Author's Notes:

'A Shepherd's Crook' is the fourth book in the Chronicles of Ben Shepherd. The chronological order of the stories is:

• The Shepherd of Ashburn Court - Parts 1 - 5
• A Shepherd in France - Parts 1 & 2
• A Shepherd Afield - Parts 1 - 5
• The Shepherd's Crook - Parts 1 - 5

Minimal effort is made in this tale to explain the backstory, so please read the other stories first.

All characters engaging in sexual relationships or activities are 18 years old or older.

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A Shepherd's Crook - Part 4

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Chapter 36

Ben was sitting in his favorite chair in his living room with his laptop nearby, in case he wanted to browse the engineering boards for new puzzles. He had a steaming mug of herbal tea resting on the table beside him. He'd discovered he enjoyed the beverage while in Singapore. Tina and Lucy were doting on him while his children played on the floor before him. Christopher was having a play date at Ashley's.

Just another Sunday morning in Ashburn Court. He'd been following this pattern for weeks and was beginning to feel restless.

General Davis' commando team had fulfilled their promise almost two months ago to get him from the hospital to the airport and on a jet flying home with no fuss. There hadn't been any sign of another hit team from the Russians since their last group had been wiped out so quickly.

His fever spiked when they landed, and he'd spent a week in Hannah's hospital after emergency exploratory surgery with their guest surgeon, Mishka Shyamalan. She'd repaired a torn suture in his small intestine, and he underwent another course of antibiotics to deal with the infection.

When he was finally cleared to go home, he had weeks of recovery ahead of him, and now he was finally beginning to feel like himself again. He'd even been allowed to do a low-impact, low-stress workout. He knew he had a long road ahead to return to his previous strength levels. That didn't discourage him, though, as he'd done it before, and he knew he could do it again.

He'd had multiple visits from each of his loved ones and spent much of that time in cuddle mode. Initially, he was forbidden to do anything more strenuous. Making love fell into that category, but cuddling in bed and kissing were allowed. Being naked was also allowed if the mood called for it, and not surprisingly, most often, it did. He was assured that no one felt neglected, and Ben calmed their fears about his health.

During the initial weeks of his recovery, he'd had a surprise visit from Jahal Mannan, who'd heard of his close call and took it upon herself to personally hand-deliver the ring she'd made for him. Tina and Lucy met her at the door, as Ben was still bedridden at the time.

Unfortunately, while she was a master jewelry designer, she sucked at being secretive as her eyes found the ring on Tina's hand and searched for the one on Lucy's before realizing she was being watched by two women far too intuitive for their own good.

The surprise was ruined.

While Lucy shed tears of joy on Ben's shoulder and was extra cuddly with him for weeks, Ben was more than a little annoyed at being robbed of being the one to present it to her. It took many kisses from her to dull that disappointment.

As he was restricted to his home for recovery, there hadn't been much for Liliya to do, but she did walk with him around the block once he could manage it. She told him she was taking online courses in photography as a new hobby. She said it was teaching her how to see the world with fresh eyes, not just from an assassin's perspective.

Evelyn's wounds healed, and her eyes had no permanent damage. When he looked closely into her lovely blue eyes to see for himself, her face warmed up considerably.

That's when he saw the scar.

A thin white line ran across both cheeks and bisected her nose.

Just... like... him.

Something moved in his chest, and he'd wrapped his arms around the woman, holding her close as he dealt with his emotional upheaval. The idea that he'd almost lost her was knocking him off balance. She'd frozen momentarily, then she'd held him equally tight.

She'd been smiling more since that day as they finally managed to get back to work in his basement for lengthening amounts of time as he recuperated. She'd been very diligent in ensuring he kept to the schedule and didn't push himself too hard.

Hector's team completed the tear-down of Rochelle's home and prepared the site for the new construction. While Ben had been spending time on the designs for the new homes with Dan Bishop, he put the project on hold as he wasn't ready to work on it. Additionally, Chanel hadn't informed him when Beth's home would be released. Hector told Ben that his team would be prepared to start again in spring.

Ben and Evelyn returned to the battery project, but his mind told him it was a dead end. They set up a second test in his basement with the bulletproof shielding. This time they removed the plastic wrap from the lithium cells. The result was a battery with no better performance than any others.

Having proven this, Ben had Evelyn run a background check on the designer. She discovered, at the time of his death, that the man had been drowning in debt and needed the funding the project would get from being renewed by the Department of Energy. Instead, he was killed by his own experiment.

Ben asked Evelyn to notify the Department of Energy that they'd have to look elsewhere for a battery solution.

The effort wasn't a complete waste as it triggered some ideas for Ben. He managed to create three small innovations; a new kind of pressure switch with incredible durability and a projected lifecycle of millions of trips before failure, a new temperature sensor that could be used in high G or impact environments, and finally, a miniature sound suppression technology that required no external power source. These could be used in humble ways to improve life, but none were splashy or particularly noticeable. Ben just smiled about that as he added the small prototypes to the trophy cabinets in his office. Evelyn was thrilled to see her name on the small description cards under the title Assistant.

The General was pleased with the return on his investment, as his development teams immediately found uses for these inventions, so that was a bonus.

When he was finally capable of walking around and could last more than a few hours before his body forced him back to bed, Rain threw an engagement party for Karen, Jayden, Penny, and Frank.

The entire neighborhood attended and had a wonderful time. Ben called in all his food truck friends to cater the event, and Hector was DJ for the dance party. The foreman said it was the least he could do for his favorite employee of their new business venture.

Karen and Penny covered Ben's face with kisses for the approval of their mates and the beautiful diamonds in their spectacular rings. Ben noticed the ring's bands were embedded with tiny diamonds which he hadn't supplied. He believed this was Jahal's way of apologizing to him for the slip up with Lucy's surprise. He didn't tell his daughters that. He just praised their rings and watched their eyes glow with joy.

While incapacitated, he'd managed to get the Klein Group to complete the selection process for Berlin, Paris, London, and New York. He arranged for them to fly in the Sky Shepherd premiere jet once more but learned that Robin had unfortunately moved on.

Ben let Louis know that Ed would be his proxy in terms of Engineering approval. The younger man was very pleased to hear that.

Speaking of Ed, he'd come to visit Ben with Grace and his daughters in tow. They spent a wonderful afternoon watching the girls and Christopher playing in the tower, and Ed enjoyed playing with Sam and Gretchen. Christopher and the triplets were exhausted afterward and barely managed to eat during the lovely dinner Tina and Lucy hosted.

Just a week ago, Chanel met with Shelly and gave her the bad news that one of the victims they'd found in the excavated cellar was her missing sister, Patty. That evening, Trish brought Shelly over for an evening of cuddling with Ben, and he told her he'd decided to build a contemplation garden over the spot once the new home was built. It brought the woman to tears once more, but she loved the idea as Patty loved nature and would have treasured this.

When the doorbell rang, it jarred Ben from his reflections, and he slid forward in his chair to answer it, but Tina popped to her feet and pressed a hand against his chest to make him stay as Lucy stood and rushed to the door.

Ben gave Tina a stern look. "I'm capable of answering a door, you know."

She gave him a sweet smile. "Sunday is Pamper Ben Day."

He slid back but grabbed Tina under her arms to pull her with him, stretching her out over his body. She squeaked in surprise, then found her lips being caressed by his. The squeak turned into a moan, then another squeak as he pulled back to look into her eyes. "You're making every day Pamper Ben Day! Too much pampering!"

Catherine was grinning at them from the doorway, with Chanel smiling at her elbow. Lucy helped Tina to stand, and Ben got to his feet. Before Lucy could get away, he grabbed her for a quick kiss that left her flustered and squirming.

"I'll deal with you two naughty ladies later," he whispered to them, and their excited smiles flashed at him.

Ben walked over to hug and kiss Cat when she tilted her face up to him. Chanel settled for a hug.

"Time for a change," Tina said as she carried Sam from the room, but the boy got kisses from the two ladies, as did Gretchen in Lucy's arms.

"Would you like to take a seat?" Ben asked, and they nodded and followed him back into the living room. They sat side by side on the sofa as Ben settled back into his chair. "I'm beginning to feel trapped in this chair."

"Really?" Cat said with a skeptical look.

Ben shrugged. "A little stir crazy, then. I think I'd go mad if it wasn't for my walks around the court."

"We were just checking in to see how you're doing and to let you know everything is on track for opening the first Shepherd Foundation Headquarters in January. The renovations and construction on the buildings downtown are ahead of schedule, and I've been given assurances they'll be done this month."

"That's great news. I assume Trish is pretty excited about the opening?" Ben asked.

"She's ready. It will be great to say we actually have one of the Foundations open. We're planning to get the rest of them open next summer if all goes well," Cat said with a smile.

He looked to Chanel. "Any more thoughts on that position I offered to you?"

Chanel nodded. "The company I arranged to handle security in the interim is doing a good job. I really want to finish this case for Shelly." Her expression became frustrated. "Grace has tied a number of people to the purchase of the home, but we have no evidence of them actually visiting the house. Not even that weasel Marion Spencer. When I questioned him, do you know what he did? He laughed at me. He said I had no evidence he was ever there. He also said he'd never see the inside of a prison cell because of his dialysis. The bastard dismissed me with a fuck off."

Ben frowned. "That must have been very frustrating."

Chanel sighed. "Yes, but I will see justice served," she insisted, and Cat gave her a hug which made her smile. She turned that smile on Ben. "It's great you have the Sergeant at this end of the street with cameras pointed everywhere and the Spa at the other end pointing camera this way, but that didn't exist back then. I don't even see any neighborhood watch signs."

Ben chuckled as that brought up a memory for him. "Our neighborhood watch moved away, and I bought his home."

Cat looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"You remember Barry Walker? He lived in the home next to Beth's. The man lived by his front window with a pair of binoculars," Ben said with a grin. "He always knew when I was raking leaves and came out to do his just as I'd be finishing mine so I could help him with his yard. Shoveling snow, too."

Chanel was watching Ben with interest. "Do you still keep in touch with him? Maybe he saw someone at the home?"

Ben looked at her in surprise. "Oh! I haven't spoken to him since I bought the property. He moved to Florida so his wife could be closer to her sister. I have his email address if you want to reach out to him."

She smiled and nodded, so Ben looked up the message from Barry offering him the house. He clicked the Reply button again and added Chanel's email to the CC line. Then, he added a brief message to Barry saying Chanel would like to ask him about the occupants of Fourteen Ashburn Court before the Wilsons moved in. He hit send. "There you go. I did an intro so he'd know who you were. Hopefully, he's still using this account."

"Thanks, Ben! Every little bit helps!" Chanel said with a pleased smile as she saw the message in her e-mail inbox.

"Any news about Tatiana?" Cat asked.

Ben's smile faded. "No. It's like she stepped off the surface of the planet."

"That's good, right?" Cat asked.

Chanel frowned as she didn't agree. "No, it's not. If she wasn't willing to fulfill her deal with the General, she belongs behind bars as restitution for the people she killed."

Cat looked at Ben. "She wouldn't come back to finish what she tried to do?" she asked nervously.

He frowned and shook his head. He'd talked with Liliya, who explained how Tatiana could have spared him but didn't.

But he vividly recalled the look of horror on her face when she did it.

"My concern is what damage she might do while on the run. People are hunting for her, but she's no easy target. She won't go easy on them, and each kill will make it worse for her," Ben said quietly.

"Ben, you did everything you could for her. Sometimes it just isn't in your power to rescue them," Chanel said.

Ben looked into her eyes, surprised by her gentle comment, then nodded.

"What's next on your to-do list?" Cat asked.

"New York," he said as a small smile returned. "I promised Ashley a trip to the Big Apple, and I also promised Phil DeMonte I'd visit and see how his movie is progressing, so I'm doing both together. We leave tomorrow night."

"Lucky lady!" Catherine said, then pouted playfully at Chanel. "You never take me to New York!"

Chanel snorted and hugged the beauty at her side. "I will take you anywhere you wish to go."

"Take me to brunch downtown!" Cat cheered and threw her arms around Chanel.

Blushing sweetly, the brunette stood and pulled Cat to her feet. "On that note, we will bid you a good day. Thanks again for the contact with Mr. Walker."

Cat pranced over to Ben's chair and stretched her body over his as she'd seen him do to Tina.

Then she kissed him.

It was a damn good kiss, and Ben was left with a sizeable problem when she pulled back.

"Mmmm, we need to do more of that sometime soon," she purred and ran a fingertip along the ridge she'd left in his pants.

Ben gave her and Chanel a flustered look, and Chanel just shook her head at her wife's nature. She was no longer nervous about Ben stealing her away. She'd finally managed to put that fear behind her as keeping those negative feelings just hurt their relationship. She trusted Catherine and knew Ben wouldn't do anything to hurt either of them. That's all there was to it.

"We won't take any more of your time. I'm glad you're feeling better," Catherine said to him.

"Thanks for visiting! Have a good day," Ben said to them as he managed to get to his feet and adjusted his pants.

He followed them to the door and waved as they left.

Lucy joined him at the door and looked down. She grinned. "Ooo! Did Catherine leave a present for me?"

"Where's Tina and the kids?" he asked.

"In the playroom out back," Lucy said with a knowing smile.

"Come with me," he said, taking her hand to pull her down the hallway to the master bedroom.

Once the door was closed, Lucy wasted no time dropping to her knees before him. She undid his pants and tugged them down to his knees. His heavy cock swung into view, and she wrapped her fingers around it.

"Fuck!" Ben gasped. That doubled in volume when she stroked the length of his cock from balls to tip with her tongue.

When she ran her tongue around the thick head, his hips involuntarily thrust forward a little, and she smiled up at him. She didn't make him wait any longer as she opened her lips and accepted him into her hot mouth and down her throat.

"Oh my god!" Ben choked out as the sensation of her taking all of him was indescribably good.

She pulled him out until her lips caught the head in her mouth. She stroked that with her tongue, then plunged forward again, driving him into her throat.

Ben's eyes were beginning to roll back as it felt too good. Lucy paused on the next downstroke, and Ben opened his eyes to see her staring at the new scar on his belly. Her eyes flicked up to look into his, and he saw the shadow of her fear. He reached down, lifted her to her feet, and kissed her deeply. She moaned at his passion and clung to him. Once she'd turned to putty in his hands, he laid her over the end of the bed, ass up, and roughly pulled her yoga pants down. She sucked in a sharp breath in surprise, then slapped her hands over her mouth as Ben used his mouth and tongue on her wet pussy. She almost shrieked from the spike of pleasure. Then he was behind her driving his cock deep into her. He set up a steady but fast stroke, and Lucy clung to the sheets like her life depended on it. He was almost brutal in his need for her, and she was in heaven. His heavy balls slapped her clit as he hammered her ass with his hips.

"Oh fuck, Ben! I'm coming!" she squeaked between strokes.

He was right there as well and ground his body against hers as they erupted together.

Her hands were back over her mouth once more to smother her screams as the bliss obliterated her thoughts.

They remained connected and breathing hard until they returned to their senses.

"Oh... Ben. That was... so good."

He smiled.

After he pulled free, he sat on the end of the bed and affectionately stroked her bare ass.

"Mmmm, you're going to get me going again," she moaned.

"And that would be bad?" he asked.

"No, it would be wonderful, but tonight please, with Tina."

Ben smiled. "I like how you think." He looked down at his erection which wasn't getting the message.

"Uh, speaking of Tina, could you send her in so I can show her my appreciation for all the pampering, too."

Lucy burst into giggles and grinned at him. She ducked into the bathroom for a moment, then rushed out of the room.

He quickly stripped and cleaned himself up in the bathroom, then heard the bedroom door open and close with a thump.

"Ben?"

He rushed out and grabbed the petite beauty. She squealed in surprise as he rolled them onto the bed. She was on his chest once more when he stopped, panting with excitement. He pulled her up until he could kiss her lips, and she moaned softly. They kissed for a few minutes, and her breathing sped up as she became more and more excited. He marveled at how small she felt yet how much passion she contained as she ground her pelvis against his thick cock.

She looked down at him with dreamy eyes when she pulled back from his lips. "I thought you would deal with us naughty ladies tonight."

Ben snorted softly. "That was my plan, but Catherine got me charged up as she left."

Tina's eyes fluttered closed as her hips rolled sensually, pressing his heat against her pussy through her yoga pants. "Mmm, I must thank her later."

Ben took Tina's amazingly perfect ass cheeks in his hands and squeezed them.

"AHH! Ben! Yes, I need you!" she cried out.

He slid the fingers of his right hand into her hair and took a grip so he could kiss her deeply. His other hand slipped under the waistband of her yoga pants to slide deep between those amazing orbs. He stroked a finger back and forth over her twitching rosebud, and she became frantic with need, pressing back against his hand as best she could.

Whimpering into his kiss, Tina was desperate for Ben to take her ass. She craved it as she continued to grind against his cock.

When he suddenly rolled her onto her back and pulled his hand away from her asshole, she cried out in disappointment. He pushed himself up to a kneeling position, grabbed the waistband of her pants, and quickly pulled them down her legs. Tina was panting with excitement from how rough his need was.

He left her pants tangling her ankles and reached for something on the mattress. Tina saw it was a tube of lube, and he slathered a good amount on his stiff member.

With her ankles resting on his chest, Tina suddenly realized what he intended to do, and she gasped. He gave her no more time to prepare as the slick head of his cock pressed against her asshole. She took deep breaths to help herself relax, then moaned as she felt the head of his cock force its way inside her body.

"Yes! Yes! Oh Ben, yes!" she sighed as more and more of his cock slid into her ass. He held her legs against his chest and used his hips to slowly piston his thickness in and out of her as her eyes rolled back from the sensation.

Ben moaned in bliss at how hot she was and how tightly her ass gripped his cock.

With his arm gripping her legs, he moved his hand to her pussy and rubbed her clit in slow circles.

"AHH! OH! FUCK! BEN!" Tina cried out as she was more sensitive than she realized, and her release was rapidly approaching.

Ben was stroking in and out of Tina's ass, and she was becoming frantic as he continued to rub circles over her pussy. When he plunged his thumb into her hot depths, she screamed soundlessly as her body clamped down on him. His orgasm struck soon after, and he filled her ass with his hot cum.

Tina was gasping for breath and panting as her body spasmed again and again. Ben's grip on her body sent her mind into the stratosphere, and she didn't want to come down.

Eventually, Ben pulled his thumb from her pussy and sucked it clean as she gazed up at him with glassy eyes, completely spent.

Her mouth opened in little gasps as he eased his softening member from her ass. When he was out, she looked up at him in need.

Ben smiled, lifted Tina's body in his arms, and carried her into the bathroom. He set her down before the toilet, then stepped outside to give her a little privacy. When he heard the water in the sink running, he stepped back inside, kissed Tina tenderly, and took a quick shower as he'd gotten a little sweaty.

"That was so good, Ben," Tina purred.

"For me, too," he agreed. "I think I've proven to you that I'm feeling better now. You can dial back on the pampering."

She looked at him from under her bangs with a sweet expression. "But the pampering wasn't for your healing. It was for how worried we were that you'd almost been killed."

"I know, and I'm sorry I put myself into that situation against everyone else's better advice," he said softly.

She hugged him. "If you hadn't tried to help her, you wouldn't have been Ben Shepherd, the man I love."

Ben gently took her face between his hands and kissed her perfect lips. He felt her tremble, so he pulled her into a hug.

"I love you too, Tina."

When they separated and began to pull on their clothes again, Tina looked over at Ben with a mischievous smile. "I wonder what things you have planned tonight to deal with your naughty ladies."

Ben grinned and nodded as her eyes lit up with excitement. She rushed out of the bedroom to let Lucy know there was more to come.

When he felt himself tingle down below, he sighed.

Would that part of his body ever get past the horny teen stage?

Chapter 37

Ben watched the delight and excitement on Ashley's face as they walked through New York's Times Square, surrounded by a security detail Evelyn had arranged to meet them at the airport. They were dressed in black combat gear matching Evelyn's and kept the crowd from getting too close. Ashley walked on Ben's left as Liliya followed a few steps behind, her eyes scanning the crowd for danger. She was dressed in red close-fitting leather with a faux-fur collar and drew eyes away from Ben and Ashley, which was her outfit's purpose. It also had an insulating layer for the brisk late fall weather and Kevlar for protection.

"So many lights and so much energy!" Ashley gasped. She looked cozy in her long grey wool coat.

"The city that never sleeps," Ben said with a smile. He was toasty warm in his black version of the same coat.

"I can believe it!" she returned.

They'd gone to an Off-Broadway play and were invited backstage to meet the cast after the show. Ben enjoyed how thrilled Ashley was to meet the actors, but he realized the actors were equally excited to meet him, which he still thought was ridiculous. Many photos were taken, and Ashley wasted no time sending some to her daughters.

Dinner had been in a restaurant just north of Times Square on a recommendation from Ed when he heard Ben was going to the city. The ribs had been just as good as Ed said they'd be.

Ben looked around at the tall buildings and let the hum of the city sink into his bones. There really was a tremendous amount of energy here.

He spotted Evelyn letting someone through their perimeter and smiled when he recognized Phil DeMonte.

"Phil! I wasn't expecting to see you tonight!" Ben greeted the man with a smile.

The actor/director shook Ben's hand with a smile and waved his hand at the city in general. "The New York City grapevine is just as fast as the LA one. News of you visiting an Off-Broadway show got the phone lines buzzing, and I assumed you might visit Times Square since you'd be in the neighborhood." He gestured to the ring of combat black around them. "You aren't too difficult to spot in a crowd."

Ben gestured to the beauty at his side. "This is Ashley Beaumont, my good friend and neighbor."

"I love your movies!" Ashley gushed as she shook Phil's hand. "And you're brilliant in your TV series, Bajillionaires!"

Phil's smile widened. "Thank you!" He looked at Ben as he continued to hold her hand. "Beautiful and smart! I love your neighbor!"

Ashley burst into giggles as he finally released her hand. Phil grinned at them.

Ben gestured to the other two women with him. "You've met Evelyn and Liliya."

Phil waved at the two ladies who spared a moment to smile and nod to him.

The actor looked at Ben once more. "Hey, listen. Do you two have plans for this evening? There's a party uptown I think you might enjoy. People from the industry will be there."

Ben looked at Ashley, whose eyes were wide with delight, but she seemed to be holding her breath. He leaned closer to whisper in her ear. "Breathe." She hiccupped and grinned in embarrassment.

He turned back to Phil. "I think that means we're available."

Phil's face lit up with a wide smile. He looked at the group. "How do we do this logistically? How many cabs—"

With a hand signal from Evelyn, their group moved and stopped at the curb. Ben looked at Phil. "Logistics is something I leave up to Evelyn as it's become much more complex now."

Three long and large black SUVs pulled up to the curb, and Ben gestured for Phil to enter the middle seat first, then Ashley. He got in and shut the door. Liliya took the front passenger seat as the security detail quickly divided their group into the remaining two SUVs, with Evelyn in the front passenger seat of the first.

"Where are we going, sir?" their driver asked.

Ben looked to Phil. "One-eleven west fifty-seventh street," Phil called out. The driver repeated this into his mic, and all three vehicles simultaneously pulled away from the curb.

Phil looked over at Ben in question. "These guys military?"

Ben shrugged. "Possibly, but I wouldn't ask." He smiled at Phil's impressed expression. He caught the slight nod and subtle smile on the driver's lips.

It took a little less than ten minutes for their convoy to pull up before the tall, slim building. They were out of the vehicles and into the lobby in less than a minute.

Ben looked around at the lovely décor. "Who lives here?" he asked Phil.

"Billionaires, I'm told. One of them is hosting a party, and I got an invite. I got an immediate yes when I called to see if I could bring you as a guest." Phil answered. He looked at Ashley's nervous expression. "Any guest of Ben's will be welcome as well," he assured her. "I'm not sure about your extended security detail, though."

Evelyn spoke into her mic, and the men split up. Some took up positions outside the front of the building, some went to the back of the building, while others set up to the side of the lobby, out of the way. One remained with them.

"Let's go," Liliya said.

They took the elevator to the eightieth floor and met with the security hired for the party. One was carrying a tablet. Phil led them forward, and the men nodded to him and looked at Ben. They frowned at Ben's security personnel.

"We'll remain here," Evelyn said, and they moved to the other side of the vestibule.

The security men waved them through, and they entered the condo. They gave their overcoats to two ladies in uniforms and got chits for them. Liliya's outfit drew attention as the red leather and straps made a bold statement. Her following Ben seemed to be another statement, but Ben endured the questioning looks.

His eyes went to the enormous windows overlooking Central Park. This is why these units went for millions of dollars. Conversations lulled momentarily as nearby guests looked over to see the new arrivals. Ashley clung to his arm nervously.

"Oh my stars, what am I doing here?" she muttered.

He looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean? Why shouldn't you be here?" he asked.

Her lovely eyes locked on his face as she tried to absorb his comment. "These are famous celebrities who appear in movies and TV! I'm nobody—"

Ben pulled her close and looked her right in the eye to ensure he had her undivided attention.

"No! You're Ashley Beaumont, a beautiful mother of three lovely children and a brilliant student who will graduate at the top of her class. Most of all, you're a genuine person with a strong moral code and true empathy for others. You're the real deal. You know my celebrity status is completely ridiculous and meaningless. Being an actor doesn't make you more worthy of praise. It's just a job requiring particular skills. They play pretend for a living."

"Gee, thanks, Ben," Phil said as he'd overheard.

Ben smiled at him. "Phil, you've proven you're a great person with your project to help underprivileged people. I also found out you're quite the artist. Sorry if I'm less in awe of your other pursuits."

Phil sighed and nodded. "Fair enough."

"Hi, Phil! So glad you could join us tonight!"

Ben and Ashly turned to face the man who'd crossed the room to greet them.

"Oh, yes. Ramsey, thanks for inviting me. Please let me introduce you to my good friend and business partner, Ben Shepherd," Phil said. "Ben, this is Ramsey Shah, the host of tonight's party."

Ben shook the hand of the slightly plump gentleman dressed in the latest fashions and wearing a conspicuous amount of gold jewelry. His chunky watch alone must have weighed close to a pound.

"You have a beautiful home with a view that takes one's breath away," Ben said. The man smiled happily at the compliment.

"This is my good friend Ashley Beaumont and my Security Specialist, Liliya Sokolov."

The host gently squeezed their hands. "Your reputation for surrounding yourself with beautiful women precedes you."

Ashley smiled but moved a little closer to Ben.

The man paused and looked at Phil. "Did you say Ben is your business partner?"

"Yes, he's the Executive Producer for my latest film project," Phil said.

Ben shot a sharp look at Phil as he thought he'd have a lower profile than Executive Producer. He'd seen that title on film credits. Luckily, Ramsey missed Ben's reaction.

"Really? I thought that was picked up by one of the studios on the West Coast," Ramsey said in surprise. He was eyeing Ben with serious interest now.

"His project matched a particular interest of mine. I don't normally get involved with investments of this sort," Ben explained.

"Meaning with riffraff like actors," Phil teased, and Ashley giggled.

"Who are you calling riffraff?"

They turned to see a tall older man with a shock of white hair approaching with great dignity but a twinkle in his eye.

Ashley made a quiet little peep sound as she recognized the actor.

The gentleman recognized a fan when he saw one. He saw an opportunity to be introduced to their group and took it. "Delighted to meet you, my dear," he said, bowing over her hand. "Sir Ryan McKann, at your service."

"I'm Ashley Beaumont. You were incredible in Fortune's Passing! Such an emotive performance. You brought me to tears! You deserved an Oscar for that role!"

She surprised the senior by referring to an older picture he'd done. "Oh! You're one of the few who ever mention that film. I'm delighted you enjoyed it. Yes, I did deserve the Oscar," he said with a coy smile.

Ashley nodded, then came back to herself. "This is my friend and neighbor, Ben Shepherd, and his Security Specialist, Liliya Sokolov."

"Hello," the actor said with a smile. After a quick nod to the beautiful blonde, his attention locked on Ben with laser focus. "So, you're of the opinion that actors are riffraff?"

Ben smiled and shook his head. "Phil's words, not mine. I just don't put them on pedestals."

"It's true, though. Actors are a bunch of hooligans and ne're-do-wells."

"No!" Ashley immediately responded.

"Don't fall for it, Ashley," Phil chimed in. "He's just fishing for complements. They're what keeps actors acting. The attention."

"Bah. You've lost the romance of the craft!" McKann accused.

Ramsey was being flagged down by someone across the room and looked a little frustrated. He caught Ben's attention. "I would love to speak with you some more about your Executive Producer role. I must step away, but I will try to find you later, yes?"

Ben just nodded as he had no desire to discuss money tonight. The man rushed away.

"Couldn't I have remained a silent partner?" Ben asked Phil.

"Sorry, but your name has helped the production so much. One day I was going through the production notes, and I saw you'd been given that title, and from that day onward, the production has been smoother than expected. I don't have to fight to get permits, the unions are friendlier, and dealing with the city bureaucrats has become smoother," Phil explained.

Ryan was watching them with interest. "Money is the ultimate lubricant."

"Eww!" Phil said, then nodded. "But true."

"Good luck with your production," the older man said and patted Phil's shoulder as he moved on with a nod and a wink for Ashley, which delighted her.

Phil noted a group of his peers who'd been part of the recent superhero series of movies. They were clustered by one of the windows, drinking, chatting, and keeping Ben in the corner of their eye. When they saw Phil looking in their direction, their defacto leader smiled as if just noticing him and waved him over.

Phil nodded, then turned his face to Ben. "We're being summoned by the super group."

They began moving toward the window as Ben looked at Phil. "The what?"

Phil smiled. "They're currently the hottest ticket in Hollywood as they've all been part of a very successful movie series about superheroes."

"My girls probably know those movies," Ashley remarked mildly.

Phil's smile widened. Ben wasn't star-struck by anyone. Ashley's taste in movies didn't include this genre. He was going to enjoy this.

-=-

Ben and Liliya stood by the window watching Ashley holding court with three members of the super group in a cluster of chairs. Apparently, they found her genuine innocence delightful.

Liliya leaned closer to whisper in Ben's ear. "They spend their days within a brutally competitive and hostile environment. Ashley must feel like a breath of fresh air. I can hear the redhead trying out Ashley's speech patterns."

Ben smiled and nodded slightly. The other members of the group had drifted away when Ben didn't rise to their baiting him about his Hong Kong interlude or any of his other personally embarrassing events. They claimed it was all in good fun, but he was familiar with this form of bullying and ignored them.

They especially didn't enjoy being called out on their bad behavior by Ashley, who came to his defense with her charmingly sweet scolding as if they were naughty children. This quickly made the lead instigators head for juicier targets as Phil struggled not to laugh. Ben gave Ashley a kiss on the temple for her surprisingly bold behavior.

Sometime later, Phil returned from speaking with a director he'd worked with and smiled at Ben. "Ramsey hasn't come back to grill you on your finances, has he?"

"I gave Liliya orders to cut his Achilles tendons if he tries to chase us," Ben said quietly, so only the three of them would hear.

Phil chuckled, then saw Liliya was watching him without expression. A chill went down his spine then she smiled. Phil huffed at her teasing.

"What time do you want us to come by tomorrow?" Ben asked.

"The Community Center is open from nine onward, but we expect Renata and Sarena to be in at ten. If you want to show up shortly after that, you can meet them and watch the production. This segment is the last scene we're filming, so we'll be moving into post-production next."

"Sounds good," Ben said.

"We're still on for dinner tomorrow night?" Phil asked.

"Yes, will Eric be there?" Ben asked.

"Unfortunately, no. He's working with the post-production team at the moment. Getting that set up for us. He sends his regards, though," Phil explained.

Ben nodded to him. "I think we'll head back to the hotel then. Sounds like a busy day tomorrow."

Ashley must have heard him as she said her goodbyes to her audience and endured their cheek kisses before moving to his side.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Stars, yes! Such talkers!" she exclaimed softly.

Ben smiled, and his group said their goodbyes to Phil, who was staying a little longer.

Liliya guided them to get their coats, then out of the condo, where they spotted Evelyn with a knee on the back of one of the Supers, who was flat out on the carpet.

"Trouble, Sergeant?"

"Just a drunk who tried to touch inappropriately," she sighed.

Ben knelt down and looked at Liliya. "What was this one's name?"

"Charles, I believe," she responded.

He looked the man in the eye and scowled, which made his scar flare. "Chuck. Do you have children?"

The man blinked. "No."

"Do you plan on having any?" Ben asked.

Eyes looked up at Ben cautiously. "Yes?"

"Then hold very still until we leave or kiss that plan goodbye. Am I understood?"

"Yes," the man choked out.

Ben stood and nodded to Evelyn, who released Charles and joined them at the elevator.

It took a minute for the car to arrive, but the prone actor didn't budge under the careful watch of Liliya.

They rode down to the lobby, where they picked up the men waiting there. When they stepped outside, the vehicles rolled up to the curb as the security men from behind the building joined them, and everyone got into their SUVs.

It didn't take long for them to get to the hotel and their security detail left them in the lobby. The three security men guarding the doors of Ben and Evelyn's adjoining rooms and Liliya's room across the hall stepped outside and headed downstairs to join their team. They'd been there to assure the rooms had not been tampered with. Just the same, Evelyn did a sweep inside the three suites and reported them free of surveillance.

Liliya and Evelyn said their goodnights but waited for Ben and Ashley to enter their room and lock the door before entering theirs.

Ashley was looking pensively at the door when Ben looked back at her. "What's wrong?"

She looked at him, and her smile wobbled just a little. "At what point do you get used to all the intrusions into your life?" When she saw Ben's expression turn to worry, she moved to him and placed her hands on his chest. "I'm sorry. I wasn't complaining for my sake. I've only experienced a small portion of what you do. I'm concerned about how you're dealing with it.

Ben took her face between his hands and tenderly kissed her lips for being so sweet. Then he pulled back and smiled gently at her. "I haven't gotten used to it... yet. I'm told it might become second nature, but I'm not so sure. I don't know if there will ever be a time when it isn't required, but I hope so."

They got ready for bed, but once they were under the sheets, fatigue squashed any ideas of sex, and Ashley sighed happily as she cuddled up against Ben's broad chest.

They were both contently asleep in minutes.

Chapter 38

Ben held the door for the Community Center as the security team made a perimeter outside the building's grounds. There was a no firearm policy in effect, and Ben insisted they follow the rules of the Center.

With Liliya following and Evelyn leading, Ben and Ashley followed Phil's PA, who met them at the fence surrounding the property. She was a young woman in her early twenties, of East Indian descent, speaking rapidly and quietly into her headset microphone.

She glanced at Ben's group and placed her hand over the mic. "Would you like coffee, tea, breakfast?"

Ben and the ladies shook their heads, so the woman finished her order and hung up by tapping a button on the earpiece. She focused her smile on Ben. "The entire crew has been looking forward to meeting you!" she gushed to Ben as she guided them through the halls. "We weren't sure if you'd visit at all, as this is our last day of shooting."

Ben smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, I'd intended on visiting earlier, but there were... complications."

The woman's eyes widened as she looked back at Ben. "We heard you were stabbed by your bodyguard!" she said breathlessly. Then her eyes flicked to the disapproving glare on Liliya's face, and her expression changed to worry. "I'm sorry."

Ben sighed and shook his head with a pained expression. "Like everything in life, it's not that simple." He'd said all he was going to on that.

The young woman was quiet the rest of the way to the room, where they found the crew busy setting up for some shots of the two young women for this segment of the movie.

They spotted Phil standing next to the two women in front of the camera. He was speaking to them quietly, but Ben could tell something was wrong from the concerned expression on the man's face. Then the two women saw Ben, and they froze.

It wasn't fear or hero worship. They seemed to be slowly deflating before his eyes. Ben immediately walked around the camera set-up to join them. He looked to Phil with concern as well.

"Phil? What's wrong?" he asked gently.

"Hi, Ben. Nothing's wrong. I shouldn't have asked you to come to the set until the shoot was completed."

"I can leave—"

"No! No, it's okay. We can do the finishing shots later, maybe tomorrow."

The two women looked miserable now, and Ben moved closer. "Hey, it's okay."

When they refused to look at him, he glanced at Phil in confusion, but he just shrugged.

"Can you give us a moment, Phil?" Ben asked gently. The man glanced at him in surprise, then moved to walk around the cameras to speak with his PA and Ashley, who remained just inside the entrance to the room.

When Ben was alone with the two, he began by introducing himself. "Hi, I'm Ben Shepherd."

One of the ladies finally looked at him. She had very pale skin with short black hair in a tousled cut. Large blue eyes looked at him from a heart-shaped face. She held out her hand, and Ben noticed how slim her arm was. She only came up to his chest, and he saw the rest of her was as thin as her arm. He accepted the hand in his.

"Renata Novak. This is my partner, Serina Franklin." Her voice was quiet.

The second young woman flashed a look at Renata, then reluctantly turned to face Ben and held out her hand too. She was equally slim and roughly the same height as her partner, but there the similarities ended.

Serina was dark-skinned with long black braids currently tied back. She had expressive eyes which were presently trying to bore a hole through his head.

"I swear whatever you read about me in the media is, at best, distorted truth and, at worse, complete lies," Ben said as he shook Selina's hand.

"It's not the lies in the media that upset us," Renata said, and Serina shot her another warning look.

Ben glanced between the two women. "Can you tell me what it is?" he asked.

Serina huffed, then shot him a defiant look. "We're trying to make a difference with our little idea, and you show up with your money and your hot bitches hanging off your arms! So yeah, it's a little defeating!" she snapped.

Ben looked at her calmly and nodded. "Yeah, I suppose it could be seen that way, but let me show you something." He brought his cell out and did a search for an image. When he found it, he turned the screen to them. They both leaned forward to stare at the small silver chunk of metal.

"When I got out of school, I wanted to make a difference too, so I looked for a need, and I invented this to fulfill that need. It's not ground-breaking or exciting. It's just a small valve about the size of my thumb, but it resolved an issue. That felt good, so I looked for another need, then another. Small steps and never anything people could point to and say, wow, Ben Shepherd built that! For me, there was satisfaction in solving a puzzle that resolved someone else's problem, some crisis that prevented them from meeting their daily challenges. That's how I built my money. I don't drive a fancy car, live in a mansion, or, excuse me, have hot bitches hanging off my arms." He looked to his group and gestured for them to approach.

"Because I now do some work for the US Military, they've assigned me bodyguards. Not something I wanted or asked for, but it's become a necessity. This is Evelyn Killcade and Liliya Sokolov." The two lethal women nodded to the two silent ones.

Ben smiled at Ashley's friendly face. "This is my good friend and neighbor, Ashley Beaumont. I promised her a trip to New York to see the sights."

"It's so nice to meet you, ladies!" Ashley gushed with her sweet southern lilt as she shook their hands. "I understand you're going to be the stars of this part of the movie! We went to a party last night, and I was introduced to so many actors, and a group of them were from those superhero movies everyone seems to like so much! My stars, could they talk!" She stopped her rambling when Ben gave her hand a little squeeze. Renata and Serina both seemed a little dazed by Ashley's enthusiasm.

Serina looked at Ben in surprise. "She's the real deal?"

Ben smiled. "Ashley's one hundred percent genuine goodness."

Ashley's face flushed as she gently swatted his arm. "Stop it, Ben!"

He turned back to the two ladies. "Back to the point. What you've seen and heard in the media isn't who I am or what I've done to get where I am today. It always begins with a small step toward fulfilling a need. Then repeat. Not every step is successful, and sometimes you need to re-evaluate and change directions, but you never give up trying to meet a need."

They seemed to be absorbing that.

"I'd love to see what you two are doing!" he said, and they finally smiled and nodded.

Ben and Ashley nodded and moved back to Phil's side. He was thrilled and punched Ben's arm in his excitement. That got a raised eyebrow and a slight smile from Liliya as Phil's eyes flicked between her and Ben.

Phil moved to stand between the cameras, which were focused on the two ladies. Ben and Ashley watched as Phil spoke with them, taking them through their story of how they discovered their way out of the poverty trap. Their food collection service from a series of small neighborhood grocery stores fed local people who could barely afford to keep a roof over their heads. The ladies were also doing all the administrative duties and research for getting the grocery stores local and federal tax credits for donating the food and reducing what went into the landfill. A portion of the grocer's reduced cost for getting the food hauled away went to the ladies as salary. The grassroots solution was working for them.

Ben gave them a thumbs up from behind the camera, and they grinned at him happily.

"And cut! That's a wrap, people! Thank you very much!" Phil called out, and the crew gave a huge cheer.

Phil walked back and shook hands with Ben. "This project couldn't have happened without your support Ben. And I'm not just talking about the financial help, though that was deeply appreciated. Having so much creative freedom to do this story right has been an absolute joy!"

A tall, slim man with a shock of white hair on top and a thick black beard moved closer to Phil.

"Ben! This is Hank Winslow, our Chief Cinematographer. The genius behind capturing the best angles on the action," Phil said with a grin.

Nodding with a smile, Ben shook his hand. Then the man turned to Phil. "Speaking of angles, we need another shot. Our camera angles were too shallow to catch what Ben showed to Renata and Serina on his cell. We should get a close-up of Ben's hands holding his cell as it displays the photo."

Ben froze, and Phil looked at the cameraman. "What?" they asked simultaneously. Phil glanced at Ben, then back at his cinematographer. "You filmed Ben talking with Renata and Serina?"

The man looked back at them with a curious expression. "Well... yes. He was standing in the frame with the young women, speaking to them, really connecting with them. It was a beautiful scene."

"I don't want to be in the movie!" Ben insisted. Phil suddenly got a look in his eye, and Ben frowned at him. "No! It's not supposed to be about me!"

"It isn't! Hear me out!" Phil said, raising his hands, gesturing for Ben and Hank to get closer so he could speak softly. Ashley joined them, and Phil glanced at her with a smile and nodded. "We use the scene in the end credits as a surprise bonus. We tell no one about it, but word of mouth will spread like wildfire, and it may draw people to the movie who wouldn't normally see it!"

"Ashley was in the scene as well, wasn't she!" Ben asserted, and Hank nodded.

"Camera two caught your security as well," Hank said.

Ben shook his head. "I don't want my story to detract in any way from theirs," he growled.

"Ben, maybe this small amount of your story will make it possible for their story to reach more people," Ashley suggested. "You aren't divulging anything intimately personal, just the truth about your own path in life. This isn't something you're ashamed of, or you wouldn't have supported Phil's movie about others following a similar path." She smiled gently and placed a hand on his chest. "Think of this as a gift for them."

He looked troubled. "Are you sure you want your face up on the big screen? Up until now, you've been flying under the radar. This could make you a target for the media."

She gave him a sweet smile. "I'm not ashamed of my relationship with you, and I have nothing I'd share with them."

Ben huffed a breath, then looked at Evelyn and Liliya and gestured for them to come closer.

"They filmed us speaking with Renata and Serina. Just a short clip, but your faces are visible." Ben looked to Hank for confirmation and got a nod. "Do you have concerns about this being included in the film?"

Liliya snorted softly and shook her head. "The paparazzi already have many pictures of me with you. My undercover operative days are well and truly behind me."

Ben nodded slightly and looked into Evelyn's blue eyes. She seemed surprised to be asked. "I-I don't mind."

Finally, Ben turned his attention back to Phil. He held the man's eyes for a tense moment, then nodded. He lifted a finger to keep his focus. "Don't advertise it. Don't even hint about it to anyone."

Phil nodded and struggled to keep from grinning.

Hank gestured for Ben to move out in front of the cameras. "Okay, I need you back on the set for the missing shot. Hold up the phone as you held it before, with the image on the screen."

Ben sighed and stood where he was asked and held the phone out for the man to get his shot.

Moments later, Hank nodded to Phil.

"That's a wrap, Ben," Phil said quietly. He nodded to some people waiting at the side of the room, and they quickly began dismantling the set and packing up the equipment.

"I'm going to take what we got today to the studio. It was great meeting you, Ben."

"You as well," Ben said. "Though, it was a pretty sneaky move filming me without my knowledge."

Hank chuckled. "Learned that in guerilla documentary film making one-oh-one."

Phil's PA returned and grinned hopefully at Ben. "Would you have a moment to greet the crew? They're all in the gym downstairs having a little informal celebration."

Ben glanced at Phil, who smiled, so he nodded to the PA. They followed her to the stairs and down to the gymnasium where tables and chairs had been set up. Phil did the introductions to the crew, and Ben was amazed at how many people were part of a film production like this.

Then Phil began introducing the people who were actors portraying the people the film was about. They were all young unknown actors who were more starstruck to meet him.

The last group Ben was introduced to began with Renata and Serina, who grinned happily at Ben. Behind them were more young people who were pulling themselves out of poverty through their own efforts. Ben glanced at Phil, then took more time with them, learning their names and a little bit about them. They seemed to appreciate this.

Then began the photo session as everyone wanted their picture taken with Ben.

While this happy chaos was happening, Ben caught sight of someone he wasn't expecting. His smile widened, and he waved to the beauty standing just inside the doorway, speaking to someone. Was she wearing that lovely dark green dress he recalled from their date night in Cannes, France?

"Gabriella!" he called out over the noise.

The gorgeous brunette turned to fully face him, and Ben's expression froze as she smiled joyfully.

It wasn't his beautiful neighbor after all, but someone dressed and made up to match her.

"Lorraine?" Phil said to her as the woman crossed the distance to join them.

"Hello, Phil," the beautiful brunette said, taking his hand.

"Not that it isn't delightful to see you, but what are you doing here, and why do you look like this?" Phil asked.

"Before we play answering games, why don't you introduce me to your friend who can't keep his eyes off me," she purred.

"Ben Shepherd, meet Lorraine Tyler. Lorraine, Ben," Phil said stiffly.

Taking the woman's hand, Ben smiled awkwardly. "Hello. You do bear a strong resemblance to my neighbor Gabriella Wallace, and you've dressed like her, but the question remains, why?" He released her hand.

"And what are you doing here?" Phil repeated.

Lorraine pouted and looked at Phil. "Instead of grilling me, you should be congratulating me for landing the role of Gabriella Wallace in the Ben Shepherd movie with Dwayne Johnson."

"Ah. So you decided to play dress-up and crash the party to see Ben's reaction?" Phil said as he figured it out.

"And it was perfect! He thought I was her," she said smugly.

"Until you turned to face me. There are differences," Ben insisted but refrained from identifying the actor's less curvaceous anatomy.

"Did I see Gabriella arrive?"

Ben turned to see Ashley arrive to join them. Her smile became a curious look. He wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her gently to his side.

This move wasn't lost on Lorraine. "Another woman? Should I be jealous?" she said with a coy smile.

"Now you've spoiled the illusion completely," Ashley said with a sympathetic smile that wiped the smug from the actor's face.

"Who are you?" Lorraine asked in confusion.

Ashley looked to Ben in question, so he answered her silent question first. "This is Lorraine Tyler. She's playing Gabriella in the new movie about me." He looked at the actor. "This is Ashley Beaumont. My beautiful friend and neighbor."

Lorraine frowned slightly. "What would Gabriella say about this?"

"She'd say you need to research the woman you're portraying much better than this," Ashley said gently. "You may have some similarities in looks, but Gabriella's nature as the Goddess of Love is completely missing in your portrayal."

"Goddess of Love?" Lorraine asked weakly.

Ben nodded happily. "Gabriella understands the true nature of love." He nodded to Phil. "I think we'll be going. See you at the restaurant tonight?"

Phil's smile couldn't be wider as Lorraine's mouth moved in silent protest. "Yes, see you there."

Ben guided Ashley out of the Gym and waved to the cast and crew as they left.

Instead of going straight back to the hotel, Ben took Ashley shopping in some of the areas Gabriella brought him and Hannah. He managed to convince Ashley to allow him to buy her some clothes she liked.

She also picked up a new dress for their dinner engagement that night.

Liliya and Evelyn refused to try anything on.

Once Ashley was finished, they returned to the hotel and prepared for dinner.

Ben hoped Phil didn't plan any more surprises for him.

Chapter 39

Carmine Marino once read that revenge was a dish best served cold. But ever since he returned from visiting Sicily and discovered his extended family had been... erased, his need for revenge burned deep in his guts. He wasn't a Solerno, but he'd been a favorite nephew to Don Solerno and looked up to the man like a father.

His own old man was a nobody, a loser who managed a grocery store and was happy with his simple life. His mom had once been part of the Solernos, a third daughter, but she married into the Marinos and was content to be disowned by her birth family. They cut ties with her, but Carmine never found out why.

That she would turn her back on that in favor of life as a Marino pissed Carmine off royally. Since he was a young boy and learned of his mother's family, he'd wished he was a Solerno. They were rich and powerful! Respected by the other rich and powerful families.

Instead, he was the youngest of the five Marino kids and the only one to feel this discontent.

He'd worked hard to come to the notice of his uncle, and when the man finally learned who he was, he'd taken him under his wing. He saw a young man with potential!

As a present for his twentieth birthday, Don sent him to Sicily to meet with some people who'd teach him a thing or two about the business. While there, he met two other young men training to be soldiers in their family businesses.

Dante Vitale was a joker with a quick mind but a quicker temper. The Vitale family in New York were old school, and Dante had been sent to Sicily to learn some control.

Renzo Messina was a quiet brute with a cruel streak. Carmine thought he might be a psychopath and assumed his family in New York sent him away because they were scared of him.

They all returned when word reached them of the massacre of everyone of significance in the five families that ran the city's mob syndicate. The organization was destroyed, and the bit players were just scratching at the crumbs left over. There'd been a few plays for power, but the foundation was gone, and the other crime syndicates were dividing the spoils.

Carmine witnessed his future glory's death before it had become a reality. The riches and power that should have been his as he worked beside his uncle had been denied.

What nobody knew but him was the identity of the assassin who killed their families. He'd broken into the Solerno mansion and found a surveillance cam the Feds missed. He'd been the one who hid it on his last visit to the estate to capture video of whoever was fucking that hot bitch Don Solerno called his wife. He'd planted the cam at the request of the man himself.

The camera caught a few frames of a brunette beauty dressed in tight black leather entering the master bedroom to put a slug through the wife's head and heart before slipping away.

One of those frames was sharp enough for him to recognize the woman as one of the pet assassins he'd seen on TV following Ben Shepherd around. Why this guy sent her after the families was still unknown to him, but that didn't matter.

All that mattered was getting revenge.

He contacted a few friends he'd nurtured over the years in key locations. These people were his spy network. He put the word out that he needed information about Ben Shepherd if he showed his face in New York.

Months later, his contact at the airport notified him that the man had arrived with three blondes.

His contact in the entertainment biz said he was rubbing shoulders with actors at a party near the park, but he was surrounded by mercs.

Carmine finally got a break when he learned he was going to dinner at a place once owned by his uncle. He made a call and reserved a table within viewing distance of the target, a half hour earlier than them.

He went over a day early and stashed a bag of handguns in the ceiling of the men's room.

Then he called Dante and Renzo to invite them over to his place to discuss a matter of importance regarding the demise of their families.

