90 Days (Prairie Town Book 2) (32 page)

    
He saved Benji.

     “Stay right here for a minute.  Okay?”

     “Where are you going?” His voice became shrill with panic. 

     “Whoa, easy there.  I’m just going to talk to Benji.”

     “Who?”

     “My…” Her face heated up.  “My friend.  The one you saved from that psychotic heffer.”

     “Oh.  Oh, of course.  Right.” Devin nodded slowly and touched his fingers to the side of his head again.  “Benji.  Right.  I’ll just wait here.  I probably shouldn’t move.”

     “Probably not.” Her eyebrows pinched together.  “Just stay put and I’ll get Benji.”

     “Yes, Ma’am.”

    
Ma’am?
 

     She decided there were more pressing matters at hand and quickly made her way to Benji.  He had his back to her and was still on the phone with the emergency dispatcher.

     “Look, lady.  I don’t know where the hell I am.  Are you sure you can’t just activate the GPS and find us that way? 

      “GPS?” She echoed.  He turned around upon hearing her voice and she gasped from the sight of him.  His beautiful eye was in worse shape than before.  It was swollen ten times bigger than she remembered and the angry purple bruise surrounding it made her stomach churn.

     He had gotten hurt over her, and she knew deep down in her heart it was unforgivable.

     “Benji…”

     He lifted a finger in her direction and then the corners of his lips quirked into a smile.  “Just a second, babe.”

     A small twinge of rejection made itself known in her chest and her shoulders dropped as he turned away from her and continued his conversation with the operator.

    
Oh, god.  He hates me now.
 

     Could she blame him for that?  He hadn’t expected the night to turn out so crazy—neither had she.  She couldn’t possibly expect him to want to be with her after everything that had happened.

    
But he said he loved me.
  Tears pricked at her eyes and she quickly knuckled them away, sniffling as her arm began to hurt again.

     It was funny how no amount of physical pain would ever hurt as much as what she felt in her heart. 

     She knew she had to take a lot of things into consideration after all was said and done.  Benji may have only said he loved her because he thought he was going to die, or maybe he said it to make her feel better. 

     There was so much about her he still didn’t know, but would any of it matter now?  What if the only thing he could think of when looking at her was taking the beating of a lifetime he’d received from her crazy ex-boyfriend?

     How could he possibly be happy with her when the strongest memory they had of being together involved a ruthless fist, kidnapping, ransom, and a car crash?

     Her heart broke as she limped back to where Devin was, and as much as she wanted to hate him and scream at him for ruining everything, she couldn’t.

     The way he lifted his head and gazed at her, so lost and scared, told her it wouldn’t do a damn bit of good.  Confronting him was useless if he couldn’t remember what he had done wrong.

     “Help is coming, right?” His voice was unusually soft and gentle.  “The ambulance…I can hear the siren.  Do you hear the siren?”

     “I hear the car alarm.”

     “Oh.”

     She hugged her arm around her body and cradled her injured one to the best of her ability, a million thoughts running through her mind.

     And almost all of them were about Benji.

     “What’s your name?”

     She could have lied.  She
should
have lied, but the truth was, she wanted Devin to get his memory back just so she could tear into him.  She desperately needed to unleash her frustration and no one was more deserving.

     “Laney.” She stared at him, waiting for a spark of recognition.  Surely her name would sound familiar, wouldn’t it?

    
He didn’t even know his own name.  Why would he know mine?

     “That’s a pretty name.” He eased down on the grass and gingerly touched his head again.  “It must have rained hard tonight.  Is that why we wrecked?”

    
Tell him the truth.
  “Yes.”

     “Rain can be so dangerous.  I’m glad we made it out okay.  But,”—he gazed at Mia again—“why was she trying to hurt your boyfriend?  That part doesn’t make any sense to me.”

     “She’s crazy.” 
Just like you.

     “And we were friends with her?”

     “
You
are friends with her.  I don’t know her.”

     “Me?  I…I don’t know why I would be friends with someone like that, Laney.” Her name sounded so strange as it rolled off his tongue.  He’d never said her name in such a way before.  “We’re friends, right?” He gazed at her, hopeful.  “You and me, and Benji?  We’re friends?”

     “Well, I—”

     “Shit.” Benji’s growl of frustration saved her from an awkward conversation. He appeared beside her and her heart fluttered, but was it out of excitement or dread? “The battery died and I can’t find another phone.  Didn’t you or Mia have a phone, Devin?  What the hell did you do with mine, man?”

     “I…what?” Devin tilted his head back to stare up at him worriedly.  “I’m sorry.  I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

     “No,” Benji sighed, “Of course you don’t, pal.”

     “Benji.” She cleared her throat and peered at him. 

     “Babe.” His good eye sparkled as he smiled at her. 

    
He’s just trying to let you down easy.
Her mind whispered. 
Prepare yourself.

     Capturing her bottom lip between her teeth, she took a step closer to him, hesitantly.  All she really wanted to do was hug him, but she was afraid he’d push her away.  It was inevitable, wasn’t it?

     “I’m glad you’re okay.” His arms wrapped around her carefully, as if she would break, and he buried his face against her neck.  “You scared the shit out of me, Laney.”

     Relief flooded her system as she wrapped her good arm around him and rested her chin against his shoulder.  Maybe she had it all wrong.  Maybe Benji really did care and her brain was just being stupid again.

     “I’m sorry.” She whispered.  “I’m so sorry.  Please don’t…” Her voice drifted off as the heartbreaking image of him saying goodbye flashed through her mind.

     “Don’t what?” He pulled back to gaze at her, waiting for her to finish her statement, but the words never came.  As much as she wanted to say it, to plead with him to give her a second chance, the words became lodged in her throat and wouldn’t come out.  “Laney?”

