Chapter Twelve

Jewell nearly choked on her eggs foo yung, and reached for her pinot grigio to wash down the last bite she hadn"t quite managed to chew before Dillon finished his story. Dillon and Victoria laughed, and Benjamin chuckled, rubbing his hand across her back. She managed to swallow and waved her hand, trying to say without speaking that she"d live.

Draining the last of the wine, she set the glass down with a thunk. "That was not fair," she scolded. "You could have warned me before I put the food in my mouth."

"What"s the fun in that?"

Benjamin picked up the wine bottle and poured more in her glass. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, grinning, and went back to his plate of food. She barely had her breath when Dillon launched into another story. This time she learned to make sure and wait until he"d landed the punch line before she took a bite. This was the fifth time the four of them had shared an evening like this in the last three weeks, and she enjoyed each one more than the last. With each day, she"d watched some of the stiffness, some of the edge around Benjamin crumble until his smiles were easy, and he"d even laughed once or twice. It was a wonderful sound, uninhibited and robust.

And each day, she fell more in love with him.

They finished eating, and Jewell helped Benjamin gather the dishes and takeout containers to take into the kitchen. He scraped out the remaining food into the garbage disposal and tossed the containers while she rinsed the dishes and loaded the dishwasher. As she set the last dish inside the washer, Benjamin stepped behind her and set his hands on her hips. Jewell turned within his hold and wrapped her arms around his neck for a kiss that tasted of pinot grigio and chow mein.

"I need to go," she said, breaking the kiss and leaning back enough so he could see her lips.

He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and pulled her closer. "Why?"

She smiled because it was an old argument. One they had each time she spent the evening at his townhouse, or he spent the evening at the apartment with her and Ruby. "You know why. We both have work in the morning."

He kissed her again, lingering longer than with the first, but still restrained. Every place they were together provided its own form of forced control. Bulwark in itself was an argument for self-restraint, Ruby was at her apartment, and Victoria and Dillon were almost always at the townhouse. She supposed it all could be seen as a blessing or a curse.

The sound of arguing voices carried from the living room and Jewell glanced past Benjamin in the direction of the fight. Benjamin turned his head and looked over his shoulder, following the line of her sight. "They"re fighting again."

Jewell nodded when he looked back at her. "What do they fight over? They love each other so much, it"s easy to see."

Benjamin stepped away from her, walking around the center island to the other side. He made a show of being busy as he gathered up the remaining packets of soy sauce and disposable chopsticks. Jewell waited until he pulled out his trash drawer and tossed it in the garbage. He closed the drawer with a solid thud and set his hand on the edge of the counter. She leaned her hip against the same edge and crossed her arms over her body. The voices ratcheted up for a moment, then faded again. Benjamin raised his hands.

"I know Victoria loves Dillon. But, I wonder sometimes if she didn"t fall in love with him simply to spite our father."

"I don"t think I understand."

"Dillon grew up with Victoria. They played together in the yard. They even studied together when they started school. He was always a part of her life, so it"s only natural that they love each other."

"That sounds nice. So, how does loving him spite your father?"

"Dillon"s grandfather is our butler."

Jewell hesitated mentally when Benjamin said "butler," comprehending perhaps for the first time that his background and childhood were vastly different than her own in more ways than she first understood. She thought she might know what he implied. He must have seen the comprehension on her face, and nodded, tapping his nose.

"No one is good enough for his daughter, especially not the grandson of a servant," Benjamin clarified.

The front door slammed, sending a reverberation through the house that made Benjamin turn. Victoria paused in the doorway to the kitchen as she passed, looked at them both with tears streaking her cheeks, offered a weak and apologetic smile, and disappeared down the hall toward the stairs. With a sad sigh, Jewell turned to Benjamin and took the step needed to kiss his cheek.

"I"m going to head home. You go talk to your sister. She needs you."

He nodded and walked with her to the hall. Jewell turned right and headed for the door, and Benjamin turned left to follow his sister up the stairs.