When Dante arrived, he sneered at Carmine. "At least you can always fall back on your grocery stock boy skills."

"Hey, fuck you," Carmine said without heat, and Dante snickered.

Renzo arrived and looked at the two men. "What are you two losers whining about now?"

Dante held up his hands. "Not me! It's all sunshine and tits for me these days."

Carmine smiled wickedly. "Have a seat, boys. I have something to tell you."

He served them both a beer and opened one for himself.

Once they were all settled, he placed a large print of the leather-clad assassin on the table between them.

"We're here to discuss your leather fetish?" Dante snorted. Even Renzo smiled at that one.

"No. This is the bitch who killed our families."

Smiles disappeared.

Renzo's expression went dark. "Don't fuck with us about this."

"I'm not. At his request, I hid a camera in Don Solerno's bedroom. He asked me to catch his wife's lover. The Fed's never discovered the camera, but it caught a few frames of this bitch sneaking in to ice the woman. No other pictures exist of her in any of the homes she invaded. She's some kinda elite killer, and she removed all the security footage. But she missed this camera."

Dante's face was getting red. "Who is she?"

"She's one of the Russian assassins Ben Shepherd hired as bodyguards." He turned on his TV, and there was a still of Ben walking through a crowded airport with the brunette following him. A matching blonde assassin was on his other side.

"In the more recent pictures, the brunette isn't with him. I couldn't find out anything on why or where she is now," Carmine said with a scowl.

"Why tell us about the bitch if you don't know where she is?" Renzo snarled.

Carmine locked eyes with the man and saw the madness lurking there. He suppressed a shiver. "She's just the weapon. The real target is the man who ordered the killing. Ben Shepherd. I know where he'll be tonight."

Dante looked at Carmine in confusion. "Why would he have ordered the hit on our families? What connection does he have?"

"He's a recluse. He never speaks to the media and is super secretive about his life. Who knows what shit he's up to! Maybe you'd like to ask him while standing over him with a gun aimed at his ugly face."

Dante's smile returned, but it was cold now.

"He's got military support. How are we supposed to get close?" Renzo asked quietly.

"Because we have a reservation at the same restaurant he'll be dining at tonight. I hope you have a black suit and tie. It's a classy place."

Renzo nodded to himself. "Weapons?"

"Already in place. Stashed them in the ceiling of the washroom. Above the last toilet."

Renzo's smile was back as well, but it didn't make Carmine feel more at ease with him.

"How many will we be facing?" Dante asked.

Carmine nodded. "My contact at the airport said he arrived with three blondes. One is likely the other assassin. One will be the military bitch who follows him around. The third is likely just some bimbo to keep his dick warm—"

"She's mine," Renzo said.

Dante and Carmine looked at their third member with unease. "Whatever, man. Just as long as we ice the dangerous bitches first," Carmine insisted.

He was relieved when Renzo nodded. Then he looked at Dante. "Another of my contacts said he's been traveling with a squad of security goons, but they won't be inside the restaurant. The quicker we take out the two bitches, the greater the chance they won't notify the team outside."

Dante looked a little worried, but Renzo still seemed to be thinking about the woman he called dibs on. "Do we have an escape route?"

Carmine nodded. "There's a basement-to-basement tunnel in the building. We do the deed, get to the lowest level, the southwest corner, through the tunnel, and slip out of the building across the street. I confirmed it's still open."

Dante smiled as he was impressed by Carmine's planning.

Carmine slid a business card to each of them. "We do this, and we make a name for ourselves. Maybe we get back a piece of that future they stole from us."

Dante picked up the card and saw the restaurant's address on the back with the time.

"Reservations are under the name Don. Party of three for Don. Don't be late, dress classy, don't draw attention to yourself, and don't stare at the target!"

"Shit! We know how this works, Carmine!" Dante claimed.

"Just sayin', we get one chance at this to get revenge on the bastard for our families," Carmine insisted.

"Fuck! We got it!" Dante insisted as his temper flared.

Renzo just nodded. Then he stood, tucked the card into his shirt pocket, and held a hand out to Carmine. After a moment's hesitation, he shook it.

"You did good, Carmine. Thanks for this," Renzo said. Then he pulled a silenced gun from inside his jacket and put a bullet between Dante's shocked eyes.

Carmine stared in silence at the dead man slumped on his couch. He'd never seen a dead guy before. Then he looked back to see the silencer barrel aimed at his face. "Why?" he asked.

"My old man didn't say much to me. But he did say to never trust a Vitale," Renzo sighed.

"I-I'm not a Vitale," Carmine said with a trembling voice.

"No. You've proven smarter than them, but there's just one problem," Renzo said with a shrug.

"P-problem?" Carmine forced out as the gun seemed to grow in his eyes.

"You're not family."

A spike of anger pushed back some of the fear. "Uncle—"

Renzo laughed, but the gun never wavered. "He wasn't your family. I heard about it from my Nonno. He told me your mom left the family because her brother raped her. Your Uncle was a sick fuck! No one would believe her, not even her parents, because he was the eldest son. She left, and they shunned her. I don't suppose she ever told you." He smiled at the pain on Carmine's face. "No, I can see she didn't."

Carmine's mind was reeling from this. "Why did he take me in? I worked for him! He sent me to Sicily!"

"He did it to hurt your ma, idiot. He got from you what he wanted, planting the camera, then he sent you to Sicily to be quietly killed and buried in an unmarked grave so he could take you from her. I was the one given the order to do it. But you were such an eager puppy, and you seemed smarter than the others, so I bided my time. Now that waiting has paid off."

"Then I did you a favor! You can do one for me...." As he said the words, he realized it didn't matter. Renzo was going to kill him because that's what psychopaths did. The man's smile confirmed it.

It was strange that the last thoughts running through his mind were of his parents. His father, who put up with his shit and worked so hard to keep a smile on his mother's face through all those years. His mother, who carried the shame and pain of what her brother did. He felt the guilt for the pain he'd caused them and wished he could tell them he was sorr—

-=-

Renzo watched the life fade from Carmine's eyes as he slumped in his chair.

"You're not family. No favors."

He slipped gloves on and wiped down the surfaces he touched, which wasn't much.

He looked at the photo on the table and picked it up. So, this was the cunt who offed his family. He'd probably be pissed or feel something for their deaths if he had normal emotions. As it was, he studied the woman's features until he'd memorized them. If he saw her, he'd kill her for taking something that belonged to him. He folded the picture and stuffed it in his pocket.

He took Carmine's and Dante's wallets. Looking inside, he saw both were filled with cash. Fuck, yeah! He was going to buy a nice suit for his dinner tonight. He'd order a good meal with wine, as well.

He also took Dante's watch as it was better than his. Carmine's was a cheap knock-off, but he had a nice ring.

Now to sow some chaos.

Renzo lit some candles in the living room and then got the gas stove filling the kitchen with gas. He let himself out of the condo, took the elevator to the lobby, and casually walked outside, keeping his face turned from the camera as he had on the way in. Fucking surveillance was a nuisance.

He was halfway to the car he'd parked down the street when the muffled boom echoed off the nearby buildings. Glancing back, he saw a fireball rolling up the side of the building. He smiled to himself.

He loved this part. The anticipation before a kill. It was certainly helpful of Carmine to make all the preparations for him. He supposed the punk had his uses.

Smiling, Renzo drove away before the cops and firetrucks arrived.

He had shopping to do.

-=-

Phil smiled as Ben walked toward his table with Ashley on his arm. His eyes widened in appreciation of the woman's lovely dress, which showed off her shapely legs.

His eyes were distracted by the leer on the face of the man eating by himself at a booth against the wall four tables away. It was pretty clear that the man was undressing Ashley with his eyes and making no effort to disguise it. Phil cleared his disgusted expression before Ashley caught it.

"Good evening, Phil!" Ben said as he shook the man's hand.

"Good evening, Ben! Ashley, you look amazing in that pretty dress!" Phil said with a wide smile.

"Thank you very much. My, aren't you the gentleman!" she said as she smiled at him with rosy cheeks.

Liliya and Evelyn were directly behind Ben and Ashley. The Russian beauty smiled at Phil and nodded as she moved to the right side of the round table Phil had reserved. Evelyn stepped left to take a seat across from Liliya so they could cover the restaurant with their eyes. The Sergeant spared a moment to smile at Phil. Her eyes went to the empty sixth chair with a woman's sweater over the back. She looked to him.

"Ah, yes. We have another dinner companion," Phil said awkwardly, then looked at Ben. "I hope you don't mind, but Lorraine was quite insistent she be given the opportunity to apologize for the little theatrics back at the Community Center with her costume. She's just powdering her nose in the ladies' room."

"Ah! They're here! Phil, you didn't say they'd be early!" a woman's voice called out behind them.

Ben turned to see a sandy blonde-haired woman rushing toward them with a distressed look on her face.

"They're not early. They arrived on time. Some people believe being punctual is courteous," Phil responded in exasperation.

"Oh Phil, you're so old-fashioned!" she teased, and he rolled his eyes.

Lorraine turned to Ben and turned on the charm. "I'm so sorry I confused you earlier with my performance as Gabriella. I never meant to upset you."

Ben shook his head. "You didn't upset me. At first glance, you certainly did look like Gabriella."

"Let's sit so we can continue in comfort," Phil suggested. Ben nodded, and they took their seats. This forced Lorraine to leave Ben's side and move to the opposite side of the table. She flashed an annoyed pout at Phil, and once more, he silently thanked his younger self for having the wisdom to step back from their relationship.

The waiter arrived, and Phil knew Ben and his security people wouldn't be drinking. He looked at Ashley. "Will you be joining us for a glass of wine?"

"Oh! I think I could have one," she said with a grin.

"Don't be rude, Phil. The other ladies and Ben might enjoy some as well," Lorraine insisted.

Phil gritted his teeth and gave her a stern look. "Liliya and Evelyn are working. They don't drink when they work, and Ben doesn't drink. I'm not being rude."

Lorraine blinked in surprise. "Working?" She gasped and leaned closer to Phil. "They're working girls?"

"Geezus! No! They're his security detail!" Phil exclaimed in shock.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Lorraine gasped in embarrassment.

Ben looked uncomfortably at Evelyn, whose face was turning pink. After a brief glance at Lorraine, Liliya continued to scan the restaurant.

Phil quickly read the wine list and then looked at the waiter. "We'll take a bottle of—"

"Merlot!" Lorraine said with a snort.

"Funny, Lorraine." He looked at the waiter again. "A bottle of your house white, please, and a large bottle of still spring water."

When the waiter left, Lorraine made another attempt to win Ben over. "You mentioned Gabriella was the Goddess of Love. Could you elaborate?"

Ben locked eyes with the woman. "No."

Ashley looked at Ben with a smile, then turned to Lorraine, who looked like someone had popped her favorite balloon. "What Ben means is he won't help with the production of your movie in any way."

"Why not?" Lorraine asked.

Ben answered her. "It's not your story. It's not the movie studio's. It's mine. It belongs to the people I love and me. No one asked for permission to portray my loved ones or me, and if they had asked, I would have said no."

Lorraine looked confused and upset.

Ben shook his head and looked at Phil. "This is something that makes no sense to those who crave the attention. It's almost impossible to get them to empathize."

Phil nodded and looked at Lorraine as he thought for a moment. Then he put on a smile for the woman. "Hey, remember that Christmas party at the producer's mansion in ninety-two? Remember how you accepted those pills then went down on—"

"PHIL!" Lorraine shrieked.

He looked at her curiously. "What?"

"You can't tell that story!" she exclaimed angrily.

He tilted his head, gave her a puzzled look, and he held her eyes with his. "Why? It happened in a public place in front of several of my friends. It's not like it was private or personal. What harm is there in sharing it?"

Lorraine's eyes were widening as her mouth moved silently at first. Then her expression clouded with outrage. "It's embarrassing! It's also deeply personal and—"

"And now you know how Ben feels about having the intimate details of his life exposed to strangers," Phil said with a sad smile. "And maybe you know how I felt that night, too."

Lorraine jumped to her feet, and her chair fell over. The eyes of the other patrons turned in their direction. "You're a fucking bastard! I'm so glad I broke it off with you."

She stormed out of the restaurant, and Phil watched the solitary diner enjoying his view of Lorraine's body in full jiggle mode.

He looked back to Ben. "To be truthful, not that it really matters, I broke it off with her."

Ben smiled at him. "Sorry."

"It's fine. I'm sure she won't start a spiteful smear campaign on social media that I'll be defending myself against for the next five years." He sighed. "I didn't want to bring her tonight, but she's just so damn pushy. Maybe she'll stay out of my life permanently now."

-=-

Renzo watched the angry bitch's tits bounce in her tight dress and thought this was as much a sign to get moving as any. He'd enjoyed a glass of excellent wine and some of his delicious steak, but now it was time for the main course.

Dabbing his mouth with his napkin, he slid from the booth and made sure not to look at the target as Carmine insisted. The washrooms were off to the right, and he stepped inside as another patron was leaving. They exchanged polite nods, then he was alone in the room. Three toilet stalls, and the last one had a maintenance access door on the ceiling, as Carmine said it would. He stepped into the corner, climbed on the toilet seat, and opened the cover. Reaching inside, he felt the handles of a bag and dragged it out. He closed the maintenance cover and sat on the toilet seat. He unzipped the small gym bag, and half a dozen handguns were inside.

Renzo smiled again as he spotted two Desert Eagles, his favorite!

"Nicely done, Carmine," he muttered quietly.

He confirmed they were loaded, then opened his jacket and slid the other four guns into the holsters he'd put on before arriving at the restaurant. He added the extra clips to his jacket pockets as well. Standing in the stall, he looked down at himself, and the clean lines of his suit jacket were badly distorted by all the hardware underneath. He shrugged.

It didn't matter. It was time to kill.

He felt his mind slipping into an almost Zen-like state, where all the noises faded, and he was in total control of himself and his environment.

Leaving the bathroom, a quick glance showed no one was looking in his direction. Good.

Stepping around the corner, he came into view of the target's table. He knew the Russian bitch would be watching. She had to die first.

The Desert Eagle in his right hand boomed, and her surprised expression vanished in a red mist, splashing patrons three tables away.

His eyes shifted to the left to see the Army cunt moving, hand reaching for her weapon. The big gun in his left boomed, and she also lost her head. Her body dropped limply to the floor.

The target was known for his speed and was already on his feet, turning to face him with a look of shock and rage. Putting bullets through both knees negated him as a threat. He crashed to the floor.

Because Renzo didn't care for Phil DeMonte's movies, he also made a big hole through his chest.

As the target screamed in pain on the floor, his blonde bitch was on her knees, clinging to him. Renzo roughly pulled her up by her hair to stand next to him. She had nice tits and amazing legs, but this wasn't the time for that.

It was killing time.

Smiling at the big man begging at his feet, he blew a hole through the bitch and let her fall.

The look of horror on the man's face was the dessert Renzo's meal needed.

Now for the digestif.

Aiming both weapons at Ben Shepherd, he smiled.

"For the families," he said aloud as he squeezed the triggers to hear the thunder again.

Killing time.

He stepped from the toilet stall and saw the Russian slut standing inside the entrance of the men's room.

"No—"

Before he could lift his gun, she opened up with twin silenced guns already locked on him.

Renzo felt the first few bullets ripping through him, then he was on the floor, trying to suck air into his lungs as they filled with blood.

It wasn't supposed to happen this way.

She'd taken the big guns from his limp hands. That wasn't right.

Next, she opened his jacket, removed his extra weapons, and pulled the picture of her partner from his inner pocket. It was stained with his blood and had a bullet hole through it, but he saw she recognized who it was.

Fuck! He wanted so much to put a bullet through that pretty head of hers.

Her eyes locked onto his as she stood, stepped back, and lifted her weapon to point it at his forehead.

"Da. For the families," she said.

"N-no—"

-=-

Liliya spoke quietly into her mic and stepped over to the sink. She rinsed the blood from the photo, dried it with paper towels, folded it, and tucked it away in her pocket. Another death on Tatiana's hands and hers. She washed the blood traces from her face, hands, and leather.

Three commandos slipped into the men's room and glanced at her. She tipped her head toward the corpse, and they immediately moved to the body, collecting the weapons and ammo. Then the would-be killer went into a body bag.

The closing zipper was loud in the otherwise silent tiled room.

They quickly carried the bag from the washroom and into a service stairwell. Liliya followed them out but returned to the table. As she approached, she nodded to the Sergeant, who was on her way to notify the restaurant manager to close the men's room. Then she'd coordinate with the squad and the police who were on their way. She'd also get a cleaner team to deal with the mess in the men's room.

Ben looked to Liliya. "Something I should be concerned about?" he asked.

"No."

His eyes dipped to her cleavage. "Uh, you missed a spot."

She looked down and smiled at him as she dipped her napkin in her drinking water and dabbed the blood spot from her breast.

"Is-is that blood?" Phil asked in shock.

She smiled at him. "It's not mine."

"Did... did someone die?" he asked quietly.

Liliya nodded. "Better him than us, yes?"

Phil's eyes swung to the table where once sat a solitary diner, then back to Liliya, who nodded slightly once more as she held his eyes.

"How did you know?" Phil asked.

"I should give away all my secrets?" she asked with a teasing smile.

Phil held up his hands. "No! No, of course not, but this is a first for me. How-uh, how close did we come to being gunned down?"

"Since we arrived, he did not behave like the other diners. Then he made awkward efforts to avoid looking directly at us when Lorraine was yelling. I followed him to the restroom and saw he was preparing to kill. After I dealt with him, I discovered he was carrying six handguns and extra ammunition." She sighed wearily. Her accent came through with her disgust. "He was like bad action hero in stupid American movie with ridiculous big guns. Too big. They should call them Desert Emu, not Eagle."

Phil's shaky hand held his water glass as he wet his suddenly dry mouth. When she mentioned the weapons, he sprayed his drink onto the table and began to cough.

Liliya moved to pat his back, but he shook his head and raised a hand to indicate he was okay.

Evelyn returned and whispered in Ben's ear. His expression soured, but he nodded to her as she stepped back.

"I'm sorry, Phil. It looks like we'll have to take a raincheck on dinner tonight. I need to spend some time dealing with the local law authorities. They get a little belligerent when the US Army steps in to claim jurisdiction."

He looked at Ashley. "This wasn't how I wanted to end your visit to New York either." He paused a moment. "Maybe you'd like to stay with Phil to have dinner while I deal with this mess at the police station? We'll leave one of the cars with you, and they can drive you?"

Ashley looked at Phil, whose eyes lit up. "I'd welcome the company," he said hopefully. "Perhaps not this restaurant, though?"

She nodded her agreement with him about changing venues, then looked back at Ben. "You don't mind?"

He smiled at her. "I'd be happier knowing you got to have dinner with charming company instead of sitting in a police station."

Ashley's smile broadened. "Then yes, I'll stay with Phil."

Ben kissed her on the temple, waved at Phil, then followed Evelyn out.

Liliya stood next to the table and smiled at the two of them. "Enjoy your dinner, and I'll see you tomorrow morning at breakfast, Ashley."

She paused with a sly smile. "Or will I?"

Ashley's face turned pink, and her eyes widened in surprise as Liliya walked away with a grin and an extra spring in her step.

She'd protected Ben tonight.

She'd begun to repay his generosity, and that felt so good!

Chapter 40

Ben was happy to be home as the previous night had been long. The New York City Police Commissioner was particularly salty about his use of a paramilitary commando team for security within Manhattan and was particularly annoyed he could do nothing about Liliya gunning down one of his citizens in a restaurant within the same. The Sergeant explained she was permitted to conceal and carry anywhere within the United States and was immune from prosecution when fulfilling her duties as a special agent of the United States Army.

The man looked like he might pop a blood vessel in his forehead until Ben suggested he accept credit for taking a dangerous killer off the streets of his city. Ben and his team had no desire to make this claim. The hitman was carrying enough firepower to kill every guest at the restaurant, a likely outcome had he not been pre-emptively dealt with. He suggested the commissioner could spin it any way he wished as long as Ben's name was not mentioned. This would increase his ability to make the story accepted.

After he left the police station, he and Evelyn spoke with the commando team and filled them in on the Police Commissioner taking credit for the capture of the mad gunman. They snorted in amusement but knew the score and had no issue remaining invisible.

Ben relaxed back against the cushions of his favorite chair and recalled how late it had been when Ashley returned to their room.

She'd had a wonderful time with Phil when it was just the two of them. They'd gone to a small restaurant in his neighborhood for an intimate dinner for two. They ate good food and talked for hours, finally closing the place down. Ashley confessed to Ben that she'd boldly hugged him before she got in the truck for her drive back to the hotel.

Ashley had looked so conflicted when she sat on the edge of the bed. He'd just smiled at her and reminded her of Gabriella's lesson on love. It didn't change his feelings for Ashley that she was also attracted to Phil. Ben told her that he liked Phil and thought he was a great person deserving of love and affection.

She shook her head with an embarrassed smile. She explained that she didn't feel that way about Phil. She liked him very much, but she wasn't looking for a boyfriend as her life was so full, with her family and her studies. Ben was everything she needed at the moment. She'd let Phil know this, too, gently.

Ashley confessed that during the evening, she'd pretended she was on a date with Phil, trying to assess what it might feel like to be in Ben's position with more than one love interest. She smiled at him with wide eyes and a tremulous smile as she saw the relationship from his side, and it took her breath away.

It was also seriously conflicting with her faith. He suggested she might wish to expand the definition of love they referenced in the book, but it was up to her.

Ben chuckled as he recalled how affectionate she'd been before he convinced her they had to get some sleep for the flight home.

She'd been a little dreamy-eyed at breakfast this morning, much to Liliya's amusement.

Phil had surprised them at the airport, where he gave Ashley a small bouquet of flowers, his cell number written on an attached card, and a promise to visit when his schedule permitted. Ashley's grin and her blush were wonderful to behold. When Ashley kissed his cheek, the surprised look on Phil's face made Ben chuckle. He'd given the man a hug once Ashley skipped away to board their plane.

Ben knew the paparazzi were catching the entire interplay, and he wondered what they'd make of it. He hoped it didn't affect Ashley too badly, but he wasn't worried about Phil.

Liliya and Rose would enjoy dinner with Ben and his family tonight.

When they arrived, Ben noticed they were ten minutes early.

"Rose has been so excited about dinner tonight!" Liliya said with Rose sitting on her hip.

Ben leaned in and kissed the young girl's cheek. Then Rose pulled Ben's and Liliya's faces together, and he gave the mother a sweet kiss. Liliya's eyes were twinkling happily as she looked up into Ben's. Her face reddened, so she looked at her daughter.

"You are such a tease, Rose!"

The girl burst into laughter, putting another smile on the mother's face.

The doorbell rang again, and Ben managed to get to it before Tina. He grinned back at her and opened the door to see Chanel standing there.

The woman leaped forward to hug him and planted kisses on both cheeks.

Surprised, Ben moved inside, and she came with him.

"What was that for?" he asked with a smile.

"Your contacting Barry Walker for me has locked down the case for us! The man was very suspicious of his neighbor. He said he met Marion once and something about the man set his nerves off. He kept meticulous records of the comings and goings, dates and times, with photos! He didn't have their names, but he wrote down the license plates of the car service they used to get to the house and leave. I subpoenaed the company for the names and addresses of those customers. Barry said his wife was very upset with him for doing all this, but it kept him occupied, so she left him alone.

He put all this information into a photo album. He's been holding onto it for years and almost threw it away when he moved to Florida, but the album somehow made it into a box he took with him. He was so excited that someone wanted the information. I had it shipped by expedited courier to the station, and we've matched the faces in Barry Walker's album to the nine of the twelve home investors. This proves they were there. The others had no public presence for us to compare the photos against, so we'll match their faces to names when the limousine company records come in.

Most importantly, we have Marion Spencer. He was in most of the photos. He ran the club. He was the one who greeted all his guests. And Barry caught it with his camera."

"Congratulations on solving the case! I'm sure Shelly will be relieved to know the offenders will be charged—" He stopped when he saw Chanel's smile weaken.

She shook her head. "I spoke with my captain. He said we don't have enough physical evidence to link these people to the crimes. He's not willing to go to court with just the photographic evidence your neighbor provided. The DNA evidence found in the cellar was badly degraded. So, the only one who will be charged with the deaths will be Marion Spencer. But as the monster said, he will not see the inside of a courtroom. He will take the easy way out and refuse further dialysis treatments. The case is closed, and we will be able to put the poor souls we found in the cellar to rest. The families have been notified."

Ben scowled. "The others just get to walk away completely untouched?"

Chanel nodded. "One of them is a judge. My captain was very explicit that we would not be taking the case any further. They have their scapegoat; they want the case to be over." She looked like she had a bad taste in her mouth.

Her eyes lifted to lock onto Ben's. "I'm ready to accept your offer. I am done with law enforcement when it will not hold the guilty accountable for their crimes. There is a sickness, a corruption that has weakened the moral integrity of our institutions of law. I cannot be a part of it any longer. I will close off my cases as ordered and give my notice."

Ben nodded. "I'm sorry for the circumstances that led you to this decision, but I'm grateful you made it. The job is yours. I'll contact Walter to let him know and to get the ball rolling." He paused for a moment. "May I assume you received this cease-and-desist order from your captain in writing?"

She nodded and smiled grimly. "I have a copy to protect myself." She sighed and shook her head sadly at the need for such things.

"Thank you, Ben. Now I must go home and prepare for Catherine's arrival. I will tell her the news tonight. I know she's been hoping I would take the job. This should make her happy."

Ben smiled. "I hope you can find some joy in it as well. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make it work better for you."

"Thank you. Good night," she said, and she nodded to the group as she stepped outside.

Liliya set Rose down on her feet, and the girl rushed into the living room with Christopher. Tina picked up that Ben needed to speak with Liliya, so she and Lucy carried the kids into the room to give them a moment to talk.

"I could deal with these people, much like Tatiana did to the crime families—"

"Thank you, no. I won't use you like a weapon as the Colonel did. That life is over," Ben insisted firmly.

Liliya nodded with a slight smile on her lips. "But you won't let them get away with this."

Ben shook his head and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a number and waited as it rang.

"Ben! How are you?" Walter answered.

"I'm doing well. You?" he asked.

"Very well. We're getting really busy with the approaching opening date," Walter said with a smile in his voice.

"Great! Listen, two things, and the first is easy. Chanel Babineaux is leaving the police force and has accepted my offer to be the Head of Security for the Shepherd's Foundation. Can you get the ball rolling on that?"

"That's good news! Certainly!" Walter said happily.

"Secondly, I have a hypothetical question of legality," Ben started.

"Oh-oh. Okay, let me have it," Walter said cautiously.

"There was some documentation you asked Grace to create for you regarding previous owners of Fourteen Ashburn Court. A forensic accounting search for names of the previous owners."

"Yes," Walter acknowledged hesitantly.

"This information went to the police for their investigation. Do you still have it, and are there any legal ramifications for me to request it?" Ben asked.

"Well... you paid for the work, and I haven't yet received a court order to seal the documents, so no. There are no legal ramifications if you request it," Walter said.

"Send me all the documentation you have available on the previous owners, please, as soon as possible," Ben insisted.

"As your lawyer, I should mention I recognize the name of a prominent judge in that list. What actions you take once you have the list may have legal ramifications," Walter cautioned.

"I wouldn't dream of doing anything with this information, but I want it. Soon."

Walter hesitated, then sighed. "I'll send you the files within the hour."

"Thanks, Walter! Have a good night!" Ben hung up.

"What are you going to do with this information?" Liliya asked.

"I don't know... yet," Ben said quietly. "But they have to face the consequences for their actions."

Liliya nodded. This could wait.

Ben put a smile on his face, walked to the living room entrance, and rubbed his hands together vigorously. "Did someone say something about dinner?"

Christopher and Rose cheered as Tina and Lucy smiled back at him.

Time for family now. Vengeance would come later.

-=-

Sergey Zhdankov stood before the grim faces of his senior chiefs.

"We were led to believe you would be able to deal with this issue with the engineer quickly and quietly. But you have not done this. Instead, you have cost us four assets, and the engineer continues to work for the US military," Senior Chief Herescu noted.

"His protection was comprised of two of the finest operatives the late Colonel Vasiliev ever created, Liliya Sokolov and Tatiana Pushkin. That said, Tatiana has left his employ after attempting to kill him herself. I can only assume that Liliya prevented her from accomplishing her goal. She's the only one who could have."

"Where is Pushkin now?"

"She has gone to ground. Vanished without a trace. This is another skill Vasiliev taught her. However, I expect her to return to the only home she knows. Here," Sergey said calmly.

That created a stir amongst the gathered chiefs. "Should we not increase our alert status?"

"She is not a threat to us. We give her life meaning. She now knows she cannot live in the civilian world. Vasiliev made sure of this. She needs us. We should remain vigilant for threats, but she will come willingly to us when she can do so safely," Sergey said confidently.

"In the meantime, there has been some activity in the FBI which leads us to believe they may be about to eliminate a useful weapon from our arsenal. Before we lose the opportunity, I am recommending we call upon their little domestic terrorist cell to do our bidding once more. This will cost us nothing and may eliminate the engineer," Sergey suggested.

"Are there no higher priority targets we could utilize them for?" Chief Bolonov suggested, sending a scornful look Sergey's way. The man was not a fan of Vasiliev, and this disdain included his replacement.

"You have only a short time to decide," Sergey offered as he looked around. None of the others had targets they were ready to act upon, so they remained silent.

Bolonov wasn't finished. "The engineer is still protected by what must be the best of Vasiliev's killers. What good will sending some amateurs after him?"

Sergey was ready for this. "Definitely, she is the best. But even she cannot defend against thirty soldiers."

"Thirty?" Herescu gasped. "How is this being subtle?"

Sergey nodded. "Because they have no affiliation to Russia? There is no link back to us for this attack. None of our resources will be involved. It was unfortunate we lost one on the first attempt, but we learned of the effectiveness of his security team in that encounter."

The group conferred as Sergey waited. They finally faced him once more.

"As you've said, this uses a resource we will soon have no access to, so there is little harm in expending it now. If you can assure us there will be no way to tie it back to activity from us, you may proceed," Herescu asserted.

"Thank you," Sergey said.

With a final look at Bolonov, Sergey saluted his senior officers and left the room. He had an operative to give some exciting news to. They were going to launch their American puppets into an act of domestic terror against a quiet little American suburb.

Chapter 41

Ben enjoyed quiet time at home working on a few projects the General sent his way. He parked the battery project until Evelyn could find another facility willing to let them set up a lab in it. None of Davis' projects involved weapons, so Ben felt a little more comfortable with the work.

He'd spent two weeks prototyping solutions and resolved some weight issues with their backpack contents with a new tubular design for an interior skeleton mesh. This shaved eight pounds from the typical kit and increased its durability.

The design he came up with for the honeycomb mesh metal tubing had some interesting secondary properties, which Ben thought might have application in body armor, so he and Evelyn took on a second project from the General to create a more lightweight armor plating worn by soldiers.

Using the same tech he came up with for the backpack's skeleton tubing, Ben designed a honeycomb mesh tubing that transferred impact energy laterally very effectively and efficiently, in his testbench software at least.

Ben filed a patent on the design with a homeland security rider to maintain its secrecy. Then he started experimenting with making modular armor panels comprised of layers of these honeycomb mesh tubes. For testing the panels, Evelyn hired out a local firing range for a twenty-four-hour period and brought in a few members of General Davis' secret squad who were in town and crashing at the Spa. The rest remained behind, enjoying the amenities.

Fisher, Stim, and Dunno showed up at the firing range loaded with a range of weapons for testing the plates. They brought weapons they most often encountered in the hands of their enemies and a variety of ammo for each.

The gun range owner, Murray Hamilton, was allowed to remain after he signed a non-disclosure agreement. His insurance plan actually made his presence in the building a requirement. He wouldn't be joining them on the range as what they were testing was classified.

All security cameras for the establishment were deactivated, and Evelyn set up her own cameras to record the test results.

When Ben walked into the building with Liliya, Murray's eyes almost fell out of his head. "Hey! You're that fella on TV! You killed those white slavers and rescued the girls! You also had those naked statues made of you!"

The commandos were all struggling to keep from laughing at Ben's weary expression.

Liliya kept her expression neutral, though her hand slipped closer to her blades.

"I didn't ask for them to be made," Ben said, then shook his head in frustration to indicate he was done talking about that. "We're here to shoot guns, yes?"

Liliya stationed herself within view of the building's entrance and the door to the gun range. Ben walked into the large chamber and saw Evelyn finishing her preparations in the center shooting booth. He looked to his right, down the lanes, as he approached her and saw a series of mannequins wearing the test armor. Each dummy was wearing a new test plate. Each had a different configuration of the inner layers.

Then Ben got a closer look at the dummies. They weren't your basic retail store mannequin. He looked to Evelyn in confusion. "What's up with the targets?"

She grinned. "General Davis had them sent here for us to use for the test. They have ballistic gel torsos with interior skeletons to mirror the damage a human torso would receive."

Ben stopped to look at them again. "But... not real skeletons, right?"

Evelyn's smile dimmed as she looked at him and then turned to look at the dummies. "No...."

Fisher broke the uncomfortable pause when he and his men arrived with the weapons they'd be using.

"Sweet targets!" Stim said appreciatively. "Are those plates they're wearing the new armor?"

Evelyn's smile returned immediately. "Yes! The leftmost target is Larry. He's wearing Configuration One plating, three parallel but offset layers. In the middle is Curly, wearing Configuration Two plating, three layers with outer and inner set ninety degrees offset and the middle at forty-five degrees offset to the outer. Finally, we have Moe wearing Configuration Three, which is three layers with a sixty-degree offset."

The three commandos stared at her. Dunno was the one to voice their question. "What material is each layer comprised of that gives it directionality? Some kind of carbon fiber?"

Ben smiled and reached into his jacket to hand each of them a metal straw. They held the eight-inch tubes and noticed how light they felt. It was Stim who tried to blow through his and discovered it was hollow. "Hey! This is a straw!"

Chuckling, Ben nodded. "Try blowing gradually harder through it, and tell me if you notice anything."

Stim did as requested and frowned. "Uh, I think it's getting harder to blow the more force I use," he said.

"Stim's gonna be so popular now that he's learned a new blowing technique!" Donno teased.

"Hey, fuck you!" Stim returned. He turned to look at Ben. "If you were drinking soda with one of these, the harder you sucked, the slower it would come?"

Donno was in stitches, laughing at Stim. "Do you even hear yourself?"

Evelyn's eyes widened as she realized where the inner design came from. The valves Ben designed for the oil refinery! He saw her expression and nodded slightly.

Ignoring his men, Fisher was frowning. "So, the plates are just layers of straws?"

Ben nodded with a small smile. "Basically."

Fisher's eyebrows went up. "Not sure what you think that'll do against a bullet, but let's do it."

He looked at the dummies. "We're only going to get to do three tests?"

Evelyn shook her head. "Between tests, I can swap out the plates with new ones." She gestured to the large crate in the next booth.

Stim smiled. "Excellent!"

The first weapon they brought out was an AK-47. "We see too many of these," Fisher said grimly.

He stepped into the booth and loaded the weapon. "Standard ammo," he called out, and everyone put on their ear protection and goggles. Fisher put a single round into the chest plate of all three dummies. He unloaded the weapon and nodded to Evelyn, who grabbed three more plates and rushed downrange to swap them out on the dummies. She returned with the impacted plates. They gathered around as she showed the struck armor.

"Configuration One. No penetration through the plate, but we have separation. This one might allow for subsequent bullets to penetrate." She handed the plate to Fisher, who stared at the jagged, twisted metal hole in surprise. The bullet fragments seemed to be embedded and shredded inside the hole! He handed it off to Stim.

"Configuration Two. No penetration through the plate. No separation, but the impact placement was over the forty-five-degree layer. We should see if we can hit this other side."

This one was handed to Fisher as well. He went to poke his finger in the bullet hole.

"Careful. Those edges will be extremely sharp!" Ben cautioned. The team CO nodded and handed it along. Ignoring the warning, Stim touched the hole's edge and knicked his finger.

Evelyn moved on to the last test plate. "Configuration Three. No penetration through the plate. No separation. Best result of the three."

Once the commandos got to see all three, they moved on to the second round of shooting. This time Stim got to put three bullets into each plate.

Evelyn swapped them out again and returned with the impacted plates.

Configuration One failed. "We have penetration."

"That's a failure. No more tests with that one," Ben said.

"What's the damage to the torso look like?" Fisher asked.

"The bullet shrapnel is embedded two to three inches deep," Evelyn explained.

The commandos nodded as she envisioned the damage that might do.

Configuration Two had much better success, but Three was performing exceptionally well.

"Why three layers and not four?" Fisher asked.

"My goal is to make it much lighter and less bulky than the existing plate armor." He looked to Evelyn. "Did you bring the four-layer plates?"

She nodded. "Some."

"Let's continue testing with the three-layer plates," Ben suggested.

Dunno got his chance to fire at the dummies, then they switched weapons and ammo. They were now up to eight rounds into each plate. Configuration Two failed at six impacts, but Configuration Three continued to defy the bullets. No penetration.

Evelyn was documenting their results and was very pleased so far.

Ben contained his enthusiasm as it wasn't as much of an improvement as he'd hoped.

"Now we break out the big guns, and I don't mean figuratively," Fisher said.

Ben watched him set up a rifle. "We're going to use armor-piercing rounds," the CO said with a grin.

Once he was ready, they watched him put two rounds into the plate on all three dummies. Larry was now wearing Configuration Two plates, and Curly had Configuration Three plates. Evelyn didn't say what Moe was set up with.

When she brought the plates back for inspection, she had the widest grin.

"The Configuration Two plate shows penetration on each shot. The Configuration Three plate also shows penetration but only on the second shot," she gushed.

Fisher saw her holding back the plate from Moe. "What about that one?"

Her smile went up a notch. "This is Configuration Four. Four layers with a forty-five-degree offset. No penetration on either shot." She handed the damaged plate to Fisher.

He stared at the two spent bullets buried in a tangled mess of shredded metal. Stim and Dunno were staring at the plate closely. "Can I see an undamaged four-layer plate?" the commander said as he handed the damaged one to Dunno.

He hefted the fresh plate, evaluating the weight. He looked at Ben. "This is a little lighter than existing level four armor, which is only certified to stop one round. Yours blocked two." He looked at Moe and saw it was ready for the next test. "Is Moe still loaded with Configuration Four?"

She nodded.

"Can you put Fours on the other two?" he asked.

Evelyn nodded and rushed away with two more plates.

When she returned, all three dummies were sporting the new four-layer armor.

"Stim, put five rounds into those plates."

"Yes, boss!" the man said with enthusiasm.

Stim was an excellent shot and did his best to make neat clusters on the plates. When Evelyn brought them back for inspection, the soldiers were seriously impressed. Two of the armor pieces showed no penetration, though their surfaces were tangled messes of shredded and embedded metal. The third showed one of five rounds had punched through, but only because it overlapped a previous impact point.

"Shit, man! This stuff is going to redefine the armor-piercing classification!" Stim muttered.

Ben smiled and looked at Evelyn. "I think we can wrap things up tonight. Please let Captain Kendricks know I have a new design I need him to run through his test cycle."

"I thought we were doing the test cycle," Dunno said in confusion.

Ben nodded. "Yes, but it was just to prove the design worked as my benchmark software said it would. Now I send it to the captain to feed through the Army's more rigorous testing process. They'll assign the certifications."

"Can we load up a vest with these four-layer plates to see how much it might weigh in combat?" Fisher asked.

"They aren't properly sized to get an accurate assessment. Once approved, they'll be shaped to fit the existing pockets in the vest," Ben explained.

"Wait! These are straws! Can they be curved?" Stim asked suddenly.

Ben grinned. "Yes, they can."

Stim turned to his commander. "This opens up all kinds of possibilities for armor configuration!" Stim suggested. "Four layers for the torso, Configuration Three armor for arms and legs. Lightweight and highly bullet resistant."

Fisher was nodding to himself as he was thinking along the same lines. He looked to Ben. "I hope the Captain's team doesn't take too long to get this to deployment. I'd feel a lot better sending my team out knowing they were protected this well."

Ben nodded. "Kendricks is a good man. He understands the necessity of expediency, but no product is released until it's proven not to have serious flaws." Ben frowned as he examined the rough outer surface of the impact sites on a plate. "Maybe a rubber coating to absorb or contain the displaced energy?"

"Walking around looking like a jumping cholla cactus is better than not being able to walk," Dunno suggested. That got nods from his teammates.

Ben turned his head to look toward Larry, Curly, and Moe. "How did those skeletons do? Any visible signs of damage from the kinetic energy transfer?" he asked Evelyn.

"They're all showing broken bones, but they just took five armor-piercing rounds to the chest. To walk away from that with a few broken bones would be an achievement," she suggested.

"One got through," Ben reminded her.

The three commandos stared at Ben in surprise.

"You don't give someone time to put five rounds into you!" Stim exclaimed.

Ben raised his hands in surrender. "Okay. Let's clean up. Unless you wanted to do another test?"

Fisher looked at him with a grin. "I have some spent uranium rounds. They punch through almost anything. Seeing how your plates shred the bullets, it's probably best not to use them here. Clean-up is a bitch."

Ben nodded, and they got to work tearing down their test site.

It had been a good night.

-=-

Murray ensured the door to his office was locked again and looked through the peephole to ensure the Ruskie wasn't outside listening in.

He couldn't believe his luck. A week after he received the activation orders as a supplier, the prime target waltzes into his establishment!

When he found the email in his inbox, his heart had leaped into his throat, but after reading the damning message, he was trembling with righteous anger. To know this man, living on American soil, was conspiring with the commies to send advanced weaponry to the Kremlin was more than he could stomach. How could the government be so blind? He openly had Russian double agents acting as his bodyguards! One of them just returned to Mother Russia with secret plans stolen from the Pentagon!

The blonde traitor to her uniform may have turned off the interior cameras, but he still had a peephole from his office, which let him see into the gun range. He'd witnessed everything! Another secret would be going to the Commie bastards if he didn't get the word out.

He was in a privileged position as his shop was an armory for the local militia. This gave him a number he could call to reach a contact who had the means to get to everyone who'd been activated for this mission. Not one of the leaders, but a field commander with the ability to pass the word.

On the third ring, the line connected. "Loyal to the flag," a voice said tersely.

"Honored to serve our country," Murray said in response.

"Report," the voice commanded.

"The fella, the prime target identified in the activation message, he's here at my place of business. Tonight, of all nights! He has the Ruskie bitch with him and some people who aren't wearing US military uniforms. Hard-eyed sonsabitches too! He's testing some new personal armor. It looks like it might be a game-changer. We can't let this shit get to the Ruskies too!"

"Shit! I'll notify the others. Thanks!" The line went dead.

Murray sat back and pondered what actions he'd just put under way. Hopefully, it wouldn't get back to him. He'd lose the burner, just in case.

Once these traitorous customers left, he had to open up the cellar where he kept the special ammo stockpile to supply special patriotic missions.

Tonight, he was expecting more visitors. A lot more.

-=-

As Ben and the special forces men loaded the test weapons and targets into their trucks, Ben got a closer look at Moe and its battered internal skeleton.

"Shit! It looks like it was run over by my truck!" he lamented.

Fisher snorted. "That many hits of armor-piercing rounds wouldn't look like a love tap."

Ben nodded begrudgingly.

The man moved closer. "We heard the Marines were able to do some special night training from your tower."

Ben caught the scowl Evelyn immediately flashed at Fisher and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Her eyes moved to his, and her expression became defensive. "The General's standing order is to leave your home out of the assets we have access to."

"I already said it was okay. We tested it for noise, and there was no discernable noise within the interior bedrooms. I'm fine with it as long as it happens between midnight and six in the morning and you're willing to give me a signed agreement that any damages to my property from this usage would be repaired to my satisfaction and a waiver from you accepting responsibility for all risks from the activities performed from my property."

"We're agreeable to those terms," Fisher said, ignoring the barbs from the sergeant's eyes.

Ben looked around at the significant snow covering... everything. December this year wasn't as cold as it typically was, but they'd still received abundant snow.

"Are you sure you want to be doing this in these conditions?" Ben asked.

All three commandos grinned at him. "This is perfect!" Stim said.

Ben shrugged. "When we get back, I'll show you where to make your connections on the tower. I'm sure the sergeant will assist you in identifying the best termination point within the forest," Ben said, fixing his own stern look on her. She huffed but finally nodded.

The drive home was quick, and Liliya picked up Rose from Ben's place to walk her home. Stim and Dunno rushed into the Spa to tell the others they had special permission to run zip-line drills from Ben's tower. That got everyone hustling to get on their winter combat gear. Evelyn went with them but wasn't smiling about it.

Ben grabbed a couple of shovels, got his tools and a towel for the glass panels, then took Fisher up to the deck. They shoveled the roof clear then Ben undid the panels. They stored them safely off to the side.

"There is a mounting point under the table at the center of the deck. It connects to the frame of the tower. If you have any vibration dampening mechanism—"

Fisher smiled. "We got the set-up from the Marines, so we have the same equipment, and it'll work the same way."

"Oh! Okay then. The waivers?" Ben said, and Fisher was prepared for that as well. He pulled them from an inner pocket and handed them over.

Ben smiled. "The Marines prepared you well."

"Thanks for running interference with the Sergeant," Fisher said.

Ben nodded. "Evelyn, and the General, for that matter, are just looking out for my best interests though they can both get a little overzealous about it." Ben thought about that. "Which is definitely preferable to the opposite."

Fisher nodded.

"I'll set up your access to the back door of the tower between midnight and six in the morning. The code will be 38473.

"Got it, thanks! Have a good night!"

Ben waved as he headed for the stairs. "You as well. Be careful up here. It's slippery." That got a nod.

Once Ben programmed the lock on the back door, he went into the house and gave kisses to his family.

"How did it go tonight?" Tina asked with a sweet smile.

"Really well! I think this armor will make a big difference!" he said with a smile and got hugs from Tina and Lucy.

This was the best reward of all.

-=-

Agent Montrose was cursing her luck. And the bastards upstairs who decided to reassign her from Organized Crime to the Anti-Terrorist division.

The assignment of tracking the movements of the domestic terrorist group America's Answer was frustrating, but discovering their first active campaign was actually targeting Ben Shepherd was too much of a coincidence for her. She'd made discreet inquiries and received confirmation that her previous interaction with the man was why she was chosen to head this team.

She hadn't shirked her duties, though. Her keen intellect, laser focus, and excellent management of her team's resources meant she'd made tremendous headway in identifying and tracking its members and was preparing to tighten the noose on the organization.

That's when she intercepted the activation message for their next campaign, once again directed at Mr. Shepherd. The thing was, the order hadn't come from the terrorist cell's leader, retired US Army Colonel Lindsay Brackett. His vocal disapproval of how the last few presidents managed their military assets had led to him being asked to quietly step down.

Since then, he had been silent, but now they were learning he hadn't been idle. Carefully and silently recruiting like-minded military personnel who'd been scrubbed from active duty and civilians with a similar mindset, he built a network of his patriots. Going back through the communications they'd collected, it looked like he hadn't ordered the first campaign against Ben Shepherd either. His network had been compromised.

Montrose spoke with General Davis and informed him of the communications which hinted at an attack in the coming week.

She really wanted to take the Colonel down, but he'd just built the weapon someone else had taken from him.

Sitting at her desk, brooding over a steaming cup of cocoa, she glanced at her email, which suddenly popped up with a new message directed to the inbox of a cell member they'd hacked.

As she read the message, her eyes widened in alarm. She picked up her desk phone and tried dialing out but got a recording stating all lines were busy. She tried her personal cell phone, and it wasn't working either.

Montrose rushed from her office, ran down the hall to where their tech heads worked, and saw the activity before entering the room.

One of her people turned to look at her. "Massive cyberattack targeting the eastern seaboard telecom circuits."

"Does anyone have an open line?" she asked, but heads shook to indicate they didn't. She turned and rushed away and out of the building. She needed to get to the Pentagon.

Normally, this was a drive of five to ten minutes, but it seemed the telecom circuits weren't the only system being tampered with. Traffic control was a mess, but she drove like a woman possessed and managed to get to the Pentagon in just under half an hour. Another fifteen minutes to get through security before she was led to a room where the General was arguing with some techs. He looked over at her flushed expression and held up a hand to stop the others from talking. "Yes?"

"I'm Agent Montrose of the FBI. I just received a message that a domestic terrorist cell will launch a second attack on the Shepherd residence tonight!"

"Fuck! Come with me!" Davis snapped and rushed out of the room. She quickly caught up, and he glanced over at her as they hustled down the hall. "This cyberattack could be part of it."

Montrose nodded. "I don't understand why they are going after a civilian this way. The most recent note claimed he was working on some kind of super body armor he would give to the Kremlin. Is that credible?"

Davis looked at her with a delighted grin. "Everything except the part about the Russians."

They entered a communications center, and heads turned to face him. "I need a direct line to the Spa."

"Satellite link is still viable, sir. Connecting you now," one of the techs responded.

"The Spa?" Montrose asked, and Davis smirked. The tech pointed to the headset in front of the General, and he quickly put it on. "This is General Davis. I've received notice of an imminent attack on the Shepherd homestead." He looked to Montrose. "How many?"

"Upwards of thirty combatants," Montrose said, recalling the note.

General Davis' eyes widened. "Thirty terrorists coming your way. What resources are there this week?" he asked into the mic. He nodded. "We'll send you reinforcements."

He suddenly yanked the headset from himself as Montrose picked up the sound of a loud squeal. The General looked to the tech. "What happened?"

"We've lost satellite connection with them. Sounded like a power surge at their end, sir."

"Get me the base commander of Fort Kortridge Air Base!"

Montrose stepped back and watched the General scramble whatever forces he had near this Spa to protect the Shepherd homestead.

She wondered at the expense they were going through to protect this particular civilian and why there was a contingent already in place. Perhaps she shouldn't have dismissed the briefing she'd been offered about the man.

She watched the General's expression, and he wasn't a happy man. She found herself praying for the inhabitants of the Shepherd residence.

-=-

Ben got everyone into the basement and his office when they heard the explosion at the other end of the court. Tina and Lucy gripped his arms tightly as he prepared to go outside to help. He looked back at them in surprise, and they shook their heads firmly.

"This time, you must listen to us. The army is here to protect us. You will not help them by becoming a target," Tina insisted gently.

He sighed, nodded, and closed the safe room's door, locking them all inside. He called Gabriella, and she picked up immediately. "Ben! What's happening?" she cried.

"Get to your basement. It sounds like some kind of attack. They'll target me, but we're safe. You need to get to a safe place in the basement. After this, remind me to build you a safe room!"

"We're in the basement!" she said nervously. "I'm going to call Catherine to ensure she keeps Chanel from doing something stupid."

"I'll call Trish," Ben said. "I love you!"

"I love you, too! And thank Tina and Lucy for me," Gabriella said before hanging up. He wondered what she meant by that.

