Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
Cat
B ennett and I linger behind Eve and Maverick as we wander through thick brush and mounds of snow that reach our knees in some places. It’s still early enough in the day, so the sun does its best to break through the cloud cover and shine on us. The temperature is still miserably cold, though. At least the view makes it worth it.
I look over at Bennett. He makes the shitty parts of this trip worth it, too. Even if he’s pissed right now.
He’s annoyed that I let Eve come along with us. I can tell by the way he keeps his hands in his pockets and his eyes on anything but me. It wasn’t as if I had a choice, and I did the best I could to smooth things over. When we started out, I told Eve I needed to speak with Bennett about our truce—privately. That’s how we managed to get at least a few feet between us and them.
Bennett slows a bit more, so I match his pace. Maverick and Eve don’t seem to notice, not even when he clears his throat and leans closer to me.
“When we get back to the mansion, I’m punishing you,” he whispers. “I will tie you to the bed and whip you with that belt around your waist until you beg me to stop.”
“What if I like it?” I bump against him with my shoulder.
He stops, glances at Eve and Maverick, then grips my arm and yanks me into the trees. Our boots crunch on snow and fallen branches as we stumble deeper into the woods.
“Bennett, they’ll notice we’re gone,” I say, but he doesn’t slow down. “Hey, stop!”
He finally does, but not because I told him to. His hands rise as he looks past me. When I turn, I see Eve, with a slender blade pointed right at his head.
“Let her go,” Eve says. She steps a little closer and to the side, lining up a shot at him. “Everyone else might be afraid of you, but the only person I fear is my mother. Now, release her arm or I’ll send this blade straight through one of your baby blues.”
With a grunt, Bennett drops my arm and pushes me behind him. Maverick races up to us from the path. He nearly plows into a tree when his gaze falls on the blade in Eve’s hand, which is still aimed for Bennett’s head.
“Whoa!” Maverick shouts. “We have plenty of targets in the forest. No need to turn on each other.”
“Tell that to your fucking friend.” Eve lowers the blade, sliding it into a tool belt hidden beneath her coat. “When a woman says stop, she means stop. That isn’t up for interpretation.”
Bennett smirks, then folds his arms over his chest. “Oh, do we have a feminist in our midst?”
“No, asshole . Consent isn’t feminist property. It’s common human decency. No wonder you can’t grasp the concept.” Eve holds her hand toward me. “Come on, Cat. You can walk with me.”
I open my mouth to respond, but Bennett cuts me off.
“Maybe she doesn’t want to come with you. Ever thought about that? Ever thought about asking what she wants?” He rolls his eyes and scoffs. “Maybe you’re the one who needs a lesson on consent.”
She ignores him, looking past his head to stare straight into my soul. “Let’s go, Cat.”
I lick my lips and blink. My legs won’t move, and I don’t know what to do anymore. “I?—”
“Eve, let’s go back to the trail,” Maverick says. “These two get into it all the time. It’s their normal.”
“But it’s not normal!” Eve turns her fury toward Maverick. “Are you seriously pursuing this girl? It sure doesn’t seem like it if you can’t protect her.”
Maverick’s green eyes widen. “I can protect her!”
“Then why am I the one who keeps running in to save the fucking day?” Eve shouts. “It seems like every hour that passes, fewer people are doing what we agreed to do to keep her safe. At this point, it’s just me and Kindra!”
“Yeah, I heard about your little meetings,” Bennett says. “Nice try.”
Eve launches toward Bennett with a banshee-like scream, but Maverick wraps his hands around her waist and holds her in place. To her credit, Bennett takes a step back, and I’ve never seen a threat produce that reaction from him.
“You’ve got to tell her, Cat,” Maverick pleads as he tries to keep his grip on the twisting tornado in his arms.
Eve jerks in his hold and looks back at him. “Tell me what?”
Bennett looks back at me, his eyes asking the questions his mouth can’t.
What do you want me to do? What do you need? How can I fix this? And the reality is . . . he can’t. No one can fix this.
No one except me.
“I’m fucking Bennett,” I say, my voice so low that not even Bennett hears me.
Eve continues struggling against Maverick, and now his full attention is on her. She drives backward with her foot and catches him in the shin, and he goes down. He keeps his grip on her, but when she lands a shot to his jaw, he’s out cold.
“Holy shit,” Bennett says through a laugh. “I’ve never seen Maverick get coldcocked like that. Ezra will never believe this shit.”
But now Eve’s focus has shifted, and she’s coming right for Bennett. I don’t even recognize her as she stalks toward him. Her usually brown eyes have gone black, the pupils devouring every ounce of her irises, and the firm set of her jaw looks so far removed from her femininity.
