Page 76 of Pretty Broken Things

I nod. I won’t seek revenge, but just like I knew something bad was going to happen the other day, I know he’s going to live to regret this moment. I hope I live long enough to see him have to swallow the guilt it will bring him.

ChapterThirty-Three

Tessa

The party descends into chaos.There’s a huge fight in the kitchen as Ford, Shane, Raven’s brother Lucien, and Sin fight their way through Jesse’s men. Others start to flee. The people who thought this was just a regular party start to clear out in droves.

The sound of grinding metal sounds through the building, and I use the distraction to make my way back upstairs. As I walk past a small alcove, I’m pulled back and a hand covers my mouth. I still scream, until I hear Benji whisper in my ear. “Shhh, Tessie, it’s just me. I’m so sorry. I got here as soon as I could. It took me a day to find a couple of guys skilled at extraction. I was about to come on my own, but we both know that would have been a suicide mission.”

Those damn tears start to slide down my face, but I force them back. “I love you, Benji.”

Gently, he wipes away my tears. “Not as much as I love you, but maybe someday.”

He gives a military type signal to someone down the hall I can’t see, and two men clad in black step out of the shadows. The only other person I’ve seen use darkness as camouflage is Sin. One of the guys takes a tool out of his cargo pocket and picks the lock. They sweep into the room, each going a different direction. There’s a muffled pop sound, and they come out with Tracy and Lydia.

“Holy shit,” Benji blurts out.

“We need to get them to the hospital,” one of the soldiers says.

“Tessa needs to come too,” Tracy rasps.

Benji studies me. Heseesme. “Tessie?”

He holds me, and kisses the top of my head. “Whatever you’ve been through. I’m here. I promise I’ll never leave you.”

I might doubt everyone else, but my faith in him is absolute. If only I could manage to feel for him a fraction of what I once felt for Ford.

* * *

I tryto get out of being examined at the hospital, but Benji insists. The entire procedure is humiliating. After so many days of having no say about what happened to me, I feel like I’m being violated all over again. A nurse comes in to hold my hand, and tries to reassure me, but I am beyond consoling.

Once they’re done they allow Benji to come back in, because he lied and told them I am his wife. He said that it’s safer than checking me in under my own name. Instead of Tessa James, I’m now Theresa Richards.

Now that I’m safe, my mind is finally free to drift away inside myself where I can forget everything that has happened. I do hear a little of what the doctors are telling my “husband” but I’m beyond caring. They toss around words like shock, and extensive tearing. Benji shakes while he’s holding my hand, but he doesn’t pull away from me.

Tracy and Lydia are safe. Lydia has been given an IV to flush the barbiturates out of her system, and will be monitored until she’s conscious. Her vitals look good though, and they expect her to recover. Of course, they’ll have to see when she’s awake if any permanent damage was done by the prolonged periods of coma Jesse induced.

Tracy is dehydrated, and suffering from similar injuries and trauma as I am, but otherwise she’ll be fine. The only permanent damage for either of us is psychological. They run STI tests on both of us, and luckily both of us are given a clean bill of health. At least that’s something.

When Tracy and I are released from the hospital Benji offers to take the three of us to a hotel outside of Playa, just as an extra step to evade anyone who was working with Jesse.

Tracy resists at first. “We can’t leave Lydia here. She’s still unconscious. What if they come back for her?” She’s panicking, and I know exactly how she feels.

Benji is careful not to touch her, seeing how she recoiled from the medical staff. “I hired security to stand guard outside her room. I’ve checked her in as Leanne Richards, my half-sister, to hide her, and to make sure we can get updates on her.

“Okay. You really are the best, Bennet,” she says.

As soon as we’re in the car to drive the forty-five minutes to the hotel, Tracy falls asleep.

Benji reaches his hand over the console, and I take it without hesitation. “You can sleep too. I’ve got you now.”

Money does have its uses. I’ve been without it for so long now, I forget how much easier it makes life. Benji doesn’t think anything of getting the Presidential Suite. The price means nothing when there’s millions in your bank account, and even more in investments. He didn’t choose this room because it is the fanciest though. He wanted Tracy to be comfortable enough to sleep, and this suite comes with two bedrooms.

Tracy groggily shuffles into the first bedroom she encounters and collapses. I go in and slip off her shoes and pull a blanket over her.

I find him standing awkwardly in the living room between the bedrooms. “I didn’t think about this. I can take the couch. I’m sure you’re probably more comfortable sleeping alone.”

He nervously rubs the back of his neck. “If it were anyone else but you. What would really make me feel safe is if you’d hold me. I don’t want to use you to make myself feel better though.”

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