Ben looked at Tina, who was on her cell. "Lisa, Lori, and Daphne are safe," she said and glanced back to her cell.

"Karen, Jayden, Penny, and Rain are in their basement," Lucy reported as she flicked a look at Ben, then she called another number. Tina was calling another neighbor too.

Ben smiled as he called Trish.

"Ben! Are you okay?" the redhead immediately exclaimed.

"Yes, Tina and Lucy have me in the safe room—" And suddenly, it came to him what Gabriella meant.

"Ah! That's a relief. Staying safe for once! Thank them for me," Trish sighed. "We're okay here. I assume someone is after you again?"

Ben smiled at the relief he heard in her voice. "Probably. Evelyn was up on the tower with the commandos, so I hope they're okay."

"You stay put. I'm sure they have everything in hand!" Trish insisted. "If you don't promise me, I'll come over there to make you!"

"Fine! I'm staying put!" Ben asserted and got smiles from Tina and Lucy.

He called Liliya.

"Ben! Are you in your safe room?" she immediately asked.

"Yes. Are you and Rose safe?" he asked.

"We just arrived at Trish's and are in her basement."

"How did you get there?" he asked in surprise.

Liliya snorted softly. "I should give away all my secrets? Stay in your safe room!" She hung up.

Ben huffed. Bossy ladies.

-=-

Evelyn hung up her cell. "I can't get through to the General, so we can assume communications are down. The comm center at the Spa was knocked out, so we can assume we'll be getting reinforcement from the nearby air base in about twenty minutes." Fisher and Evelyn moved to the front of the deck and looked at One Ashburn Court. Smoke was drifting up from the top level, but a punishing rain of bullets was firing down from the tall building into the field on the other side of the road pinning down their attackers.

Fisher nodded in the direction of the other end of the court. "That's just a distraction. The real attack will be coming through the woods." He frowned. "Fucking amateurs. They're late or their distraction jumped the gun."

"Agreed."

"You still have those body armor plates?" Fisher asked.

The Sergeant looked at the CO closely. "Yes, why?"

"I'll take every advantage I can get for my people. They can wear it atop their existing armor," he said.

She looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "Give me two minutes and switch to thermal optics."

Fisher grinned. "Girly. This isn't our first rodeo."

Evelyn's face heated up as she nodded and raced away. It took her twenty-three seconds to descend the interior staircase, fifteen to get to the garage, and another fifteen to collect all the available Configuration Three and Four plates into a large duffle. She ran to the dumb waiter and sent the bag up as she ran up the stairs. She was breathing hard as she reached the top. She waved to Fisher to meet her by the elevator.

When it arrived, she dragged the bag onto the deck.

"How many four-layer plates do you have?" Fisher asked.

"Twelve—no fifteen. And twenty-four of the configuration three plates," she said.

Fisher made some hand gestures, and his team came by one at a time to collect the armor, one four-layer and two three-layer plates.

"What the fuck are these?" one of the commandos asked his CO holding up the arrangement of metal straws.

"It stopped five armor-piercing rounds," Fisher said, and the man moved aside with a surprised look on his bearded face. Then he stuffed the plates inside his winter camouflage suit, strapping them in place with Velcro strips.

Stim made a sharp hand gesture by the railing facing the woods.

"Here they come. We're up," Fisher said.

The commandos planned a surprise for the attackers. One after another, they slid under the railing, clipped onto the zip-line, and almost silently disappeared into the darkness.

Evelyn slipped on her night goggles and switched to thermal. The woods lit up with gently glowing spots from the incoming fighters who weren't doing a good job of masking their heat signatures. She began to hear brief noises as the Commandos dropped one after another into the middle of the invading force.

Then Evelyn was alone on the deck. She stuffed one of the remaining four-layer plates inside her cold weather gear over her chest plate and pulled a strap over it. It felt a little bulky, but it didn't inhibit her motion.

She connected herself to the zip line and noted no vibration coming through the line, so the commandos must have disengaged. As she rode the wire down, her trolley wasn't silent like theirs had been, so she was attracting attention. A few wild shots screamed past where she'd been, answered by a soft cough from a silenced gun from below.

With the attackers looking up, the commandos could pop out of the snow to take them out. If they had the opportunity to take them out silently without killing, they did. Otherwise, it was a silenced round to the forehead or a knife in the throat.

Evelyn released her harness before she reached the tree, and the moment her feet touched the ground, she rushed forward to catch the stragglers at the back of the group. The invaders weren't giving up without a fight, and they knew they weren't alone in the woods now. She could hear single shots and the buzz of an automatic firing off a burst as the attackers fought back.

Her silenced gun made quick work of anyone who pointed a weapon in her direction. Otherwise, she used her short club to knock them out and quickly zip-tied them for later collection.

She was finishing up on her fourth when there was a loud rip sound, and something kicked her in the stomach, knocking her back into the snow. Her return shot from her position sprawled on her back punched its way free from the snow and took her attacker in the throat. He spun gracefully and dropped to the ground, choking out his last breath.

A commando suddenly appeared next to Evelyn, and she saw it was Stim. While he had a splash of blood on his upper arm, he gave her a thumbs up, and she returned it even though her stomach ached from the kick. She picked herself up and followed him back toward the fence. They checked the men they hadn't killed and confirmed they were secure. They stripped them of weapons and moved on.

They met Fisher, and the man flashed some hand signals to Stim, who responded.

When all the commandos gathered, Fisher spoke. "Twenty-four terrorists. Ten dead. Fourteen captured." He looked at the man who'd questioned him about Ben's body armor. He was a bear of a man with a black beard and a large hole in the center of his camo jacket. "How'd that new armor work out for you, Killjoy?"

"Felt like a mule kicked me in the chest, but I'm still breathing," the man said.

Evelyn frowned as that sounded like how she'd felt on her stomach. She ran her fingers over her abdomen and discovered her coat was shredded. She gingerly opened her jacket and found her new four-layer plate had slipped down to cover her gut. She carefully pulled it out and saw three closely spaced impacts.

"Why were you wearing it over your stomach?" Fisher asked in surprise.

"I wasn't. It must have slipped down when I dropped off the zip-line and hit the ground. It wasn't fastened down properly," she explained.

"Lucky for you," Stim said with a grin. He gestured to his shoulder and looked at Fisher. "If I'd had that curved plate I was talking about earlier...." The CO snorted.

They heard a helicopter approaching, then a second joined it, and they flew by overhead.

"Here come our reinforcements," Evelyn said. She turned on her radio and spoke quietly into her mic.

She listened, then looked at Fisher. "Troops are still twenty minutes out, but we have a dozen reinforcements for now. The Spa reports the group that attacked them only had five men. All are dead."

"Wasn't there supposed to be thirty? Does that mean one is still unaccounted for?" Fisher asked.

"Possibly. Let's collect the live ones and bring them into the court where they can be placed under guard by our reinforcements. The dead will remain here until they can be carried out on the other side of the park. I don't want the neighbors to see the corpses. I made that mistake once before," she admitted, and Fisher chuckled with a nod.

They moved off into the forest once more, and soon the woods were filled with the sound of cursing and cries of pain.

They pulled the prisoners through the path between Ben's and Gabriella's homes into the court, where they could see the two helos resting in the center of the circular park with troops coming toward their position. Evelyn stopped on the road and released the man she was dragging. She saluted the captain who stopped before her.

The commandos dropped their prisoners and went back for the others.

"We have fourteen prisoners and ten dead terrorists. According to the squad in One Ashburn Court, there are five dead terrorists in the field across the road. We were told thirty terrorists were sent here, but only twenty-nine are accounted for. Either one didn't arrive, or they're still out there. We'll keep looking." The captain nodded.

Evelyn continued her report. "General Davis will want these men taken in for questioning. We haven't been able to reach him since he gave us a warning shortly before the attack."

The captain nodded. "There was a major telecommunication failure on the eastern coast. Potentially a cyberattack. We expect to get the channels back shortly. We'll guard the prisoners until transport arrives to take them back to the base."

Evelyn nodded and turned back to the path into the forest, where the commandos continued dragging out the surviving attackers.

"Hey! One got past you!"

Heads turned to see a redhead with a bruised cheek and a bloody nose dragging a man's body through the snow by his collar.

"Fucker had a sniper rifle!" she snapped as she strained to tug the big man forward. "It's still back behind my house."

Several soldiers ran forward to take the unconscious man from Trish. She pointed to her house, and a third soldier went to collect the weapon.

"Are you okay, Trish?" Evelyn said as she joined the woman.

Trish smiled wearily. "This fucker knew how to fight. He got more than a few hits in. I need to soak in a hot tub. Maybe with Ben," she said with a smirk.

"Thanks for having our back," Evelyn said.

"You're a civilian?" the captain asked in surprise.

Evelyn grinned. "Trish is one hundred percent badass suburban mom!"

Trish laughed and bumped Evelyn's shoulder with hers.

"We should inform the neighbors they can come up now," Evelyn said.

"Dibs on Ben!" Trish said with a grin, pulling her cell out of her pocket. Her smile was quickly replaced by a look of shock and rage as the screen was destroyed.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" Her head whipped up to see the awakening sniper look in her direction groggily. She ran over to him as his eyes widened and kicked him solidly in the face, snapping his head back. Evelyn grabbed her arms and pulled her back.

"That's gonna leave a mark," Evelyn said as she stared at the unconscious, bleeding man.

She dialed Ben on her cell, put it on speaker, and handed it to Trish, whose anger eased as she saw the name on the screen.

"Evelyn? Is everything all right?" Ben asked quickly.

"Hi Ben, this is Trish. You can come out now. Everything is good. Well, I need a new cell phone as a fucking sniper broke mine as I fought with him," Trish grumbled.

Evelyn grinned as she heard Ben's exclamation of surprise and worry. "She's okay, Ben. Just bruises and a bloody nose. The prisoners are being collected in the court to be taken away for questioning. The dead will be collected from the other side of the park and the field across the road."

"Thanks, Evelyn. We're coming out." Ben hung up.

-=-

By the time everyone had been called and assured everything was under control and safe once more, only a few came out to see the conclusion of the excitement. The cold, the snow, and the late hour kept most inside. They'd get an update in the morning.

Ben was one of the hardy souls who braved the weather to join Evelyn, Trish, Liliya (Rose was in the care of Lily), Fisher with his team, and Captain Vanier with his.

Four trucks from the air force base finally arrived, and the two teams loaded the survivors into the back. Most of them were silent, but others had some interesting things to say. According to them, Ben was a traitor to the United States for inventing superior weapons and armor for the Ruskies. They also had choice words for Liliya.

Fishers and a few members of his team with minor injuries rejoined Evelyn once the prisoners were on their way to the air base. The rest of the commandos assisted the remaining soldiers with collecting the dead for the remaining trucks.

"Do those men know they were working for the FSB?" Liliya asked.

Ben looked at her curiously.

"Does it not seem a strange coincidence that this group suddenly targeted you after Sergey Zhdankov sent team after team at you?"

"The cyberattack on the Washington telecom systems?" Evelyn asked.

Liliya nodded. "Support for the attack. They hire hacker teams to knock out the critical communication channels for a period of time to isolate the target from their support systems." She pointed to the smoking hole in the Spa's top floor. "Someone with inside information told them where to hit the comm center. That was from an RPG. I'm surprised it didn't take the top level off."

"I added armor plating under the stone siding. Two layers," Ben said as he looked toward the damage. Maybe a third layer would have been a good idea.

"I don't know how they activated the terrorist cell, but I have no doubt it was them," Liliya said. She looked over at Ben. "I'm glad you listened to Tina and Lucy and stayed inside." She pointed to Evelyn's torn-up coat. "That might have been you, and you've had far too many injuries in your life. Good night."

She turned and headed back to Trish's place to collect her daughter.

Trish stretched up, got a kiss from Ben, and followed Liliya back to her house.

Ben watched them go, looked at Evelyn, and finally saw the shredded fabric over her stomach. He immediately moved closer to look into her eyes. "I'm sorry for not noticing earlier. What happened? Are you hurt?"

Her face heated up as his concern overwhelmed her. "I-I was shot in the stomach—but it's okay!" she quickly finished at his look of alarm. "I was wearing one of your four-layer plates, and it slid down while I was running around. It caught all three rounds. I had a vest underneath, but it might not have stopped them at that range. Yours did."

"You were wearing untested armor plating?" Ben asked sharply, his worry spiking.

Fisher stepped forward to catch Ben's attention. "All of my men wore the prototype plates over their regular armor. They got one hell of a live fire test. Killjoy took a point-blank shotgun blast to the chest. Your plate stopped it."

"I want curved plates!" Stim said, gesturing to his injured shoulder.

Ben blinked at them and saw the commandos smiling at him.

"Aside from Stim, was anyone hurt?" Ben asked.

Fished nodded. "Dingo here caught a bullet through the meat of his thigh. Not life-threatening and with no permanent damage.

"Curved plates would have stopped that!" Stim insisted.

Ben nodded with a shaky smile. "Thank you very much for your efforts tonight. I'm deeply indebted to you guys. And Evelyn, of course!" He pulled her to his side, and she didn't resist.

"You just get this armor approved for combat missions. It's pretty spectacular stuff," Fisher said with a grin. Then he gave Ben a sly grin. "The armor the guys tested for you, do you need it back?"

Ben was still a bit leery about it being relied upon as the only armor they wore. "No, as long as it's worn with certified armor. As you said, it's just prototype stuff. I'd like the damaged plates back."

The man Fisher referred to as Killjoy handed his mangled plate to Ben, then gestured to his chest. "Any chance I can get a replacement? It saved my life."

Ben looked to Evelyn, and she smiled with a nod.

"I believe we still have a plate or two of the four-layer stuff. I'll get it for him," she said.

"How went the zip-line training?" Ben asked, and Fisher chuckled. His men were amused as well.

"I'd say the first run went extremely well," Fisher suggested, and his men laughed. The ones who were too injured to continue walked toward the Spa. The rest followed Evelyn toward the backyard.

Ben was left standing alone at the end of his driveway, watching the helicopters power up to head back to the air base. This threw up a lot of snow, but Ben shielded his face in the sudden blizzard to watch them leave. Visibility was obscured quite a bit.

Out of this mess, a tall black van drove around the circular court and stopped in front of Ben. Because of the attack, he knew nothing was getting in the neighborhood tonight without being vetted by the soldiers at the entrance, so he wasn't concerned. The side door opened automatically, and he saw CIA Agent Stephanie Russo sitting on the seat on the other side. She smiled at him.

Ben moved closer.

"Might I have a quick word with you, Ben?" Stephanie asked with a crooked smile. She gestured to the seat next to her, and he scowled but sighed as he knew he had to listen to her. With a glance back at the house, he stepped inside, and the door closed as he turned to face the woman.

Ben didn't feel the needle inject the powerful sedative into his neck from the seat behind his, but he quickly slumped in his chair.

The black van continued its way around the circle and out of the neighborhood, still partially obscured by the plume of snow thrown up by the departing helicopters.

-=-

As the helos flew over the tower, Evelyn stepped onto the deck and watched them go. She picked up the bag of armor plates, walked to the front deck, and looked down as she knew Ben would be watching them too. He wasn't there, but it was really late, so she assumed he'd gone to bed. She'd speak to him in the morning.

She turned to smile at the commandos. They'd really come through for Ben tonight, so they were permanently on her friends list. "Courtesy of Ben with his thanks!" she said as she handed out the remaining plates. "I'll speak with Captain Kendricks to get him to prioritize the certification of these."

Fisher smiled. "Much appreciated!" he said with a grin. He handed a replacement plate to Killjoy. "Try to make this one last, as we don't know when we're getting more," he said, and the other soldiers laughed at Killjoy's happy grin. They all had a little post-battle euphoria, but happy is happy.

Evelyn's cell rang, and she held up a hand as it was General Davis.

"Yes, General."

"Report, Sergeant."

"Thank you for the warning, but it was almost too late. The terrorist attack launched just seconds after."

"Yes, I was speaking to the comm tech at the Spa when they were hit. Any casualties?" he asked.

Evelyn smiled. "Only a couple minor injuries on our side. Fifteen terrorists are dead, fifteen were captured, and they're on their way to Fort Kortridge Air Base for transfer to Guantanamo for questioning."

She heard her uncle breathe a sigh of relief.

"What's the story on this armor?" he asked

"It's excellent armor, sir, and had a live fire field test tonight. I can personally vouch for its ability to protect against point-blank gunfire," she said with a grin. The commandos heard her and cheered.

"What? You were wearing untested armor?" General Davis snapped.

"Ben shared your concern, but we wore it over our existing armor. Nothing got through except one hell of a kick."

"Shit!" he exclaimed. "Was that Fisher's men? Let me speak to the man."

Evelyn handed the cell to Fisher, who kept the earpiece open so she could also hear Davis.

"Yes, General?" he said.

"Thanks for protecting Ben and his extended family," Davis began.

"We were in the perfect location to defend them, from the top of his tower with a zip-line to drop us directly into the middle of the bastards. The Sergeant did her fair share as well," he said with a smile.

"What's your take on the armor?" Davis asked.

"In the shooting range, I witnessed it stopping five armor-piercing rounds. It's better than anything we have. It transfers that energy across the plate, so I imagine it does give you quite the kick, but you aren't dead."

Evelyn's face registered the shock as her mind caught a little detail she'd missed.

Fisher saw her freeze. "One moment General, the sergeant just thought of something."

Evelyn leaned closer to the phone. "It was something one of the prisoners said. He was cursing Ben for inventing armor for the Russians. We only brought the new plates out tonight, and the only civilian who might have seen it was the owner of the gun range."

"Take him into custody, Sergeant," Davis growled.

"Yes, sir!" she said with a wicked grin and hung up. She saw matching smiles on the commandos.

"Any volunteers to collect a terrorist?" she asked, and all hands went up.

-=-

A sleek and fast jet waited for its passengers at a small airstrip outside the city. When the van finally arrived, the occupants stripped Ben and moved him into the aircraft. Soon, they were airborne and traveling at their top speed. They had no time to waste.

Ben would have to wait until they arrived at their final destination to be awakened and filled in. Stephanie knew he would be pissed by this extraction, but time was of the essence as a long-term mission was about to fail if she didn't pull off a miracle. Lives were at stake.

Quickly getting Ben to the other side of the world was just part one.

Chapter 42

When dawn broke, Tina woke and discovered Ben hadn't come to bed. This wasn't anything to be concerned about, as Ben often spent the night with one of the other ladies in his life. After the attack, he'd gone out to speak to Evelyn and the commandos, so Tina sent Evelyn a quick note asking if she saw where Ben had gone after he left her.

Seconds later, Evelyn's response came back with a question. "Didn't he spend the night with you?"

Tina blinked at the screen of her cell. "No," she sent back.

"Okay. Last sighting was in front of his house. Will check surveillance tapes. One minute."

Tina did her best to remain calm as Ben might have walked over to Gabriella's to check on her as she was the first person he called the night before.

Her cell beeped with another incoming text. It was Evelyn. "Checking with Spa. One moment please."

Tina's nerves began to buzz.

"Good morning, Tina," Lucy said sleepily as she walked into the kitchen. Her expression froze as she caught the look on Tina's face. "What's going on?"

"Ben didn't come back to the house last night, and Evelyn said she thought he was going to. She said she was checking something with the soldiers in the Spa," Tina explained.

"Aren't they only watching the west side of the court?" Lucy asked, also beginning to feel concerned.

Tina squeaked as the doorbell rang.

She rushed to the front door with Lucy behind her. Evelyn was standing there looking worried. "What's happened? Where's Ben?"

"The surveillance footage shows Ben standing at the end of his driveway. He was watching the helicopters leaving. They blew the snow around like crazy. In that mess, you can just make out the taillights of a tall black van that stopped at Ben's driveway. It moved on, and when the snow settled, Ben wasn't there. I think he got into the van," Evelyn reported. "I called the Spa, but the new squads are now in place, and the soldier who vetted the arrival of the van last night didn't make a record in the log. He's in transit, so we can't reach him to ask. I tried calling Ben's cell, but it went right to voicemail. Either the phone is off, or the battery might be dead. I'm going to do a trace on the logs of the local cell towers to identify his route." She looked into the frightened eyes of Tina and Lucy. "I will find him."

When Tina nodded, Evelyn stepped back outside and ran home. Tina closed the door, and Lucy gathered her into her arms.

"She'll find him and bring him home," she said gently.

-=-

A gentle and warm breeze blew across Ben's body, carrying with it the scent of flowers and salt. Sunlight was warming his bare skin. Hmmm... he couldn't feel his clothes.

His brows furrowed as these sensations didn't match his expectations at all.

It was winter. There was snow.

He tried to open his eyes, but the sunlight was stabbing into his brain. His vision was much too sensitive to light! He moaned and raised his hand to shield his eyes.

"Good, you're finally awake."

The voice was familiar, but her tone had an unexpected tension.

"Russo?" he asked, and his voice cracked.

"Sit up. I'll give you some water."

That's when his body told him how much he wanted some.

He was lying on a mattress, so he pushed himself up to a seated position and tried his eyes again. His vision swam for a moment then he saw a glass of water before him. He took it and raised it to his mouth.

Then he froze as he suddenly remembered Stephanie Russo sitting in a van, getting in to sit next to her, then nothing. He glanced at the water suspiciously.

"There's nothing in the water. I need you awake," the agent said. She was sitting on the edge of the bed.

His eyes locked on hers, but she wasn't giving him her usual sly smile.

His need for the water won out, and he drank everything in the glass.

"What... what did you do to me?" he finally managed to ask once he handed the glass back.

"I expedited your transfer from your home to where the CIA needed you to be," she said.

Ben's eyes were working better now as he scanned the hotel room and took in the expensive and exotic amenities. The windows were still a wash of white light to his eyes, so that was no help. He frowned. "And where did the CIA need me to be?"

"El Jadida, Morocco."

Ben's eyes widened in shock. "I'm in Morocco? Why on Earth did you bring me to Morocco?"

"It's time for you to pay your debt."

Ben looked at her and shook his head. "How do I do that, and again, why Morocco?"

"There is a man of great power and influence who lives on his mega-yacht out in international waters. He's very difficult to track. He only comes into a port once a month for two days to restock his supplies. He also loves to gamble. Tonight, he's coming to El Jadida to gamble at a local resort. We'll meet him at the casino, work our way into his party, and get invited onto his yacht."

Ben looked at her like she was mad.

"I'm not spending a month with some stranger on his boat!" Ben exclaimed.

"Of course not! As soon as we confirm whether our missing agents are on his yacht or not, we radio for assistance with our GPS coordinates, and our people will collect us."

Ben looked at her, waiting for the rest of the plan. When she just stared back at him, he blinked. "That's the plan? That's all of it? Why do I get the feeling there is too much room for shit to go wrong that isn't covered?"

"This is what I do. There are resources for us already in place. We just need to get on board, and you're the ticket to make this happen," Stephanie insisted.

Ben waited for her to explain that, but she remained quiet, so he had to ask. "Why me?"

Her eyes scanned his bare chest and took in the scars, the violence he'd endured. Something flickered by on her face then her jaw tightened. "He's a fan."

His eyebrows rose, but she gave him nothing else.

"Who is he?" Ben asked.

"Kaan Sadik. He's an arms dealer and a very successful trafficker of stolen goods. He has his fingers in so many illegal activities, it might be easier to list what he won't do for money."

This didn't make Ben feel more secure as the man likely had many people around him to protect him.

"Where is our security team?" Ben asked.

"Watching, but they can't get too close as they'd be observed by this man's people. The slightest hint of a trap, and he's gone. He doesn't remain hidden on the ocean because he likes the solitude of the sea. He's a wanted criminal just about everywhere. He pays the police in select countries to look the other way when he comes ashore to do business. Our window of opportunity is extremely limited."

Ben's jaw twitched as he looked at her. "Why am I naked?"

A hint of her usual attitude surfaced. "Why not?" He frowned, so she answered. "We had to take measurements for your suit for dinner and the casino tonight. You don't have an off-the-rack body."

He looked around and saw his wallet and keys, but his cell wasn't there. "I need to call home to let them know where I am."

Stephanie shook her head. "The General's people monitor your calls."

Ben frowned. "Yes, I'm aware."

"Davis has a double agent on his team. They work in his communication center. They leaked the location of the lab where you worked on the battery project. They also passed along your itinerary for your trip around the world and sent the plans for the Spa. If you contact anyone at home, you jeopardize the mission and everyone involved, which now includes you," Stephanie insisted. "No calls, emails, or texts to anyone!"

"Why aren't you telling him?" Ben barked.

"Double agents are useful. Besides, we haven't pinpointed the exact individual. It's not like Davis allows the CIA to poke around in his business," she snapped back.

There was a knock on the door followed by a second and a third, slow and evenly spaced. Ben gave Stephanie a skeptical look.

"Shut up. We're in Morocco. That's your clothes." She got up and walked to the door as Ben grabbed a pillow to cover his private bits.

The door opened, and a woman entered with a suit bag. She was young and wore a long flowing blouse over jeans, sneakers, and a bright fuchsia hijab. She froze when she saw Ben sitting on the edge of the bed with only a pillow covering his lap.

She stepped closer. "Mr. Shepherd! It is an honor to work with you!" Her eyes didn't remain on his face for very long.

Ben's face warmed up with embarrassment. "Thank you. Are those for me?"

She suddenly remembered she was holding the suit bag and quickly handed it over to Russo, who was back to smirking.

"It was nice to meet you. Thanks again," Ben said.

She nodded and flashed a brilliant smile at him, then rushed back to the door and closed it behind her. Stephanie moved to the door and locked it again. Then she brought the suit bag to Ben and laid it out on the mattress beside him. She opened the zipper, and Ben breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at him in question.

"For a second, I thought you would make me wear a white suit jacket."

The black jacket, white dress shirt, and black slacks appeared well tailored, and he stood to get dressed. His stomach growled with hunger.

"We'll get dinner after you dress," Russo offered.

"Where are my underwear? Where are my clothes, for that matter?" Ben asked.

"Back in the states at the airstrip. With your cell phone, which they've likely found by now. We left it on." Seeing Ben's distraught expression, she continued. "I left my business card with it, so they'll know you haven't been abducted by the Russians."

He stared at her. "Oh, good. They'll feel better knowing the CIA kidnapped me instead."

He pulled the slacks on and had to tuck himself down the pant leg. The fabric was soft and stretchy, so it wasn't too uncomfortable. The dress shirt fit as long as he didn't flex his muscles too strongly. Seams would tear if he went all out.

The jacket was equally tight but soft and stretched sufficiently for his movement.

He fussed with the bow tie until Stephanie pushed his hands away and tied it herself.

Finally, she stood back and smiled at the final product. "You look dreamy and dangerous. A winning combination." She went to the dresser and brought his wallet to him. "I've put some spending money inside. You're going to be expected to gamble, so use this money. There's five thousand inside. If that isn't enough to get us into the game, your name will give you access to as much credit as you need. We'll reimburse you."

He looked at her doubtfully. "Are you aware I don't gamble? Playing poker with some guys in college is all the experience I have!"

She smiled and began to undress. "Don't worry. I'll be with you, and we'll just observe at first. I'll give you some insight into how each game works. Besides, your goal is not to beat him in the games. Losing would be preferable as he's more likely to take you on his yacht if you've paid your way on, so to speak."

Ben made no effort to look away as she stripped down to her G-string panties. Fair's fair.

She turned to face him, and there was no hesitation or embarrassment on her face. The panties were so minimal it was clear she was shaved clean. Ben admired her body as she obviously worked out to maintain her fitness. She smiled. "I knew it would be fun to work with you."

Russo collected a sheath dress and slipped it on. It clung to her body and cupped her modest breasts, displaying her cleavage boldly.

"Our cover story. You are you. You're in the area looking for real estate for another of your Foundation centers. Easy enough. I am Steph Wilson. A divorced housewife from Missouri, looking for myself in strange and exotic places. You rescued me in the local marketplace and invited me to join you for dinner and a little sexy fun—"

"But I wouldn't do that," Ben insisted.

"People think that you do, so it works," she finished, and he frowned but nodded.

"Let's have dinner," she said.

They left their hotel room and took the elevator down to ground level.

Ben's eyes had finally adjusted to the light, but he saw the sun would be setting soon. He frowned. "How long have I been out?"

"About twelve hours. The dining room is this way," Steph excitedly said with a bubbly voice and pointed to the right. Ben realized she was in character.

Oh boy.

He fretted about his family at home. They'd be freaked out about his abduction regardless of who did it. He needed to get in touch with them somehow, but he didn't want to get Russo or himself killed doing it.

It didn't take long to get seated, and it took even less time for the waiter to begin hitting on his date.

Ben looked at the menu as Steph giggled at the waiter's flirting, as the man's eyes remained fixed on her cleavage.

Then he finally turned to Ben, who ordered the ribeye steak with vegetables. If this was going to be his last meal, it was going to be a good one. He pushed such over-dramatic thoughts from his head.

"I'll have a green salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing," Steph said with a grin.

Ben sighed when the waiter finally left, and Steph looked over at him. She reached over and took his hand.

"We need to keep up appearances," she said with her silly grin in place. "Try to take the grim reaper look from your face."

His eyes snapped to hers. Had his thoughts really shown that clearly?

"If you play it cool, everything will work as we need it to," she said, batting her eyelashes at him.

Ben snorted and forced a smile on his lips. "The positive thinking gambit, then?"

Her grin widened. "Exactly!"

Ben sighed. "Fine."

They did their best to keep their conversation light and smiles on their faces.

Their food finally arrived, and Ben was suitably impressed as he enjoyed his first meal in a day.

As they finished, Steph dropped a leaf onto her lap, and the dressing looked like it would stain her dress. "Shit!" she cursed silently under her breath. She dabbed the spot, but it was no use. "I need to fix this. Stay here! I'll be right back. Order dessert."

She got up and walked from the restaurant.

Ben finished his steak, and the waiter was at his elbow immediately.

"Can I see the dessert menu?" Ben asked.

"Certainly, sir." The waiter hustled away with the plates.

Ben settled back in his chair, looked around at the lovely décor in the restaurant, and found himself looking into the excited eyes of an older man waving wildly at Ben. The face looked... familiar.

Ben waved back, which was all it took to get the man to heave his bulk to his feet. He had a dramatically round gut. He also pulled his wife to her feet and made a beeline for Ben's table with her in tow. Ban stood to greet them.

"I knew it! When I looked over here, I knew it had to be you!" the man's Texan drawl immediately triggered a memory of a restaurant outside of Cannes, France.

"Renny and Dotty from Texas?" Ben said slowly in his amazement.

As they stuttered at the miracle of his remembering them, Ben took them in and compared their looks from then to now. Renny had put on a little more weight and lost a little hair, but Dotty was slimmer and had changed her hairstyle. Gone was a huge gravity-defying bell-shaped hairdo. "Your new look is very flattering, Dotty."

She burst into giggles and preened a little.

"It's not your anniversary, August twentieth, so what brings you to Morocco?" Ben asked, showing off just a little.

Dotty's eyes were becoming glassy, so her husband did the speaking for them. "For Dotty's birthday, we traveled to Casablanca as it's her favorite movie. We got a deal on a couple of nights in this hotel too!"

Ben smiled, and they grinned back at him. "Happy birthday, Dotty! I love that movie too. Obviously, Renny is a true romantic to bring you here to celebrate your special day."

She nodded as her face lit up.

"Would you like to get a new photo?" Ben asked, and they nodded excitedly.

Ben flagged down a waiter and turned to Dotty. "Camera?"

She handed him a cell phone.

"Ah, you've upgraded this too!" he said with a smile, and she giggled.

He handed it off to the waiter and then stood between them with his arms around them as they grinned at the waiter, who took several pictures. As he handed the phone back to Ben, an idea flashed into Ben's mind. He looked to the entrance, but there was no sign of Russo. He looked at the couple. "Could I ask a favor? I need to send a text, but I... forgot to bring my phone on this trip."

"Oh, of course!" Dotty gushed.

"Thanks! You are literally a lifesaver!" Ben gushed and quickly hammered out a long text and sent it off. He watched it successfully send and breathed a sigh of relief.

"You guys are the best! Thanks, and enjoy your visit."

"Will you be visiting the casino?" Renny gushed.

Ben smiled at the man. "It seems fate is leading me there tonight."

The heavy man nodded. "We may see you there."

He nodded to the couple, who walked back to their table with a few happy glances back.

The waiter returned, and Ben passed on the dessert as his stomach began filling with butterflies.

He prayed the message would get to the right people.

-=-

Ed finished up his lunch as he sat in his truck in the parking lot next to the building site for a hospital the Klein Group was building. He'd done the inspections this morning and decided to eat his lunch before returning to the office.

Once more, Rachel had outdone herself with his packed lunch. Delicious and nutritious!

His cell chirped with an incoming text as it rested on the dash.

Ed cleaned his mouth and hands, then packed away his lunch bag.

He smiled as he went into his text app, expecting to see something gushy from Grace.

He didn't recognize the sender, and typically he deleted text messages from unknowns as they were always spam, but the name caught his attention. Dotty Dashing? Cute!

He opened the message, and his smile faded as he read it. There was no question of this being a genuine message as it had to be Ben writing it. The instructions were clear enough.

Ed called the office and asked to be put through to Louis. As he waited, he remembered what Ben had written about phones being bugged. Was Louis' line monitored too?

"Ed, what's up!"

"AH! Sorry, you surprised me," Ed said as he tried to relax.

"Is something wrong?" Louis asked in concern.

"No! I mean, I need to take the afternoon off," Ed said. He was really screwing this up!

"Oh! We were expecting you back for a meeting to review the plans—"

"We need to reschedule that. I've gotta go. Sorry!" Ed hung up and stared at the phone in shock. He'd never hung up on his boss before. He pushed that aside. He'd apologize later. This was an emergency!

He put his seatbelt on and drove from the build site toward the highway. It shouldn't take too long to get there.

Ben was in trouble! Again!

-=-

Since Tina and Lucy got word that Ben was missing, all their neighbors had been contacted to fill them in on the situation. Gabriella set up a neighborhood meeting in her place for those who could join them, and she currently had Tina and Lucy, Liliya, Catherine and Chanel, Dominic and Sofia, Ashley, and Trish. Kids were taken to daycare or dropped off at school. Others had to get to their jobs, but promises were made to text updates to them.

Gabriella stood, and everyone looked to her. "I spoke with Evelyn, and she indicated she's in touch with the General, and they are turning up the heat on every agency to track Ben's movements. She found the van, his cell phone, and clothes in a hanger at an abandoned airstrip on the edge of town. They are working on the idea that the van was allowed to enter the court, so the soldier must have matched them against an approved list. Homeland Security, the DEA, FBI, and CIA are all indicating it wasn't one of theirs. It wasn't the local police either."

"Would the CIA admit it was their people even if it was?" Chanel asked.

Gabriella shrugged as she didn't have an answer to that.

-=-

As the ladies speculated behind her, Trish was doing everything she could to keep from screaming. She stared out the window and caught the motion of a pickup truck coming around the circle and pulling into Ben's driveway. She was up and out of her seat in a second as she ran to the door. Liliya was right behind her.

"What is it?" Gabriella called out.

Trish tugged her boots on and pulled on her coat. "Not sure yet, but I think that's Ed, the fellow Ben works with." She glanced at Liliya, who was already opening the door.

They rushed outside and spotted Evelyn also running toward Ben's.

Ed was on the step looking back at them in surprise. Then he relaxed as he saw Evelyn.

"I-I got a message from Ben! He said I needed to speak to you but not over the phone," Ed gushed.

"Let me see it!" Evelyn said, holding out her hand.

Ed pulled up the message and handed it over to the Sergeant. Trish and Liliya read over her shoulder.

"EMERGENCY - PLEASE READ

This is Ben Shepherd. DO NOT CALL ANYONE IN ASHBURN COURT.

I'm in El Jadida, Morocco. Abducted by CIA agent Stephanie Russo for a mission to find missing operatives on a yacht owned by arms dealer Kaan Sadik.

CIA reports double agent in General Davis' communication department. All comms are monitored and fed to the Russians. DO NOT CALL ANYONE AT ASHBURN COURT.

Go speak to Evelyn Killcade directly. She will know how to reach the General without alerting the double agent.

May be taken aboard Sadik's yacht tonight, which is hidden on the ocean. He only checks in once a month in random ports.

Tell everyone there I love them."

"Oh fuck!" Trish gasped. She looked to Evelyn. "You have people nearby to extract Ben from this shit show?"

Evelyn looked at her as she frowned. "I'll need to speak to the General to find out."

"May I use your cell, Ed?" the Sergeant asked the big man.

"Yes! Of course, but you're going to call this General? Wouldn't his number be compromised too?" Ed asked.

"Contingency plan, Ed. Not the General."

"I need to tell the others!" Trish gasped.

Evelyn grabbed her arm. "You read what Ben said. We need to act as if all our communication channels have been compromised. Use them as usual but don't let anyone call, text, or email anyone about what we now know until we take out this communications leak. Face-to-face communications about Ben's abduction only!"

Trish looked her in the eye and nodded. Then she hugged Ed, pressing her chest against him, and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Ed."

His face flushed, and he nodded with a shy smile.

Liliya remained with Evelyn and Ed as Trish rushed back to Gabriella's. The moment she was through the door, questions were coming at her fast and furious.

"Give me a second!" She tugged off her boots and jacket, then walked into the living room. All eyes were on her.

"Ben is okay for now," she said, and everyone let out a breath. She looked to Chanel. "You were right. The CIA would deny their own activity. Their agent Russo abducted Ben and took him to Morocco."

"WHAT?!?" the group exclaimed in shock.

"She wants his help to find some agents on the yacht of some arms dealer. I don't know what the fuck is going on in her mind!" Trish said. She saw Tina lift her cell phone. "Wait! No one can say anything about this on their phone, text, or email. The General's office is monitoring our phones, and there's a double agent in his communications department who's feeding information on Ben to the Russians. That's how they knew where to send assassins after Ben. We can only speak face to face about this."

Tina looked at Trish in shock.

"Evelyn has a way to reach the General without going through the communication channels. The General will mobilize resources to find Ben and bring him home."

The group shared looks. Being powerless to help was not a good feeling.

-=-

"We must expose double agent. I know how we do this." Liliya said firmly, her tension showing in her voice.

Evelyn looked at her, and Liliya explained. "Once you contact the General, tell him we are setting a trap. Get him to monitor all outbound communication from the comm center. Also, tell him to monitor all comm center personnel. Call him on your cell when he is ready and tell him I went missing last night during the attack. You found a note in my house explaining I was going to Moscow to kill Sergey Zhdankov before he gets his hands on Tatiana. The double agent will need to report this immediately."

Evelyn nodded, and Ed looked at them both with wide eyes. Liliya smiled at him. "This is spy stuff."

"Yeah! I've never seen it in real life!" Ed replied.

Evelyn addressed the big man. "May I use your cell to make a call, Ed? Ben trusted you would be unmonitored, so we'll trust that."

"Sure!" Ed said with a nod.

"I'm calling a number I know is not part of the General's communications network. My direct command's personal cell." Evelyn dialed a number, and it rang three times.

"Kendricks."

"Captain, it's Sergeant Killcade."

"Evelyn! What can I do for you?"

"I'll have a new piece of armor to hand off to you from Ben shortly, but first, we have a problem. The General's comms are compromised by a double agent. We need you to get him to join you off property to help us set up a trap for the mole. Then we need to get the General to activate any and all resources closest to El Jadida, Morocco. The CIA has kidnapped Ben, and he's about to be taken onboard an arms dealer's yacht. If that happens, we may lose him."

"SHIT! Sorry! Right, what number can I reach you at? I assume you aren't calling me from your cell," Kendricks said.

"Ed, what's your cell number?" Evelyn asked as she pointed the phone at Ed.

He said the digits into the phone, and Evelyn put it back to his ear.

"Got the number. Who's Ed?" Kendricks asked.

"A good friend of Ben's. We gotta do this fast. I don't know how long Ben has before he's on that ship," Evelyn said urgently.

"On it. Wait for my call." The line went dead.

"Let's go back to my office so I can access my terminal if we need to do any research," Evelyn suggested. Ed nodded.

"How long can you stay with us, Ed? Your cell phone is our lifeline to the people who can help Ben," Liliya said.

Ed looked at her in surprise. "I-I should send Grace a text to tell her I won't be home for supper. Is it okay for me to tell her what I'm doing?"

"Maybe don't mention Ben until we have removed the spy," Liliya suggested with a smile, and he nodded. He texted a minimal message as they hustled over to Evelyn's

They had a spy to catch.

-=-

Ben settled the bill as Steph preened under the waiter's lecherous gaze. She'd changed into a new dress which was even more revealing than the last. Equally tight, the material was semi-translucent in critical areas.

They left the restaurant and walked out of the building to get some fresh air, casually strolling along the path next to an enormous fountain.

"When are we expected to go back into the casino?" Ben asked.

"We won't go there until I get word that Sadik is on his way. Then we'll walk the floor as I explain how the games work to you. I need you to be seen and generate a buzz, so feel free to pose for pictures and sign autographs."

"I don't do autographs," he sighed.

"Whatever!" she snapped.

He looked at her and saw that out here, away from the crowds, she was letting her real emotions surface. Maybe he'd get some answers. "What can you tell me about this Sadik guy?"

She glanced up at him, gave him an evaluating look, and sighed.

"Kan Sadik. Forty-five years old. Turkish citizen though he's not welcome there anymore. Only child. Parents killed by police during a raid at his uncle's farm during the man's wedding. The bride and her parents were killed as well."

"Shit!" Ben muttered, and Russo nodded before continuing.

"He was raised by his uncle, who was a smuggler and fence for stolen goods. He raised the boy to take over his business, and Kaan was a prodigy. Murdered his first man at the age of sixteen, but he served no time for it. His career picked up from there, and he branched into areas even his uncle feared to tread. He built an empire on the blood of thousands with his arms deals and other related crimes. There's a good chance he's a sociopath. He commissioned the custom mega yacht with some form of stealth tech and disappeared from the radar of all law authorities, but he continues to work from it."

She fell silent, and Ben watched emotions play across her face. Someone important to Russo was on that ship. Her eyes were aimed at the ground now.

"Can you tell me about the missing agents?" Ben asked.

Russo's face snapped up, and she gave him a hard look. He looked back at her.

"You want my help to determine if they are on the ship. Who are we looking for? How many people?" Ben asked.

She took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes closed for a moment. He thought she might refuse to answer, but she finally did.

"Three agents. Harold Gibson. American. Age thirty-one. Experienced field operative with a tech background. Harper Lane. American. Age twenty-nine. Field operative for ten years specializing in deep cover. Phan Thi Nguyêt." Russo paused. "Moon. She told me that's what her name means. Vietnamese national. Age twenty-six and worked in the field for two. She's a natural."

Ben picked up that Russo was most concerned about the latter. Perhaps involved in a personal relationship with her. That could get messy. "How long have they been on the ship?"

"A month." Her expression indicated her worry.

Ben thought about that as they walked. "So... the people he invites on his ship. They have to stay for a month?"

"No, they can come back with the supply ship as it remains with the main yacht for a day or two as it transfers its cargo to Sadik's ship. The team was supposed to come back with it, but they weren't there when it got back to port," Russo explained.

"So, we need to ensure we're on that supply ship before it finishes resupplying him."

"Right," she said firmly but offered nothing in the way of assurances that it could be done. She didn't look at him when she said it either. The knot in his stomach tightened.

"What are the odds that your team is still alive?" he asked bluntly, and she stopped to scowl at him, so he continued. "Realistically. You said this man's a murderer and a sociopath. If he learned who they were, what's to stop him from dumping them at sea? Sorry for the harsh words, but you're asking me to risk my life here."

"These supplies he's picking up aren't just for him. Kaan's mega yacht is a floating party. He hosts celebrities, the idle rich, and people he admires. We interviewed one and got a full report on how relaxed he felt after his stay. These people love the chance to kick back in absolute luxury away from the eyes of the public and media. Some visit for a day, but others stay for a month or two, reveling in total decadence in isolation like some kind of detox spa. The staterooms are luxury suites. The food is top-notch, the drinks are plentiful, and the party girls and boys are young and beautiful. Everyone wears these gauzy white pants, shirts, or swimwear if they desire. He doesn't allow any of his guests to witness his business dealings, but when he isn't working, he mingles with his guests and enjoys himself.

"Harper's cover was that of an heiress escaping a bad marriage. She might still be playing that role. She's a beautiful blonde and an expert at manipulating men. She's the least of my worries. Nguyêt is gorgeous and went undercover as a party-girl Harold picked up in his travels. Like I said, she's a natural. Harold's cover as the son of a US tech firm CEO was never meant for long scrutiny. If his cover fails, he could jeopardize Nguyêt."

Ben held her eyes with his trying to see if her confidence was just more wishful thinking.

"Right now, you are a perfect fit for someone who might want to stay on his yacht for an escape from the media. If he invites you, you can tell him you wouldn't mind checking it out," Stephanie insisted.

They finished up their walk by entering the building once more. They wandered through the halls and entered the casino. Ben frowned at the din of the slot machines.

"It's hard to hear yourself think in here!" he growled.

"This isn't where we want to be anyway. Let's walk over to where we can find the card games," Steph said with her big smile back on her face.

Ben began to catch the attention of some of the patrons. He did his best to remain calm and patiently allowed the excited guests to get their photos standing with him.

Between these bursts of noise, Steph gave Ben a refresher on the games the seated people were playing. He recalled some of the rules she mentioned, but it had been so long that he began to doubt he could pull this off.

"Ben Shepherd!"

He turned to look at the man who called out his name and felt Russo's hand tighten on his arm as she also turned to see him. That was his first clue.

Kaan Sadik was wearing a silver suit jacket, an open-collared white dress shirt with thick gold chains on display against his chest, tight red leather pants, and white alligator boots. He made it look like a uniform of sorts. The man was muscular and vital and wore his shoulder-length black hair brushed back. The only signs of his age were the silver patches at his temples and in his closely trimmed beard.

He was currently aiming a wide delighted smile at Ben.

"Yes?" Ben said.

"My name is Kaan Sadik. Your name has been circulating throughout the casino since I arrived," the man said.

Ben sighed. "Yes, I do have trouble remaining anonymous these days."

"Lead such an exciting life, there will be consequences," the man admonished with a grin.

Ben nodded with a shrug, then gestured to Steph. "This is my friend Steph."

"Steph Wilson," Russo gushed as she flashed her eyes at Sadik, pouring on the charm of a woman out of her element but excited to be there.

"Enchanted," Kaan said as he shook her hand. His attention quickly returned to Ben, dismissing the woman on Ben's arm.

"Do you play?" he asked Ben with a hint of a smile.

Ben glanced at a table and let a smile slip to his lips. "It's been a while, but I thought I might give it a try again," he admitted.

Kaan's smile was slightly reminiscent of a shark's when he heard this. "These tables are far too public to give players the privacy required to relax and concentrate on the game. I play at the high-stakes tables in the next room. Would you care to join me?"

Ben glanced in the direction he pointed and saw an arch in the far wall leading to another room with more tables. The opening was flanked by two large men and a smaller one with a tablet.

"I could cover your entry if the fifty thousand minimum bet is too dear for you. I understand you're good for it," Kaan said with a subtle dig.

"I don't normally travel with that much cash on me, but I'm sure the casino will extend me credit as well, so there won't be a need for you to spot me," Ben said, and Kaan nodded graciously. They walked across the room, and Ben was stopped twice for pictures before they reached the high-stakes room.

Sadik looked at the last group with annoyance. "You remain remarkably patient with these rude people!"

Ben sighed. "Oh, I've had my moments of rage and still do from time to time. The invasion of my personal space still rubs me the wrong way."

Kaan gave Ben an assessing look and nodded.

They stepped up to the man with the tablet, who smiled at Ben. "Mr. Shepherd! Welcome to our casino! Is there anything we can assist you with?

"If I'm going to join this game, I'll need credit," Ben said.

"Of course, sir. How much would you like?" the man asked.

Ben looked at Steph, and she just flashed him an excited smile. He sighed. "Better make it five-hundred-thousand."

Not a blink. "Certainly, Mr. Shepherd. I'll return to you shortly. Please find a table."

Ben and Steph once more followed Kaan, who seemed to have a table in mind. It was located near the middle of the room where three men were currently playing. Two folded with pained expressions, and the third grinned as he collected the chips.

The winner looked up at their approach and grinned. "Ah, Kaan! You've returned to let me win back my money! And you brought a friend whose money will soon be mine as well!"

Ben snorted softly at the man's excessive confidence. The two men who lost nodded to Kaan and walked away. Ben wasn't sure what it meant, but he caught one of them lock eyes with the arms dealer before walking away with a slight smile.

He took a closer look at the sitting man. He wasn't particularly handsome, fit, or tall. His shimmery grey suit made him look like he was trying to pull off Kaan's flamboyance, but it fell short, landing in the wannabe category. His clothes and the expensive bling he wore screamed wealth, but otherwise, he seemed unremarkable. One of the Idle rich?

When the smaller man focused on Ben, recognition arrived in his eyes, and he seemed to deflate slightly. "Oh, you're Ben Shepherd."

Kaan's eyes lit up with mirth. "See, you cannot escape your fame even from men typically consumed by their empire-building!"

Ben glanced at Kaan, then looked back at the other man, who seemed visibly upset that Ben wasn't showing any sign of recognition in return.

"It's thrilling to meet you, Mr. Frost!" Steph gushed, leaning forward to make her translucent fabric much more revealing. "Ben told me he's a recluse who refuses to watch TV or follow social media, so he'd have no clue about your amazing business success!" She looked at Ben. "Avery Frost is a highly successful business entrepreneur whose empire includes media and telecommunications corporations, sporting venues, entertainment complexes, you name it!"

Ben glanced at Russo and realized she was giving him an out. "Oh! Thank you, Steph." He turned back to Frost. "I'm particularly clueless when it comes to celebrity status as I work so hard to avoid my own. No offense intended. If it isn't posted on an engineering board, I don't read it."

The man seemed mollified by that, but he ignored Steph as Kaan had, and that rudeness rubbed Ben the wrong way. He already didn't care for these men.

"Engineering board?" the business mogul asked.

"An online forum for engineers to post requests for assistance in resolving issues," Ben explained.

"A bulletin board? Oh my god! They still exist in this day and age?" Avery snorted in amusement.

"Thankfully, they do. They're an excellent source for the engineering puzzles I like to work on," Ben responded.

Frost scoffed and waved a hand. "Whatever. Are we gonna play some poker? The game is No Limits Texas Hold'em and the table has a five percent rake, just so you're aware."

"Rake?" Ben looked to Kaan in question, and the man leaned forward with a grin of his own. "The casino takes five percent of the table winnings for hosting the games."

"Ah. Thanks." Ben said, and Avery shook his head in amusement as his grin grew.

They sat, Ben across from Avery with the dealer position to his right and Kaan to his left facing the empty spot. The three men looked up to see a new dealer approach the table. He nodded to the men, opened a fresh deck of cards, and began preparing.

