See No Evil Trilogy, page 75
Bridge shoved his hands in his pockets. “Well, that was faster than I thought. April too?”
“Well, it’s a fake jewel. And they can’t produce the other one. So there’s that.”
East grimaced. “Should I feel guilty that April Van Linsted is going to jail for fraud because we switched out the bracelet?”
“Nope. Besides, that piece of fraud is just the first in a long line that they’ll find on April Van Linsted when they really start digging.”
My friends nodded, and then we all turned back to stare up at the Van Linsted estate. Davies joined us outside on the patio. “It’s a beautiful house, isn’t it? I’m curious to see what you’ll do with it, Ben.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, you’re Director Prime.” East frowned. “This is the residence of the Director Prime, don’t you know that?”
I blinked at him. I hadn’t fucking known that. “What?”
“Yeah. Everything you see in front of you is yours.”
“I have a house.”
“Yes, but now you also have this.”
“This is the Van Linsted house.”
“Mate, it’s just been the Van Linsted Estate because a Van Linsted has been the Director Prime for thirty years. Before then, it was the Cowell House. Before that, it was Rossi property. So now, it’s Covington Estate.”
“I don’t want the fucking house. Maybe we can just have meetings here, and I can figure out some other way to utilize this property in the future.”
Bridge shrugged. “Looks like that’s up to you for the next ten years.”
I swallowed hard, and East clapped me on the shoulder. “Well, now you’re officially the richest git in the world. What do you want to do with it?”
I laughed. “I have no idea, but on the top of my list is go see the love of my life.”
Bridge nodded. “Solid.”
As I turned to leave, I caught Drew’s gaze as he walked behind us. “Mate.”
His smiled at me. “Yeah?”
“All right?”
His smile was genuine, his eyes crinkling at the edges. “Honestly, I’m a bit fucking relieved.”
My brow furrowed. “What?”
“I mean, it was one thing to have you tell the lads that I was the name you were going to put forth. It’s a whole other thing to actually imagine ruling over this merry band of arseholes and misfits. I’m glad it’s not me.”
“Yeah, thanks for that.”
“I’m just being honest. I think you’re going to do great. And obviously, you have the three of us. We are a team, aren’t we?”
“That, we are.”
Livy
The sun had started to set just off the horizon, and I smelled the rain on the breeze as I laid the flowers at my mom’s grave. “I got them, Mama.” Tears streamed down on my face, and I wiped them away. I hadn’t been able to say goodbye until that moment, until knowing that the work that she’d put in meant something.
Fifty feet away, Telly waved to me from under a tree. I was used to doing things like this by myself. But when I told her where I was going, what I was going to do, she’d voluntarily come with me. All along, I had felt like I was alone. But the truth was, I wasn’t alone at all. I had just chosen to be alone because I was afraid of being rejected. Afraid that no one would love me enough to give me what I needed.
I touched her headstone, placing my fingers over the words that said, ‘Beloved mother. Badass friend.’ It was a very American thing, but one of her favorites. I’d asked her where she wanted her marker placed, London or Ghana. She always replied to me that she wanted to be cremated but to have a headstone placed wherever I could visit her when I needed to. So I had her marker placed in London so I could see her and talk to her. It had just been a long time since my last visit. I hadn’t known what to say.
“Boy did you send me on one hell of an adventure.”
The tears blossomed again, but I barely noticed. “I did it, Mom. I found the bastards. With a little help, I made them pay. Thank you for leading me on this journey because I would not have found Ben if you hadn’t.”
