“Benefield will know something’s up. If she comes to my bed willingly, he’s going to want to know why.”
“You still think he’s not sleeping with her?”
“Without coming right out and asking, I don’t believe so.”
“She never leaves his side, and he’s pretty free with touching her.”
“There’s a difference between letting him touch her and having no choice in the matter. If he’s raping her, she wouldn’t tolerate his touch like she does. And as for his touching her, it’s platonic as fuck. He’s possessive of her, but he doesn’t touch her like a lover would.”
It’s true. He never lets his fingers graze her breast. His hand never slips down to her ass. He holds her like a brother would hold a sister. They’re not having sex. I’d bet my life on it.
“You think a man like him is capable of love?” Knox glances at me as if I would know the answer to a question like that. The thing is, I do. The read I have on Benefield solidifies with each passing day.
“No, but he knows lust.”
“I don’t see it. We don’t know he’s not fucking her.”
“Watch him.”
“I watch all the time. All I do is stand around watching stuff.”
“I mean watch how he touches the girls and how it’s different from the way he touches Eve. With Eve, it’s possessive. He reaches out, reassuring himself she’s still there. With the girls, he grabs what he wants and pushes them away when he’s done. There’s a difference.”
“You sure about that?”
“Definitely.”
“To me, it looks like she’s his lover.”
“Benefield wants us to think that.”
“Why?”
“It’s a game.”
“How’s that?”
“She’s the woman he can have whenever he wants. By not taking her, he shows restraint.”
“That’s fucked.”
“Not really. His men sense it. They see a great man, with great power, showing restraint with his greatest asset. Eve gives him power.”
“Like I said, that’s fucked.”
“Not arguing the point, but you can’t deny it’s effective. He’s had every woman here. You see him in the Oasis. You’ve watched how he treats those girls.”
“I do.” Which is why Knox and I stay only as long as necessary in the Oasis, excusing ourselves for the night.
“He can have those girls whenever he wants. He directs their training, but his guests, and his trainers have those girls as well.”
“That’s because he’s a psychopath,” Knox says. “Those girls aren’t human in his eyes. They’re baubles and things. He uses them to scratch an itch.”
“Exactly, but Eve is something else.”
“How so?”
“You know how some kids keep their favorite action figures wrapped in their original packaging? Never opening them? Never playing with them?” I may have done something like that back when I was a kid. It was stupid. I threw out my action figures once my voice deepened and my balls grew hair. Never once did I play with the toy. Waste of time and money.
“Yeah?”
“Eve is that to Benefield.”
“A toy?”
“A toy more valuable because he doesn’t touch her.”
“If you say so.” Knox doesn’t look convinced.
“There will come a time when he opens the package. And when he does, Eve will suffer the same fate as all the other girls in this place.”
“Well fuck. We definitely need to tell her.” Knox scratches his head.
“I thought you vetoed that?”
“I did.”
“You told me not to open that door.”
“Yeah, but if you’re right, it’s a ticking time bomb.” Knox paces in a circle, staring at the dirt as he thinks about all the possibilities that might happen if we tell Eve.
“Precisely.”
“That’s why we need to let Eve know what’s going on. She can help us.” He sounds sure of himself.
I disagree. “She needs to stay in the dark.”
“Come again?” He stops and looks me square in the eye. “This is what you wanted.”
“I need to get him to give her to me, but it needs to be worth it. Or…” I take a breath, trying to puzzle it out. “Or, I need to force his hand.”
“How will you do that?”
“What is it that Benefield craves more than anything?”
“A stable of women to sell to the highest bidder?” Knox shakes his head. “I don’t know. Power, money, and religion are the big three motivators. It’s nothing to do with religion. So, power or money.”
“He’s got more money than he can spend in a hundred lifetimes. Benefield craves power, and he’ll do whatever he can to hold onto it. Which includes getting rid of things that no longer matter.”
“How is that going to help?”
“Because he can’t tolerate anyone who threatens him. He can’t afford to lose.”
“And that’s your grand plan? Get him to lose?”
“Why do you think we’ve been playing poker with the guards?”
“We’ve been pumping them for information.” Knox glances up like I’ve grown two heads.
“True, but I’ve been laying the groundwork.”
“How does losing our asses in poker help?” Knox scratches his head.
“We haven’t lost our asses. You’ve won a fair share. I have too.”
“You’ve lost more than you’ve won. And I’m not happy about you gambling again. Not with your history.”
“I’m not addicted to gambling.” It’s time to finally come clean.
“That’s what an addict would say.”
I take in a deep breath. “It’s time I told you about Scott Connor.”
“Who the hell is that?”
“He’s the reason I stopped gambling.” Blowing out my breath, I unpack the memories of how my arrogance and need for revenge ended the life of a bully.
Knox listens through the whole thing. At first, he doesn’t believe me, but then I explain why we’ve been playing poker with the guards every night.
“Benefield keeps tabs on all his guests. Researches the hell out of them before granting them access.”
“How thoroughly does he research. Our cover…” I get Knox’s concern. Our cover is only as strong as the weakest link.
“Is tight. Mitzy and her team know what they’re doing. I asked her to build in a history of gambling debts, large loses, moderate wins, but overall loss. Just enough to keep me at it.”
“So, we weren’t just pumping the guards for information?”
“Right, we’re laying credible, first-hand accounts of my skill.”
“Fine. So, poker? What’s the play?”
“Get him to bet something he no longer values.”
“And that’s Eve? According to you, he places great value in her.”
“For now. Once he loses to me, her shiny package status is gone. It puts her at even more risk. He’ll part with her because she no longer has value to him. I’ll think I’m getting his little trinket, and I’ll lord that over him. He’ll say he’s tired of her, or something along those lines. That she’s useless, or something. Whatever it takes to maintain his status with his men. We can’t afford to let her know who we are. When he loses her to me, her reaction needs to be real.”