The Black Knights

by Matilda Reyes

  “Nick, how are you feeling? No one called to report back on your health status.”

  “Fine now. It took the better part of the day for my system to calm down. We don’t know what I ingested, but Hernandez agrees that I was drugged. Leaving my glass unattended was stupid. It won’t happen again.”

  “Brett,” I asked, “why did you let this happen?”

  He swallowed hard. “I, uh, didn’t see it. Even if I had, I couldn’t stop them without looking suspicious. We do that to all our new recruits. Nicholas passed.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?” asked Voss. “Fine if you had to let it happen, but why not warn Nicholas after the fact or tell him once you got home.”

  “Your friends would have killed me. I am not stupid. Nicholas was fine.”

  I glowered. “If there are any lasting side effects, I will hurt you. The rest of you will start reconnaissance today. Brett will give us the names and locations of their regular meeting spots. We will learn as much about each of them as possible. Once his friends give us the location of the meeting that Nicholas will attend, we’ll get in closer. If Carlo is there, I want Nicholas to move in. He’ll claim to be a defecting member of the Circle and take part in the next ritual. We’re going to end this.”

  Jones raised his hand. “We’re not a large enough group to bring them down.”

  “I know,” I said, sounding calmer than I felt. “I brought reinforcements. They have their own work to keep them busy until then.”

  “Why? I thought we were an elite team?” asked Candice. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and hunched her shoulders.

  “You were,” said Voss, “until you let our prisoner and chief operative disappear. Not only did they slip away, but they ditched the car and send you on a wild goose chase. We’re here to make sure that no more screw-ups happen and that we wrap this up.”

  I smiled. “I’m tired of chasing this damn cult. We’ve had too many people go missing, too many people die. We keep cutting off the head and another appears. No more. We’re going to the source, and we’ll burn it to the ground.”

  “How do you propose we do that?” asked Nicholas.

  My smile grew razor-sharp. “Get me to Carlo, and we’ll handle the rest.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Nicholas paced the small bedroom that we’d shared. “I can’t believe you! Yeah, I made mistakes, but this is ridiculous. I thought you trusted me to make things right. What the hell, Jasper?”

  I sat on the bed and tried to keep my Zen. “It’s nothing personal. You sped up the timeline. Whether that’s a good thing is now irrelevant. We need to be ready to respond to whatever happens. That includes making sure you stay alive. You knew I’d come back with reinforcements.”

  “Yeah, at some point. When we were close. I haven’t even met Carlo. How do you expect me to win his trust when you have a goon squad outside? He’s not stupid.”

  I begged every deity available to help me keep my temper in check. I gripped the edge of the mattress and took a deep breath. “Sell yourself. Whatever you do, make him believe, beyond any doubt, that you’re committed.”

  “What if I can’t?”

  “Then we’ll be staging a rescue mission and hoping that we can take Carlo out. You put yourself in play before you were ready. Now there’s no room for failure. You have to do this.”

  Nicholas plopped down next to me. “No pressure, huh?”

  “Welcome to my world. No one wanted it to be this way. That’s why we tried to hold you back. This may be our last shot, our only shot, at taking him down. If we fail, he’ll move shop and will be even smarter. We won’t find more cult members. We’ll find bodies that we have to bring back to their families. At worst, he’ll unleash untold chaos in the world and set off the ultimate battle for good and evil. The apocalypse. Ragnarok. You know, good times.”

  We sat in silence for a long time. Nicholas took my hand and laced his fingers through mine. “Sweetheart, I know the timing is bad. Awful. But I have to confess something. I don’t know where to start, and I don’t know if you’ll forgive me.”

  “No,” I said, pulling my hand away. “Don’t do this, whatever it is. Not now. We can’t have anything else between us that will jeopardize the mission. But I forgive you for your actions. I’m not happy about everything you’ve done, but I forgive you. It’s okay.”

