“What is this?” I asked.
“Just us taking these moments for what they’re worth.”
“Meaning?”
Knight looked at me. “Did you ever think we’d end up here?”
“I don’t know. Things happened so fast with us. This is like our third wind at it.”
“I should have never let a fence or a set of train tracks stop me,” he said.
“We were teenagers, Knight.”
“I was in love then. And now. It doesn’t matter.”
I rested my head to his chest. “If we’re confessing… I shouldn’t have made you leave the apartment the way I did.”
“I understand,” Knight said. “You were doing what you thought you had to do.”
“I took a pregnancy test in a gas station bathroom,” I said. “As soon as it came up positive I was in shock. I mean, there was no way it wasn’t yours. Right? Aside from Damon’s personal situation, he never touched me. He wanted nothing to do with me. I never wanted you to leave for good, Knight. I just needed you to save yourself. The moment I had to tell Damon I was pregnant…”
Knight pulled me tighter. “He knew.”
“He knew. But the thing was, he used me because he told me his mother thought it was a miracle. So everyone around me was lying. Including me. That’s a dangerous world to live in. Because it all starts to feel normal.”
“That world is gone now,” Knight said. “That world will never return. Annie faked her own death. I’m going to take care of Damon. And we have our son.”
“That’s what scares me,” I said. “If you hurt…”
Knight grinned. “I never said I was hurting anyone. I’m just helping a mother find her son. That’s all, sweetie.”
“That’s not all. I can see it in your eyes. You’re worried.”
“I’m never worried.”
“You’ve been worried since the day Kyle was born.”
“I’m his father,” Knight said. “I want to make sure he experiences life before it tries kicking his ass. The only true memories I have of my childhood ended right when I was about eight. I don’t want that for Kyle.”
“You’re patched into the Reap,” I said. “I think anything with innocence is long gone.”
“Not in this house,” Knight said. “This is our house. Our family lives here. Our love is here. I stood in this house when it was empty and I had nothing. The realtor thought I was some psycho. But I saw what I wanted and I got it. I always get what I want, sweetie.”
“What about me?” I asked. “Do I get what I want?”
“And what exactly do you want?”
I pulled the covers down my body, exposing my breasts. I grabbed Knight by his leather cut and tugged at him. He rolled right back on top of me. I could smell the leather. I could smell the grease. I could smell his sexy, rough skin. I could smell the freedom.
“I want you,” I whispered. “Inside me again.”
I could never get enough of him.
Knight kissed me and then made a trail down my body, resting between my legs.
That’s where he’d start, using his tongue for something other than talking.
I grabbed the sheets, arched my back, and shut my eyes.
I had my outlaw Knight… but would I have him forever?
37
(knight)
*NOW*
The first time I fired a handgun I was only twelve years old. My old man took me to a shooting range to blow off steam. He considered himself an avid hunter but rarely actually took the time to go hunting. He tried to push me into the sport but I always refused. I think he hated me for that.
At the range there was a guy there drinking beer. Guns and beer.
The guy showed me the little black gun and put it right into my hand. He pointed to a target and told me to shoot. When I hesitated he punched me in the shoulder and called me a pussy. I dropped the gun and shut my eyes, waiting for it to go off.
It didn’t go off.
My old man told me to pick the gun up and fucking shoot.
So I did.
I missed the target.
But I liked the feel of it.
That was something like a preview of the outlaw life I’d end up living in. One of the few memories I had of my father.
I stood at the trunk of the car and waited for Pierce. I had him meet me in an abandoned parking lot. I told him he was more than welcome to drive the car, test the engine out, give the bitch a good ride before he bought it. He was bringing cash and no matter what happened, he was not going to leave with that goddamn car.
The Reap was all around, hiding and silent.
Pierce showed up in some little fancy ass car. Some foreign thing that probably pushed six figures.
The second he saw me, he slammed on the brakes. I saw the look on his face through the windshield. He cut the wheel and was planning on making his escape. Don’t get me wrong, I could have done a better job hiding myself. Or at least I could have taken off my leather cut. But what was the fun in that?
I took out my gun and blasted the tires on the right side of his car. The little speedster kept turning and was suddenly facing me again. I pulled the trigger one more time, hitting the passenger side of the windshield. That’s when Pierce put his hands up.
I now had no time to waste so I ran to the car, gun in hand, ready to fire again if I needed to.
“Get out of the fucking car!” I yelled.
Pierce opened the door.
I watched him like a hawk, but you have to remember something here. He was trained to be a criminal. He was used to being sneaky and always have Plan B-Z ready to go. The door provided him with some shield.
In a swift move, he disappeared behind the door and then popped back up with a knife in his hand. My eyes went to the knife. Pierce quickly released the knife, throwing it at me. I jumped out of the way but not before it grazed my right arm. I felt a stinging pain but quickly told my mind to focus on Pierce.
By the time I looked at him again, he was holding a gun, ready to begin his own attack on me.
