The Knight (Stolen Duet Book 2) Read online

  “Alan won’t just need to kill me for the legacy.”

  Augustine chuckled. “That old bastard doesn’t have much time left, and he knows it. You better watch your back,” he warned good-naturally, although we both knew it wasn’t an empty warning. Alan wasn’t the only one who wanted control. He was just one of the few willing to kill me for it.

  Nodding to Lucas and Z, who watched our exchange silently, he didn’t stick around after that.

  “I don’t trust him,” Lucas said as soon as the library door closed behind Augustine.

  Z, still staring at the door, nodded his agreement. “He’s got too many secrets.”

  “Let him have his secrets for now. It’s not him I’m worried about. Reginald is getting bolder in the quest to dethrone me. I want you to find out what he’s up to.” They didn’t hesitate and stood from the table. “Oh, and Z?” I called, stopping him in his tracks. Lucas paused too, his frown deepening. “Where are they?”

  * * *

  “WHERE IS SHE, Anna?” I stood in front of Mian’s friends ignoring the burning pain in my gut and praying I had the patience not to harm them. Mian would never trust me again if I did. Maybe it was why both of them were refusing to talk.

  By now, I would have started lopping off body parts when someone refused to talk. Because they meant something to her, I held back. Z stood back observing with a careful eye. Lucas, however, never strayed too far from Anna. He stood behind her seemingly detached, but I knew instinct would make him protect her from me, brother or not. I would have questioned his loyalty if Mian hadn’t stirred the same need in me.

  “She’s far away from you, and that’s good enough for me.” Her arms closed tight over her chest as she pierced me with her stare. Her friend, however, didn’t display the same bravado.

  “And what about you?” I challenged as I moved to stand in front of him. “Is dying good enough for you?”

  “Don’t say anything,” Anna ordered. One look from me had her lips pressing in a tight line and the color draining from her face.

  I gripped the back of his neck and leaned into him as I brought my knife to the side of his throat. “So?”

  “I don’t know where she went,” he stumbled. “She just took off.”

  “It was your car she just took off in. Where were you planning to take her, hero?” I pressed the knife against his skin until I saw the first drop of blood.

  “To the bus station and that’s it. They didn’t tell me anything else. I swear!” Anna’s face twisted with disgust when she turned her glower on Joey. Fortunately for him, I believed him.

  “Do you believe us now,” Anna demanded. I shrugged and put my knife away as I stepped back.

  “Are you going to let us go?” Joey questioned with hop.

  When I shook my head. She surged forward as if to attack, but Lucas’s hands closing over her arms stopped her. “Why not?” she growled. “You have no reason to keep us.”

  “You’re her friends. She trusts you, which makes you valuable to me.”

  “My mom will be looking for me,” Joey threatened as one of my men dragged him off.

  “Then you better pray for her sake that she doesn’t find you.”

  Another stepped forward to take Anna away, but one look from Lucas had him quickly retreating.

  “Why can’t you just leave her alone?” Anna fought to free herself from Lucas’s hold. He looked as if he had more trouble keeping control of his patience. “You’re going to get her killed!” Lucas tossed her over her shoulder and stormed from the office. We all listened as she spewed curses and threats until a door slammed, cutting off her screams.

  “We need to talk,” Z spoke from the corner. He had been silent as always during the interrogation, but this time I knew was different.

  “Yes, we do.” I leaned back in my chair and regarded him. “You let her go.”

  “I did.”

  “Why?” I forced myself to keep a level head long enough to hear his answer. It had better be good.

  “Because I thought she was better off away from Chicago.”

  “Why shouldn’t I kill you, brother?”

  To my surprise, he cracked a smile. “She had it on good authority that you wouldn’t.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Because I mean just as much to you as she does.” He waited, willing me to tell him if she had been right. His betrayal made me reluctant to confess the truth.

  “Find her, Z, because if you don’t, brother or not, I’m killing you.”

  I held my head in my hand once I was alone and breathed through the pain in my abdomen. Moments later, my phone was ringing, and I thought about letting it go to voicemail when I noticed the number of the family attorney.

  “This is Knight.”

  “Mr. Knight, I’m so happy to catch you. I have some additional paperwork that we forgot to transfer to you during the reading of the will.”

  “What paperwork?”

  “Your marriage certificate.”

  “My what?”

  “After your father’s death, we were entrusted by your grandfather to keep the certificate in our possession. Of course, now that you’ve inherited from him, the certificate can be transferred to your possession if you wish.” I could tell by his tone that he found it all strange, but it wasn’t his job to ask questions beyond legal necessity. “I assume you were aware of this?”

  I was ready to tell him it was a mistake, that I couldn’t be married. The only girl I ever intended to marry disappeared three years ago until she’d broken into my father’s home and forced me to kidnap her son. But just as the words formed, I quickly pieced the puzzle together and realized what my father had done.

  There could only be one name next to mine on that certificate.

  Chapter Eight

  MIAN

  RUNNING WAS EXHAUSTING, but I knew it wouldn’t be easy. Two weeks have passed since I took Joey’s ’96 Caprice and left my friends at the mercy of my monsters in order to save them.