  Nicholas tried to smile. He reached over and caressed my cheek. “I’ve been an asshole and worse. You haven’t deserved any of it. I’m sorry. I love you.”

  I blinked, not sure that I heard him. “Huh?”

  “I love you,” he repeated. “I want you to remember that when we talk. I’m figuring things out, okay?”

  “I do not understand what you mean. I don’t know what to say.”

  “Don’t. I’m not asking for anything.” Before I could process, he kissed me sweetly. It reminded me of our first kiss a year ago. It was the kind that sent shivers through my body and left my lips tingling and craving more. “Do whatever you have to do to end this.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  ARMED WITH A LIST of every place the cult had ever met in Los Angeles, I met with the new elite team in safe house number two and filled them in on what we’d gotten from Brett.

  “Why is he now giving this up?” asked Carter.

  I grimaced and flexed my still glowing hand. “He needed a little more persuasion and a reminder that we are not his friends.” A few of the men gaped at me. I was against the casual use of torture. And I’d just admitted that I used my abilities to get information out of someone with no preparation or other tactics. “I did what had to be done. We’re running out of time, and I suspect that Brett still holds loyalty to his cult buddies.”

  “He talked and gave us what we need,” said Voss. “Based on the interrogation, I believe this information is legit. There are four locations where they meet. The rituals are always held at a new location, and they don’t find out where until that same night.”

  Mikael distributed the maps that we’d printed for the meeting. I pointed to the red dots.

  “Today, we’ll check out the four local places. Split up into two teams. Each will take two locations and do the usual amount of scouting. Report back here at nine tonight.”

  “What about the larger locations?” asked Graves. Yeah, I thought it was morbid and more than funny that one of our assassins was named Graves. I was a child at heart.

  “That’s a job for tomorrow. Even though it’s unlikely that they’ll return to those locations, I still want to scour them for any clues.”

  Jordan leaned back against the far wall. “Where will you be?”

  “Here, coordinating with Mikael. There are too many balls in the air. Nothing will slip through the cracks this time.”

  He nodded. “Graves. Carter. You’re with me. We’ll take the two sites on the west side. Ramirez, Long, and Mercer. You’re with Voss on the east side. Go.”

  With that word, the men disappeared into their bedrooms to get their gear, leaving me alone with Jordan and Mikael.

  I glanced up at the two men who now sat across from me. “Two people will be with Brett at all times. Nicholas is stuck to Hernandez like glue. Now that I primed the pump, Brett won’t shut up about his friends and everything he’s witnessed. Nicholas is in love with me. He wants to confess something. I mean, besides that. Hernandez is making sure that Nicholas is as prepared as possible. Smith and Jones are taking turns practicing hand-to-hand moves with him.”

  “Are congratulations in order? Do you love him? Are you back together?” asked Mikael.

  “What? No!”

  Jordan coughed, a surprised, choking sound. “That’s low on the list of priorities, my friend. Save the gossip for later.” He turned. “Do you trust Brett now?”

  “Yes,” I said. “He learned the meaning of consequences today. He won’t hide anything or lie again. He knew that they’d drugged Nicholas.”

  “What did you do to him?”

 
; “Nothing more than he deserved. Candice and Marin wanted to watch and learn, you know, since I’m the only other female assassin. I don’t think they’ll ever look at me the same way again.”

  “Good,” said Jordan. “Let them fear you. It’s a reminder of why you’re in charge.”

  I shooed him away and focused on Mikael. Within an hour, he’d put together maps and directions and a list of businesses around each location that the cult members might have visited. Hardware stores, gun ranges, places to buy equipment used in the rituals. He also compiled a list of known Vespers in the area and noted their proximity to the ritual sites and meeting locations.

  The men made their way out of their rooms. They had changed into street clothes: sneakers, shorts, baseball caps, and cheesy t-shirts. They would fit right in with the mix of natives and tourists that wandered around Los Angeles. Although I knew that each of them carried at least one weapon, I couldn’t see even the faintest outline of anything unnatural.

