Page 72 of The Wolf and the Monarch

“Sawyer,” Benji repeated and grabbed his chin. “I promise you won’t be on the streets. You helped me. You saved me. Now it’s time I help you.”

He had no choice but to stare Benji right in the eyes and he nodded. “You have been helping me, Benji,” he huffed, “But okay.”

Benji smiled softly and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips then walked over to the car. According to Jackson, they left the keys in the visor on the driver side and the door was unlocked. He wasn’t much of a car guy, but he certainly could read and whatever car Jackson provided them was some sort of a Honda. The inside was pretty solid too. It even had a GPS so the map they bought was going to be obsolete. Not that it was much of an issue for Benji to read it, but if he didn’t have to use his brain all that much to get back home, he was going to do that.

Sawyer hopped into the passenger seat and looked around the vehicle with an approving look on his face. “Pretty nice.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“How did he get this car?”

“Who knows… Just one of the many mysteries about Jackson.” Benji was never going to claim he understood it.

“How will he get it back?”

“I guess I’ll just tell him when I’m home and he’ll have someone pick it up.” Benji certainly didn’t want to keep it. He liked his Jeep.

“Fair enough,” Sawyer chuckled and relaxed back into the seat as the car turned on. He looked over to Benji. “Ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess,” he muttered as he punched in the address to the base of operations. Just from inputting that simple information, his heart began to pound in his chest. He’d be home so soon… It felt like everything was going to come to a head. Sawyer’s hand rested on his thigh, which earned a soft breath from Benji. At least he would be here. He could be strong a while longer as long as Sawyer was there. “Let’s go.” He finally said and pulled out of the garage, beginning to drive to their destination.

The drive went much quicker than he had expected. Driving hours was really no issue when you had someone you liked sitting next to you the whole ride. Plus, Sawyer was a pretty good passenger. He helped with all the things that Benji couldn’t do with one hand like opening up a bottle of water, grabbing his food out of the fast food bag and handing it to him. Plus, he didn’t fall asleep on him. That was really the best part. They had good conversations together.

Pulling into the underground parking, Benji’s stomach was doing backflips. He had never been so nervous to see his family. Mostly his dad. And perhaps his uncles. He just wondered how they were going to react to the whole situation. Were they going to take Benji’s side? His dad’s? They were brothers after all. It wouldn’t surprise him if they did… But it would sting. But he supposed that as long as Andi and Sawyer were with him, he could weather any storm.

He released a breath when he saw that his Jeep was still there, parked exactly where he had left it. He was half expecting it to be gone. There was no one outside, which made sense. It was pretty damn cold. He probably should have told Andi to keep an eye out for him but his mind was all over the place and it honestly just slipped his mind. But he could be a welcomed surprise, he supposed.

Turning off the ignition, Benji just leaned back in his seat and stared at the door. Sawyer looked in the direction that he was. “This it?” Benji nodded. “It really is in the middle of nowhere.”

“Safer that way.”

Sawyer nodded. “Yeah, I get it,” he turned his head, “Did you want to go in?”

“No,” Benji answered sincerely. Sawyer didn’t say anything. He just nodded once and settled back into his seat. He then sighed, “And yes.”

“Might be easier to just…get it over with?” Sawyer probably had a point. What good was it delaying the inevitable? The sooner it was over, the sooner they could figure out what life looked like for everyone.

With a nod of his head, they both exited the vehicle and Benji led the way into the facility. He punched in the code and was half expecting it to be changed, but luckily, it wasn’t. He swallowed hard as he pushed the door open. For a moment, he just stood in the hallway before Sawyer gave him an encouraging push forward, which prompted him to keep moving.

Benji moved down the familiar hallway and approached the main office, quietly stepping inside. The moment he stepped in, Andi gasped the loudest he had ever heard and she was on her feet, running over to him. Immediately, she crashed into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and Benji wrapped his around her. He buried his face into her shoulder and began to sob. His body shook with each one. He hadn’t expected to feel the way he was but it was impossible not to. He had missed her so fucking much. He felt nothing but despair until the moment he left that place. He heard other movements in the room and he lifted his head a bit to see Spence and Travis approaching as well. Spence’s arm was in a sling, which was interesting and he would surely be questioning that. But for right now, he just needed to hug his sister.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Andi finally whispered through her own tears, swaying back and forth with him. “You made it back. You’re okay.”

“I pinky promised, didn’t I?” He wept as he finally pulled himself back from her. Andi’s hands placed on his face and she wiped his tears with her thumbs, which earned a roll of his eyes. His gaze shifted towards his uncles and they immediately wrapped him up in a collective hug. “Hey, guys,” he managed to squeak out.

Spence was crying, there was no doubt about that. He placed his forehead against the top of Benji’s head, shaking his own. “I was so worried about you, Benji. I-I’m so sorry. So fucking sorry. I should have–”

He shook his head and cut him off. “It’s not your fault, Spence.”

Travis sighed. “That’s what I told him,” he pulled back from the hug and placed his hand on Benji’s shoulder as his gaze fell upon Sawyer. “A friend of yours?”

Sawyer immediately cleared his throat and he stood up a bit straighter as he took a step inside the room. “Hi, sir. I…I am. I’m Sawyer.”

His uncle just nodded. “No offense, but we’ll get to you soon.”

Sawyer chuckled awkwardly and held up his hands. “No offense taken. I’m just going to–”

“Stay here. With me.” Benji cut in and looked to his uncles. “Okay?” They just nodded. There was no point in arguing it at that moment. “Where’s Dad?”