Knox Brotherhood

by Knox, Elizabeth

  CHAPTER 17

  Brooklyn

  I was frozen in the spot, I couldn’t even think to move from where I was sitting in the car as we pulled up to his place, which I no longer expected to share with Logan.

  I’d had such a good morning, filled with meetings with various different suppliers who were interested in working with me on my makeup line. Logan had pulled out all the stops to make sure these people knew what they were doing and would be able to do exactly what I wanted them to do for me. I'd spoken with many different companies and people and had finally settled on the best two who could provide me with the best experience for my brand. I'd expected a celebratory afternoon, hopefully going back to the apartment and being able to ravish Logan, because we had missed out on some much needed early morning sex when we had woken up, but instead… I was met with a whole lot of truth I hadn't been expecting at all as well as a run in with Alfred. I couldn’t trust either man right now. It was Reggie who broke me out of my thoughts, walking me into the apartment and then proceeding to find a way to mind his own business.

  I didn’t know what to think. I knew that Logan was a man who was very feared in business, but I hadn't realized that it could be taken this far. What next? Would I find out that Logan was involved with the Italian mafia, as well? I had no idea what to expect. After the emotional rollercoaster I’d been experiencing for the past few days, I had hoped that the storm had passed, but it turned out we were just right in the middle of the eye.

  Sex trafficking? Drugs? Illegal?

  I went straight into the bedroom, where anything I could call mine at all would be. I grabbed a bag I could use as a carry-on, my thoughts just racing with everything I had just seen and found out. It made a little sense now why Logan’s job and associates would put me in danger. He was involved in illegal and dangerous stuff. I hated to say it, but Alfred had been right.

  That didn’t mean anything would be repaired between me and Alfred wither, though. His temper and his lack of care for me were enough to send me running the other direction. I could just figure out everything by myself, without his help. I didn’t have to use his name to prove that I was talented.

  I couldn't believe I had gotten myself so wrapped up in two men; one who only wanted me to say he had an heir to his empire and the other who was involved with criminal activity. I was a model and a business woman. My boyfriend, who was funding my business, was using illegal money to do that, it seemed. If it ever came out, it would ruin my reputation even more than Alfred letting the press know that I used to have a cocaine addiction. At least that I could show I had come out of through rehab and breaking free form the man who got me into it in the first place.

  I should have been completely freaking out, but I think I was in shock. I had been through too many crazy things lately.

  I shifted to the closet, pulling out just a few of the outfits Logan had bought me. That was probably with illegal money too, but I had left so much behind. My conscience would have to deal with it.

  After putting those in the bag, I threw it over my shoulder and headed straight for the door. I had no reason to stick around any longer, and I wanted to avoid Reggie following me. Logan would be out of my life now, as well as my unofficial body guard. Without his association, no one would feel the need to come after me.

  When I opened the door, though., I found double trouble standing on the other side; Logan and Jordan. I should have known he would have gotten rid of Alfred and been right behind me, trying to convince me he wasn’t some monster. I really wasn't in the mood for excuses.

  "You need to move," I told him sternly, trying to get around the two of them. But they blocked me.

  "I told you that we needed to talk, Brook. Just give me a few moments to explain," Logan pleaded. I rolled my eyes.

  "There is nothing to talk about if what my father said about you was true."

  "It isn't that simple," Logan continued, stepping into the apartment so that I was forced to back up. Jordan came along with him like some kind of backup in all of this. I had no choice but to listen, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t know what he could say to change my mind about this if it wasn’t a flat denial. "I am absolutely not involved in the sex or drug trade, Brook. My father was, when he ran the company, but when I took over, I abolished all of that."

  I didn’t miss a beat, though. There was one thing he had not denied. "What about the guns, Logan?" I challenged.

  "Yeah, I sell guns. I can't lie to you about that, or hide it anymore. But I don't just sell to criminals; I also sell them to aid workers and other people who need them. I know that some of what I do is illegal, but to completely get out of all this illegal business would kill me and my brothers. I do what I have to in order to keep people happy and keep the business making profit."