A pretty woman moved to Ben's side and placed stacks of casino chips in front of him. He signed the receipt, and she left with a smile for him. He stared at the small number of chips in front of him and was amazed by how few it took to represent half a million dollars. Ben felt a nervous flutter as he nodded to the dealer and the first game began.

It didn't take long to realize how outclassed he was by these two players. He was down two-hundred-and-fifty thousand, and their smiles were wide and satisfied. He folded time after time to save his dwindling funds.

Then he realized what his problem was. He was trying to win. He looked over at Steph, who gave him a fun little pout. He couldn't help but chuckle as the expression looked so sweet on the face of this Mata Hari in disguise.

"Something amuses you about losing, Benjamin?" Avery asked.

Ben glanced over at the man, and his grin grew as he no longer saw him as an opponent. He was just a sad little man struggling to prove his significance in ways that held no true value. "It's Ben. I was just thinking of that old adage, Lucky at cards, unlucky in love." He lifted Steph's hand to his lips and brushed her knuckles across them. She sucked in a breath as her eyes widened. "I guess I'm proving the converse."

He looked back to the two men and saw Kaan watching him with a puzzled but intrigued expression, but Avery's face showed Ben had scored a direct hit on the man's sore spot.

"This means you're quitting?" Frost said with a little too much venom.

Ben held the man's eyes with his as he kissed Steph's palm, pulling an involuntary sigh from the woman. He released her hand, and she pulled it back reluctantly. Her nipples pressed against the sheer fabric of her tight dress, and her face flushed.

"Not at all. Just reminding myself of my priorities," Ben said with a sly smile.

This sent a flush of heat up Avery's throat. Ben nodded to the dealer who was waiting for them to be ready for the next hand.

Relaxed, Ben let himself slip into the flow of the game. He might as well enjoy himself.

Two games later, Ben was down another hundred thousand, but Avery's nerves began to fray. The business mogul was floundering between Kaan's relentless pressure and Ben's almost inattentive play. He'd lost to the arms dealer in the previous two hands and was looking for a win. He looked like he wanted to crush his opponents as he did in his business dealings.

"This penny ante stuff is boring. Let's say we up the stakes and inject some adrenaline into the next game," he said boldly.

Kaan smiled and raised an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?" he asked mildly.

Avery eyed the tiny stack of chips before Ben and smiled. "Minimum bets, one million."

Kaan gave out a bark of delighted laughter. "Are you certain you're willing to lose that much?"

"Bring it!" Avery grinned back like the shark he wanted to be.

They both turned their faces to Ben as he hadn't said anything.

Ben heard a discreet throat clearing behind him and turned to see a well-dressed older gentleman standing at his shoulder.

"Good evening, Mr. Shepherd. I'm Claudio Herraras, General Manager for the resort. May I be of assistance to you this evening?"

"Good evening, Mr. Herreras. Please call me Ben. It seems the game I'm involved in has increased its stakes. Might I extend my credit with the resort by another five million?" He dug into his pocket for his wallet and pulled from it the credit card Walter got for him. He'd never taken it out before. It was black, and Walter said it had no credit limit. "I have this as collateral."

"That's quite all right, Ben. Please call me Claudio. The resort will extend you the credit you need," the man said. He gestured to someone standing between two bulky security men. The woman stepped forward and placed the chips on the table before Ben as he tucked away his card and wallet. He signed the chit for the extra five million dollars.

"Thank you, Claudio! Wish me luck," he said with a grin, and the man nodded as he stepped back from the table with the woman. Ben caught the shocked expression on Russo's face and raised an eyebrow in concern. She looked away to regain her composure.

Ben grinned at the stiff smile on Kaan's face. "Shall we? Avery seems extra eager to play a serious game." The man in question shot daggers at Ben with his eyes. Perhaps his intent was to shame Ben into leaving the game?

"Let's go, wiseguy!" Avery snapped.

Ben looked to the dealer who was looking at him. "Oh! It's my turn to be the Small Blind? So that's five-hundred-thousand?" The dealer nodded with a smile. Ben pushed a stack of ten fifty-thousand-dollar chips forward, and Kaan moved twenty chips next to them.

"The pot is pretty exciting already!" Ben said with a grin, and Avery rolled his eyes.

The dealer dealt them each two cards. Ben took a discrete peek at his and saw the Queen of Hearts and the Queen of Diamonds. He already had a pair and high-value ones, too. But, not likely a winning hand just yet.

He saw Kaan's impassive expression hadn't changed after he looked at his cards. The man was likely hollow inside, so hiding his true emotions wasn't much of a stretch for him. Lucky for his poker game!

Avery's expression wasn't so neutral. He wasn't too pleased with his cards.

Now the betting could begin.

-=-

Avery wanted to wipe that dumb-ass smile from Shepherd's face. He knew he wasn't strong enough to do it physically, but he'd been taking down opponents bigger than him his entire life.

While Kaan was a tough egg to crack with his immobile mask of a face, Ben's emotions were plain to see, but he was just a musclebound fool.

His eyes flicked over to Steph. She was exactly Avery's type. Redhead, slim, athletic, hot as fuck, and dressed like a slut with a vacant look in her eyes. The injustice of her being with this big goon instead of him made his stomach twist.

The cards he'd been given were the eight of spades and the nine of diamonds. Not stellar cards, but it was early in the game.

It was time to take him down as only a champion could. He still had over four-and-a-quarter million, even after losing more than a million to Kaan earlier in the evening. He'd be getting that back in this game.

Avery pushed two million in chips next to the pot. "Raise."

He immediately locked eyes with Ben and smirked.

Without delay, Ben added one point five million to the pot. Kaan added one million without hesitation.

The pot was now six million.

Doubt began to wiggle into Avery's mind. Fuck, he hated that!

-=-

Kaan was really enjoying ganging up on the weakling with Ben. Frost was too easy to manipulate, and that was boring.

Ben, on the other hand, was an interesting mystery. He'd begun as just another basic poker loser, but when he turned his sights on tormenting Avery, the game changed, and Kaan's interest spiked.

He was having trouble following Ben's moves as the man continued losing, but there had to be a strategy. Kaan was still confident of victory tonight, but this was one of the most enjoyable evenings he'd had playing poker in months.

The dealer had given him a pair of sevens, diamonds and clubs, so that was a promising start. The pot hitting six million after just the first round of betting also captured Kaan's interest.

He hoped Ben wouldn't prove to be a poor loser.

-=-

After the giddy thrust of their two-million-dollar bets, the game moved to the next phase, the Flop.

Ben watched the dealer move the top card to the muck, then draw three more to flip them onto their backs.

The seven of hearts, the Queen of spades, and the six of diamonds.

With the two Queens he had, Ben was looking at three of a kind. He worried this might be too strong a hand as he needed to lose. He hoped Kaan or Avery were doing better. He picked up a sense of tension from the latter. The man had been getting more and more tense as Ben relaxed. Weird.

He knew it was time he should back down and let Kaan win. Russo suggested this would be their best chance at getting him to take them on his yacht.

However, Ben had been keeping a close watch on the man and picked up a disturbing impression from the puzzled expressions the man had thrown at him tonight. He might not understand some basic human behaviors. That said, the man was cunning. If he caught Ben throwing the game, he'd be instantly suspicious, and Ben was useless at faking anything. He was locked in the game, and now he was looking at losing millions of dollars in a matter of minutes. Shit.

The dealer looked to Ben.

"Check," he said, as he didn't want to add anything to the pot.

"Check." Kaan also passed on raising the pot, so the dealer looked to Avery.

"Raise," the man said, adding another two million dollars to the pot, but his cockiness wasn't what it had been earlier. Kaan's answering smile showed he smelled blood in the water.

Ben called the raise, and Kaan did as well.

The dealer moved the next top card to the muck and dealt the turn.

It was the four of clubs. Thankfully, not useful to Ben. From the brief twitch in the corner of Avery's eye, Ben thought it wasn't useful to him either. No hint of a tell from Kaan.

"Check," Ben said.

Kaan's eyes locked on Ben, and he played with his stack of chips before smiling. "Check."

Ben and Kaan looked at Avery expectantly and saw his jaw muscles jumping as he stared at his dwindling stack of chips. For a moment, it looked like he might try to raise again. Ben's impression was he was relying on the River to save him but gambling everything on the last draw seemed ridiculous.

"Check," Avery finally said.

When the dealer flipped the final card, Ben wasn't paying attention to it. Instead, he watched Avery's face - which went rigid - and Ben knew he was done. He'd just lost four million dollars in a single hand.

Ben glanced at Kaan and couldn't help but see the glee in his eyes as he was also watching Avery.

Sighing, Ben was done. "Check," he said.

Kaan shook his head. "I'm all in." His grin widened as he added an additional five-hundred-thousand to the pot. He looked at Avery. "Will you join me?"

Avery's expression finally cracked. "Fuck you. I fold." He pushed his cards to the dealer.

Kaan turned to look at Ben. "What about you, Ben? Do you have what it takes to challenge me?"

Ben knew he had to keep playing to keep him intrigued. He nodded and slid ten fifty-thousand-dollar chips into the pot.

Kaan clapped his hands together as he smiled in victory. "Ben, hopefully you are a better engineer than a poker player. Stick with your strengths."

He flipped his hole cards, and Ben saw he had two sevens. Ben's chest tightened as he thought of his own three Queens. "Full House, Ben. Three sevens and two Queens." A wave of relief swept through Ben, then his chest tightened once more.

Kaan was chuckling as he reached for the pot but stopped as Ben lifted his hand. The man grinned curiously at him.

"You said two Queens?" Ben said softly as he finally looked at the dealer's cards. He smiled crookedly and flipped his hole cards to expose them.

Kaan's smile drained away.

"The thing is, Kaan, Queens always come to my rescue. If I'm not wrong, Four of a Kind beats a Full House," Ben said and looked to the dealer for confirmation. The man nodded with a smile.

Ben hadn't planned this at all, and he didn't want it, but he wasn't going to argue with four Queens. He wasn't superstitious at all, but this felt like a sign.

Avery made a choking sound of throttled outrage, then his expression closed up. He stiffly collected his remaining chips into the pockets of his suit jacket. He'd gone from five and a half million to just three hundred-and-fifty thousand in one night. He stood up and marched away without looking back.

Ben turned his face back to Kaan as the man had regained his composure. "Thank you for the delightful evening, Ben. You play a very convincing amateur, but now I see the truth. Maybe we can do this again some day so I can win my money back," Kaan said with a stiff smile that didn't reach his eyes. He stood and quickly walked away.

Before Ben could apologize to a very stunned Russo, the General Manager stepped up next to Ben with a smile on his face. "Congratulations, Ben!" His clerk and her guards were standing ready.

"Thank you, Claudio! Uh, the pot is thirteen million. I believe the casino's five percent share is six-hundred-and-fifty-thousand?" Ben calculated.

Claudio nodded. "That is correct, Ben."

"Deducting the five-million, five-hundred-thousand-dollar casino credit leaves me with six-million, eight-hundred-and-fifty-thousand in winnings."

"Again, you are correct. How would you like the funds?" the General Manager asked.

Ben looked up at him. "Do you have a pen and some paper?"

Claudio reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen and a small notepad.

Ben wrote down the names Renny and Dotty Dashing. "This lovely older couple are guests here, and they stopped me for a photo earlier. They told me it was her birthday and her husband brought her to Casablanca as she's a big fan of the movie. Could you present them with the winnings as a check with the message Happy Birthday Dotty from your friend Ben?"

Claudio was stunned by this and accepted the notepad and pen back from Ben, then shook his hand. "Of course, Ben! I would be honored. This is a most generous thing you are doing for them!"

Ben smiled and shrugged. "They seemed really nice, and it was such a romantic gesture to bring his wife here. That deserves a reward."

"It will be done as you asked!" Claudio gushed.

His clerk gathered up all the chips, but Ben pulled out two, handed the dealer a ten-thousand-dollar chip, and the General Manager a fifty-thousand-dollar chip. "Thanks for a fun evening!"

Before they could fuss over him anymore, Ben stood and collected Russo, who looked like she might cry.

He looked to Claudio. "Is there some way I could return to our room without going through the casino? My companion is a little overcome."

"Of course, Ben!" the General Manager said as he gestured for one of the security guards to come closer. "Escort Mr. Shepherd and his companion to the elevators through the access corridors."

Ben shook the General Manager's hand and guided Steph after the guard through some long hallways to exit next to the elevator banks.

He got Russo upstairs and into their room.

Once the door was closed, she spun and pummeled his chest as the tears came.

"You just had to lose to him! Why did you win? You were my last chance!" she wailed.

Ben caught her hands and pulled her tight as she broke down and cried. He was a little surprised as she'd always been so in control whenever they met. It had to be her personal relationship with the operative, Moon.

"Kaan was watching me like a hawk the entire time we were together. I'm no actor. I can't fake losing convincingly. He would have noticed and been suspicious of me. Besides, I had no expectation of winning. I wasn't playing to win! That was pure luck and random chance."

Stephanie clung to him and let her grief out, and Ben rubbed her back. The woman was emotionally spent.

"Why don't you have a rest, and we'll contact your team and try to set up another meeting," he said gently.

"I don't have a team here."

Ben paused as he must have heard her wrong. "We can call them in from where they are at the moment?"

Stephanie pulled back and looked up at Ben with a guilty expression. "I'm off mission. Gone rogue," she said with a crooked smile and a half-hearted snort.

"What do you mean?"

"My team is on board that ship. They've been deemed lost by my superiors at Langley. Not to be recovered. Expendable."

Ben frowned and shook his head. "You collected me with a team at home. You got me onto a jet and flew me all the way to Morocco with a team! The girl with the suit?"

"The extraction team didn't know we weren't sanctioned to do it. I forged the mission documents. I'm very good at my job, which I no longer have at this point. My local asset isn't officially CIA." She slumped and sat on the end of the bed.

Ben's mind was racing. He didn't know what to do with himself. She'd used him and was willing to put his life in severe jeopardy to save her team. Another thought hit him.

"The CIA doesn't know I'm here. Even if we got on the ship, there'd be no support team to get us off!" he barked as his anger ramped up.

"If we'd radioed his location from the ship, everyone would show up," she said weakly.

"FUCK!" Ben shouted, and she winced. He needed to make a call, but he didn't want to be near her when he made it!

He grabbed one of the room keycards. "I need some air!"

Ben walked down the hall to the elevators. He'd speak to Claudio and arrange a call from his office. He was going home.

The elevator door opened, and he began to step inside when he bumped into someone stepping off.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ben apologized and looked up into the surprised eyes of another large man.

Then his mind filled with stars as a stun baton was jammed against his throat.

Chapter 43

General Davis sat in a small conference room in the Pentagon, waiting for his guest to finish his call in the hallway and join him.

He really wanted to go home and get a few hours of sleep, but the current absence of a valuable asset put his personal desires on the backburner.

Ben Shepherd had been abducted from one of the most secure neighborhoods in America. What made that possible was a series of very well-timed moves by a CIA operative who was currently in the wind.

It was only through a text message Ben got to a friend he worked with that they knew he was in Morocco with Agent Russo.

The door opened, and Director Garroway entered to take a seat across the table. Garroway wasn't the man Davis wanted to speak with, but the Director of the CIA was currently with the POTUS. So, Davis got to talk with the next in command.

"I just spoke with my team, and they confirmed Agent Russo forged orders to have a team assist her with transferring your asset overseas. She has her own local resources on the ground in Morocco, so we lost contact with her then. Her previous team was investigating a very difficult target, an arms dealer by the name of Kaan Sadik, who remains at large in his stealthed yacht in international waters. We believe they were captured by the man's security. The mission was terminated, and the team members have been listed as missing and presumed dead. Russo did not take the loss of her team well. It's happened before, but this time she took it personally. She's losing her edge, so it's likely time for her to retire."

"She kidnapped a US citizen on domestic soil, took him to fucking Africa, and into a perilous situation! She's doing more than retiring!" Davis snapped.

"We can argue the details later. Was there something else I can help you with?" Garroway asked.

The General took a moment to breathe and not beat the man to death with his bare hands.

"There is also the little matter of the CIA being aware of a double agent in my communications team and not sharing that information with me. This agent on multiple occasions gave precise location information to Russian hit teams charged with assassinating Mr. Shepherd."

The Director did a credible job of presenting a disbelieving expression. "It's the first I've heard of this agent if there is one. I don't know where you got this information—"

"Your rogue agent, after she took Ben to Morocco, warned him not to attempt to contact anyone my communication center is monitoring because of a double agent your agency was not only aware of but found useful for your own purposes," Davis explained.

Garroway paused, then shrugged dismissively. "Hearsay is not proof—"

"Ben somehow got a message to us outside the compromised channels, and we set a trap for the double agent. He stepped neatly into the noose, and we buried him so deep he won't see sunlight for the rest of his natural life."

The Director wasted no time. "As you know, my agency has jurisdiction over all domestic espionage suspects."

"What spy?" Davis asked with a straight face. "Didn't you just deny his existence and your knowledge of him?"

Garroway stared at the other man as a smile slowly spread across the General's face.

"We're done here. Tell your boss he's made a very large lapse of judgment when he placed his agency's agenda above the safety and well-being of one of my friends. Now, piss off."

The Director got to his feet stiffly and left the room.

Davis rubbed his eyes and pushed himself to his feet. Soon he could rest, but first, he needed an update on getting resources to Ben's location.

He marched over to the elevators and took one down to the lower level, where he had a situation room set up to track their progress on their hunt and retrieval of Ben.

"At ease!" he said pre-emptively as he rushed into the room. "Give me an update!"

"We've received notice of several photos appearing on social media sites of Mr. Shepherd in the presence of Agent Russo at a resort casino near El Jadida, Morocco," his Lieutenant said immediately.

"Have you reached the manager of that resort?"

"Yes, sir! We've asked him to offer Ben protection until we get resources to his location. We're awaiting confirmation they have him."

"Sir, someone has posted a video of Mr. Shepherd playing poker with an unidentified man and Avery Frost, an American business mogul. Agent Russo is also with Mr. Shepherd. The vid is from the resort's security camera above and behind the dealer," another soldier said to the General.

The General looked over the technician's shoulder and stared at the face of the man across from the dealer. "This may be the arms dealer Russo was hunting." He looked across the room to his research team. "Do we have information on Kaan Sadik?"

"Working on that now, General," came the response.

Davis returned his attention to the screen. "If they posted the video, the game is over. Skip to the end!"

They watched Ben win the hand, and the other players leave. Davis watched the face of Sadik, and the hair rose on his neck. "Call the manager of that resort again!"

"Yes, sir,"

He leaned in a little closer to the technician. "Get me a copy of that video," he said softly.

"Yes, General," she responded equally quiet.

"Sir! I have Agent Russo on the line. She's with the General Manager now."

Davis pulled on a headset and nodded to accept the call. "General Davis."

"General, this is Stephanie Russo. I just watched the resort's security camera video of Kaan Sadik's men carrying Ben from the hotel. He's likely on his way to Casablanca, where he'll be taken to the arms dealer's ship."

"What have you done?" Davis growled menacingly.

"He was my ticket to getting aboard that ship myself. My people are on that yacht," she said.

"I just spoke to your boss. He said the agency has declared they're all dead," Davis said bluntly.

"My bosses are assholes! They write assets off too willingly, like their all expendable. These are my people!"

"AND BEN IS MINE!" Davis bellowed into the phone.

"I know. I'm so sorry. You have someone nearby you can send to intercept?" Russo said contritely.

"We're working on that," the General sighed as fatigue washed over him.

"Make sure they run silent. Sadik has contacts in every port along the European and African coastline who send him updates on ship movements via satellite comms."

"Shit. When was the CIA going to share this information?" Davis growled.

"The CIA isn't about sharing," Stephanie reminded him. Then she sighed. "Ben is resourceful. He pulled off a miracle in Russia. He could do it again," the agent suggested.

"Ben wasn't alone. He had a team with him, including Trish Campbell!"

Stephanie made a sound of recognition as she'd heard of the woman's toughness and tenacity. "Ben won't be alone. There are people on board who will help."

"He's going on a Gun Runners ship. They're all cut-throat criminals!" he exclaimed.

"You never got a briefing from the CIA on Kaan's ship. The top levels are all reserved for an endless party for the obscenely rich and reclusive, fugitives from the law seeking asylum, as well as the occasional celebrity just seeking a place to avoid the press for a month or two. Below decks is where Kaan's criminal enterprise is run. Kaan will keep Ben on the top decks. On display for his rich friends. That's where Ben may find support. I have faith in him. If anyone can save my people, it's Ben."

"He doesn't have to save everyone! Doesn't he deserve to save himself for once?" David snapped.

Stephanie was quiet for a moment. When her voice returned, it was shaky. "I need to get them out. It's my fault they're there."

"It's also your fault Ben is," Davis insisted.

"Yes," she agreed softly.

The General sighed. He needed to sleep. "Stay there. I'll contact you when I know more."

He tugged the headset off and looked to the Lieutenant in charge of the situation room. "Have you been able to reach the Harry S. Truman?"

"Yes, sir. Captain Garrick has indicated they are underway at their top speed and should reach the Strait of Gibraltar in roughly fourteen hours and be in the area of Casablanca in another six."

"Twenty hours. Shit. Call him back and let him know there is surveillance reporting his location to the target ship all along the coast," the General said.

The Lieutenant stared at him. "Nothing gets through the Strait of Gibraltar unwitnessed, especially something as large as a Nimitz class aircraft carrier!"

Davis stewed on that. "Inform the captain that his course should appear to indicate he is returning to the states until he is beyond the visible range of shore observation. Then and only then should he turn south."

"Yes, sir!"

Davis looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be on the ball, so he could afford to catch some rest.

He hoped Ben wouldn't be feeding the fishes by the time the Truman reached his location. If they could find the damn yacht at all!

-=-

For the second time, Ben woke to feel a gentle and warm breeze blowing across his body. He picked up the scent of perfume and salt. Sunlight was warming his bare skin from his waist upwards. He raised a hand to his forehead as he could feel his pulse thumping in his head.

"Leave us."

That voice didn't belong to Russo, and his sore brain tried to place it. He felt the mattress he was on shift when someone stood up and walked away.

Finally, he gave up trying to guess the face that matched the voice and cracked his eyes open. He immediately closed them with a moan as they were too sensitive to the light. He'd been drugged again?

"There's a glass of water and painkillers on the table next to the bed. The sedatives can be rough."

Ben got himself to a seated position on the edge of the bed and managed to minimally open his eyes. He found the glass and pills. He paused as he looked at the drugs.

"They are just painkillers. Take them or not. You've been out for sixteen hours. You need the water."

Ben took the pills and drank the water. Then his bladder announced it needed attention.

He turned his head and saw Kaan Sadik watching him from the doorway with two of his goons standing just inside with stun rods in their hands.

Ben looked around the room and suddenly realized he was moving. It was a gentle sway, but he guessed that meant he was on the yacht. He also thought they weren't underway as he didn't feel that kind of motion. The bedroom he was in was very luxurious, and his patio doors were open to let in the afternoon sunlight.

"Nice room. Is there a washroom?" Ben asked.

"To your left," Kaan said, his tone more relaxed now that Ben hadn't gone off.

Ben stood, bracing himself against the wall, and went into the bathroom to relieve himself. He saw he was wearing the gauzy white pants Russo claimed were the outfit of Kaan's guests. He assumed this meant he was to be treated like a guest too. If he behaved.

He washed his hands, dried them, then stepped back out into the stateroom to look into Kaan's eyes. "So, you brought me onto a yacht?"

The man smiled. "Yes! My moving oasis of calm in a chaotic world."

"You could have asked," Ben replied.

Kaan tilted his head and fixed an evaluating stare at him. "The woman you were with. She was CIA."

Ben looked at him cautiously. He said was. Past tense. Did that mean they'd killed her? "Where is she?"

"I have no idea. We didn't collect her." Kaan frowned at him. "My question is, why were you working for them?" Kaan asked.

Ben sighed in relief. Stephanie was safe. He rubbed his aching head. He had the truth, so he'd use it. "You make it sound like they asked me."

Kaan's eyebrows rose, and Ben nodded. "This is the second time in a row I've been drugged and woke up without my clothes." He looked around. "Is my suit not available? This outfit is a little revealing."

"The CIA kidnapped you and brought you here? Why?" Kaan said incredulously.

Ben looked at him and gestured to the room. "To get aboard the yacht. They used me as bait. They said you would invite me. They said nothing about me getting abducted again!"

Kaan was looking at him suspiciously. "What was your mission once you were onboard?"

Ben chuckled. "Mission? Let me be clear here. I wasn't meant to do anything. I'm just the bait. My companion was supposed to come with me. You'd have to ask her what her mission was, but she's not here. So, I guess her mission was a bust."

Kaan watched Ben carefully, suspicion and confusion warring in his expression.

"I would like to believe you, Ben, but you've already proven to me that you are a master-level grifter," he said stiffly.

"Because I won one hand of poker by sheer luck?" Ben snorted.

"You claim your win wasn't due to your gambling skill?" Kaan asked in disbelief.

Ben nodded. "The last time I played poker of any kind was when I was in college with roommates. I wasn't very good at it back then, either. I have no poker face, so I can't bluff at all. I told the CIA agent this, but she said it was better if I lost as you'd more likely ask me to join you on your boat—"

"Ship," Kaan interrupted.

Ben watched him for a second, then continued. "Ship. She asked me to lose the game, but I picked up while we played that you'd notice if I played to intentionally lose." Kaan nodded. "So, I just left it up to pure chance as I have no skill at the game."

Kaan burst into sudden and loud laughter, and Ben watched him carefully. If the man was unstable, he might order his men to kill him.

"This is highly amusing, and if true, I'm delighted by the outcome. I'm certain the CIA told you who I am and what I do."

Ben nodded. "They told me you were an arms dealer."

Kaan watched Ben's face, then finally nodded. "Yes, this is one of my areas of interest."

The man paused to examine Ben for a while, and Ben felt that his right to live was being determined. A cold sweat trickled down his spine.

Kaan finally nodded. "We must come to an agreement. I would like to host you on my ship until we next go to port. You will be free to move amongst my other guests and enjoy all the amenities onboard as long as you restrict your movements to decks B to D. That's three levels you can explore. Everything else is off limits."

Ben nodded.

"If you mention anything about my occupation or how you came to be on my ship to my guests, I will not punish you. I will kill them. Their death will be on your hands. Can you behave yourself until our next port of call?"

"Yes. My family will be worried about me in my absence. Is there any way I could get word to them?"

"No, Ben. That is the point of my oasis. No connection to the outside world," Kaan said with an intense look.

"I see. Okay," Ben said.

"I also want my money back," Kaan stated flatly.

Ben looked at him carefully. "Your money?"

"The thirteen million I should have won in that game," Sadik explained.

Ben scowled. "You lost that game to pure random chance. That happens in poker. It happens in life. I should have grown up with parents, but some asshole drunk driver killed them when I was five. That's what life dishes out, and it doesn't care what you want. Life doesn't give do-overs. You just accept it and move forward," Ben growled, holding Kaan's eyes with his.

He saw Kaan's eye twitch as he stared back at Ben. Perhaps it wasn't the smartest thing to tell a psychotic criminal to Suck it up, Buttercup, but what Kaan just said flew in the face of Ben's firmest beliefs.

Ben picked up the nervous body language of Kaan's associates.

"Then we will play again over the next few weeks, and we'll see how your pure random chance stands up against my skill. You will play with credit I will grant you, and you will repay your debt before you leave this ship," Kaan said stiffly.

Ben was going to argue this was extortion, but he realized this option allowed him to live and gave him time for rescuers to find him. So, he nodded.

Kaan relaxed. "Good. You may walk amongst my guests and enjoy their company. There is also plenty of female companionship available for sex, or male if that's your preference." He looked at Ben curiously.

"I'm not interested in sex with strangers," Ben stated.

"Another thing to be determined over the next month," Kaan said with a smirk. "Remember, a slip of the tongue means death for the one you spoke with, so be discreet."

"Understood," Ben said stiffly.

Kaan smiled. "Let's make the best of this opportunity. I believe you will find the other guests to be quite entertaining, and like I said, the companions are also delightful. You don't have to use them for sex. They're here to cater to your every whim. Get creative!"

Ben just stared at him.

"Dinner is at nine. Come dressed as you are, or feel free to wear the shirt in your closet," Kaan said casually as he gestured to the side of the room where the closet was. "I would normally be heading for warmer waters, but business draws me north, so enjoying the outer deck will not be so pleasant during this journey. The inside areas of the ship are kept at a comfortable temperature." He eyed Ben for agreement, so Ben nodded.

"This will be your room until we reach the next port. Memorize its location... or sleep with a stranger in their room." He chuckled as he walked away. His men gave Ben a stern look, then followed.

Ben sat down on the edge of his bed again and considered his options.

Staying alive was priority one. The longer he was alive, the longer his rescuers would have to find him.

They weren't moving now, and he assumed any rescuer would need time to get to his last known location. He wondered if there was anything he could do to ensure they remained stationary. He doubted it.

That brought him to his next challenge. Somehow the ship was avoiding detection. If he could, Ben would have to find a way to make the yacht visible to its hunters, as long as doing so didn't interfere with priority one.

He wouldn't be able to rely on anyone else as he didn't want to cause anyone to die because he dragged them into this mess.

The last priority was to find Stephanie's people. If they were still alive.

He took a deep breath, went to the closet, and pulled the shirt out. He was surprised to see it fit. Then he realized it had no means to close in the front. His scars were on display unless he held the shirt closed with a hand.

Fuck it.

He walked out of his cabin and saw it was labeled B8 for level B, room eight. Considering how Russo wanted to use him as bait, the room number was appropriate. That probably amused Kaan as well.

When he walked to the stairwell at the end of the hall, he saw a floorplan map showing two levels above this one. Access to level A, which was likely Kaan's personal apartment, and the bridge above, was behind a door requiring some form of pass card to open it. The bridge was where radio and navigation equipment were. He needed access to both to be rescued.

Glancing at the floorplan and looking back down the hallway, Ben realized level B was just guest suites, twelve of them. C level seemed to contain a lounge, a bar, and a dance club. There was more space, but the map didn't indicate its use.

Finally, there was D for Deck level, which was the largest of them. A pool, lounge chairs, umbrellas, and another bar were at the very back. Next was a large solarium where guests could enjoy sunbathing under the glass enclosure when it was too cool outside, as it would be during his visit. Ben supposed you could sit there and storm watch in comfort as well. Through a set of doors was the grand dining area. The kitchen was ahead of that but was off-limits to the guests. What was ahead of that was unmarked, but there was no access to it due to the kitchen.

The floor plan showed nothing below the deck. Or rather, it just indicated it was restricted.

He realized he'd better take the tour and familiarize himself with the ship.

Ben walked down the stairs and found himself in the lounge. Lots of comfortable seating for conversing with the other guests or reading one of the books in the cabinets against the wall. He passed through the lounge and entered the bar. Again, there were tables for sitting around and enjoying a drink. These would easily convert into poker tables, so the bar could be used for a card room.

Passing through the bar, he stepped through two sets of doors and into a wall of sound. The dance club was booming with harsh music, and colored lights flashed in the dim room, making it difficult to see. Then he caught his first sight of other guests. They seemed to be dressed in the same gauzy white clothes, but he couldn't be sure with the flashing colored lights. Two young women were slow dancing on the dancefloor. They wore the presumably white bikini tops and flowy pants. Ben spotted a young man slumped back against his chair as he watched the women bump and grind in slow motion.

Ben looked closer at their faces; all three seemed to have vacant eyes. They were stoned on something.

They slowly turned their faces at his approach, and he got a better look. The girls were in their early twenties, and one had long straight light colored hair while the other had long, wavy dark hair. Both must have had extensive cosmetic surgery as there was nothing natural about their symmetrical features. High cheekbones, blade-thin noses, and oversized plump lips for both girls. He wondered what they looked like before. When they turned their bodies toward him, he saw their lips weren't the only overinflated feature.

As recognition broke past their mental fog, the blonde broke into a wide grin and tugged her bikini top off to expose her balloon-sized tits.

In contrast, the brunette began to cry and threw her arms up as if to ward him off.

"NO! NO! I don't want to go back!" she screamed and ran around him to dash through the doors into the bar.

Ben turned back just in time to see the young man with long blonde hair charging at him with his fists raised.

He caught the young man's sloppy punch and yanked him forward to crash into a table and chairs at the side of the room and fall to the floor. He was moving slowly but clearly out of the fight, so Ben glanced at the stupidly grinning topless blonde woman now tugging her nipples and continued walking through the club to the far side, where he went through another set of double doors and down the stairs once more. He exited into a small lobby between the dining room and the solarium. There was no one in the dining room, but the solarium lounge chairs showed three more guests and a group of young men and women serving them drinks, rubbing tanning lotion into their skin, or sitting nearby waiting to be called upon. These companions wore a light blue variant of the same clothes the guests wore. He counted eight workers for the three guests, but there may have been more elsewhere.

The pool outside wasn't very large, but Ben imagined it might feel good to take a dip on a hot day which he guessed was not the case today.

Ben took a deep breath and walked into the solarium to approach the group. Heads turned, and he forced the scowl from his face to relax his expression. There was little value in starting off on bad footing with these strangers.

A heavyset older man with a fringe of short grey hair was reclining on the lounger closest to him. Two young women were rubbing lotion onto his skin, one at his feet and the other massaging it into his hairy shoulders. The two ladies froze as they stared at him. The man said a sharp word, and they returned to their duties. Meanwhile, he kept his face turned toward Ben, but his expression remained in a scowl. Ben nodded to him as he walked past.

The next chair was occupied by another man, but he was in much better shape than the first. He had to be in his early thirties, his once muscular body beginning to show some neglect. He looked like he might be close to Ben's height, and his shoulder-length hair was unnaturally dark, likely dye hiding premature greying. His expression was the opposite of the first man's. He had the widest grin on his face. He pushed the two young women working on his lotion aside and got to his feet to join Ben.

"As I live and breathe, Ben Shepherd! Struth, I never expected to meet you here!" the man gushed, his thick Australian accent coloring his words.

"I believe Mr. Shepherd has as much reason to be here as you, Noah, though I doubt he has as much reason to fear going home," the third guest said from her lounge.

Noah's head whipped around to glare at the tall, short-haired brunette beauty stretched out on a lounger a few chairs over.

"Keep it civil, love. No need to air your dirty laundry so early in the introductions," Noah said with a stiff tone.

He turned back to Ben, slipping a professional smile back on his face with a politician's ease.

"Noah Pearce. Glad to make your acquaintance." He held out his hand, so Ben politely shook it.

"Looking for an escape from the constant attention from the jackals, Mr. Shepherd?" the woman asked, her French accent tickling his ears delightfully.

Ben couldn't tell them he'd been kidnapped, so this was close to the truth as he could get. "It will be welcome to not be under their microscope for a bit."

He couldn't see her eyes behind the large sunglasses she was wearing, but he got the impression she was giving him the once over. "You don't recognize me. This is welcome, too," she said.

"As I've recently been reminded, I'm a bit of a recluse. I don't watch television, and I don't follow the news. I concentrate on my family and friends and work on my engineering projects, which are my sources of joy and entertainment," Ben admitted.

She smiled up at him. "This is good." She lifted her hand towards him. "I'm Yvonne Guillebeaux." He stepped closer to shake her hand and nodded. She grinned at him and tilted her head toward the dance club. "Have you met the bimbo twins?"

Ben knew who she meant, but he wouldn't play that game. "I met two young women and a young man. I believe their perceptions might be altered by some substance as their reactions to me seemed... off."

Noah laughed. "You sound like a Polly!"

Ben looked at him in confusion.

"He means politician. Even a disgraced Polly recognizes that language," Yvonne said with a sly smile.

Noah spun and pointed a finger at her as his humor flashed to anger. "Shut it, slut!"

"Whoa!" Ben barked to stop the rapid escalation of hostilities. He saw Yvonne's upper chest flush red in anger as her smile became a snarl. "Please, I just got here. I don't know anyone, and I don't need to know anything you don't want to talk about. Can't we just remain civil through my first day here?"

Yvonne nodded to him, and Noah cleared his expression with practiced ease and smiled at Ben.

"Are there any more guests I haven't met?" Ben asked.

"Just the Princess," Noah said.

Ben gave him a sharp look, and Noah held up his hands in defense. "No, really. She's a Princess. We don't know more as that's all we got from the woman who spoke with her, who left the ship at Casablanca. The Princess keeps to her cabin most of the time when she isn't raiding the library in the lounge for books to read. She never speaks to anyone at dinner. Not sure if she's shy or just another stuck-up bitch." He glanced toward Yvonne.

With the display of his nasty temper and attitude, Ben wasn't getting a very good impression of the man. Yvonne showed she had a cruel streak, but he wasn't sure of its source.

He looked over at the other male guest by the pool and saw he was still giving Ben the stink eye. "What?" he barked.

The man jumped at the sound and finally looked away.

"His name is Ulrich Huber, and he hates everyone younger, fitter, or better looking than him, and you tick all three boxes," Yvonne said with a smirk.

"That can't be why you've been glaring at me since I arrived," Ben said reasonably. He didn't want anyone feeling antagonistic to him as he didn't need any spies reporting on his activities as he tried to escape.

Huber suddenly felt inclined to state his case. "Mr. Shepherd. You represent the excess and moral decay of your nation. From how you disregard any semblance of decency by commissioning those vulgar statues of yourself, to exposing the collapse of your marriage in print and television, to how you capitalized on the courthouse death of the sluts—URRKK!"

Ben's hand was around Ulrich's throat, and his other was cocked and ready to crush the man's face as he pinned him to the deck. As he'd been lying on a lounge chair, the rest of his heavy body was now lifted into the air.

"I don't give a shit what your tiny little brain thinks of me, but if I hear you speak of Gretchen in such terms again, they'll be the last words uttered from your miserable lips. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

Ulrich's face was turning purple as his eyes bulged in terror. He struggled to speak but just nodded as best he could.

"You must let him go."

Soft hands touched his arm, and the gentle voice spoke into his ear, pushing back the rage and tunnel vision. He yanked his hand from the man's sweaty flesh, and the chair slammed back down to the deck.

Ulrich was gasping for breath as the purple slowly faded from his face. His eyes still held the terror from the experience, and Ben kept his eyes a moment longer.

"Ben! What have you been up to!" Kaan's voice asked with an edge to it as he walked out onto the deck, accompanied by two of his security men who eyed him nervously.

"Just clearing up a misconception Ulrich had over his right to speak ill of the dead," Ben said with a rough voice. He wiped his slick hand on a towel he was handed.

Kaan looked at him for a moment, then turned to face Ulrich, who was finally breathing properly again. "Is that what you were doing, my friend? Generally, that's not a good idea."

The heavyset man gaped at his host. "That man is a dangerous animal! You can't leave him here with us! He's incapable of civilized behavior!"

Kaan grinned at him. "On the contrary, I understand Ben has shown remarkable restraint in very trying circumstances. You must have poked the beast inside him, yes?"

The older man looked into Kaan's cold eyes and deflated. "Yes."

"It would be wise not to do that again." He looked at Ben. "Do try to play nice from now on, yes?"

Ben nodded.

"Excellent. See you at dinner." With that, Kaan turned and went back inside with his men.

It was only then that Ben noticed the slim Asian woman holding his arm. She'd been the one who spoke into his ear earlier. She was maybe five-foot-four, with a strong yet lean physique. Her hair fell in waves to her waist, and she was quite pretty.

"Thank you," Ben said quietly.

The woman dipped her eyes submissively, and Ben felt a pang of loneliness from being so far away from his family. Something about this woman triggered a recent memory. Stephanie's words.

"Moon?" he whispered for only her to hear.

Her eyes flashed back up to his in surprise, but he maintained a calm smile as he turned his back on Ulrich. So, at least one of Russo's team found a way to survive. He nodded to her as she stepped back, and she dipped her eyes again. Now was not the time to open a conversation. He turned his attention to Noah and Yvonne, who were exhibiting opposite reactions to his little display of violence.

The politician was clearly nervous and uncomfortable, while the woman's smile couldn't be wider. Whether she'd enjoyed watching Ben punish the man for his misogynistic words or just wanted the violence, he didn't know, but he'd earned her approval.

"Apologies for losing my cool. Gretchen was an innocent. She did nothing wrong and doesn't deserve to have her memory abused," he said firmly and glanced at Ulrich, who quickly looked away.

"But you don't mind people thinking stupid things about you?" Yvonne said. "Did you commission the statues?"

Ben scowled. "No! Of course, I didn't. I modeled for the first one as a favor for a friend, but I thought it would be abstract as that's what the artist's previous works had all been. I wasn't even aware of the second sculpture until the night it was unveiled! I wish I'd never posed for the damn thing." he retorted.

She grinned. "So, you admit you posed for the second one!"

He shook his head. "No! The artist is blind. She builds an image of her subject... with her hands. She mapped my body in her mind the last night we were... together. Her art is uncannily accurate."

"Oh my god! That's so sexy!" Yvonne gushed.

Even Noah seemed less intimidated by Ben now. "A blind girl made those? She's a rare talent!"

Ben nodded, but his feelings were mixed up about Stephanie Murino. He deeply liked her, but she'd betrayed him terribly, and he still had trouble dealing with that.

"I'm going to head back to my room. I'll see you at dinner," he said and nodded to the three as he left the solarium.

This time he found a staircase and climbed it up to B level, hoping to avoid bumping into the other guests. He stepped out into the hall and walked the length to get to his room when a door opened, and a tall woman stepped out of her door with her hands full of books. She squeaked in surprise seeing him and dropped three of the books. Then she tore into him with a blistering barrage of words in a language he didn't speak. He ignored her tirade and bent to pick up the books for her.

"Would you like assistance in carrying these back to the library?" he asked calmly.

Her words petered out as her eyes widened, traveling over his body and face.

"You are the Shepherd man!" she exclaimed. Now, her voice had a delightful sing-song quality to it.

He nodded. "Ben Shepherd." He waited for accusations or recriminations as he did a quick assessment of his own. She was surprisingly tall, easily six-two, with long toned limbs. The white bikini almost glowed against her ebony skin, as did her eyes and teeth. Her head was topped with a wild, uncontrolled mane of black kinky hair.

The tight fabric of her outfit showed she had piercings in both nipples and downstairs too. Small chandelier-style earrings hung from her belly button and earlobes. Fine gold chains went from her ears to small loops in her nostrils. She had a few ornamental ritual scars on her biceps. If he had to guess, he'd have to say she was in her early twenties.

Ben glanced at the books and saw they were fiction, thrillers, and murder mysteries. He hadn't read any of them, so that wasn't a conversation thread he could take. Still, she hadn't answered his question. "Do you need help taking them back?"

"What? Oh, no. I will be fine, thank you," she said.

He smiled at her. "You know my name. Do you have a name I may call you?"

She grinned, and her chin tilted up. "You may call me Princess Zama."

"It's nice to meet you, Princess Zama. Will I see you at dinner?" he asked.

"Yes!" she said excitedly.

He nodded, handed her the dropped books, and continued to his room. Her interaction had been mostly polite, which was a relief after meeting the others.

There was no lock on the door, so he just opened his and glanced back before entering. She was still watching him, so he smiled, nodded, and stepped inside to close the door. He looked back at it, but there was no way to lock it from the inside either. That didn't make him feel very secure, but he was held captive on an arms dealer's yacht. How safe should he expect to feel?

He sat on the end of the bed and went over what he'd seen on his little walk. The bow and stern staircases had security doors keeping wanderers from gaining access to the levels above B and below D. Sensor pads next to the doors were likely coded for specific electronic keycards carried by Kaan and his crew. There were also security cameras recording anyone attempting to get access. Even if he could get a card, he'd be seen going through the door.

When he was out in the solarium, he spotted a smaller ship tied up against the side of the much larger yacht. Ben assumed that was the boat that brought him and was currently offloading their supplies. Both vessels must have waterline loading bays for transferring stock and contraband between them. They'd have to have brought him in this way to ensure no one saw his drugged state.

Ben frowned as that made him think of something Kaan said about areas of interest. He didn't want to start speculating, but the thought made him very uncomfortable.

He dropped back on the bed and rested his eyes. It'd been a rough couple of days, and he knew the ordeal wasn't over yet.

Looking at the bedside table, he spotted a small digital clock. He climbed back to his feet, took off his shirt, draped it over the back of a nearby chair, and walked back to the bed. He set the alarm for seven-forty-five, then stretched out on the mattress, resting his head back against the pillows.

Kaan got points for having very comfortable prison cells. But that was the only thing he got.

Ben would find a way out of this prison or find a way to let others find him.

-=-

Liliya knocked on the door jamb and nodded to Evelyn. The Sergeant turned to face the other blonde, and the dark smudges under her eyes made Liliya frown.

"Are you not sleeping?" she asked in concern.

"I need to be here when the General's call comes in," Evelyn said, her voice rough with fatigue.

Liliya frowned. "You will not help Ben by burning yourself out! The General has many people activated to find him. You must rest while you can. Ben needs you to protect his family, too, while he's away!"

Evelyn stared at Liliya, and the assassin could see the guilt on her face. Her expression hardened. "Do not! Do not blame yourself for his abduction!"

"I should have sent Ben back inside while I went up the tower with the commandos! They took him right under my nose!" she exclaimed, distraught.

"Do you think I don't feel the shame of not being there to protect him?" she insisted. "The extraction was perfectly timed and coordinated. I could not have done it better myself."

Evelyn looked shattered. Liliya took a lesson from Ben. She leaned forward and pulled the woman into a hug. It caught the woman by surprise, and she stiffened up momentarily, but Liliya rubbed her back, and Evelyn soon had her arms around Liliya and released her tears. Liliya had training for this, but instead of using it to manipulate a mark, she could use it to heal her friend.

When the tears slowed, Liliya held Evelyn's shoulders and pushed her back gently until she could look into her eyes. "You will sleep now. I will wait here with you to take the call if the General has news. I promise to wake you if he does.

Evelyn's nose was red, and her eyes were glassy, but Liliya could see acceptance in her body language.

"Thank you."

She just nodded to the Sergeant and pointed to the cot. Evelyn moved to it and dropped her weary body on it. Shortly, she was asleep as she was far more exhausted than she was letting on.

Liliya settled in to wait for the General's call. Truthfully, she didn't expect to hear from him for at least another twenty-four hours. They were hunting a very canny predator who'd been successfully avoiding detection from multiple hunters for years. If the General failed to find Ben soon, Liliya would join the hunt and wouldn't stop until Kaan Sadik was dead and Ben was home again.

She might hunt down Russo, too.

-=-

Dinner on Kaan's mega yacht was superb. He had some top-notch people in his kitchen, and Ben hoped they were being paid very well and weren't hostages like him.

"You enjoyed dinner?" Kaan asked from across the table as he dabbed his mouth with his napkin.

"Very much! Your chef and kitchen crew are highly skilled!" Ben said.

Kaan nodded. "Yes, they are! Dessert?"

Ben shook his head. "No, thanks." He looked toward the window and saw they were moving. There was a slight vibration and a gentle sway, but the ship was exceptionally stable on the peaceful seas. Ben's thought of stowing away on the supply ship, as slim as it was, was now moot.

Additionally, now that they were moving, his rescuers had a moving target and one that somehow evaded detection. He'd love to take a look at the tech Kaan was using for that.

He glanced back at Kaan and saw the man was looking at him with a smile.

"It's true."

Ben raised a curious eyebrow.

"You have no poker face. Your thoughts are plain to see there. My ship intrigues you."

Ben smiled. "I'm a mechanical engineer. This ship is a big and complex mechanism. Of course, it intrigues me."

Princess Zama made sure she was sitting next to Ben when dinner began and had been glancing at him throughout the meal. Now she had the opportunity to ask him a question.

"Ben, what does a mechanical engineer do?" she blurted, and the others at the table froze as it was the first time any of them had heard her speak.

"I like to invent solutions for engineering problems," Ben responded.

"Such as?" she continued.

Ben chuckled. "Nothing you'd recognize. Valves for nuclear power plants and oil refineries, air filters for heavy mining equipment in uranium mining, and dozens of other solutions. I love puzzles, and solving them gives me a great sense of accomplishment."

Noah gave him a curious look. "Doing that earns you a living?

Ben grinned. "I do okay."

Kaan slapped a hand on the table, and heads turned in his direction. He appeared very angry, and none of his guests had seen this before. It unnerved them. "That sort of false modesty led me to lose a thirteen-million-dollar wager to you!"

Ben shook his head. "It's not false modesty. It's just nobody's business how much money I make. That's private. I earn enough from my inventions for my family and me to live comfortably. That's enough for anyone to know. I've invented many of these little devices." He locked his eyes on Kaan's. "And I told you, you lost that bet due to the fickleness of random chance. That's all it was."

That seemed to stir some life in Ulrich. "You won thirteen million dollars in a single wager?"

Ben looked over at the older man. "It was a game of Texas Hold'em, and that was the final pot."

Noah was grinning. "You must do very well indeed if you can gamble that much on a single hand."

Ben had to restrict his answer to a nod as going into the explanation might lead to his current circumstance. His eyes moved to Kaan, who was watching him carefully.

"What are you going to spend the thirteen million on?" Yvonne asked.

"Yes, Ben. Where did my money go?" Kaan asked with a slight edge to his voice.

Ben shook his head with a frown. "The Casino took five percent for hosting the game. I was also playing with five and a half million dollars in casino credit, so that went back to them—"

"No casino would extend that much credit to a single player!" Ulrich protested.

Kaan looked at the man with a scowl. "They were pleased to loan it to Ben."

"Perhaps another consequence of the exciting life I've led," Ben said, and Kaan's chin came up, acknowledging the subtle dig as he recognized his own words.

Noah was doing some mental math. "You would still be left with a little more than six-point-eight million."

"Yes. I gave that to a lovely older couple from Texas that I met in the casino. They stopped me for a photo. It was her birthday, and her husband brought her to Casablanca as it was her favorite movie. Very romantic!"

"Que c'est beau! That's so sweet!" Yvonne gushed.

"And very generous!" Zama said, bringing another smile and nod from Yvonne.

"It's easy to be generous with other people's money," Ulrich scoffed condescendingly.

Yvonne and Noah burst into harsh laughter as they stared incredulously at Ulrich.

"I can't believe you, of all people, have the nerve to accuse someone else of misusing money that doesn't belong to them!" Yvonne exclaimed after she throttled her laughter.

"I earned that money!" Ulrich snapped as he shook his chubby fist at them. "I was the one who invested it, managed it all those years, and grew it into the huge fund it became!"

Noah scoffed. "But the money wasn't yours to begin with, Ulrich! It belonged to the company and the employees. You collected a salary as you grew that money. You stole your company's working capital and the employee's pension fund!"

His face ruddy with suppressed rage, Ulrich exploded. "You, the man who violently murdered his wife and her lover in a fit of jealous rage, feel morally superior to me, whose crime was not violent and hurt no one?"

