The Shepherd's Crook Pt. 04

It didn't take long for them to get to the hotel and their security detail left them in the lobby. The three security men guarding the doors of Ben and Evelyn's adjoining rooms and Liliya's room across the hall stepped outside and headed downstairs to join their team. They'd been there to assure the rooms had not been tampered with. Just the same, Evelyn did a sweep inside the three suites and reported them free of surveillance.

Liliya and Evelyn said their goodnights but waited for Ben and Ashley to enter their room and lock the door before entering theirs.

Ashley was looking pensively at the door when Ben looked back at her. "What's wrong?"

She looked at him, and her smile wobbled just a little. "At what point do you get used to all the intrusions into your life?" When she saw Ben's expression turn to worry, she moved to him and placed her hands on his chest. "I'm sorry. I wasn't complaining for my sake. I've only experienced a small portion of what you do. I'm concerned about how you're dealing with it.

Ben took her face between his hands and tenderly kissed her lips for being so sweet. Then he pulled back and smiled gently at her. "I haven't gotten used to it... yet. I'm told it might become second nature, but I'm not so sure. I don't know if there will ever be a time when it isn't required, but I hope so."

They got ready for bed, but once they were under the sheets, fatigue squashed any ideas of sex, and Ashley sighed happily as she cuddled up against Ben's broad chest.

They were both contently asleep in minutes.

Chapter 38

Ben held the door for the Community Center as the security team made a perimeter outside the building's grounds. There was a no firearm policy in effect, and Ben insisted they follow the rules of the Center.

With Liliya following and Evelyn leading, Ben and Ashley followed Phil's PA, who met them at the fence surrounding the property. She was a young woman in her early twenties, of East Indian descent, speaking rapidly and quietly into her headset microphone.

She glanced at Ben's group and placed her hand over the mic. "Would you like coffee, tea, breakfast?"

Ben and the ladies shook their heads, so the woman finished her order and hung up by tapping a button on the earpiece. She focused her smile on Ben. "The entire crew has been looking forward to meeting you!" she gushed to Ben as she guided them through the halls. "We weren't sure if you'd visit at all, as this is our last day of shooting."

Ben smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, I'd intended on visiting earlier, but there were... complications."

The woman's eyes widened as she looked back at Ben. "We heard you were stabbed by your bodyguard!" she said breathlessly. Then her eyes flicked to the disapproving glare on Liliya's face, and her expression changed to worry. "I'm sorry."

Ben sighed and shook his head with a pained expression. "Like everything in life, it's not that simple." He'd said all he was going to on that.

The young woman was quiet the rest of the way to the room, where they found the crew busy setting up for some shots of the two young women for this segment of the movie.

They spotted Phil standing next to the two women in front of the camera. He was speaking to them quietly, but Ben could tell something was wrong from the concerned expression on the man's face. Then the two women saw Ben, and they froze.

It wasn't fear or hero worship. They seemed to be slowly deflating before his eyes. Ben immediately walked around the camera set-up to join them. He looked to Phil with concern as well.

"Phil? What's wrong?" he asked gently.

"Hi, Ben. Nothing's wrong. I shouldn't have asked you to come to the set until the shoot was completed."

"I can leave—"

"No! No, it's okay. We can do the finishing shots later, maybe tomorrow."

The two women looked miserable now, and Ben moved closer. "Hey, it's okay."

When they refused to look at him, he glanced at Phil in confusion, but he just shrugged.

"Can you give us a moment, Phil?" Ben asked gently. The man glanced at him in surprise, then moved to walk around the cameras to speak with his PA and Ashley, who remained just inside the entrance to the room.

When Ben was alone with the two, he began by introducing himself. "Hi, I'm Ben Shepherd."

One of the ladies finally looked at him. She had very pale skin with short black hair in a tousled cut. Large blue eyes looked at him from a heart-shaped face. She held out her hand, and Ben noticed how slim her arm was. She only came up to his chest, and he saw the rest of her was as thin as her arm. He accepted the hand in his.

"Renata Novak. This is my partner, Serina Franklin." Her voice was quiet.

The second young woman flashed a look at Renata, then reluctantly turned to face Ben and held out her hand too. She was equally slim and roughly the same height as her partner, but there the similarities ended.