  I didn’t know which direction was safe or how far to go. I just ran. For the first three days, when I couldn’t reach Anna or Joey, I considered turning back around and shoving Z’s deal down his throat.

  Somewhere in Kentucky, I finally learned from Anna that Angel had let them go after threatening to cut Joey’s tongue out if he told anyone. I didn’t want to be grateful to Angel for anything, but I was glad he hadn’t hurt them. I had warned Anna that letting them go didn’t mean he wasn’t watching. I learned that the hard way when he took my son.

  Paranoia forced me to hide in a different town every day for a week until I mentally collapsed in Mosset, North Carolina. The town had a population of four hundred and thirty-eight people in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing but swamp and woodlands surrounding three sides of the small town and only one road in and out. It wasn’t big enough to get lost in, so I could only hope it was small enough to keep us under the radar.

  I’ve also found that the people you meet in small towns are the friendliest I’ve ever met… even if they do ask a lot of questions. The first day of asking around, Caylen and I were offered a room above a small diner in the center of town. The room wasn’t able to fit more than a bed, armoire, and chair. There was a small bathroom attached and a window overlooking the gas station across the street. Overall, it was clean, warm, and cheaper than a hotel.

  Since I had waitressing experience, and the owners, Rebecca and Sam, needed help, they offered me the place in exchange for working a few nights in the diner. Without much being said, they also agreed to keep my employment and tenancy under the table. It was unsettling to think they knew I was running from something.

  Mid-afternoon of my third day in town, Rebecca had demanded I stop looking over my shoulder. “Don’t you worry about anything, missy. If he comes walking through that door…” she had pulled a huge shotgun from under the counter, “I’ll blow him right back through it.”

  Rebecca Donaldson reminded me of a little dain
ty fairy… with claws and sharp teeth. The top of her head, covered with auburn hair, came only to my chin. She was curvy everywhere and had a commanding personality that she wielded on everyone in her path. Her husband, Sam, was a gentle giant and her complete opposite. Where Becky was small and plump, he was tall and hard. He was also the meeker and quieter of the two. I found it fascinating that, even though Becky was domineering and wild, with one shared look between the two, Sam could tame her.

  He also hadn’t seemed at all surprised by his wife’s threats to murder a man on my behalf.

  “I didn’t say—”

  “Oh, missy, you didn’t have to. You don’t get to me by age without learning a few things. Hell, every time that door opens you look ready to bolt. With that babe in your arm, it’s obvious you’re on the run from your man.”

  I’d started to argue, but Sam’s gentle pat on my hand stopped me. “Don’t bother arguing with my Becky. She’s stubborn and is always right.”

  I had the feeling he was laying it on for her benefit. When she walked away triumphant, and he winked, I couldn’t help but laugh.

  Becky had given me a few days to get settled before showing me the ropes and putting me to work. The diner closed at nine every night and opened at six every morning. Their rush, which wasn’t nearly as heavy as the diners in Chicago were, only came during the lunch hour. I was more than able to handle it with my hands tied. Rebecca called me a godsend. I didn’t know about that, but the work kept my mind off what waited for me in Chicago. Samantha, their twelve-year-old daughter, happily agreed to watch over Caylen whenever I worked dinner shifts. She said it was a better deal than working in the diner. When Samantha was in school, I’d keep Caylen on the far end of the bar away from the customers, although most of the women in town couldn’t seem to stay away from him. I’ve had countless offers to babysit already.

  By my second week in Mosset, I managed to find a routine and a small sense of safety. I would always be looking over my shoulder, but for the moment, I didn’t have to run.

  It was another week, while I was getting ready for my shift when I broke down and called Anna. “I was getting worried!” Anna shrieked the moment she picked up. “How could you go so long without calling?”

  “I’m sorry. I had to make sure it was safe. Are you okay?”

  “No, I’m not okay.” I could hear her pout through the phone. “You almost gave me a heart attack, like, every single day. You can’t just disappear. You have to call.”

  “I’m sorry,” I repeated. What else could I say? It was hard to make someone understand your paranoia if they didn’t fit in your shoes.

  “You’re not the only one scared, Mian. Call.”

  “I will.”

  She didn’t respond, so I listened to her sniff and huff while I searched for an excuse to hang up. “So where are you?” she finally spoke.

  “Anna, I don’t think—”

  “No,” she growled before I could turn her down. “What if something happens to you and Caylen? I won’t know where to tell the police to look.”

  I gave in partly because she was right, but more because I felt guilty for scaring her this much. “North Carolina,” I conceded. “Mosset is just a tiny piece of the world, Anna. You’d hate it.” Anna was an undeniable city girl. “I got a job at the only diner in town and a place to stay. The people are so nice. I feel safe here.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure. No one will find Mian Ross here. To the good people of Mosset, I’m Alison Hill.”

  “Okay, Alison,” she teased. “I love you. Call,” she warned again.

  Chapter Nine

  ANGEL

  I WAS GROWING impatient. Like a thief in the night, Mian had fled, and money, threats, and favors couldn’t find her. Her little friends were loyal to a fault, even when I threatened death, but they were also her weakness, and I intended to keep them close.

