Mind Play (Bennett Sisters Book 3) (39 page)

Claire stepped out of her sister
’
s embrace. She placed her hands on her hips. “You must have talked to Emma.”

“Nope, didn’t have to, to know that this isn’t a good idea.
We still have no idea who’s out
to destroy us.” Abby wa
lked over to Claire’s bed and se
t the bag down.

“Well, it’s too late to call it off.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that, so I came bearing gifts.” Abby unzipped the bag and pulled out a black leather holster with a small gun in it.

“Abby, I already have a gun. I don’t need yours.”

Abby rolled her eyes and put one hand on her hip.
“Do you have one somewhere on your body right now?”

“No.”

“Lift the slit in your dress. This holster goes around your thigh. Your dress will hide it
,
and I’ll feel better that you have it on you.”

Claire made a wave motion with her hand and turned to the mirror. “I don’t need it. Butch will be with me all night
,
and with all of the security, I should be fine.”

“Claire
,
humor me and lift the slit of your dress
before I do it for you
. You aren’t leaving this room until I know that you’ve got it on you. I already know you know how to use it.” Abby batted her eyes and whined. “Pleeeaaasseeee.”

Claire rolled her eyes. “Oh a
l
l
right.” She lifted the slit in her dress and let Abby secure the holster to her
upper
thigh. She felt stupid and awkward. She walked to the full
-
l
ength mirror and looked for bul
ges in the fabric. Content that it wasn’t going to show
because
of
the drape of the dress
and
that
she would
n’t be scaring
anyone, she turned back to Abby. “
Happy now?
”

Abby stood and walked to her sister
,
pulling her in for another hug. “Yes.” She turned and grabbed Claire’s pearls off the dresser and helped fasten th
em
around her neck. “You look great
,
Claire.” She leaned over and whispered in her ear
,
“And Butch has a thing for girls that are packing, so
,
even if you don’t have to use the gun,
consider it foreplay.
”

Abby winked and walked to the door
,
pulling it open. “Your party awaits. Guests are starting to show up if you’re ready.”

Claire
walked back over to her dresser, grabbed her sleek little phone
,
and stuffed it out of sight
in her bra
. She
ran her hand
s down the length of
her dress, smoothing the lines
,
and walked
out of her room with her sister
. She
whispered
,
“Let’s do this.”

Claire and Abby walked to the
landing at the
top of the stairs and
stopped to look down
over the crowd.
Abby had been right
;
the guest
s
had started showing up. What kind of hostess was she that she hadn’t greeted them at the door?

Claire lifted the bottom of her red dress over her heels
to avoid tripping
and walked carefully down the stairs
. She spotted Butch standing at the bottom of the stairs. His eyes never left hers. The smile on his face probably matched her own. He was handsome in his black tuxedo. The man took her breath away. Butterflies assaulted her belly
, even a
fter all the years she’
d been hosting
the party and the entire year she’d known this man. She
’d
never thought he’d be the one that would make her nervous, like she could easily lose herself over this man. He already had her heart
;
she just hoped he wouldn’t break it. She was all in
. S
he’d fallen head over heels for the man waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. 

Chapter 20

Claire Bennett stood at the top of the stairs. If he hadn’t hated her so much he might actually think she was beautiful. He hadn’t expected that they’d find his handiwork like they had
,
but it wouldn’t stop
him
. Andrew glanced around room
,
noticing there w
ere
a lot more faces that he didn’t recognize. He’d seen a few of them wearing earpieces. He’d expected as much. Actually he’d expected more since Butch Edwards was now enga
ged to her
. He’d done his homework on Edwards after meeting him, just like he’d done his homework on the Bennett family. He’d kill them all before it was all over. He had plans for each one, starting with the blonde at the top of the stairs.

His life would have been different if it weren’t for their dad
screwing up his life
. His father wouldn’t have been shot down and killed in cold blood if it wasn’t for that fucking detective. It was because of him that
he
’d grown
up fatherless
,
his mom had moved away
,
and she’d been stuck in a waitressing job for the last thirty years. She deserved better and so had he. After tonight
,
he’d start his healing. After tonight
,
when there would be one less Bennett walking the earth. All he had to do was keep his cool a little longer until he could get the little
blonde alone
and that wouldn’t take long
.
Andrew glanced at his watch and grinned. Edwards little surprise should be showing up any minute now.
He’d had some of the wait staff on his payroll for
a while
now, since casing the place. It hadn’t been hard enticing them with money. Getting around the security had been a pain in the ass, but he’d gotten some of his men into the party and stationed for their performance.
All he had to do was give the signal
,
and the festivities would start
,
drawing her security away from her.

****

Butch stood at the bottom of the stairs watching the woman he loved walking down alongside her sister. He’d seen Claire dressed up before
,
and it shouldn’t have affected him like it did tonight, but it
did
. She was beautiful
,
and she loved him
. H
e couldn’t have asked for more.
Everyone else in the room seemed to fade away when his eyes caught hers. He wished more than anything that he could walk her back up to her room
,
take that sexy dress off her
,
and make love to her. Her dress fit her body like it had been made especially for her. It hugged her in all the right places and had a slit running up her right leg. A slit that would make for easy access in the event he could get her alone somewhere.