* * *

Benjamin stared up at the ceiling, his hands folded behind his head, as he watched the slow rotation of the ceiling fan. The silver light of the setting moon came through his window and created an eerie semi-illuminated glow in the room. A cool autumn breeze caught the drapes of his french doors and they billowed slowly. The crisp bite of the gentle wind brushed across his exposed torso like the soft touch of a woman.

He sighed. Everything made him think of Jewell. The caress of the wind on his skin was her touch. The heady aroma of fresh-cut flowers was her scent. The gentle flow of his brocade drapes was the feminine curves of her body and the graceful way she moved.

Benjamin turned to his side and glanced at the large numbers on his clock. It was just past five-thirty in the morning. Another forty-five minutes or so and the strong vibrations of his alarm mechanism would shake the bed and tell him it was time to get up. This morning it would not be necessary. Sleep eluded him and wouldn"t come before the sun peeked through his window.

His bedroom door opened slightly. Benjamin pushed up onto his elbow and stared through the semi-darkness at the small space. Victoria"s head came through the opening.

"Are you awake?" she signed.

Benjamin sat up and turned on the small light on his side table. He motioned her into the room.

"Unfortunately, yes. Are you just coming home?" After Jewell left, and Benjamin had consoled her for a while, Dillon had returned and asked to take her out. To talk.

Victoria nodded. As she stepped into the light, he saw her eyes were swollen and red from crying. She sat heavily on the end of his bed and wiped at her flushed nose. Benjamin tucked the bed sheet around his waist and swung his legs over the side to sit near her.

"What"s wrong?" he asked.

Victoria"s young face distorted in anguish and new tears poured from her eyes. She hit her thigh with a bunched hand and swiped roughly at the moisture on her cheeks.

"Vicki, tell me what happened," he signed with stern, quick gestures.

"Dillon and I just kept fighting after we left here. He wants me to give up on Daddy. Wants me to make a choice. Dillon doesn"t think it"ll work, doesn"t think we can be together if I don"t."

Benjamin saw the pain in her eyes. His first thought was the same as Dillon"s. He knew as long as she let Jonathan Roth run any aspect of her life, Victoria would have no peace or happiness with Dillon Ferguson. Many times he had told his sister the same thing, even before she became involved with Dillon. Their father was a manipulator and a controller. For Victoria"s sake, Benjamin would not openly agree with her fiancé to try and prevent any further pain to her.

"What did you tell him?"

"What could I tell him? I love Dillon, more than anyone else I"ve ever known. But how can I leave Hartford?" Victoria"s eyes rounded and she leaned toward him. "Ben, you know how Daddy feels about me leaving. I"m supposed to fulfill some undetermined dream of his, and I don"t want to think about what would happen if I defied him."

Benjamin"s mind screamed to tell her Jonathan didn"t give a damn about her so she shouldn"t give a damn about him. He reined in the snap.

"Did you tell him that? Did you tell Dillon you couldn"t choose?"

She nodded and began to cry again.

Benjamin opened the drawer on the table beside him and pulled out a small box of tissues. Victoria took a fresh one and blew her nose. He didn"t need to ask Dillon"s response. Although he could understand the man"s frustration at the situation, Benjamin didn"t agree with Dillon"s ultimatum.

"What are you going to do?"

Victoria threw up her hands. "I don"t know. Daddy is furious with me for defying him, and Dillon says we are over unless I do what he asks. What do you think I should do?" she asked. Her hands shook as she signed the question.

Benjamin sighed. "You know the answer to that question. But it"s not my decision to make."

She nodded, acknowledging her acceptance of his response. Like she did when she was just a child, Victoria turned into him and buried her face against his shoulder. Benjamin wrapped his arms around her and rocked her until the sporadic spasms of her crying jag tapered off and finally stopped.