Serina was dark-skinned with long black braids currently tied back. She had expressive eyes which were presently trying to bore a hole through his head.

"I swear whatever you read about me in the media is, at best, distorted truth and, at worse, complete lies," Ben said as he shook Selina's hand.

"It's not the lies in the media that upset us," Renata said, and Serina shot her another warning look.

Ben glanced between the two women. "Can you tell me what it is?" he asked.

Serina huffed, then shot him a defiant look. "We're trying to make a difference with our little idea, and you show up with your money and your hot bitches hanging off your arms! So yeah, it's a little defeating!" she snapped.

Ben looked at her calmly and nodded. "Yeah, I suppose it could be seen that way, but let me show you something." He brought his cell out and did a search for an image. When he found it, he turned the screen to them. They both leaned forward to stare at the small silver chunk of metal.

"When I got out of school, I wanted to make a difference too, so I looked for a need, and I invented this to fulfill that need. It's not ground-breaking or exciting. It's just a small valve about the size of my thumb, but it resolved an issue. That felt good, so I looked for another need, then another. Small steps and never anything people could point to and say, wow, Ben Shepherd built that! For me, there was satisfaction in solving a puzzle that resolved someone else's problem, some crisis that prevented them from meeting their daily challenges. That's how I built my money. I don't drive a fancy car, live in a mansion, or, excuse me, have hot bitches hanging off my arms." He looked to his group and gestured for them to approach.

"Because I now do some work for the US Military, they've assigned me bodyguards. Not something I wanted or asked for, but it's become a necessity. This is Evelyn Killcade and Liliya Sokolov." The two lethal women nodded to the two silent ones.

Ben smiled at Ashley's friendly face. "This is my good friend and neighbor, Ashley Beaumont. I promised her a trip to New York to see the sights."

"It's so nice to meet you, ladies!" Ashley gushed with her sweet southern lilt as she shook their hands. "I understand you're going to be the stars of this part of the movie! We went to a party last night, and I was introduced to so many actors, and a group of them were from those superhero movies everyone seems to like so much! My stars, could they talk!" She stopped her rambling when Ben gave her hand a little squeeze. Renata and Serina both seemed a little dazed by Ashley's enthusiasm.

Serina looked at Ben in surprise. "She's the real deal?"

Ben smiled. "Ashley's one hundred percent genuine goodness."

Ashley's face flushed as she gently swatted his arm. "Stop it, Ben!"

He turned back to the two ladies. "Back to the point. What you've seen and heard in the media isn't who I am or what I've done to get where I am today. It always begins with a small step toward fulfilling a need. Then repeat. Not every step is successful, and sometimes you need to re-evaluate and change directions, but you never give up trying to meet a need."

They seemed to be absorbing that.

"I'd love to see what you two are doing!" he said, and they finally smiled and nodded.

Ben and Ashley nodded and moved back to Phil's side. He was thrilled and punched Ben's arm in his excitement. That got a raised eyebrow and a slight smile from Liliya as Phil's eyes flicked between her and Ben.

Phil moved to stand between the cameras, which were focused on the two ladies. Ben and Ashley watched as Phil spoke with them, taking them through their story of how they discovered their way out of the poverty trap. Their food collection service from a series of small neighborhood grocery stores fed local people who could barely afford to keep a roof over their heads. The ladies were also doing all the administrative duties and research for getting the grocery stores local and federal tax credits for donating the food and reducing what went into the landfill. A portion of the grocer's reduced cost for getting the food hauled away went to the ladies as salary. The grassroots solution was working for them.

Ben gave them a thumbs up from behind the camera, and they grinned at him happily.

"And cut! That's a wrap, people! Thank you very much!" Phil called out, and the crew gave a huge cheer.

Phil walked back and shook hands with Ben. "This project couldn't have happened without your support Ben. And I'm not just talking about the financial help, though that was deeply appreciated. Having so much creative freedom to do this story right has been an absolute joy!"

A tall, slim man with a shock of white hair on top and a thick black beard moved closer to Phil.

"Ben! This is Hank Winslow, our Chief Cinematographer. The genius behind capturing the best angles on the action," Phil said with a grin.

Nodding with a smile, Ben shook his hand. Then the man turned to Phil. "Speaking of angles, we need another shot. Our camera angles were too shallow to catch what Ben showed to Renata and Serina on his cell. We should get a close-up of Ben's hands holding his cell as it displays the photo."