“To catch you up, Dex and I broke up. It was a long time coming, and long overdue. I just wish I had done it sooner. And I realized that when you told me to hold on to the things that make me happy, you were talking about the things that actually brought me joy. Not things that were habits. And Dex was a habit I needed to break. I miss you so much. And you would love my boyfriend now. Honestly, he’s a bit of a rogue. A giant pain in the ass. He is mule-headed and stubborn. Mom, I’ve never met anyone more stubborn in my entire life. He thinks he knows everything. Matter of fact, he would stand there and argue with you that he is right, knowing full well he is wrong. He challenges me, and he makes me laugh, but he also makes me want to hit things sometimes. I think you would have loved him very much. I really wish he’d been able to sit down and enjoy your cooking, laugh with you, argue politics with you. His father was the former prime minister. So you know that would have been a source for some lively conversations. There are so many things that I want to tell you. Adventures, misadventures, and there are still so many places I wish I could go with you. I wish we’d had more time, but I am grateful for every moment I got to spend with you. You taught me so much about love and life and myself. You taught me to be strong, to fight for what I believe is important, and I cannot wait to carry on that legacy. I love you, Mama, and I hope that wherever you are, you are giving them hell, laughing your ass off, and somehow finding kisses. The next time I come over, I’ll bring Ben by to visit so you can meet him.”
I straightened and then pushed to my feet. God, I missed her so much. But it was okay. When I strolled over to Telly, she grinned at me. “And how is Auntie Georgina?”
“You know, giving the angels hell.”
“I always loved your mom.”
I smiled. “Well, I’m pretty sure she loved you too.”
Arm in arm, Telly led me back to the car where Erik waited dutifully. I smiled at him. “Isn’t your job over now?”
He shrugged. “With most of the danger gone, I feel like ten years is coming to a close, but I know you’ll miss me too much, so I’m sticking around for another few days to let you ease into the idea that I’ll be gone.”
I snorted a laugh. “Erik, you made a funny.”
“Don’t get used to it. It happens once in a blue moon, honestly.”
As the car traversed the streets of London, the sun peeked from behind the clouds, giving them final kisses as it settled at the horizon.
We dropped Telly off first and waited until she was in her flat and waved at me. Then Erik took me home to Belgravia.
It is home, isn’t it?
I guess my home had suddenly become anywhere Ben was. I could get behind that because his home was anywhere I was. It was a two-way street, something I’d never really had before. But now that I did have it, I wasn’t going to let that feeling go. Ever. I thanked Erik as he opened the door for me, and I stepped out. The sky was a pretty purple now. I tapped the security panel to unlock the door and then stepped inside the house.
I smelled onions cooking. And, were those tomatoes? Ginger. Garlic. After hanging my coat up, I sniffed my way through the butler’s pantry and into the kitchen. “Something smells amazing.”
Ben turned around, his short sleeves rolled up and his hair tied back with a clip. “Hello, beautiful.”
“Hi. This is unexpected.”
Placing the wooden spoon at the edge of the pan, he strolled over, leaned down, and gave me a kiss that was a soft slide of slippery lips. “You are stunning.”
“Are you sure? I’ve been crying, so I hardly think I’m stunning.”
“You said goodbye?”
“Properly, yeah. Thank you for giving me space and letting me do that.”
“You realize I’m only giving you space because Telly insisted that she was going?”
I laughed. “Yeah, I know. How was the vote? Are you okay?”
He licked his lips, picked up his glass of wine, and handed me one of my own. From the looks of it Moscat. He knew I liked it sweet. I took a sip and smiled, laughing as the bubbles tickled my nose. “Okay, you’re not saying anything. What happened?”
He lowered the temperature on the stove, added the tomatoes, and then covered the pot, double-checking the temperature again. Then he leaned against the counter. “You are looking at the new Director Prime of the Elite.”
My jaw unhinged. “What? Stop it. That did not happen.”
“Oh, I promise you,” he took a sip, “it happened.”
“But how? What about Drew?”
“Between Taron Davies, Rowan Downs, and my father campaigning, and given the options presented to them, the membership chose me.”
I winced. “Dare I ask what the vote count was?”
“Two hundred and ninety-two.”
My jaw fell to the floor then. “Jesus fucking Christ, that’s the whole damn membership, basically.”
