670

Tatiana bounced her eyebrows at Liliya who just looked away. She was feeling a little overwhelmed by all of these changes.
Ben picked up Rose in his arms before they climbed the stairs and set her down at the top. He showed them the bedrooms facing the street, then took them to a bedroom facing the nature reserve.
“Oh! This is so lovely!” Liliya sighed, looking to the French doors which opened on the big deck.
“This could be your room, and Tatiana could have the other room with a balcony. They are completely private. Rose could have the room next to yours that faces the street,” Ben offered.
“This is Mommy and Daddy’s room,” Rose stated.
Ben knelt to smile at the young girl. “My bedroom is in my house at the other end of the street. You get to live with your Mommy now. Isn’t that wonderful?”
“Yes… but I want to live with Daddy too! You can sleep here with Mommy!” Rose pleaded.
Tatiana snorted and quickly slapped a hand over her mouth as she moved away to stand by the patio doors.
Ben glanced up at Liliya with a small smile on his lips. He saw her concerned look. She wasn’t sure what to do. He nodded to her then looked to the girl once more.
“Daddy and Mommy aren’t that kind of Daddy and Mommy. We both love you, and we’re all going to be the best of friends. As we don’t have furniture in this house yet, you still have to sleep at my place until we get all that stuff for this house. I’ll find a place for Mommy and Tatiana to sleep tonight.” Ben recalled their luggage was across the street. “There is an extra furnished bedroom in the house I renovated for my daughters. One of you can stay there. It has a king-sized bed-”
“We can both sleep there. A king has plenty of space.” Tatiana insisted.
Liliya gave her a sharp look then nodded slowly. “It would be the simplest solution.”
Ben looked to the two women then nodded. “Ok. You can also see how we decorated the home which has a layout closest to your home.”
“Ben, I need to ask you a question, and in the spirit of brutal honesty I’d like the truth,” Tatiana began, and Liliya gave her an angry look to silence her, but the woman ignored her friend. “How are you able to afford all of this? Are you spending the diamonds you promised Liliya?” Tatiana’s sharp tone when asking the question surprised Ben.
He saw Liliya glance at him, so he knew the blond had divulged the agreement they made back in Germany and wanted the answer to the question as well. He sighed. “One of the conditions the General insisted upon when we negotiated your freedom was that I wouldn’t give either of you a large sum of money enabling you to disappear. He knew about the diamonds, and while I didn’t tell him about our deal, he made me swear I wouldn’t give you the diamonds. I’m terribly sorry, but I have to break that original promise to keep you out of jail or worse.”
Liliya was quiet as she thought that through but Tatiana was proving to be more emotionally volatile.
“This is not acceptable! You gave her your word!” she snapped.
He nodded. “As much as it pains me to do it, the alternative is not something I can accept. You got your lives back from the Colonel. You deserve a chance at a real life!” The tall brunette was fuming. He tried a different direction.
“What I am allowed to do is pay you a salary for your work for me. Is the CIA paying you?” he asked.
“Only when we do missions and not very much!” Tatiana muttered in frustration.
“As you will be part of my security team and will potentially be putting your lives in dangerous situations, I’m authorized to pay you a salary. I can do $250K a year plus full health and dental. This also includes a scholarship for Rose. I also cover incidentals like travel expenses. I’ll pick up the costs of furnishing the home as well. Oh! And I suppose you may need a car. Is this acceptable?”
“Do we both get cars? Can I choose a sporty car?” Tatiana pushed.
That came out a little more aggressive than Ben expected, so he gave her an evaluating look. “Yes, you can have a sporty car as long as it falls within a specific price range. It can’t be one of the premium luxury class cars. Listen, it can’t look like I’m giving you something valuable you can sell for top dollar to use to disappear. They won’t believe I’m honoring the deal.” He saw Tatiana was still looking stubborn. “Tell me now to save us all a lot of pain and heartache, do you intend on running?”
“Heartache? Whose heart will break if I leave?” she scoffed in contempt.
Ben rubbed the back of his neck as this woman was pushing his buttons. “Ok, maybe I used the wrong word. What I mean is, if you’ve already decided this plan to keep you out of jail and off the US most wanted list won’t work for you, please let me know. I have no more magic up my sleeve to protect you as I believe you deserve. Maybe that belief was unwarranted?” he said tilting his head as he looked into her eyes, hoping to see some acceptance there but she was closing herself off.
Liliya was watching her friend and was beginning to look concerned. “Ben-”
“Leave us!” Tatiana snapped as she glared into Ben’s eyes.