Ben froze, and Phil looked at the cameraman. "What?" they asked simultaneously. Phil glanced at Ben, then back at his cinematographer. "You filmed Ben talking with Renata and Serina?"

The man looked back at them with a curious expression. "Well... yes. He was standing in the frame with the young women, speaking to them, really connecting with them. It was a beautiful scene."

"I don't want to be in the movie!" Ben insisted. Phil suddenly got a look in his eye, and Ben frowned at him. "No! It's not supposed to be about me!"

"It isn't! Hear me out!" Phil said, raising his hands, gesturing for Ben and Hank to get closer so he could speak softly. Ashley joined them, and Phil glanced at her with a smile and nodded. "We use the scene in the end credits as a surprise bonus. We tell no one about it, but word of mouth will spread like wildfire, and it may draw people to the movie who wouldn't normally see it!"

"Ashley was in the scene as well, wasn't she!" Ben asserted, and Hank nodded.

"Camera two caught your security as well," Hank said.

Ben shook his head. "I don't want my story to detract in any way from theirs," he growled.

"Ben, maybe this small amount of your story will make it possible for their story to reach more people," Ashley suggested. "You aren't divulging anything intimately personal, just the truth about your own path in life. This isn't something you're ashamed of, or you wouldn't have supported Phil's movie about others following a similar path." She smiled gently and placed a hand on his chest. "Think of this as a gift for them."

He looked troubled. "Are you sure you want your face up on the big screen? Up until now, you've been flying under the radar. This could make you a target for the media."

She gave him a sweet smile. "I'm not ashamed of my relationship with you, and I have nothing I'd share with them."

Ben huffed a breath, then looked at Evelyn and Liliya and gestured for them to come closer.

"They filmed us speaking with Renata and Serina. Just a short clip, but your faces are visible." Ben looked to Hank for confirmation and got a nod. "Do you have concerns about this being included in the film?"

Liliya snorted softly and shook her head. "The paparazzi already have many pictures of me with you. My undercover operative days are well and truly behind me."

Ben nodded slightly and looked into Evelyn's blue eyes. She seemed surprised to be asked. "I-I don't mind."

Finally, Ben turned his attention back to Phil. He held the man's eyes for a tense moment, then nodded. He lifted a finger to keep his focus. "Don't advertise it. Don't even hint about it to anyone."

Phil nodded and struggled to keep from grinning.

Hank gestured for Ben to move out in front of the cameras. "Okay, I need you back on the set for the missing shot. Hold up the phone as you held it before, with the image on the screen."

Ben sighed and stood where he was asked and held the phone out for the man to get his shot.

Moments later, Hank nodded to Phil.

"That's a wrap, Ben," Phil said quietly. He nodded to some people waiting at the side of the room, and they quickly began dismantling the set and packing up the equipment.

"I'm going to take what we got today to the studio. It was great meeting you, Ben."

"You as well," Ben said. "Though, it was a pretty sneaky move filming me without my knowledge."

Hank chuckled. "Learned that in guerilla documentary film making one-oh-one."

Phil's PA returned and grinned hopefully at Ben. "Would you have a moment to greet the crew? They're all in the gym downstairs having a little informal celebration."

Ben glanced at Phil, who smiled, so he nodded to the PA. They followed her to the stairs and down to the gymnasium where tables and chairs had been set up. Phil did the introductions to the crew, and Ben was amazed at how many people were part of a film production like this.

Then Phil began introducing the people who were actors portraying the people the film was about. They were all young unknown actors who were more starstruck to meet him.

The last group Ben was introduced to began with Renata and Serina, who grinned happily at Ben. Behind them were more young people who were pulling themselves out of poverty through their own efforts. Ben glanced at Phil, then took more time with them, learning their names and a little bit about them. They seemed to appreciate this.

Then began the photo session as everyone wanted their picture taken with Ben.

While this happy chaos was happening, Ben caught sight of someone he wasn't expecting. His smile widened, and he waved to the beauty standing just inside the doorway, speaking to someone. Was she wearing that lovely dark green dress he recalled from their date night in Cannes, France?

"Gabriella!" he called out over the noise.

The gorgeous brunette turned to fully face him, and Ben's expression froze as she smiled joyfully.

