Awakening (Book 2 in the Original BOC Series) ✔

Chapter Thirty-Three

Everything seemed to be just fine.

There wasn't any fighting, any yelling, any more predicaments that the house endured. It was just another normal day. Ben was making his way toward the study on the second floor to check on Rory about that special case he was looking into. It was quiet in the house with everyone in their rooms. Ben concluded it had to do with the fact it was only six-thirty in the morning.

His internal alarm wouldn't let him sleep anymore and had him dress for the day before heading down the stairs to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. He found Porcali already in there at the kitchen table with a steaming mug.

Porcali had glanced up at Ben entering and grinned, "Coffee's damn good."

"Is it now?" Ben questioned with a thick brow raised. Porcali chuckled, sipping from his raised mug, "Well I made it." Ben smiled, pouring himself some from the pot and said, without looking, "Mm, perhaps not then."

They sat at the table for an hour or so, simply conversing mindless things. They wanted a day with not having to discuss Travosky or some form of action they needed to take for that day. Everything was fine at the moment, and both men wanted to bask in it for as long as they could.

After they departed from the kitchen, Porcali bid Ben a goodnight while Ben returned upstairs for the study. It was in the far back of the house; more secluded and had the most windows. Ben didn't really like any of the others in this part of the house, just because it was creepy to him. But he allowed Rory to venture there because of the project Ben had him working on.

Chambers, Ben had a harder time keeping from that part of the house. The seventeen year old would bounce around the house with Sam—when he wasn't spending time with Steven to talk about the woman that gave birth to him.

Ben was glad that Sam was able to give Steven a chance to make amends; and that Steven was pushing himself to turn over a new leaf. Both boys were kept in a separate hall from Mayor Marshall who Ben and Porcali had to keep there in the house so that any tails couldn't follow the mayor back to his wife and daughter.

When he finally reached the study, Ben paused outside the wooden door. He studied it a moment, narrowing his eyes. It wasn't like Rory to keep the door closed, no matter how secretive this assignment was. He always had it open to keep an eye on who entered the room. Something in Ben's gut had him reaching behind him to pull the Glock pistol he kept in his waistband.

He rapped on the door lightly with his knuckles, not receiving a response. He then pulled off the safety, throwing the door open with his arms raised. Ben's jaw tightened at the sight of Sophie holding the barrel of her Beretta 92 against a still sitting Rory's temple.

The grey eyed female's face looked mixed between purpose and wonder. She was standing calmly beside Rory with her chin lowered and her eyes in slits. Ben's jaw slanted to the side, shaking his head and quietly spoke, "Sophie... nice to see you again."

Sophie said nothing. She kept giving Ben a hard glare, pressing the barrel against Rory's head and made him flinch. Ben shook his head, slowly, "Why are you back here, Sophie? Why'd you come back here?" Sophie's lip curled and narrowed her eyes more.

"You know why I'm back. Don't pretend like I still don't have a score to settle."

Ben calmly shook his head again, telling Sophie that he was not going to let her hurt Nathan. Sophie responded that the old man would break a hip before he'd be able to offer any kind of salvation to Nathan. The man narrowed his eyes, his nostrils flaring, his jaw tightening, and his grip on the handle of his gun constricting.

"Let Rory go, Sophie."

Rory flinched again when Sophie—still staring at Ben with a blank face—pulled her thumb to slowly pull back the safety. She raised a brow, tilting her head at the old man at the doorway. The blonde beside her was gripping tightly to his arm rests, swallowing hard and closing his eyes tightly.