The Black Knights

by Matilda Reyes

  I agreed and shouted for Mikael and Voss. They bustled into my office and froze at the worried expressions on our faces. Jordan filled them in on the situation.

  Mikael tried to reason with me. “Don’t hold such anger toward Nicholas. He wants to prove that he can handle Brett on his own. Everyone doubts him, and he knows it.”

  “Where was Candice that they could slip out of the house? The others?” asked Voss. “You should replace her with someone more diligent.”

  “Marin was asleep, and Jones and Smith were on a food run,” said Jordan. “It doesn’t matter. She shouldn’t have had to watch her own team member.”

  “I feel so helpless,” I said. I realized that I was still in my gym clothes, having left everything in the locker room in my frenzy. “If I were there, I could look for him.”

  Mikael shook his head. “If you were there, he would avoid you and argue when you tried to talk to him. I will see Danny now and get him to hack the security cameras in the area. He will also scan police radio and CCTV for any mention of him or Brett.”

  “Good idea,” said Voss. “I’ll also keep an eye out to see if he uses any of the credit cards issued to him by the Order. We’ll find them.”

  “Thank you.” I stood and walked toward the door. “I need to punch something before I explode.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  My gym, the studio that I shared with Jordan, proved to be the perfect refuge. I turned on loud heavy metal music, wrapped my hands, and whaled on the standing punching bag in the room’s corner.

  A jab to the face. There ya go, Nicholas.

  Left hook. Thanks for screwing things up.

  Right kick to the legs. You idiot.

  Left knee to the crotch. You selfish, self-important prick.

  The door opened behind me, and Jordan stepped inside. He wrapped his own hands and signaled at me to spar. The savage part of me came roaring to the surface. She was furious, and she wanted to play. Jordan was the perfect partner. Not only could he take what I doled out, but he was a willing victim.

  He arched a brow and dropped into position, his legs spread apart and his hands guarding his face. “No abilities. Just raw power.”

  She snarled in response and struck first with a swift jab at his torso. We didn’t do more than graze his ribs. The gentle contact was enough to get my blood roaring in my ears. Jordan threw an easy jab at my face. I slapped it aside and countered with my own. He shifted backward just a few inches, keeping that pretty mug of his safe for a little while longer. We danced around each other, throwing lazy punches, feeling each other out. His eyes revealed that he knew my temper was on edge and I needed this release. Despite that, he would not go easy on me.

  I rushed inside his guard and threw a combination of punches at his torso. With a gratifying whoomph, I slammed my fist into the center of his stomach. Jordan shoved me, two hands straight to my open chest, hard enough to make me flail back and wobble. He pushed me again, and I lost my momentum, smacking my head against the padded wall. He lost no time in attacking with ferocious punches to my stomach and uninjured side. I lowered my hands to block his punches, which earned me a light tap to the nose, a much milder touch than I deserved.

  She didn’t like being cornered. We went for the most obvious and painful way to clear our space, a knee to the crotch. He expected it and twisted his hips, letting his outer thigh take the brunt of the hit.

  “Give up?” he asked, laughing.

  “Fuck you,” I spat in a voice that was not wholly mine. I braced myself against the wall and shoved off, my hands aimed at his shoulders. He’d been leaning into me, his feet not steady, and I threw his balance off enough to twist away from him.

  “Nice,” he complimented me. “What else you got?”

  I snarled and let loose a flurry of blows with no regard to my own defense. Jordan slapped aside my arms as if they were pesky flies and swept my legs from beneath me. She hated being pinned down more than she disliked being cornered. I shrieked and writhed beneath him. But he was steady and rode out each wave, his hands pinning my arms down and the weight of him on my legs.

  “Call it,” said Jordan. “You’re done.”

  A red haze came over my vision, and I was no longer in control of my body. She didn’t want Jordan. She wanted his beast and would do anything to bring him out. The voice that was not mine crooned, “Send him out. I need him.”

