Bennett Security Collection Books #1-3 (Bennett Security Box Sets #1)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Aurora Bennett stood on the balcony, staring down at the partygoers below. The champagne was flowing, the music was loud, and people danced with abandon in their sparkling evening wear.

The “Angels and Demons” theme had turned out just the way she’d imagined, complete with devil horns and feathery angel wings for the guests to put on.

A quick spot-check proved that the appetizers were circulating right on cue. The photographer looked busy, snapping candid shots. And most important? Her clients, Brandon and Nadia Wolfson, were dancing right in the middle of the room, basking in the adoration of their guests.

Wow, she thought. Did I actually pull this off?

Brandon looked up, as if feeling Aurora’s gaze. He smiled and nodded at her, then grabbed another glass of fizzy wine from a passing tray before dashing off. Probably to greet more of his business associates.

The Wolfsons owned this venue, The Lighthouse Club. It was the couple’s wedding anniversary, yet their party was more about deal-making for the Wolfsons than it was a simple celebration. For Aurora, it was one of the biggest events she’d planned on her own, not as an assistant or intern.

“He’s definitely happy,” said a bubbly voice beside her. “That’s not easy to do.”

Jennifer Scoville, Brandon’s assistant, stood at her elbow, wearing a blue silk cocktail dress. Her long, straight hair trailed down her back.

“You think so? Your boss can be hard to read.”

“You kidding? He and Nadia both love you.” Jennifer nudged Aurora’s arm playfully. “Look at you, all dolled up. You should be down there, enjoying yourself.”

Aurora glanced down at her dress. Floor-length black sequins, cut-outs at the waist, showing the sides of her ribcage.

A rental. Hardly anyone had seen her in it tonight, but Aurora didn’t care.

She dressed for herself, and feeling sexy gave her confidence.

Even though she’d ended up sweating through the fabric, she was so nervous.

“I just wanted to make sure everything was perfect.”

Jennifer winked. “And it was. So, relax.”

Aurora breathed out a sigh, one part relief and one part disappointment that she’d completed her role in tonight’s festivities.

Months of planning, stress, and spreadsheets, and it all came down to a few hours of showtime.

She should’ve been thrilled. After all, this was her first major party-planning gig since moving back to her hometown.

If socialites like the Wolfsons recommended her to their friends, she’d have no shortage of work coming down the pipeline.

She didn’t have a ton of experience with swanky events, but this one felt a bit anticlimactic now that it was almost over.

As if it all should’ve meant something more than just a short release, no matter how intense.

Kind of like sex with a guy you’d met at a bar.

Fun, memorable, yet you knew you’d never see him again.

Of course, after her eight-month dry spell, a short release with a sexy partner sounded pretty darn appealing. Any day now, her vibrator was going to give out from overuse. It was huge and green—nicknamed the Incredible Hulk—and it was the only penis in her life these days. Sad, but true.

“As long as the Wolfsons are happy with their anniversary, I’m happy.”

“It’s been great working with you,” Jennifer said. “Brandon will have another soiree for you to plan before you know it. And hopefully your brother can make it to the next one?”

Aurora’s smile turned sour. Her brother.

Max Bennett was part of the reason she’d moved home to West Oaks after a disastrous break-up with her ex. Aurora’s entire support system was here in California, small though it was.

Then Max had been quick to offer his help, and without questioning his motives, she’d accepted it. The Wolfsons had been Max’s clients first. He’d recommended Aurora to them.

But after spending four years away from home for college, Aurora felt like she hardly recognized her brother. He’d gone from a clean-cut soldier, fresh from an honorable discharge after serving his country, to an entrepreneur who owned a multi-million-dollar security company.

Thank goodness he’d been busy tonight and had to decline the Wolfsons’ invite. Otherwise, he’d probably be on this balcony right now, checking up on his little sister instead of enjoying the free booze.

Jennifer had dropped more than one hint about getting together with him on a more “personal” level.

But sadly—for Jennifer and all the other single ladies of West Oaks, anyway—Max was a chronic bachelor, workaholic, and all-around control freak.

