over the roaring in her ears. “I did pay… including interest, and I would appreciate it if you would let go of. My. Wife.”
Zoe gasped and tears stung her eyes. Ben! With clear reluctance, the sheik turned his head and dropped his hand away from Zoe’s face.
“Emil?” The sheik snapped at one of the suits.
The bodyguard inclined his head, murmured, “Your Excellency,” pressed a hand against his earpiece, and walked away a few feet. Zoe trembled with relief as Ben’s massive form filled the open space in the doorway.
“Darlin’.” He held out his hand and she rushed past the creep and straight into Ben’s embrace.
She collided with his chest and would have bounced off the hard muscles if his strong arms hadn’t come around her. “You’re here. Oh, thank you, baby Jesus. You’re here.” With the panic singing in her head, Zoe rambled. “Oh, Ben. You are really here!”
Patting his chest like she needed the affirmation he was real, she repeated his name like a prayer as she clung to him for dear life. “I can’t believe you came for me.”
So much had happened in the last couple of minutes. Too much. Zoe had trouble processing everything. Behind her in the room, the sheik was still lurking like a predator in waiting, but Ben would keep her safe. Violent shakes racked her body, and she made a sound of protest as Ben tried to untangle her hands from his neck. Zoe whimpered, too scared to even feel the least bit embarrassed by the pathetic sound.
“Everything is going to be okay, darlin’. I’ve got you, baby. I’m here. Shh. Shh.” He rocked her body and stroked her hair. “You’re shaking like a leaf. Give me a moment to… Damn it.”
He said a few words to someone. Zoe almost screamed when a stranger’s hands touched her shoulders.
“Shh, darlin’. Just covering you with a jacket. You’re shaking from the cold.”
The hands disappeared, and Ben pulled her firmer against his chest. Her hands curled around his shoulders, and he didn’t even flinch when she pressed her nails into his flesh.
“Just hold on to me, darlin’.” He gathered her close and rocked her.
“Please, Ben. I’m sorry. Please, stay with me. I should have… I’m sorry.”
Again, he made a shushing sound. “I’m not going anywhere. Stay like this while I deal with the sheik and his entourage. We can talk later. For now, you can hang on to me.”
He brushed his lips over her cheek and turned his attention to Sheik Khalid bin Karim al Hania Abbas. As the men conducted a verbal war, Zoe tuned out and concentrated on her breathing, inhaling the fresh spicy scent of Ben’s cologne, and reveled in the safety and comfort the familiar scent provided.
Chapter Twenty-Four