  Startled, Jordan drew back, lessening the pressure on my cuffed hands. My body rocked hard to one side. I didn’t throw him off, but I got my arms free and my legs engaged again. She swung upward and clipped the bottom of his chin, making his teeth clack. He swore and rubbed his mouth for a moment, and at that moment he was all mine. I shot my fist into his crotch for all I was worth. He grunted and cupped himself. He staggered to his feet and backed away as he breathed hard through his nose and tried to recover.

  “He’s not playing,” he said in a low voice. “Take me or nothing at all.”

  She gave up all pretense of sparring and launched into a real fight. My humanity faded away, and all I saw was a target to be eliminated. I shoved into him and made him twist his body, exposing the left side of his ribs. He took a few solid hits before using his arm to swing his elbow at my head. I couldn’t duck fast enough and caught the edge on my temple. It jostled my skull and, for half a second, I was back in my body. He threw himself at me, spinning me around and pinning my arms to my side.

  Jordan brought his lips to my ear and murmured, “Tired yet?” My response was to lift my leg and attempt to stomp on his foot. He laughed and brushed his lips against the side of my neck, just along the pulse.

  The action was so sudden and so out of character for him, for us and our dynamic, that I stopped fighting. The tension all but disappeared from my body. I twisted my head to look at him, still immobilized by his tight grasp and pressed against his chest. He smiled crookedly.

  “What was that?”

  “Trying something different,” he said, his cheeks red. “It snapped you out of the killing mode. I don’t know where you went, but you needed to come back.”

  The adrenaline in my system dropped, and I was dog-tired. I slumped against him and stifled a yawn. Jordan lowered us to the ground and let me lean back against him. I should have moved. There were a million reasons but I couldn’t think of a single one. Between the mat and his body, I was way too comfortable.

  With his arms around me, he took my right hand and unwound the wraps. “You split your knuckles again.”

  I glanced at my bloody hands and sighed. “Hitting you is like attacking a brick wall. My dainty manicured hands can’t stand up to that.”

  He stroked the tips of my fingers with one of his own. “Pretty color. Pink suits you.”

  “Blood-red would have been more badass.” I shook my head. Discussing nail polish choices with him was absurd. That he’d noticed was surprising enough.

  Jordan took my left hand and unwrapped it with the same care he’d shown my other one. “What happened there? She hasn’t appeared in a long time. Are you that angry?”

  “And frustrated,” I acknowledged. “I haven’t felt backed into a corner like this in ages. She came out of nowhere and tried to fight her way out.” I smiled. “She likes you.”

  “That makes one of you.” He massaged out the cramps in my fingers. He’d done that before, never from such an intimate position. His voice was low, and his cheek brushed my hair. “Do you think She will lie low for a while? As much as I enjoy Her company, this isn’t the right time to make an appearance.”

  “I think She’s had her fill for now. How did you know?”

  I felt him smile. “That tickling in the back of my head. What did you feel?”

  Huh. I considered it for a moment and focused on the emotions that had passed through me that weren’t mine. “You enjoyed it. You’re worried about me.”

  “Not things you already know,” he said with a hint of impatience. “What did you feel?”

  “Anger
underneath the surface.” I shuddered. “He wanted to come out, but you wouldn’t let him. He wouldn’t have stopped until I was a bloody mess or worse. You were protecting me.”

  “She gets it. Lean forward.” He placed his hands on my shoulders and kneaded the tight muscles. I groaned as he worked his way down my back, taking extra time on the sore points along my spine, down to my tail bone. I bit back a moan of pleasure as the aches receded and were replaced by a pleasant warmth.

  The intimacy of his touch sent shockwaves of… something… through my body. All I knew was that it was wrong, but I didn’t want him to stop. My breaths hitched, and I gulped. Behind me, Jordan remained silent. He radiated tension and intensity. That tickling in the back of my mind, that foreign presence which was undeniably him, told me that there was another emotion he was trying to hide.

  “Thank you,” I said, scooting away. “I didn’t realize I was that tense.”

  “You’ve been wound up tighter than a coil for weeks. It’s the least I could do.” He yawned and stretched. “Next time, watch the crotch. It’s a low blow, and I don’t appreciate it.”