“Yeah, it is. I think the few hold outs had a reason to want the Van Linsteds to stay in power. We don’t know who the holdouts were, but I’m sure they’ll show themselves eventually.”
I studied him. There was something else. “What else is wrong?”
“Nothing. Nothing is wrong. Actually, everything is… I don’t know, kind of perfect, in a way, despite me being the leader of an organization that I wanted to burn to the ground."
"Well, you could still burn it to the ground. Just don't be in it."
He laughed. "I don't know. You’ve helped me see that I could do a lot of good. And Davies and Downs were pretty adamant that they had done this for the good of the organization. That as the head, I could take down the people that had done damage, hurt Toby. And we have two more names on that list. Van Linsted wasn't the only one."
"I hear you. This is a big deal. How do you feel?"
"A little bit numb, if I'm being honest. But the moment I walked through these doors, into this house that I used to hate, I felt warm, and alive, and loved. I noticed the plants that you'd put everywhere."
"Okay, hear me out. I know I have a black thumb. But I think with a little bit of help from the housekeeper, I can get on a schedule for watering, and understand what plant needs what light."
He laughed. "That’s what I mean. You are the bright spot in the darkness. You are the reason I get up most days, just to see you smile, just to hear some hair-brained idea, just to hear you laugh or for you to excitedly tell me some new story idea."
I grinned up at him. "Well, I aim to please."
He leaned forward and gave me another kiss.
"It's funny, I came home, and I knew you were with your mother, so I didn't want to bother you."
"Ben, it's not bothering me. You needed me."
"I do. But I knew you would be home soon, and I wanted to, I don't know... do something for you."
"You mean besides protecting me, and taking care of me, and providing me security and this, you know, mansion to live in. I mean, as mansions go, it's okay. But I was really hoping for a palace."
I laughed and he grinned. "About the palace thing, it seems that the Van Linsted Estate does not actually belong to the Van Linsteds."
"It doesn't?”
"No. It belongs to the brotherhood. It's the Director Prime's residence, usually."
"Jesus fucking Christ."
"I know. It's a beautiful property, but I don't want to live there."
I blinked at him. "We can find some use for it though, right?"
"Yeah, we can. I mean, do you want to live there? I'm sure with your touch, we could make it a home."
I laughed. "I already have rooms in this house that I don't think I've seen yet. I'm certainly not going to move into a palace."
"Okay, good, because I like the home we’ve built here. I like it so much I wanted to do something for you, so I started cooking. And you know what? It's weird, but I find it relaxing. Following your cues, your mother's recipes. By the way, I will say that a pinch is not an accurate measurement."
I laughed. "I know. But you watch someone who cooks a lot and then make your own adjustments as you see fit."
"That's impossible, you know that."
"Yes, I do."
He put his glass down and took mine and set it down next to his. Then he took both my hands. "You know I love you, right?"
"Yes, I know. You tell me every day, and I feel it every day."
"Good. Then this won't be a surprise." He started lowering to one knee, and my heart started to gallop, pounding against my rib cage, begging for freedom, wanting to run straight into bed.
"What are you doing?"
He grinned. "Olivia Ashong, since meeting you that fateful night in the closet, I have been unable to get you out of my mind. You were a distraction at first. And then you were an intrigue. And then you were a fast-talking little sprite, determined to make my life hell. And then, I found that I could not live without you. Just the idea of not having you next to me, not having you giving me shit, not having your laughter fill my house, makes me ill. I fell in love with you. And yes, it's going to be difficult with the changes that are going to happen, but the idea of being without you is impossible. I can't fathom it. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. So will you do me the honor of becoming my wife and allowing me to become your husband?"
My eyes stung with hot tears. The words he said left me breathless. "Ben, are you sure?"