He still held her when the firm pulsation of his alarm shook the bed. Benjamin eased his sister back onto the mattress, turned off the alarm, and rose on tired legs to move to his bathroom and prepare for another day. Victoria was still asleep, curled into herself in a tight ball, when he finished knotting his tie and left for work.

* * *

Date: November 6 11:19:46am

To: [emailprotected] (Benjamin Roth)

From: [emailprotected] (Victoria Roth)

Subject: I"m sorry…

I couldn"t tell you this face to face this morning, so in this, I"m being a chicken and sending an email. I knew you"d try to talk me out of it.

I"ve gone back to Connecticut. Don"t bother coming home. My suitcases are already in my car, and as soon as I hit send, I"m going out the door. I"ve made up my mind, I know what I have to do, and it doesn"t include hiding behind my big brother. I know you"d stand between me and anyone, but it"s time I stand on my own and make my own decisions.

I"ll talk to you soon. I promise. I love you.

Vicki

Benjamin stared at the computer screen. He ground his teeth together until his jaw hurt and the muscle in his cheek jerked. Hot blood pounded in his ears and the room around him clouded in a red haze as a suffocating tension wrapped around his chest. The pencil he braced through his fingers snapped in two.

A gentle touch on his arm drew Benjamin"s attention. Jewell looked across the desk at him. "Is everything all right, Mr. Roth?" she asked.

Benjamin looked from her to the four fund managers occupying the other chairs across the desk from him. All eyes were on him. He sat up straighter, mentally steeling himself, and dropped the broken pencil on his desk.

"What"s up, B.P?" Alexi Rouan asked.

With a slap, Benjamin folded his laptop to effectively hide the screen. The source of his frustration disappeared. The lingering effect did not dissipate despite the absence of the confession.

"Nothing," he stated and turned to the desk to show his attention was back on the meeting. "I apologize for that. Where were we?"

"We were going over the projected earnings on our international and global funds," Jewell clarified. "Thus far most have nominal long-term gains, only three have any short-term. All but the America"s Fund are without dividends."

Benjamin nodded. "In the Bulwark Family of Funds, it appears our segment shows the strongest performance levels for total growth and the lowest tax implications."

Phillip St. Ormand slapped his hands together and rubbed them vigorously, a huge grin on his face. "Once again. Good job, Roth."

Benjamin looked from one man to the other as they discussed the expected success of their particular funds in a struggling American market. This would be the third consecutive year his international funds finished at the top of Bulwark"s list. With the rates of return they projected, he suspected they would finish among the best in the nation. For reasons Benjamin couldn"t define, the financial victory didn"t hold the same satisfaction as it had in the past. While he knew he succeeded in the objectives set out, the thrill of the "stock" hunt lacked enthusiasm.

Despite the conversation going on between the four men, and the self-created acclamation party, Benjamin"s thoughts drifted again to the email from his sister. If she went back to that mausoleum there would be no chance of reconciliation with Dillon.

The sensation of being watched pulled Benjamin from his contemplations. He looked up and met Jewell"s stare. Her gaze was intense with one elegant eyebrow raised in an inquisitive arch. Benjamin locked his eyes with hers, neither of them wavering from the hold. Jewell"s eyes asked questions as clearly as if her lips spoke them or her hands signed them. With a deep sigh, he slowly shook his head in a subtle motion. She dipped her chin and looked at the other men in the room.

* * *

As soon as the meeting in Benjamin"s office wrapped up, Benjamin had a private meeting with Mr. Westmoreland, leaving Jewell to wrap up some research on a Belgian biotechnology firm Benjamin had an interest in for their Global Research and Technology fund. She would have loved to have had just a couple minutes alone with him to ask what could have been in his email to upset him.

She saw the way it hit him, even if the shift was too subtle to be detected by the other fund managers. His entire expression tensed, and she practically felt the emotion rolling off him. She just didn"t know what emotion she sensed.

He"d been distant all morning. She"d arrived at the office early, and he was already there, finishing off his second cup of coffee. He told her that Victoria had come home in the early hours of the morning, upset over yet another argument she"d had with Dillon. Whatever news came in the email just added to the tension twisting in him.