  I took his extended hand and got to my feet. “Jordy, I—”

  “Don’t say anything,” he said, his voice husky.

  Nothing would have come out even if I’d been inclined to speak. Jordan caressed my cheek and stared at my lips. His eyes flicked to mine. He leaned in and —

  We both swore as our phones went off at the same time.

  “Jones,” he said.

  “Nicholas.” His name was curdled milk in my mouth. I wanted to rant and have nothing to do with him. I also felt guilty.

  “You first.”

  “No. I’m going to shower and eat something before I speak to him.”

  “Can I join you?”

  My entire body flushed.

  Jordan’s lips twitched. “I meant for the phone call in your office, so we can all hear the story at once.”

  “Oh, yeah. My clothes are in the locker room anyway.”

  He held open the door for me. As I passed, he slapped my butt. “Not that I’d turn down an invitation.”

  “Jordy!”

  A hearty laugh exploded from him. “I couldn’t help myself. Go shower. I’ll meet you at your office.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  STILL SHIVERING FROM THAT intentionally freezing shower, I waited for Mikael, Voss, and Jordan to join me. I’d contemplated calling Nicholas on my own, but Voss was right. This was no longer a personal issue. An operative — never could I call him an assassin — had gone rogue and needed to be dealt with by the head of the mission. Me. My executive team, as I thought of them, wanted to take part in the conversation and I didn’t have a good reason to exclude a single one.

  Mikael entered first. “You have not eaten today,” he chided. “You will go home and eat something before going to sleep.”

  “Yes, dear,” I said. Mikael’s mother hen instinct was strong today, not that I minded.

  “Will your relationship with Nicholas color your reactions when you call him?”

  Duh. Of course, it would.

  “No. My reaction will be of a pissed off boss. The ex-girlfriend doesn’t need to get involved unless he makes it personal.” I checked the time. It was midnight.

  Jordan and Voss strolled in as if the hour didn’t bother them. Guilt, my best friend, had me apologizing before they could speak. I hated keeping anyone in the office that late, not that we kept regular office hours. Our overnight team was well into their shift, but we should have been gone a good five hours ago.

  “Call Jones first,” said Voss.

  Mikael disagreed. “Nicholas is the only one who can tell us what happened. Jones will only tell us how he behaved once they were found, which Nicholas can also explain.”

  Steeling myself, I dialed Nicholas. He picked up on the first ring.

  “You took forever to call back. What’s going on?”

  “I should ask you the same. Explain yourself.”

  He sucked in an audible breath through his teeth. Ooh, that sound made me want to throw something.

  “You should start by thanking me for finding an in with the cult. I’ve fast-tracked this mission by weeks, not that anyone seems to care.”

  “You disappeared with our captive and were missing in action for a day,” I said. “Explain what happened. Don’t leave anything out.”

  “I already spoke to the team here. They can brief you. I was calling to say goodnight like we discussed.”

  Jordan may have taken the brunt of my temper, but it was still there. Nicholas hadn’t awakened Her. He didn’t need to; my ire was enough to have me growling. “I don’t care who you told what. Whether you like it, I am your gods damn boss on this mission. If you can’t handle that, get on the next plane back to New York. Explain what the hell you were thinking. Where did you go? Why?”

  A door slammed, and it was quiet. “What do you want me to say? Brett mentioned that a group of them got together on Wednesday nights. They go out to dinner and play pool or go bowling. He thought that it would seem odd if he missed more than the expected few weeks. No one knew that we picked him up.”

  “How did you know that he wasn’t leading you into a trap?”

  “Instinct. He suggested bringing me in as a potential recruit and a friend from out of town. We’re just spinning our wheels here with all this reconnaissance work, so I agreed to go with him.”

  “You don’t agree to go somewhere with your captive. You decide, and he follows your directions! Do you know how much trouble you could have walked into? How dangerous that was?” I asked.

