Mind Play (Bennett Sisters Book 3) (43 page)

****

Claire knew her time was limit
ed
. S
he needed to postpone the i
nevitable or at least get to where she could reach the gun Abby had strapped on her. Claire walked slower and turned
,
asking over her shoulder, “Why are you doing this
,
A
ndrew
?”

“Shut up.” He jabbed her in the back again. “Keep moving.”

Claire pretended to stumble. She wasn’t leaving anywhere with this asshole. Not today.
All she needed was to be able to pull
out
her own gun and disarm him
,
and for that
,
she needed her shoes off. She rubbed her ankle and faked the pain. She’d never practiced her karate in a
cocktail
dress, much less in high heels. She grabbed the back of the straps and pulled her shoes off, leaving them on the ground. Leave it to her to
trail
designer shoes as her breadcrumbs.

A
ndrew
leaned down and yanked her up by her arm. “I think it’s broke
n,
”
Claire whined.

“Tough, keep walking.”

Claire kept up the pretense and winced at the slightest pressure. She limped down the path. “You’re not going to get away with this. They’re going to notice I’m missing.”

“Not until it’s too late.”

Claire stopped and turned on him. She’d get her answers one way or another
.  H
e was going to tell her or she was going to read his mind. She threw her hands on her hips. “Don’t you think I deserve to know why?”

He lifted the black revolver, cocked the hammer
,
and pointed it at her. “Your dad ruined my life.”

Claire threw her hands up. “Join the club
. H
e ruined ours too.”

She heard his voice in her head.
Not like he did to my mother.

Who the hell is his mother?

Precious seconds ticked by. “What did he do? How can you blame me and my sisters for whatever he did
?
We were still in elementary school
when he died for
C
hrist’s sake
.”

Claire took a few deep breaths. A
ndrew
had lowered the gun but left it cocked
. “If it weren’t for him, my father wouldn’t have been shot.”

Claire held out a hand to him until he raised the gun again
,
pointing it back at her. She let
her arm
fall to her side. It made per
fect sense. He had to be Glenda’s
son. “I met your mother a few days back
. S
he doesn’t hate us like you do. She told us the rest of the story…” Claire was stalling
,
but she wanted to see how much he knew. “She told us about the man that killed your father and mine. The one with the dark hair leaving the scene laughing
after he killed them both
. Did she tell you about him? Do you know who he is?”

A
ll the Bennett
’
s
w
ill
die first
.
Joel Winters
is
next on
my
list.
I’ve
spent too much
time working
my
way into Winter
s
’ seedy
life laundering his damn money not to kill that son of a bitch too.
I’ll
kill
him, take his fucking cash,
and have the last laugh
.

“
I know about Winters. I even know where he’s at, which is more than I can say about the fucking feds.”
The entire Bennett clan didn’t have a clue who they’d let into their little club without realizing it. It may not be Winters, but it was someone so important to the man that he’d come back to claim what was his and when he does, I’ll be waiting to take the fucker out..

She told me everything. She’s never lied to me, like your dad lied to her. He said my father wouldn’t get hurt. That he’d help him and my mom to set up a new life. We were starting over, and he took that away from me.”

Claire saw Abby out of the corner of her eye. If she didn’t act fast, he might kill them both.

“Please, y
ou don’t have to kill me. My family has money, lots of it. They’d pay to get me back.” Claire let a tear slide down her cheek.
She needed to stop him. She needed a distraction she didn’t have. Claire took a step toward him and placed a hand on his chest. “
Andrew
, I’ll do anything, just leave my family alone.
”
She ran her palm up his chest and let it rest on his cheek
. S
he whispered, “Anything” before she kissed him.

At one point, t
his man had been interested in her
. H
e’d hit on her and left the note about her and Butch’s bedroom activities. She pressed her body against his and felt the hard ridge in his pants.
Oh yeah, he’s turned on. This will work better than I thought.

He lifted
the
hand not holding the gun and ran his hand through her hair, the grip almost hurting. He deepened the kiss
,
rubbing his cock up against her. Claire slid her free hand down and lifted
the
slit
of her dress
while she slid the other one down and placed it on his cock, rubbing him. She couldn’t believe he was stupid enough to fall for this. She’d seen men
fall for worse
,
and it seemed he was cut from the same cloth. A
ndrew
pulled his hand out of her hair and down to her cleavage
,
sliding it under her dress. It took everything she had to act like she was enjoying it and not repulsed
by
the man
’s hands on her.
She had just slid the tiny gun out of the holster and had it behind her back when he pulled away.