"Hey, Jewell. I"m running down to the break room for an iced tea. You want anything?" April said from the doorway.

Jewell looked up and shook her head. "No, thank you. I"m still working on the diet soda I picked up at lunch."

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything."

Jewell"s email chimed. She waited until April stepped away from the door before popping open the email window. Several new emails waited to be read, most internal memos and reminders, but the one at the top of the list made Jewell still her hand over her mouse.

From: Victoria Roth

Jewell double-clicked on the subject line You have to understand and opened the email. It was long, and Jewell blinked several times to focus on the first line.

Date: November 6 3:32:15pm

To: [emailprotected] (Jewell Kincaid)

From: [emailprotected] (Victoria Roth)

Subject: You have to understand…

Jewell…

I know that by now my brother has told you I"ve left Boston and gone back to Connecticut.

Jewell paused, blinked, and read the sentence again. With that one statement, Victoria made everything painfully clear. No wonder he had looked so angry when he read the email, especially if that was how he found out. It had to be because if he had known when he arrived at the office that Victoria had gone back, he would have told her.

There had been no time after one meeting and before the next.

She huffed and rubbed her fingertips across her forehead, the low thud of a headache building behind her eyes. Benjamin and Victoria were as close as she and Garnett, and Jewell could only imagine if she had to watch her brother struggle with the choices Victoria felt she had to make. Choose between her parents and two men who loved her—her brother and her lover.

Choices no one should be required to make.

Jewell finished the flat soda left in her can and focused again on the screen.

I know that by now my brother has told you I"ve left Boston and gone back to Connecticut. I can just imagine how angry he is, and I wish there could have been another way. Maybe there was. Probably there was. But, at the time it was the only course of action I could see.

I like you, Jewell. And I believe that Benjamin loves you, or if he doesn"t, he will soon. You"re so good for him. I think maybe you love my brother already. You"ve seen a small fraction of the dysfunction that is our family, but I think you should know more. Jewell, if you"re going to be with him you"re going to have to deal with everything that comes with him.

Benjamin was eleven years old when I was born. I can only imagine how it was for him when he was young. He has told me so little. My brother thinks it"s a sign of weakness to complain, or even talk about it.

Ben was born deaf. By what I understand, the full extent of his impairment wasn"t realized until he was about three years old. All this information I got from my Aunt Rachel, my mother"s sister. Supposedly it"s a recessive genetic birth defect. It must go way, way back because they never figured out where it came from.

From what I"ve been told, Mom and Daddy took the news fine at first. But Aunt Rachel told me it was like something snapped in my father. Daddy started drinking and turned into a jerk overnight. He refused to have anything to do with Benjamin. When Ben was five, he was enrolled in a boarding school and sent away to live there. Aunt Rachel told me it was the best thing for him, no matter how cruel that sounds. Daddy"s drinking made him violent, and my understanding is that Benjamin was often a target for his anger.

Jewell had to stop and swallow hard, blinking against the fury and choking sorrow that gripped her when she read the last sentence. Of all the evils that existed in the world, of all the abuses and the mistreatments—some of which had been the crumbling foundations that had ultimately created the better part of the Kincaid family—Jewell could never fathom the ability of a parent to reap violence on their own child. Any child, but especially one"s own.

She opened her drawer and took out a tissue, dabbing at her eyes as she tried to tamp down the rawness. The door leading to the bullpen was open, so as much as Jewell wanted to weep, she couldn"t. Not without potentially drawing attention she didn"t want.

A glance at the clock displayed in the corner of her monitor said it was nearly four. Benjamin would be done soon, and they could get out of here for the weekend. If she already found it hard to read his sister"s words, she wondered what else the lengthy email held, and hoped she wouldn"t be in tears when he came back. A quick passing thought told her to stop, but she knew she couldn"t. She needed to continue.