It was Yvonne's turn to attack. "How can you honestly believe you hurt no one! All those people lost their retirement savings, then their jobs when the company went bankrupt! You hurt all of them!" she snapped.

Ulrich pushed himself to his feet as he knocked his chair back. "I don't need to hear this drivel from the Whore of Babylon!"

Ben was impressed by the strength and accuracy of Yvonne's throw as the decanter of scalding hot coffee she'd snatched from the tray of a passing server struck the heavyset man's face and splashed over him.

He screamed as he stumbled backward, tripping on his overturned chair. He went down hard, striking his head against the ornate metal cap on the foot of the next table.

Ulrich went silent with a wheeze and limp as life suddenly faded from his body.

There was a moment of stunned silence at the table as everyone stared in shock at the sudden demise of the man.

Ben rose from his chair, moved to him, and felt for a pulse. He was still. The man's head rolled easily, which revealed substantial damage to his neck vertebrae. Ben looked back to his dinner companions and shook his head.

No one was more unnerved by the outcome than Yvonne, whose hand had launched the coffee missile.

Princess Zama leaped to her feet and rushed away with her hands over her mouth as if to contain her scream. She quickly climbed the stairs and was gone.

Ben glanced at Kaan to see what he would do next. The man was looking at Ulrich with disappointment.

"How unfortunate. As the owner of this vessel in international waters, it falls to me to investigate and report the cause of death to the authorities once we reach our next port." He looked into Yvonne's shocked eyes. "I will let you know what I've determined before we reach our destination," Kaan said to Yvonne with a smile.

Ben knew damn well that Kaan wouldn't be speaking to any authorities when he was fleeing from them.

"You're not going to tell anyone about this," Ben said as he held Kaan's eyes.

The man looked back at him sharply. "And why would I not, Ben?" He was daring Ben to tell the others of his criminal ties, sealing their doom. Ben kept his mouth shut, but there was one thing he could do.

With a mighty grunt, Ben heaved Ulrich's body into his arms and carried the dead and awkward weight through the dining room, solarium, and outside onto the pool deck. Sun had set, but the deck was lit up with pretty lights though it was very chilly under the open sky. He heard shouting behind him, but he ignored that as he walked to the rail and heaved the body into the darkness beyond.

Ulrich tumbled over the side and hit the water with a huge splash which the ship quickly left behind.

Ben stepped back from the rail as Kaan rushed up and looked over the edge, but all was black beyond the vessel. "What have you done?" he shouted as he appeared to be running his hands over the ship's side. Seemingly satisfied with his inspection, he turned to glare at Ben.

The others in the group caught up and realized what Ben had just done. He noted the presence of the two young women and the man who'd been absent during dinner. So, they were just late. They still appeared to be a little baked.

"I gave the bastard a burial at sea," Ben growled. "Better than he deserved from the sounds of it."

"Fuck! Did he just kill the fat man by throwing him off the yacht?" the young man gasped, unaware of Ulrich's earlier demise.

"That's so hot!" the blonde gushed and looked at Ben hungrily. The brunette just watched Ben fearfully.

Kaan turned to them. "No, Yvonne killed him. Ben just disposed of the body."

Ben gave Kaan an innocent look. "Is that what you think happened? That's not what I saw or what I'd testify to. Ulrich stood up too fast, tripped on his chair, and fell, breaking his neck on the foot of a neighboring table. Just a tragic accident. Isn't that right, Yvonne."

She looked at Ben as if he'd just thrown her a lifeline. "Y-yes! That's what I saw, too!"

Ben looked to Noah, who'd been sulking since being outed by Ulrich. "Right. H-he was a clumsy oaf," he concurred.

Kaan looked at Ben like he wanted to say something, but the muscles in his jaw just jumped and twitched. Ben held his eyes and waited patiently. If the criminal decided it wasn't worth keeping up this charade, there wasn't much Ben could do about it. But he wouldn't go down without a fight.

Ben also wasn't going to stand by and watch Kaan torment and blackmail Yvonne. Should she have pitched the coffee decanter at Ulrich? No, but Ben didn't know the history between the three guests who seemed to know each other's most guilty secrets. How that came to be, he didn't have a clue and wasn't sure he wanted to know.

Kaan turned to smile stiffly at Yvonne. "Isn't this your lucky day. No body, so no need to bring in the authorities."

With that announcement, Kaan spun on his heel and stormed off.

Yvonne collapsed to the deck, and Ben knelt to check on her.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm... not feeling so good right now, though. I think I'll just go back to my room," she said.

He helped her back to her feet, and she looked into his eyes. "Thank you."

Ben just nodded and watched her leave.

"You've got some balls on you for that move, Ben," Noah said.

"It worked," was all he said in return as he looked at the three younger guests still staring at him. "Who are you?"

He got three pouts in return.

Noah answered for them. "The sheilas are Lola De Ville," he said, pointing to the blonde, then to the brunette. "And Mara La Bouche." He shrugged. "That's their porn names. They never told us their real names." He pointed to the young man. "The bloke's Lars Mikkelsson. Next in line to run his father's family business, which he's running from. I have no idea what the Mikkelssons do."

Ben knew he would regret this, but maybe it was best to ask now. "How did you guys dig up all this dirt on each other?"

Noah grimaced. "Weeks back, we all got smashed and spilled our guts. Confessed our sins. Obviously, that was a mistake. Everyone was so understanding that night, but the bitterness has been leaking out since then." He eyed the three twenty-somethings staring at Ben. "But not from these three. They haven't straightened out since that night."

"You're not here to take me back?" Mara asked timidly.

Ben shook his head. "No. My being here has nothing to do with you."

"Why are you here?" Lola asked as she eyed his chest.

Ben shook his head. "I'm still working on that." He glanced at the depressed look on Noah's face. He had nothing to offer the man. "I'm calling it a night. See you tomorrow."

He turned and walked away.

"You guys got any of those happy pills left?" he heard Noah ask the remaining three before he went inside.

Ben climbed up to level B and walked down the hall to his room. When he stepped inside, he stopped as Zama was sitting at the end of his bed. She quickly stood and put her finger across her lips for silence. She gestured for him to enter and close the door. After he did, she handed him a piece of paper.

He read the note. "I've covered the camera, but the microphone is still active."

Ben closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. Of course, the rooms were bugged! Fuck!

He heard her scratching out another note on the small notebook, so he opened his eyes, and she handed it to him.

"I searched Ulrich's room. Found his journal with banking details. Hid it inside Aesop's Fables in the Library. No one reads here."

Ben snorted in surprise and smiled at Zama, who grinned happily. He took the pen and wrote his own note. "How many cameras and listening devices?"

She wrote back. "One of each in each room. Including bathrooms."

Ben scowled at the idea of them watching him shower or take a piss as he had earlier.

Zama was writing. "Why are you here on this ship?"

Ben looked at her and saw she seemed aware of the danger involved in being here. But he couldn't risk telling her what he knew about Kaan. He shook his head and gave her a regretful look.

She pouted, so he wrote her another message.

"Need to know how many people crew the ship."

She brightened up and started a new page. She wrote quickly, but it was a long note. "I've seen ten different security people. There are twelve companions. They work as the cleaning crew as well. Same eleven since I've been here for six months, but one is new this month. Eight kitchen workers. I saw three people working on the bridge at night. No idea how many work below deck level."

Ben nodded. This was really useful information. Ben wrote her a response. "Really helpful! Thanks!"

"Will you help me escape?" she wrote.

His eyebrows rose in surprise. "Not here voluntarily?" he added.

It was her turn to look regretful. "At first, yes. I ran to escape an arranged marriage to an old man. Friend of my father, the king. Now, Kaan wants ransom from my father for my return."

Ben nodded as he expected something like this from Sadik. He scribbled a quick reply. "What do you want to do? Go home?"

She grinned and quickly wrote her reply. "I will marry you!"

Ben snorted in surprise again. He was getting tired of writing, but he had to answer this. He looked at her incredulously, then pointed to her previous message about running to escape marrying an old man. He pointed to himself and back to the words old man.

Zama put a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. She shook her head as her eyes shone with joyful laughter. She pointed to Ben and the words old man as she vigorously shook her head, her wild mane swishing in response.

Ben quickly wrote to change the subject. "Let's concentrate on finding a way to leave the ship. Don't take any chances. Just keep eyes and ears open for information."

She read this and nodded to him. Then her expression turned shy. "You are a good man. I will enjoy being one of your wives," she wrote.

He gave her an exasperated shake of his head. "You can do so much better than me and with someone your age," he wrote.

She flashed a brilliant smile, then quickly leaned against him and kissed his lips. It was sweet and innocent, as Ben suspected she had no experience.

Zama pushed back and danced over to the door with her notebook in her hand. With a final smile, she slipped out into the hall.

Ben sighed and walked into the bathroom. With a thorough search, he managed to find the hidden camera and mic. It was almost invisible within the complex pattern and textures of the small tiles around the bathroom mirror. With its position, it would have a clear view of the shower and anyone using the toilet. Ben looked for something he could use to break the tile to get at the camera. He picked up the toilet brush mounted to the wall behind the toilet. It had a solid aluminum shaft with a brush attached to its end. He slammed the end of the rod against the tile and heard it shatter nicely. Simple enough. He got his fingers around the camera and yanked it out, ripping its wires free. That disabled the camera and mic in the bathroom. They might replace it, but he'd find a way to rip the next one out too. He carried the brush out into the bedroom and saw the piece of paper stuck over some tiles next to the dresser mirror, facing the bed. Ben smashed that tile and ripped that camera from the wall as well. He knew he was pushing his luck with Kaan, but he wouldn't live in the man's peepshow.

Feeling better about the limited amount of control he had over his environment if only for a short time, he got ready for bed. He put the toilet brush back with a smile, thankful Kaan hadn't gone cheap with a plastic-handled one. Then he took a quick shower and brushed his teeth with the new toothbrush he found in the drawer. He didn't want to put on the outfit he'd been wearing as it reminded him he'd held Ulrich's body against it.

He walked back into the bedroom and looked in his closet. To his relief, he saw a new set of clothes for the following day. He left them there, shut the light, and crawled into bed. It had been a trying day, so he felt himself quickly fading.

He heard the click of his door opening and came instantly awake. The door closed, and he saw someone approach. In the dim light, he couldn't see who it was.

"Who's there?" he growled, and the figure stopped.

"It's Yvonne," she said timidly.

Ben sat up, overly conscious that he wasn't wearing anything under the sheets. "Yvonne, what are you doing in my room?"

"I-I thought... maybe I could sleep here tonight?" she said, unsure of herself.

"As I told Kaan, I don't have sex with strangers." He paused as he recalled the times he'd broken that rule. He gave his head a shake. "Anymore, that is. And we don't know each other."

"Please, Ben, I'm still shaken by what I did to Ulrich. I can't sleep!" she pleaded pitifully.

He scowled into the darkness. "That isn't such a good idea."

She paused then her voice became bitter. "Noah told you, didn't he!"

"Nobody told me anything. I didn't ask because I don't need to know," Ben snapped, annoyed by her tone.

She went silent again, but she also didn't leave. Then her voice came out of the darkness again. "Please?"

He clenched his teeth in frustration as his inner voice told him to help her. He wasn't sure that voice could be trusted anymore. "I'm... not dressed," he said wearily, knowing he'd let her into his bed.

He heard the soft flutter of clothes dropping to the floor, then she slipped under the sheets with him.

Her soft yet firm body pressed against his, and she felt so damn good. His adolescent libido immediately woke, and his cock began to swell. He tried to force that impulse down.

When her hand began sliding up his leg, he had to put a stop to that. "No! If you want to sleep here, there will be no sex!"

"You're not married," her voice said in the dark.

He sighed. "No, I'm not."

"You have many girlfriends. You have sex with them?" she asked timidly.

He tried to see her eyes but could only make out a slight reflection of light in them. "Yes, but they're in my heart as well. Listen, you can sleep here, but sex is not an option. I don't think it's what you need right now anyway. Get some rest."

She was still for a moment, then she kissed his chest and settled in against him. He was right. She was out and breathing softly across his chest in under a minute.

Ben and his stupid teenage dick took much longer to fall asleep.

-=-

Kaan was stewing in his private office. The cameras in Ben's suite were offline. No video and no audio. His first impulse was to storm into his room with several guards and have them stun him into unconsciousness once more.

He forced that impulse down as his research on the man had proven most illuminating.

Ben was very wealthy. Much richer than he'd let on. He also owed Kaan for that loss in the casino, regardless of his claim that it was simple luck.

Then there was the fact that Ben appeared to have ties to the US Military. He was doing work for them. Some of those inventions he was boasting about at dinner were likely things he'd done for them.

He'd reached out to his contacts in Russia to see if there was any interest in him and was immediately informed of the bounty on Ben's head.

Kaan was sitting on a goldmine. Ben was wildly rich. The Russians wanted Ben. The US Military wanted him too. Playing these interests against each other could yield the largest ransom Kaan had ever received! He could jettison the bothersome Princess Zama at any time.

His desk buzzed, and he glared at it for interrupting his dreams of riches. He pressed the intercom. "What?"

"Sir! We received a potentially disturbing message," Kaan's communications officer said hesitantly.

"Potentially disturbing? What's the matter with you? Speak plainly!" Kaan snapped.

The man grunted quietly. "Apologies. Our contact in Gibraltar reported a US aircraft carrier passed through the strait."

Kaan waited, but that seemed to be the extent of the message. "And?" he snapped.

"...and it was moving at its maximum velocity. Could they be searching for us?" the man asked.

"An aircraft carrier? Searching for us—" Kaan froze. The US Military wanted Ben back. It might not be a coincidence after all.

"Heading?"

"They reported it was headed due west and did not appear to be turning south toward Morocco."

Kaan relaxed a little. His yacht was currently running at half speed, heading north. If the carrier was rushing back to the States at top speed, they would cross Kaan's intended path a full day before the yacht reached that location.

"Call the Gibraltar contact and have them dispatch a spotter to see if it diverts its course."

The comm officer was quiet for a moment. "Sir, they won't chase a US aircraft carrier."

Kaan resisted the urge to yell at the man. It would yield him nothing as he was probably correct. "Tell the captain I want us running at ten knots for the rest of the night and run silent and dark."

"Yes, sir!"

Kaan hung up and watched the shutters close on the windows all around his private suite. Then he looked back at his screen. It seemed extremely unlikely that an aircraft carrier would be put into service to track one man. What else had Ben invented for them? Maybe he had additional value.

He pushed those thoughts out of his mind and turned his attention to his latest acquisition, two dozen latest-generation surface-to-air missiles. It had been particularly difficult obtaining them, and his crew had to execute the team who originally smuggled them from the armory to cut the trail. It wouldn't do to have the authorities trace the sellers to him. He had buyers lined up for them, hence his northern course. He'd have to work on the best option for unloading them quickly and safely as they were very hot.

Hours later, his intercom chirped again. He rubbed his bleary eyes. "What?"

"Sir, one of your guests has been found in the club, dead."

The voice belonged to one of his security team. "What? Who?"

"Noah Pearce. It appears he took an overdose."

"Fuck! Hang on, I'll be right there," Kaan snapped. He locked his computer and headed down the stairs to the dance club. Three security men were there, two guiding the three young addicts out of the other side of the club while the third waited by the body of the dead politician.

Kaan stared down into Noah's vacant eyes. He then aimed a puzzled look at the guard. "We didn't give Lars access to any of the truly potent drugs. How did this one manage to overdose?

The man pointed to the empty gin and vodka bottles. "He must have drunk these first, then he ingested a handful of the pills we gave to Mikkelsson. That would be enough to stop his heart."

"Dammit! It would have been useful to have the politician in my pocket. Dispose of the body by the rear hatch. I'll have to let the others know in the morning."

The two guards returned from upstairs, and the third gestured for them to come over to help him with the body as Kaan turned and walked away to return to his level.

Since Ben had been under his roof, there'd been two deaths. Maybe the man was bad luck.

When he reached the small, tiled room at the back of his level, he heard a little squeak of fear. He walked over to the naked woman he had chained to the wall. She was one of his most recent acquisitions. The other one was currently working very well as one of his companions, but this one proved to be too willful. So, he chose to train her personally. A month of minimal rations and water, with daily disciplining sessions, had worked wonders. What began as an entitled western whore was now a compliant, submissive fuck-toy. She was almost ready for sale. Tall, pretty blondes of her quality fetched top dollar with his desert nomad friends. Or he could sell her to his contacts over in the UAE. They were always looking for new talent.

Tonight, Kaan just didn't have it in him to take her through her training. The deaths of his guests, the loss of revenue and opportunities those events created, and Ben's defiance in the face of danger all put him off his game. Kaan had to be dominant in all interactions, and Ben wouldn't submit. Even when he followed orders, Kaan could tell Ben was choosing to do so because it suited him. He rubbed the back of his neck to ease the tension.

He pulled up the cheap plastic deck chair he used in his training sessions and smiled as she recognized it. He dropped himself in it to stare at the woman who watched him nervously. She could tell something was different. He snorted at the thought, and she twitched.

"We have a special guest on my yacht. He wasn't what I expected he'd be, but I do enjoy a challenge, as you are well aware," he said with a sly grin. She visibly shivered as she looked away.

"Ben Shepherd."

He watched her body language closely after he dropped the name. His eyes widened, and rage flooded through him as he caught the signs of her relaxing ever so slightly. So, just knowing he was nearby gave her comfort? He had a sudden urge to beat her unconscious, but he'd just be robbing himself of yet another payout. Ben had already cost him enough.

That thought pushed Kaan beyond his ability to remain still. He leaped to his feet, spun to grab the back of the chair, and smashed it against the tile floor. The plastic exploded into pieces, and the bitch screamed in terror.

Kaan stood before her, panting as she cried and shook. Her fear helped ease his rage, and he allowed himself to relax. He walked over to the console on the wall and called his security team to bring one of the companions up to his level to clean the mess. He leaned against the wall watching the bitch shivering uncontrollably.

It was better than fine brandy for relaxing his tension.

He felt his world slipping back into a state of order.

It would be completely set right once he'd dealt with Ben.

-=-

Nguyêt was roughly pulled off her bunk but managed to land on her hands and toes.

"See! She's like a cat!" the security goon who pulled her from the bed laughed to another.

"Get up! The boss has a job for you," the other snapped.

She stood quickly and kept her face tipped forward to not look directly at them.

Getting a task in the middle of the night wasn't the norm, so her nerves were on edge.

They went up the stairs until the security team took her above the guest level. Now her nerves were on high alert. She'd never been on Sadik's personal level.

When they stepped out of the stairwell, one of them opened a closet, and she tensed up. He turned and handed her a broom, wisk, dustpan, and a garbage bag.

The grunt who pulled her from the bed chuckled. "She looks relieved!"

The other shoved the items into her hands and pushed her forward toward the stern end of Sadik's quarters. They knocked, and the door opened.

"Collect all the pieces, quickly!" Kaan barked at her.

Nguyêt moved inside and froze for a second as she laid eyes on Harper for the first time since their mission failed so catastrophically. The change in the confident, lively woman was terrifying. Feeling Kaan's eyes on her, she quickly moved closer, set down everything but the broom, and swept up the fragments of what must have been a chair.

Harper wouldn't look at her, and they couldn't speak to each other, with Kaan watching them so closely.

She couldn't leave her in this state, but she had no choice. She went back to the wisk and dustpan and collected the pieces to dump them into the garbage bag with the larger chunks. Then she went back and knelt next to the woman.

"What are you doing?" Kaan snapped, and Nguyêt turned to glance back at him.

"Pieces in her hair?" she asked but didn't move.

Kaan's eyes bored into her, but she didn't move or look up from the floor. "Fine," he huffed. "Quick!"

She picked the little pieces of plastic from Harper's hair and set them in a pile next to her. She leaned over the woman and braced herself against the woman's hand, pressing a stiff shard of plastic into her palm. It was roughly five inches long and tapered to a sharp and hard point. She might get one use out of it, but she could use it on Kaan or herself if she needed the escape.

Nguyêt leaned back and saw Harper pull her hand under her. Collecting the bits, she moved to the bag and dumped them in. She picked up the tools and followed the guards out. She didn't bother hiding her shivering as they expected to see it, and Kaan smiled as he followed her out.

He was a truly disgusting specimen she would not mind dissecting to see how deep the evil went.

The guards took the garbage bag from her and took her back to her bunk. They didn't rape her tonight, so that was a relief.

As she laid back on her bunk, she thought about Harper and her desperate condition. She knew better than to pin her hopes on a man, even one with his reputation, but something needed to happen, and soon!

-=-

General Davis was standing next to his Lieutenant in the situation room, getting an update from the officer. Both had managed to get some rest, but both were beginning to feel a sense of unease about their chances.

"The Truman has reached the position where they should intersect with the course of Sadik's yacht if we can trust the report from the spooks about a meeting in the Black Sea," the Lieutenant said. "The carrier has been sending out planes to spot the ship, but none have reported a sighting. It's dark there now, and the yacht may be running dark."

"How likely is it that they've received word of the carrier's position?" Davis asked.

"We believe it is highly likely they were spotted, and if Agent Russo was correct about their spy network, they would have received word about the carrier. Your instructions to the captain to remain on a direct course for the States until they were out of visual range of shore may have been enough to convince the watchers their departure from the Mediterranean was coincidental. As this course would still intersect with theirs, the likeliest course of action for the yacht would be to simply slow down or stop until the carrier passed by. They'd run dark and silent to be invisible at night. Also, weather conditions indicate dense cloud cover in that region, so it would be full darkness," the man suggested.

Davis pondered that for a moment. It made sense to him. "What is the forecast for the next day?"

"Blue skies and perfect visibility," the Lieutenant said.

"Send a request to the captain to have them remain at the coordinates, and once there is sufficient light for visibility to commence a series of sorties with their aircraft to locate the yacht," the General said.

"Yes, sir!"

After the General's own meeting with the President to fill him in on the situation, the POTUS ensured him the Director of the CIA would give Davis his full cooperation. They'd shaken the tree and returned with the most likely course Sadik would take after his visit to Morocco. Based on the subtle trembling of their web of contacts, it appeared the arms dealer may have come into possession of some very nasty weapons which he would have to offload quickly. There were hungry and very dangerous buyers waiting for these items. Certain activity in the Black Sea suggested a rendezvous was expected.

It made the hairs on the back of Davis' neck stand on end to rely on such insubstantial evidence for his rescue efforts, but that's all he had. That and the President's full support.

Which was quite a bit, in truth.

Chapter 44

Ben woke with soft hair tickling his nose, and for a second, he thought it was Tina's. Then the ship's gentle bob brought it back to him, and his smile faded.

The hair belonged to Yvonne Guillebeaux, a woman he barely knew who was sleeping against him, naked. Their skin-to-skin contact meant they were both sweaty, and Ben felt the need to shower.

"Yvonne. Time to wake up," he said gently. He glanced toward the windows and saw it was still early, but the skies were a very pale blue.

She made some undecipherable noises then her eyes fluttered open. She looked up at him and smiled timidly.

"I'd like to take a shower. We're a little sweaty," Ben said.

"Could-could I join you?" she asked quietly.

He gave her a cautious look, then nodded. "But no hanky-panky."

She snorted. "I didn't know people still used phrases like that."

He eased himself away from her and stood next to the bed, his morning wood waving good morning to Yvonne. He saw she was staring at it, so he cleared his throat to draw her eyes back up to his face.

"Please ignore this. It has a mind of its own and doesn't care if it's being rude," Ben mumbled, then turned to walk toward the bathroom. He suddenly stopped halfway there as he suddenly became aware of the absence of the constant hum of the ship's motor.

"We're not moving."

Yvonne walked up to him and paused as she recognized the quiet, as well. "I wonder why we stopped."

Ben felt a sudden unease. He wanted to find out what had changed, which would only happen once he joined the others. Perhaps Kaan would give them some idea or not.

He continued into the bathroom, and Yvonne followed him into the shower stall. It wasn't huge, but it easily fit them both. Ben got the water running and soon felt hands rubbing soap over his body. He glanced at her with a frown.

"Just washing. No hanky-panky." She admired his body as she soaped his chest. "You're more muscular than anyone I've... slept with before. And you have more scars."

He did his best to ignore how good it felt, but when her hands slid down his stomach, he stepped back. "You can get my back, but I'll do the rest, thanks!"

She pouted but nodded. He cleaned himself down there without lingering as he turned his back to her.

"More scarring here too. You really have seen more than your share of violence," she said, running her hands over the bullet scars on his back.

Ben frowned. "Not by personal choice." He stepped under the water and rinsed the soap off.

"Aren't you going to return the favor?" she asked.

Ben watched her for a moment, then turned her so he could wash her back. He did so with quick, efficient movements as he spoke to her. "You just spent the night with me without giving in to any urges. Just two people comforting each other as we slept. We shouldn't ruin that with a casual mistake." As she washed her front quietly, he got some shampoo and massaged it into her hair. She moaned quietly at the scalp massage, but it wasn't sexual. It was just comforting.

He rinsed her hair, and she glanced back at him in question.

Ben raised a curious eyebrow.

"Did Noah tell you why I'm here? Is that why you won't touch me?" she said with a tight throat.

Ben frowned. "Noah said nothing about you, and I didn't ask. I explained last night why we weren't going to have sex. We're strangers, and I'm done complicating my life that way. We can be good friends. We can share a hug and a kiss on the cheek, but for both our sakes, that's where it ends."

He shut off the water, guided the silent woman out of the stall, and grabbed a fluffy towel to dry her off. He recalled how Tina liked to be dried off and smiled gently as he rubbed the towel over Yvonne's head and down her body. When he stood once more to begin drying himself with a fresh towel, he glanced at her and saw tears running down her cheeks. His expression dropped as he quickly wrapped the towel around his waist.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked as he pulled her into a hug. This just triggered her tears to burst forth. He held her in his arms as sobs tore through her. He made soothing sounds and just held her close as her arms went around him to cling to him desperately.

After a few minutes, Yvonne's tears slowed, changed to hiccups, then finally calmed. He walked her out into the bedroom to seat her on the side of the bed next to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She looked down at her hands, fidgeting before her, and nodded. "I don't remember the last time a man treated me like a person, not a sex toy." She sucked in a sharp breath as her tears threatened to return, and Ben just put his arm around her shoulder.

She rested her head against him. A short time later, she was calm once more and made a quiet snort sound. Ben pulled back to look her in the eye. She smiled at him, but it trembled. "Can I tell you why I'm here?"

Ben gave her a concerned look. "You don't have to—"

"I want to. For the first time, I feel the need to confess," she insisted. Ben nodded and waited as she gathered her strength. "Hollywood isn't the only place where actors deal with sexual abuse. I've met my share of horrible men who expected me to suck their cock before they would consider talking to me, much less casting me for any role in their movies." She shivered, and Ben waited for her to go on. "I've been acting for almost fifteen years, and I've reached a point in my career where I can get roles based on the success I've had in the movies I've been in. During the filming of my last movie, the director, the lead actor, and I were going over some scenes in my trailer." She paused to swallow as she was having difficulty speaking of it.

"They put something in my drink. I don't have any memories of what happened next, but they made a video. They raped me, and it looked like I actively participated, but I didn't. They leaked the video, and it spread like wildfire. I didn't see it until a week later, but I was labeled a whore who fucked my way into movie roles by then. They destroyed my career. The paparazzi have been especially vicious."

Ben watched her struggling to keep the tears at bay, so he wrapped her in his arms, and her emotions broke free once more. He rubbed her back and gently rocked her as the pressure gradually eased.

When she was done, she pulled back, and he gave her a gentle smile. "I'm sorry you were put through that terrible ordeal. You didn't deserve it, and you aren't defined by it. That was something done to you, not by you. Your career and the roles you're most proud of represent you."

She smiled and nodded shakily.

"Why don't you go get dressed, and we'll meet downstairs for breakfast?" he suggested.

She nodded, and they stood. Then she suddenly pulled him into a tight hug. When she released him, she smiled. "Thank you, Ben, for restoring my faith in one man at least."

He snorted. "Please. I'm no angel." He glanced down, and she followed his eyes to see he was tenting his towel.

"That isn't a bad thing, as you refused to act on it," she teased with a gentle smile. "And a woman likes to know she's still attractive, even after crying."

"See you downstairs," he said with a smile and a nod.

She picked up her clothes from where she dropped them the night before and slipped them on before leaving his room.

Ben quickly finished drying off and pulled on the fresh clothes from his closet.

Stepping out into the hallway, he saw Princess Zama leaning against the wall watching him.

"You had sex with the actress?" she asked point blank.

Ben frowned at her. "No, not that it's any of your business."

She blinked in surprise. "You didn't? That is surprising! She came from your room, and I assumed that's why she was there."

He stopped in front of her to look her in the eye. It was a unique situation to be able to do that without bending his head down. "Again, not your business, and don't make assumptions."

She immediately looked contrite. "I did not mean for that to sound like an accusation. My apologies if it did. It was simply an observation."

He saw she was being honest, so he nodded. "Breakfast?"

Her smile flashed across her pretty face as she nodded.

They climbed down the stairs, and he glanced over at her. "You'll be nice to Yvonne?"

She looked back. "She's been angry and bitter since she's been on board. The other guests and companions find it difficult to speak to her."

"I'll deal with that. Please be ready to offer her a truce. She needs people on her side," Ben said, and the young woman nodded. He looked at her curiously. "Have you not spoken to her before?"

Zama shook her head. "I will speak to anyone who is polite. She has not been polite." Ben nodded.

They reached the deck level, and Ben looked through the solarium to the pool deck. The companions had stacked the lounge chairs as they scrubbed the deck with brushes. Two were cleaning the grills of the gas barbeque next to the bar. He saw two stacks of cheap plastic chairs had been pulled out of storage. One of the security goons collected a chair from a petite red-haired woman and slapped her ass with a cruel grin on his face. The young woman wasn't smiling as she put her hands over her reddened ass cheek. The thug walked towards the glass doors, and his grin quickly faded as he saw the glower on Ben's face.

A soft hand touched Ben's arm as Zama pulled Ben toward the dining hall. "Come. Do not interfere now. It will only make things more difficult for Megan."

He glanced at her, hearing she knew the redhead's name. She smiled. "All of the companions speak with me. They are polite."

As they entered the dining room. Ben saw Kaan wasn't there. Noah wasn't either, but Lars was, and the younger man was looking positively gloomy.

"You okay, Lars?" Ben asked.

He just turned his head away as he brooded over his coffee.

Ben shrugged and walked over to the buffet and filled a plate. Zama did as well, and they returned to the table as the two starlets joined them with coffee mugs.

"No breakfast?" he asked them, and they shook their heads silently. Mara's expression looked a little haunted, but Lola's eyes were empty of visible signs of emotion... or intellect, for that matter.

Ben thought that was sad as they were so young. He didn't know what had happened in their lives that led them to this state. He heard Gabriella's voice in his head telling him he couldn't save them all. He was going to hold that woman in his arms for hours when he got home.

He waited for a bit, but when Yvonne, Noah, and Kaan failed to show up, he started eating. Zama followed his lead.

Finally, Yvonne arrived, and he saw she'd styled her hair and put a little make-up on with a pair of dangly earrings. He smiled and nodded to her.

"Good morning, Yvonne," Zama said, catching the actor by surprise.

"G-good morning, Princess," Yvonne replied.

"Please call me Zama," the younger woman said with a smile, drawing one from Yvonne, who nodded in return.

Yvonne quickly collected some food and coffee, sat on Ben's other side, and began eating.

Kaan finally made an appearance, and Ben noted with interest how the three younger guests seemed to shrink away from the man when he took his seat. The cook personally came out of the kitchen to place Sadik's meal before him. He glanced at Ben, then hustled back to the kitchen.

Ben thought it was a dick move to eat a juicy steak and egg breakfast in front of guests who weren't offered the same, but he didn't expect better of Kaan. His breakfast had been fine, so he wiped his mouth and stared at the Arms Dealer.

After several bites, the man finally had enough of being stared at. "What is it, Ben?" Kaan asked wearily.

"I can't help but notice we aren't moving."

Kaan looked at him curiously. "That is nothing of concern."

Ben snorted. "Really. We're so far out to sea, a mechanical failure could be extremely dangerous. I am a mechanical engineer. I'd be willing to take a look if you'd like."

Kaan gave Ben a fake smile. "It's not a mechanical failure. Everything is fine."

"Except we're not moving."

Kaan's eyes flared with annoyance. "Seriously, Ben, don't concern yourself with this. Enjoy your stay."

"I will. It's just that I have many friends who'll miss me. I didn't get a chance to let them know before I took this little vacation. They might come looking for me. I wouldn't want them to incur such costs," Ben said with a smile as he watched Kaan's expression closely.

The man's expression stiffened, and his eyes examined Ben's expression intensely. Then he abruptly looked away as he forced a sly smile on his face.

"As I said, don't worry. You're always so concerned for others, yet you didn't ask where Mr. Pearce was this morning."

Ben's smile faded as he witnessed the three young people go still. "I assumed he's just sleeping in."

"He is not. Last night, Mr. Pearce killed himself. Too many bitter words and guilt, I assume," Kaan said.

Yvonne gasped at the sharp thrust of his words. She pushed back from the table and ran for the exit. Zama touched Ben's shoulder to keep him from standing and fled the room after Yvonne herself.

"Are you typically this much of an asshole, or are you making special efforts today?" Ben growled at his host.

"I would suggest you carefully watch your tone and words when speaking to me, Ben," Kaan said stiffly.

"I would suggest you get some lessons in empathy, but I think that might be lost on you," Ben pushed.

Kaan's eye twitched, but he didn't appear to be able to speak.

"How did Noah die?" Ben asked stiffly.

"Overdose," Lars offered, then looked away quickly as Kaan's eyes locked on him.

"Thank you, Lars," Ben said calmly. He looked back to Kaan. "I assume he had a burial at sea?"

Kaan gave him the merest of nods, but it was enough.

Ben stood and walked from the dining room without looking back.

Climbing back up to B level, he suddenly realized he didn't know which room belonged to Yvonne. He began knocking and waiting at each door. When he reached the fourth room, Zama answered the knock.

"Ah, Zama. I'm looking for Yvonne's room," he said.

"This is it. Mine is B one. Come in," the Princess said.

Yvonne was sitting in the middle of her bed with a box of tissues. Ben sat on the edge, and she immediately scooched over to lean against him for comfort. He rubbed her back as Zama watched them with a smile.

Ben sighed. "I'm sorry you heard the news so bluntly. Last night when I left him, I overheard Noah asking Lars for happy pills. Just now, Lars told me Noah died of an overdose. The man may have been depressed about his actions and how they derailed his life. I know he had a sharp temper and gave as good as he got when it came to bitter words. What he chose to do last night might have been his attempt to escape the consequences of his actions. Know this, Noah owned his actions, all of them and no one else."

"What... what happened to him," Yvonne asked quietly.

Ben glanced at Zama, then looked at Yvonne. "He was dead, so Kaan gave him a sea burial."

Yvonne sucked in a sharp breath but quickly got control. Ben eased the woman back to a seated position, then stood and walked into the bathroom to use her toilet brush to smash the tile containing the hidden camera. He tugged it from the wall, then walked out into the bedroom to do the same to the camera there. He put the brush back, then rejoined the shocked women.

Yvonne was staring at Ben in surprise. "What did you do?" she asked.

Ben tossed the cameras onto the bed. "I just removed the hidden cameras. Zama was the one who brought them to my attention." Yvonne looked like she was about to explode into outrage, but Ben took her face between his palms and looked into her eyes. "Sorry, I need you to focus! I don't know how much time we'll have, and I need to speak to you two in private. I believe the reason we aren't moving is that there may be a navy ship somewhere nearby, searching for me. I need to contact them, but getting to the bridge isn't going to happen, and I don't know how to use the radio anyway. I have an idea on how to draw attention to us, but I need access to some items in the kitchen."

"Guests cannot get in there, but companions are allowed to visit the kitchen to help with cleaning," Zama said. Ben and Yvonne looked at her.

"Can I borrow your notebook and pencil again?" Ben said, and the woman rushed away.

"Why would a US Navy ship be searching for you?" Yvonne asked.

"I do work for them, and they currently don't know where I am. I have faith in my friends. They'll be looking," Ben said, careful not to divulge too much and put Yvonne at risk.

"Can I get angry about the hidden cameras now?" she asked, her outrage rising again.

Ben looked at her for a moment, then shook his head grimly. "I'd advise you contain it until after... I do what I'm about to do." The more he thought about what he was attempting to do, the more it felt like a long shot. He began to doubt it would work. However, if he was right about the General pulling in navy resources to search for him, he knew their best chance at being close by would be now, at the beginning of their search based on his last known position. He felt he had to commit.

"I get the feeling I'm being kept in the dark about something important," Yvonne said with frustration in her voice.

"Not my intention, and if I can safely do so, I'll fill you in shortly."

They looked up as Zama rushed back into the room. She wasn't alone. Ben looked into the nervous eyes of Phan Thi Nguyêt, who was carrying fresh bed sheets.

"Sorry, I stopped to remove my cameras, too," Zama explained. Yvonne scowled but held her tongue.

Zama continued. "I met Nguyêt in the hall, so I brought her along." Zama pronounced her name as Moo-yah.

Ben looked at the petite beauty, and she tried a smile. Her lips were very pretty and a little distracting when she did that. "Mooyah?" He was certain he was doing her a disservice with his pronunciation.

"Please call me Moon," she said quietly, confirming his doubts. He nodded, then accepted the notebook from Zama. He quickly began writing out a list of items he needed. He glanced at Moon as he worked. "Do you have access to the kitchen?"

She shook her head. "I'm too new. Some of the others do."

Ben stopped writing. "Will you be able to get them to help you collect some items from the kitchen?"

She nodded. "Megan and Peter will help you."

Ben relaxed a little and finished off the list.

"I'm going to sit in the solarium. If you can get these items, and I mean all of them, bring them to the area where the plastic chairs are stored. Otherwise, don't take any chances. Understood?" he said to Moon as he handed her the list.

She quickly read the list and looked at him in confusion.

Ben gave her a concerned look. "Is there anything on the list that's impossible to get?"

"No, Peter can probably get some of this from storage below deck, but what will you do with it?"

Ben took a breath to relax and shook his head. "Safer if you don't know. Once you put the items by the chairs, get everyone to the lounge. No one should be below deck or on the deck level."

Moon held his eyes for a moment, then nodded and rushed away.

"Come on, let's go down to solarium. You two will need to head to the lounge when the companions do," Ben insisted. "If you see Lars, Lola, or Mara, take them with you. Insist they come."

Watching him with concern, Yvonne and Zama followed Ben out of the room and down to the glass dome beyond the dining room.

As they settled down on the lounge chairs, three companions arrived to offer to put lotion on their bodies. Zama and Yvonne nodded, but Ben shook his head and asked for an umbrella instead. He needed to stay dry but couldn't explain to them why.

As they rushed off to collect an umbrella, he looked up and saw there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Maximum visibility. Good.

"Not partaking in suntanning, Ben?"

Ben turned his head and saw Kaan standing behind him. He had two of his security team standing a short distance back. He shook his head to his host and turned his face away as he didn't want the man guessing his true intent. "Not today. Sun's too hot."

The man snorted. "Who'd have thought you'd be worried about a little... overexposure." He chuckled to himself at his clever double entendre as he walked away. His security men left with him.

The umbrella arrived, and Ben had it positioned to his left as it blocked him from sight from the bridge.

As he thanked the two men who carried the umbrella over, he spotted Moon walking out onto the deck with a laundry bag over her shoulder. Megan had one too.

They walked out of the solarium onto the pool deck and left the bags, and Moon pulled the storage door open to draw the stack of plastic chairs out again.

Ben caught her eye and nodded.

A young male stepped out of the door at the back of the deck which led to the lower level. He also had a laundry bag and dropped it by the others.

Moon tugged Megan's and Peter's hands, and they followed her inside, over to the stairs, and up to the lounge. The other companions followed as Megan gestured for them to come as well.

"Time for you two to head upstairs," Ben said, and Yvonne stood but looked back at Zama, who seemed hesitant to go.

"Please!" Ben insisted.

Yvonne took Zama's hand and pulled her away.

Ben immediately went to work. He left the warm solarium to step into the colder air by the pool. Out on the Atlantic off the coast of northern Africa wasn't as warm as he'd imagined it would be. He picked up the three bags. He carried them to the barbeque and emptied the bags Moon and Megan had collected from the kitchen. He quickly scanned the items and nodded as everything he'd written down was there. Peter's bag must contain the items he asked for that would give off a lot of smoke when burned. Soft plastics, polyester, and rubber were what he asked for. As he looked into the third bag, he failed to stop a burst of surprised laughter.

"What's so fucking funny?" Ben glanced up to see one of Kaan's security goons approaching with an angry look. It was the asshole who slapped Megan's ass.

"Eat a bag of dicks," Ben growled, and the man snarled as he reached for his shock stick.

Ben swung the laundry bag, catching the thug on the side of his head. The heavy impact took the man right off his feet, and he hit the deck hard and stopped moving.

He felt a little stupid for the corny one-liner, but it'd popped into his head and passed his lips before he could stop himself. The bag with roughly thirty silicone dildos in it proved a useful weapon, but it wasn't what Ben needed to create smudgy smoke. He'd have to explain the difference between silicone and rubber to Peter later. He dropped the bag on the unconscious—no, dead guard. He must have hit him too hard.

Ben had to move quicker as someone was bound to come looking for the man.

He put the tins of cooking oil onto the barbeque grill. In the center of the grill, Ben placed the large glass bottle of grease from the kitchen grease trap. There was quite a lot in the bottle, so it should make for a delightful explosion and fireball. He started all the burners on the grill, maximum heat, and closed the lid over the cans and the bottle.

He casually walked back to the stacks of plastic chairs and carried them back to the barbecue. He split the flour bags Moon collected and balanced them atop the chairs.

He'd been away too long, so he walked back inside and climbed the stairs to take him to the lounge. He saw Kaan standing and facing the rest of the guests and all the companions with a scowl on his face. He turned to glare suspiciously at him.

Ben ignored the man as he looked at the full complement of companions for the first time. The kitchen staff were also sitting amongst the companions. Some of the gathered looked a little worse for wear, but all of them were staring back at him with looks of hope on their faces. He felt that like a weight on his shoulders, and dread filled him as his recent activities on the pool deck might just have put them all at risk. He suddenly felt like an incredible fool for taking such a chance.

"Where were you while almost everyone on this ship was coming here?" Kaan snarled.

Ben held the man's eyes and saw he had another of those twitches. He'd pushed the arms dealer to his limit. Shit. It was too late to do anything about that.

He took a deep breath and smiled. "Just calling a friend."

Kaan looked at him in confusion and opened his mouth to say something when the yacht vibrated from the huge roar of an explosion.

The arms dealer's eyes widened, and he pointed at Ben as he addressed three of his men who pulled their shock sticks out. "If he moves, take him!" Then Kaan rushed away toward the rear of the ship.

Ben put his hands up and looked at the angry guards. "May I sit down?"

"No!"

Ben sighed. They looked like they were itching to stun him into oblivion, so he just shrugged and waited.

He knew Kaan would be back shortly.

-=-

Reaching the deck, Kaan looked in dismay at the wreckage of his pool bar. The flames were shrinking as five of his security team worked with fire extinguishers to put out the fire.

He looked up and saw the wispy remnants of a large cloud of black smoke. He froze, then rushed inside to find a comm panel. He entered the code and connected to the bridge.

"Captain! How visible was that explosion?" he snapped into the handset.

"The initial fireball after the blast wasn't too large, but then it seemed to grow rapidly. It faded equally quick, and the black smoke dissipated quickly. I wouldn't say it's impossible that someone saw it, but they would likely have to be looking in this direction at the moment it went off," the man said from the bridge.

Kaan wasn't taking chances. "Turn us about and take us due south at top speed."

"Sir, we have some damage. I've sent our crew to fix it, but we can't turn the ship until this is done."

"Do it quickly!" Kaan snapped into the handset.

"We've also lost three camo panels on the starboard side toward the stern."

Kaan went silent for a moment as this was a very costly repair, and it put him in danger. "Can you repair this?"

"Not at sea."

"Fuck! Get the other repairs done, and I'll work on finding us a port to get the panels replaced."

"Yes, sir!"

Kaan hung up and stewed for a moment. It was a stupid and risky thing Ben had done, and the chance of it succeeding was negligible, but Kaan was still a free man because he didn't take chances. Having to reverse course would set Kaan's timeline back by a month or two, but it was the prudent thing to do.

Finding a place to get the optical camo panels replaced would be another challenge and add a further delay.

Once more, Ben willfully interfered with Kaan's careful planning. That was unacceptable. He would need to be taught there would be consequences for these actions. A painful lesson for Ben and a deadly result for his guests.

Time to remind everyone who was the master on this ship!

-=-

"What exactly did you see, Lieutenant?" Captain Garrick asked.

The Naval Aviator stood before the captain and fidgeted. "I-I can't be sure it wasn't a reflection of my flight suit off the canopy, but as I was on my final turn before heading back to the carrier, I saw... something orange on the far horizon to the south-southeast of my position. I didn't have sufficient fuel to investigate, and by the time I got back, I wasn't sure what I'd seen as it was so fleeting, and I only caught it in my peripheral vision."

"Something orange," Garrick stated.

"Yes, Captain."

"A clementine, a Garfield hot air balloon, what?" the senior-most officer asked in frustration.

Lieutenant Bowes frowned. "No. It disappeared by the time I turned my head to look. Maybe it wasn't something solid but an optical effect."

The captain frowned as he thought about that. "Not a solid? Orange and not solid... fire?"

Bowes paused to consider. He nodded as it seemed to fit, but he still wasn't sure.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. Dismissed," Garrick said as he turned to his communications officer. "Get me General Davis."

Moments later, the comm officer nodded to the captain, who put his handset to his ear. "General Davis, this is Captain Garrick. We've sent out sorties, and all have returned with no sign of the arms dealer's yacht. Just empty open sea. The only exception was one pilot who mentioned catching a brief flash of orange on the horizon in his peripheral vision south-southeast of us."

Davis' voice sounded rough with sleep, but he was clear enough with his orders. "Set course for that position at your maximum speed. Ben isn't one to sit on his hands in these situations. He would attempt to make contact in any way he could. Not sure what that flash of orange—shit! It could be fire!"

"That was my guess as well. Understand, leaving this position may cause us to miss the vessel if it's following the course the CIA indicated," Garrick advised.

"Understood. That information is now too old to be currently accurate. Set the new course, and thank you, Captain."

"You're welcome, General. I'll contact you once we reach the new coordinates."

They hung up, and Garrick gave the orders to the Helmsman to get them underway once more.

Garrick sighed. Now they were chasing flashes on the horizon.

At least it wasn't a green flash at sunset.

Chapter 45

Ben grunted as his muscles complained from the abuse. Shock sticks were brutal weapons, turning your muscles against you.

He'd obviously pissed Kaan off too much, as when he'd rejoined them in the lounge, he'd immediately ordered five of his goons to shock Ben unconscious.

He ran through his stretches while staring at the ceiling as he waited. Ben was lying on his back in a tiled cell on the ship. From the ambient noises, he guessed he was below deck, and the vessel was moving but not as quickly as it could. That was interesting.

He slowly and methodically focused on each muscle group in the affected areas and did his best to stretch and relax the shocked tissues. He knew he was being observed, so he didn't do anything that would show how much movement he had, not that he wasn't still hurting badly.

Kaan's threat to kill the guests weighed heavily on Ben's mind. With his latest stunt, Ben was worried he might have pushed Kaan into taking vengeance against one or more of them. While he'd kept his word to the arms dealer by not telling anyone what the man was, he'd also done some pretty destructive things. He felt queasy at the thought of what that madman might have done.

Roughly twenty minutes later, the lock on the door opened, and Ben pushed himself to a seated position leaning back against the wall as two security thugs stepped inside, one on each side of the entrance with their shock stick's ready. Their expressions told Ben they wanted him dead. That didn't bode well.

Kaan stepped into the doorway but didn't enter. "You've been very stupid, Ben. You've abused my hospitality. You put me into a position where I had to take actions the others should not have seen. You've sealed their fates."

Ben's stomach dropped. "What have you done?" he asked quietly.

Kaan smiled, but it was cold. "The guests are confined to their rooms. The doors lock electromagnetically, but I control that from my level. Each will be dealt with later once I've been assured by the captain we are back on track. You could have spared them—"

"You don't need to do anything to them. I kept my word. I haven't told anyone what you do or what you did to get me here," Ben insisted.

"Ben, Ben, Ben. Don't take me for a fool. Your words are lies if your actions refute them. While pretending to be a guest, you've damaged my vessel multiple times—"

"I just removed hidden cameras in the bedrooms and bathrooms! Where people should expect privacy!"

Kaan's anger flared. "How I protect my investment is not for the likes of you to judge!"

"I don't believe you have much moral high ground to stand on, Kaan," Ben said calmly, holding the man's eyes.

Kaan nodded as he considered Ben. "Perhaps it's time to remove the scales from your eyes. You have this foolish hero complex, but it's time for you to see just how little impact you actually have. Come."

The man stepped out into the hall, and Ben spotted the other two security men waiting with stun rods poised to strike.

Ben cautiously got to his feet and grimaced from the knots he hadn't stretched sufficiently. The guards tensed around him, but he moved forward slowly and followed Kaan down a hallway towards a wide door where two more guards waited with hands on their stun rods. Each of them looked at Ben with murder in their eyes.

Kaan caught Ben's gaze. "You killed one of their friends, Hamza, who was next to the blast. The fireball from the flour dust also scorched his body as well. They would like to return the favor and set you on fire, but I convinced them to leave you to me. In return, they will have the Princess to play with tonight."

"You leave her the fuck alone!" Ben growled as he surged forward and got a shock against his back.

"Stop! I want him conscious!" Kaan snapped at the guard. Then he looked at Ben. "You need to witness the truth."

Ben glanced over his shoulder at the man who jabbed him. He memorized his features as he was going to deal with him soon.

"You were heralded as an international hero for rescuing a few children from Rachid Shakir in France. They celebrated you as if you'd actually achieved something significant. In truth, Shakir was a bit player in the underworld. His loss caused no ripples at all." Kaan chuckled as he touched his bracelet to the sensor and opened the door.

They moved as a group into the large chamber beyond. Crates were strapped to the floor and walls.

Ben glanced at them suspiciously as their markings looked familiar from his dealings with the army.

"Yes, weapons, Ben. Part of the business you are aware of. Moving them from hand to hand is a very lucrative business," Kaan boasted.

Beyond the crates were plastic-wrapped bales. "Drugs. Another excellent revenue generator."

They were approaching an older man, and the hair on Ben's neck began to stand on end. He was maybe five-foot-six and had once been very muscular. Age was stealing his physique and replacing it with fat and wrinkles as his muscles receded. He was wearing a combat harness over an off-white sweat-stained wife beater t-shirt, camo army pants, and army boots. He had thick hairy arms.

