Page 27 of Benedict’s Rejuvenation (Dark Patriots #5)

I was thrilled when Ben texted that he would be home tonight with Beau.

They’d both ended up at the corporate office in Virginia.

When I contacted my sister, she told me to get my ass over to her house so we could prepare dinner for the four of us.

I wasn’t opposed to it, as long as I got to spend alone time with Ben later, so I said yes, then messaged my guy to let him know the plan.

He seemed all for it and promised to meet me there.

Their flight was coming in around eight o’clock, and they should be at the house by eight-thirty.

It was unlikely they’d be late since it was a private plane.

The fact that they were using it made me wonder if they’d be leaving right away on an assignment.

That seemed to be the case most of the time when it was used by one or both of them.

I hurried to make myself presentable, then drove over to Keeley’s house.

We decided tonight was a night to make Mexican food.

We were in the mood for tacos and the like.

It wouldn’t take long, and other than a few items, we had the ingredients.

She’d already gone and picked up the things she didn’t have, like cilantro.

It went bad quickly, so you were better off buying right before you planned to use it.

We had fun chopping and prepping the various dishes we wanted to make while chatting. We spoke two days prior, but you’d think the way we gabbed it was longer than that. I told her about my work, and she shared a story from one of their rescues.

Luckily, she still had frozen tamales we’d made a while ago.

They were rather labor-intensive, so when we made them, we made a lot and froze them for later use.

Along with the tamales, we were making chicken to make tacos with all the fixings, which, for me, had to be refried beans.

They were not the kind from a can. We fried them ourselves with plenty of lard.

It was the lard that gave them that taste we loved.

In addition, there would be Mexican rice, chips, salsa, homemade guacamole, and elote , which is commonly known as street corn.

The meal wouldn’t be calorie-poor, but we didn’t eat this way all the time.

The salsa we’d canned using tomatoes out of the garden a few months ago.

The corn on the cob was from it, too, and had been frozen.

We were in the home stretch of it all being ready when the guys arrived. I held onto Ben tightly as we kissed. He was enthusiastic, which I loved, but I sensed an edge to it. I chose not to ask. When we were alone later, I’d see if he would tell me what was bothering him.

Over dinner, we asked the men how their trip was and if they’d been involved in anything interesting.

There was a pause before they said it was normal stuff and turned the conversation back to the food.

My sister shot me a puzzled look. She sensed it too.

The guys were avoiding telling us something.

We waited until dinner was through, and we’d put away the leftovers and cleaned up the dishes.

We sat down in the living room. I was surprised that Ben didn’t suggest we go home.

But then again, we weren’t done. At the moment, Beau was telling a story about a loud, obnoxious teenager on the flight to Virginia.

When he finished telling it, Keeley was the one to ask.

“Alright, enough pussy footing around. What are you hiding, guys? And don’t tell us it’s nothing because we know that’s a lie. You’re acting weird. What happened on this trip? Are you leaving on an assignment and don’t want to tell us? How long is it going to be?”

Beau sighed, but it was Ben who answered.

“We do have something we have to speak to you about. Know that it’s the last thing we want to do, but it’s out of our hands. Let us get the whole thing out, and then we’ll answer your questions. First, I want to be clear, you can say no.”

His last remark piqued my curiosity and sparked my apprehension. Ben wore a thunderous frown, and Beau’s expression wasn’t much better.

“Go ahead, tell us,” I said.

We sat there in silence, as requested, while they told us about their meeting with their bosses and the request, and then how Anderson had joined in and added information, asking that they speak to us. When they were done, I sat there, unsure of what to say.

I knew who Anderson was. Over the months since my rescue, his name had been mentioned, and I’d asked who he was. He was quite the mystery figure. I’d been intrigued and wondered if I might get to meet him one day.

“Say something,” Beau said.

“What can we say? Your bosses want my sister to go into a potentially perilous situation to rescue a woman who might not even exist. By doing so, Kensy will be reliving shit she doesn’t need to relive.

However, the woman is secondary to the true mission, which is to prevent suspected treason.

Say Kensy were to do this, and you find what you suspect.