Ben nodded to Liliya to indicate she should leave them alone.
With a nervous glance back, Liliya carried Rose out in the hall and closed the door.
Tatiana immediately lunged at Ben, but he didn’t move. She stopped before they touched, but her face was right in front of his. Gone was her smile and coy body language. This was a deadly woman, full of rage.
“Where do you get off making deals for our freedom? For my freedom? What kind of man automatically believes I need his help? You must think of yourself as a hero, saving the damsel in distress. But you’re not, are you? You’re the kind of man who promises to deliver a fortune in diamonds then breaks that promise to offer shit instead.”
She sneered at him, her muscles trembling with suppressed adrenalin. She wanted to attack. She needed to and would soon.
“You can take care of yourself?” he said quietly.
“That bastard of a Colonel, as much as I hated him, taught me how to fight, to kill, to evade, to slip in and out of the most secure locations without a ripple. I am the most deadly assassin ever produced. No one is safe from me. No one tells me what to do. No one can touch-OOOOooocccccchhhhhhuu!”
The deadly knives Tatiana silently slipped into her hands to teach Ben his lesson fell from her senseless fingers as Ben’s fist drove deep into her gut, forcing the air from her lungs and lifting her from her feet. His follow through punch to the back of her head slammed her to the floor face first.
The door burst open, and Liliya was in the doorway, wide-eyed with fear but she had her knives in hand too, ready to dance. She stared at Ben in shock as he looked into her eyes with a sad, almost sick expression. She put her knives away as she looked at Tatiana in disbelief.
“You told her about the diamonds, and she only came back to get them?” Ben asked.
Liliya shook her head slightly. “I- I did tell her about the diamonds. I didn’t know she was after them.”
“Do you believe I’m cheating you out of the diamonds?” he asked carefully.
“No! I understand the rules your government defined and the reason for them. I believe the General is dealing in good faith. I believe in his good character…” she looked back down at Tatiana, unconscious at Ben’s feet, then back to Ben. “I believe in yours… but how did you defeat her? She is the deadliest weapon!”
Ben frowned. “She drank her own Kool-Aid.” At Liliya’s confused look he nodded wearily and continued. “Self-confidence is wonderful and probably essential for an assassin, but she believed she was invulnerable. She couldn’t even conceive that someone could best her. No deal for her survival would ever seem reasonable if she continued to believe that. I gave her a glimpse of reality. There is always someone out there better, faster, and stronger. I take no joy from delivering this lesson. It sickens me! I hope she understands. If not, I can’t help her. They’ll hunt her down, and one day, kill her. I’d hoped she might see what I was able to arrange as a second chance. Do you believe as she did, that what I’m able to offer is worthless?”
Liliya shook her head. “No! I see this as the best option for both Rose and myself! I want this!”
Ben looked down at the woman who was beginning to stir… and moan quietly.
“She’s probably going to have a mild concussion. I’ll call for an ambulance to take her to the hospital to get her checked out. Can you go with her? Talk to her? Please let her know, I’m done with people stabbing me.” Liliya nodded. “If she understands, she can stay. If not, she can run. I won’t stop her, but I won’t help her make that bad decision.”
Liliya nodded again.
“I’ll wait for you at my place with Rose.” Ben took out his wallet as he walked to the door and handed a wad of cash to Liliya. “Taxi fare for the ride home and some contingency money.”
Her eyes widened at the money. “How are you able to afford this?” she said gesturing to the home around them.
“The deeds to the properties. They’re mine, and I’m in the process of selling parcels of it off. It’s worth billions. The diamonds are pocket change compared to that,” he explained.
Ben stepped into the hall and scooped Rose up into his arms.
“Where are we going?” the child asked.
“Back to the party. Mommy has to take Tatiana to Hannah’s hospital as she isn’t feeling well. They’ll come back once the doctor makes sure she’s ok.” Ben explained gently.
As he climbed down the stairs, he made the call for an ambulance.
Ben put Rose’s shoes back on her feet then slipped his own on before stepping outside.
They walked back to the park and Ben set Rose on her feet when they reached the grass so she could run ahead to play with Christopher who was waving at her. Ben slowed down then turned from the party and lost his lunch into the grass.
He’d just proven to himself that he was quite capable of great violence against a woman. He didn’t feel good about that. Granted, she was a professional assassin who was preparing to stab him. He was less inclined to be forgiving of himself as he recalled the close encounter at the MET with Stephanie.
He pulled a napkin from his pocket and wiped his mouth. When he turned back to the party, he saw Evelyn, Trish, and Rain running across the grass to check on him.