  I didn’t know what to think about it, but my bag did sag, and I went to sit down. It was a sit-down kind of conversation.

  Logan followed me, sitting down but not too close. He was being respectful, and I felt slightly guilty for just taking Alfred's word for it. Though, Logan was involved in something dangerous. I couldn’t ignore that. There was still some thought that had to go into it all. "I have been trying to legitimize Steele Enterprises so that I don't have to use any of the gunrunner money. It is why I have been investing in lucrative businesses like yours and Greer's fashion line."

  I smiled at that. He hadn’t told me yet for sure if he was going to take her on. Greer would be thrilled, and I was happy for her. As long as she stayed out of all this shady stuff Logan was into.

  Logan looked at me, and I met his eyes this time. "I know this might change things between us, but it is important to know that it is not something I want to be doing, and I am doing as little of it as I have to. It's something I have to do to stay alive. Maybe, one day in the future, things will be different, but right now, I have to do what I have to do."

  I was shocked at that; the mention of staying alive. He was really serious. He was dealing with some bad people, it seemed like. It made me feel a little uneasy, knowing the true danger he could be in, as well as me. Maybe skipping out on the body guard was a bad idea.

  Jordan stepped up to speak. I had almost forgotten he was there. He seemed to be good at blending into the background. Or maybe I was good at zoning him out now because he looked so much like Logan it freaked me out. "Our father did not split everything three ways when he died, like he should have. He gave everything to Logan out of spite because he knew that Logan absolutely hated it all. Everything Logan has done since our father’s death has been legitimizing it as much as possible."

  I was furious - furious that even after my apartment was broken into that I hadn't been told all of this. I was furious that Alfred had at least been somewhat right about Logan being dangerous. Logan himself was not, but his business dealings were. I didn't believe Logan was horrible. It sounded like he had a horrible father. I couldn’t blame him for that. How hypocritical would that be? And it didn’t matter anyway. As much as I hated all of it, I loved him. There was nothing I could do about that.

  I leaned into Logan, giving him a soft peck on the lips.

  "I can’t say that I like it, and you should have told me sooner. I don’t like secrets, Logan, but I love you."

  As Logan pulled away, his look was still serious. "There's one more thing I have to tell you, then, in the spirit of not keeping secrets. Your father is the one who supplied Bryce with the cocaine that got you addicted. I am sorry."

  My mouth was hanging wide open, and I knew it. I suspected my father of many things, but not that. It was solidified. I was done with Alfred. I didn’t even know how I could be related to such a man.

  CHAPTER 18

  Brooklyn

  I didn't know if it was strange or funny that I found myself waiting to be called back into the gynecologist's office as Reggie sat a few seats away from me in the lobby. As far as he knew, I was having my annual exam, but that wasn’t the reason I was there at all. I had been having a
few weird symptoms; nausea, bloating, spotting, and fogginess. I knew what those could mean and made an appointment to confirm immediately.

  "Brooklyn Harper," a nurse called, and I stood up, trying not to show any nerves to Reggie. I didn’t want to give anything away too soon. I was immediately ushered into a small bathroom where I was told to pee in a cup; typical procedure at these things. Only, this time, I was suspecting a result out of it rather than just a normal visit. That pee was going to tell me if I was pregnant or not.

  The thought of myself as a mother was a bit scary, and that was what I was thinking about after the nurse took down all my symptoms and family history, which was short besides the mention of my mother's breast cancer.

  Now, she was an amazing mother, especially on her own like she was. she had no help to raise me, though, she may have had some financial assistance from dear old daddy.

  It wasn’t so much that I never wanted children; I just had not thought about it too much yet. It had been an idea in the distance, after my makeup line was successful and I felt like I could settle down. No man had really made me feel that way yet. Bryce came close, until he ruined everything.

