Page 72 of Benji

Benji nodded and he tightened his arm around me. “Nolan.”

“Okay, sweetheart. Let’s get you home.”

He was exhausted.

The police operation to get the two men who’d chased Benji was now a weight off his shoulders.

Such a relief.

As soon as we were home, he kicked off his shoes, left his jeans on the floor, and crawled into bed, wearing nothing but his briefs and that damn crop top.

There was no sex that night, or the day that followed.Benji simply needed comfort and strength in the form of warm embraces, gentle touches, and soft kisses. He needed support and solidarity.

I was more than happy to give it to him.

TWELVE

BENJI

When Nolan had saidit wouldn’t be easy, he wasn’t kidding.

It started with police reports and interviews. But not with normal cops. These were some high-ranking badges, and as intimidating as it was, Nolan was with me the whole time.

And Dominic.

I had a newfound respect for Dominic. He was a hard-arse, but he took no bullshit and he protected me from the wrong kind of questions, helping me understand when and what to answer.

Nolan just protected me from everything else.

He held my hand the entire time, and he was my shield against the curious looks and whispers. He even reminded one lady—who decided to question the legality and moral integrity of my job—that I was on their side, there to helpthemdespite the obvious threat to my own life.

I loved that Nolan had defended me, ripping into her like he did. I’d expected Dominic to tell Nolan to be quiet, but he didn’t. He stared at the woman until she apologised to me.

And I knew then that what Fitch had said before was true. I would never be this protected, never be this prepared to take on my father than I would be with these guys on my team.

Now that I was no longer in hiding, I cleaned out my old bank account. That money had sat untouched for years, and it seemed surreal to call it mine now, after all those times in the last few years I’d been lucky to scrape together a few bucks.

I also had my Medicare card back and my school certificates, which meant maybe I could truly begin to think about my future.

Myactualfuture.

After all the police interviews and after I’d handed over the evidence, all the names and details, we could do nothing but wait.

It was going to take time, Nolan explained, to make sure everything was done to the absolute letter of the law.

He was taken off my father’s case.

He said it was fine. It was procedure and protocol, and he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardise the rest of the trial. He’d said his department wasn’t even mad because the new evidence was, as they’d said, hopefully, the metaphorical nail in the coffin of my father’s freedom.

And possibly my brother’s.

While I hated that Nolan’s work was affected, thathe’d had to hand over all the work he’d done in the last year, I was also kinda glad.

I didn’t want him involved.

I didn’t want his name to ever come across my father’s ears.

Then came the discussions about my safety and the likelihood of changing my name. I wasn’t sure about that.