Ben realized what was setting off his nerves were the man's eyes. They were cold and contained no humanity at all. They were placed a little too close together, and once they passed over Ben, he snorted in contempt.

"This is Kadir Yavuz. He worked for my uncle since he was a boy and now works for me. He is a specialist and highly skilled at managing our stock for another business interest I have. This may be the most profitable branch of all." While Kaan was smiling, his eyes matched the soulless gaze of the older man.

He gestured to a large cage connected to the wall.

Ben's mouth went dry.

Inside were roughly two dozen children, all wearing dirty white t-shirts, some of the smears being dried blood. The children were silent, watching Ben, Kaan, but mostly Kadir. Ben could see the fear in their eyes, the trembling of their small bodies, and his stomach cramped. He walked ahead of the others, closer to the cage, and his eyes focused on the face of a small boy near the front who looked to be Christopher's age and had similar features, except his skin was a lovely chocolate brown, and his black hair was dense curls, cut close to his scalp.

It was the utter despair in the boy's eyes that captured Ben. He'd given up.

That could have been Christopher.

Soon, nothing existed in the room except for Ben and the small child.

Ben began to tremble.

-=-

Kaan was delighted he'd finally wiped the smug bravado from the big man's face.

"You see, Ben, you did nothing. A few children rescued from a nothing like Shakir achieved nothing. That's what you are, Ben. Nothing." Kaan felt so much better now that he'd set Ben straight on his place in the grand scheme of things. Watching him tremble in dismay was candy for Kaan's soul.

He grinned at his security men, who returned the smile.

Kadir's contempt for Ben was plain on his face as he flicked a smirk at Kaan and moved forward to push Ben away from the cage.

When Ben turned to face them, his eyes were filled with rage, and his teeth were clenched. His left hand shot forward and grabbed Kadir's harness, yanking him closer as his right fist savagely hammered the center of his face three times before the frozen guards had time to react. The sound of snapping bones and the wet slap of Ben's fist turning Kadir's face into hamburger sent a spike of fear through the gathering.

The two guards closest to Ben raised their shock batons only to have them knocked away as Ben swung the lifeless body of Kadir around like a broken toy.

When Ben's teeth finally unclenched, he released a roar of rage so intense, it sent an icy shock down Kaan's spine, momentarily freezing him in place. He stumbled back when one of his team yanked his arm.

Kaan watched in horror as Ben smashed Kadir's skull against the heads of the two unarmed guards until they fell to the floor. Ben then stomped on their throats before leaping after the next two guards who were trying to push Kaan toward the exit.

One turned and jabbed back with his weapon, but it tangled with Kadir's body uselessly as Ben was still flinging the corpse around by the leather straps. Ben surged forward and slammed his fist against the guard's temple, knocking him down.

Kaan's last security man was almost carrying him toward the exit, so he missed seeing Ben breaking the neck of the fallen man, but Kaan saw it and heard the bones pop.

He was stunned by the viciousness of the attack. Ben Shepherd wasn't supposed to be like this! He'd read everything he could find on the man. Ben was a white knight with an unshakable moral code. He always played by the rules and never told a lie.

Now, in a twist of fate, the scales had been removed from Kaan's eyes to see Ben was a terrifying monster, savagely ripping through his men!

Kaan finally got his nerve and turned his back on Ben to run away as his last guard turned to fight. When he heard the sharp snap of shock batons firing, Kaan risked a glance over his shoulder and saw Ben standing over the last guard, jamming two of the weapons against the throat of the fallen man, whose eyes were rolling back.

Ben suddenly looked up at Kaan and threw the drained weapons aside. Kaan spun and leaped through the hatch, slamming it shut and activating the lock with his bracelet ID. It gave him priority access to everything on the ship and could lock doors—Shit! Kadir's ID allowed him through this one. Ben might figure that out!

Kaan raced for the stairwell. He'd send the remaining five men from his security team down to deal with Ben once he reached the safety of his personal level. Even Kadir's ID couldn't open those doors.

The irony of an arms dealer refusing to equip his security team with guns was not lost on him. He wished he could, but his ability to elude pursuit on the open seas depended on the hugely expensive optical camouflage panels attached to the exterior surfaces of his yacht. This tech enabled him to be invisible to pursuers. The ship's hull was also designed to deflect radar, giving them the tiniest profile on the sea.

The ship designer had insisted he take all precautions to avoid damaging the panels or their delicate fiber optic data feeds strung throughout the ship's interior.

This meant no guns. Allowing his security team to use guns aboard the ship risked a stray shot damaging their sensitive data and power conduits or potentially penetrating or deforming the ship's hull sufficiently to disable those panels. His answer had been stun batons which to date had proven to be highly effective. His people were experts in their use but against someone able to swing a dead man around as a weapon? Kaan shuddered as the memory of Kadir's death flashed through his mind again.

Kaan got himself inside level A and set the lock. He rushed over to his desk and contacted his security team. "Neval! I need you to get down to level E. Ben has killed the others and Kadir. I've locked him in the main hold. He should still be inside. Contact me when you are ready, and I'll open it from here."

"Are we authorized to kill?" the man's harsh voice said through the speaker.

"Yes. Kill him but be careful. He killed the others in less than a minute," Kaan gasped.

"Consider him already dead. My blades will drink his blood!" The line went dead.

He dropped into his chair and started punching buttons to pull up the camera for the main hold. All he saw was static. Ben disabled the camera. Cunning as well as savage. Another shiver went down his spine.

Kaan suddenly recalled a childhood memory of Kadir. The man taught him so much, and now he was dead. It made no sense!

Bringing Ben on board had been a big mistake. He stood up and walked into his bedroom. Behind a portrait of his uncle was a wall safe. He punched in the code and pulled the door open to see his SAR 9 handgun. He loaded a clip into it and tucked it into his belt. This was a last resort weapon he would use when he couldn't miss hitting the big man.

He needed to speak to the captain.

He was climbing the stairs when the lights went out. The emergency lights came on, and Kaan rushed up the remaining steps to reach the bridge.

"What's happened?" Kaan demanded, and the crew was startled by his sudden shout. The captain stared at him with wide eyes, then he looked across the bridge controls before looking back to Kaan.

"The ship has lost power to most of its systems. The comm panel seems to be the only one left active. We've lost control of the ship and are no longer moving. The camo panels are also no longer active," he reported.

"Send someone downstairs to investigate!" Kaan snapped.

The captain opened his mouth silently in surprise, then his expression darkened. "What's happening, sir?"

Kaan heard the disrespect in the officer's voice and glared at the sudden belligerence. Perhaps it was time to find a new captain.

"My security team is currently containing the source of the issue. Send someone downstairs to investigate the loss of power. Now," Kaan said, locking eyes with the captain.

"Marco," the captain called out.

Their comm officer looked at his captain with a worried expression, then quickly moved to the stairs.

With a final glare at the crew, Kaan moved to the rear of the bridge and stared out the angled windows toward the stern.

Somewhere out there was the largest predator Kaan had ever tried to elude.

His ship's state-of-the-art protective measures were disabled, and even his ability to flee was crippled.

Why hadn't Neval reported back?

-=-

Ben panted as he straddled the corpse of a brute who favored blades over shock batons. He had a few new shallow cuts that would likely become scars, but sparring with Liliya and Evelyn helped him turn his opponent's blades against him. After slowly forcing the weapons deep into the man's chest, Ben watched the hate in those eyes turn to fear, desperation, and finally despair as life left them. That would be a memory to haunt Ben's dreams in days to come.

He stood in the dim red emergency lighting and took one more look at the electrical control panel he'd found in the engine room. He was done here.

After Kaan locked him in the hold, Ben's rage no longer had a focus, and his rational mind returned to retake control. He found himself trembling and panting over the bodies of the five men he'd just killed.

He heard the whimpering of the children, and his resolve hardened. While he wanted to release them now, they were actually safer where they were.

First, he disabled the camera pointing at the door and returned to the old man's body to get his bracelet. Now that he knew how to operate the locked doors, he assumed Kaan's old childhood friend would have the greatest access to the ship.

It was a tight fit, but Ben got the bracelet on his left wrist and used it to open the hold while he wielded the two remaining shock sticks. He was alone when the door opened.

His priority was to disable the ship to give searchers a chance to find them. He quickly moved through the ship's lower levels, expecting an attack around every corner, and found an electrical room near the engines. He set his weapons down and opened the panels to discover one of the neatest and most intuitive labeling jobs he'd ever seen. Favoring pictographs to written descriptions, the diagram helped Ben isolate all circuits not linked to communications as he hoped to call for help. He blessed the installer's obsession with clarity.

That's when a guard showed up and drew his blades. He saw Ben's weapons resting on the console next to him. He knocked them behind the unit to keep them from Ben, then grinned savagely as he launched his attack.

Now, the man was dead because Ben trained with Liliya and Evelyn, experts in knife fighting techniques and exceedingly demanding teachers. All those hours of painful drills paid off as Ben was alive.

If his math was correct, there were at least four more he'd have to face, not counting Kaan. Ben was grateful none of them had been carrying a gun. He wasn't sure why that was, and he knew he shouldn't depend on that continuing.

He couldn't reach the shock sticks, so he pulled the blades from the guard's chest and wiped them on the man's shirt.

Ben saw the light of a flashlight bobbing as it slowly approached. The electrical room had nowhere to hide, so he launched himself into the hallway.

"AAIIIEEE!" screamed a man in a uniform. He dropped his flashlight as he tried to turn and run away.

Wrapping his arm around the man's neck, Ben pressed the tip of the second blade against his back, making him freeze in terror. It wasn't one of the guards.

"Who are you?" Ben demanded in a quiet but fierce voice.

"Marco! Marco Vincenti!" the man babbled.

"What do you do on the ship, Marco Vincenti?" Ben asked.

"I-I-I'm the ship's communications officer!" Marco squeaked out.

Ben nodded. He needed this man. "And you are down here because...."

"The Captain! He ordered me to find out what happened to the ship's power. Sadik ordered him to do it."

"Kaan's on the bridge?" Ben asked.

"Yes!"

"Give me your bracelet for bridge access," Ben said, and the man quickly pulled it off. Ben took it from him as he eased his grip on the comm officer.

One of the security goons rushed at Ben at that instant. Ben shoved Marco at him, tangling the arm holding his stun baton. Ben surged forward and slammed the blade deep into the side of the guard's throat before ripping it free in a spray of blood. He'd learned that move from Liliya... and Tatiana.

Marco watched the guard in shock as the man's eyes rolled up, and he fell to the floor.

Ben looked at Marco and saw he was covered in blood and trembling. "Sorry about that. Go to the lounge and wait there. It'll be over soon."

The man nodded and looked back at Ben in relief before rushing away.

Three to go.

-=-

Kaan paced on the bridge, wondering how it had all gone so wrong. The poker game Ben claimed was won through sheer random chance. The outrageous intervention from the casino to give Ben so much credit, then he'd practically been handed four of a—Kaan's eyes widened as he realized Ben hadn't been working alone! The Casino's General Manager and the dealer had been working with him. Everyone was so dazzled by Ben Shepherd they missed the subtle sleight of hand from the dealer.

The General Manager wasn't worried about giving Ben so much money as they were guaranteed to get it all back.

"FUCK!" Kaan yelled, and the bridge crew jumped at the sudden sound. He spun to glare at them. "Where is your officer? Why hasn't he gotten the power back on?"

"I kindly asked him not to."

Kaan spun to look to the port side stairwell where Ben stood. In the dim glow cast by the emergency lighting, they saw his white shirt and pants were splashed with blood. Quite a lot of blood.

"You killed Marco?" the captain asked.

"No, he's fine, just waiting in the lounge. I suggest you two go there and do the same," Ben said calmly.

"Stay where you are! This is my ship. He doesn't give the orders here!" Kaan barked as he reached under his shirt for the gun.

Something heavy struck his right shoulder and knocked him off his feet. His right hand went numb, and he dropped the gun as he fell. He scrambled and managed to grab it with his other hand. He heard Ben's heavy footsteps, so he fired a shot behind him as he crab-walked for the opposite stairwell. He heard a grunt followed by an angry growl, so he ducked into the well and rapidly fired multiple shots across the bridge before stumbling down the stairs to his level. He knew Ben's weakness, so he headed for his training room.

They'd settle the score there. He glanced down at his shoulder, which was now screaming in pain.

Blood was running down his chest from a deep wound there. What... what had Ben hit him with?

He pushed that aside as he still had to survive this, and he was a survivor!

He pushed open the cell door and peered into the darkness. Of course, there was no emergency lighting in this room. He could barely make out the huddled body of the woman who was his ticket out of this mess.

He tucked his gun into his belt behind him as he needed his left hand.

Ben's white knight syndrome would prevent him from attacking if Kaan used the bitch as a shield. He moved to the wall, painfully pulled the key from his pocket with his working hand, and unlocked the chain from the wall.

She wasn't there when he turned to grab the slut by her hair. He turned and saw her rush at him from the shadows and felt a sudden sharp pain in his gut. She was trembling and gasping as she leaned her body against his, feebly pressing him against the wall. Agony radiated from his shoulder and mixed with the hot pain from his stomach.

She... she'd stabbed him?

Outrage flared, and he roughly shoved her away with his left arm. She fell to the floor but looked up at him with a smile.

"Shepherd... got you... and so did I. See you in Hell, asshole," she snarled weakly as she looked at him with contempt.

Kaan looked down at his stomach and saw the end of a shard of plastic sticking out of his lower abdomen. He frantically tugged it out and screamed in pain as he leaned back against the wall, struggling to remain on his feet.

He reached his left hand back and pulled his gun to point it at her.

She laughed.

Kaan paused as he looked into her mocking eyes. She wasn't frightened. Her eyes glowed with defiance, but he'd beaten that from her! He'd crushed her will!

Her smile widened. "You really are... a useless piece of shi—"

Kaan fired six rounds into her before her smile finally faded. He stood, leaning against the wall, gasping when Ben suddenly appeared in the doorway and stared at the dead woman.

A smile appeared on Kaan's face as he swung the gun to point it at Ben.

"I told you, Ben. You are nothing."

Ben turned his face to look at Kaan. Then he smiled, but there was no warmth or humor in it. It was the smile of a predator preparing to take his prey after a long hunt, and chills ran down Kaan's spine.

Desperately, he pulled the trigger, but the gun remained silent.

"I may not be an arms dealer, but I know what an empty gun looks like."

Kaan stared at his SAR-9, and the slide was fully back. He'd put in a full clip, fifteen rounds! How could it be empty? His mind tried to add up his shots, but he'd panicked when he fired into the bridge and lost count.

When Ben started to walk toward him, he threw the empty gun, but Ben easily batted it away with the fire ax in his hand. Kaan froze and glanced down at his shoulder.

Ben's smile just got colder the closer he got.

Kaan's screams echoed across his personal suite for a surprisingly long time, but there was no one left to come to his aid.

Chapter 46

Princess Zama heard the lock disengage, and she quickly rushed to open the door, but no one was in the hall. The ship was silent. She went to Yvonne's door and knocked before opening it.

The woman was standing at the end of her bed with a look of panic on her face. She sagged with relief when she saw Zama, then she rushed forward to take the younger woman's hands in hers.

"What's happened?" she asked.

"I have no idea, but I no longer wish to remain in my room. Let us go!" Zama insisted.

They looked out the door and then rushed to the stairs. They listened, but it was still silent. Descending slowly, they looked around the corner into the lounge and saw the kitchen staff were all sitting on the couches with a man they'd not seen before. Zama boldly left the stairwell and approached them. All eyes turned in her direction, and she saw their expressions were relieved.

"Where is Ben?" Zama asked.

The stranger shook his head. "He went upstairs to go after Sadik after he sent us here."

"Who are you?" Zama asked him.

"Marco Vincenti, Ship's Comm Officer."

Yvonne joined Zama. "Where is the security team?"

The head chef spoke up. "They are dead. Mr. Shepherd killed them."

Yvonne gasped. "All of them?"

"Yes!" the man exclaimed, and the rest of the kitchen staff grinned as none of them liked the security team.

Nguyêt walked into the lounge cautiously, and Zama rushed to her side as the woman was badly bruised.

"Moon! Are you okay?" Zama gasped.

"Yes, the locks opened on the door to our room, so I came to see what had happened. There are many dead bodies in the hallways below. Much blood."

"I'm sorry you had to see that."

Everyone turned to see Ben leaving the stairwell. He was wearing a thobe that was too small for him but at least it covered the private parts.

He rubbed a towel across his head and tossed it aside. "Kaan is dead. His security team is dead as well. Unfortunately, as he fled the bridge, Kaan sprayed the room with bullets and killed the other two bridge crew." Ben looked at Marco. "I need you to radio an SOS."

Marco nodded.

Ben looked to Moon, and he winced seeing the beating the woman received for helping him. "I'm very sorry you were hurt for helping me. Was anyone else hurt?"

Moon nodded. "Peter was beaten to death by the security team. But I saw they are all dead. Thank you for this."

Ben still looked guilty. He nodded, then looked to Zama. "I need you and Yvonne to go down to the cargo bay." He looked at the kitchen staff. "Can you go with them and cover up the bodies? I don't want the children to see that gruesome sight." He looked back to Zama. "Bring the children up to the guest rooms. They need a bath, clean clothes, food, and rest in a clean bed." Zama nodded with a serious expression.

"Children?" Yvonne asked.

"Slaves. Kaan was a human trafficker. No doubt these children were being forced into the sex trade," Ben explained with a grim expression, and Yvonne put her hands over her mouth in shock.

Ben looked at Marco. "Let's go call for help."

Zama watched Ben turn back to the stairs as he guided the radio man to go before him.

She smiled, certain she could not find a better mate than Ben.

-=-

Marco nodded to Ben. "The radio was spared from the gunfire. I can make the distress call now."

Ben nodded to the man who activated the distress channel. "Mayday Mayday Mayday. This is the private unregistered personal yacht Gölge, once owned by Kaan Sadik and now under Maritime salvage claim by Ben Shepherd. Mayday Mayday Mayday." He released the mic.

Ben scowled. "What was that bit about salvage claim?"

Marco gestured to the shot-up bridge. "With a few minor repairs, the ship could be sold for a lot of money. Someone needs to claim it. It won't be me. I expect I'll be going to jail."

Ben looked around. He didn't want it, but he could use the money to help those kids in the hold. "Fine. Repeat the message until you get a response. I'm assuming a US Navy ship is somewhere out there."

Marco turned back to the mic, but the radio crackled as a reply came in. "This is the US Navy Aircraft Carrier, USS Harry S. Truman. Describe the nature of your emergency."

"Would you like to tell them?" Marco asked, holding the mic up to Ben.

He frowned, then took it, squeezing the button. "Uh, this is Ben Shepherd aboard the yacht. The captain and helmsman are dead, killed by Kaan Sadik. The controls in the bridge were damaged by his gunfire as well. The ship is adrift. The hold contains weapons, drugs, and roughly two dozen abducted children. Uh, over."

Marco looked at Ben as they waited.

"Mr. Shepherd. This is Captain Garrick. Are you currently in personal jeopardy by Kaan Sadik?"

Ben opened the mic once more. "Sorry. I should have said earlier. Kaan Sadik is dead, as are his security team and the man who managed his stock of slaves. The only crew remaining on the ship is Mr. Vicenti, the comm officer here, the kitchen crew, and a group of young men and women Kaan used as cleaners and sex workers. No more hostile elements are on the ship, but we're dead in the water, so we could use some help." He looked at Marco. "Do I say over when I'm done?" He released the button.

A jet shot past overhead. Ben squeezed the button on his mic again. "A jet just passed over us! Was that yours?" He released the button.

The captain's voice came over the radio again. "Yes, Mr. Shepherd. That was one of ours. Hang tight. We're on our way."

"Thank you!" Ben sighed and smiled at Marco, but the smile faded seeing the bleak look in the man's eyes.

"So, what's your story? This ship was doing some truly evil things," Ben said seriously.

Marco nodded with a sick look on his face. "Captain Kristof, Helmsman Müller, and I were in charge of moving the ship from place to place, but we had no involvement in Sadik's businesses. He compartmentalized our duties, so we weren't a risk to him for leaking information. I'm not saying I didn't know his business was crooked, but this job was the only one I could get that paid this well. I'm sorry."

"You were his communications officer. You know who he was speaking with?" Ben asked.

Marco looked at Ben for a moment. "Some truly frightening people. Dangerous and connected."

Ben gave him a frank stare. "It doesn't sound like your particular duties were that compartmentalized."

"I didn't know what he was selling or had in the cargo bay!" Marco insisted desperately.

"But you have information you could give the authorities to assist them with collecting these bad, dangerous, connected people. That would go a long way toward repaying your debt for being part of this monstrosity," Ben insisted.

Marco looked at him sadly. "I'm not a brave man."

Ben shrugged. "It's up to you. You'll have to live with it in either case. Come on, let's go join the others."

They took the stairs back to level B, where the kitchen staff hustled back and forth, bringing the children soup and bread as it was gentler on their stomachs.

Ben saw Moon leading the little boy Ben had focused on earlier toward one of the rooms. His feet moved him to join them. He knelt before the child, and the boy looked through him lifelessly. Then something in his eyes changed. To Ben, it seemed like one moment the boy's eyes were empty, then someone was behind them peeking through. They flicked up to his face.

Ben sat cross-legged on the floor with his back against the wall to bring his face down to the child's level. The boy tugged his hand free from Moon's and climbed into Ben's lap. Wrapping his arms around the child, Ben struggled to hold back his own tears as the boy began to cry. He knew tears were far healthier than the emotionless state.

Tears running silently down his cheeks, Ben glanced up from the child to see the adults watching him with various expressions of sadness and guilt. He returned his attention to the boy and kissed the top of his head.

He was done with leading. This was more important.

Help was on the way.

-=-

Marine Lieutenant Rick Hernandez led his team through the yacht's side access. An Asian man in a white uniform was standing by the controls for the door. Rick gestured for him to stand back. "Who are you?"

"I am Wing. I work kitchen," the man responded with a nervous smile.

"Where are the others?" he asked.

"In kitchen on D, in lounge on C, or with children on B," Wing said, pointing up.

"Go join the people in the lounge and stay there," Rick commanded, and the man nodded and rushed away. Rick's squad moved into the ship and began finding bodies under sheets. Each had suffered some terrible wounds.

"What kind of weapon does this?" O'Malley asked with a grimace as they lifted another sheet to see an enormous deep gash across the dead man's chest. They dropped the sheet."

"Fuck if I know. Broadsword?" Jensen, their medic replied.

They confirmed the lower levels had no living people on it. There were ten bodies. They climbed to the deck level and found a dead body by a damaged bar and three people in the kitchen making soup and slices of bread. The marines sent them up to the lounge level with two Marines to keep them under guard as the rest of the team confirmed the deck level was clear. They joined the others in the lounge as they confirmed the level was otherwise empty of people. Going up one more level, they found a large man sitting cross-legged in the middle of the hallway with a sleeping boy in his lap, cradled in his arms. He had a rough bandage wrapped around his leg, blood spotting the white fabric.

"Mr. Shepherd?" Rick asked.

The big man smiled and nodded. He looked both relieved and exhausted.

"Sir, who killed the men below the deck level?" Rick asked.

"I did," Ben said.

"All of them?" O'Malley blurted. "With what?"

Ben scowled at the man. "With anything I had handy to keep them from killing me." He closed his eyes and sighed to calm himself. When he opened them, he looked at Rick. "There are two more bodies on the level above. A woman I believe was a CIA operative Kaan was torturing. He shot her multiple times. Kaan... is there too. She stabbed him, but I finished him off. On the bridge level above that, you'll find the captain and the helmsman who Kaan shot when he fired wildly into the bridge trying to kill me. He caught my calf, but the bullet passed through."

"We'll get you medical attention once you are on board the Truman," Rick said. "We'll make sure the kids are healthy as well."

Ben smiled and rested his head against the wall as his eyes closed.

Rick shared a look with the others. He left two of his team to guard the floor and climbed to the next level. They found the bodies in a tiled room, and the stench of death made them leave after seeing what they needed.

"The guy in there with the ax in his head seems to have been tortured," Jensen suggested.

Rick looked at him. "Is that your official statement?"

Jensen looked back and paused. "No. He died of a blow to the head with a fire ax."

Rick nodded. No sense in muddying this rescue operation with needless sensationalism.

-=-

General Davis leaned back in his chair with a sigh. Captain Garrick just gave him the good news. Ben was safe. He immediately dialed a number, and it picked up after just two rings though it was early there.

"Yes! Alex!" Gabriella's voice asked eagerly though sleep still clung to her. Even in this state, she'd kept her promise to use his first name.

He smiled. "Good news, Gabriella. They found Ben, and he's okay. A little worse for wear, but otherwise healthy."

"Oh! That's so wonderful!" Gabriella exclaimed and began to cry.

"Are you okay?" Davis asked gently.

"So much better than okay. Sorry, Alex. I'm just so relieved. Thank you so much for calling me! And thank you for working so hard to get him back! We owe you so much!" Gabriella gushed.

Davis smiled at the happiness he heard in her voice. "Ben isn't just an asset we protect. He's a friend. We take care of our friends."

"Thank you! I have to tell the others!" she exclaimed. "When will he be back home?"

"Well, he's on board the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at the moment, getting a little medical treatment. The carrier needs to get back to active duty in the Mediterranean. We'll get Ben to the mainland and on a plane for his flight home. I should mention that the ship Ben was on was carrying roughly two dozen children who'd been kidnapped for the sex trade. Ben made some extraordinary efforts to free them. There's also the little matter of Ben claiming salvage rights on the yacht. He's signed it over to the captain of the Truman for them to deal with the weapons and drugs on it."

Gabriella's voice was glowing with love. "Ben makes extraordinary efforts for those who truly need it. He's a good man. Let me know which country you'll get him to, and I'll arrange to get one of Dennis Thomasson's jets to that location to fly him home."

Davis nodded. "That sounds like an excellent plan, as long as Evelyn and Liliya are on the jet as well."

"I'll make sure of it!" Gabriella said.

"I'll speak to you soon," the General said.

"Thank you, Alex. Talk to you soon!" The line went dead. He expected he'd get a busy tone if he tried dialing her back.

Smiling, he signed off on the official mission statement as a success. His lieutenant would complete the documentation as the situation room team was reassigned.

He knew the POTUS was looking for some good news, so he would give it to him. The temporary mission Davis had assigned to the Truman not only recovered their brilliant inventor but also recovered two dozen stolen surface-to-air missiles, captured four tonnes of hashish, and rescued a dozen people forced to be sex workers aboard the yacht. Best of all, it also rescued twenty-six abducted children who'd been destined for the sex slave trade.

The ship was a treasure trove of information on Kaan's business deals and partners as well. The former communications officer was proving to be very helpful with that.

Davis also knew that the President's son, Theo, would be graduating from West Point, so the General had news a father of such a son would welcome. He'd be able to tell the POTUS that their brilliant inventor just invented a new body armor design that exceeds all current standards. Armor that was tested in a live fire scenario the very night the inventor was abducted by a rogue CIA agent.

He frowned as he recalled the report stating that Stephanie Russo was in the wind. She hadn't stuck around to be collected from the resort as ordered. That also meant she wouldn't have heard that only one of her three operatives made it off Kaan's ship alive.

Harold Gibson was likely killed the first night he was aboard. The guests and his cover story girlfriend, Nguyêt, were told he went back with the supply ship. Phan Thi Nguyêt was alive as she adapted to the new situation and her cover held, but Harper Lane died at the hand of Kaan after being tortured for a month. Ben's statement indicated she'd fatally stabbed Kaan before he shot her.

The General saw the preliminary report on Kaan Sadik and knew Ben was omitting his contribution to Kaan's demise. The man might have eventually died of the wounds he incurred before Ben caught him in the torture room, but what happened there would remain a sealed record.

He shook his head, knowing he'd have done the same to Kaan if he'd been in Ben's situation.

He glanced at the clock and saw it was time. He reached for his phone as he was looking forward to this call, like the one he'd made to Gabriella.

With her lovely smiling face in his thoughts, he picked up his phone again.

-=-

Ed was sitting at the breakfast table with his family when his cell rang. As it was a rule not to use a cell phone at the table, he immediately got to his feet and moved to the other side of the kitchen to answer. He'd been on edge since he helped Ben's security people identify the spy on the General's team.

He'd been able to fill Grace and the others in on Ben's abduction, and his entire family was on pins and needles, waiting to hear if they found him.

"Hello!" he said as he held it to his ear. He looked back at the table, and everyone was watching him.

"Ed? This is Evelyn. They found Ben. He's okay."

Ed sagged against the countertop. "Oh, that's great news!" He saw smiles appear on faces around the table.

"An aircraft carrier found them and has taken them aboard," the Sergeant said.

"Them?" Ed asked.

Evelyn's voice had a smile in it. "The arms dealer's yacht Ben was taken to had a dozen people working as sex slaves, and more than two dozen abducted children destined for the slave trade. Ben freed them. We're flying to Europe to pick Ben up and bring him home."

Ed grinned. "I'm sure he'll be glad to be home."

"Thanks again for all your help, Ed. I know Ben will want to thank you personally when he gets here," she said.

"Oh! That's all right. All I did was pass along a message he sent to me," Ed said humbly.

"No, Ed. Without that message, we might have lost Ben forever. None of us will forget how critical your help was in catching the double agent and saving Ben. You're our hero!" Evelyn insisted.

Ed was speechless. He was a hero?

"Listen, we have to go, but I just wanted to let you know we have him. Talk to you later!" she said and hung up.

Ed put his cell back in his pocket as he walked back to the table. He plunked himself back in his chair, thinking on Evelyn's words.

"Good news?" Rachel prompted.

Ed nodded. "They found Ben. An aircraft carrier picked him up, Ben and a bunch of people and children he rescued from slavery." He shook his head in dismay. "I don't understand. How can there still be a slave trade in this day and age?"

Grace placed her hand on his and gave him a sympathetic smile. "It seems terrible, but there are still people who refuse to accept civilized behavior because of their greed."

Zoe's face showed her surprise. "An aircraft carrier?"

Ed looked at her and nodded. "Ben invents things for the Army. Maybe the Navy too." He recalled Evelyn's words. "She said Ben will want to thank me personally when he returns. Maybe we can have a welcome back party?"

Rachel and Zoe grinned at each other. "That sounds like an excellent idea, Ed!" Rachel said.

Ed nodded with a smile. The idea of a party with Ben and his family sounded really fun. He hoped Ben's security issues were resolved by then so they could get everyone together.

Chapter 47

Ben was sitting in the officer's dining room on the Truman. They'd found him some clothes that fit his larger frame, and he was delighted they belonged to one of the crew in the engineering department. It was just a coverall with underwear, socks, and boots, but a big improvement from the guest wear on Kaan's yacht.

That vessel was currently being towed by one of the carrier's support ships, which caught up to join the party. That was easier than unloading it at sea. With all those guns bristling from the ships surrounding the yacht, no one was likely to try to steal it back.

All the passengers from the yacht spent a night on cots in a quickly set up triage bay. It wasn't the most comfortable night, especially for someone Ben's size. The next day was spent in small rooms giving endless statements about what happened on the ship.

When dinner hour rolled around, Ben heard they were approaching their destination, where he'd be able to go ashore to catch a flight home. He still didn't know what country that would be.

He was invited to dine with the captain and his senior officers, who were peppering him with questions regarding the ship's capture. "Their ability to gang up on me was greatly reduced by the tight corridors under the deck level. The fire ax I found was a much more effective weapon than their stun sticks and had better reach than the knives," Ben explained.

"But you took no prisoners!" one of the officers protested.

Ben stared at him incredulously. "How the hell was I supposed to take prisoners when I was one man against ten who were trying to kill me?"

The other officers chided the man for his question as the captain smirked at him.

"Benson has a very firm grip on his sense of law and order," Garrick said to Ben with a smile.

"Perhaps he should try a paintball game against ten opponents to grasp the concept of survival," Ben suggested with a light growl, and the others laughed.

Garrick nodded and gave Ben a frank look. "When you aren't struggling to survive group attacks, what do you do to keep busy?"

Ben smiled and nodded. "I'm a mechanical engineer. I invent solutions to resolve engineering issues. I understand this vessel is powered by a nuclear engine. One of my first inventions was a valve used in nuclear power plants to increase safety and efficiency. I've been working on solutions for the army at the moment. I fixed an overheating issue with their M420 Assault Rifle. Then I designed a lighter but stronger backpack, and from that, I invented a new body armor that's lighter but can stop armor-piercing bullets."

The table was silent as the officers stared at him.

Garrick was smiling in satisfaction. "It makes sense to me now why the General was so insistent we get you back in one piece."

Ben smiled. "He's been very supportive. Some idiots in Russia tried to kidnap me and put my family in danger. Once I got home, I built the Spa, and the General rotates teams of soldiers, SEAL teams, and Special forces through it to protect my neighborhood. In return, I work on engineering issues for the Army."

"I've heard of the Spa!" one of the Lieutenant Commanders exclaimed. "Lieutenant Ashton's SEAL Platoon Five spent some time there, and he gave me the details. It's a state-of-the-art base but very posh!" He frowned. "Is it true you have a tower built onto your house that they used to zipline into a forest?"

Ben nodded. "Yes. I built the tower on the back of my home to contain a multilevel children's play zone for the kids from a neighborhood daycare to use in bad weather. I built a party deck on top for treetop-level relaxing. The SEAL team used it to do nighttime zipline drills into the forest. Just before I was abducted by the CIA, a special forces team used a zipline from there to take out a team of gunmen sneaking through the forest to attack my neighborhood. I'm very grateful to them! They also wore my new body armor over their usual armor, and it proved its effectiveness."

"Any chance you'd like to build a Spa on an aircraft carrier?" another officer chimed in, and the group laughed but looked at him eagerly.

Ben's eyes lit up. The sheer scale of this engineering marvel dazzled him. "I must admit, being on an aircraft carrier is an engineer's dream!"

That brought chuckles from the group.

"Seriously, I'm always looking for new puzzles to solve. If you have any technical issues you think could be improved, please send them my way! I'm not a weapon designer, contrary to my work on the assault rifle, which was just an efficiency improvement. Captain Kendricks from OASA(ALT) has been struggling to keep me occupied. I review civilian engineering boards looking for things to do as well," Ben explained.

"We'll get in touch with the captain if we have any issues you might be able to resolve for us," Garrick said with a smile.

Ben nodded. "Big or small, I love a good engineering puzzle!"

Garrick glanced at the clock, then smiled at Ben. "Ever been to Italy, Ben?"

He looked at the captain and shook his head. A memory flashed through his mind. It was Daniel's enthusiasm about their trip to Turin, Italy, while they were staying at Gabriella's cousin's B&B in Saint Pierre d'Albigny, France. This made his thoughts swing over to Stephanie Murino, and he was unsettled by how his heart jumped at the idea of how close she was now. He struggled to push that aside.

"No. Uh, I don't have a passport. Agent Russo was a little rushed when she stole me away from my home, so aside from my wallet, and thank you for retrieving it from Sadik's safe, by the way, I have no documentation."

"I understand that will be taken care of when we reach Naples. That's where we'll part ways. Your security team will take over from there," Garrick said.

Ben felt another surge of emotion rush through him at the thought of seeing Liliya and Evelyn. "Good, thanks!"

Another junior officer entered the room and addressed the captain before turning to Ben.

"One of our new passengers is refusing to eat. All he says is Ben," the Lieutenant said.

Ben looked at her in worry. "Is he ill?"

"Some malnutrition and dehydration, but we can deal with that if we can get his cooperation," she replied.

"Thank you for dinner. If I may be excused?" Ben said to the captain distractedly and received a bemused nod from the senior officer.

Ben followed the smiling lieutenant from the officer's dining room, and they headed to where the children were staying.

"Did you learn anything about his family or his name?" Ben asked.

She shook her head. "Not from him, but one of the older boys was awake when he was added to the cage. He heard one of Sadik's men tell Yavuz he killed the parents and took the boy from a home in Freeport when they were in Sierra Leone. It is highly likely he's an orphan, and based on his behavior, he may have witnessed the killing."

"Fuck!" Ben growled. "I'm feeling better about taking those bastards out with the fire ax."

She glanced back at him with wide eyes and brought him to a large room where the kids were eating and resting. Several sailors were sitting with them. Everyone turned their eyes toward Ben when he entered behind the lieutenant.

One little boy got to his feet and rushed toward him, but he was wobbly as he ran, so Ben moved forward and scooped him up into his arms. Little hands held Ben's face as he tipped his forward to touch foreheads.

Ben pulled back to speak to the boy. "What's this I hear about you not eating? I need you to eat and drink to be healthy. That way, you can grow big and strong like me!" Ben said to him gently.

Big eyes looked back at him seriously.

"Will you let my friends feed you?" Ben asked.

The little man's head nodded slowly, and Ben smiled and kissed the boy's forehead. "Thank you. Can you tell me your name?" He got a shake of his head for that.

"Do you remember it?" Ben asked and got another head shake. He wasn't sure what that meant.

"May I call you Leo? Named after a brave Lion?" Ben asked gently.

Little eyes widened, and the hint of a smile showed on his lips. He nodded.

Ben didn't want to remind him of the trauma he'd gone through, but the thought of this little guy being alone made him a little ill. Maybe he could recall a relative. "Does your Uncle or Auntie visit you?"

His little face lit up momentarily. "Aunt Binta."

Ben's muscles relaxed as the boy did have a family after all. "Does she have children too?"

His smile was wider as he nodded, likely thinking of playing with his cousins.

"Okay, Leo. Please eat some food, drink, and get some rest. My friends will watch over you and the others. I'll check on you soon. Okay?"

Leo hugged Ben, tucking his head into Ben's neck, and Ben returned the hug. Then he set him on his feet, and the lieutenant took his hand to lead him over to a table to get him some food. He looked back at Ben and smiled his first real smile for Ben, who returned it.

He walked over to the side of the room where several sailors were working. "Excuse me? Are you the ones working on finding the parents of the children?"

They turned to face him and froze. Ben struggled to clear his stern expression, but it was a lost cause. "I just learned that little fellow there is an orphan. He does have an Aunt whose name is Binta. Maybe you can get more about her from Leo."

"His name is Leo? How did you get him to recall—"

"I didn't. He can't recall his name or his parents, who may have been murdered in front of him. I called him Leo so I could speak to him. He approved. I asked him about his uncle and aunt, and he does remember an Aunt Binta and her children, so I hope that helps you find his family.

The three sailors nodded and watched him leave.

When Ben reached the door, he looked back and saw Leo was happily eating. Ben's heart was twisting, but Gabriella's words came to him once more. He slipped outside, where another sailor was waiting for him. "Princess Zama would like to speak to you," the man said.

With a snort, Ben nodded. "I've been summoned."

The sailor nodded with a smile. "Seemed that way to me too."

"Lead on. Let's not keep the Princess waiting," Ben said and smiled back at Leo, who was chowing down on something in a bowl. The lieutenant at his side smiled at Ben.

Ben was led through the ship and up one level to a lounge where Zama and Yvonne were reading. They were wearing their own clothes as they'd been returned their luggage from the ship. They both looked up and burst into smiles. Zama leaped to her feet with a squeal and rushed over to hug Ben. He enjoyed that and returned it, but she moved in and kissed him when he began to pull back.

He gently pushed her back. "Slow down, Zama."

She grinned at him and gave him a shy smile.

"May I get a hug too?" Yvonne asked.

Ben gave her one, and she behaved and didn't try to kiss him.

"Where are the others? Lars, Lola, and Mara?" Ben asked.

"I heard they are detoxing in sickbay," Yvonne said. "I don't think Lola has much left of her mind. I don't know what she was taking, but she's more instinct than intellect now."

"What a waste," Ben said sadly.

"The kitchen crew and the companions are still being interviewed. I got to speak to Megan. Kaan didn't keep their documents, which probably means he killed those who completed their term of employment instead of freeing them as he promised," Zama said.

Ben's expression darkened, but he remembered how he'd made the man suffer for his crimes. It had to be enough that he was dead.

He looked Yvonne in the eye. "How went your interview?"

She nodded. "Fine. I'll catch a flight back to France when they bring us to Naples. I have a career to restore."

Ben smiled at her. "You go, girl!" Yvonne giggled. Ben nodded. "I have friends in Hollywood now. If you have trouble, let me know, and I'll reach out to them to see if, maybe, they can help." She gave him a wide smile at that news.

Then Ben turned his attention to Zama. "What about you? Have you thought about what you are going to do next?"

"I wish to be one of your wives," Zama insisted.

Yvonne burst into surprised laughter, then she suddenly stopped and gaped at Zama as she realized the young woman was serious. "Zama! You should find someone younger and be their only wife!"

Ben nodded as this matched his expectations for the young woman.

"I have chosen Ben as he is a superior mate!" the princess asserted.

"But I can't give you children," Ben insisted as his face heated up.

"There are many children in the world who deserve better lives. I wish to dedicate my life to improving their conditions. I do not need to bring one of my own into a world that cannot support these others."

Ben blinked in surprise at her. "That's... a very enlightened viewpoint, but you may change your mind, and I still won't be able to help you."

She gave him a gentle smile. "Ben, there are many ways for a modern woman to become pregnant should that suddenly become a personal priority, though I do not believe it will."

"There's also the fact that you haven't asked me if I want another woman in my life! I have a very full life with many women in it who I love very much! Sometimes I struggle to find enough time to spend with the ones I'm with," Ben finally asserted in frustration.

Zama finally realized it wasn't enough that she wanted this. Ben had to want it as well! Her expression became a little desperate. "I do not need much of your time! I promise I will be very compatible with your lifestyle. I have no jealousy in me at all, and I am very friendly! I also have my own money and handle my own investments very skillfully, so you do not need to worry about my expenses. I am an excellent cook though I admit my knowledge of recipes is mostly from my home country."

When Ben still seemed resistant, she rushed on. "I am willing to learn your customs! I am also willing to give you full access to my body and mind. Nothing will be denied to you!"

Yvonne was grinning widely. "This offer is exceptionally generous, Ben! I can't see how you could possibly turn it down!"

Princess Zama beamed a wide, happy smile at Yvonne for her supportive words as Ben gave Yvonne a frustrated look.

Finally, Ben turned back to the younger woman. "What's your Plan B, Zama? You just met me, and before that, you'd run away from your father to avoid being forced into a marriage. Kaan was going to sell you back to your father. Now that you are free of both your father and Kaan, you have options. What is your alternative if you don't go with me? I expect the women who are with me to have contingency plans."

Zama's eyes were beginning to get glassy. "I-I had to flee from my father's palace as his plan for me was too offensive to contemplate. I grew up in the security and isolation of the palace. I know no other life. I heard of Kaan Sadik due to his dealings with my father. I only had a short time to act, so I packed a bag and stowed away on his delivery ship. When I was discovered, I convinced him to let me be one of his guests with the promise of payment. There was never a Plan B until I met you! I cannot go back to my father and the palace. Only misery awaits me there. I have money but do not know the world or how to live in it. Being one of your wives would mean I would have somewhere safe to learn. The others could teach me."

Her eyes pleaded with him. "You are welcome to everything I have. My body is young and strong, and while I have no experience with sex, my virginity is yours as well!"

Yvonne gaped at her in shock, then her eyes locked on Ben.

He glanced at her.

The actor finally found her voice. "Ben, you must help her! She's too innocent to be forced into the world alone!"

Ben frowned at Yvonne. "Help her? Doesn't it sound like I'd just be helping myself to her?"

"It would only sound that way if she didn't want that too!" Yvonne insisted.

Ben took a deep breath, then let it out. He thought about the logistics of taking another woman into his care. There was no shortage of living space as he'd soon have two more homes available to fill. In the interim, she could stay in a spare room in the house he built for Karen and Penny, or maybe Trish would let her stay in the bedroom in her basement. She might stay with Liliya too. Ben wouldn't be letting Tatiana back.

He closed his eyes. He was really thinking of doing this, but he'd do it his way. He looked at her again.

"I can offer you a place to live while you learn how to navigate the real world outside a palace. I can ask my friends to help you with that. You will need to earn your keep by following their instructions for maintaining the home and doing your share of the cooking. You will need to apply for a visitor's visa and work towards getting citizenship. Maybe political asylum is a route to go. Again, I have friends who can help you with that," Ben said.

He held up his hand as Zama began to squeal excitedly. "You may not have noticed I did not include any promises about sharing my time with you. I owe the women I'm currently with so much I will not jeopardize any of their time for you. You seem like a very lovely young woman, and you are very beautiful. I'm sure you will have no trouble finding a more suitable mate than me."

Zama was still vibrating with excitement, and her smile suggested she'd take Ben right now, against the wall, if he indicated any interest.

"That's it. Is that acceptable?" Ben said sternly.

"Yes, Ben! You will not regret this! I promise!" Zama gushed. Then she surged toward him, but he caught her shoulders.

"Hugs only," he said.

She nodded with a coy smile.

He sighed and let her press her body against his as she held him tight.

"Should you change your mind, know I am yours for the taking," she said breathily and felt his response down below as his cock surged. "Ohhh," she sighed as it began to press against her.

He gently pushed her back and smiled weakly. Her eyes were twinkling with joy. "Don't pay any attention to that. It has a mind of its own."

She bit her lower lip, and Ben had to look away as his coverall was becoming uncomfortably tight.

"You're a good man, Ben!" Yvonne stepped closer and hugged Ben before he was ready and felt that pressure against her pussy, too. She leaned her face back as she kept their bodies pressed together. "Oh! You're a good hard man!"

He'd had enough teasing, so he pulled away. "Okay, we've had enough fun at my expense."

The two ladies smiled happily at him. Then Zama spun and rushed back to a duffle bag next to the chair she'd been sitting in. She quickly returned with a book. Aesop's Fables. "The book I promised you!" Zama said, holding his eye.

Ben smiled. "Good girl!"

Zama's grin was huge as she bounced on her toes, delighted with the compliment.

"I'll have my finance people see what we can do to compensate these people," he said.

"Aesop? I think it's a little late for the people in those stories," Yvonne said with a grin.

Ben opened the book and pulled out Ulrich's journal. He skimmed the pages and found a listing of bank accounts, account creds, and passwords. He'd written down the details of how he'd done the initial transfers digitally, withdrew the money from the new accounts in person, then made deposits into a Swiss bank. The address of the bank was on the next page. "This shows where Ulrich hid the money he stole. I'm going to make sure the company gets reopened, and the people get their pension money back."

Yvonne's eyes widened in shock! "Where did you get this?"

Ben grinned. "The night Ulrich died, clever Zama knew she'd only have minutes to search his room, so she fled the table as if distraught and went straight there. When she found it, she hid the journal where no one would find it, and now we have a chance to reverse the evil that man did."

Yvonne was squirming as she stared at him. "Ben, I am seconds away from embarrassing myself with a display of lust for you," she said with a concerned expression.

"Oh! Okay, I'll speak to you later," he said and quickly left the room.

A sailor was waiting in the corridor. Ben was suddenly aware that he'd been assigned a leash. There were always sailors outside of every room he was in to take him places... except he had no place to go at the moment.

"Where would you like to go, Mr. Shepherd?" the young woman asked.

"Home."

-=-

Evelyn's skin was tingling, and it was all she could do to hold herself still at parade rest as they waited for the passengers to disembark.

"You are going to drill a hole in the floor. You are vibrating so strongly!"

The Sergeant looked over her shoulder at Liliya with a grin. She knew the assassin was equally excited to see Ben.

People began appearing, and they scanned the group with their eyes, but there was no sign of Ben.

After what seemed like an eternity, they saw a very tall and beautiful black woman with a huge head of hair walking directly toward them with a smile on her face. She stopped before them.

"Hello, my name is Zama. Ben asked me to find you and let you know he is having difficulties with the customs process."

The third member of their reception party stepped forward. "Hello, I'm Gabriella Wallace. I have Ben's passport and will be Ben's official interpreter. Please take me to him." She nodded to the others and hustled away to the entrance. Evelyn watched the two speaking to the guard there then Gabriella was led inside while Zama was refused entry. The tall woman walked back to join them again.

"I'm Evelyn Killcade, and this is Liliya Sokolov. How do you know Ben?" she asked.

"I am going to be one of his wives," the young woman said with a brilliant smile.

Liliya and Evelyn stared at her with wide eyes. "Ben isn't officially married to any of the women in his life," Liliya insisted.

Zama nodded. "So I have come to learn. It is more of a symbolic title."

"And Ben agreed to add you?" Evelyn asked a little too sharply.

Zama looked at her cautiously. "I was under the impression there was no jealousy amongst the women in Ben's life."

Liliya smiled. "The Sergeant still hasn't accepted that Ben has chosen her. That makes her a little touchy about it."

Zama looked at Evelyn in surprise. "Ben accepted you, and you doubt him? He has not accepted me, and I want him to with every part of my being! He said I may live amongst his family and friends in his neighborhood while I learn how not to be a princess."

"Princess?" Evelyn said, feeling a little more comfortable knowing Ben didn't accept another beauty into his bed.

Zama nodded sadly. "Yes, but I no longer want this title as my father was too eager to marry me off to a horrible old man. I have no idea how to live outside a palace."

Liliya nodded. This sounded like something Ben would agree to.

Another woman was approaching them. She looked lost. Zama saw where Liliya was looking and turned to see the smaller woman.

"Moon! What is wrong?" the princess exclaimed.

The petite beauty with the facial bruises looked at Zama. "I-I have nowhere to go. Vietnam will not accept me back as I worked for a foreign intelligence agency. I will be jailed or executed if I return. The CIA has disowned me. I have nothing to show for the work I did for them, and I have no future."

Zama gathered her into her arms.

Liliya looked at the woman and back toward the customs and immigration area. "Why did they release you if you have no paperwork?"

"They did not release me. I escaped as they don't see me," Moon muttered against the plush comfort of Zama's chest.

Liliya smiled. She liked this woman. "You should come with us. Evelyn's uncle can get you papers."

"What?" the sergeant asked in surprise.

"I could use the help now that Tatiana has left," Liliya said.

"What if they come looking for her?" Evelyn insisted.

"Simply tell them she is in your custody as General Davis is investigating her role in Ben's abduction."

"I didn't have any part of his abduction!" Moon insisted.

Liliya smiled at her. "Of course you didn't, but it will satisfy the authorities here, who will be grateful not to have to deal with the political mess your situation entails."

Moon paused as she thought that over. Then she smiled. "I like how your mind works."

Liliya grinned in return. "I think we will be great friends."

"What do I tell Ben?" Evelyn insisted.

"Just tell him the General wants to speak with her, and he will," Liliya said.

They found some chairs and sat down to wait.

-=-

It took two long hours of negotiating, but Gabriella finally convinced the Italian authorities that it was in their best interests to pass along the administrative headache to others to deal with.

Finally, Ben posed for many selfies with the port authority staff, and they were allowed to leave. Gabriella looped her arm through Ben's as she walked beside her exhausted man.

When they got out into the main hall, they spotted Liliya and Evelyn with a lovely dark-skinned woman and a petite Asian woman sleeping against her.