  Carter pointed to a stack of delivery menus. “We won’t be back in time for lunch, but we’ll call on the way home. If you’re hungry, we can bring you a late dinner.”

  “We’re only a phone call away if you need us,” said Voss.

  Mikael and I grinned at each other. My men were acting as if they were leaving a pair of teenagers home alone for the first time. Like them, we were assassins. I wasn’t worried about a few hours with my BFF and some paperwork. “Sure thing. Get out of here.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Nighttime rolled around quickly. Between my work with Mikael and the hourly check-ins with the other safe house, my hands were full. Nicholas called at least three times to update me what he’d been doing and with whom. It was overkill considering I was ten minutes away and my regular conversations with Hernandez, but I appreciated the sentiment.

  My phone rang again. Without looking to see who called, I answered and put the caller on speaker. “What?”

  Jordan’s deep voice chuckled. “That kind of day?”

  “Yeah. What’s up?”

  “Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry?”

  “Huh?”

  “What kind of shake do you want with your burger and fries? I’m inclined to say chocolate, but these guys voted for strawberry.”

  “Chocolate. Duh. How’d it go?” My brain needed information like my growling stomach needed a damn burger or five.

  “Positive. We’ll fill you in when we get there.”

  The line beeped twice. I swore. “Gotta go. Another call coming in.” I switched over to the other line. “Hello?”

  “Jasper? It’s Candice. Can we talk?”

  I sat up straight. “What’s wrong? Where is everyone?”

  “Everyone is fine. It’s personal, sort of,” she said in a low voice.

  “Are you okay? Do you need to go home?”

  “I’m fine, and no, I’m good to stay. Like I said, it’s personal. But it can wait if you’re busy.”

  “Let’s save it for another day, when this is all over.”

  “Yeah, sure.” She hung up.

  I called Nicholas. “Hey, do you know what’s going on with Candice? She called me and was weird.”

  “Uh, no. What did she say?”

  “She said she had to tell me something personal but changed her mind and said it could wait. We shelved it until we got home. Any idea what that’s about?”

  Nicholas was quiet for a long moment. “No idea. I love you.”

  “Thank you,” I said and winced. I still hadn’t thought of a proper comeback to that simple three-word declaration. I didn’t have the wherewithal to figure out if I loved him. More importantly, I couldn’t figure out if it meant anything.

  He chuckled. “Funny lady. Jones taught me how to break someone’s wrist. I didn’t realize it was so easy.” Nicholas babbled on about the skills he’d learned in the last three hours. I only half listened as I heard the sounds of engines approaching the house. The men were back.

  “Nick, I have to run. We’ll talk in the morning. Sleep well.”

  Carter walked in with fat, greasy sacks of what smelled like burgers and fries. He was followed by Graves and his handful of huge milkshakes. I unwrapped the burger and gave up all pretense of being civilized, scarfing down the first one in a matter of minutes. I wasn’t even ashamed.

  Voss and his team were nowhere to be found. We figured that they’d gotten lucky and were following a lead.

  An hour passed.

  Then two more.

  Calls to their phones went straight to voicemail. The tracker on the car showed that it hadn’t moved in hours.

  I jumped to my feet, tired of waiting. “I will find them.”

  “No,” said four men at the same time.

  “Boss,” said Graves. “It’s late, and you have no idea where you’re going.”

  “And Voss said that you’re a terrible driver,” added Carter.

  I glared at them. “I’m giving them one more hour—”

  And they walked in the door, the four of them.

  “There’d better be a damn good reason you’re so late,” I exploded.

  Voss held up his hands. “Sorry, sorry. We should have called. I’m certain we know where they’re meeting. We spotted a man that fit the description of one of Brett’s friends entering the warehouse in Glendale. A few hours later, a few other men and two women walked inside. Mercer and Ramirez could look through two different vantage points while Long and I watched the exits. They moved in at least three dozen folding chairs, some tables, and boxes.”