It wasn't his beautiful neighbor after all, but someone dressed and made up to match her.

"Lorraine?" Phil said to her as the woman crossed the distance to join them.

"Hello, Phil," the beautiful brunette said, taking his hand.

"Not that it isn't delightful to see you, but what are you doing here, and why do you look like this?" Phil asked.

"Before we play answering games, why don't you introduce me to your friend who can't keep his eyes off me," she purred.

"Ben Shepherd, meet Lorraine Tyler. Lorraine, Ben," Phil said stiffly.

Taking the woman's hand, Ben smiled awkwardly. "Hello. You do bear a strong resemblance to my neighbor Gabriella Wallace, and you've dressed like her, but the question remains, why?" He released her hand.

"And what are you doing here?" Phil repeated.

Lorraine pouted and looked at Phil. "Instead of grilling me, you should be congratulating me for landing the role of Gabriella Wallace in the Ben Shepherd movie with Dwayne Johnson."

"Ah. So you decided to play dress-up and crash the party to see Ben's reaction?" Phil said as he figured it out.

"And it was perfect! He thought I was her," she said smugly.

"Until you turned to face me. There are differences," Ben insisted but refrained from identifying the actor's less curvaceous anatomy.

"Did I see Gabriella arrive?"

Ben turned to see Ashley arrive to join them. Her smile became a curious look. He wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her gently to his side.

This move wasn't lost on Lorraine. "Another woman? Should I be jealous?" she said with a coy smile.

"Now you've spoiled the illusion completely," Ashley said with a sympathetic smile that wiped the smug from the actor's face.

"Who are you?" Lorraine asked in confusion.

Ashley looked to Ben in question, so he answered her silent question first. "This is Lorraine Tyler. She's playing Gabriella in the new movie about me." He looked at the actor. "This is Ashley Beaumont. My beautiful friend and neighbor."

Lorraine frowned slightly. "What would Gabriella say about this?"

"She'd say you need to research the woman you're portraying much better than this," Ashley said gently. "You may have some similarities in looks, but Gabriella's nature as the Goddess of Love is completely missing in your portrayal."

"Goddess of Love?" Lorraine asked weakly.

Ben nodded happily. "Gabriella understands the true nature of love." He nodded to Phil. "I think we'll be going. See you at the restaurant tonight?"

Phil's smile couldn't be wider as Lorraine's mouth moved in silent protest. "Yes, see you there."

Ben guided Ashley out of the Gym and waved to the cast and crew as they left.

Instead of going straight back to the hotel, Ben took Ashley shopping in some of the areas Gabriella brought him and Hannah. He managed to convince Ashley to allow him to buy her some clothes she liked.

She also picked up a new dress for their dinner engagement that night.

Liliya and Evelyn refused to try anything on.

Once Ashley was finished, they returned to the hotel and prepared for dinner.

Ben hoped Phil didn't plan any more surprises for him.

Chapter 39

Carmine Marino once read that revenge was a dish best served cold. But ever since he returned from visiting Sicily and discovered his extended family had been... erased, his need for revenge burned deep in his guts. He wasn't a Solerno, but he'd been a favorite nephew to Don Solerno and looked up to the man like a father.

His own old man was a nobody, a loser who managed a grocery store and was happy with his simple life. His mom had once been part of the Solernos, a third daughter, but she married into the Marinos and was content to be disowned by her birth family. They cut ties with her, but Carmine never found out why.

That she would turn her back on that in favor of life as a Marino pissed Carmine off royally. Since he was a young boy and learned of his mother's family, he'd wished he was a Solerno. They were rich and powerful! Respected by the other rich and powerful families.

Instead, he was the youngest of the five Marino kids and the only one to feel this discontent.

He'd worked hard to come to the notice of his uncle, and when the man finally learned who he was, he'd taken him under his wing. He saw a young man with potential!

As a present for his twentieth birthday, Don sent him to Sicily to meet with some people who'd teach him a thing or two about the business. While there, he met two other young men training to be soldiers in their family businesses.

Dante Vitale was a joker with a quick mind but a quicker temper. The Vitale family in New York were old school, and Dante had been sent to Sicily to learn some control.

Renzo Messina was a quiet brute with a cruel streak. Carmine thought he might be a psychopath and assumed his family in New York sent him away because they were scared of him.