My father refused to learn sign language and forbade my mother from learning. I can remember my father stating it would do Benjamin no good to be coddled. He had to learn to live in a world that didn"t give a damn he wasn"t normal. He was expected to conform to us, not us to him. It took years to do it, but Benjamin learned to speak and read lips. Of course, not with any help from them. He found people to teach him all on his own.

Benjamin tried to shield me from the worst of it, even before I knew what all the tension and yelling was about whenever he was home. But my parents did nothing to hide anything from me. In fact, when I was nine or ten, my father told me I should steer clear of my brother when he came home because he brought nothing but disgrace and hostility with him. My father told me he was a strain on the family and a burden I would have to carry when they were gone, because he would never amount to anything.

Even at that age, I couldn"t believe how blind my father was to the truth. Ben was twenty-one years old, had graduated from high school at sixteen, finished college, and was working on his Master"s Degree. All on full academic scholarship. But according to my father, Ben would never amount to anything. How ignorant is that?

The highlight of my life was when my big brother came home for brief visits. My earliest memories are of sneaking into his bedroom in the middle of the night. We"d hide under the covers of his bed and he would let me talk for hours about dolls and storybooks until I would finally fall asleep. I was probably four or five, so he was already a teenager. He looked so big, handsome, and wonderful to me. And he always smiled at me. Benjamin was the only one who ever smiled…

He spent all his time with me when he came home. Or at least as much as Mother and Father would allow. Daddy said he was incompetent and couldn"t be trusted alone with me. But when I got older, Benjamin snuck in and played with me for hours on end. He taught me sign language. It was as natural for me to learn as English. We weren"t allowed to use it around grown-ups, so it was our private little language. We could speak across a room without anyone knowing it. But beyond everything else, I remember loving him. I adore him.

Which is why I"m telling you all this. I love my brother. I want him to be happy. I have never seen him as happy as he is with you. You are his happiness, Jewell. I don"t want to put pressure on you, but I wanted you to understand.

Loving him won"t be easy, Jewell. He"s stubborn, he"s shielded, he"s opinionated, and he can be a real butthead. But, if you gain his love, Jewell…he will love you with everything he has.

Just promise me you"ll do the same.

Victoria

The words were a blur by the time she finished. Jewell blinked, and tears rolled down her cheeks. She turned her back to the open office door and bowed her head, clenching her hands in her lap. She wasn"t sure what affected her more deeply—the trauma of his life, or the beauty of his love for his sister. And her love for him.

Her chest ached, her throat ached, and her whole body ached for them both. Not for the harsh, accusatory, loveless man who had intruded into Benjamin"s home. Not for the meek woman who had done nothing to protect her son. For Benjamin and Victoria.

She drew in a shaky breath and raised her head, looking toward the large window along her back office wall that looked down onto Friend Street. The sun was bright today, but she knew the air held a fall chill. The cold could easily be forgotten with the sunlight streaming in to warm the small office. Jewell stood and went to the window, looking through the jungle of steel, glass, and brick that made up the Financial District. Orange construction cones blocked off some areas of the street, and people moved up and down the sidewalks, avoiding obstacles and each other. No one walked with anyone, everyone moved independently. Alone. Cell phones to their ears and briefcases in their hands.

She leaned her forehead against the warm glass, closing her eyes.

Warmth and light seeped into her, pushing away the cold in the center of her chest.

Benjamin"s touch on her shoulder pulled her from her impromptu meditation, and she turned before she even opened her eyes, raising her arms to wrap them around him. For that moment, she didn"t care if he"d left the door open. She just needed to hold him.

He wrapped her in his arms, his hands pressing firmly into her back, and he turned his face into her neck. Neither said anything for a long time, but even then, when he pulled back Jewell wanted to tell him it was too soon.

"Come on," he said, sliding his hand from her back to her arm and down to lace her fingers with his. "I need to get out of here." He paused, smiled, and touched her cheek with his other hand. "I need some time with you."

