“Did Mr. Serious just make a joke?” she asked with a smile that for a second felt strange on her lips. For so long she’d had no reason to smile.
Sydney lifted an eyebrow as he laughed at her words but decided to let it go and focus on why they were here. But the deep sound of his laughter left a warm feeling in her chest that scared her as much as filled her with hope.
As they rounded the barn, her eyes fell on the land before her, and she was wrenched back twenty years. The meadow and the small pond were surrounded by hazel and willow trees. The wind was picking up on this early summer morning making them dance, the water glittering as the ripples played with the sun’s rays.
Letting go of Kingsley’s hand, Sydney tried not to let the tsunami of images of her parents drown her. The faint sound of her father’s deep laugh, and her mother’s honeysuckle perfume came to her on the breeze. Those last moments of innocence were bittersweet but so compelling. She wondered why she had pushed them aside.
As they approached the pond, there were a couple of ducks lazily swimming together, and it made her smile. How many times had she chased ducks around, the sound of their quacking making her giggle until she lost her breath?
The vision rippled like the pond when Kingsley stepped by her side. “I’m relieved to see you smiling. Finally.”
How could she explain everything she felt by coming here? Focusing on the bad and on survival had been her sole path to keep going. Everything before her life being shattered had been safely put away. Her life had been split into two like the fracture of a rock face after an earthquake, but here today, she felt as if maybe—just maybe—she could knit the pieces back together. The scar would remain, but the gaping wound would be closed.
“It’s difficult to remember the good when the bad is the main focus of your life.”
It might have been cryptic, but Kingsley nodded. She knew he didn’t just agree with her, he always seemed to know what she meant. Maybe he had experienced it himself.
They made their way toward the pond, staying close but not touching as they moved under the low trees. So many years had passed since she’d last been there, and the trees had grown.
“Has the place changed much?”
Sydney shook her head. “Not really. But I’m not sure if there are trees missing.” It was a small patch of trees, and when she was little, it had appeared like a vast forest, a place where she could get lost. Now, so many years later, everything looked so small.
“You came here often when you were a kid?”
“Summer vacations mostly. I loved this spot, the pond and the canopy of trees. It looked so magical. I came here and stayed until my mother came to drag me back to eat. I dreamed of fairies in a magical land. I was the only that could see them, and it amused my dad so much.”
As if retracing her childhood games in her mind, she walked around the trunks, her fingertips moving over the rough bark. Weaving in and out for a moment, deeply buried memories emerged like a bud that had been buried by the snow. “I would twirl around the trees, as it was the only way to the fairy kingdom, and I would bring wildflowers to the entrance of their realm.” Saying the words, something clicked in her head, and she headed deeper under the trees, her feet quickening as a fragment of something caught in her brain.
Kingsley rushed after her. “Wait. Where are you going?”
She ignored him and ran until she arrived behind three pine trees where a pile of rocks surged from the earth. Again, it was smaller than the image in her memories but looked similar.
“We never brought anything here. I always played with what was in my imagination. My parents encouraged me. Dad said that if I continued talking with the fairies, maybe they would invite me in and let me see their treasure. Maybe that’s why he sent me here.”
Sydney examined the pile of rocks to see if it was possible to move any of them without causing the pile to collapse. Moss and leaves filled most of the cracks, but it appeared that many of the smaller rocks could be shifted. Kingsley fell on his knees beside her and started to discard one rock at a time, careful not to break or damage anything and slipping even deeper into her heart. He searched through all the nooks and crannies.
Sydney was starting to tell herself she was going crazy when something pink caught her eye. “There, do you see it?”
Without a word, Kingsley worked on the left side until a small, metallic box appeared. Part pink, partly covered with rust, she could clearly see the image of a fairy on it.
Taking it in her hands, she shook it lightly, hearing something loose rattle inside. The lock and lid were overtaken with rust, and she had no idea how to get it open.
“Let me.” Kingsley started finagling with the lock until it became clear that only force would break it open. He bashed the lock a few times with a small rock and once it was broken, prized the lid open. Sydney peeked inside to see a key chain with a single key.
She took it in her hands, and while rust covered the chain, the key was intact and rust free. “Damn it, Dad. I don’t need another riddle!” She’d expected to find an answer, not another clue that required figuring out what they needed to do next.
“It’s okay, we have the key, we’ll figure it out. Let’s go back, we’ve been a long time. Put the key in your pocket. Do you want to keep the box?”
“No. If you don’t mind, let’s put it back under the rubble. Maybe another little girl can come and enjoy it as I did.”
With a smile and a soft look, he did as she asked before dusting himself off and standing.
Making their way back, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Kingsley pulled it out and glanced at the screen. He pressed a couple of buttons before speaking. “Knight. You’re on speaker, Malco. Sydney is here with me.”
“You have to ditch your phone.”
At the words, Sydney’s stomach turned to ice as she waited for Kingsley to respond.
“What’s going on?”
