26. Ben
26
BEN
O ver the next couple of days, many things happened.
Sonya and I practically moved into the big mansion where she’d grown up. I disclosed all my properties, and Oleg tasked a soldier with checking on them. The idea was that should anyone learn that I was now a Baranov brother, someone could try to break in and set traps or listening devices.
We all continued to catch up and explain what was going on and what we’d pieced together. There was a wealth of things that still needed to be said, especially from Sonya’s experiences, but she dismissed Eva’s concerns.
“Of course, I will need help to overcome the trauma,” Sonya said at breakfast on the third day of her return. “I anticipate looking into getting therapy and whatever else might help me process healthily. But right now, other things are more pressing.” She rested her hand on her stomach and smiled that contented smile that never failed to steal my breath. Seeing her happy made me happy. “Like preparing for this one to come. And that preparation includes killing our enemies.”
No other woman would ever be as perfect for me as she was, shrewd when she needed to be and gentle otherwise. She understood the urgency of going after Eric Benson. She wasn’t shocked that killing Benson included taking out O’Malley since they worked together so much. And she wasn’t one bit nervous or guilty about the Baranov forces plotting to eliminate the Ilyins.
Lev and I set out to handle our task first. While Eva, Irina, and Kelly helped Sonya continue to adjust to being home, I left with Lev to take out Benson and O’Malley. When we exited the house, I smiled at the scene behind us. Sonya was all smiles to get to know Maxim more, and that was what she was doing last, talking and learning to sign to communicate with him.
“Did Vik and Rurik leave already?” I asked as Lev and I got into an SUV. We weren’t taking any backup. Neither of us needed it, and the fewer, the better in this regard for this mission.
“Yes,” he replied. A deep rumble of thunder cut through the quiet that followed his response. A storm was brewing. With the increase of pressure in the air, it suited the mood of the afternoon. Solemn, ominous, and foreboding.
“Are you ready?” he asked as he started the car.
“Of course.”
“I can tell that you want to spend more time with Sonya and make sure she’s settling in well,” Lev said, almost conversationally, “but this shouldn’t wait.”
“No,” I agreed. “It can’t wait. I hate that it’s been this difficult to pull off all along.” I hadn’t been hired to kill Benson, but O’Malley. Still, if I hadn’t been on a side quest looking for Sonya, I would’ve been more frustrated at how long this was taking to kill the governor elect.
“I know what you mean. But it’s nothing you can control. Too many protestors are making security a constant for both Benson and O’Malley.”
“Yeah.” I nodded as I watched the scenery outside. I’d since learned that the shootout at the strip club was because of one particular protest group. An environmental group didn’t like how the incoming politicians were planning to behave in office, and they took matters into their own hands and tried to assassinate them.
Too bad they didn’t succeed.
“We’ll finish it today,” Lev said.
Again, I nodded.
“And with this first assignment, I hope you understand that we are officially offering you a job.”
I grunted a laugh. “No, really?” I joked. Then I shook my head. “I appreciate the offer, as implied as it already was, but I plan to settle down with Sonya and have a family. For the first time in a long time, I want to focus on my family.”
“You have one now, with the Baranovs.”
I nodded. “I know, but I mean me, Sonya, and our baby.” I couldn’t help but smile. “It’s been a pipe dream.”
Lev glanced at me as he drove. “You’ve always thought you were a loner and now you’re realizing you’re not?”
“No.” I sighed and decided Lev and I could be friends one day if I tried to not irritate him. Opening up to him felt right. “I was rejected from my Bratva family as a child, in Russia. My mother brought me back to the States, and I eventually joined the military. That didn’t suit me either since I never truly felt like I had my place there, either.” I shrugged, hating how I’d struggled to know my purpose and place. Perhaps it took the idea that I’d soon be turning forty and I needed to retreat from killing slightly to secure a family in order to have a purpose.
“I understand.”
I looked at him and furrowed my brow. “You can? You’re familiar with being rejected and lost?”
