Saints or Sinners | {BOOK 3}

45| Going After Desmond

"Let me get this straight. I follow your boy... down a freaking path and trip over a fresh vamp kill, and then you practically catch him in the act," Martin took an ice cube tray out of the freezer, "... of burying a second body, and you're still taking his side?"

"Vampires pick people off from the outskirts of town, okay?" I snapped.

Dean and I were trying to convince him and Sam that Benny was innocent and it wasn't going too hot. Martin had been doing most of the arguing, Sam just sitting silent and brooding at the table.

"Pffft!" Martin scoffed, stabbing the tray with a fork to loosen the ice.

"Not in the cafés that they work in with their great-grandkids," Dean added. "In fact, killing any human- it's not his style."

"Not his style? Not his style?"

"Look, guys," Sam piped up, "we came here on one dead body. You asked for some time, and now there's two dead bodies. Are we just going on trust here?"

Martin took a sip from his drink, staring over the rim at Dean and I.

"Yes," Dean and I chorused.

"Okay. Because we've killed for a lot less, and you know how these things turn out for us."

"Yes, I do-" Dean nodded, "too well. In fact, every relationship I have ever had has gone to crap at some point. But the one thing I can say about Benny- he has never let me down."

I felt a slight pang in my chest, but refused to show any reaction to Dean's words on my face. I didn't really have room to argue that point considering everything we'd been through.

"Huh," Sam scoffed, choosing to be more vocal than me. "Well, good for you, Dean. Must feel great finally finding someone you can trust after all these years."

I glanced over at Dean as he looked down and then back up at Sam.

"All we're saying is that Benny is innocent."

"No," Sam stood, glaring at his brother. "You're too close to this."

"You're not going to find him. And if you do, I'm gonna tell you this. You'll be lucky if you get out alive. And you," Dean pointed at Martin, "you go after him, you're a dead man- period."

Martin drained his drink, picking up a knife.

"These are innocent lives we're talking about, guys. And you're willing to risk that on Benny's word alone?" Sam asked us.

Martin moved to stand behind Dean, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Damn right I am," Dean replied.

Dean turned to face Martin who cold-clocked him with the hilt of his knife in his fist. Dean fell to the ground, unconscious.

"What the hell?" I demanded.

"You gonna make me do it to you, too?"

"Martin-" I started, then looked over at Sam. "Sammy, come on. This is ridiculous."

"I'm sorry, Ellie."

A second later, my world went black as Martin clocked me as well.

⁘

Dean and I had been handcuffed together to the radiator. Martin and Sam had vanished, leaving Dean's jacket, which had his phone, and my phone on one of the beds out of reach. Dean had blood on his face and neck and from the stickiness I felt along my temple, I guessed I must, too.

"Come on," Dean muttered, attempting to pick the cuffs.

His side finally sprang free and he gave the pick to me to get it off my hand while he went to grab his phone from his jacket. Dean dialed Benny's number quickly while I went to grab a cloth to clean ourselves up.

"They didn't go for it," Dean informed him when he picked up. "They're on their way to you. I'd get scarce." 

I brought the wet cloth over and started helping him get the blood off his face and neck.

"Benny, listen to me. Do not underestimate my brother, okay? He can and will kill you given the chance."

I finished cleaning him off and he took the cloth from me to help me with my own blood. I opened my mouth to protest, but he gave me a look.

"Ellie and I go find Desmond," he said into the phone as he dabbed at my temple. "Hey, I just told you- best thing you can do is lay low."

Finishing cleaning me up, Dean stood and threw the bloody towel in the sink, heading out the door with me on his heels.

"You know where he is?" he asked as we headed out to the Impala. "Benny."

We paused on opposite sides of the Impala as Dean sighed, hanging his head, before staring across the top of the Impala at me.

"Alright."

He hung up and we climbed into the Impala.

"What's the plan?" I asked him.

"We're going to meet up with Benny and go after Desmond. Do me a favor, use the burner in the glove compartment and text Sam. Type exactly what I tell you."

"Okay?" I agreed, taking the phone out as he started Baby up and pulled out of the parking lot.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

"Sam, I need your help. Come quick."

I typed the words, hitting send.

"Want to explain that to me?"

"I switched Amelia's contact to that burner in Sam's phone. We need him far away so we can deal with this."

I gave him a look.

"Oh, we can argue the ethics of that later. We gotta move."

⁘

After dark, we pulled up to a shipyard where Benny was waiting for us holding a machete. We climbed out, both armed with our own machetes.

"This the place, huh?" Dean asked as we moved to the trunk. "So, what's the plan? Ellie and I hang back while you guys do some trust falls and binge-drinking?"

He put a syringe of dead man's blood in his jacket and then handed one to me that I slipped into my boot.

"Man, if I didn't know better, I'd say you have an extremely low opinion of us vamps," Benny scoffed.

"Pssh. Call it healthy skepticism," I grinned at him.

We made our way into the shipyard building. Benny fell back while Dean and I investigated. As we did, Desmond dropped to the ground behind us. We both turned, Dean taking a swing at him with his machete, but Desmond sent us both flying to the ground. Dean hit his head and was too dazed from the impact to move, but I reached down and grabbed the syringe of dead man's blood as Desmond came over and straddled me.

"Benny never told me he was bringing friends," he snarled, fangs descended.

"You're not going to talk a lot, are you?" I asked, adjusting my grip on the syringe. "Because I've been dealing with crazy... all day."

I tried to jab the syringe into Desmond, but he grabbed my hand and squeezed it, breaking the syringe. I groaned as he forced my hand down and cut my neck with one of his nails. He licked the blood from his fingers, then snarled, lunging for my neck. Before he could do any more damage, however, Benny pulled him upright and decapitated him. Dean had gotten to his feet while Desmond was on top of me, but Benny had beat him to the kill. Desmond's head fell from his body, landing by my head and I instinctively leaned away from it.

"Son of a... took you long enough," I glared at Benny as Dean came over and helped me to my feet.

Benny didn't respond, swallowing hard as he stared at the blood on my neck as I touched the cut Desmond made.

"Aah," I winced, but gave Dean a look to let him know I was okay.

He nodded, then looked over at Benny, who was still quiet.

"You okay?" he asked.

Benny tore his eyes from my neck to look at Dean.

"I'm fine," he replied, then turned and walked away.