He nodded. His ice-blue eyes had already darkened to electric blue. "Yes." And then he cursed. "Oh, shit, I forgot." He grabbed my glass and reached into his pocket, turned his back to me, and then turned back around, handing me my glass. "You're supposed to be sipping this and find it in your glass, but I got caught up cooking and I forgot."
I laughed. "If I had been sipping my w—" And then what I saw in the wine glass, the giant sparkling diamond, took my breath away. "Oh my God, Ben."
"What? You don't like it? We can change it. I thought you'd like a simple solitaire."
What he considered simple was not simple at all. Rose and white gold braiding surrounded the stunning diamond solitaire, making a loop around it, and the shank was embedded with teeny-tiny diamonds. "Ben, it's beautiful."
He took position on his knee again. "So, Miss Ashong, would you allow me to become Bennett James Ashong Covington?"
I laughed. "Are you serious? You would take my name?"
"Yeah, I figured we could hyphenate it."
"Bennett, is that done?"
"Well, I could give zero fucks. Besides, you're mine. And I am yours. And I want our children to have your mother's name."
Well, that did it. Opened the dam for the waterworks. I loved him so much. "I love you."
"Good. Now, give me the glass so I can put the ring on your finger."
"Did I say yes?"
"Yup, I'm taking that as a yes."
I giggled and nodded my head. "It is a yes, you presumptuous asshole."
He kissed my knuckles as he slid the ring on my finger. "God, it looks amazing on your hand."
It was stunning. But there was no way I could wear it every day. "Ben, it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. But it's enormous. Come on. It's ridiculous. I can't wear that around."
"Oh yes you can, and you know it."
"Maybe I'll just wear that one on special occasions?"
He shook his head. "That's the one I got you, that's the one I want you to wear."
"Oh my god, I'm going to have to start exercising my wrist to hold this puppy up."
"I’ve got a couple of exercises you can try."
I snorted a laugh and wrapped my arms around his neck as he picked me up easily. I wrapped my legs around him and went in for a kiss.
"Woman, you are distracting me. I've got food on the stove."
"Oh, we can make this quick."
He carried us over to the stove and turned it off. "You know full well I can't make it quick. Let's not burn the house down around us, okay?"
"Deal. I love you so much, Mr. Covington."
"And I love you, Miss Ashong."
28
Ben
I hadn't exactly been avoiding my father since the vote. I just hadn’t sincerely been seeking him out either. He, of course, would think that he'd performed some kind of major coup or something, and he probably thought I was thrilled. I definitely wasn’t happy about the development, but I would certainly make it work for me. It had to work for me. Because ever since seeing that video, I was more determined than ever to make them all pay and burn it all down.
The Van Linsteds might have gotten what was coming to them, but they weren't the only ones involved. There had been two other people on watch that night. And they were still out there. So I would make them surface and correct that mistake.
I knew our little chat was inevitable, so I didn't try and put him off any longer. If he was willing to have it, then we were going to get it over with.
He strode into my office with a beaming smile. "Bennett, son. You left too early the other day. Granted, that was close to fucked with Interpol showing up, but I didn't get a chance to congratulate you."
"What, you mean you didn't get a chance to congratulate yourself on your plan? You think I didn't know you were behind this? Downs and I had a deal. I had one with Davies too, but you just couldn't let it be. So, what is it you want?"
He threw up his hands. "I don't know what is going to make you happy, son. You should be ecstatic. You are the most powerful man in the world as of today. That's a heady thing to realize. And I know just what you need to help direct you on your path. You're going to need good advisers."
I leveled a gaze at him. “I have good advisers.”
He waved me off. “What, your mates? They don’t understand how industry runs or anything about world governance. You have a slew of advisers at your beck and call. Make good use of them."
"And I just might do that. But again, what's in this for you?"
"Obviously, I'm your father. What is good for you is good for me. God, a Covington, finally Director Prime. I was giving some thought myself to running for the seat, but you performed the most perfect coup d’état I have ever seen."
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