Ben nodded as he smelled himself too. “The guys who grabbed me at the Museum took me to an abandoned hotel and chained me naked to a bed soaked with the stuff. I think they planned to set me on fire if they didn’t get what they wanted.”
The looks of horror on the two women’s faces told Ben he should have kept that fact to himself. “Sorry! It didn’t happen! Tatiana Pushkin and Evelyn saved me from that fate. They and Liliya Sokolov took care of the goons and got me out of the burning building.”
“Burning building?!?” Hannah gasped.
Ben looked to her guiltily. “The room I was in caught on fire- but the Sergeant got me out and down to the lobby. Sorry, I’m making a mess of this explanation because I’m exhausted and sore from the beating.” They squeaked again, and Ben closed his eyes in defeat. “I just need to shower and sleep, and I’ll be better in the morning.”
Ben next found himself between the two women in the shower as they gently washed his bruised body to remove the gas. While Gabriella had shared a shower with Catherine and him, he was stunned by Hannah’s boldness. He hissed quietly as her hand moved over his sore ribs.
“Sorry!” she whispered, and he shook his head.
They finished up, dried off, and made their way into the bedroom, none wearing any clothes. He looked to the two women who were making no moves to leave. “Join me tonight?” he asked gently and received timid smiles.
They climbed under the sheets of the big king bed with Ben in the middle. He stifled his groans as their settling in next to him pressed on his bruises. He relaxed with a quiet sigh of relief once they were done. He never in a million years thought he’d find himself between these two women in bed, but he was in no state to enjoy it.
Pushing naughty thoughts aside, he let sleep take him quickly.
Hannah was gone when Ben woke the following morning and Gabriella was leaning up on one elbow to gaze down at his face. Her expression caught him by surprise as she looked sad.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I’m so sorry about what Stephanie did to you. I had no idea what she was planning when we visited them in France.”
“I never thought you did,” he replied quietly. He squirmed as he recalled the anger he felt and how it almost boiled over into violence against the blind artist. Shame washed over him.
“What was that?” Gabriella asked, watching his expression carefully.
His eyes turned away. “I’m so sorry! I was just so angry! What I almost did to her… sickens me. I’m not who I thought I was.”
Gabriella moved to rest on his chest so she could look into his eyes. “Ben, you didn’t do anything-”
“Because you stopped me! If you hadn’t called out…” Ben’s mind flashed the terrible images of what he might have done, and he was off the bed and running for the bathroom. He barely managed to reach the toilet before his stomach heaved. He clung to the bowl as his body curled and squeezed everything from his stomach.
A cool, damp facecloth refreshed his face, and he wearily glanced up to see Gabriella’s loving green eyes. “This is why I know you’re a good man. Even the idea of hurting a woman makes you ill. Yes, Stephanie did something unthinkably selfish and cruel to you. It’s natural for you to be angry, even to the levels you reached last night, but I don’t believe for a second that you would have acted on the violence in your mind.”
Ben looked at her sadly. “I wish I had your confidence.”
“I hate what she’s done, and I hate what it did to you, but I can’t find it in me to hate the art itself. It’s beautiful, powerful, and I’ve never seen a more provocative sculpture. I can’t deny her skill as an artist.”
Ben nodded slowly then looked into her eyes. “Do you understand that I’ll never speak to her again? The magnitude of her betrayal derails my thoughts and takes my mind to the darkest places. I can’t let it go there. What she and Richard did must have repercussions. I won’t visit Saint Pierre d’Albigny again.”
Gabriella wiped tears from her eyes and nodded. “Yes, I understand. They asked last night if they could apologize to you this morning-” Ben shook his head sharply. “I’ll let them know that won’t be possible. Again, I’m sorry.”
He held up his hand to stop her. “This isn’t your fault, and I’m not accepting any apologies from you for her. Just let that go.”
Ben stood, brushed his teeth, and used mouthwash before he felt human again. He looked to Gabriella. “Hannah surprised me last night.”