“Yeah.” As he went on to explain his backstory, that he had been an orphan until he saved Oleg’s life and was taken into the Baranov family, I realized he could say that he understood. He’d lived through that feeling of not having a place too.
We neared the Benson estate, and we shelved the talk about our pasts. It was game time, and almost in sync, we grew more alert and ready. This was time to focus and execute. Lev was no slouch with taking out hits, and I appreciated that he could be an ally. A friend in the future.
A brother.
After he parked, we exited the car and fell into a perfect partnership. I didn’t have to worry whether he knew what to do, and likewise, he innately seemed to trust that I’d have his back and concentrate on my role.
No guards stopped us from entering the big house way outside the city, but that didn’t surprise us. This location was harder to find, one house among many that the Benson family owned. Because it was remote and the ownership was hidden under layers of deeds, it was far from common knowledge that this country house was somewhere the Bensons could call home.
The second Lev and I stepped inside, another sharp crack of thunder struck outside, and a low, growling rumble followed. Vibrations from the thunder rose up from the floor as we strode further into the house.
Guns raised and at the ready, we progressed inside. With nods and silent, careful steps, we snuck in.
And the scene we ultimately found wasn’t one I bet he expected. I sure hadn’t.
“What in the fuck…?” Lev uttered it silently as he scoped out the massive, round study. Bookcases lined all the walls, and with the wood on all surfaces, the masculine room seemed dim with the storm raging outside.
Plenty of light remained for us to see the dead bodies.
Ford Benson, Eric’s father, lay sprawled out on the navy carpet. He died on his back, his lifeless eyes staring unseeing at the ceiling. Several bullet holes showed clearly on his chest. Ripped white fabric denoted where he’d been shot, and the profuse spread of crimson on the pure-white garment indicated how quickly and severely he must have bled out.
Across from him, seated in the huge leather chair behind a massive mahogany desk, was Eric Benson. Or what remained of him. The bottom of his head showed where a gun had been fired upward beneath his chin. Brain matter and blood were splattered behind him from the fatal shot.
The suicidal shot.
As Lev remained on edge, gun up and checking to see if anyone else was here, I approached the desk. The only item on it, other than Eric’s limp arm and the gun that was still loosely in his grip, was a paper.
I leaned over, not touching anything and disturbing evidence, and read it.
“Killed himself,” I announced.
“No shit?” Lev asked.
I nodded, skimming the handwritten letter quickly. “He vowed to kill his father for pushing him into a life he didn’t want. This claims he’s suffered from depression all his life and hated his father for refusing to let him treat it, because that would signal a weakness and no Benson was weak. He couldn’t make himself be a puppet for his father, not in office, and he refused to go through with the plans his father and O’Malley expected of him.”
Finished summarizing the letter, I looked up at Lev.
“Damn,” he said, deadpan.
I smiled. “Looks like we’re not needed here.”
Eric was no longer a threat. I couldn’t wait to tell Sonya.
“No. Not here,” Lev replied. “Let’s go find O’Malley.”
“And then we can help kill the Ilyins,” I replied.
“Every one of them we can find,” he growled.
Together, we left the scene of such grisly death. Someone else could find them and handle it. They were no longer a Baranov concern. They were no longer my concern.
Lev and I got back into the car, and as he drove off, heading toward O’Malley’s office, I prepared to face a tougher fight this time. O’Malley would be covered by security, but he wouldn’t be able to hide any longer. It wasn’t just me chasing after him, but Lev, too. The governor-elect had the wrath of too many people hedged against him to survive for long.
“You good?” Lev asked when he must have noticed I was quiet.
“Of course. You?”
He nodded.
“It’s just different not doing this alone,” I admitted.
“I bet not.” Then, uncharacteristically, he smiled. “But I’m damned glad you’re on board with us.”
I was. Not just for the Baranov name, but for Sonya’s safety. For her peace.
And for the future our baby deserved.
“Me too. So step on it,” I urged.
I couldn’t wait for the rest of my life to start after this kill.