“Is Dimitri dead?” Allison whirls around to face with wide eyes.
“What, no, of course not.”
“Then why the fuck are you all being nice, Allison.” I struggle in Knight’s hold but he won’t release me.
“You both should talk,” she hedges.
“Fucking tell me!” I scream.
“Leave!” That one word from Knight has his family nodding and exiting the room. Once the door is closed, he allows me the space I’ve been fighting for. I drop down on the edge of the bed and stare at him as he makes his way over to the window, keeping his back to me. My body radiates with pain but that I can deal with, it’s the not knowing that is killing me.
Knight
I stare out the window trying to gather my thoughts and figure out a way to tell her the truth. How do I tell her when I haven’t even accepted the truth myself?
“You held me captive for fuck knows how long and yet you stand there with your back to me like a coward.” Her tone is laced with anger and unease. She has every right to be pissed. I allowed my inner demons to control me and was led by blind rage. What she will never understand is that Rook is the one who grounds me. He is the one who keeps me from retreating inside the shadows of my past. Thing is, I only just realized that the demons of my past stopped haunting me each night I slept beside her.
“Hate me all you want, but I did what I had to in order to protect my family.”
“I was never a threat to them.” The conviction in her voice has me spinning around slowly to face her. Her face is etched in pain, but she isn’t the type of woman to allow a bit of pain to hold her down.
“Not intentionally, but you being here has put them at risk.” She opens her mouth but I push on needing to get this out. “I want to know what happened to my brother. Why the fuck were you at the docks?” She flicks her gaze away from me. I growl as I move toward her, grip her chin and pull her eyes back to me. “Keep your eyes on me. I want to see the truth in your gaze as you speak. Lie to me, Koby, it will be the last thing you do. I won’t let my… feelings for you cloud my judgment any longer.” She smacks my hand away and climbs to her feet. She sways slightly and I reach out and grip her hips to steady her.
“If you had any feelings for me at all, you would never have tied me to a fucking chair and left me to die.” I keep my face blank, even though inside I hate I did that to her.
“Answer my question.”
“Rook was the one who tookmeto the docks.” I nod my head encouraging her to continue. “He came to the gym dressed like you. From a distance I couldn’t tell it was him until we were inyourcar.”
What the fuck was he doing?
“Did he say why he was doing it?” For the first time since she woke up her eyes don’t shine with mistrust and hate, she looks at me with… pity.
“He wanted to prove to you that I’m the enemy.”
“Why the docks though?”
“He said he knew there was a shipment, he wanted me to see it.”
“How did he end up…” I can’t even say it.
“There was a shipping container filled with girls. There were men there. He said their names were Pauly and Vinny. Shit went sideways when other cars pulled in, the guys were Russian.” My hold on her tightens. I already knew about the Russian’s being there from Mav, but the fact she is offering up that bit of information freely, has me second guessing my original thoughts. “They started arguing and then gunshots went off. Rook and I tried to flee. We got pinned down for a bit, so the only escape route was jumping from the wharf into the water.”
“It was storming that night, the current would have dragged you both out.” She nods.
“I was banking on that fact.” I peer down at her and for the first time since I meet her months ago. I see it in her eyes, Koby is calculating and smart as fuck. “We made it halfway. I got shot and I think Rook did too but then a car came and shielded us. Mav told us to run but then…”
“Then what? What happened to my brother… I need to know… please.”
“Vlad’s brother was there, he called out to me and I froze. They had their guns trained on me ready to shoot.” It shocks me when I see her eyes fill with… tears. “At the last second Rook jumped in front of me.” I grind my teeth to stop the roar of anguish from tearing out of me. Her eyes take on a vacant look as she recites my brothers last words.“‘Losing me would hurt him but losing you would kill him. Love him like he needs to be loved.’That was the last thing he said before I was blown away. I don’t remember anything after hitting the water.”
* * *
“We move on Pauly when the next fight is set. Knight will be the distraction for AJ while we move in.” I nod as I sip my coffee. Bishop, King, Gage, Luka and I all stand around the counter in the kitchen. Ally, Mela, Kiara and Dimitri are sitting at the table eating breakfast. “You don’t engage with AJ. You keep him distracted by fighting in the ring and that’s it.”
“I know what I’m doing, Bishop. This isn’t my first fucking go at this shit.” Bish pins me with a look, warning me to simmer down or he’ll put me in my place. Growing up with older brothers always meant if we couldn’t resolve shit with words, we used our fists more times than not.
“It’s settled then. I’ll take Knight to the fight, you, King and the others move in on Pauly which means we only have Vinny left.” Gage seems to be here more often than not. He is actively taking part in everything to do with the family. He’s earning Bishop and King’s trust on his own without using the bond he has with the girls. I know having him around is hard for Bish since he slept with Kiara, but anyone with eyes can see Kiara is madly in love with Bishop and only views Gage as a… brother. He may have feelings for her but over time he has mastered the art of hiding it well fromourbrother.