Chapter Twenty Three
Benji
When Benji and Sawyer had come up with the cockamamie plan to ask the mysterious Cole for his car, Benji thought there was about a two percent chance that he would agree.
So the very last thing he expected to hear was that the guy was going a step above helping them and was coming with them.
He would have named a thousand different things before he even considered that option.
When Sawyer told him about it, of course, Benji was skeptical.
“He’s coming with us?” Benji asked, clearly confused about that statement.
“Yeah, that’s what he said.”
“And that’s…something we want? Something that’s okay? I don’t even know this guy.”
“To be fair, you barely know me.”
He supposed that Sawyer had a point. But there were just some people you knew were meant to be around in your life. Sawyer had to be that for Benji. “You’ve proven yourself to me.”
Sawyer sighed. “I promise, he’s a good one.”
“The only good one in this whole damn place is deciding that he wants to go on this deadly adventure with us?” Sawyer just blinked at that statement. “You can’t deny it sounds weird, Sawyer.”
“I know it does but I trust him.” Benji stared back at him. “I do! He’s done a lot for me. He’s the only one that has. And he doesn’t care much for this place either so, I don’t know, it makes sense to me,” he paused, “Plus, no one in their right mind would just give someone their car.”
Benji huffed. He did have a point about that one. “Okay, fine.”
Sawyer smiled. “I have a good feeling about this.”
That made one of them. Benji wasn’t sure about the whole thing but really, what other choice did either of them have?
He knew that he was on a timer there. There was only so many times he could tell that Milo bastard he didn’t know anything before he decided enough was enough.
He tried not to think about it but he was pretty sure that time was coming soon.
After what happened with Sawyer, he imagined his patience was running out.
He just had to survive six more days.
He could do it.
He had to do it.
The next morning after their escape plan was concocted, Sawyer regrettably tied Benji back up to the chair.
They both knew that it was for the best. Sawyer had gone upstairs to take a shower (something Benji was quite jealous about) and he overheard him mention Andi.
Milo had given them a few days off, likely due to what he did to his nephew, but he wasn’t a kind or gracious man.
He was going to be down there to pick back up where he left off soon.
Which was fine, in some aspect. Benji was doing okay.
His wound wasn’t throbbing anymore. He was just hungry.
Sawyer was doing the best he could with that, but it was hard to sneak him down food. He appreciated anything he could get.
Benji sat there for a while, thinking about what he would eat when he got out of there.
A hamburger sounded pretty good. Maybe some lasagna or a chicken pot pie.
Benji’s mom made the best chicken pot pie.
Maybe he could convince her to make him some.
He was pretty sure that being held hostage and tortured for information for days upon end and surviving would be a pretty good reason to make some chicken pot pie.
“What’s that look for?” Sawyer asked suddenly and Benji snapped out of his thoughts, looking towards him. He just raised his brow.
“What look?”
“I don’t know. You looked…wistful, I guess.”
“Wistful?” Benji laughed, “I’ve never looked wistful a day in my life.”
“I don’t think that’s true. It seemed pretty natural to me.”
The redhead smiled a bit and shifted his gaze towards the ground. “I was thinking about my mom’s cooking.”
“She good at it?”
“Pretty good, yeah. There were a handful of times she really flubbed it but for the most part, it’s always good,” he sighed, “I was thinking about her making us some chicken pot pie when we get out of here.”
Sawyer shifted on the bed a bit and turned towards Benji. “That sounds pretty good. I can’t remember the last time I had one of those.”
“Yeah, they’re kind of a hassle to make with the dough and shit.”
“Think she’d do it then?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Cool, Sawyer said, then paused for a bit. “What’s her name?”
“Meredith.”
Sawyer just smiled and nodded once.
“Why?”
He ran his fingers through his hair and chuckled. “I want to make sure I make a good first impression.”
Benji immediately smiled and it felt like his stomach did a backflip.
Why did such a simple statement make that happen?
He couldn’t remember the last time someone wanted to make a good impression to his mom.
Not that he had brought many people home to meet her.