She’s terrifying.
Even so, I step in front of Bennett. Everything that’s happening right now is my fault. If I’d had the courage to be honest with everyone, Bennett wouldn’t be the target of so many hate-filled glares, and he certainly wouldn’t have this psychotic siren barreling toward him.
“Cat, honey, I need you to move,” she says as she stands in front of me.
I shake my head. “I can’t do that, Eve. You can’t hurt him.”
“Oh, I can, and I will. When I finish with him, he won’t have the balls to fuck with you ever again. Literally.”
“That would be terrible,” I say, “because I enjoy it when he fucks with me. And...” I take a deep breath. “And when he fucks me.”
Eve pulls back her hood and shakes her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you right. You’re fucking him? Willingly?”
She’s too shocked to assault him now, so I take a risk and pull Bennett beside me. “Yes. We’ve been having sex since the night we were stranded in the cabin.” Then, for good measure, I add, “Consensual sex.”
Bennett raises his hand, and his fingers give her a little wave.
“Were you under duress?” she asks.
I shake my head.
“Play for pay?”
“No. I’ve been fucking him because . . . I want to. Because I like him.”
Maverick groans on the ground, and only then do we remember that he’s there.
“Shit.” Eve hurries to his side, then glances up at me and mouths, Does he know?
“He was the first to find out,” Bennett says. “That night when you hens were watching the surveillance cameras, you were watching me fuck her, not Maverick. He let me borrow his clothes so that no one would know.”
Eve drops onto her ass. “I’m gonna need a minute to wrap my head around this.” She looks up at me. “I thought you hated him. Hell, I thought he hated you .”
“The hate was misplaced sexual tension,” I say as I go to her side. I sit beside her and take her gloved hand in mine. “I’m sorry I lied to you, Eve, and I don’t have a good reason for doing it. Despite how everyone views Bennett, he’s not the scum of the earth. He’s actually very?—”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Bennett says. “I won’t have you sullying my bad reputation with tales of my chivalry.”
Eve looks at him, then back at me. “Willingly? Really?”
I smile at Bennett. “Yes, willingly.”
“So when he was talking about the chick he’s banging and how amazing she is, he was talking about you . . .” She shakes her head, and her braids brush against her coat. “What about Kindra? Does she know?”
“No, and she can’t. Not yet.” Bennett steps closer and helps Maverick to his feet. “Cat needs to tell her when it’s right for her, and I don’t want anyone to pressure her into it. Not even you.”
“I feel like I’m in an alternate universe or something. He’s actually being protective of you. Holy shit,” Eve says.
Bennett whistles as he examines the bruise forming on Maverick’s jaw, then turns to Eve. “You’re damn right I’m protective of her, but if she’s gonna have other people in her corner, I want you there. You’ve got an arm on you.”
She gets to her feet and goes to Maverick. “Hey, sorry about that,” she says. “You understand, though, right?”
“I understand,” he says. “We all want what’s best for the people we care for. But maybe don’t go so hard when it’s one of your own next time.”
“Can you forgive me for hiding this?” I ask Eve as Bennett helps me to my feet. “I would have told you when I was ready. I just?—”
“Honey, say no more.” She pulls me into a hug and places a gentle kiss on my cheek. “If he makes you happy, then I’ll keep my concerns to myself, but if he ever makes you cry, don’t tell me unless you want his head on a platter by breakfast.”
“Thanks, Eve,” I say.
She shakes her head. “Still doesn’t make sense that you won’t tell Kindra. She’s nice enough to me, and I consider her a friend, but she only shares her warmth with a few people. I’ve seen it. And you’re one of them. If you’re worried about the jokes?—”
“That’s part of it, but that’s not all of it,” I say. “I just need some time.”
“Suit yourself.” Eve shrugs. “If you want it kept a secret, I’ll keep it a secret.”
I breathe a sigh of relief, but the feeling is short-lived when a red jumpsuit rushes through the trees in the distance. Bennett hoists the dart gun over his shoulder and looks back at me.
“You ready for your first hunt?” he asks.
I look into the distance, at the retreating figure who doesn’t know we’re on his trail, and I nod. “Let’s do it.”
Before we can start off, Eve grips my sleeve and turns me to face her. “Do you want to do this just the two of you?” she asks. “Maverick and I can run interference if needed.”
I shake my head. “I want all of you there. I’ll need the support.”
“Then you’ll have it,” Maverick says. “Let’s go catch this son of a bitch.”
As a group, we turn toward the forest and head deeper.