A second later a booming thunder sounded and Pierce flew into the side of his own car as though a ghost had tackled him. He rolled toward the back of the car. I quickly kicked the door shut and went after him. I stripped him of his gun and had my arm around his neck, squeezing his throat.
I looked behind me and saw Knox standing a few feet away.
Knox had shot Pierce to protect my ass.
I nodded to Knox. He nodded back.
“Come here, asshole,” I growled.
I dragged Pierce back to the car he was supposed to be buying.
“You bring the cash?” I asked with a grin.
“Is that what this is? You’re setting me up to rob me?”
“No, Pierce. I don’t want your money. I want your cell phone. You’re going to help me settle some old bullshit.”
Pierce grabbed his shoulder. “Oh, man, this really fucking hurts. So bad. I might bleed out and die.”
“Then we better move fast here,” I said.
“What the… You’ll never get away…”
I threw a right and smacked Pierce right in the jaw. He crashed into the car and then stumbled, falling to his knees.
“Fuck!” he cried out.
I grabbed the back of his shirt. “This is how this works, Pierce. You do what I say to do. And when it’s done, you leave. You abandon your car, okay? You leave some cash lying around the seat and then report the car was stolen. You even try to push this back on the Reap and we will burn everything in your life.”
“Jesus Christ, man,” Pierce said. “I know nothing.”
“Exactly. But you know how to get Damon here.”
Pierce looked back at me. “Damon? Wh…”
“This isn’t a conversation,” I said. “This is an order. If you don’t do what I say, you’re done.”
“You’re going to kill Damon,” Pierce said.
“No. I promise you that, Pierce. I am not g
oing to kill Damon. I just need to talk to him. He won’t return my calls. So I needed to do something to get his attention.”
“Why would I fucking believe you?”
I crouched down. “I only plan on pulling this trigger one more time. And it has nothing to do with Damon. It has to do with you. Meaning if you don’t take your fucking phone and call Damon, I’m going to put a bullet in the back of your head. Understand?”
“Jesus Christ, yes,” Pierce said.
He took his phone out, his hand shaking.
I put my hand to his wrist. “Listen to me carefully, Pierce. You need to calm down. There’s nothing bad that’s going to happen to you. This is an awakening for you. How bad things could get. How fast they could get that bad. Okay? So you need to stay calm and call Damon. You tell him there’s a deal going down and you need his help. Someone is in his territory. You know what to say to get his attention. The second the call is over, you get in your car and leave. Don’t go too far though. Okay? I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
“And you’re not going to kill Damon?” Pierce asked.
“No. See, we go way back. I have to tell him something about his mother. I have to do it in person though. It’s going to hurt him. But I’m not going to kill him.”
Pierce knew he had no choice but to listen to me. Would I have put a bullet in his head? Probably. Then I would have used his phone to get Damon’s attention. But that would have opened the doors for a very bloody day.
I just wanted to wrap this shit up and go home to hold my baby son and my beautiful woman.
Pierce nodded to me. He licked his lips and then placed the call to Damon.
He did a great fucking job. The second Damon thought someone was in his territory, dealing drugs and exchanging money, he flipped his lid. He made it very clear to Pierce to keep the pricks there and get ready for a war.
I smiled when I heard Damon say that.
Get ready for a war?
I was ready… and I was going to fucking win.
38
(priya)
*NOW*
I bounced Kyle in my arms, trying to keep him smiling and trying to keep myself distracted. I dug my thumb and pinky fingers into his little armpits and he loved it. He would crunch forward and let out a giggling growl. His little hands would swing at me. But it was his eyes. Those blue eyes of his that just simply captivated me. He was worth everything. Kyle would live a life knowing that no matter what happened in his life he would have the love of his mother and his father. To me, there was nothing else more important than that.
I took Kyle outside on the deck. I pointed to the swing set. “Someday you’ll be driving us crazy on that thing. I know it. You have your Daddy’s fire. I can already see you standing on top of the slide wanting to jump to the ground.”
Kyle waved his arms and kicked his legs at me.
“I take that as a yes,” I said and smiled.
The doorbell rang and my heart instantly twisted.
There was no reason for anyone to be at the house right now.
Unless it was the police.
Knight had been arrested. Knight had been hurt. Knight had been killed.
I took a deep breath and kissed Kyle’s forehead.
I had to answer the door.
The walk seemed like it was miles long.
But when I opened the door and saw Annie standing there, I was taken back.
“Annie…”
“I have a minute here,” she said. “I have to go somewhere so I can hopefully meet up with Knight.”
“Did you hear from him yet?” I asked eagerly.
“It’s better if you know less,” Annie said. “I just wanted to say goodbye.”
“Goodbye?”
“Priya. I’m dead. Okay? There’s no reversing what I’ve done. I’m going to take care of my son, as promised, and then I’m leaving the country. I’ll find somewhere to waste away and die.”
“Annie… you don’t have to do that.”
“I do have to do that,” Annie said. “I wanted to say goodbye to you. To let you know you did the right thing. You found love and went for it. And look what you got in return for it. This beautiful baby boy.”