Jewell smiled and stepped away from him to retrieve her purse from her desk drawer. He left her to close up his office, and Jewell leaned over to shut down her system. Her attention shifted for a moment to the open email, and she wondered if he"d noticed when he walked past. With the computer turned off, she moved through her usual routine of shutting the door between their offices, smiling at him before shutting the door, and exiting her office into the space behind April"s desk.

"Any plans for the weekend?" she asked as she shut and locked her office door. Only then did she send up a silent thank you that Benjamin had thought to shut it when he came in.

"I have a date tonight," April said with a wide grin, spinning around in her chair.

"Oooh." Jewell set her purse down on April"s desk, leaning against the edge. She glanced up as Benjamin came out of his office and likewise locked his door. "Tell me about him."

Benjamin set his hand on the high wall of April"s desk, looking at them both. "Good night, ladies," he said simply and stepped away, raising the same hand in a short wave.

April waved back but turned her attention immediately back to Jewell. "His name is William Morgan, and I met him in my night course over at BC. We"re going to dinner tonight."

"Is he cute?"

Benjamin reached the elevator and pushed the call button, never looking back. This was the game they played. It wasn"t against corporate policy for Bulwark employees to date as long as they kept things professional in the workplace, but they agreed there was no need to add grist to the rumor mill, and besides that, it was no one"s business but their own. No need to advertise it to the likes of Kevin Burke, who loved to stir the pot.

"He"s gorgeous," April went on, fanning herself with her flat hand. "Dark hair, dark eyes, arms the size of torpedoes…"

Jewell laughed, and in the distance, the elevator dinged as it descended.

She spent another five minutes listening to April describe her new man as April shut down her own equipment for the weekend. They walked together to the elevator and rode it to the street. April drove since she lived in Chelsea and said the train was too much hassle for such a short distance, so she headed across the street to a parking garage used widely by Bulwark employees. With a wave, Jewell started down Friend Street, rounded the corner, and climbed into Benjamin"s waiting car.

* * *

"She gave you no hint she was planning to leave?" Jewell asked from her perch at his counter bar. She had to wait for an opportune moment to sign her question as he bustled around his kitchen.

"She wanted to be with Dillon, so I can"t understand why she"d choose to go back to Connecticut. It makes no sense," he answered over his shoulder as he sautéed asparagus in a hot skillet.

The aromas of garlic, baking rolls, and broiling steak mingled in the air making her mouth water. He"d driven her to the townhouse without asking what she"d like to do for dinner and had wasted no time in cooking their meal. He was a great cook. Just one more thing in a long list of accomplishments Benjamin Roth could claim.

She hadn"t failed to notice that four steaks had been set out to thaw, so he had planned—or perhaps hoped was a better word—that Victoria and Dillon would be with them for dinner. He"d put the steaks away without a word and ordered her to sit at the counter bar while he prepared the meal.

She couldn"t ask him anything else for the next several minutes as he made the final preparations for the meal. By then, all they had to do was wait a few minutes until everything was done. He wiped his fingers off with a small towel and turned to her. "Wine?"

Jewell nodded, and he grabbed two goblets from his hanging rack and took a bottle of merlot from his wine cabinet. When he motioned with his head toward the adjoining dining room she patted the counter. "Why don"t we eat right here?"

He was a bundle of energy, keeping himself moving constantly. She wasn"t sure, but she figured it was probably all avoidance. Benjamin set down the glasses, and poured the wine, but before she could say anything more, he tried to take off again. Jewell hopped down from her high stool and gripped the fabric of his sleeve, stopping him short. He pointed toward the oven to offer an argument, but she took his face in her hands and pulled him to her for a kiss. It took all of two seconds before he turned fully into her and his fingers pressed into her hips, drawing her closer to him. His mouth tasted of the garlic and butter he"d sampled off his fingers while cooking. Jewell opened her mouth and his groan whispered between them.

She kissed him until his hold felt less intense and more impassioned, and then she stepped back, offering a wink. "Check on dinner, Benjamin."