  Mercer took over. “We couldn’t see inside the boxes. Whatever it was, it had to be important. Brett’s friend yelled at the others for jostling one crate.”

  “It stands to follow that the meeting will take place in the next day or two,” said Jordan. “Tomorrow, we should scout the area and the building more. Watch for suspicious activity.”

  I’d been about to say that.

  “We’ll fill the other team in tomorrow morning. Voss, you’ll come with me again. Use one of the maps to fill in as many details as possible. Sketch out whatever you’ve seen,” I said. “Nothing is trivial at this point.”

  There was a chorus of “yes ma’am” as they dug into their own dinners and got to work.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  TEAM ONE, AS I now referred to the original team in my head, sat back and stared at Voss and me with awe and resentment. They’d been relegated to watching Brett and prepping Nicholas while Team Two had done all the real scouting. It was a clear statement that I didn’t trust them, which I didn’t, not after they let Nicholas and Brett escape. Or let Nicholas get drugged. I adored Hernandez and Jones, but their team had let me down.

  “Nicholas can’t be seen staking the area out,” said Voss. “So he’ll have to go by our maps and descriptions. The rest of you, however, will scope it out this afternoon. Each of you will go with one of our guys. The rest of our team will take turns watching Brett.”

  “Where will you be?” Marin asked me.

  I narrowed my eyes. “I’m going scouting this morning. The afternoon will be spent dealing with logistics and other issues. I’m always a phone call away if you need me.”

  Candice flashed me a guilty look and shrank in her seat. Whatever was going on with her had changed her demeanor. I was curious, but not enough to disrupt my day to deal with her neuroses.

  Hernandez cleared his throat. “What else should we be doing?”

  “Prepping Nicholas is the most important thing you can do. His back story, his reasons for leaving the Order, even his hobbies. Everything must be solid. The training should continue. He has skills, but he needs to be as sharp as possible. We don’t know what will happen. We do know that he won’t have a weapon on him. My gut tells me that they won’t allow it.”

  “They won’t,” said Brett from the doorway that led to the east bedrooms. He shifted his weight onto his left foot to alleviate the pressure on his right leg, the one I’d injured, and cradled his
arm. “They won’t check me because they know me. But he’s new.”

  “We’re not giving you any weapons,” I said.

  “But—”

  I flexed my glowing right hand and curled it into a fist. “But what? Don’t make me explain my reasons up close,” I threatened.

  He winced and tried to shrink into the wall. We stared at one other as memories of my “explanations” from the day before flashed between us. She hadn’t needed to make an appearance. I’d been that angry. I hadn’t bothered to use my words then and I sure as hell wouldn’t use them now. Nicholas shot me a disapproving look while Candice and Marin just looked sick. Smith, however, smiled like a proud papa.

  “Should I heal Brett?” asked Nicholas. “He wasn’t injured when we saw them a few days ago. He’d have to explain what happened.”

  Damn. Good point. I weighed the benefits of leaving him with the reminders of what would happen if he misbehaved with the costs of him walking into the situation battered. “Wait until we get the phone call. Once we know where and when, you can heal him. The scars can remain.”

  “Jas,” said Nicholas. “Is that necessary?”

  My arched brow screamed my annoyance at being questioned. “Yes.”

  He sighed and leaned back in his chair until the meeting ended. He walked over, taking Voss’ vacated seat. “I understand your reasons. Just… can’t you be kinder?”

  “This is war. He hurt you. Now he has to live with the consequences.” I lowered my voice. “I can’t afford to be kind. He is our prisoner, not a friend or an innocent victim.”

  “I don’t like it. Worse, I don’t like what it does to you. What it’s turning you into.”

  I closed my eyes and willed myself to speak calmly. “I am what I was meant to be, nothing more. Nothing less.”

  “Can we talk? There’s something I need to tell you.”

  “Is it important? I have to get back to the other house and work for a couple of hours before I join the scouting team. Mikael is waiting for me, and Voss is my ride back.”