“They finally made a move on Mercy and James. Don’t worry, everybody is fine, but it means your cover is blown, and they know it was a decoy. In the meantime, Alex and Mason have been following a lead. Rutherford has men trying to mess with our communications. We may still be invisible, but we’re not sure. Ditch your phone and get another one. Once you do, check your emails, a new number will be available to reach the Agency.” There was a hesitation in Malco’s voice, and that didn’t bide well.
“What else?”
There was definite gloom in the man’s voice. “Caitlin was working on the money angle, and she found a new account, a dark one, buried deep. In the last five hours, a lot of money has been transferred into it. From what we understand, that account is used to pay hired hands. And from the amount going to it, Rutherford is hiring a small army. As soon as you get a new phone, we’re coming up with a plan to protect Sydney and bring the bastard down. Get rid of the phone, don’t use anything that could be used to track you, and keep moving. Do it now!”
13
Kingsley grabbed Sydney’s hand and dragged her to the car. “We need to move.”
He slammed the door shut and rounded the hood before strapping in and gunning the engine. They were five miles down the road when he took the battery out of his phone with his teeth and chucked the phone under the wheels of an oncoming truck.
He glanced at Sydney who was worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, her face paler than it was before the call. Without thinking he reached for her hand and clasped it tightly in his, resting it on his thigh while he drove. “It’ll be okay, Sydney. I won’t let him get to you. We’ll protect you I promise.” He took her hand and gave it a brief squeeze trying to reassure her.
She looked at him then, her big blue eyes haunted with fear but underneath that fear was the fragile bloom of trust that he was winning from her. It made him feel like he had won the lottery.
“I know, I just—” She stopped as if trying to gather her thoughts. “I had forgotten the fear for a moment. It’s funny, I didn’t realize how much it w
eighed me down until I didn’t feel it for a few hours.” She looked out of the window, avoiding his eyes.
“One day you’ll live free, Sydney.” He vowed she would because he would see to it that she did. They drove for an hour, her hand still in his, his thigh tingling from the light touch.
“So what happens now?”
“Now we find a place to stay. I’m going to contact the team just as soon as I can find somewhere with free internet or phone I can use. There’s a town five clicks over that should be big enough to have something. We can stop and eat too. You must be starving?”
“A little.” She was biting her lip again, and it made his dick twitch. Adjusting how he was sitting was not an option, so he just thought of the dance steps to the foxtrot which his mother had made him learn when he was ten years old.
Driving into the town of Sweeting was an experience he hadn’t had before and not one he would forget. It had a diner, bed and breakfast, a bank, a row of shops, and a library. But what made it a feast for the eyes was the Danish-inspired architecture. Each building was clad in black wood and painted a bright color. Sydney’s reaction was one of awe, her body leaning forward in the seat. Kingsley was relieved to see her smile, even if it was tentative.
“This place is amazing.” Her face shone with wonder as she looked at the houses and then him. “Have you been here before?”
“No, but I read it was on this route and thought it might be a fun place to stop, even if only for a few hours.” He gave her a small grin that was at odds with how he felt. He didn’t feel like grinning, he felt like bundling Sydney up and catching the first flight to the UK where he could hide her properly. But that wasn’t an option, so he opted for making her smile instead.
“Thank you, Kingsley.” She gave him a soft smile that made his chest ache.
He didn’t speak but tilted his head to acknowledge her instead. Parking on the street outside the bank with the orange facade so at odds with the old institution, Kingsley left the vehicle and crossed in front to open the door for Sydney. She carefully tucked the key from the rusty box into her pocket on the inside of her jacket.
Offering her his hand, he was pleased when she took it. “Let’s find somewhere with the internet, contact Malco, and then grab some food. We don’t know when we’ll get the chance to stop again.”
She left her hand in his as they walked down the sidewalk. To anyone looking at them, they were just another couple out shopping. He wondered at the picture they made her, so fair and delicate, him dark and bearded, more like a mountain man than prince charming. He smiled as a woman with a stroller went past them. It seemed friendly here, like a place you would move to raise a family.
His turn of though almost had Kingsley stopping short. What was he doing thinking of raising families and coupledom? He was here to do a job—to protect Sydney and unmask Rutherford for the piece of shit he was. He didn’t remove his hand though, reasoning that it was just to comfort her. Deep down though, where desire was starting to flicker from a spark into a raging fire, he knew that Sydney could very well be the one he had never known he was looking for.
The library had been closed for lunch when they’d arrived, so they had gone to the diner to get food. After loading up on burgers and fries, they had grabbed some soft drinks for the car and were headed back to the library.
Kingsley crossed the road, body alert for threats as he watched for any sign that Rutherford or his men had caught up to them and found nothing to give him pause. Sydney had been quiet over lunch, reflective, stuck in her head. He needed to get her out of it.
“So, any ideas about the key?”
He watched her face scrunch up adorably as she looked at him and considered his words. “I’ve been thinking about that. I know in my heart Dad left the key for me to find, but I can’t help thinking we missed something. That maybe there was another clue that we missed.”
“But the original clue definitely pointed to your aunt’s old place,” he replied as they moved up the steps of blue Danish style building.