He pulled a face that was somewhere between "Oh, you"re evil" and "I"ll get you for that later" before opening the oven to take out their filet mignon steaks.

Reminding him that there were other things to focus on seemed to ease a little bit more of the tension that pulled at him. They talked and signed all through dinner to the point that her final bites of steak were cold, if not still delicious.

With a chuckle at her story about Pearl"s first attempt at making fudge, Benjamin stood and picked up her plate, taking it to the sink. "How does one get exploding chocolate out of the curtains?"

Jewell laughed, standing with him. "You don"t. You buy new curtains."

Benjamin set the dishes in the sink and turned to the refrigerator, taking out a four-layer chocolate torte with raspberries and crystallized sugar decorating the top. It was huge, clearly intended to serve more than two, and packaged inside a clear container bearing the logo of a local bakery. As soon as he removed the lid, the mouthwatering aroma of chocolate and raspberries hit Jewell. She laid her hand against her stomach.

"Goodness, Benjamin. You keep feeding me like this, nothing is going to fit me anymore."

His gaze shifted from her hands, down her body, and back to her face as a lecherous grin curled his lips. "Is that a bad thing?"

She wasn"t sure who moved first, or who reached first, but she was in his arms. His kiss poured molten honey through her, pooling in her limbs and her stomach, and in an instant she wanted "more". More of his touch. More of his kiss. More of his taste. More of his skin.

Just more.

Benjamin turned them, edging her toward the hallway…and the possibilities beyond sitting rooms with comfortable couches, plush carpeted floors in front of fireplaces, and stairs that led to…his bedroom.

If they made it that far.

Benjamin put her against the wall, his mouth magic on her throat. Jewell couldn"t stop the bombardment of sensations. His hips pressed against her, declaring without any doubt the physical evidence that he felt the same. His tongue smoothed beneath her jaw, his lips sucked at her throat, and his hands tugged her blouse free from the waistband of her work trousers.

Jewell groaned when his hot palm pressed to her side.

He held her so close that she felt the vibration from his smartphone in his pocket when it went off. He never moved to answer it. If anything, he pressed his body harder against her, the shift of his hips eliciting another flush of sensation through her.

Benjamin bent at the knees, aligning his body lower with hers, his mouth finding the exposed skin at the collar of her blouse to kiss the valley between her breasts. With his breath hot on her skin, he rubbed his body against hers from thigh to chest. Jewell threw her head back, exposing her throat. His fingers laced with hers and he pushed her hands above her head, holding her against the wall.

The phone vibrated again and he released her hand long enough to flail blindly to his pocket, tossing the phone on the floor where it rattled and shook.

Go away! Leave us alone! God, Benjamin, touch me again!

Her thoughts splintered in thousands of directions but nothing mattered.

His open mouth found hers again, his tongue plunging in to devour the sounds she couldn"t stop any more than her next breath. He stopped the kiss, releasing her hands to hold her face between his palms. Their rapid breath mingled in the space between them. Benjamin stared down at her with dark eyes, and a smile ticked his lips. Jewell almost wanted to giggle with the giddy sensation his aroused smile inspired.

Without needing to speak, Benjamin took her hand and stepped back, leading her toward the stairs. Her heart pounded in her chest like a caged bird, desperate for escape. The phone rattled again on the floor and the screen lit up. Benjamin stepped over it, intending to leave it where it lay, but the screen caught Jewell"s attention and she had to stop.

Victoria Calling.

Jewell tugged at Benjamin"s hand to stop him and crouched to pick up the phone. He turned, the smile still on his face, but confusion tugged at his brow. She held up the phone so he could see what the screen said.

"She wouldn"t call," he said simply.

The champagne warmth under her skin almost instantly dissipated. He jerked his chin toward the phone, his smile completely gone. The phone vibrated in her hand. Swallowing, Jewell pressed the green icon to answer and pressed the phone to her ear.

"Hello."