     “I…” She looked upwards in an attempt to keep from crying, but it was no use.  The tears fell whether she wanted them to or not.  “What are we going to do with him?”

     Benji looked disappointed when she suddenly changed the subject, but he quickly refocused his attention and shrugged one shoulder, which seemed to cause him a lot of pain.  “I honestly don’t know.”

     “Do you really think he’s telling the truth?” She kept her voice low so Devin wouldn’t hear her.  “Do you really think he’s lost his memory?”

     “Do you really think he would have stopped Mia from choking me if he didn’t?”

     “She what?”  Her eyes zeroed in on his neck and the bruises there caused her to see red.

     That little bitch…

     “Don’t worry about that right now.” His palm rested against her cheek and he gazed into her eyes with his good one.  “Please, Laney.  Let’s just focus on getting a hold of Lydia and Jeb; they must be worried sick.”

     “Yeah.” She nodded in agreement and swallowed the painful lump in her throat.  God, she’d forgotten about Lydia and Jeb.  They had no idea what had happened and they were probably waiting for Mia and Devin to arrive for the exchange. 

     There was just too much happening all at once.  It was overwhelming.

     “I need to find another phone.” Benji’s thumb slid over her upper lip and he frowned.  “Jesus, is your nose broken?”

     “It might be.” She winced.  “Just mark it up as another casualty of war.”

     He didn’t laugh at her pathetic attempt of a joke, but instead leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead.  Waves of calming heat washed over her as her eyes slid closed.

     “You didn’t deserve any of this.” He murmured against her skin. 

     “Neither did you.” Her voice cracked.

     “I’m not so much worried about me.” He pulled away again and glanced towards the car.  The alarm was still going strong, but the sound of a siren could be heard.  “They’re coming.  I should find another phone before they get here.”

     “Okay.” She nodded, her eyes moving to Devin.  He had his head in his hands. She wasn’t sure if he was asleep or crying.  “But what about him? What do we tell the police when they get here?”

     Benji’s fingers curled around hers and he offered her a small smile.  “The truth, baby.  We tell them the truth.”

----------

Lydia

     “Where are they?” She wailed as she stared out the passenger side window.  They had been waiting at Templeton Park for nearly an hour and they still hadn’t seen the first set of headlights pass by.

     “Please stop crying, Lydia.  It’s going to be okay.” Jeb reached around the passenger’s seat and rested a hand against her shoulder, squeezing gently.  “They’re fine, all right?  We’ll get them back soon, just try to be patient.”

     “I have a bad feeling.” She shook her head and wiped at her eyes.  “Something’s wrong.  I can feel it.”

     “Well, it was raining pretty hard.  Maybe that’s what slowed them down.” Callum shifted in his seat and gazed at her.  “Try to think of something else, huh?”

     “I
can’t
think of anything else. You heard what Devin said on the phone, right?  He threatened to send them both back in body bags.”  Tears burned at her throat and nostrils and she did her best to fight them off.  Crying wasn’t doing her any good.  “Laney…she’s got her whole life ahead of her and this…this is going to damage her.”

     “Laney’s strong.” Callum’s hand found hers and he slid his thumb over her knuckles.  “She’s like you and Jeb; she’s a fighter.”

     “But she’s so…she breaks so easily.” She wept, burying her face into her free hand.  “What if she’s traumatized?  She’s already dealt with so much.  This isn’t fair.”

     “We’ll get through it.” Jeb promised in a soft and gentle voice.  “We’re a family, Lyds.  We’ll get through it together.”

     “And that’s my fault, too, isn’t it?”

     “Huh?” Jeb’s tone became one of confusion.

     “Sticking together as a family…I’ve not been around enough to do that.  I was away for too long.  She needed me.  Dad needed me. 
You
needed me and I wasn’t here!  Oh, God.” Her tears fell without regard and it was all she could do to keep from throwing up all over the floorboard.  “I just want my sister back!  I want Benji back.  This is a nightmare.”

     “Whoa.  Easy there.” Jeb moved his upper body between their seats and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.  “Lyds, it’s going to be okay.” His voice cracked.  “It’s my fault, just as much as it’s yours, okay?  But the past is the past and we can’t change that.  We have to keep pushing forward.  Whatever Laney’s been through, we’ll help her move past it, right?  And Benji, too.”

     “I just hate this.  I hate that she got caught up in it.  I hate that people can be so mean.  I hate that I’m not there with her right now.  I can’t hold her.  I can’t protect her.  I can’t…I can’t…” She buried her face against his chest and drenched his shirt with her tears. 

     He held her and rubbed her back, sniffling occasionally.

     How had she ever gotten mad at Jebson Ray?  When did a stupid wedding become more important than the relationship she had just gotten back with her family?

     “I’m so sorry, Jeb.  I’m so sorry.”

     “Me, too, Sis.  Me, too.”

     It was the sound of her phone ringing that caught her attention and she quickly pulled away from him to fish it out of her purse.  She
knew
that ringtone. 

     “It’s Benji!” Her heart beat wildly in her chest.  “At least it’s a call from his phone.”

     “Do you want me to answer it?” Callum held his hand out to take the phone, but she shook her head.

     “I’ve got it.” She slid her thumb over the screen and lifted it to her ear.  “Benji?” Her voice was filled with hope.

    
Oh, please be Benji.  Please, please.  Let them be okay.

     “Lydia.”

      A sob escaped her as she slumped forward, tears of happiness falling freely as she buried her face against her palm.  “Benji.  It’s you.”

     “It’s me.” He sounded so tired.  “I’m okay.  Laney’s okay.  We’re both okay.”