“I know, and that part was right, but a key with no markings? That’s like a trying to find a needle in a haystack. He would have left more.” She sounded more animated now, her hands moving as she spoke. She stopped him with her hands on his forearm before they walked inside and pulled him to the side, making his mouth twitch.
“What if there are more clues back at my aunt’s house? What if we missed something in our haste to get out of there?”
“That’s a lot of what-ifs,” he said cautiously. He didn’t want to disregard what she was saying but to go back was a bad idea.
“I know, but it’s there. I know it. I can feel it in my gut.”
She was almost dancing with excitement and he took a minute to think, while she watched him with anticipation. Her face was alive, more alive than he had seen it and she was beautiful, so beautiful it hurt to look at her. He found himself nodding even though he knew in his gut that it was wrong—it was too dangerous. She had him by the short and curlies, and he had no clue how or when it had happened.
“How about this,” he said thinking fast. “We speak to the team and if they agree, we go back tonight and see what else we can find.”
“Okay, yes, let’s do that.” She smiled as she slipped her hand into his and guided him toward the desk at the front of the library. Kingsley smiled back and shook his head. What the fuck was happening to him?
After being shown to the surprisingly high-tech computer station, he logged onto Forget-me-Not Flowers and requested delivery of four red roses at eight that day and hit send. Sitting back he waited for a chat box to appear. The method of dark emergency communication had been Cain Davies’ idea. As an ATF agent, he had used a similar system when he went undercover.
He sat forward when a chat box popped up.
* * *
Candy: Hello, how may we help you?
Customer: I need to arrange for four red roses to be delivered to my girlfriend.
Candy: I can help you with that. Please confirm the time of delivery and if you would like them to include a gift card.
Customer: 8 pm for delivery to the address stated on the form. Please include a card with the words from your loving boyfriend. I’m happy to pay any last minute delivery fee incurred.
Candy: That is all set up for you. If you need any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. Enjoy your day.
* * *
Sydney had sat next to silently, her mouth agape as he used the secret code to talk with the team, now she turned to him with a question in her eyes. “What in the heck was all that about?”
“Not here. Let’s go look for a place to buy a new phone, and I’ll explain as we walk.” Kingsley led her outside, his hand on her elbow as he did.
They walked for a few minutes, headed toward a local store that looked like it sold everything from cement to lingerie. Kingsley couldn’t relax, but he felt better knowing the team were on their way and would be able to offer back-up while he and Sydney looked for the damn clue.
“So we set up Forget-me-Not Flowers as a front for us to make contact with each other. When I was talking to Candy, it was actually one of the team. Ordering four red roses and offering to pay the last minute delivery fee meant I was asking for back-up from four team members and it was a high-risk, urgent situation. The address was where we would meet, and the time was the meet time.”
“Wow, that’s genius.”
“Yeah, it is a pretty smart idea. The flower shop actually exists as a front in case anyone checks.”
“So we have a few hours before they arrive. Are we safe?” she asked looking around.
Kingsley stopped and faced her, taking her hands in his. “We’re safe for now, but I don’t want us to stay on the street. If you feel comfortable, I’d like us to get a room somewhere so you can get some sleep. I can catch forty winks on the floor, but I want us in the same room. The time it takes me to hear you’re in trouble from another room and get to
you could be seconds that matter more than we want. You good with that?”
“Of course, Kingsley, I trust you. I know you would never hurt me.”
“I wouldn’t, sweet Sydney, but as I said earlier, I don’t want to do anything that would make you uncomfortable.” Keeping hold of her hand he walked them toward the store to get the phone and then they could get a room sorted out. After picking up a cheap mobile phone, Kingsley paid cash, and they checked them into a room at the local guesthouse.
One look at the big bed and Kingsley knew he may have overestimated his ability to keep his hands off Sydney. Taking a deep breath, he headed for the bathroom. “You get settled. I’m going to grab a quick shower.” A fucking cold one but he kept that thought to himself.
14
The shower had been a blessing, the hot spray soothing her frayed nerves and bunched muscles. Sydney bowed her head as the water pummeled between her shoulder blades.
Her brain had trouble relaxing, replaying images of her uncle hurting her over and over again. She knew it was because of her earlier confession to Kingsley. It had opened old wounds. She deliberately turned her thoughts to the man who’d appeared in her life like a knight in shining armor. Images of Kingsley pushed away the terror, taking over her thoughts, unknowingly saving her once more.
For so long, as soon as she was by herself, the traumatic events of her past had a way of rearing their ugly heads and garnering all her attention. However, since the British soldier had appeared in her life, she was better able to battle the dark demons in her head.
Even more surprising was the low simmering desire that bubbled inside her belly and between her legs. Something unexpected and powerful happened every time she caught him glancing at her, and that latent heat exploded when they kissed. That brought hope that she wasn’t as completely broken as she’d first thought. Desire hadn’t vanished with her uncle’s violation as Sydney had believed. It had just been locked away. And Kingsley Knight could very well be the key to unlocking it.
Sweetest Obsessions - Anthology Page 140
