Page 215 of Saving Her

She stands taller, taking a few seconds before she says, “I don’t remember specifics. Not yet, anyway.”

“Lucky you.” Benji huffs out a laugh. “I remember vividly. How does that saying go? You can pick your wife, but you can’t choose your in-laws.”

“Yeah, it’s something like that.” I slide my hand from Penny’s waist and grab her hand instead. I need a sign to point me in the right direction when it comes to her emotions. I’ve got no fucking idea if I should be relaxing or preparing for war.

“Did you ever travel to Greece?” she asks.

“No.” He scoffs. “Fuckno. I was smart enough to keep my distance. Luther only used me to keep tabs on his daughters. Apart from that, he kept contact to a minimum.”

“But you two spoke a lot,” she counters. “I remember—”

“You remember what?” Benji’s tone thickens with warning. “Is this an interrogation? Because if it is, I’m too fucking tired to deal right now.” He grabs his suitcase handle, the veins at his temples pulsing.

“It’s not an interrogation.” I raise a hand in placation. “Let’s just chill and bench this conversation until tomorrow.”

“Fuck tomorrow and fuck this conversation.” He glares at me. “I don’t need to put up with this shit.”

“I didn’t mean to sound accusatory.” Penny backtracks, moving out of reach. “I just…”

There’s a pause of awkward-as-fuck silence while Benji holds my gaze, his eyes remaining narrowed for long seconds before he huffs out a breath.

“Forget it. Times are tough,” he mutters. “We’re all dealing with shit we don’t need. And by the look of the swelling on Luca’s face, he’s handling more than most.” His shoulders loosen slightly while he clings to the suitcase. “Did you get in a fight?”

“Decker took a cheap shot.”

He huffs a laugh. “What about my girls? How are they? It feels like forever since I’ve seen them.”

“Both are good. They went to bed a while ago.” I hike a thumb to the far hall. “They’re down that way somewhere. I don’t know which room.”

“Speaking of bed…” Penny gives a fake smile. “I’ll leave you two to talk in private.”

“You don’t need to go.” I grab her wrist before she can walk away and she gasps on impact. “Are you okay?”

She chuckles. Again, it’s fake. “I’m fine. You surprised me, that’s all.”

“You sure?” I lean in to whisper in her ear, “You’re not thinking of running, are you?”

“No. I learned my lesson last time.”

I keep watching her, looking for a tell as I release her wrist. “I’ll follow you soon.”

She inclines her head and places a kiss on my cheek. “Good night.”

“Night.” I keep quiet as she pads to the hall, all the while wishing I was alongside her. I want to know what she’s thinking. What she’s feeling. Specifically about my brother.

“So, tell me why you didn’t return my calls, Benj.” It’s time to drop the shit. Like he said, we’re both too tired for this. “You’ve been ghosting me for weeks.”

“I’ve been ghosting everyone for weeks. If you’re not aware, I’ve been stuck looking after crazy-ass women, twenty-four-seven. You’ve got no idea how fucked up they are. Lucid one minute. Psychotic the next. It was PMS on acid. I’m surprised only one of them took the easy way out.”

“Don’t joke about that,” I grate. “Don’teverjoke about Abi in front of me again.”

He laughs off my aggression. “Chill, Luc. I’m just saying they’re messed up. That’s all.”

“You also told me they were doing good.”

“Jesus Christ, that was a relative term. What’s gotten into you? And not that I should have to mention it, butyoujudgingmefor the way I handle those women is fucking rich when you’ve got your hands all over one of the damaged.”

One of the damaged?

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