Page 69 of Cognac Secrets

He towed me into him and kissed my temple and said, “I got you.”

I felt tension ease from my body and I did what he told me. I stayed within eyesight of him, but I did go back to True.

She immediately took my hands in hers and gave me a pleading look.

“It’s okay,” I soothed. “It’s all good, I promise.” She nodded, her eyes brimming, and I hated this so much for her. She was usually so confident and brave and outgoing and vibrant and to see her so thoroughlyshakento her core just sort of made my heart break for her.

“I just want to go home,” she whispered and closed her eyes.

“We’ll make that happen,” I jumped and turned around to see LaCroix at my back. Alina, Cor, and Jessie-Lou were in a knot next to Hex who was talking to Bennie and Axeman. The men stopped talking and looked our way, Bennie gave me a nod.

“Don’t worry about your car, neither. Might take us a minute, but we’ll get her fixed up, better than new. We got the know how and the means to do it,” he said to True. “Don’t even think about calling your insurance company, they’ll just total it out and fuck you, but us? We can fix it.”

“Thank you,” True said dully.

“I’ll find you something to use in the next couple days,” he said and his dark, alien eyes, flicked from her to me.

He nodded slowly, gravely, and said, “We got your back. One hundred percent,” and I wondered if or how or justwhathad he heard.

“Get right with Bennie, Hex’ll take you wherever you want to go.” I looked back and Hex was gone. “He’ll be back with his truck,” LaCroix said in his deep bass voice.

“Thank you,” I said and he nodded, before turning and walking away – well,lumberingis a better description.

“What just happened?” True asked me.

“We’re being taken care of,” I said, my eyes locked with Bennie’s under the harsh lights coming on to bathe the scene of the crime in the bright light of day.

Investigators were starting to swarm and the medic said, “You guys are free to go, Miss True here had calmed down sufficiently I don’t think she needs to go to the hospital, just home for some much needed rest.”

“Thank you,” True and I echoed one another.

“Jinx, you owe her a Coke,” the medic teased her, and she smiled. It was thin and brittle, but it was a smile, and it was the old True peeking out. Relief flooded me and I felt my taut muscles turn to wet noodles.

“Come on,” I held her hands and helped her down out of the back of the ambulance. She was a little unsteady but not too bad and we made our way across the parking lot to Bennie who took up on the other side of True and led her out the open front gate.

“Come on, Hex and I are taking you girls home. Your place or True’s?” he asked. I looked to True for the answer.

“Yours,” she said to me, and I nodded. I would find out why when we got there.

We helped her into the back seat of Hex’s truck and Bennie took me by the hand and led me around to the other side saying, “Give me the fast version.”

I swallowed hard, “If anything happens to me, like if I disappear or something, it was my family. They took me home. Everything is in my journal on my bedside table. Brown cover, tied closed with a leather thong, address, town all of it. Don’t tell True I’m this scared about it.”

“Sandy, this is nuts,” he said stopping me. I glanced over the truck’s bed inside the club’s compound’s gate at the cops and investigators. He opened the back door for me.

“I don’t trust the cops,” I said and he looked me over and nodded slowly. I went to get into the truck beside True and Hex turned to look over his shoulder from the driver’s seat and said, “You really are one of us.”

I smiled at that, and settled in, Bennie shutting me into the cab and getting in the front passenger seat.

“I’m walking you to the door,” he said when we arrived at my place. “I’m not going in,” he said when I opened my mouth to say no, that’s okay. “But I’m walking you to the door and making sure you’re safe inside.”

I shut my mouth and let him have his way this time. Truthfully, I wanted nothing more than to let Bennie inside, to have him come upstairs with me. To have him shower with me and hold me the whole night through – but I also knew that Bennie and I were steady and strong. Steadier and stronger than True, for sure, in this moment and that True needed to borrow some of my strength.

“Kiss me goodnight,” Bennie ordered me at the door, once True had gone through, “and lock this door behind you.”

I kissed him, gripping both his lapels in my hands and pulling his mouth against mine as his hands went to my hips and he pulled me in.

“I love you,” I whispered against his mouth, sniffing hard, the tears finally starting to threaten.

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