Ben dipped his face closer to her to fill her in on the new people.

"The woman with the outrageous hair is Princess Zama. She's fleeing her father's kingdom, so she won't have to marry an undesirable mate. The woman resting against her is, well, I can't pronounce her name, so she uses Moon. She's Vietnamese and worked for the CIA before they declared her dead."

When they got closer, the four women stood. Evelyn began to speak, but Ben just pulled her into his arms and held her tight. When he pulled back, her face was red, and her eyes had unshed tears. She squeaked when he took her face between his hands and kissed her tenderly.

They all heard her moan into the kiss then her arms were around Ben again, deepening their kiss.

When they parted, Evelyn's eyes no longer held tears, but they were very wide, and her face was very red.

Ben pulled Liliya into his arms and repeated his kiss with her, but she willingly flowed into his arms and returned his kiss with passion.

"I've wanted to do that for some time," he said to them, and they smiled shyly. "I also want to thank you for drilling me so hard on knife fighting techniques. It saved my life!" Their smiles became grins.

"How could I not want to be part of this?" Zama moaned and got smiles from the ladies and an uncomfortable glance from Ben.

"Let's get out of here," he sighed and looked at the nervous expression on Moon's face. "You coming with us?"

She gave him the smallest hopeful nod as she held his eyes.

"Okay. Let's go."

Relief flooded her features as she sagged against Zama's side.

Evelyn was speaking into a mic, and when they got outside, three black SUVs pulled up to the curb, and the doors opened.

Ben recognized the special ops team as they watched for trouble. He smiled wearily. "Fisher, what are you guys doing here?"

"We felt bad you got snatched right under our noses, so the General let us make it up to you by watching your back until you get home," Fisher responded.

Ben's expression dropped. "I don't hold you guys responsible for that." He turned to lock eyes with Evelyn and then Liliya as he suspected they felt equally guilty. He saw he was right. "Stop right now. None of you were at fault for this! Russo was the one who abducted me. She used me as bait to get on board an arms dealer's yacht to rescue her team, Moon being one of them. Her mission didn't go as planned, but I did manage to get Moon out while almost getting her killed in the process." He turned to the woman being discussed. "I hope you can forgive me for that and for getting Peter killed."

"You are not to blame for their violence!" Moon insisted. "And you avenged Peter."

"Please park this conversation until we get you to your plane," Fisher suggested and got nods from everyone.

They split their group across the three vehicles and were underway in seconds.

Ben dozed in the truck and jolted awake when they came to a halt. He looked out the window, and all he saw was darkness.

They got out of the vehicles, and Ben saw they were at what looked like an abandoned airport. They were guided into a large building which turned out to be a hangar. Inside was the largest of the Sky Shepherd fleet. The pilot and copilot were standing by the jet's steps, looking a little nervous. They smiled when they saw Ben, and he waved to them.

"What's with the super stealth?" Ben asked Fisher.

"We're in Europe. We lost track of Pushkin in Germany. We're not taking any chances that she might try again. We'll relax a little when we're back on American soil," the Commando replied. "Next stop London for refueling."

"I need to go to France first," Ben blurted. "There is someone I need to see. To speak to."

Gabriella stopped and looked at Ben in surprise, trying to read his expression. He could see the beginnings of hope on her face.

"Uh, I've got orders to see you safely home," Fisher said.

Ben nodded. "I thought you might, but I can't go until I do this." His expression was firm. "I understand if you leave us—"

"No, you don't understand. We can't do that. We must stay with you until we get you home," Fisher asserted.

"I'm not going home until I make a stop in France first," Ben insisted.

Fisher ran his hand through his hair as he watched Ben. "Where in France?"

"Saint Pierre d'Albigny."

Gabriella made a sound she couldn't contain, and she rushed over to hug and kiss him.

He gently eased her back to look into her eyes. "I'm still not sure what I'm going to say to her, but... I can't stop thinking of how close we are now, and I can feel her... here," he said, gesturing to his chest.

Gabriella smiled up at him. "I love you, Ben. I know you were hurt, but this will be good for the both of you."

Ben nodded and looked to Fisher, but he was speaking to the pilot, who then climbed back into the jet with the copilot.

The CO walked back to them. "We'll have to adjust the flight plans, and I'll need to let the General know, but we can make it work. The rest of the team will head back to the states, but Stim, Dunno, Killjoy, and I will continue with you."

Ben shook the man's hand. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. The General will have a fit and chew my ass off for it. You'd better invent him a lightspeed troop carrier or something," Fisher grumbled.

Ben smiled and nodded, gesturing for the others to get on board.

"Your jet is beautiful, Ben!" Zama exclaimed as she stared at his silhouette painted on its tail.

"It's not mine. The airline owner just branded his business Sky Shepherd and used a logo Gabriella designed. If you have questions, ask her," he said wearily.

Zama looked at the woman in question, who smiled with a guilty expression.

Once everyone was onboard and settled in, they relaxed as the crew made the necessary arrangements. There was a new flight attendant, but she didn't introduce herself and did her best to stay out of everyone's way.

Ben fell asleep again and missed take-off and the flight to Grenoble, France, but Gabriella woke him before landing.

They rented two vans and split the group once more to make the drive to the B&B. Gabriella made a call and let her cousin know they would need rooms for the night. Alexis was thrilled that Gabriella was springing this surprise visit and was curious about the other guests. Gabriella only said it would be a short visit as they needed to return to Grenoble the following day. She didn't tell Alexis that Ben was coming too.

They couldn't show up with only the clothes on their back if they were staying overnight. Additionally, there was snow; Zama had never seen the white stuff, and only a few were dressed for it. This necessitated a shopping trip in Grenoble. They arrived just as the shops were opening.

Ben, being the most recognizable of the group, agreed to remain in the van with the commandos who didn't need anything. The ladies promised to pick up clothes for Ben and to bring back breakfast for everyone.

Gabriella had to settle with an extra-extra-large sweatshirt, sweatpants, and a huge winter coat for Ben. Zama had some difficulty finding winter clothes for her tall physique as well. She picked up matching sweats. The boots Ben received on the Truman would do, but Zama bought big fuzzy ones she found outrageously funny.

Moon found teen apparel that fit her smaller size.

On the way out of the mall, they grabbed breakfast sandwiches at the food court, made a pit stop in the washroom to take care of business, and changed into their winter clothes. Then they piled back into the vans. Ben and the commandos made quick work of their breakfasts.

It was less than an hour's drive to the B&B. Ben was restless as they got closer, and Gabriella held his hand.

Ben felt himself calming from her touch.

He needed that as they drew ever closer.

-=-

The last time they'd been to the B&B, the weather had been much warmer, so seeing it covered in fluffy white snow was a completely different experience. No other guests were staying at the inn this week, so the parking lot was empty. Alexis must have used a plow on the snow when she heard from Gabriella, as it was cleared sufficiently for them to get both vans parked near the door.

Fisher and his men were out first and signaled for Evelyn and Liliya to come out. Gabriella got to the door just as it opened.

Béatrice's smile widened as her eye jumped from face to face. "Gabriella! You brought friends!"

"There's a story I'll share with you shortly," Gabriella replied.

Béatrice's eyes widened as she looked higher at the smiling face of Zama.

"This is Princess Zama. And..." she turned to look back at the petite Vietnamese woman. "Moon?"

"Phan Thi Nguyêt, but Moon is fine," the woman said as she nodded sweetly to Béatrice.

The ebony-skinned woman smiled with a distracted nod, then looked to Gabriella. "Part of the story?" she asked as she gestured for everyone to enter.

With a nod, Gabriella stepped in with the ladies following.

When Liliya and Evelyn joined them, Béatrice's eyes widened, and Gabriella could see she was about to ask for the story. Alexis joined them, and her worried but stormy expression told Gabriella that something was wrong with Stephanie.

She glanced back at the door as she knew this reunion would be rocky.

When Ben stepped into the foyer, he closed the door behind him and turned to Alexis, whose face suddenly froze.

"Hello Alexis, Béatrice," he said quietly.

"YOU!" Alexis finally gasped and rushed at Ben.

He put his arms out and blocked Evelyn and Liliya from intervening. Then Alexis was pounding his chest with her fists. Ben wrapped his arms around the woman and held her against him to stop the hits, but he didn't say anything.

Alexis struggled, then suddenly burst into tears and sobbed against Ben's chest.

Liliya slipped her boots off and followed Béatrice into a hall that led to the living room. The others quickly joined her, leaving Gabriella with Ben and Alexis.

Alexis finally got control over herself and mumbled against his chest. "She's slowly fading away," she finally managed to say clearly.

Gabriella saw rage or fear flare in Ben's eyes, and he pushed Alexis into her arms as he surged down the hall toward Stephanie's studio.

Alexis looked at Gabriella in fear, wanting to chase after him, but Gabriella held her cousin firm. She believed in Ben and his love.

-=-

Ben opened Stephanie's door and stepped inside, closing it behind him with a thump. He wasn't thinking of her need for privacy or any of the social niceties. His anger pushed those considerations aside as she'd done to him.

But when he saw her, he froze. She'd lost weight, and there was a frailness in her body language he hadn't seen before. She was turning toward the door nervously.

"Who... who's there?"

His voice stuck in his throat as it tightened in anger and outrage. The more she moved, the more aware he became of how much she'd lost.

He didn't want that! He was angry, but he didn't want her to slide into oblivion, slowly and painfully. In his memory, she was bursting with life and creativity, an almost elemental force of nature.

"Please... who is it?" she asked pitifully, reaching out timidly, and pain went through his chest.

This wasn't what he wanted. His beautiful artist was giving up.

He still couldn't speak, so he yanked his shirt up and over his head and moved closer until her hand landed on his chest.

She gasped and pulled her hand back in fear. Then her expression quickly changed, and her hand shot out again to land on his skin.

She traced a few scars, then burst into tears as her legs gave out.

Ben was ready for that and scooped her into his arms to pull her close. She pushed at him feebly.

"no... no... I don't deserve to be in your arms...." she gasped through her sobs.

His voice suddenly came back, and with it came a growl. She froze and hiccupped, suddenly tense.

"I hate what you did to me," he forced out. "But I don't hate you. I need to know why you did it." He gripped her blonde hair and pulled her head back to watch her expression so he could see the truth there.

Stephanie's body was moving against him subconsciously, and her breathing was getting faster, but her self-loathing was battling for dominance.

"T-the night we were last together. It was... it was magic. I lost track of where you ended and I began. As we relaxed afterward, it was like my perception of you was sharper than it had ever been. Your passion... was humming through every cell in my body. I felt my muse explode with the need to capture that moment. It was so intensely intimate and intense. All other concerns, like sleeping and eating, paled against the need to preserve the memory of that passion." Tears ran down her face as she stared up toward the ceiling, seeing what only she could.

"The next day, Alexis and Béatrice got me clay, but I told them I needed more. Richard made me a full-size armature and mounted it on a sheet of wood. I worked on the sculpture for over a week, almost non-stop. Alexis had to force me to take breaks to eat and sleep." She sighed as she recalled the extreme effort. "When I was done, I collapsed and slept for what seemed like days."

Ben ran his thumbs over Stephanie's cheeks to dry her tears, but her words continued as if she was almost desperate to confess her sins to him.

"While I was in this state, Richard collected my sculpture and placed it on a remarkable rendition of a bed, complete with sheets. One of Henry's friends is an art curator and was staying at their B&B. He saw what Richard was making into a bronze. He immediately contacted the Singhs and sent them a picture. They offered to buy it for a ridiculous amount of money... and Richard accepted."

Ben shook his head in shock. "Richard sold your art while you were unconscious?"

Stephanie shrugged gently. "He was so overcome with excitement at how much they offered, he got carried away. He assumed I had your blessing since this was the second sculpture. Alexis assumed I'd given Richard permission to sell it and was dazzled by the price too. I was too mentally exhausted to grasp the significance of what was happening. Richard worked on the bronze morning and night for weeks and shipped it overseas the moment it was ready. Then he presented me with the bank deposit slip. By then, the piece had gotten away from me. I never even had a chance to inspect the final bronze and was eager to do so at the unveiling. I didn't know you were there."

Stephanie sagged as fresh tears began to fall, and she struggled feebly to free herself from his embrace, but he wouldn't let her go.

"I'm so sorry, Ben! I never meant for it to be exposed to the public. I was trapped by my muse, and everything snowballed so quickly. You never deserved that, and I failed you so badly!"

Ben held her close to him and watched her face. Guilt and remorse flashed by there, and self-loathing, which disturbed Ben the most.

"I never gave you a chance to explain," he said quietly as his grip on her hair changed to stroking his fingers through her locks. They were dry and brittle as she hadn't been taking care of herself.

"You hated me. I felt it that night," she whispered as if afraid to bring his anger back.

"I was horrified at the betrayal I assumed you had orchestrated. That put my mind in a dark place. I-I almost struck you. I can't forgive myself for that," Ben confessed with a tight throat.

"I would have welcomed it. Hurting you was the last thing I wanted when I made the piece, but I did. I tried to buy it back from the Singhs, but they wouldn't sell it, even after finding out you didn't approve of its creation." She seemed to shrink in his arms once more. "I-I just want to die—"

Ben felt a stab of fear shoot through him, and he seized her face between his hands.

"NO! You're mine! You're my beautiful creative genius! You're not allowed to give up! I won't let you! I love you, and you are NOT getting away from me. You're in my heart, and I need you! Don't you EVER say that again!" he shouted.

Her mouth dropped open in shock. Then he was kissing her, and she moaned with need as her arms began to close around him tentatively as if she was afraid he would suddenly pop and disappear like a soap bubble or a figment of her desperate imagination.

But Ben's need would not be denied. One hand remained gripping her hair, controlling their kiss, while his other slid down her back to grab her ass and pull her onto his lap. His mind was acutely aware of how much weight she'd lost and how frail she seemed compared to the last time they were together. It frightened him how close he'd come to losing her.

He pulled her back from their kiss. "Tell me who you belong to," he growled.

She panted and gasped as she clung to him. "You?" It was a timid squeak.

"You're mine! Tell me who you belong to!" he said louder.

"You! I'm yours!" This time it came out as a desperate cry.

"Never forget that! You will eat and sleep and create art because you are my brilliant artist, and I love you! I want you healthy and happy! But you will NOT sell any art you make of ME to ANYONE! Am I understood?"

"YES, OH YES! I'm sorry, Ben!"

"Enough! I don't want to hear about past mistakes ever again. All we have is now," Ben insisted.

"Yes, Ben!" Stephanie cried and clung to him.

He embraced her and felt her finally relax in his arms, which felt good. She still needed to regain the weight she'd lost. "We'll ask Marie to fatten you up on Coq au Vin, and you will begin exercising to regain your strength. I want my Stephanie back."

She made sweet little noises against his chest.

He finally began to examine the room he was in, and... he wasn't thrilled by what he saw. Mostly it was him! The shelves and desks and window ledges were filled with clay representations of pieces of him. His head, arm, hands, feet, and even an area dedicated to his cock! That was particularly disturbing. Every available space contained something of him except for an obvious gap on the shelf devoted to his private bits.

"Um, I think your studio needs to be cleared out of all these bits of me," he suggested.

"Yes, Ben. I don't need them anymore."

He looked closer and saw a light sheen of dust over the shelves, but he could also make out an outline of what had been where the gap was now.

"Did... did you sell any of these?"

"NO! Not after what happened in New York!" she gasped.

"There seems to be a gap on the shelf of... penises," he said cautiously.

Stephanie jolted in his arms, then was desperately trying to stand. He set her on her feet before the shelf, and her hands went over the contents and found the gap. She gasped. "Oh my god!"

"Would Alexis or Béatrice have taken it?" he asked.

"No! And Richard and Henry haven't been in here since that night either. No one is allowed—" She suddenly stopped as her expression froze.

Ben watched her searching her memories. "Someone was in here, with you."

"Yes...."

"Who was it?"

"A guest. She stayed with us for a week. She was so easy to talk to. We shared much in common, and when we started talking about you, I-I couldn't stop. Robin. Her name was Robin."

Ben frowned as the name immediately made him think of another Robin who was also easy to speak to. "How much did you tell her about me?"

Stephanie looked frightened again, so Ben pulled her into his arms, and she clung to him. "It's okay," he said. "I need to know."

"Everything," she squeaked.

Ben closed his eyes. "About us?"

"Yes, and about how you protected me from Arsene," she confessed.

"I see," Ben sighed as he rubbed her back. Too late to put the genie back in that bottle. Still, he needed more information on this Robin. While not that common a name, he doubted it was the same woman.

"When was the last time you ate a full meal?" Ben asked. She tilted her face away, but he caught her chin and turned her face back toward his. "You will eat lunch with us today, and from now on, you will take better care of yourself! You can start with a soak in a bathtub and give your hair a good shampooing." He pressed his lips to hers, and she eagerly kissed him as she moaned again. "I love you and need you, so you'd better stop neglecting yourself!"

"Ben, I love you so much!" she said desperately but quietly. "I thought you hated me."

"What you did to me? Yes. Hate you? Never, but I was really hurt by what I thought was a betrayal. That will never happen again, right?" he said.

"Never!" she insisted.

"That's my girl," he said and kissed her again.

As he cuddled her in his arms, he thought of the next guilty parties he needed to speak to. "Would you know if Richard and Henry are home? I need to set them straight—"

Stephanie snorted in humor.

"You know what I mean! Silly girl," Ben scolded gently. Then he sighed as he felt so much better.

"I'll speak to Alexis about them. I'll also make sure she and Béatrice understand any art of me will not be sold," he said. He looked at Stephanie and saw she was looking much better already. There was life in her expression once more. "My visit today is brief as we were on our way home from Naples, but I insisted we come here first so I could see you. I will plan another visit soon, but we can only stay overnight today. I want to be with you tonight. Is that going to be a problem?"

She fussed with her hair as she suddenly realized how much she'd let herself go. "I-I need some time to prepare, but yes, I want to be with you too!"

"Good. Thank you. I'll ask Alexis to come speak with you," Ben said as he turned to the door. He paused with his hand on the doorknob and looked back.

She was trembling and fidgeting in excitement.

"Stephanie, who do you belong to?" he asked.

A happy smile flashed across her face. "I belong to you, Ben!"

"Don't forget it again," he said with playful gruffness, and she giggled.

He opened the door, and there was a sudden burst of surprised and embarrassed exclamations as Alexis, Béatrice, and Gabriella fell against him as they'd been leaning against the door listening.

"What's this? Can't a man have a private conversation in this place?" he exclaimed in mock indignation.

Alexis was closest to the door, so she was leaning against Ben directly. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Béatrice did her best to hug him around her wife. Gabriella just smiled at Ben with love in her eyes, and she pushed herself upright.

Ben returned the hug, helped them stand, then gently held Alexis' and Béatrice's chins to make them look him in the eye. "No more art of me gets sold to anyone! Understood?"

"Yes, Ben," they said in unison with a smile.

"Are Richard and Henry home?"

"Yes, they should be," Alexis responded.

"I'll be back shortly. I need to speak to them. In the meantime, Stephanie needs to soak—"

Alexis grinned at him. "We know! We love you too, Ben!" As he stepped out, the sister and her wife rushed past Ben into the room. Gabriella took her turn holding him in her arms, but she also gave him a sweet kiss.

"I knew you would save her. I could see it in your eyes," Gabriella said as they walked arm in arm back to the foyer.

He looked at her in concern. "Did you know she was wasting away?"

She nodded as she held his eyes.

"Gabriella! You should have told me!" he scolded, but she held up her hand and shook her head.

"You weren't ready. You said so yourself. I promised you I wouldn't manipulate you or your emotions, and telling you how much pain she was in when you were still dealing with your own feelings would not have been welcome. You had to reach this point on your own." She held up her hand once more to stop his next question. "I've been monitoring her state, and yes, I was worried about her recent behavior, but I had faith in your heart. I knew you loved her and would come around. Had I known you just needed to be close by, I would have suggested a trip to Milan earlier."

"You never cease to amaze me," Ben said with a smile and kissed her again.

She smiled at him when he pulled back. "I need a little Ben time when I get you home."

"I promise," he said, and she nodded. Evelyn left the living room and smiled at them.

"I need to go speak to some friends up the road for a minute," Ben said to her.

Seven minutes later, Ben was sitting in the back of a van between Evelyn and Liliya with all four commandos in the vehicle as well. "It's a two-minute drive! I could have been there and back in the time it took you to get ready," Ben complained.

"Until we get you home, you do things our way," Fisher said firmly from the front passenger seat.

Ben sighed and glanced at the two ladies cuddled in against him. They had identical smiles on their faces.

Stim pulled the van into the driveway and stopped before the doors of the large chateau Richard and Henry renovated for their B&B. They moved inside into the grand hall, and Ben looked around. This was the first time he'd been inside. The entryway was impressive, but he thought it lacked the homey warmth of Alexis and Béatrice's chateau.

Richard rushed out of the back room with a wide smile on his face seeing so many prospective customers in the hall. Then his eyes moved across the faces of the harder-than-steel commandos who were evaluating his threat level. His eyes jumped to Evelyn, who looked away having dismissed him, then to Liliya, whose dispassionate examination seemed to send a chill through him. His smile froze.

Ben stepped forward, Liliya and Evelyn parting to allow him through.

Richard faced the man he'd last seen tossing security guards left and right as his rage flared from seeing the brass statue he'd helped make.

Suddenly, the presence of the four enforcers took on a sinister meaning in Richard's mind. He dropped to his knees and put his hands over his face. "Do what you want to me but spare Henry."

"Richard, for fuck's sake, stand up! I'm—we're not here to hurt anyone!" Ben exclaimed.

Henry chose that moment to join them in the hall and raised his eyebrows in surprise. He caught Ben's exasperated expression and sighed as he came forward to help Richard up to his feet. The other man was watching Ben nervously.

"I just spoke with Stephanie, and she explained how assumptions were made and how people got a little too excited about money and mistakes happened," Ben explained. Richard flinched, and Ben sighed as his eyes went to Henry.

"How's it going, Doc," Ben said to Richard's French partner.

Henry couldn't stop the smile from popping up on his lips. "I am well, Ben. Your wounds healed well?"

Ben smiled in return. "Very well. The scars barely tug at all."

Fisher looked at Ben. "This man fixed you up?"

Ben nodded. "Twice. He's an excellent field medic! The first time was for a blow against my scalp with a heavy walking stick, and the second time he removed shotgun pellets from my back and stitched some cuts closed. That all happened the first time, I visited Alexis and Béatrice."

Fisher gave the man an impressed nod.

Ben returned his gaze to Richard. "I came here today to apologize for my behavior during the unveiling at the art gallery. I was horrified to see myself on public display and reacted badly. I didn't give Stephanie permission to make the statue, and I wasn't aware of it until that night. I never want to go through that again. I have spoken to Stephanie, and she's agreed to never sell another statue of me. I'm not asking her to not sculpt me as her muse is too powerful, and I won't curb her artistic expression. As you are the one who makes the bronze versions of her clay masterpieces, I'm telling you they are not for public consumption! Don't do that again."

"I won't, Ben! I promise!" Richard said quickly.

"Good," Ben said with a nod. "Now, for the second reason I came here to speak to you." Richard's eyes showed his nervousness once more.

"After unveiling the first statue on the property of Alexis and Béatrice's B&B, I was told you made a second bronze statue for your own property. Stephanie agreed to this, I assume?" Ben asked.

Richard nodded, and Ben could see Henry had already made the leap and knew what his question would be. The man's expression showed his concern. Ben sighed.

"You've made a second copy of the new life-sized sculpture, haven't you?"

Richard's mouth worked then he nodded guiltily.

"Is Stephanie aware of this one?" Ben asked.

"No. She was rather distraught after the unveiling and hasn't allowed us to visit her since that night," Richard explained.

"The statue which the Singhs purchased is actually the second casting. The first had some flaws, so I set it aside and made a second one. After the disastrous unveiling, I came home and fixed the first one. I wanted to give it to Alexis, but she said no. I couldn't bring myself to destroy it."

"Where is it?" Ben asked.

Richard shared an uncomfortable look with Henry before he addressed Ben once more. "We've, ah, incorporated it into one of our guest houses."

Ben blinked in surprise. "What do you mean by that?"

Henry forced a smile onto his face and made a vague gesture with his hands. "It has become, how you say, a most popular feature of our B&B, yes? We do not advertise. Our guests tell friends and make online posts. The Shepherd's Cottage is fully booked through summer and fall and has many bookings in winter and spring. Tonight, a couple will arrive to stay in the cottage, so we have it prepared for them. They are skiers and will celebrate their tenth anniversary with a week here."

This was the most animated Ben had seen the retired doctor behave, but the answer wasn't satisfactory. "You haven't explained incorporated."

Henry glanced at Richard, whose face was reddening. He sighed at his partner's inability to cope with these situations. "I will show you. It is better," He paused as he looked at the others. "Will you come alone, or must they come too? I just cleaned the cottage."

Ben got a look from Fisher and sighed. "They promise not to touch anything and will remain just inside the front door," Ben said wearily.

"I will remain by your side," Liliya said.

"Me too," Evelyn insisted.

Henry looked at them curiously.

"My security detail. Russian hit teams seem to be after me," Ben grumbled.

Henry stared at Ben, then left and returned wearing his winter coat. "We will return shortly," he said to Richard.

Henry guided them out of the front door and around the building. "Please keep to the pathway. The fresh snow is more pleasing to the eye than messy footprints."

Ben shared a look with Fisher, but everyone remained on the path.

They crossed the property through the lovely woods until they came upon a quaint little log cottage amongst the trees. Ben nodded to Henry as he was impressed so far.

Henry used a key to open the door and removed his boots just inside before walking into a rustically decorated space with rich woods, leather, and warm fabrics. Ben appreciated the exposed logs and the beautifully handcrafted fireplace faced with an artistic pattern made of river stones. The open-concept room was warm and inviting, and Ben grinned as he could see himself enjoying this cottage very much. Then the nagging thought returned. Where was the statue?

"This is truly lovely, but I don't see the sculpture," Ben said as he removed his boots. Liliya and Evelyn did as well.

Henry walked them through the space to the far wall, where a door opened into a hall. Off the corridor was a fully equipped bathroom with all the modern necessities disguised to fit into the woodsy motif.

The hall continued, and they came around the wall on the cottage extension to see a large master bedroom. The back wall facing the bed had floor-to-ceiling windows, which must have cost a fortune as Ben reached out but felt no heat loss from that much glass.

Henry smiled. "Yes, they were expensive but worth it!"

Ben saw the room was at the edge of the woods with a drop-off beyond showing the valley below. The view was stunning!

"For all this," Henry said, gesturing to the expansive view, "the room is extremely private." Ben nodded as he turned from the window.

That's when he saw it.

The room was dominated by a huge four-poster bed that seemed capable of sleeping four, but someone was already in the bed.

It was him, or his brass doppelganger, that is.

Ben froze as he stared at how his brass replica was integrated into the huge bed on its right side like it was sleeping with—"Oh my god! Why would anyone want to sleep next to that?" Ben exclaimed loudly.

Henry was smiling gently as he watched the faces of the two women with him. "I think you should ask them," he said.

Ben caught the guilty look on Evelyn's face and the amused expression on Liliya's. "What?" he asked.

Evelyn answered first, which was uncharacteristic of her. "It's beautiful!" she blurted.

Liliya's composed features burst into a delighted grin as she nodded to the sergeant. "I agree. I would add that it gives one a sense of comfort knowing it's watching over you while you sleep."

Henry nodded with a smile as Ben tore his eyes away from the two women to look back at him. "Our guests claim they sleep very soundly here. Amongst other benefits," the smaller man said.

"Other benefits?" Ben asked cautiously.

Henry nodded. "We've received many comments from our guests. Some say it increased their intimacy with their partner. Others say it widened their sexual boundaries. Many claim it increased their fertility!"

"Fertility?" Ben asked, his eyebrows climbing with incredulity.

Henry grinned. "Yes, we are surprised how many couples report success in conceiving a child after staying in this cabin. It builds a reputation, yes?"

Ben made a noise of protest. "There's no way that could be proven!"

Henry held up his hands and shook his head. "We make no such claims. This is what our guests report on their own. They are happy, relaxed, and comforted by the... symbol they rest beside. These feelings are what improves their chances of conceiving. Those who were unsuccessful in making a baby still enjoyed their stay and tell us they wish to return."

Seeing Ben was somewhat mollified by that answer, he continued. "Couples only for this cottage, no singles. We did have one trio in a polyamorous relationship. They were very happy with their stay," Henry said with a satisfied smile.

Liliya was closest to the bed and touched the sculpture's chest. "Oh! It's warm!" she exclaimed in surprise. Evelyn immediately moved closer to feel it as well.

Henry had a pained look on his face as Ben looked at him, so the man explained. "We thoroughly clean the cottage, including the sculpture, between each visitor. I will have to do this again. Please refrain from touching anything."

"Apologies," Liliya said contritely.

Ben looked at him suspiciously, then back to the brass figure in the bed. "You clean this because it's being used... sexually?"

Henry fixed an expression of professionalism on his features as he addressed the question. "We do not judge our guests. We simply provide a healthy environment for them."

Ben watched him for a moment, but he wasn't going to expand upon that. The engineer in him was curious. "How are you heating it?"

Henry's smile returned. "Hot water piping throughout its form. It is an excellent bed warmer."

Liliya burst into laughter as Ben's face heated up with Henry's cheeky smile.

Fisher poked his head around the corner. "You're taking a long time back here—whoa! That's you!" he exclaimed as he moved closer to the brass reproduction of Ben. He reached out and touched its arm. "Holy shit! It's warm! Guys, come see this!" he called out.

Stim, Killjoy, and Dunno crowded into the room, and each was surprised to see the art incorporated into the furniture.

"Okay! We've all seen it. Let's go back to the chateau," Ben called out, and the commandos blinked at his tone but moved quickly out of the bedroom.

Ben looked at Henry. "Sorry about that."

"I am not surprised by their reaction, but it is tedious to clean," Henry admitted.

They got their boots back on and quickly made their way back to the front hall of the chateau. Richard was nervously waiting for them. Henry put away his coat and rejoined them as Ben addressed the couple.

"Your B&B is lovely, and I'm glad you seem to be having success with it. I wish I wasn't part of it, but I'm not going to ask you to get rid of the statue," he admitted and watched them sag with relief. "That said, it sounds like you've stumbled upon a bit of a windfall from which the creator hasn't benefited." He raised his palm to stop their protests. "I understand you couldn't speak to Stephanie as she was depressed. I've addressed that, and she is feeling much better now. I also understand Alexis refused to accept the art, but emotions were running high at the time, and she wasn't aware of the possibilities. I think it's time for you to speak with her and let her know." He sighed as he shook his head. "I can't believe I'm even having this conversation. It goes against my instincts, and I'm not at all comfortable with the idea of people using a brass replica of me for their... sexual boundary widening."

Fisher's team snorted quietly and found other places to look when Ben scowled in their direction.

Henry nodded. "That is more than fair. Richard and I will speak to Alexis and Béatrice at their earliest convenience."

Richard nodded. "We'll ensure they understand the potential benefits for their guests."

Ben raised a hand as he closed his eyes. "Okay, I think I've had about as much as I can take of this discussion. I appreciate your discretion in not advertising the existence of the sculpture. Please do your best to keep it out of the public eye. Thank you for your time."

"Thank you, Ben," Henry said, and Richard grabbed his hand to shake it gratefully.

Ben gave them a weak smile and then headed outside.

The drive back to the other B&B was quick, and they went inside to get warm. Fisher and Killjoy remained outside to do a sweep of the property.

Once inside, coats and boots were removed, and they joined the others in the living room, where they were relaxing and talking.

"How did it go, Ben?" Gabriella asked.

"Richard thought I was there to beat him up," Ben said and shook his head. "I got that straightened out. They know they're not to sell any more art of me to the public."

He looked at Alexis. "They will call you regarding an opportunity you should... take advantage of." He shuddered and looked at Gabriella. "That's all I'm going to say on that!" She gave him a sympathetic smile.

Alexis and Béatrice perked up.

Changing the subject, Ben's stomach grumbled.

He felt someone hug him from behind, and he looked down at unfamiliar arms in surprise.

Alexis, Béatrice, and Gabriella burst into giggles as Marie released Ben and rushed back to the kitchen, giggles trailing her as well.

"Was that my favorite French chef?" Ben asked with a smile.

"Yes, but you cannot have her!" Béatrice chided him. Ben pouted, drawing smiles from them again.

Alexis stood. "That also means lunch is ready."

Ben moved closer to her. "Will Stephanie be joining us?"

Alexis turned and hugged Ben tight. Then she looked up at him. "Yes! She promised to join us for every meal and to join us for our exercise in the morning. Thank you, Ben, for bringing her back."

He shook his head with a guilty frown. "It was my pig-headedness that made it go on this long. I was so hurt I couldn't see past that. Miscommunications between everyone. I never hated Stephanie. I love her."

Alexis and Béatrice made sweet noises and hugged Ben and Gabriella got in on the hug as well.

"I'm really hungry," Ben said from within the hug.

He saw Zama and Moon were watching him with smiles on their faces, as were the others.

"Let's go to the dining room," Alexis said to everyone as she released Ben. She led the way and pointed Ben to a chair in the middle of the long table.

Everyone settled in while Alexis kept the chair to Ben's left open for her sister. Gabriella sat on his other side.

The missing woman made an appearance in the doorway, appearing hesitant. "There she is. Come take your seat, Stephanie, next to Ben," Alexis said.

With a shaky smile, the woman walked unerringly to the open chair, which Ben assumed was her usual spot.

She settled in and squeaked slightly as Ben leaned over to kiss her cheek. Her hair was much softer and smelled sweet.

"Much better," Ben whispered into her ear, and her smile strengthened.

Marie brought out a large tureen of soup which smelled delicious. There was a basket of small baguettes on the table.

The group settled into the business of enjoying lunch and conversation centered around running a B&B and the quieter months.

"We have a few families joining us next week. They'll all be staying in the rooms upstairs as we don't use the cottages during the winter," Béatrice explained.

Alexis looked at her cousin. "Gabriella wouldn't give me any details on who would be joining us tonight, just that there would be ten people." She looked at Ben. "I never thought you'd be one of them."

He nodded as he enjoyed the soup.

Stim and Dunno thanked their hosts and left to take their turns outside.

Shortly Fisher and Killjoy entered the room with reddened cheeks. They took seats and began their meal.

As the meal wound down, Alexis had a question for Ben. "How many rooms will you require?" she asked.

Ben looked at Fisher.

"We won't need rooms as we'll stay on the main level and will be patrolling the property,' the CO explained.

"Are we in danger?" Béatrice asked.

Fisher shook his head. "No. I've been keeping in touch with the General, and he informs me they've picked up no indication of another hit team assigned to take out Ben. The spooks now report that Zhdankov may be in serious trouble for his last all-out effort. He may have overstepped his authority. It sounds unlikely he'll get any further resources assigned to him for a while."

"Then why are patrols necessary?" Béatrice insisted.

Fisher smiled. "While we don't expect an attack, we remain prepared for one. The security level will not be reduced until Ben is returned to his home. We promised the General."

Alexis looked at Gabriella. "So, how many?"

"One for me," she said. "One for Liliya, Evelyn, Zama, and Moon." She smiled at Ben. "Of course, one for Ben as well."

The ladies giggled, and Stephanie's face became quite pink as she grinned.

Ben wanted to change the subject, so he remembered something he wanted to ask Alexis. "Stephanie tells me you had a guest who hit it off with her. She was very personable, and they spoke frequently and even went into her studio."

Alexis smiled as she recalled the brief time when Stephanie appeared to be recovering. "Yes, she was a lovely woman. From England, I believe. She said she was doing a bit of a pilgrimage around the world. She'd just come from Australia, where she'd worked for a time to pay for her travels.

"Robin!" Béatrice said as she recalled the woman's name.

Then Alexis caught the worried expression on Ben's face. "What's wrong?"

"What did she look like?" Ben asked.

"She was very tall and beautiful, with long red hair—Ben, what is it?" Béatrice exclaimed as she saw his expression drop.

"I think this woman has been collecting information on me. I met her recently on a flight aboard Dennis' largest jet, and she was very easy to talk to. She also may have stolen one of Stephanie's pieces of me."

"What does that mean?" Fisher asked with a frown.

"A model of his penis," Stephanie said, and there was a burst of laughter which was quickly stifled as Ben scowled.

Gabriella was one of the few who hadn't laughed. "Sorry, Ben. You're right. It's not funny. It's a terrible invasion. What do you want to do?"

He gave her a grateful smile and then shook his head. He looked at Alexis. "You said she told you she was working in Australia?"

"That's what she said. I got the impression something bad happened as she wasn't too keen on talking about it," she replied.

Ben felt some unease moving through his chest. "I think I'd better give a business partner of mine a call. She might have visited him as well. If you'll excuse me?" He got nods. "Thank you for the delicious meal!"

He rose from the table and walked into the lounge, where he walked over to the window overlooking the chateau's front lawn, facing the valley below. Everything was peaceful and serene, covered in a pristine blanket of snow, including that damn brass statue that started so much grief.

He sighed and pulled out his cell.

"Excuse me, Ben?"

He turned to see Fisher standing behind him.

"Use this burner to make the call, please."

Ben's eyebrows rose. "Ah, sorry. Good idea. Thanks." With a nod, Fisher left him alone to make the call.

He opened his contact list to get Don Blake's phone number and dialed it on the burner. He wasn't worried about the time difference between Saint-Pierre-d'Albigny and Melbourne as Don hardly slept. As it rang, he worked out it was probably close to ten PM there.

"Hello?"

"Don, it's Ben Shepherd."

"Ben! How's my favorite silent business partner?" the man gushed with a smile in his voice.

"I'm doing okay. Listen, I just called as I've discovered some unsettling news. Have you met a woman named Robin?"

"Fuck. What did she tell you?" Don said, the happiness immediately snuffed from his voice.

Ben paused. "She didn't tell me anything. When I met her, she was a flight attendant. She was close by when I shared personal details of my life with another friend. I also found out she befriended a very close friend of mine who divulged very personal details of our time together. I learned she'd just come from Australia, where she worked for a short time. I wondered if she'd spoken with you."

"Wha—This was all about you?" Don snapped incredulously.

"Don, you'd have to tell me what happened before I can answer that. Firstly, what did she look like? Let's make sure we're talking about the same woman," Ben said sternly.

"Tall. Beautiful. Red hair that fell down her back. God, she was lovely." Don's anger was fading into a melancholy, and Ben had a bad feeling about that.

"British?"

"Yeah, that's her," Don sighed. "Ben, I fucked up. Really fucked up. Against my better judgment and my lovely Rita's instructions, I hired the beauty as my personal assistant. It was November of last year. I was interviewing candidates, and she waltzed in with excellent qualifications for the job and those legs."

Ben didn't want to hear Don's confession as he knew the man's history and could guess, but he remained silent as the man got it off his chest. Don likely didn't have anyone else to speak to about it.

"Robin really was a brilliant assistant. So incredibly organized and friendly with all the staff. Everyone liked her. She even struck it off with the Wild Dogs and went out drinking with them. At the Christmas party, I had a little too much to drink, and we were talking... mostly about you. It was just the two of us in my office. I don't recall who made the first move, but Rita showed up unexpectedly and caught us. She left me and filed for divorce the next day. I had to let Robin go."

"I'm sorry to hear about your marriage. You two seemed like a great couple," Ben said in sympathy.

"Did you say Robin was only working here to get information on you? This was your fault?" Don's anger was resurfacing.

"Don, I only met her this past September, and I just discovered she's been tracing my steps to learn about my life today. I certainly didn't ask her to fall on your dick. That it was available for her to fall on is your doing," Ben said, returning the heat.

Don was quiet for a moment. "Yes, you're right. I'm sorry, Ben. Feeling a little too sorry for myself these days."

"I'm also sorry you got caught up in... whatever it is. I don't have enough information on what she's doing other than speaking to people who've been involved in my life. Can you recall what you told her about me?" Ben asked.

"She seemed pretty impressed that we were business partners. She might have asked about the strip club, but I was pretty drunk when she started grilling me. You should probably speak to Bryan and his crew. They spent more time with her than me. Hang on a second. Let me text Evie to see if she still keeps in touch with the girl you rescued from the club. Betty?"

"Becky," Ben corrected.

"Ah! Right, right," Don muttered, distracted by his tapping on the phone's keypad. Then Ben heard a sound effect of something swooshing away.

Don put the cell to his ear again. "I'm wondering if Robin went to speak to her as well. I've asked Evie to confirm."

"How is Evie doing?" Ben asked.

He could hear the smile in Don's voice. "She's still my friend though she's disappointed in me. Everyone is, really. But I made sure this mess hasn't affected the business in any way. We're still doing really well, as seen by our sales reports. The team is still happy and busy."

"That's great to hear, Don. I'd like you to ensure you take care of yourself, too. Yes, people are relying on you, but you can spend some time on your well-being. If you need help with this, there are people trained to talk you through it. There's no stigma. It's just another health issue."

Don was quiet again for a moment. "Thanks, Ben."

There was a bing, and Don made a pleased sound. "Evie just got back to me, and she said Robin did speak with Becky and her mother. She must have done that after she left us. Christ, this woman is frighteningly thorough."

"Thanks for checking up on that for me, Don. I'll give Bryan a call and see what he recalls."

"I'd say no worries, but it sounds like you may have some," Don said cautiously.

Ben sighed. "I'll look into it. Thanks again. Bye!"

After hanging up, Ben looked up Bryan's number on his cell and dialed it on the burner. He wondered if it was too late to call the man.

"Yeah, who the fuck is this?" a voice barked into the phone. There was a fair amount of noise in the background. The gang might be out on the town again.

"It's Ben Shepherd."

"OH! Oh! Hey Ben! Sorry, this isn't your usual number!" the man laughed.

Ben smiled as Bryan was as enthusiastic as usual. "Borrowed a friend's. Listen, I need to ask you about a woman who worked at your company last year. The one who had a fling with Don."

"A fling! Ha! You say the funniest things. They shagged, and Don got caught with a wet wick!" the man guffawed.

Ben rolled his eyes. "Right, well, I heard about it when I just spoke to him. Don mentioned she hung out with you and the team."

There was a hesitation then Bryan came back on. "Yeah... right... I recall her joining us on a pub crawl or two. She spent most of her time with Mare, though. They were right mates until she had to piss off. Left Mare with a case of the sads."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Do you have Mare's number so I could speak to her?" Ben asked.

Bryan snorted. "I'll do ya one better. MARE! Come talk to Ben!"

He heard a group of voices suddenly yell out his name, and the phone was fumbled into Mare's hands.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mare. It's Ben Shepherd. Do you have a moment to talk, somewhere quiet?"

"Oh! Uh, give me a moment," she said.

The background noise gradually diminished, and there was a sudden drop in volume as she stepped outside.

"How's that?" Mare asked.

"Much better! First off, how are you feeling? Bryan said you were feeling a little blue earlier this year," Ben began.

"Oh! Nah, I'm okay now. Thanks for asking," she said, and Ben could hear the pleased smile.

"That's good to hear. I just discovered that a woman by the name of Robin has been tracking down people I've associated with and has been pumping them for information on me. I'm unsure what her ultimate goal is with this information, but I understand she spent time with you. Do you recall what you spoke about with her?" Ben asked gently.

Mare made a throat-clearing sound, and there was a moment of quiet before she spoke. "Robin was a lot of fun to be around. I really felt comfortable with her, and she could make anyone smile. We talked a lot about everything. One night she asked about the girl you rescued from the strip club, and I told her everything I could remember. Evie told her about the shopping trip you sent her on the next day. That was really sweet of you, Ben."

Ben grunted.

"Who is Robin Wood? Is that even her name?" Mare asked, and Ben could hear an echo of the hurt she'd felt when Robin left.

Ben sighed. "I don't know who she is. This is the first time I've heard that last name! I met her a few months ago when she was a flight attendant on a jet service I used to fly between a few countries. I saw her a few times over a few days, and I also thought she was charming, funny, and easy to talk to. I said more about my personal life than I usually would have. Then I discovered she spent time with a good friend of mine in France before she was a flight attendant and prior to France she was working at your company. Everywhere she's been, she's been digging for information about me. I'm... thinking she might be planning to publish it. The problem is, she stole something from my friend in France. I need to get it back for her."

"Shit! She stole from your friend? What's gotten into her?" Mare asked.

Ben recalled the night in Singapore. "We talked about our childhoods; she said she'd had a humble one. I don't know if it's true, but she said her mother was a maid in a large manor home and her father was a taxi driver. I think she has the drive to own one of those manor homes one day."

"With no friends to share it with her," Mare sad sadly.

"She's burning through a lot of trust along the way," Ben agreed.

"If she ever calls me, and I don't expect her to, did you want me to say anything to her?" Mare asked.

Ben thought for a second before answering. "No. When I found out she was abusing the trust of my friends, I lost all respect for her. She's not worth our time. Thanks, Mare! Send my regards to the team."

"Thanks, Ben. I will."

The line went dead, and Ben lowered the phone as he stood looking out at the white snow covering the countryside. That pristine cover went all the way down into the valley and up the mountains on the other side. It looked pure, clean, and untouched, bringing him a little comfort as he enjoyed the view.

Robin Wood. If he could trust that this was her real name. For some reason, Ben thought it was.

At one time, he thought she might be a good person, someone he could rely upon.

But that wasn't the case.

Arms wrapped around his waist, and soft breasts pressed against his back as Gabriella rested her cheek against Ben's shoulder.

"Are you all right, Ben?" she asked.

He hugged her arms and sighed. "Yeah, just a little disappointed. Robin seemed like a good person, but she's messing with some truly nice people and leaving wreckage in her wake. That's not cool. She helped break up Don Blake's marriage though he's definitely at fault, too. She hurt the feelings of one of Don's engineering team. She stole from Stephanie. I think she might be gathering information about me to publish a book."

Gabriella released him and moved to face him. She looked into his eyes and saw his discomfort at the idea. "What do you want to do?"

He took a deep breath. "I want to go home and hide in my basement, away from all the prying eyes, but I won't do that. I have so many wonderful people around me now. I want to share my days with them." Ben touched her chin and tilted her face up gently so he could kiss her tenderly. Then he smiled at her as her eyes shone with love. "I'll just keep your faces in my mind and heart and push all that noise aside. I've been through worse."

"Are we going home tomorrow?" Gabriella asked.

Ben nodded. "With a brief stop in London. I believe Fisher mentioned we'd stop there for refueling. I need to contact Dennis to get the home address for Robin Wood. We'll make a brief visit to retrieve Stephanie's property."

Gabriella gave Ben an evaluating look. "That's all you plan to do there?"

"I'll ask her about her plan for the information she's gathered. I may even ask her nicely to cease and desist, but that's all," he admitted.

Gabriella nodded and gave him a hug. "I can't wait to get you home," she sighed.

Ben smiled. Home sounded so good.

Chapter 48

Stephanie might have been blind, and she might have been frail from months of depression and self-neglect, but they'd purged all the old sculptures from her studio quickly. For a fresh start, she said.

Then she found new energy to drag Ben to her small single bed in the corner and fucked him silly. Stephanie wanted to ride his pony, she said as she giggled. She'd been listening to some new music, it seemed.

She did ride his pony, then let Ben fill her from behind, doggy-style. Finally, he drove himself down into her from above, pounding her into her mattress while she clung to him and cried out in bliss.

The studio wasn't the most soundproof room in the chateau, and they filled it with the sounds of their gasps, cries, and moans until Stephanie finally said enough.

He was worried he'd been a little too rough with her, but she had the widest smile as they cuddled.

Before she completely faded, she made Ben promise to let her map his body in the morning. Her muse wanted her to create a new sculpture of him which she promised not to sell. He told her to speak to Alexis after she and Béatrice talked to Richard and Henry. He wouldn't explain why as it made him too uncomfortable, so he just kissed her.

The following morning he'd fulfilled his promise to her and relaxed back on the mattress as she ran her fingers over every inch of his skin as she wore an expression of fierce concentration. Ben got a little stiff down below from her attention, but she was still a little too sensitive from the night before. That didn't mean she didn't spend time mapping his cock in excruciating detail.

Afterward, Ben and Gabriella kissed her, Alexis, and Béatrice goodbye, and the group piled into the vans. They had to hurry back to Grenoble to make their take-off time.

All the way back, the Commandos dropped innuendos about Ben's noisy visit with the artist. As they'd been on the ground floor during that entire interval, they'd enjoyed the audio track of Ben and Stephanie's reunion.

Zama lamented her top-floor room robbed her of this. Moon just smiled innocently as her room had been just up a flight of stairs and within hearing range of the studio.

Evelyn fidgeted as she'd heard some of it when she checked in with the Commandos before heading to bed.

Liliya listened to the teasing with interest.

Gabriella hid her satisfied smile as she knew she would soon make those sounds with Ben herself.

"Fisher, we need to make a brief stop in London," Ben said.

The man looked over the seat at Ben in frustration. "Again?"

"I spoke with Dennis last night, and I have the address for Robin Wood. We need to retrieve the item she stole from Stephanie."

'Shit! How much time will you need?" Fisher growled.

"She lives in a townhome in Hounslow, a suburb just east of Heathrow. It's a five-minute drive," Ben explained.

"Fine. Killjoy and I will take you. The rest will stay with the plane," he insisted.

"Evelyn and I will be with Ben as well," Liliya insisted. Fisher glared at her but nodded.

The drive back to Grenoble didn't take long, and the flight to Heathrow was relatively smooth. Once they were on the ground, Ben found himself whisked through a back door with Fisher, Stim, Evelyn, Liliya, and Moon. He wasn't sure why Moon was in the group, but Fisher didn't give him time to ask as they rushed through the accessways of the terminal.

They were met by some security personnel who directed them to an airport security van which they climbed into. Fisher shook his head when Ben went to speak, so he just waited and glanced over at Moon, who smiled at him. One of the airport security team climbed behind the wheel, and they were on their way. Fisher gave the driver the address Ben had provided him, and within seven minutes, they were parked in front of the home.

It wasn't much to look at. Dennis said Robin told him she inherited her home from her grannie, a two-story townhome in the middle of a block of identical dwellings. Most showed some level of disrepair, and hers desperately needed a paint job. None of the homes had any green space in front, favoring parking pads instead. Ben assumed Robin was away from her home more than she lived in it.

He got out of the van and stood before the home, wondering what he would say. He thought he should give her hell for hurting his friends, stealing from them, and misrepresenting herself. All of that felt insufficient. He decided he wouldn't give her any more of his time than he had to. He glanced back at his protection, then looked to the van, but only the driver was still visible. He frowned as Moon was gone.

"We don't have much time, Ben," Fisher said.

Glancing back at the CO, Ben nodded and walked to the door. He pressed the doorbell and waited. A peephole in the door showed a glimmer of light, perhaps from a back window. That light flickered as someone approached the door.

Ben heard someone on the other side of the door swear, and it was a feminine voice.

