“We won’t be. The boys are smart and know how to protect themselves, and Kiara isn’t a rookie either.”
“Damn right she isn’t!” Gage chimes in. I lull my head to the side and stare at him. Even after everything I have done to him, he’s still here helping us. I vow silently to myself to treat him better from this moment on, starting with moving him into the family home and making him one of us.
“How many fights did she lose at the shack?” A proud smile crosses his face.
“None, she is the undefeated woman’s champ.” I hear King whistle behind me. Mav and Luka clap like idiots, pride swells inside me. My girl is a badass and I guess I owe that to Gage for training her. Instead of being a pussy and watching from afar, he took charge and taught her how to defend herself in case a situation like she is in now arose.
* * *
Gage stops the car down the road and kills the engine, the cars behind do the same. I want to go in guns blazing but I also know that approach would likely get them killed. We slip out of the cars and close the doors quietly. I pull my gun and check the mag making sure I’m full. Gage hands me another two mags and I nod my thanks. King comes around the back and chucks a bullet proof vest at me.
“Put the fucking thing on and don’t be a tough fuck. Not even you can stop a bullet,” he snaps quietly. I do as he says and strap the vest on, I instruct my guys to spread out around the property but make sure to stay hidden until I give the order. Luka and Mav follow after them while Gage, King and I go to the front. We jog till we reach the end of the drive and I can hear voices in the distance. I hear a man and he sounds panicked, I look to King who shrugs his shoulders as we slowly creep up the drive. We duck behind a tree and see all the cars and men scattered around, there is no way we are getting inside to them.
“I need you both to cover me,” I whisper. Gage grabs the front of my vest and yanks me to him getting right in my face.
“Don’t be a stupid prick, they will shoot you on sight––” Gage is cut off by the sound of Knight’s shout.
“You fucking give me my sister or I put a bullet between her fucking eyes!” Everything inside me freezes. Gage drops his hold on me, I see it in his eyes he knows exactly who Knight is talking about as well. King has a horrified look on his face, but before he can reach for me I turn and run. I hear him and Gage behind me. I draw my gun and fire at the fucker who turns around. Gage and King fire off shots as well. They scatter back and duck behind the cars for coverage but I don’t care, I need to get to Knight before he does something he can’t come back from. He won’t survive going through something like this, not after last time.
“Stop fucking shooting!” I stop running when they all come into view. Rook faces Knight who has Kiara on her knees facing him. I spot Carlina out of the corner of my eye standing next a man who I assume is Anthony Bennett. I glare at the boy beside my sister when I recognize him.
“You,” I growl out, the punk smirks at me and flicks his brows.
“Me,” the smart fucker replies. King brushes past me and raises his hands as Knight looks to him.
“Put the gun down, brother, you don’t want to hurt Kiara.” The look in Knight’s eyes tells me he has gone inside his own head, our Knight is no longer in control. I tuck my gun into my waistband and unstrap my vest dropping it on the ground as I move toward my brother. I eye Anthony out of the corner of my eye, he tries to remain calm and collected at the situation but I can see the sweat that beads his brow. He’s shitting himself at the possibility of Knight killing Kiara as much as me. I push my pride and ego aside as I face him, he pulls his gaze from Knight to look at me.
“Pull your men back.” He scoffs.
“So you can kill me in cold blood? I don’t think so.” I grit my teeth in anger ready to tear him a new one until Carlina steps forward, her brown eyes hold no anger in them. She should be furious with me for not finding her sooner. She turns her back to me and faces the assholes.
“My brother won’t hurt either of you.”
“How can you be so sure?” I knew I should have gone after this punk-ass fucking kid myself for touching my girl.
“Because he wouldn’t want to hurt me like that, Quinn.”
“The fuck I wouldn’t,” I snap. Car turns and peers over her shoulder at me, I can see the cunning look she shoots me and I nod. “I swear I won’t harm them.”
“Give me your gun, it will put them at ease.” I pull my gun from my waistband letting Carlina know with a single look that she better know what she is doing. Anthony commands his men to fall back as I approach Knight with my hands raised. I stop a couple feet away when he cuts a glance at me. Rook moves to stand shoulder to shoulder beside me.
“You can put it away, brother. No one needs to get hurt.” Rook tries to appeal to his twin but Knight is too far inside his own mind to hear him. I close my eyes and pluck up the courage to voice my little brother’s secret.
“She isn’t her, Knight. Kiara didn’t hurt you.” I can feel King and Rook’s stares boring into me, I’m the only one who knows Knight’s deepest darkest secret. Because I protected one brother while my other one pulled away from me and blames me for his struggles daily.
“She should have fucking died!” Kiara doesn’t flinch when he pushes the gun against her forehead.
“She did, Knight, she’s dead.” I don’t know how the bitch died but I’m glad she is dead. I don’t know who killed her but if I find them, I’ll thank them myself.
“I’m so sorry,” Kiara whispers up to me. I need her to shut up or risk her pissing him off further. “Whatever happened, Knight, I’ll help you. I’ll be here for you and help you through whatever trauma you have. I’m not perfect, no one is, but the scars of our past don’t define us. We are not victims, we’re survivors.” Whatever she is saying seems to be getting through to him. His eyes seem to focus more and when he looks down at her again a horrified look overtakes his features. He drops his gun and stumbles back a step. Relief flows through me. I step forward to grab Kiara but a shot rings out. I dart my gaze to Knight and watch as he clutches his chest as blood soaks through his shirt. I spin around with my heart in my throat. Quinn still has his gun in the air with a proud smile on his face while Anthony stares at him in horror. Carlina spins toward him, lifts my gun and aims it at the side of his head as she pulls the trigger. She doesn’t even flinch as he falls, a twisted smile graces her beautiful face. Gage reaches her but he’s too late as he tackles her to the ground. King rushes past me and I turn back to Knight, his head resting in Rook’s lap. Kiara is kneeling at his side holding her hands on the wound to staunch the flow of blood.
“Call 911!” Rook shouts. I stand here frozen in place as I stare down at my brothers and Kiara. Rook has tears flowing down his cheeks as he cradles his twins head in his lap, Kiara keeps telling him to keep his eyes open and stay with us. I’ve never frozen before in my life, even when I had gun in my face, but the sight of my brother laying there bleeding out and there isn’t a fucking thing I can do about it has me frozen in place. I don’t know what the fuck to do. King lifts Knight from Rook’s lap and ignores Kiara and Rook’s cries to stop. He spins around and the look he shoots me has me shaking out of my stunned state.
“Get your fucking head in the game, deal with Anthony, I’ll deal with Knight.” I nod my head as he rushes past me. Rook is hot on his heels as he races after King. Gage chucks Rook the car keys as he runs past. Carlina is on her feet staring down at Quinn’s body smiling. Kiara moves past me and goes to my sister. She stands in front of her and gently reaches for her hands. Car blinks a few times before finally looking at Kiara, her eyes are void of all emotion.
Chapter22
Kiara