  After three weeks of no trail, trace, or cookie crumb, I paid a visit to the prison. Theo hadn’t had a visitor since I told him his daughter had a price on her head, but maybe he knew where she would go.

  “What are you doing here?” His greeting was about as inviting as crotch rot and he looked like shit. The bruises might have faded since I last saw him, but the weight he lost and the fatigue clouding his eyes were obvious.

  “You look like shit.”

  “What do you want?” he demanded more forcefully.

  “Your daughter is missing.” I watched his pale face whiten even more. Unfortunately, I couldn’t relish his suffering given the reason.

  “You were supposed to protect her.”

  “Victor got to her. She vanished after that.” I left out the part about her almost killing me.

  “Victor,” he whispered. His gaze lost focus as his shoulders trembled. His head lowered until his forehead hit the table with a harsh thud. Staring at the back of his head, I considered putting a bullet in it—damn the consequences. When he finally lifted his head again, his eyes were rimmed with red. “This is all my fault.”

  I ignored his plea for pity, and said, “He’s dead.”

  “Then where is my daughter?”

  “If I knew, I wouldn’t be here.” The day he had been led away, I dreamt the next time we met would be the day I put a bullet in his heart. “Where would she go, Theo?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Think hard. The price on her head is high. There will be people who won’t stop to find her.” Including me.

  “How do I know that debt isn’t being paid to you?”

  I ignored him again. “Who did she run to?”

  “She has no one!” He then pointed his finger accusingly. “But she should have had you! I gave her to you because I thought you would protect her despite what happened between me and your father.”

  “She was always mine. My father knew I wouldn’t let you stand in my way, so he made you an offer you wouldn’t refuse. You should have thanked him instead of getting him killed.”

  “You don’t know everything.”

  “I know about the marriage you and my father forged between Mian and me.”

  Regret shone in his eyes as he shook his head and gazed at me with pity. “When it comes to Mian, you’re a bigger fool than I had ever been.”

  “I know it was my mother who pulled the trigger, but you aren’t innocent of what happened that night.”

  “He fucked my wife, but did you know he killed her too?”

  I didn’t react even as shock and suspicion ran rampant. “Your wife died from cancer.”

  “My wife had cancer, but she died from suffocation. All this time, I believed cancer took her earlier than we expected, but the truth was, he not only fucked my wife, he had her killed. Victor told me everything, and Art confessed that night. Ceci threatened to expose them if he didn’t leave Bea, so he had her killed.”

  “Why did my mother kill him?”

  “Why do you think? She overheard us. I went there to kill your father, Angel. If your mother hadn’t—”

  “You don’t need to explain,” I coldly interrupted. “I know what you went there to do.” It was the other reason I didn’t hesitate to frame him for my father’s murder.

  “What would you have done?” he boldly questioned.

  “Nothing.” He looked surprised by my answer. “My wife wouldn’t need to fuck another man.”

  “Love is fickle,” he shot back.

  “Except your wife didn’t love you when she spread her legs for my father. She probably never did. I was there when my mom told Mian about their history. Can you guess why she married you?” We both knew Ceci didn’t marry Theo for love. He had been her ticket closer to my father’s heart. She used him.

  He cleared his throat and looked down at the table. “The reasons don’t matter anymore. They’re both dead.”

  “Your daughter will be too if I don’t find her first.”

  He sighed, and for a moment, I thought I won. “Then so be it. She’ll finally be
free of you.” He got up and walked away.

  * * *

  “HE WAS EITHER telling the truth, or he really did condemn his daughter to die,” Lucas mused.

  “Do you think Art really had Mian’s mother killed?” Z questioned without a note of doubt. What Theo claimed was exactly what my father would have done to keep his secrets swept under the rug.

  Lucas and Z knew it was my mother who shot my father. They had been the only ones I could trust with the lie I told to protect her. It hadn’t mattered in the end. They’d found Theo as guilty as I and wanted him dead, as well. After all, he’d said himself he had gone there to kill my father. My mother’s state of mind was never the same after she blew that hole in my father’s heart… so I gave her another truth to live.

  I shrugged my answer. My father would have done anything necessary to protect the family he neglected, but Theo’s last day breathing was circled in blood. He had every reason to lie.

  Would I still kill him without knowing the full truth?

  Absolutely.

  Theo knew the stakes just as I did.

  “Anna’s getting a call,” Z suddenly announced. Before we let them go, he bugged Anna’s phone, so we could monitor her calls. It’s been more than three weeks since Mian’s last call, and I had begun to think I underestimated her.

  We were all tense as we listened to Anna tear Mian a new one. I held in a laugh at Mian’s tone. I could tell she was frustrated with Anna’s fussing but didn’t want to upset her anymore. The exasperation on Lucas’s face as Anna shrieked and shouted also made it hard to keep my composure. I was just glad she was his problem instead of mine. When the little bulldozer convinced Mian to tell her where she is, humor faded, and I went on alert.

  Z didn’t waste any time pulling up a map and finding the small blip I would never have thought to look if Anna hadn’t led us right to her.