Piper (Queen's Birds of Prey 4)

He was put on hold, and Benson had to tell himself to be calm. He didn’t want to scare the woman just because he knew Retha better than they did. When the woman answered the phone, he could hear the anger in her voice.

“My name is Benson Lawrence. I’m the biological father of Abraham. I’m not sure what his last name is right now. When Retha left my home several years ago, she was going by Bundy.” The woman didn’t say anything, and Benson took that as a good sign. “I’m not with her. This other man—I think her actual husband, Tag Bundy—is with her and coming toward your home. I’m not sure what her plans are for Abraham, but it can’t be good. She and I...it was a one night stand as far as sex was concerned. Then about a year or so later—”

“Why are you calling here, Mr. Lawrence?” He told her that was what he was getting to. “Just cut to the chase. You assured my staff that you’re not going to cause any trouble. Yet you calling here has upset my household. Not to mention, upset me. I’m not one to fuck with.”

“No, ma’am. I can understand that you’re not. Retha will hurt Abraham if she gets him from you. She’s done it before. She lived with me for a little while, a few months after the little boy was born. Then one day, I came home from work, and she was gone. I didn’t let it go. I probably should have, but I found someone to look for her for me. When they caught up with her, she no longer had Abraham. I thought for sure that she’d murdered him. Then I read about that place in the paper and went there. That’s where I figured out about you and your husband.” She asked him what he meant by that. “I’m thinking you’re not very trusting. But that’s a good thing nowadays. I read about the thing with the children’s home. They didn’t have a list of names to go with it, but I did some of my own searching and found that Abraham and a girl by the name of Tracy were adopted. Well, that’s not true. They were all adopted, but I was able to narrow it down to you and your husband. I’m just trying to keep him safe from her. She’s not what one might call maternal.”

“What is it you want out of this, Mr. Lawrence? I’m not going to turn Abe over to you. If that’s what you’re thinking, then you’d better change your mind. As I told you before, I’m not one to fuck with.” He said he wasn’t in a position to raise anyone right now. “And the reason you say that? You’re not going to come here either if you’re planning something with Retha. We know she’s on her way here. We assumed that Abe’s biological father was with her.”

“No. I.... When Abe came to live with me for a while, I did one of those DNA tests. I only had a one night thing with Retha. To be honest, Mrs. Dante, I don’t even remember much of it. I’ve never been one to indulge in liquor or the like. But that next morning, I woke with a splitting headache, my money gone, and no memory of much of anything. Retha was there. She acted like we had this long term thing going on, and I kicked her to the curb. Then about a year later, she comes around with this kid.” Benson sat down on his couch. “I don’t want anything from you. I swear. It’s a bit too late for me, anyway. She gave me AIDS, you see, and I’m not long for this world. She’s the only person that...Retha is the only person I’ve ever slept with. And I don’t think she even knows she’s sick yet.”

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Lawrence. I truly am.” He felt his eyes fill up. More tears wouldn’t help him out, he told her, but he did want to make sure the one thing he could be proud of was safe. “I’m sending someone for you. I want you to come here to our home and see what you can help us with concerning Retha.”

“No, ma’am, that’s all right. Like I said, I wanted to make sure that Abraham is safe, that’s all.” She told him that someone by the name of Grant was going to be there within the next hour. “You don’t know anything about me, miss. What if I’m some sort of scammer?”

“If you are, when you arrive, you won’t have to worry about dying that horrific death. I’ll make sure you suffer much worse.” He believed her too. Telling her he’d be there, he asked if she needed his address. “No. I have it. As well as your medical records. You’ll see that we’re not a family that anyone messes with. Retha won’t know what hit her. You’ll come here, we’ll work things out, and then we’ll talk. Be ready.”

After the line went dead, Benson laid back on the couch. He wasn’t feeling up for much of anything today. Not just feeling sick, but the doctor hadn’t given him a good prognosis. He had less than two months left.

Benson had always thought of himself as a good person. He’d been the type of man that would get up from his seat to give it to someone else. If he had more than enough, which had been often enough, he’d share it with those that lived around him. He had friends, money in the bank, as well as a good outlook on life. Then Retha.

The DNA test hadn’t come back until she left him again. The boy was ninety-nine percent his. That, he thought, was about as close as it could get. While the two of them had been living with him, Benson knew that Abraham was much smarter than the average kid. By the time he was three months old, he’d been showing signs of being extremely intelligent. Retha hated when Benson pointed that out to her, so he stopped. That didn’t keep him from encouraging the little boy. Then he was gone.

A friend of his, a cop, had told him that the police had been trying to stop the selling of children on the black market. Every day he’d ask Mac if his son had come through. Then one day, he told him he’d been there. But before either of them could retrieve him from the hospital, he was gone again. Stolen, they said. That was when Benson lost all hope of finding him again. Until he read about the children’s home. But again, he was too late to find his son.