Annie reached out and grabbed Kyle’s hand.
“Well, wherever you end up, I hope you’re happy.”
Annie touched my arm. “I won’t be happy. I’ll eventually die. But at least I have money.”
“Enjoy it while you have it,” I said.
“You know I thought about bringing you some money,” Annie said. “I was thinking a lot of money. But then it dawned on me that you fucked another guy behind my son’s back. The guy who was being paid to protect you. Do you realize how wild that is?”
“I’m holding the proof in my arms,” I said. “I followed my heart, Annie.”
“And I followed the money,” she said. “You take care of yourself, Priya. That baby. And your man. Make sure it’s all worth it.”
“I will, Annie. You do the same. I hope whatever time you have left is spent the way you want it. Money and all.”
Annie turned and walked to the end of the porch. She reached into her bag and dropped an envelope on the porch.
“Whoops,” she said. “I didn’t see that.”
I watched as Annie walked to a very expensive black car and climbed into the backseat. The car then drove away.
I stepped to the porch and grabbed the white envelope. It was thick. Very thick. And when I opened it, it was full of money.
“ooohhh…” Kyle made the noise just as I realized it was all one hundred dollar bills.
I had no clue how much was actually there.
Annie was a ruthless bitch… but she had a heart.
I smiled, sort of in shock.
Then I wondered… would I get to share this money with Knight?
39
(knight)
*NOW*
I sat in the front seat of the car. I looked in the mirror with a scowl on my face. It bothered me that I couldn’t just get out of the car and put a bullet between Damon’s eyes. Well, technically, I could do that. But I ran the risk of more trouble in my life. For the first time in a long damn time I considered someone other than myself. I had a family to think about. I had a family to care for and protect.
So I sat there, hands on the wheel, waiting.
The plan was simple. If Damon came with company, then all hell was going to break loose.
Thankfully, it didn’t come down to that.
Damon came up over the hill and pulled right behind the car. He was too smart to hang out for long. I threw open my door and stepped out of the car. A second later came the rumbling of motorcycles. Five seconds later, Damon was surrounding by the Reap.
It was quick and it was smooth. Just the way we wanted it to be.
Knox put a gun to the window and gave the command that if Damon made a move, he’d take a bullet.
I slowly walked to the car and put a cigarette between my lips. I lit it and took a deep drag. I was going to be in control now. Fucking finally. I thought about all the times I had to deal with Damon and bullshit. I had to deal with him treating Priya like she was just a piece of ass to use and abuse.
When I got to the car, I opened the door and grabbed Damon’s shirt.
“Come for a walk, fucker,” I growled.
Damon wrestled me away and threw a weak punch, hitting me in the arm. “Don’t fucking touch me, Knight.”
I grabbed him with both hands and stood him up. I slammed him against the side of his car.
I went nose to nose with him. “You fucking killed Al.”
“You got my girl pregnant. I’d say we’re even.”
I slammed him off the car again. “You said you were gone. Done with this shit.”
“I lied.”
“Good. I was hoping you’d say that.”
“Whatever you think you’re going to do…”
I pulled Damon from his car and threw him forward. “Walk to th
e car, Damon. So we can talk.”
Damon stood and fixed his suit. “You have no idea who I really am. The power I have. You try anything to fuck me…”
“Shut up,” I said. I pushed Damon to the trunk of the car Pierce thought he was going to buy. “I want to know what your fucking game is here.”
Damon turned and grinned. “I just want to fuck with you. You’re an asshole, Knight. I fucking hate you. I slit that old fuckers throat while he was watching porn. Some nasty shit too.”
“Al had nothing to do with anything.”
“But I got your attention.”
“Loud and fucking clear,” I said. “So talk.”
“I’m taking it all over, Knight. The town. The Reap. Everything. There’s nothing you can do to stop me. You think you can kill me right now?”
“Actually, I’m not going to kill you,” I said. “I have no intentions of that. I want to show you something. I think you’ll appreciate it.”
“Yeah, sure,” Damon said. “Then I have to get going. Business meetings.”
“Sure,” I said.
I popped the trunk of the car.
There was nothing inside it, of course.
Damon turned and looked at the empty trunk. “What the fuck is this? A metaphor?”
“No,” I said. “I have something to show you.”
Damon turned his head just as I threw an elbow. I got him square in the jaw and sent him stumbling back. I then grabbed him and spun around, throwing him into the trunk. I slammed it shut and pounded a fist on it.
I nodded to the Reap.
It was time to cruise.
Time for Damon to be reunited with his mother.
When Annie said to bring Damon to the cemetery I figured she had something planned to scare the shit out of him. Pop up from behind the gravestone or something like that. Instead, what she had planned goddamn scared me.
I drove as far as I could up the cemetery path and then stopped. I grabbed an old shirt and rolled it up. I opened the trunk and saw a wide eyed Damon looking at me. It was the first time I think he realized he was going to get fucked. I crammed the t-shirt into his mouth to keep him quiet.
Wild Knight: a bad boy romance novel Page 15