What will your bosses and Anderson do if it’s too much for my sister to handle?

She hasn’t gotten over what happened to her the first time.

And you can’t guarantee that she won’t be harmed.

You all could be hurt as well. So what do you want me to say, Beau? ” Keeley snapped.

“What you just did is fine. We told them that we didn’t want to ask, but Sean, Undertaker, Gabe, Griffin, and Anderson insisted.

However, Anderson did say it was your right to say no.

He knew you wouldn’t send Kensy off to do this alone, and if you could persuade her to stay here, you would.

I don’t want either of you in the damn middle of this,” Beau stated gruffly.

“Ben, tell me what you’re thinking?” I asked softly.

His eyes met mine. “I want you as far away from this as possible. Yes, we might rescue someone who is suffering as you did, and I’m all for helping to free her if she exists.

The treason aspect makes me even more determined to bring down Wynne if he’s guilty.

What I don’t want is for you or your sister to be involved.

It’ll be harder to find an in, but we can do it.

They’re afraid he’ll slip out of our grasp if we wait. He’s super careful.”

“So whether we go or not, you two will be leaving soon,” I guessed.

Ben nodded. “We’ll be heading to Hawaii the day after tomorrow.

We need time to get set up and established before this gala thing happens, not this Saturday, but next.

It gives us a week to get everything in place and our plan ironed out.

Assuming it goes as planned, we’ll be back here no later than a week after that. ”

“And if it doesn’t go as planned?” Keeley asked.

“We’ll be on the mission for as long as it takes and go wherever it takes us,” Beau supplied.

The thought of being away from Ben for weeks, if not more, made me sick to my stomach.

We were just beginning our relationship.

I didn’t know how I’d be able to stand him being gone and in danger without being able to see or touch him.

That, along with my own beliefs, led me to make my decision and voice it, despite the outcry it would create.

“Then the way I see it, we have only one choice. I’ll go to Hawaii with you, Beau, and whoever else is on the team. We’ll set up the operation and attend this gala, where I’ll do my best to be seen by Joshua Wynne and get him to talk to us. And wherever it leads us, then we’ll go there.”

This had my sister shouting, “No way,” and “Over my dead body.”

Ben was shouting, “I’m not going to let you do it.”

Beau was trying to calmly tell me to think it through. I let them talk over each other for a minute or two before I shouted for attention.

“SHUT UP AND LISTEN!” I yelled as loud as I could. It had the desired effect of making all three hush.

“Thank you. Here’s the deal. I’m an adult and I will make my decision.

And as much as I might dread revisiting some things that hurt, it’s not reason enough to allow someone else to suffer.

If Aimée is there under duress, then we must free her.

Ben, wait, don’t interrupt. Let me finish, please.

” My words stopped him after his mouth opened.

Ben snapped it shut, but he wasn’t happy with me.

I continued, “Keeley, I love that you want to protect me by taking my place. However, I can’t allow you to do that. I’d never forgive myself if I let you take my place and something happened to you. I’m not a coward.” Before she could respond, I addressed Beau.

“Beau, I know you hate the thought of Keeley being in danger as much as you hate the thought of me. However, there’s more than one woman at stake here.

The security of our country and countless lives could be in jeopardy.

We have to either prove it’s false or, if true, put a stop to it.

If my resemblance to this Aimée is like you say, I see why your bosses and Anderson want me. I’ll do it.”

“If my sister goes, then I go. It’s non-negotiable,” Keeley immediately chimed in.

Beau went to her and wrapped her in his arms as Ben did the same to me. I couldn’t hear what Beau said to my sister, but Ben had my attention as he whispered in my ear.

“Kensy, I didn’t think I could be prouder of you, but I am. But if something happens to you, I’ll never forgive myself. So, if you do this, you will stick to the plan and follow our instructions on what to do and what not to do. I can’t lose you. I can’t.”

“I promise to do as you instruct, but you can’t make it so that I can’t be effective. I have to take some risk, Ben. And I’m just as worried about you. Make sure you have enough backup and weapons.”

“I’ll try.”

By the time we stopped talking, it seemed Beau and my sister were done. Beau nodded.