His job made it hard to date. He had a significant other here and there but it never really went anywhere.
That was mostly Benji’s doing. It never really felt safe to bring someone into his life when they had no idea about his job.
But with Sawyer…
He knew better than anyone.
With a shake of his head, he pushed that thought aside. It was asinine of him to think about something like that. Chicken pot pie? Sure. Dating Sawyer? Absolutely not.
“I’m sure you will,” Benji said simply.
He just smiled a bit and nodded. “Cool.”
“Yeah, cool.”
A few hours later, the dreaded sound of the door unlocking filled the basement and Benji swallowed hard, keeping his gaze on the staircase.
Anxiety poured off both of the men but he was pretty sure he was better at keeping that under wraps.
Unfortunately for Sawyer, it was written all over his face.
If he had time, he would have told him to try and fix that but Milo was quickly standing before them.
Benji’s gaze stayed upon him for a moment before they shifted towards the little one behind him.
He couldn’t help but notice he had a pouch with him that he was holding against his chest like it was a prized possession.
The other one, Tank, didn’t have much going on.
He just stood beside the other with his arms crossed for a while, his gaze shifting back and forth between himself and Sawyer.
“I’m about at my wits end with you,” Milo admitted with a huff, “I thought by now you would have told me something of use. But you’re stubborn.
” He wasn’t wrong about that. Benji was stubborn.
Even if he did know something, he wouldn’t tell him.
Either way, the guy had plans to kill him, he was sure.
If he told him, he’d just kill him flat out.
If he didn’t, he’d kill him because he was frustrated.
Sure, the earlier option would save him a lot of pain but Benji wasn’t a traitor.
He wasn’t going to put Andi in a situation she didn’t belong in, because deep in his heart, he really didn’t think Andi had done anything.
Not that he necessarily belonged in the situation he was in, but that beside the point.
“I’m going to ask you five more times today.
And if you don’t answer me, I’m putting a bullet in your head.
” The words came out of Milo so nonchalantly.
It was clearly something he was used to saying.
He leaned forward and placed his hands on his knees like a school teacher would do while listening to a student.
“Do you remember your mission with John Raymond today?”
Benji just shrugged. “I really don’t.”
Milo sighed and dropped his head dramatically.
He let it hang there for a moment before he suddenly moved and backhanded Benji hard against his left cheek.
His head whipped to the side with a soft grunt.
Milo grabbed his chin and straightened his face so he could backhand him once again, this time on the other cheek.
“Do you remember your mission with John Raymond?” Milo repeated, standing up straight this time.
He rolled his eyes as he looked back to the despicable man before him. “I don’t remember it because it never happe–”
Before he could finish his sentence, a fist was thrown into his left cheek.
Benji could already feel a welt growing there and blood coating his mouth.
He also couldn’t help but notice that the five questions were going particularly fast. Benji took a moment to spit a small glob of blood onto the ground, which just got a good chuckle out of Milo as he threw his fist directly into his cheek again and again and again until he grew tired.
At that point, Benji was seeing stars and wished that he would have shared the love on the other side of his face.
He could already feel his cheek and eye swelling.
When he lifted his head back up, he saw him holding his hand out towards Clay.
He watched curiously as the man dug through the pouch he was holding and then placed some sort of tool in his hand.
Milo nodded his head towards Benji which triggered Tank to move.
He walked behind him and grabbed his head on both sides and held it still, forcing Benji to look directly at his captor.
From the corner of his eye, he could see Sawyer shifting uncomfortably and he just wanted to tell him to calm down.
But that wouldn’t go well for either of them.
“For the third time, Andi, do you remember your mission with John Raymond?”
He shook his head and spoke through his steadily swelling cheek, “No, I don’t know a John Raymond.”
The man just nodded his head and shrugged while he approached Benji.
His hand shot out and grabbed a hold of his chin, forcing it open as far as it could go.
His gaze drifted down towards the device in his other hand and his stomach dropped immediately.
It looked like it was some sort of forceps.
Benji struggled against the hands that were holding him firm but he wasn’t going anywhere.