“Dumb bitch. I knew you were a slut. Did you think I’d fall for this? Oh
,
I’m going to fuck you a
l
l
right. I’m going to tie you up and fuck you until you
’
r
e
screaming my name,
and
then I’m going to fuck you some more before I shoot you in the fucking head. You fucking slut.”

Andrew
backhanded her
,
knocking Claire to the ground. She’d seen it coming and prepared for the fall, holding on to the gun for dear life.

“Drop it
!
” Abby yelled. Claire looked up to find Abby’s gun trained on A
n
d
rew
. She’d wanted Abby to stay out of harm
’
s way, but it didn’t look like she was going to be getting her wish.

A
n
drew raised the gun and pointed it at Claire. “You drop it
,
or she dies.”

Abby inched
f
a
rther
away from Claire
,
drawing
Andrew’
s attention off of Claire. Claire focused on Abby’s mind instead of Andrew
’
s
.

I really hope you’re reading me now Claire. Kill this son of a bitch while I’ve got him busy. Kill this asshole before he goes after Emma, Lily
,
and John. He’s not going to stop until we’re all fucking dead. Shoot him. Shoot
this fucker
now.
Abby repeated it over and over in her mind.
Shoot him
.

Claire lifted the gun she’d landed on
,
pointed it at Andrew,
and pulled the trigger the same time Abby
did
. He staggered and turned back toward Claire
,
pull
ing
the trigger before collapsing on the ground.
The shots ran
g out through the night
air
and pierced her flesh
.
The burning sensation spread
from her shoulder
through
her
chest making it throb.
The impact from the bullet
knock
ed
her on her back.
She lifted her hand to press on the wound and pulled it back. Her hand was covered in the sticky crimson liquid.

Claire heard Abby and Butch scream at the same time. “No
!
”

She heard more gunfire, but she couldn’t move. Red
-
hot pain radiated through her
chest and ran down her arm
. She turned her head
,
making sure Andrew was dead as she clenched her hand
again
to her
shoulder
. His lifeless body lay
only yards away.
  Claire closed her eyes and let the darkness pull her under. 

Chapter 22

Claire heard the voices before opening her eyes. She’d known the bed under her
body
was hers.
No beeping monitors rang in her ears. She wasn’t in the hospital
;
she’d known that much. Claire slid her eyes open. The pain
in her shoulder had vanished
. Either she’d dreamed it all or someone had given her some quick
-
working drugs. She didn’t know how long she
’d been
out
, but she figured
whom
she’d see in her room. Butch was
holding her hand, kneeling
at
the side of her bed. Abby, Sam, Jake, Mike
,
and Dr. Lister were all staring down at her. Sam had his arms around Abby’s midsection. Abby had tearstains on her face.

Dr. Lister smiled down at her. “How do you feel?”

Claire registered all of the faces in her room. They all looked like they needed to hear her say she was fine. “Who needs a hospital when all of the doctors worth a da
mn are already at my house?
”

Abby laughed
,
and Mike plopped down in a chair located in the corner of her room and released a sigh. Butch let his head drop down on the mattress and shook it back and forth. She’d comforted all of them like she’d plan. She could almost feel the tension leave the room. Now
,
if she could just check out her wound without wincing, she’d be doing much better. She needed to see how bad it was going to be so she could figure out how she was going to function.

Claire turned her head toward Dr. Lister. “How bad is it?”

She leaned down to inspect the bandage
-
covered wound. “It went clean through. Dr. James and I both had our bags in the car. We gave you something for t
he pain and to knock you out while
I stitched you up. The only thing we didn’t have was a sling
. Y
ou’
re going to need
one, so
I sent one of the paramedics after one.

Damn stitches and a sling
.
“Is he dead?”

Butch squeezed her hand. “He won’t be threatening anyone anymore, Angel.”

Claire lifted her good arm. Her fingers found
her mother’s
string of pearls around her neck. She twisted them
,
closing her eyes.
The
y
might have thought this was over
,
but it wasn’t. She didn’t have the strength after such a close call to ruin their relief. Not yet. She’d give them the night before springing the news that it wasn’t over. She now knew who
’d
killed her father all those years ago.
Her stomach sank at the thought of telling them it wasn’t over. The immediate threat was gone, but knowing that Winters was involved was going to throw everyone in a tizzy. Letting the past go wasn’t going to be an option, not for her or her siblings. This was a whole new war they’d deal with and keeping all of them from flying off the handle was going to take energy she didn’t have.