A shuffling sound carried through the phone and she heard an elderly man"s voice. "I don"t know if I did this right. Take a look, Bea." The voice was distant but close enough that Jewell knew he held the phone.

"Hello," Jewell said louder, hoping he"d hear.

"You"ve called them, George. Someone is on the line."

"Oh, goodness." There were more shuffling sounds. "H-hello?"

"Yes," Jewell said, looking at Benjamin as she spoke. He gave a jerky sign to ask who it was, and she shrugged. "Hello. Who is this?"

"Uh, um, this is George Ferguson. I"m hoping to reach Benjamin Roth. Have—have I done that? Who is this?"

"I"m Jewell Kincaid, a friend of Benjamin"s. Can I help you?" With her free hand, she finger-spelled the caller"s name.

"He"s Dillon"s grandfather," he told her.

"Oh, Miss Kincaid," the older man declared with such enthusiasm Jewell had to take the phone away from her ear. "Oh, thank goodness. Victoria and Dillon speak so highly—I—Miss Kincaid, I"m sorry. I have been trying all day to find a way to reach Ben, but no one here—and then I found Victoria"s phone. I don"t even know what I did to?—"

"Sir, is there something wrong?" Jewell interrupted. His sentences were so broken, his thought chains scattered, she couldn"t figure out the point of the call.

"Wrong?" His voice nearly broke, and he cleared his throat. "Yes, terribly wrong. Victoria…Victoria has been shot. She?—"

"Shot?" Jewell swayed and reached out with her free hand, and Benjamin caught her, his attention never leaving her face. She knew he"d read the word on her lips.

"Yes. They—uh—the police arrested my grandson, but he didn"t—that"s not?—"

Jewell wanted to scream at him to just say it. She closed her eyes and pressed her fingers to her forehead. "Please, sir, please tell me. Is she alright?" Benjamin"s grip on her arm tightened and she opened her eyes to look at him.

"She survived surgery, but they don"t know if…"

"If what, Mr. Ferguson," Jewell snapped.

"They don"t know if she"ll make it through the night. I thought—I knew—I knew Ben would need to know, but?—"

Jewell"s heart froze and her knees buckled. "Dear God," she managed to whisper.

"You"ve got to tell Ben, Miss Kincaid. He needs to come. He needs to help fix this. It"s—they say Dillon did it, but he wouldn"t—he could never…"

"We"ll be there in a few hours," she choked out and managed to end the call without the phone falling out of her trembling hand.

Jewell hung up the phone and swallowed hard against the hot lump in her throat. She forced herself to look up, slipping the phone into her pocket. There was no way she could speak, and if she tried to sign and hold the phone it would end up a shattered mass of bits and pieces on the tile. Deep lines furrowed his forehead and his eyes searched her face. With Herculean effort, Jewell raised her hands and told him.

Benjamin shoved her hands away as she signed, as if in an attempt to silence her. "No."

"I"m so sorry." Jewell couldn"t speak, the words caught in her throat. "Benjamin, I"m so sorry."

He turned away before she finished the sign, and took the staircase two steps at a time. Jewell tried to keep up, but he reached his bedroom before her and came out of the closet with a suitcase when she came through the door. She stood helpless, watching him make two trips between the open suitcase on the bed and his closet. It wasn"t until he came out of the attached bathroom with his sachet that he faltered in his frenzied attack on his wardrobe. He hunched over the suitcase, his hands braced on the open edge of the luggage, his head down. Jewell took a step toward him, her heart aching in her chest.

When his shoulders shook and a strangled cry ripped through him, Jewell rushed to him and wrapped her arms across his back. He tried to shrug her off, but she held on and the attempt was only halfhearted.

His knees hit the floor with a loud thud, Jewell moving with him. A heart-wrenching sob shook his shoulders. Jewell leaned over him and wrapped her arms around him as best she could. His arms circled her waist and he buried his face in her lap. Silent cries rocked his body and his tears soaked through her blouse. She could do nothing but hold on and pray.