Yes, Aurora had accepted his help. But she hadn’t thought he’d still be so nosy. She wasn’t a teenager anymore.

Jennifer held out a sealed envelope. “The remainder of your fee, plus a little extra to show Brandon’s appreciation. Text me, okay? We’ll drive into LA for a shopping and spa day?”

Aurora felt herself glowing at Jennifer’s offer. The woman seemed so sophisticated. Exactly the kind of image Aurora hoped to project. “You know how to sweet talk a girl. I’m totally in.”

They hugged goodbye.

Aurora popped open the envelope and glanced inside, then did a double take. This check couldn’t be right.

“Jennifer, wait—” But the assistant was already gone.

A little extra? Brandon had doubled her fee.

But she didn’t feel appreciated. Instead, she felt sick inside. This wasn’t right.

Max, she thought. My overprotective, bossy brother is behind this. She wasn’t sure how, but she just knew.

She couldn’t accept this money. It wasn’t professional. How was she supposed to make it on her own if people treated her like a charity case? Or even worse, used her to suck up to her brother.

Aurora marched toward Brandon’s office, heels clacking against the stone flooring. Down below, the music continued to throb.

In her purse, her phone buzzed. It was a text from her best friend. Her biggest reason for moving back to West Oaks.

Lana Marchetti had written, Pick up any hot men at the party tonight?

Aurora groaned aloud. She texted back, I wish. Max’s spies are probably here. Not to mention his cameras. Just wait until you hear what he’s done now.

Was she being overly dramatic? Yes. But who could you vent to, if not your best friend? She thought about calling Lana, but the yelling would have to wait until she was safely away from the party.

Aurora tucked her phone away as she reached the outer door to the Wolfsons’ suite of offices.

It was cracked open. Odd. But just as well. She could put the check on Jennifer’s desk with a note, politely but firmly refusing the extra pay.

She pushed the door open. A light was on.

“Hello?”

Nobody answered. A half-empty glass of champagne sat on a bookcase, left here sometime tonight.

Maybe the person was going to come back.

If it was Brandon, she wanted to talk to him.

She could graciously turn down his gift and assure him that no special treatment was necessary, regardless of whatever her brother might’ve suggested.

She didn’t want to offend the man and ruin her chances of further business.

But after standing around for almost five minutes, nobody had returned. She slid the envelope under the door to Brandon’s private office.

Then she heard footsteps. Voices came from just beyond the outer door to the office suite.

“I told you, this isn’t a good time,” Brandon was saying.

Aurora took an instinctive step back. She’d never heard him so anxious.

Usually, her client exuded an effortless confidence.

He came from a rich Pasadena family, nothing but private schools and yacht clubs and weekend jaunts to Vegas via helicopter.

“If somebody at the party sees you here, there will be questions—”

A new voice spoke, low and dangerous.

“It’s time when I say it is. I have concerns about our arrangement, and I don’t wait.”

Something about that harsh voice turned Aurora’s skin cold. A sense that the man, whoever he was, didn’t have a single ounce of mercy in his soul.

She ducked into the nearest open door—the office that belonged to Nadia, Brandon’s wife.

The room was a dark expanse of modern furniture and expensive art.

At the same moment, Brandon and the other man entered the main door from the hall.

Aurora backed up into the shadows, crouching down, but she could still see the men through the doorway.

The new man was tall, early thirties, with handsome features and wavy dark hair. He carried himself with an almost-royal bearing, looking down his nose at Brandon.

“Dominic, I don’t know what people have been telling you, but—”

Dominic lunged. Grabbing Brandon by the throat, he shoved him up against the wall. The half-glass of champagne tottered from the bookcase and smashed onto the floor.

Aurora thrust a hand over her mouth, covering her gasp.

Two more men stood on either side of Dominic. One was as big as a linebacker, with his long gray hair back in a ponytail. The other was slighter, with a pointy nose and cunning eyes.

Their faces were impassive as they watched Brandon struggle to breathe.