  But here I was, only two months into a relationship that I had already worried in the beginning was moving too fast, and I could be pregnant with the child of Logan Steele.

  What would we do if I was pregnant? Logan was older, and I knew he loved me, I didn’t think that he would be too upset, but we also had all the stress of his job to worry about, all the illegal activities. Hopefully, by the time the child grew up, if I really was pregnant, he would have found a way to be done with all of that.

  I took deep breaths in and out, trying not to work myself up too much. It was natural. It happened to people every day, right? There were even teenagers walking around carrying children, so I had to be able to handle this. And I would not become like my father in the process, ever. I knew Logan wouldn’t either.

  There was a knock at the door, and I found myself shooting up to sit up straight as the doctor walked in; an older woman with a sweet smile. "Hello, Brooklyn, I am Doctor Morris. I see you have been having some symptoms that make you believe you might be pregnant?" I nodded with my own smile, trying to keep calm. The suspense was killing me. Doctors had a bad habit of that. My mother had always said it had been like that with her diagnosis too, skirting around the subject. "Well, it looks like you were right. Can you pinpoint anything to a certain date to tell us how far along you might be?"

  I scoffed at that, unable to control that reaction. With as much sex as Logan and I had, there was no telling. So, I just shook my head. I just knew that a condom had to have broken, it’s the only way…or at least it’s the only way I can think of right now.

  "Okay, then, to get the correct age and due date, let's get a sonogram, if you are alright with that?" I nodded, still not having found my voice yet. What had gotten into me? Oh, that’s right, a baby.

  The doctor peeked her head out the door and called for the nurse who rolled in a sonogram machine, something I had only seen on television. They had me lay back on the bed as the lights were switched off, for better viewing, I supposed. Some terrible cold jelly was put all over my stomach, and I tried not to gag. Being pregnant made me sensitive to things like that, apparently. The sensation was not a good one.

  Finally, a wand of sorts, was placed on my stomach, moving around so they could get a picture of the baby. I waited until I heard that strange whooping sound that turned out to be the heartbeat. I looked to the screen and saw the beating heart for myself. That was amazing, how a human life could be so tiny and grow inside of another. It wasn't something people really thought about until they had one inside of them. "Wow," I said, finding my voice again.

  My stomach was cleaned up and the machine taken away as they helped me to sit up. "So, it looks like you are eight weeks along. Everything looks good. We will schedule your 20-week appointment and give you some information about pregnancy and what you should and should not do or eat. Congratulations." The doctor walked out of the room with that same smile she came in with as I did the math in my head. That was the very first night I was with Logan.

  The nurse came in with all the papers, and I tucked them into my pose along with a sample of prenatal vitamins I was instructed to take every day. Then, I was allowed to leave, walking out into the lobby to find Reggie looking a little impatient. It was probably awkward to just be some man, sitting there alone.

  "Finally," he teased as they walked out together, heading for the parking garage attached to the medical center building. "That took a while."

  "Yeah, annuals always do," I told him, ready to keep him off the trail. I wanted to keep it a secret until I could tell Logan that evening. "They make you go over like every medical issue anyone in your family has ever had before they even look at you. And they position you in these stirrup things that force your legs open. It is not pretty or comfortable. Then they..." I trailed off as Reggie gave me a look. He was grossed out, which was my plan.

  He chuckled. "You can stop it now. I don’t need to know so much information. I don’t think if I ever married I would even want to know." I nudged him playfully. We had formed an interesting friendship since he started following me around everywhere. He was a funny guy, and pretty nice for a body guard to a man who was dealing in illegal gun transport.

  Before we made it to the car, a silver car with dark windows came out of nowhere cutting us off. At first, I just thought it was some asshole, not looking where he was going, but the screeching tires were followed by the sounds of gun shots. I took cover behind a pillar, unsure of what to do I was frozen.