She felt Butch press his lips to her palm. Her eyes flew open
,
and she turned to Butch. “Can you go check on the guest
s
and make sure the money gets put away in a safe place
?
I just want to go to sleep and pretend none of this happened.
”

Butch pushed himself up from the bed and ushered everyone out of her room. “
You heard the lady. Everyone out.”

Abby stomped her foot and poked her finger in Butch’s chest. “You don’t order me around.”

Abby kicked her shoes off and climbed in
to
bed with
Claire
. She held her phone out to Sam
.
“Call Emma and tell her she
woke up and everything’s okay.
” She laid her head down on the extra pillow. “And hit the light on your way out.”

Butch crossed his arms over his chest as Abby raised her brow, tempting him to question her. He was smart and kept his mouth shut, doing as Abby ordered. Claire didn’t think there were many people that Butch would take orders from,
maybe just
herself
, Emma,
and his best
friend. He didn’t stand a chance against any of the Bennett women.

****

Whatever drugs the good doctor had give
n her had kept her from hurting most of the night. It was a good thing Abby had outgrown kicking her in her sleep like she’d done when they were kids. Abby had showered, changed
,
and was sipping her coffee as she looked out the window
when
Claire stirred in the bed, pushing herself up with her good arm. She looked down to see that she was still in her dress. They’d cut the strap to work on her shoulder. Claire held up the unattached strap. “Damn, they ruined my dress.”

Abby turned to her and smiled. “I’ll buy you a ton more to replace it.”

Abby walked to the dresser and picked up another cup of coffee, walking around
he
r bed to hand it to
Claire
.
She
took a sip and let the warm liquid slid
e
down her throat. She was going to need a few more cups and a shower before she started to feel like herself.

“I’ve got to ask
…” Abby said.
“I
n the courtyard…
D
id you read my mind?”

Claire looked down at the coffee cup she held in her hands. “Yes
.
”

Claire glanced up
at her baby sister
through her lashe
s
. She hadn’t expected to see the grin on
Abby’s
face.

“Thank god. I was practically screaming it in my head.”

The door pushed open to reveal
Butch. Abby winked at her and stopped in front of Butch on her way out.
“You heard Elizabeth last night
. D
on’t you dare get her worked up and make her tear her stitches.”

Abby didn’t wait for a reply
. S
he walked out of the room and pulled the door closed behind her. Butch turned toward the door. “Your sister sure is bossy.”

Claire grinned as she slid her legs over the side of the bed. “She learned it from the best. Are you here to help me wash my hair?”

Butch smiled
,
showing his dimple
.
“How’d you know?”

Claire walked by and patted his chest. “I knew you’d use whatever opportunity you could to see me naked.”

Butch walked past her, put the plug in the
bottom of her garden tub
,
and turned the knob. He leaned down and kissed her. His hands were gentle on her waist
,
making sure not to jar her shoulder
, as she leaned into him
. His lips melded with hers,
and
their tongues tangled in a sensual dance. Claire wanted more and was surprised when Butch pulled back.

Claire c
ould feel the frown on her face when
she turned her back to him. “Can you unzip me?”

She felt Butch’s fingers caress her back as he unzipped the fabric. She let it fall to her feet.

“What about my bra and panties
? C
an you help with those too?”

Butch undid her bra without feeling around to cup her breast. She felt his fingers slid
e
under the elastic
,
and
then he bent
at the knees
,
pulling her panties down. He still hadn’t touched her.

She turned
,
standing naked in front of the man she loved
,
and he held out his hand to her good hand. She took it and let him help her in the tub. He leaned over and turned off the faucet. He grabbed a washcloth from the counter, soaped it up
,
and rubbed i
t
all over her skin, making sure to keep the bandage clean. He hadn’t made a move on her
, but he was driving
her crazy with his hands.

The rest of the bath went the same way. He hadn’t made the first move, only leaned in and kissed her several times.

Butch helped her out of the tub and wrapped a towel around her
,
using another to dry her off. She thought she’d explode from the torture his hands were
inflicting
. He
finally
stood
still
in front of her
. His finger went under her chin
,
and he lifted his gaze to hers. “What’s the matter
? D
id I hurt you
,
angel
?”

Claire could feel the heat travel up to her cheeks. “
I’m not made of glass
,
Butch Edwards.
”

Butch let his head fall back on his shoulders
,
sigh
ing
before bringing his gaze back to hers. He lifted her up by her waist
to
s
i
t her on the counter before he locked his gaze with hers. “You’re killing me,
angel
. It took everything I had not to slide my fingers through your wet folds like I wanted to.” Butch leaned in and kissed her
,
without removing his lips f
rom
hers he whispered,
“
Don’t move your arm angel
.”