Below, she could still hear music and laughter coming from the party. But it might as well have been another world. Aurora looked around Mrs. Wolfson’s office, as if she’d find some way to help her client. If these men were as serious as they looked, Brandon was in trouble.

She felt her phone in her pocket, but her hands were shaking too hard to take it out.

“James told me everything,” Dominic hissed. “How he fixed the records when he brought you my money, so the two of you could skim your extras off the top? As if I wouldn’t find out?”

Brandon clawed at Dominic’s hands around his neck. The man released his hold, and Brandon tumbled onto the floor, coughing and wheezing. His face had turned bright red.

“He’s lying.” Brandon got onto his hands and knees. “Please, Dominic.” His voice was hoarse. “You know me. I’m a friend of your father’s. I wouldn’t… If anything’s missing, I’ll pay it back…”

Dominic was nodding along. “Oh, I have no doubt of that. But you didn’t just steal from me. You took my money and started a little business on the side.”

Aurora could hardly breathe, but a voice in her mind broke through. Phone, she told herself. Snap out of it and do something.

She managed to pull the device from her pocket, though her fingers felt numb. She checked that it was on silent. But what now? Should she contact the police? Her brother? Max got on her nerves, but he or his employees could actually handle a situation like this.

She glanced back up at the scene in the main office. A look of horror had crossed Brandon’s face. He clutched at the other man’s pant legs.

“Wait, listen, it wasn’t my idea.”

Dominic kicked him away. “You disgust me. I’m finished with you.”

“No, please, I’ll do anything.”

“You betrayed me. Do you have any idea how much that hurt? Eric, why don’t you show him exactly how it feels?”

He nodded at the one with the ponytail, then stormed out of the office, the door swinging shut behind him.

The two goons stared down at Brandon. Ponytail—Eric—dug a hand into his pocket and came out holding a pistol. A silencer fit onto the end of the muzzle.

“Shit,” Aurora whispered.

They were going to kill Wolfson.

SOS, she typed into her phone, and sent the message to her brother. Gun. Brandon’s office.

Again, her gaze darted over the darkened room. She needed a weapon. Or something, anything, to distract Dominic’s men. But what could she do? She couldn’t go up against two guys with guns.

These men were criminals. Mobsters or gangsters. What would they do if they found her here?

Her eyes lit upon a white panel on the wall. It bore a familiar logo. A stylized “B.” Bennett Security. She crept over. Out in the main part of the office, Brandon was blubbering and trying to scream. It sounded like the goons had shoved a gag into his mouth. Bile rose in Aurora’s throat.

She reached the panel and touched it with her finger. It flashed to life, showing a digital screen. Aurora hit the icon for the silent alarm. A red light began to flash on the panel.

Right now, a notification would be ringing out at her older brother’s company headquarters.

But he hadn’t written back to her text. Where was he? What if nobody got here in time?

I have to do something, Aurora thought, just as the pistol fired. Blood sprayed across the carpet. She cried out. Her hand flew to her mouth, but too late to cover the sound.

Brandon had collapsed in a heap.

Eric looked up at his pointy-nosed friend. “Did you hear that? Just now?”

Aurora’s body flooded with panic, every nerve tingling painfully. Yet she couldn’t move.

“I didn’t hear anything,” the friend said.

“Could’ve sworn I did. Came from over there.”

No. No, no, no, this can’t be happening. Nadia Wolfson’s desk hid her from view. But if they came fully into the room—if they turned on the lights—they’d find her in an instant.

Their footsteps came closer.

Her blood rushed in her ears. Her lungs burned from holding her breath.

“Oh fuck, you see that red light? That panel? Wolfson must’ve tripped a silent alarm before you did him. We need to get the hell out of here.”

She heard the outer door open. Footsteps, running.

Then silence.

Even when they were gone, Aurora stayed crouched in the dark in her evening gown, shaking so badly that her vision blurred. Brandon was out there. If she went past him, she was sure she’d see the accusation in his face.

You hid and saved yourself. You coward.