Gabriella gave him a small smile. “You’d given us both a terrible fright. We were both a little needy. It was enough to override our natural self-consciousness. Neither of us is sexually attracted to women.” She paused. “Aside from Catherine for me of course, but that’s more love than sexual desire.” She smiled thinking of the blond. “That said, this morning Hannah was gone when I woke up. She left a note for us to call her when we were ready for breakfast.”
“Let’s not make her wait then,” Ben said.
Gabriella gave Ben a hopeful smile as she gently tugged his hand to lead him to the big shower. “She can wait a little longer.”
-=-
Hannah touched up her lipstick as she gave Ben an annoyed look. Truthfully, her body was tingling with warmth ever since the big man swept her into his arms and took his kiss after they met in the restaurant. She saw Gabriella was all grins and more than a few customers were openly gawking at them. She could almost hear their whispering.
“You naughty man!” she scolded him gently, and he just looked at her with admiration, sending more warm tingles through her. Her cheeks pinked up, and she concentrated on anything other than the hunky man watching her.
The waitress arrived, and she ordered coffee, Gabriella ordered tea and Ben, fresh squeezed orange juice.
Evelyn was strategically positioned to watch over them and had already eaten so she wouldn’t be joining them. After the events of the night before she felt the additional precaution was warranted. Ben wasn’t going to argue with her as this was her area of expertise.
Hannah had a newspaper with her as she typically used this time to catch up. She saw Ben’s eyes lock onto the cover as his expression froze.
“May I?” he asked, his voice tight. She nodded.
He unfolded the paper, and the front-page story was reporting on the death of five crime family leaders. There were pictures of the five and most must have been in their fifties or sixties.
“It was an eventful night last night!” Hannah ventured as Ben read the story, but he didn’t immediately respond. She looked over to Gabriella who shared a concerned look.
Shortly he finished reading and looked towards the windows with a worried expression.
“What is it, Ben?” Hannah asked gently.
This seemed to bring him back to the now, and he looked to her then Gabriella. He looked around to confirm no one else was close enough to overhear. Then he leaned closer to the two women. They leaned closer as well. “The, uh, guys who kidnapped me last night? They were goons of one of the five crime families mentioned in this story. The Sergeant took out the leader. He’d threatened to come after people I love. The other four arrived outside just before the army arrived and surrounded them. This was the backup the Sergeant called for. There was a firefight, and most of the criminals were killed. Hell, they were decimated. I saw ambulances taking a woman and a man from two different SUV’s. The story says two of the leaders survived the gunfight but died later in the hospital, one from a heart attack and the other from a massive stroke.”
“Why would the mob kidnap you?” Hannah gasped.
Ben frowned. “More fallout from Rainor Hahn. He was doing business with them. They learned I inherited Rainor’s estate. He owed them some real estate he bought with their money. After last night, I’m not sure if there’s anyone left who knows about the deal.”
“Is that why the story in the paper made you worried?” Gabriella asked.
He nodded. Until he’d spoken to Tatiana, he didn’t feel like he could explain that he’d made a deal with a US General to be responsible for her activities… or she would be going to jail… if they could catch her. “It’s probably nothing. I do want you two to know that I’ll be calling a neighborhood meeting when we get back. There might be some changes coming that I need everyone’s agreement on as it would impact everyone on Ashburn Court.”
“Can’t you tell us now?” Hannah asked.
Ben shook his head sadly. “Some of the details aren’t worked out yet, and I’d feel more comfortable explaining the complete deal to everyone at once.”
“Is it bad news or good news?” Hannah pushed and got a frown from Gabriella who was willing to wait.
Ben smiled gently. “Good and bad are subjective. I believe it could be good. Others may not think so.”
Hannah pouted.
“Let’s just enjoy breakfast. We have a flight to catch this morning.” He looked to Gabriella. “You’re coming with us, yes?”
“Yes!” she said with a smile. “It’ll be good to be home!”
Ben hoped she felt the same way after he described the potential changes to the neighborhood.
-=-
It took three days to arrange to have everyone meet in the court’s park in a large tent Ben rented. He also rented bouncy castles and slides for the kids. Sergeant Killcade and four volunteers from the local army base were keeping an eye on the kids.