  "Run!" Reggie yelled, reaching for his own gun to shot at the vehicle and those inside. As he did, he was shot and taken to the ground. I didn’t know where to run, but then I saw the elevator that would take me to another level of the parking garage. It was my best bet. I took off, hoping to outrun the man who had gotten out of the car and was chasing me, bullets flying everywhere. It didn’t seem like they were trying to hot anything vital, just stop me.

  Reggie was lying there bleeding out as I fled for my life, and I felt a hint of guilt. I was almost to the elevator when I was caught up with, and I felt a sharp stinging, jamming into my neck. That was the last thing I saw.

  ***

  Logan

  I came in the door to the apartment and looked at the clock. I didn't like that Brook wasn't home yet. I knew she had a doctor's appointment earlier that Reggie took her to, just an annual, but that should not have taken so many hours. Even if she had decided to go eat or shop afterwards, it wouldn’t have taken that long.

  I pulled out my cell to see if I had any messages, and there was nothing. That was also unusual. I dialed Reggie's number with a bad feeling setting in. He didn’t answer. Reggie always answered.

  "Fuck!" I cried out, slamming my fist on the kitchen bar so hard I knew I had bruised something. I started dialing Jordan, needing him to find out what the hell had happened to Reggie and Brook.

  "Lo, what is it?" Jordan asked.

  "Reggie went with Brooklyn to an appointment and never came back. he isn’t answering his phone either. Are you close to the clinic where you could check things out? See if the Tesla is there still?"

  "Yeah, I am pretty close, actually. I will go and call you when I get there."

  I hung up the phone and began pacing the floor, sending out a text to Christian so he knew to come home; that something wasn’t right. We were going to have to circle the wagons. I would do everything I could and more if something had happened to Brook, and the bastards that took her would know never to mess with a Steele again.

  It didn’t take long for Jordan to call back. "Shit, Lo, the Tesla was here in the parking garage, and there are bullets and blood everywhere in here. I think she’s been taken. There are tire marks and everything."

  Rage and fear filled my body at that moment. Someone, whoever the fuck had been messing with me, had taken Brooklyn, the love o
f my life. If anything happened to her, I was going to make sure their death was long and painful. "Come home. We have to figure out where the hell she is."

  CHAPTER 19

  Brooklyn

  As I came to, my head was pounding insistently, and I hissed in pain. I looked around, confused as to why I couldn’t make out too much. That was when I realized there was a sac over my head. It was dark, but I began to make out a few things through a small rip in the bag.

  I was in some kind of warehouse, but it had no lights on. I tried to stand up, but I couldn’t, and looking down, I saw that my arms and feet were bound to a chair with what looked like it might be electrical tape. Shit…Who did this to me? Was it the same people who tried to break into my house? Was I going to die? Fuck. Logan must be worried sick, I was supposed to meet him at home after my doctor’s appointment.

  I sat in the darkness, my heart beating fast in my chest as I tried to make sense of the whole situation. What kind of person would do this? Surely some crazed serial killer, or something. I thought this only happened in movies.

  That was when I saw light rush in as the door opened. It was definitely a warehouse. I could hear the metal hinges, creaking and sounding like the door might fall apart at any moment. There was someone approaching, but the hole wasn’t being enough for me to make them out. The footsteps sounded clumpy and loud, like they belonged to a woman.

  The footsteps got louder as my heart raced, and finally, the bag was pulled off my head. Of all the people I might have been expecting to see; some low life, some drug trafficker or sex trafficker, but not a woman I had met before looking right at me.

  It was Tara; Logan's ex-wife. She truly was insane, wasn’t she?

  "Hey there, plaything." It rolled off her tongue smoothly, and I remembered when she had called me that before. If she thought this was going to get her Logan, she needed to be committed. That was when I knew I was in a different kind of trouble. At least criminals had plans and things they wanted they could trade her for. But this was someone completely unpredictable with very little to lose. I got the idea that she felt she already lost everything.