Someone at the door woke him from his nap. Benson staggered to the door, his body getting weaker every day, and opened it. His timing could have been better, he supposed. He opened it in time to hear Mrs. Sheradon from across the hall telling the man at the door that Benson had that nasty disease. That the man should go home to his wife.

“I’m his wife, you old goat. Get your skinny ass back in that room before I have to make an example of you. Get.” Mrs. Sheradon closed her door with a snap, and the beautiful woman that had threatened her smiled at him. “Hello, Mr. Lawrence. My name is Piper Coby. This man is my husband, Grant. You were told to expect us?”

“Yes. I’m sorry. I just woke up.” The man picked him up when Benson started for the couch again. “I’m sorry. The doctor told me I don’t have long to live. Please, make sure you clean up well. I’d hate to have you get what I have.”

The man, Grant, looked at his wife. When she no

dded, the most extraordinary thing happened. The man put his hand over his chest, and Benson felt...well, he felt wonderful. Like every bit of his body was given a power-up like they give you in games.

“You’ll have to rest for a little while. In the meantime, I’m going to order us some food.” Grant told Piper he’d go get something. When he kissed the woman goodbye, Benson had a feeling he’d startled her with the kiss. Shaking his head, he wondered what was going on. Piper sat across from him. “All right. In the event you have no idea what just happened, I’ll explain. Grant cured you of everything you had recently. You’ll live a full and good life. If, and this is a huge if, you don’t fuck up. If you do, I will shift into my bird and burn you to a fucking crisp. I’m a phoenix, and I’m well within my rights to murder you where you sit.”

He stared at her for several seconds before he nodded. Under normal circumstances, he would have laughed at her, or at the very least, called her a liar. But he was feeling good, better than he had in years, and he knew it was because of something unspoken between her and Grant. She leaned back on the chair she was sitting on.

“You believe me.” He said he had no reason not to believe her. He, as a matter of fact, was feeling too good to doubt her. “Abe has no idea that we’re here to get you. We’ve not told him anything about you saying you’re his biological father either. And until we can figure out what kind of scam you’re running—if any, I mean—then he won’t. He’s a wonderful kid, and there isn’t any way I’m going to see him hurt again.”

“Did Retha hurt him?” Nothing. Not even a blink of her eye. “I have a feeling he was one of the children that were raped in that home, wasn’t he? You don’t have to answer me. But I do want you to know that had I known he was there, I would have gone to get him. I tried to buy him when Retha put him up for sale a few years ago. But somehow, she slipped by me, and the police and I missed him.”

“Jude said you had a DNA test done. Why didn’t you take that to the police when you found out he was your son?” He told her about how he was dying. “You’re not now. You won’t—unless, as I said, you fuck up. How long did she live with you? Retha. Did she hurt Abe when he was here?”

“She lived here with him for a few months. About three, I think. Abe was about three months old when she arrived. As for her hurting him? I’m not sure if you consider neglecting him hurting him, but I do. Retha ignored him over partying the entire time she was here. I didn’t say anything to her. I wanted to make sure Abe was well taken care of. Then about six weeks after she up and left, I found out that I have AIDS. I’d not slept with her when she returned. I got it from her when she conceived Abe.” Again, he felt the tears fill his eyes. “If you end up ending my life, could I please, just once, see him? From a distance, if that’s all I can have. I’ve been worried about him since he was brought here.”

She went to the door and opened it just as Grant was there. When he came in, he put the large bag on the table and went to help Benson up. He wasn’t nearly as weak as he had been, but he was still unsteady on his feet. Glad for the help and the food, he bawled like a baby when they sat the boxes of Chinese food in front of him.

“Come on, big guy. Eat up, and we’ll be on our way.” Grant spoke to him in a soft voice. There was no censure to what he was saying, either. While the two of them spoke about speaking to Duncan about something, he gathered himself up and fixed his plate. He’d not had a good hot meal in a long time. Eating slowly so as not to be sick, Benson was able to join in the conversation with them when he could. When they were ready to leave, Piper told him he’d be just fine while Grant helped him to the large limo outside of his place.

Money. They had it, he realized. More than just a little too, he’d bet. Benson only hoped he’d get to make sure Abe was all right. Just once. Closing his eyes, he rested until they got to the airport. Then he slept in the bed on the private plane they’d come to get him in. His last thought before he fell into a deep sleep was that he hoped they didn’t drop him from the plane. With a smile, he slept.

When Grant woke him, it took him a second or two to remember where he was. The smile on the man’s face made Benson realize two things. He wasn’t human, and he was genuinely a nice guy. After he sat up, Grant told him he should be better now, and Benson said he was feeling very well.

“Good. We’ve been talking to Jude and Duncan, Abe’s parents. They said if you do something stupid—”

“Yes, they’ll kill me.” He smiled when Grant did. “They’re a very violent group, aren’t they? When I was speaking with Jude earlier, she was very determined to make sure I understood what was going to happen. Not that I blame them. But I promise I will try not to piss them off. This is an opportunity I never thought I’d get.”