"Robin? It's Ben. I just want to speak with you," he said calmly.

There was a long delay, then the door opened but stopped as there was a chain across the gap.

"Ben! W-what are you doing here?" she asked nervously, her blue eye peering at him through the gap.

He raised an eyebrow. "I think you know why I traveled all the way to your door to speak to you."

"No! No, I don't!" she said quickly.

Ben sighed. "My friends have been telling me about a woman who came into their lives, befriended them, grilled them for information on me, and just as quickly cast them aside and left. A beautiful red-haired woman named Robin."

The compliment surprised her, as did his gentle tone. She might have expected him to be angry. Her exposed eye watched him carefully.

"Honestly, I just want to talk. You should know by speaking to everyone I'm a man of my word. No one here means you any harm, and no one will lift a finger against you. I have to get back to the airport momentarily. May we come in?" Ben asked.

She watched his face carefully, then nodded. The door closed and reopened without the chain as Robin stepped back, running her fingers through her hair, trying to make it presentable. She might not have washed it for some time. She also looked like she'd been living in the tracksuit she was wearing, which needed a wash.

"I-I wasn't expecting company," she blurted.

Ben followed Evelyn inside as she looked in all directions and nodded.

"Five minutes, Ben," Fisher said, and Ben nodded as he stepped inside with Liliya following.

They stepped into a sitting room, and Ben smiled as he could see Robin's grandmother's style written all over it. There was almost nothing of Robin in the room.

"What that for?" Robin asked Ben as she stared at him.

He looked at her curiously. "What's what for?"

"Your smile as you entered? What's so funny?" Robin said defensively.

Ben shook his head. "It's not funny. It's sweet. I can see your grandmother's touch in this room. It feels like you haven't changed anything."

Robin nodded slowly, her guard dropping a little.

Ben fixed his eyes on her. "Time is short, so I'll get right to the point. It came to my attention that you've been tracing my path, speaking to people in my life, and pumping them for information on me. Why?"

Robin glanced at the faces of the two women with Ben and swallowed. "A book. I'm writing a book."

"About me?" Ben asked.

"Yes," she said firmly. "You won't give interviews, and there is a huge demand for your story. I wanted to be the one to meet that demand. It's going to make me rich!"

Ben nodded. "Can I ask you not to write it?"

She chuckled. "You can ask, but it's already been written. It's with my publisher right now."

"Ah. I assume they gave you an advance on it?" Ben said.

"Only a small one at first, but once it goes to print, I'll get the rest."

"Who is the publisher?" Ben asked.

Robin's eyes flared. "I'm not going to tell you that. I'm not jeopardizing my fortune by letting you interfere."

Ben watched her and nodded. "Okay."

She peered at him closer. "What does okay mean?"

"Nothing at all," Ben shrugged. He knew he should just leave, but he had a few minutes left, and for his friend's sake, he wanted to say something. "There is also the damage you did to my friends. You hurt quite a few people in your quest to get my story. Don Blake told me how he ruined his marriage by giving into temptation with you. He's got a real problem which you didn't help."

"It's not my fault he cheated on his wife!" Robin said scornfully.

"Not entirely, no, but it takes three to cheat: a couple in a monogamous relationship and at least one other person willing to help break that vow. Don couldn't cheat by himself, and you knew he was married. Not cool."

Robin glared at him. "I think you should leave now."

Ben nodded. "Sure, but I'm also here for Stephanie Murino's property."

Robin's eyes looked away from Ben. "I've no idea what you mean by that."

Ben waited until she glanced back at him. Was that guilt on her face? It looked like it to Ben. He aimed a questioning look at Liliya, who was a far better lie detector than he was. She nodded with a flat expression.

"You won't return it?" Ben asked plainly and saw Robin begin to scowl. She was digging in her heels. She wouldn't be giving anything she'd worked to get. Time to take a different direction.

"By the way, Mary says hello. She was pretty sad when you left as she thought you'd become friends. Then she was confused and disappointed when she found out you were just squeezing people for information. I told her you were likely hoping to get rich off this somehow. Maybe one day, own one of those mansions your mother used to clean. She was worried you'd succeed but discover you had no one to share it with because you hurt everyone on your way up."

Robin sucked in a sharp breath as her eyes teared up.

"I thought you were a pretty great woman until I found out you stole from a blind woman suffering from depression. I can't begin to express how revolting that is," Ben said calmly as he held Robin's eyes.

"Get out!" Robin shrieked and pointed to the door.

"Give me Stephanie's property, and I'll go," Ben said.

"You'll get out, or I'll call the police!" she shouted.

Ben shook his head in disgust and gestured for Evelyn to lead them out.

Liliya was angry, so her accent was heavier. "You are stupid. You use same name everywhere you go. You are so easy to find."

"Liliya," Ben said as he saw Robin's eyes widen at the subtle threat. Liliya smiled and followed him out.

They met Fisher outside, and he glanced at the grim look on Ben's face. "No luck?"

Ben shook his head. "No, let's go," he said and walked to the van. Everyone got in, but one person was still missing.

Ben caught Fisher's eye. "Where's Moon?"

"Just getting some air. We'll pick her up on the way out of the neighborhood."

Sure enough, when they reached the intersection to pull back onto the main road, Moon was standing on the corner waiting for them. She jumped in and gave Ben a smile as they headed back to the airport.

It was another trek through back corridors to return to the jet.

Before they boarded, Fisher fixed a look at Ben. "Any more side trips or delays?"

Ben sighed and shook his head. "No. Let's go home."

Soon enough, the plane was back in the air, with the commandos taking the first seat quad and his security team taking the last at the back. The seatbelt sign was turned off, and Moon approached Ben. In her hands was something wrapped in a pillowcase which she handed to him. Glancing at her, he opened the fabric to see the clay sculpture Stephanie made of his cock.

"How? How did you get this?" Ben asked as he gaped at the petite woman.

"You kept her busy as I broke into the house from the backyard. I am very good at this. I collected this and a backup drive on which she keeps her notes and research." Moon handed Ben the second item. "I took a quick look. Your friends in Australia and France weren't the only people she interviewed. You should review this information before she publishes it. There is also a copy of the book she submitted. At least you will be prepared."

Ben's eyebrows were threatening to climb into his hairline. He looked at the small pocket-sized USB hard drive and then back to Moon. "Thank you so much!"

She smiled at him and nodded before going back to her seat. Ben's eyes followed her to the back seats, where she sat with Liliya and Evelyn. Both women were grinning back at Ben. Moon was going to make an excellent addition to their team!

Ben thought he'd better learn how to say Nguyêt correctly.

"Such a shame to destroy such a piece of art," Gabriella sighed, drawing his eyes up to her smiling face.

"Oh my god! Is that what I think it is?" Zama gasped with wide eyes.

Ben quickly wrapped it up in the pillowcase once more. "Never mind what this is."

Gabriella chuckled and leaned in to give Ben a kiss.

Zama watched them with such a look of longing on her face that Ben felt guilty for kissing Gabriella in front of her. When his beautiful neighbor pulled back, Ben gestured for Zama to bring her face down to his. She flashed a happy smile at him then she pressed her soft lips against his. He gently cradled her face in his hand and tenderly caressed her mouth with his. Zama's breath caught in her chest, and she looked at his mouth dreamily as they parted.

"I wasn't making any promises with that kiss," Ben said firmly, and she nodded.

"It was very good," she sighed.

He snorted gently. "I get lots of practice... and you have very kissable lips, like Gabriella's."

The woman in question gave him a loving smile and took the Princess' arm to guide her back to her seat. They began to speak quietly as they snuck looks back at Ben.

He wondered if he should be worried about that.

Chapter 49

Sergey Zhdankov once more stood before the grim faces of his senior chiefs. This time all of them were present.

"You said there would be no link back to us for the attack, then you have two of our best cyber-infiltration teams paralyze the US Capitol's telecommunications and traffic control centers. How is this subtle? How is this protecting us from reprisals? We have the open discussion of our involvement on Capitol Hill, and I'm told they are making memes of it on the Internet!" Herescu growled.

Sergey swallowed the bile rising from his gut as he watched the smile on Bolonov's face spread. The man looked like a lizard about to eat a fat beetle, and Sergey was looking like a beetle at the moment.

"An overzealous operative misinterpreted my orders and brought in the teams without my knowledge. He will be terminated," Sergey insisted. Even he thought he sounded weak.

"We will need to review the mistakes made in detail," Bolonov suggested, and heads nodded.

There was a commotion by the door, and a messenger rushed up to the podium and whispered to Herescu, who jolted in his seat and asked the messenger some questions.

After the messenger left the room, Herescu faced Sergey with a nervous expression. "Your prediction came true. The assassin has come back to us. Tatiana Pushkin just walked into the lobby of this building."

Sergey couldn't stop the snort of laughter from slipping out. Angry eyes glared at him. "Apologies," Sergey said gently as he tipped his head to the chiefs. "It is just what she did to the CIA. She has incredible boldness. May I assume she surrendered immediately?" he asked, feeling confident once more. Vasiliev had prepared him for this.

The senior chief nodded. "She has been taken into custody. She will be stripped, searched, and subdued before questioning occurs."

"May I offer a point of advice based on the knowledge Colonel Vasiliev gave me specifically for this event?" he asked. Herescu nodded with a scowl.

"The subduing phase will not yield the required results as the subject has been conditioned to endure this. Instead, bring her to my office, and I will debrief her. If she is not salvageable, I will dispense of her. She is not a threat to us as she cannot defy the Colonel's conditioning. This was proven by her return."

Bolonov was scowling angrily once more, and that just made Sergey's smile more satisfied.

"She will be brought to your office immediately. Make your assessment and return to us with your answer in two hours, no more," Herescu snapped.

Sergey saluted and left the room with as much dignity as he could, but once outside, he rushed through the building to his office and managed to get to it before the guards brought her in. He wondered if he should sit at his desk or stand by his window. Which pose would have the greatest impact? He was almost giddy with the power being placed in his hands. She was one of the deadliest weapons Vasiliev ever created, and she would be under his control! He studied the Colonel's records for managing his creations. While he no longer had access to the documents which went missing when the Colonel was killed, he remembered.

He heard footsteps, so he rushed to the window and slipped a neutral expression onto his face.

Two burly guards in black suits pushed Tatiana into the room and roughly sat her in the chair before his desk. They both took a step back and remained there to subdue her if she made any suspicious moves.

"Welcome home, Ms. Pushkin," Sergey said with a smile.

-=-

Tatiana lifted her chin to look at the fat man who took over for the Colonel and wondered what Vasiliev had been thinking when he took him on as his liaison. She could see how soft and weak he was. Still, she must play the game. She nodded to him.

"I see they did not get my instructions soon enough to prevent you from taking a beating," Zhdankov snorted in annoyance at the two brutes.

She nodded again. She would have laughed, but this would have been enough to trigger her handlers, and she wasn't ready yet. The timing was critical.

"What did she bring with her?" the fat man asked the brutes. One took an envelope from his pocket and handed it to him.

Sergey poured the contents out on his desktop. He pretended to inspect the items, but he was watching her for tells on which item was important to her. She didn't respond to anything, so he frowned and changed direction again.

"I knew it was just a matter of time before you returned. Colonel Vasiliev ensured you would remain loyal to his program. He made you what you are... but it seems you are not the pinnacle of his creations after all."

Tatiana couldn't suppress the twitch that comment elicited. She was aware that she'd been beaten by Ben in strength and speed. She was also aware that Liliya would have killed her in Germany. That had surprised her most of all. She knew Liliya had equal training, but she lacked the killer instinct.

Until she had the proper motivation.

Ben. Liliya loved Ben, and that made her better than Tatiana. Without this, Tatiana could not be the pinnacle.

She glanced up at Sergey and saw he'd been watching her expression, and his smug smile showed his satisfaction. She wanted so much to tear it from his face but... not yet. She gauged the location of the two behind her by the subtle rustle of their clothes as they shifted in relation to the slight sway she'd added to her body language to suggest fatigue. Calculating her attack opportunities, she saw the numbers were not in her favor at the moment.

The fat man continued. "You should have asked yourself why you thought we'd consider taking you back after the damage you've done for our enemy?"

She made a weak snort sound. "I proved the minimal value of those assets. I am far more valuable."

It was Sergey's turn to snort as he moved back to look out his window. "You had your chance to prove that, but you failed to kill Ben Shepherd. Liliya seems to be the deadlier assassin, and we aren't interested in second best."

He grinned back at her at the expression of hurt pride, and once more, Tatiana vowed to end him.

A sniper round punched through the armored glass of the window, turning Sergey's head into red mist.

Almost before anyone could react, a second round punched through the damaged window, taking out the guard closest to the window as Sergey's body dropped. The second guard grunted as he fell to avoid the bullets.

Tatiana waited for a third bullet. Firing two was an outrageously bold move. Taking the time to fire three would be insane, even with the speed and accuracy the sniper had just demonstrated. She turned her head toward the window and saw a red dot on the glass. The sniper was still there? He must be suicidal!

Turning her head in the other direction, she saw the second guard hadn't been completely successful in avoiding the second bullet. He was sitting on the floor, leaning against the far wall, and missing the top of his skull. Not dead, yet not alive. Not a threat, at least.

She stood cautiously and looked out the window. The dot was still there, and it rested on her heart, unwavering. Who? Who was insane enough to—DEMMON! She suddenly recognized his marksmanship and boldness.

The red light winked out. He wasn't going to kill her.

Tatiana was stunned as she never expected to leave the building alive, but now Hal had given her the option. She scoffed at the idea.

Instead, she picked up her burner cell from the desk and dialed a number, her thumb hovering over the dial button. She moved back to the window to stare through the spidering cracks toward the building where the shots must have come from. She cursed Hal for taking her target, but she knew he was already gone.

Then it struck her. Hal wouldn't have been given a mission to kill Zhdankov. The political nightmare of a US assassin killing an FSB officer in Moscow would generate was too much of a risk for the cowards in the White House. The only target that made sense to assign Hal to would be... her.

Staring at the building from which the shots must have come, she heard people running closer in the hall. She looked back at the headless corpse of Sergey. "I am also not interested in being second best."

She smiled as she pressed the dial button on the cell. She watched it connect as the door burst open behind her.

She heard the shot and was free.

-=-

In the loading bay at the back of the FSB headquarters was a large office supplies delivery truck. Tatiana had driven it into the yard and parked it in a loading bay. Her disguise had been minimal but sufficient to match the records she'd planted in the building's security profile servers earlier.

The irony of an FSB-trained assassin turning on her masters was compounded by the fact that the method she'd used to attack them came from the secret plans Colonel Vasiliev devised should his masters turn on him. He'd been intimately aware of their security processes, the internal layout of the building, and the weak points of both.

Hidden within the false walls and floors of the truck was an enormous amount of high explosives she'd spent months smuggling into the Russian capital. The boxes of stationary she'd delivered had been carried in and stored in the building's various supply rooms, each near key structural supports. They also contained explosives and cell-based triggers. The cell phone she'd dialed with the burner was in the truck, and it triggered a repeater, sending out a text pulse to all the secondary bombs, before tripping the truck's bomb.

The storeroom explosions ripped through the building's spine, and the second, much larger explosion in the truck severed the lower levels of the building. The resulting blast waves ripped through the building, collapsing it, leaving nothing identifiable behind in the vast crater of rubble. Neighboring buildings were heavily damaged as well.

Tatiana's final resting place would be amongst the largest headcount she'd ever achieved in a single strike.

An anonymous grave for the world's deadliest assassin.

-=-

Hal Demmon slipped away in the chaos caused by the explosion, stunned by the scale of the devastation Tatiana had unleashed.

His mission was to kill her before the FSB could send her back to target Americans. But when he'd let his monster out to make the kill, it refused to pull the trigger. It knew Tatiana wouldn't allow herself to be caught and must have a plan, so it changed its mission.

Hal's monster had never changed its kill target before, so he was surprised when it shot the others in the room instead. Then it turned on the weapon's laser sight to let Tatiana know it spared her life.

He'd been troubled by that but knew his mission was over, and he had to leave. He wouldn't draw undue attention with his worker's coverall and toolbox containing the disassembled rifle. He'd just reached the street when the blast wave knocked everyone from their feet. He had a few cuts and scratches from the flying glass and debris, but this just added to his disguise. He used the mayhem to slip away into the shadows.

He was going home. Mission accomplished?

-=-

Hours after the horrific events, General Davis leaned back in his chair and contemplated what he'd just watched. Satellite footage of a huge explosion in the middle of Russia's capitol was something to be concerned about. Still, the complete destruction of the FSB headquarters and the death of everyone inside it gave him serious chills. This could be considered an act of war if they pointed the finger at the US as the responsible party.

There was a knock on the door. "Enter."

"General, there's something you should see. Tatiana Pushkin uploaded a video to all major social media platforms. We're still discovering sites where the video can be found. She recorded it in multiple languages, as well. She's claiming sole responsibility for the destruction of the FSB headquarters," his lieutenant said, bringing the General's computer to one of the sites where the video was already gathering huge viewing numbers. With a nod, the man left his office as the General was already focusing on his screen.

The video began with just a head and shoulders view of Tatiana staring at the camera. She was very beautiful even with the scar on her cheek, but her eyes held a deep pain she was trying to hide with a weak smile. Davis was surprised to catch himself feeling sympathy for the woman.

"Hello. My name is Tatiana Pushkin. Most of you do not know me or only know of me as one of the women who followed and protected Ben Shepherd. Until I betrayed him and drove my blade into him. I did not know I could do such a thing, and it tormented me. Then I realized where this evil inside me came from. My origin story." She smiled sadly.

"Aleksei Vasiliev was Colonel in the Russian Army, but he worked on secret projects for Russian Intelligence, the FSB, and their masters in the Kremlin. He ran many terrible experiments, and one of them created me and my fellow assassins. He took very young orphans and abducted children of political targets. We endured his torture and training, or we died, and many died. He cut away qualities he believed would limit our capacity to be deadliest assassins. In the end, he had a team, and we killed many for him. This was my life, and I was best. Liliya Sokolov was second." She shook her head slightly as her eyes became glassy.

"Vasiliev tried to kidnap Ben and died by Liliya's hand after Ben rescued her daughter. She hunted and terminated the other assassins in Vasiliev's team, but Ben made her stop. I had no wish to kill her, but Ben was threat to my freedom. I tried to kill him, but he defeated me. I was not best." A confused and pained expression passed over her face with a look of desperation and longing.

"It took my recent betrayal of Ben for me to see how broken I was. I believed I loved him, but I have no ability to truly love. He would not—no, could not rape, which was how Vasiliev taught me love. Liliya still knew how to love. She did not lose this, and she outfought me to protect Ben. She proved she was best, and I was second."

"I had nothing left. Vasiliev and his masters took everything from me to be their killing tool. I vowed to reward them for their efforts. If you are watching this, the promise I made to myself has been accomplished. For all the children who died in their assassin program but mostly for the person I could have been, a woman Ben could have loved, I will become deadliest assassin one last time."

"With this, I betray Ben once more. He said no more killing. He insisted the best blade is one that is never drawn, but Vasiliev destroyed that in me. I know only death, so that is what I will gift to the ones who created me."

She looked into the camera with sad eyes. "Goodbye, Ben. I am sorry. I wish I could have loved you as Liliya does."

As Davis examined the video's final frame, he pondered if Tatiana's confession would be sufficient to eliminate the US as a suspect in this attack. He'd have to contact Demmon's handler to confirm his mission wasn't compromised. The last thing he wanted was evidence of an American agent operating in Moscow at this time.

The second thought that went through his mind was how this wasn't going to reduce the public's rabid curiosity about Ben's life.

Chapter 50

"Can I move now?" Ben moaned as he did his best to remain absolutely still with Gabriella sitting on his lap, facing him with her arms around him while encircled by his arms. They were intimately connected, and her inner muscles were rippling against his hard cock.

"It's tantric sex, Ben. You need to hold still and prolong the moment. Feel the intimacy, be in the moment, feel the connection of our spiri—Uhhmmmm!"

Ben watched Gabriella's eyelashes flutter as her inner muscles rippled again, more strongly this time. "You imp! You've been having orgasms for the last fifteen minutes while I've been holding still?" he gasped in outrage.

She couldn't contain her giggles, then she squealed as he grabbed her ass cheeks and bounced her vigorously on his cock. Now her eyelids were really fluttering as they both rocked through their mutual releases.

When they were finished, Ben pushed Gabriella back, and she squeaked as she fell back onto her mattress, her head landing on her pillow. This motion drew Ben's still hard cock from her body with a pop.

"AH!" she gasped, then burst into giggles once more as tingles cascaded through her body. She looked up at him with a cute little grin, her satisfaction plain on her face.

He snorted, stretched out on the bed next to her, and made himself comfortable as Gabriella cuddled against his side.

"Please don't think I'm not grateful, but I expected you to spend your first night at home with Tina and Lucy," she said with a sigh.

"Because?" he asked carefully.

"They're the mothers of your children, and a part of my mind still holds a notion that you might want to prioritize time for them because of that."

Ben smiled and kissed Gabriella's sensational mouth once more, enjoying her eager response. He pulled back and caressed her cheek with his fingers.

"I took to heart your words regarding love. I give all of you all of my love. While time is what I share amongst the women I love, please don't think you are less of a priority to me in any way. Tina and Lucy are very much aware that none of this would be possible without your wisdom about love. They both love you deeply for this and agreed with me when I let them know I'd be with you tonight. This is how they show their love for you."

Gabriella had tears of joy in her eyes, and her next kiss was slow and sweet. She caressed his bottom lip with her thumb when she regained control over her emotions. "You just make sure you give them both that kiss as it's how I show my love for them.

Ben chuckled as he pulled Gabriella into a hug. "I'll make sure to tell them."

There was a sudden sharp knock on Gabriella's door.

"Mom? Are you two done in there?" Miriam called out through the door.

The mother's instincts immediately flared as she picked up the tension in her daughter's voice.

"Give me a second!" she called out as she rolled from the bed and dashed into the washroom with her dressing gown and some panties in her hand.

Ben hopped up and slipped his underwear and pants on as Gabriella rushed by to answer the door. He gave her an exasperated look as she didn't give him time to zip up before she opened it. He spun and closed his pants with his back to them.

Miriam smiled nervously at her mom and glanced at Ben's broad, scarred back. "There's a message popping up on all the social media sites. It's from Tatiana, and it's for Ben."

"What?" Ben turned to stare at the young woman. "Tatiana?"

"Come see," Miriam said and walked back to her bedroom with Ben and Gabriella following.

Daniel came out of his bedroom with his tablet in his hand and joined them in his sister's bedroom.

Ben could see Tatiana's face on Miriam's PC monitor. The young woman glanced at Ben and then pressed the play button.

"Hello. My name is Tatiana Pushkin. Most of you...."

Ben listened to Tatiana's recorded message, and he felt his chest tightening. He'd never witnessed Tatiana so open and vulnerable before. She'd changed.

"Goodbye, Ben. I am sorry. I wish I could have loved you as Liliya does."

His legs began to wobble, so he stepped back and sat on the edge of Miriam's bed. His hands were shaking, so he clasped them together. "What-what did she do?"

Daniel passed his tablet to Ben. "I think she might have blown up the headquarters of the Russian Secret Service."

Ben stared at the news clip on the tablet as it showed debris where a building should have been.

"My god," Ben gasped softly.

He looked into Gabriella's worried eyes. "I—I have to speak to the General. I need... to do something."

Ben felt a pressure building in him that he needed to deal with, but for the life of him, he hadn't a clue what response it required.

"I think General Davis will be rather busy right now. He'll reach out to you when he can," Gabriella said gently.

Ben nodded distractedly, and the pressure increased.

"I'm very grateful you were there for me, but you can't save everyone, Ben."

He looked into Miriam's sad eyes and nodded as his tears began to fall. He sucked in a breath, and the pain in his chest eased. He'd forgotten to breathe.

Miriam wrapped her arms around Ben as Gabriella and Daniel joined her. Ben clung to them and allowed his tears to fall silently for the tortured soul he couldn't save.

-=-

The following morning Ben woke early, kissed Gabriella, then went home as the sun began to rise above the horizon. He took a moment to stand at the end of his driveway, looking down the court. A very short time ago, he'd foolishly stepped into Russo's trap from this very spot. That action took him from his family and put him in mortal danger. He'd been forced to kill.

A face flashed into his mind, a look of horror and despair as Ben cleaved the guard's chest open with the fire ax.

He gave his head a shake to clear the image. He knew he'd be reliving these moments now that the pressure was off. He'd call today to make an appointment to speak to Dr. Granger about it.

A chill ran down his spine from standing in the snow, so he walked up his driveway. Tina opened the door, and he quickly stepped inside, shutting it behind him. The moment he took off his cold jacket, he pulled Tina into his arms and kissed her. She felt soft and warm from sleep. She trembled, but it wasn't from the cool air in the hall. He held her against him and carried her into the living room, where he sat on the couch with her on his lap.

Ben heard a noise and saw Lucy in the doorway. He held out his hand, and she rushed to join them on the couch. He kissed her and cupped her cheek in his hands as he looked into her and Tina's eyes.

"I'm so sorry I let myself step into Russo's van—"

"You did not know she would do this!" Tina insisted. "This was not your fault. You came back to us. That is what matters!"

Ben smiled at her fierce look and kissed her forehead, then Lucy's. "It got bad on the yacht. I had to kill to get free. Twelve. I killed twelve men. Evil bastards, but I killed them all brutally." A shudder went through his body as that fact echoed through his mind.

The women clung to him and kissed his face.

"You do what you need to do to come back to us. Nothing else matters," Tina said firmly. Lucy nodded with a determined look on her face too.

He smiled and kissed them again, then they settled in to cuddle with him in the early morning quiet.

Ben's stomach took that opportunity to remind him he hadn't eaten for some time.

Tina and Lucy patted Ben's shoulders. "We will start breakfast." They got quick kisses from Ben and left to go to the kitchen.

He stood and looked out his front window at the snowy scene outside.

The front door opened, and Evelyn stepped inside. She hung up her coat and joined Ben in the living room. Ben's arms were open, so she stepped into his hug and clung to him.

"You watched Tatiana's recording?" Ben asked as he kissed the top of her head. She nodded against his chest. "And you saw what she did?" Another nod.

"Will we need to do anything to address this?" he asked.

She pulled back, and blue eyes looked into his dark gaze. "We might be asked to speak before a congressional committee unless the General can answer their questions. How-how are you feeling?" she asked gently.

He held her face in his hands, and her eyelashes fluttered. She sighed as he moved in for a kiss, and she melted into his arms as his lips found hers.

Ben enjoyed kissing her but could tell this was a new experience for her. She seemed to enjoy it as much as he did. When he pulled back, she moaned slightly, and her eyes opened to read his expression. He smiled at her.

"You don't mind kissing an old man?" he said with a crooked grin.

"No! You're not old! You're... experienced. I-I really like kissing you!" she stammered.

He leaned in to kiss her again but stopped before they touched. "Good, because I really like kissing you, too." She surged forward, and they savored this one.

"I... I want to do other things, too," she whispered when he pulled back, her eyes locked on his. Her words rushed out as she was still unsure of the nature of their relationship.

Ben smiled and nodded. "Let's start with kissing and work our way toward other things. I want that too."

Evelyn's smile was beautiful as he could see her whole body carried that joyful energy.

"I should speak with Liliya. Do you think she'll have trouble because of Tatiana's confession?" Ben asked.

"General Davis is prepared for that contingency. Officially, Liliya is performing community service for the rest of her life. She's also under a form of house arrest, except she must remain in this neighborhood unless she's with you, the General, or me. She's aware of these conditions and has accepted them," Evelyn explained.

Ben nodded. "Still, I want to see how she's feeling after hearing the news. I'll check on her this morning." Evelyn nodded.

"Speaking of ladies living under that roof, what's the story with Moon?" Ben asked.

The Sergeant smiled. "General Davis managed to get the Deputy Director of the CIA to acknowledge she survived the mission. They officially terminated her contract as they don't want to work with her anymore. They did give her a small bonus, hazard pay for the month she was on the yacht, and reinstated her pension, which unfortunately won't amount to much as she was new. Liliya asked the General if he could hire her as part of your security team. He'll also work on her naturalization."

"She has comparable skills to Liliya's?" Ben asked in surprise.

"No, but mine will be once Liliya finishes training me. She believes Moon's other skills may come in handy," Evelyn responded.

"Where is Zama?" Ben asked.

"She's staying in Trish's house. Her basement bedroom wasn't being used, and Trish offered it to her."

Lucy peeked around the corner and grinned at the Sergeant, who was still in Ben's arms. Evelyn spotted her and tried to slip out of Ben's embrace, but he pulled her close. "Yes, Lucy?" he asked.

"Breakfast is ready. Will you be joining us, Evelyn?" Lucy asked with a cheeky grin.

Ben heard the double entendre in the question, and from the red glow on Evelyn's cheeks, so did she. She froze.

"Have you eaten breakfast?" Ben asked gently.

"I have," she said quickly.

"Would you like to sit with us or get started downstairs?" Ben said, and she glanced toward the stairs. He leaned forward and kissed her, making her squeak. "No secrets in this house," he said firmly, and she nodded with a little smile as he released her to join Lucy, who wore a delighted grin on her face. "No teasing Evelyn," he said to her, and she nodded obediently.

"Help me collect the children?" she asked.

"I would love to!" Ben returned.

Family breakfast time was the best part of the day!

-=-

After breakfast, he called Hannah to speak to her about getting some time with the doctor. She immediately put him on hold for a moment, then let him know she had an opening at the end of the day. That was faster than he expected, but he wasn't going to argue.

Next, he called Ed, who picked up on the third ring with a happy voice.

"Ben! You're back?"

He smiled at the delight in the man's voice. "Thanks to you, Ed. I want to thank you for really coming through for me. Evelyn filled me in on everything you did for us. You went above and beyond. Thank you!"

"I just delivered your text to Evelyn as you asked," Ed said humbly.

"No, I heard you also helped them contact the people who made it possible for me to be rescued. Your cell was their point of contact with General Davis. He was able to reach out to the USS Harry S. Truman because of that."

Ed's excitement returned. "You really got rescued by an aircraft carrier?"

Ben's enthusiasm got away from him. "Yeah, it was so cool! So huge!"

Ed laughed. "I wish I could have been there!"

"If I ever get another chance to visit one, I'll make sure to ask if I can bring you, too," Ben promised.

"That would be awesome!" Ed gushed. "Listen, I was speaking with Grace, Rachel, and Zoe, and we'd like to throw you a welcome back party."

Ben smiled. "That sounds like fun. I'll have to get back to you on when I might be available to do that. A lot has happened recently, and the General asked me to lay low for a bit to let the dust settle."

"Okay, let me know, and we'll throw you a party, probably at Reg and Thierry's home as their place has the biggest dining room table.

"That sounds fun. Thanks again, Ed."

"You're welcome, Ben. Any time."

Ben hung up and smiled to himself. He really liked Ed and his extended family. They were good people.

His next call was to Walter.

"Ben! You're back?" the man blurted, and Ben chuckled, hearing Ed's words echoed.

"Yes, all is good, I'm glad to be home, and I have a new side project for you," Ben said.

"What?" Walter said in surprise.

"While I was on the arms dealer's yacht, I met a man, Ulrich Huber, who was hiding from the police as he stole the working capital and the employee pension fund from the company he worked for. The man died on the ship, but I have his banking credentials. I'd like to give those people their money back and maybe get that business back on its feet. Can I ask you to have Grace do a backtrace on Ulrich to find out who he stole from and then have you contact the owners of the business to see if they can get it running again?"

"Ah... okay." Walter sighed.

"At the very least, I want the employees to get their pension payments," Ben said.

"Send me the information, and I'll get on it. I'll also bring Jerry into this, as he can deal with the pension plan for them. I can't wait to see what industry we're expanding into this time," Walter said with a smirk in his voice.

"You're the best, Walter!" Ben said with a grin.

He didn't want to put off speaking with Liliya any longer, so he slipped on his boots and jacket, grabbed his keys, and stepped outside. The cold bit at his nose, and he glanced up. Winter was going to be a cold one this year, he believed.

He hopped into his truck, drove to Liliya's place, and parked. He walked up to the door and pressed the doorbell.

Shortly, Liliya opened the door and gestured for him to enter.

"Ben, you should just come in. You don't need to knock and wait for me to let you in. It's your house!" she scolded gently.

He smiled. "It's your home. I dropped by to see how you were doing. You saw Tatiana's message?" He kicked off his boots and hung up his jacket.

Liliya nodded and led Ben into the living room, where they sat together on the couch.

She tried to smile, but it was strained as she recalled the message from Tatiana. "I almost did not recognize her. She changed after she left us. I was wrong about her. I didn't know how unaware she was of their programming. I was always aware of it and could separate myself from it. It took stabbing you for her to realize her actions weren't entirely her own. She got her revenge for that and so much more."

Ben nodded. "She mentioned you directly in the message. I hope that doesn't cause you any grief."

Liliya smiled. "She mentioned you more significantly. That will undoubtedly create issues for you."

Ben sighed and nodded once more. "I'll be speaking to the General when he's available. I don't want our arrangement to be affected. If he tells me he's altering our deal, your freedom is non-negotiable. I will sever all ties to the military before I allow that to happen. I'm hopeful the General will make efforts to keep that from becoming necessary."

Liliya looked worried. "You'd lose your protection from hostile operatives."

"I'd hire a team to protect the neighborhood. I'd also publicly announce the dissolution of my relationship with the military. That might be enough to make them no longer see me as a threat."

He looked into Liliya's worried eyes. "With the destruction of FSB headquarters, do you see them looking to retaliate?"

"Tatiana was following a plan Colonel Vasiliev created to eliminate the FSB should they ever turn on him. I was aware of the plan, but I would never have done it. It was a suicide mission from the beginning, but the Colonel would have sent one of us to do it, so he wouldn't have been in danger." Ben looked at her in surprise, so she continued. "Tatiana would have struck when most of the Senior Chiefs were present in the building as well as most of the department heads and a significant number of their agents, so we may assume a majority of the chain of command has been eliminated. Their documentation and servers were all contained within the building as well. It will take a long time to recreate the organization."

Liliya touched Ben's hand, and he held hers gently. "Once there is some structure in place, it's possible they might target you as some weak form of revenge, even though Tatiana was very explicit in mentioning her reasons for doing it and your disapproval of her actions. It is how these minds work."

"All the more reason to insist you remain by my side," Ben said.

"There is nowhere I would rather be," she said, looking into his eyes.

He leaned closer, and she met him halfway, their lips caressing, then the kiss deepened. When they pulled back, they were both breathing hard.

Ben saw her need for him in her eyes as his were probably showing how much he wanted her.

She gave him a crooked smile. "You have a busy morning."

Ben nodded as he knew he had to start connecting with his neighbors.

"I would like to continue this when you are available," Liliya said, and Ben nodded.

"Me too," he managed. "I-I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon."

"I'll be ready," she said with a smile.

They stood and managed to keep from touching again as he returned to get his boots and jacket. He kissed her again, then slipped outside to cool off.

He drove home and settled into his office to start making calls.

He spent the rest of the day contacting his neighbors and friends to update them on his situation.

It was late afternoon when Ben relaxed back in a chair facing Dr. Granger across her desk.

He'd given Hannah a very long hug and many kisses in her office when he'd arrived, then she pushed him out the door so he wouldn't be late for his appointment. Dr. Granger smiled and handed him a tissue to wipe off her lipstick as he entered her office.

"I should begin by thanking you for making our work environment so much more harmonious. Hannah is a much better Hospital Administrator since you came into her life."

Ben snorted as he stared at the doctor.

"It's true! Love has given her a firmer foundation for her emotional well-being, which translates to better communication with others. So, thank you," she said with a grin.

Ben raised an eyebrow at her, so she grinned and leaned back. "I understand you underwent a difficult ordeal. A kidnapping?"

He sighed. "Yes, but it was two in a row, actually. A rogue CIA agent grabbed me outside my home and took me to Morocco, where an arms dealer kidnapped me and took me to his yacht on the open seas."

"That must have been very stressful," Granger said.

Ben nodded. "I managed to escape, but I had to kill to make it happen. I can still see their faces."

The doctor nodded. "That's normal. In a high-stress situation, the mind hides information that may hinder your efforts to survive the ordeal. These suppressed memories will surface once you're beyond the danger and the pressure eases. Their intensity will fade over time. You've experienced this before."

It was Ben's turn to nod. "Yes. I'm actually not so concerned about that." The doctor smiled as this was evidence of his progress.

Ben frowned as he cast his mind back to the moment he first faced the cage. "The bastard who owned the boat, Kaan Sadik, took me to see a cage filled with abducted children he intended to sell into slavery. I was so enraged that I lost control. I-I don't clearly recall what I did next, but I'm sure it'll leak out of my memories at some point. When I regained control, there were five dead bodies on the deck. I knew there was no going back at that point. I knew I'd have to kill the others if I was going to escape. I didn't hold back."

Dr. Granger nodded as she listened.

Ben took a deep breath, then continued. "My issue is that, for the rest, I was in complete control, and it was... easy. I felt nothing as I killed them with knives, then a fire ax. When I reached Kaan, the arms dealer, I took my time and made him suffer. I wanted him to feel the fear and desperation he put those kids through. He screamed through the entire ordeal. I only killed him when he started to slip into shock. I don't feel ashamed of what I did. I don't regret it. Does that make me as much of a monster as him?"

"What were you feeling when you tortured him?" the doctor asked.

Ben paused as he remembered. "Rage. This piece of human filth profited from the suffering of others. There was no way I could make him understand how wrong that was, but I could make him suffer in terror. So, I did."

"Did you enjoy it?" she asked bluntly.

Ben shook his head slightly. "No... Satisfaction, yes, but I don't recall there being any joy in it. It was just something that needed to be done. Like I said, I have the barest recollection of killing the first five. After that, I had no choice but to continue as they were trying to kill me. Kaan needed to die for what he'd done. I didn't feel any happiness when it was over, just weariness from the effort."

"You might have subdued Kaan and handed him over to the authorities," Granger suggested.

Ben shook his head as his expression darkened. "So many died at his hand, directly or indirectly. So many people suffered. If he'd been arrested, there was the chance he'd slip away as he had so many connections to corrupt officials who'd been hiding him all those years. Even if he did go to jail, he would likely end up running the place as he was a violent psychopath!" He shook his head again. "No, his death was the only true justice his victims could be given."

"And you didn't feel any hesitation at being his judge and executioner?" the doctor asked.

Ben snorted softly. "At the time? No, but here I am."

Dr. Granger smiled. "Yes, here you are. Why are you here?"

Ben blinked at her. "I... didn't I just tell you?"

"Being driven into a blind rage is concerning regardless of the reason, but you managed to restrict your vengeance to just the guilty parties, so you maintained the ability to discriminate. You told me you were forced into a kill-or-be-killed scenario with the remaining guards, and you killed to survive. Lastly, you put your sense of justice before the rule of law, but all this happened while you were under severe duress. You made judgment calls. Can you live with them?"

"Yes," Ben said firmly as he thought of the men he'd killed.

Dr. Granger nodded at Ben. "You are likely to experience some uncomfortable moments where the violence you inflicted surfaces in your mind. If this doesn't diminish in time, or it gets worse, please arrange for another visit."

"That's it?" Ben asked.

She smiled at him. "Ben, I don't see you becoming a threat to the community or a danger to yourself. These were extraordinary situations you found yourself in. You reacted in a way that allowed you to survive them. Will there be a cost? Probably, but you haven't indicated you're mentally conflicted by your decisions, so I don't believe you'll have any long-term issues from them."

In relief, Ben sagged back in his chair, and the doctor smiled at him. "Go home, Ben. Hug your kids. That's who you did this for, after all."

They stood, and Ben hugged her before he headed home with Evelyn and Liliya. He was feeling a lot better after having spoken to the doctor.

"A clean bill of health?" Liliya asked, seeing his smile.

He glanced over his shoulder at her and nodded. "All good." They shared a smile.

Evelyn dropped Liliya off at her home, then brought Ben home. As they pulled into his driveway, they spotted Catherine standing by the picture window facing the court. She looked worried, so Evelyn handed Ben his keys before she jogged away, and he quickly made his way inside.

The blonde beauty crushed herself up against Ben's chest the moment he was inside. He felt her tremble and wrapped his arms around her as he looked into Chanel's concerned eyes.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I received a call from a colleague at the station today. Judge Eugene Reissman, one of the people identified in the Fourteen Ashburn Court investigation, came to the station today. This colleague overheard him yelling at the captain, demanding to know who the investigating officer was on the case. He wanted to throw me off the force, then became irate that I'd left. He made threats about suing for defamation of character. The evidence of him being on the list of names connected to the purchase of the home and the photographic evidence of his attendance of the parties at Marion Spencer's home is now being suppressed by a court injunction."

Ben frowned. "What? Reissman couldn't have ordered the injunction in a case where he's been identified as one of the defendants."

Chanel shook her head. "It was likely one of his golfing friends, like Judge Green."

"Has the evidence been leaked to the press? Is the public aware?" Ben asked in surprise.

Chanel shook her head again. "Not to my knowledge."

"Then the threat of the lawsuit is just blustering noise. Have you spoken to Walter?" Ben asked, and Chanel shook her head. "We need to. Come on, let's go make a call," he said

They made themselves comfortable in the living room, with Catherine sitting next to Chanel, holding her hand. Ben called Walter and Chanel brought him up to speed on the situation.

"I thought something like this might happen," Walter sighed. "He can't suppress the information for long, but he can give himself time to run."

"You think the judge is a flight risk? He'll flee the country?" Chanel asked.

"Yes. He likely has a comfortable retirement home somewhere in Europe and will slip away before we can untangle the legal red tape to get the evidence before a judge in a federal court. We'd have to take this case to that level as the state-level prosecutors have been compromised, but we'll need to prove that," Walter said.

"Is there anything we can do to bring this to the federal court sooner rather than later so he doesn't have time to flee?" Ben asked.

"You have friends in higher places than me, Ben, but personally, I believe interference in the process at that level would not be in Chanel's best interests. She's done nothing wrong and currently faces no real impact from his threat," Walter advised.

Ben sighed. "Thanks for the heads up."

"I'll get started with what I can do at my end. Give me a couple of days to put it together," Walter said.

"Thanks, Walter! Bye," Ben responded.

He looked at the unhappy faces. "We'll get this sorted out. Don't worry about the threat of a lawsuit. We'd crush it. No one fucks with my family."

Chanel gave Ben a little smile. "Am I family?"

"Of course, you are!" he insisted.

Her smile widened. "I'm glad."

Ben gave them hugs and a kiss for Cat, then Chanel walked her wife home with her arm around her.

Tina and Lucy came forward for their hugs and kisses.

"All went well at the hospital?" Tina asked.

Ben smiled. "Yes, it went very well. She made me feel much better about what to expect after the ordeal on the ship."

Tina squeezed Ben in another hug, and Lucy quickly joined her.

"Ready for dinner?" Tina asked. "We're having dinner guests."

"Oh? Who?" Ben asked.

"Nguyêt, Zama, Liliya, and Rose," Lucy said as Tina moved to the kitchen. "You might want to freshen up."

Ben smiled with a nod and headed off to his bedroom.

He was looking forward to seeing how Moon, Tina, and Lucy got along. He was a little concerned about Zama's presence, though.

As he cleaned up and slipped on a fresh shirt, he remembered how Zama was taken under the wing of his family and whisked away to let him decompress on his arrival. He would have to ask her how she was adjusting so far. He recalled how smart she'd been on the ship, spotting the hidden cameras, building a network of support amongst the workers, and hiding Ulrich's journal from Kaan. He smiled to himself as he marveled at her resilience and strength of character.

He returned to the living room and poked his head in the kitchen.

Tina looked up. "Take a seat in the living room to relax. Dinner will be soon. You can invite the guests inside. They should be arriving soon."

Ben nodded and went back to his chair in the living room.

He'd just relaxed back into the cushions when the doorbell rang. He snorted in amusement and pushed himself to his feet to answer it.

He smiled at Rose's delighted smile as she was the first to greet him from Liliya's arms.

"Daddy!"

He grinned and accepted her into his arms and kissed her neck, tickling her and sending the girl into a burst of giggles. He stepped back, gesturing for the others to enter.

"How's my Rose?" he asked fondly as he pulled back to look into her excited eyes.

"Good!" She wiggled to get free as Christopher rushed around the corner, hearing his friend's voice.

Ben set her on her feet, took her jacket and boots, and she rushed away.

Turning back to his guests, he saw Liliya watching him with a sweet smile and a little excitement in her eyes, as well. He pulled her to him, and they kissed, her lips finding his eagerly and her body pressed against his wonderfully.

Zama's quiet sigh forced Ben to realize he was being a little too overly passionate before his other guests. His face flushed as he stepped back from Liliya. She was a little red-faced as well. She dipped her eyes to him and stepped past.

Ben faced Zama and saw the longing in her eyes. Once more, he noted how unique it was to interact with a woman almost as tall as he was. "Welcome, Zama."

She stepped closer, and he opened his arms to give her a hug. She surprised him with her kiss, but he couldn't stop himself from enjoying the sensation of her soft mouth, worshipping her exquisitely full lips, tasting her tongue which slipped forward tentatively. Her body felt incredible against his, and he was once more in awe of how matched their physiques were. She fit so well.

When he finally managed to pull back from her kiss, he saw Moon was no longer standing behind Zama. He was suddenly embarrassed by his display before the unfamiliar woman. He saw Zama's joyful and hungry smile as her eyes focused on his mouth.

He heard a noise behind him and turned his head to see Tina and Lucy embracing Nguyêt, giving her simultaneous cheek kisses. When they pulled back, the young woman's expression of delight could not be mistaken. She looked a little overwhelmed by their attention but very happy to be in their arms.

"Thank you for helping Ben escape from the ship," Tina said sweetly.

Moon's nod was shy, but her smile was wide as she nodded to the two beauties.

Ben stepped back from Zama's embrace and gestured for her to enter. She pulled off her fuzzy boots and stepped inside. Only then did he notice she was wearing the same outfit they bought in Grenoble.

He looked at Nguyêt, and she was also wearing the clothes she picked up then.

"Oh! You two need winter wardrobes!" he exclaimed. "I'll ask Lisa and Lori if they can take you shopping tomorrow."

"Thank you, Ben," Zama said sweetly. Moon smiled at Ben and dipped her face in thanks.

Ben pulled his cell from his pocket and banged off a text.

He glanced between Zama and Moon. "How are you two coping with the snow and cold?"

"It is a new experience for me," Zama said happily.

"For me as well," Moon added quietly.

Ben's cell vibrated, and he looked at the screen. "Ah, the twins are available to take you two out tomorrow when the daycare closes. I'll ask them to pick you up at your places. They have a credit card to cover the expenses. Please let them work their magic."

Both women smiled and nodded.

"Dinner is ready. Please find a spot at the table in the dining room," Tina said as Lucy moved to join her in the kitchen.

Ben helped wrangle the kids and get them all seated at the table. The two youngest ones were already in their cribs, sleeping peacefully after their own meals.

Dinner was delicious, and the conversation was lively. Zama was a delightfully enthusiastic speaker, describing how she was already learning to fit into a regular household. She discussed the mundane tasks she was learning with joyful energy. Trish and Lily were good teachers.

They were finishing their meal when they heard the front door open and close. Ben turned his face to the doorway as Evelyn appeared in it.

"What's happened?" Ben asked as he saw her serious expression.

"We're being summoned to Washington," Evelyn said.

Ben's eyebrows rose. "When?"

"We'll need to leave tonight as they want to speak to you, Liliya, and me first thing in the morning. The General is sending a car to pick us up. Pack for a few days," she suggested.

Ben frowned. He wanted to spend time with his family and friends, not sit in a conference room listening to a bunch of politicians whine and complain. He huffed, then saw the worried look on Evelyn's face. He released his angry expression and gestured his acceptance with a palm to ease her mind. "I'll go get packed." He turned his face to Tina. "Could I ask you to select some clothes for me? Intimidation is the look I'm going for with this audience."

Zama giggled with a grin, and Moon nodded as Tina popped to her feet with a thrilled smile and rushed away.

Christopher and Rose took this as permission to leave the table and rushed off to play.

"Rose can stay with us," Lucy said to Liliya, who smiled in thanks.

"I'll bring some outfits for her back with me," she said as she climbed to her feet. "Thank you for a delicious meal. Please let Tina know as well." Lucy nodded to her.

Dinner was officially over. The other guests added their thanks and rose to their feet. Ben walked them to the door to help them with their coats.

"I'll be back shortly," Liliya said to Ben before she slipped out the door. He glanced over at Moon, who was enjoying a hug from Lucy.

Ben noted they both seemed to be enjoying the embrace quite a bit as Lucy's face was becoming quite flushed.

Tina returned to say her goodnights to the guests and slipped into Moon's arms the moment Lucy stepped back.

Ben dragged his gaze from the two women, blissfully enjoying the hug just in time to see Zama step closer with a hopeful smile. He pulled her against his body and heard her sigh happily.

Evelyn watched the road and cleared her throat to get Ben's attention. He glanced at her.

"Sorry, our ride just turned into the court," she said softly.

Ben gave Zama a quick kiss, and she burst into a smile before she stepped out the door. Ben looked at Moon but saw Lucy was holding her hand.

"Nguyêt's going to stay a little longer," Tina said, pronouncing the woman's name perfectly, as she pulled Ben toward the bedroom. "Let me show you the suits I selected."

He approved her selections and saw how he could alternate the shirts with the jackets. This all went into a suit bag. She'd packed his other items into a small duffle.

He gave her a deep, lingering kiss then she patted his chest to make him pull back. "You will be late!" she whispered as she watched his mouth.

Ben grabbed his bags and laptop case and walked back to the front door, where Evelyn and Liliya stood next to their traveling cases. Lucy gave him a quick kiss and hug, then moved back.

Moon stepped closer, and Ben wrapped his arms around her after setting his bags down.

"Be safe," she said quietly to him.

"Enjoy," he responded, equally quiet but felt a tremble of excitement run through her body. She stepped back to Lucy's side and kept her flushed face partially hidden behind a curtain of hair.

Ben smiled at the three women and followed Evelyn and Liliya out the door. Tina locked up behind them.

The trio walked to the large SUV parked at the end of Ben's driveway and climbed inside. They had an escort of two Humvees. The General was taking no chances.

Following this policy, the car took them to Fort Kortridge Air Base, where they boarded a transport plane. Not the most comfortable transport but a controlled environment.

This was a far cry from a Sky Shepherd jet.

Ben settled in as best he could and shared a look with the two ladies he was traveling with before he pulled out his laptop to do a little reading.

Since Moon got him a copy of Robin's book, he'd had an uncomfortable urge to discover what was in it. Knowing the discord and hurt feelings she'd caused as she gathered his story, he'd been torn between dread and embarrassment, but he couldn't put it off any longer.

He opened the document and started an empty page in his notepad app to jot down the names of the people he might need to contact to apologize.

Page one.