Bennett Security Collection Books 4-6 (Bennett Security Box Sets #2)

Prologue

Faith Townsend woke to the sound of men’s voices.

One was Jon’s. Whiny and pleading. “I told you, I don’t have it here.”

The other voice was hoarse. Angry. “’Cause you snorted it all up already? That what you’re telling me?”

“No. I’m clean now. I stored it somewhere else. It’s safe.”

“Bullshit. You think I’m trusting you? Where’d you stash it, man?”

Her bedroom was dark. Light bled around the door, coming from the living room. She pushed the covers away, and cold air met her bare legs. Jon always liked to keep the house so cold at night.

But she hadn’t even known he was home. He’d been gone a lot lately, rarely bothering to make an excuse.

She went to work, visited their families, smiled during church on Sundays. But in her heart, she prayed for a way out of the mess her marriage had become.

She’d told her mother and her pastor the truth, and they’d scolded her to be patient. Be strong. Somehow, their idea of “strength” meant staying silent. And she’d had enough.

But the solution to her problems was far less clear.

She crept to the crack in the door and looked through. Anger rushed through her at what she saw.

Her husband stood in the entryway. The front door was open behind him. The other man was pawing around their couch, searching beneath the cushions. He was skinny, even skinnier than Jon. He wore a hoodie and dirt-stained cargo pants.

“Kyle, please. You have to trust me. I’ll get the stuff to you, but not all at once.”

“I’m the one with the buyers. I call the shots.”

“But we’re partners on this, right? We have to work together. You know what those guys will do to us if they find out.”

What is going on? she thought. What’s Jon done now?

“You mean, what they’ll do to you. They’re your friends, not mine.”

“You’re involved too, though. It’s both of us now.”

Kyle whirled on him, his eyes sharp as flint. “You threatening me?” He pushed Jon up against the wall, a sunburned hand tightening on Jon’s throat.

Faith gasped.

Kyle went still. He turned, and his cold gaze locked onto her.

Faith backed away from the doorway. But she already knew it was too late. Kyle came bursting into the bedroom.

Jon was running after him. “Leave her alone,” he whined.

Kyle grabbed her by the arms. “So this is Faith. I heard you had a pretty wife, but that was an understatement. Sexy little thing, isn’t she?”

She tried to wriggle away. “Let me go!”

Jon tried to yank on his arm, but Kyle knocked him aside with an elbow. He pulled Faith close enough that she could smell the man’s rancid breath.

“You know what your husband’s into, Faith? Or are you as dumb as he is?”

She’d suspected. But knowing the truth didn’t mean she had a clue how to fix it.

Faith stared into his cruel eyes. “I want you out of my house.”

“Not until you get the message.” He turned her around, holding her tight against his ribcage. She couldn’t see Jon, couldn’t even hear him. She wondered if he’d left. Simply abandoned her here. Faith tried to wriggle away, but her arms couldn’t move.

Kyle put his chapped lips to her ear. “You listening, Faith?”

She forced down the urge to vomit. “Go away. This is my home and you can’t just—”

Kyle pushed Faith down onto the mattress. She felt his hand on the back of her head, tight in her hair. His knees straddled her thighs.

His bony fingers squeezed the inside of her leg. Shoved beneath the edge of her shorts. She tried to scream, but she couldn’t breathe. He wouldn’t let her.

Faith’s lungs started to spasm with panic. She kicked, but he easily avoided her.

Kyle’s lips brushed her ear. “If your husband doesn’t hold up his end of our deal, you’re the one who’s going to pay for it.”

Then, suddenly, the pressure lifted.

He was gone. So was her husband. Faith was all alone.

Finally, she knew what she had to do. It would mean leaving everything behind. But she still had to find the courage to go through with it.