Someone hit his arm
,
bringing him back to reality. Butch turned his head to find Sam standing next to him. “They’re beautiful
,
aren’t they
?
”

“That word doesn’t do either of them justice.”

Sam laughed. “You’ve got it bad, buddy. But who can blame you
?
They’re both cut from the same tree
,
and she’s got me wrapped around her finger.”

Butch turned back and held out his hand to Claire when she reached the last step. She placed her hand in his
,
and he pulled her up against his body. He leaned down and planted his lips on hers. His hands went to her face as he tilted his head and deepened the kiss. She was his
,
and he was staking his claim. He wanted all the men in the room to know that she wouldn’t be taking anyone else to her bed tonight, only him.

Butch pulled out of the kiss first and leaned his forehead against her. “You’re stunning, Claire
, a
bsolutely stunning
,
and I’m the luckiest man here.”

Claire gazed up into his eyes and smiled. The love that shown
back at him
told him all he needed to know. He was no longer alone in this world. He
’d do anything to be with her and kill anyone who even thought about hurting her. She was his world. He leaned down again, gave her a quick kiss
,
and whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you too
,
”
s
he whispered back. He would never get tired of hearing those words come from her mouth. Butch straightened. He needed to keep his wits about him if he was
going to keep her safe
,
and that meant keeping his eyes from drifting to her cleavage that his hand itched to caress.

He still had some work to do. He’d brought in the extra security
,
and he’d started the background checks but hadn’t had time to finish. He’d handed over the work to Briggs to complete. He’d even called
Ted
to see if he’d had any luck with the kids of the men that their dad had put behind bars. So
far,
nothing had panned out like he’d hoped. It was possibl
e
that he was barking up the wrong tree.

****

Claire couldn’t have been happier with Butch’s kiss and words. He’d calmed her nerves and g
iven
her the strength she’d need to get through tonight. The world could collapse around her
,
and she’d die happy knowing that he loved her and she loved him. Claire linked her arm through Butch’s and walked toward the room full of people here to support her cause. “Any luck today?”

“No. I’ve got Briggs still looking into some of the kids
,
and I didn’t have enough time to finish with the guest list. Everyone I did check seemed legit.”

Claire glanced up and Butch. His eyebrows
knit
together
,
and a frown marred his face. Claire stopped him
,
lifted her hand to his face
,
and whispered
,
“It’s going to be okay.”

Butch put his hand on top of hers. “I
hope you’re right.”

He leaned down and kissed her again. Not an earth
-
shattering thorough kiss, just a light touch of his lips on hers.
She’d never get tired of his kisses. He could kiss her the rest of her life
,
and she’d always want more. She stared up into his eyes as he looked down into hers. No words were said. She didn’t have to read his mind to see how much she meant to him
;
the light in his eyes said it all. Claire smiled.

She noticed out of the corner of her eye that
Thompson
was headed in their direction with a frown on his face
. That can’t be good.

Butch turned to see what Claire was staring at. He turned
,
placing his palm on her lower back. His touch alone was enough to set her body on fire.

Thompson
stopped in front of them. Butch held out his hand toward
his ex-partner, who
shook it. Butch asked
,
“What’s wrong?”

“You seem to have a visitor.”

Butch pointed at his chest. “Who
? M
e?”

Thompson
nodded. “She’s outside
and saw me walking in. She asked me to find you so she wouldn’t have to come in.”

This couldn’t be good. All of the females Butch
had known
while in Southall were accounted
for
.
Claire and her sister were here
,
and Emma was at the beach house. That could only mean one person, but she didn’t live here. Butch pulled
her from
he
r thoughts when he asked Thompson,
“Who is it?”

Thompson
glanced down at her
,
giving her a sad smile before looking back up at Butch. The pity in his eyes had told who it was. It was just a matter of why the woman
had
traveled all of this way to find him. Claire understood what loving Butch did to her
. S
he just hoped that Butch loved her back and sent the other woman away.

“Regina.”

The circles Butch was doing on her lower back stilled. She could feel the muscles in his arms tighten. Butch turned to Claire and kissed her temple. “
I’ll go deal with this and be back in just a few minutes.
”

He turned back to
Thompson
and nodded. “Do you mind staying with Claire until I get back?”

“Not at all, but I wouldn’t take too long if I were you. I have every intention of stealing her away.
”
Thompson
held out his arm to Claire. She linked hers through his
,
and he placed his other hand on top of hers. 

****

Butch watched as Claire walked off holding
Thompson’s
arm. The damn man looked too co
mfortable with Claire
. He’d need to make this quick so he could get back to her.
He didn’t want to leave Claire unattended, and he did
n’t
trust
Thompson as far as he could throw him.
He knew he was being irrational but couldn’t stop the jealousy from getting to him. The man was touching the woman he loved
,
and he didn’t like it one bit.