The Promise (The ‘Burg #5)(139)
Author: Kristen Ashley

“We got a plan?” Cat prompted in my ear.

“This doesn’t sort out soon and you can’t hack it, you back off. If you agree to that,” I told her, “then we have a plan.”

She hesitated only a second before she said, “We got a plan.”

“Good,” I replied businesslike. “Now, call me later with good news.”

“I hope I can, Frankie.”

“I hope so too, honey.”

“Don’t let them make you eat more shit than you’re already gonna eat,” she ordered.

“I probably would,” I returned, still looking in Benny’s eyes. “But Ben won’t let me.”

“Fuckin’ finally,” she muttered, and that made me grin. “Later, Frankie.”

“Later, Cat.”

We disconnected and I barely hit the button on my phone when Ben practically barked, “What?”

I reached to the nightie laying half on, half draped off the bed, saying, “Concetti drama.”

“You don’t got enough drama goin’ on right now?” he asked, making an excellent point.

He let me go so I could pull the nightie on and I looked back to him. “Benny—”

He shook his head. “Get outta bed. Clean up. Put on clothes. Fill me in while we walk Gus. Then your ass is in my truck so we can get donuts. We’re doin’ what we wanna do with our Saturday morning. After I get a donut in my baby, then those whackjobs you call a family can try to take their piece of you.”

“But, Ben—”

“Try,” he cut me off to say with emphasis. “I’m close while you talk to their asses, and if I get a f**kin’ hint they’re slicin’ into you, I take over.”

I stared at him.

Fucking finally.

Cat was right.

She was so right.

That was why I gave in, saying, “Okay, baby. Now, let’s go take care of Gus.”

I saw surprise start to slide through Benny’s expression, but I didn’t stop to watch the whole show. Gus needed out of the kennel. I needed to give him a cuddle. I also needed donuts. I further needed my man to have donuts.

Only then would I deal with my family while I had someone at my back.

Fucking finally.

* * * * *

I had three donuts in my belly, only two that were powdered sugar, chocolate-cream-filled.

Ben was right. They ran out of those quickly and we got the last three. I loved my man so I sacrificed one for him. The third donut in my belly was a cinnamon twist, but I ate it first.

I was staring at my phone in my hand resting on the counter. I did this until I saw Benny slide a fresh cup of coffee on the counter beside my hand. This meant I did it the whole time he was topping off our cups.

I turned my head and lifted my eyes to his.

“I have no clue what to do,” I told him.

He finished taking a sip of coffee and replied, “Not surprised.”

“You’re not?”

“Nope.”

I guessed he wouldn’t be. There was so much to it, it was like a mountain that needed to be climbed without rope or those spiky things on your shoes.

“I don’t only have no clue what to do, I don’t even know where to start,” I shared.

Ben leaned a hip against the counter. “Not surprised about that either.”

“What would you do?” I asked.

“That’s the reason I’m not surprised,” he answered. “’Cause what I’d do is let them deal with their own shit. They made their beds, they can lie in them.”

I shook my head and protested, “But Davey just fell in love with my sister and got a shitload of problems in return.”

“And how is that him not makin’ his bed?”

I blinked.

Benny kept talking.

“If she pulled one over on him when they first got hooked up, I could get that. But he’s taken her ass back repeatedly after she let other guys tap it. That’s his decision. He needed to man up about five years ago. He didn’t. Now he’s in custody because he’s got no balls. That’s his problem. What I don’t get is why you or Cat would make it yours.”

“He’s family and he’s a nice guy,” I explained.

“Yeah, he’s a nice guy, but he’s a weak man,” Ben returned. “The second part of that is not on you. It’s on him. Their relationship has been cruisin’ toward disaster in one form or another since they got together. Frankly, I’m relieved that when it blew up, it did it this way rather than takin’ other people down with it.”

“But he’s been arrested!” I snapped.

Ben leaned into me. “Not. Your. Problem.”

“Do you think it’s that simple?” I asked.

“Absolutely,” he answered.

“Then what about Chrissy and Domino?” I pushed.

He leaned back. “Babe, she hooked her star to a man old enough to be her father.”

“That’s judgmental,” I informed him sharply, and his brows drew together.

“How?”

“You can’t control who you fall in love with.”

“Nope,” he stated. “And love may be blind, but anybody’s gotta guard against bein’ stupid. He had one marriage decades ago, a string of women in between that didn’t work, children he barely saw, and when he did, they fought like teenagers and got their asses kicked out. If she didn’t see all the writing on that wall, again, that isn’t your problem.”

“A baby is mixed up in that, Ben,” I reminded him.

“Yeah. And she let a man his age with his history knock her up. Again, not your problem.”

I put my phone on the counter and my hands on my hips. “That baby is my sister.”

He held my eyes a moment before he muttered, “That might be our problem.”

“Right,” I hissed.

“Though,” he went on, “I haven’t seen you showin’ me picture after picture she texted you of your new sister, and I haven’t heard you talk about all the invitations to get to know her that you couldn’t accept ’cause you live too far away.”

“I have a feeling Chrissy might have been more involved with bein’ a new mom and dealin’ with my dad,” I returned sarcastically.

“I figure your feelin’ is right. Still. Doesn’t cancel out what I said,” he retorted.

“Every human being has to have compassion and try to be understanding, and that goes double for people who share your blood,” I shot back.