  Nicholas scoffed. “I knew what I was doing. I’m fine, not that you’ve asked. Do you want to hear the rest or not?”

  “Nick, I swear if you don’t keep talking —”

  “Fine, fine. Sorry. I knew that Hernandez and Jones would have tried to stop us. So we waited until we were alone and snuck out. Smith had fitted all the vehicles with a tracker, and I knew they’d just come after us and ruin everything. With the traffic in this town, we had a limited window of opportunity to get on the road. Brett suggested throwing them off our trail in case they found us. Couldn’t have them blowing our cover, ya know?”

  Voss gaped at the phone, galled by the sheer audacity. He’d wasted time and energy of the entire team to pursue this plan. I burned to yell at him. The words were on the tip of my tongue. No. I couldn’t. He’d only have shut down, and that would have been worse.

  “Continue,” I grated out.

  He blew out a breath. “We drove south from the Van Nuys into Hollywood. I figured that they’d have a hell of a time searching for us in a tourist trap. We walked for a few blocks and caught a cab to a neighborhood called Eagle Rock, on the other side of the San Fernando Valley. Strange area. Part of it is run down while the other part hosts an expensive liberal arts college. It’s cute.”

  Next to me, Mikael threw his hands in the air. “Who cares if the area is cute, idiot? What did you do?”

  I wasn’t sure who was most in shock: Voss, who gasped; Jordan, who didn’t bother to hide his snicker; or Mikael, with his hand clapped over his mouth.

  “Let me guess. You have a full room. Great. At least I won’t have to repeat myself. Um, where was I? Oh, yeah. We met his friends at a burger place that served some of the best damn pork sandwiches I’ve ever had. He introduced me to three guys, Nolo, Jamil, and Kevin. They were all normal looking, wearing jeans and sneakers. Nothing screamed that they were part of a vicious cult. We had a few beers. I don’t remember how many. I lost count. Brett might know.”

  Jordan rubbed the space between his brows. “You were drinking? Did they buy you any drinks or did you have enough sense to keep their hands off your glass?”

  “Everyone bought a round. It got a little fuzzy for a while. It was at least six rounds.”

  “They could have drugged you!” I cried. “Nicholas! What were you thinking?”

  “I fitted in with the group. There
’s no way Brett could have tipped them off.”

  Voss mimicked Jordan’s gesture and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Was there a single moment when you had your backs to them? Weren’t in their presence? Did you go to the bathroom or bar by yourself?”

  Nicholas was silent, and back in my office, we groaned in unison.

  “Look, it wasn’t ideal. It’s not like they poured out their deepest secrets. Brett mentioned that we met in San Francisco and that my ideas were like theirs. They felt me out for and invited us to go bowling with them. On the walk over, Nolo asked what caused my change of heart. I told him that nothing felt right anymore, that I had a sense that we weren’t doing what we were supposed to do, that this battle was bigger than us. I didn’t lay it on too thick. Brett thinks he bought it. They seemed to like me well enough.”

  “Great. Maybe we can double-date next time I’m in town,” I groused. “How does this help us?”

  “I’m getting to it. They invited me to some kind of meeting this Friday night,” he said. “From what I can tell, it’s not a ritual. More like a club meeting. Kevin said this would be a great place for me to start because they’re having an important speaker appear. Maybe it’s Carlo.”

  “Or maybe they’ve set you up and plan on murdering you,” said Jordan. “You were drunk, in a neighborhood you didn’t know, had no escape plan, and have no idea if they discussed anything behind your back. I don’t see how this is a win. Did they at least give you a location?”

  “Nolo said he’d call Brett with the information. It will be held at one of their usual meeting places. So what if it didn’t go perfectly? We’re that much closer to Carlo and might never get a chance like this again.”

  And there was the rub. Nicholas had taken our one opening into the cult and used it up. If they were planning to burn him, even if we protected him, we’d never have that in again. Brett would become useless, and we’d go back to square one. So much hinged on the instinct of an untrained man who acted without thinking about the potential consequences. This was a miserable position to be in, and I didn’t know how to get out.