by Kells, India
Knight Watch
An Alliance Agency Novel: Book 2
Maddie Wade
India Kells
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
Deadly Alliance Sneak Peek
Hidden Obsession Sneak Peek
Thank You
About The Authors
Knight Watch
An Alliance Agency Novel: Book 1
Authors: Maddie Wade and India Kells
Published by Maddie Wade
Knight Watch © copyright 2019 Maddie Wade & India Kells
Previously published as part of the Sweetest Obsession anthology, Knight Watch rights have been cleared and reverted back to the original authors, Maddie Wade and India Kells, for this new publication.
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
First edition October © 2019 Maddie Wade Ltd and India Kells
Knight Watch Blurb
He left everything behind to start a new life.
Kingsley Knight, a former UK special forces bomb tech is loving his new life in America as part of the Alliance Agency. Put in charge of the Agency’s first case, Kingsley will do everything in his power to find the missing niece of a powerful man. As the team investigates, they discover all is not as it seems, and friends soon become foes.
She is in a fight for survival.
At fifteen, Sydney Rutherford was the victim of a brutal assault. Fifteen years later, her past is back to haunt her, only this time, she may not escape with her life. Just when she thought all was lost, she’s rescued by a man that breaks through her defenses and shows her a future may be possible after all.
Keeping secrets could kill them both.
As sparks fly between Kingsley and Sydney, she realizes that she needs to trust the handsome Brit that rescued her. The only way to stop the evil chasing them is to confront her past and share her biggest secret as they race against the clock to unravel a decade’s old mystery.
Will everyone survive, or will the ultimate sacrifice be required as the Alliance Agency puts everything on the line to bring down a madman?
CONTENT WARNING: This book contains details of sexual assault that some readers may find disturbing. Reader discretion is advised.
Chapter One
Kingsley Knight crossed his arms over his chest, as pride and contentment settled inside him. He never could have imagined this feeling of achievement twelve months ago. The last year had been one of the most difficult of his life, but in some ways, he didn’t regret what had happened or the choices he’d made because they’d led him here.
He looked out across the training field at the fantastic team he was part of as Cain Davies showed Emme Harris, his boss lady, how to adjust her aim for a larger caliber weapon. Cain was an ex-undercover ATF agent and had been a recommendation by Lance the head of the Purgatory organization where Shane, his other boss, had started his career outside the military. At thirty-two Cain was considered young to have burned out, but Kingsley knew the strain that undercover work could have on people. Cain had jumped at the chance to sign with the Agency, and they were lucky to have found him.
Knight felt Shane’s best friend Nicholas Hale move to stand beside him. Shane and his fiancée Emme co-owned Alliance Agency. They had founded the company after getting together a few months earlier, following a joint op between Purgatory and Fortis Security. The op had gone wrong in so many ways, but it had also brought the couple together, and nobody could doubt the team they made—both personally and professionally. Nick had served with Shane in the Navy as a SEAL, and it was his baby sister’s murder that had been the focus of the joint op.
“Still can’t believe you’ve made the jump to join us Yankees.”
Kingsley turned, lifting his eyebrow at Nick in greeting, before turning his attention back to the field. Rubbing his hand over his full beard, he wondered again if he should shave it and the mop of wavy midnight hair on his head that desperately needed a cut. The heat was already sticky in the early spring of Miami compared to the much lower temperatures of the UK. He finally answered Nick. “Indeed, I’m still coming to grips with it. This heat is relentless. The food is good though, although I may need to slow down on the burgers and tacos,” he replied with a smirk as he patted the flat muscles of his abdomen. The fact was Kinglsey Knight was in perfect shape. Years in the Navy as an underwater explosive expert had honed his body so it was all muscle and sinew with not an ounce of extra fat.
Nick rolled his eyes, but Kingsley could still feel a shadow on the man. Shane had told him that his friend had gone through a lot and still needed time and work to recover fully.
His eyes caught on Caitlin Carter as she took Killian, her German Shepard, through his paces. When he had met her, she had been training Killian to replace her last dog Mayhem who had recently retired. As a K-9 handler with the LAPD, Caitlin had years of experience to go with her well-earned reputation as one of the best handlers and trainers on the force. Growing up with two prestigious veterinarians as parents had set her in good stead for her job. He watched as she gave Killian—who for shits and giggles she called Kill for short—a series of commands that he obeyed with a blinding loyalty. Knight thought that a few more K-9s on the team would be a good call. That was something to discuss with Shane and Emme for sure.
Over on the assault course, the rest of the team were going through their paces. Malco Aguilar, another member of the group, was stretching his muscles off to the side before he attached the running prosthetic that gave him more absorption and energy return than a regular one. As the hostage rescue expert, he was one of the best and had an unparalleled reputation. Losing his right leg below the knee from a land mine trying to save an eight-year-old girl from her crazy, drugged up father, while working for the Green Berets, had not stopped him in the least.
However, Kingsley knew better than most that people only allowed you to see what they wanted you to see. The new team was a mix of different backgrounds that perfectly fit the diversity of work the Alliance Agency wished to attract.
Emme and Shane wanted to expand hard and fast, and they had a flight out of Miami that night to meet a contact of Shane’s about
a contract with the FBI. It was lucrative and would involve them signing an NDA which wouldn’t be a problem as most of them still had top security clearance from their previous lives.
Kingsley cast an eye at Nick as he watched Alex Webb race Wolf Murdock over the course.
It had been designed by Zack, Emme’s former boss at Fortis who was also an ex-SAS commander. They were some of the toughest bastards around, and this course showed why. With it built over the hilly terrain at the back of their new base of operations it meant the operators had to use agility and strength, not just brute force and muscle. It was why Caitlin, Emme, and Mercy—the three women on the team—had some of the best times on the leaderboard.
Wolf raced over the ropes with speed, but Webb had the edge as they crawled through the wet tunnels with barbed wire overhead. It was neck and neck by the time they sprinted for the finish with Webb coming in a split second faster.
Shane, who had been standing on the sidelines away from him and Nick, watching his recruits train, started to walk toward the competitors, a grin on his face as the two men bent at the waist and sucked in oxygen. They had been training together for a month now, and Kingsley could see they were starting to think cohesively as a unit. Kingsley knew Shane wanted everyone to be able to read each other. It could be the thing that saved their lives one day.
“Gentlemen, that was piss poor.”
It wasn’t, but Kingsley knew Shane had done it faster, and so had Zack and Lance when they tested it for him. Not by a lot but enough.
Webb looked up, his bright blue eyes holding a mischievous twinkle. “What’s your time, boss?”
“Three minutes nineteen seconds,” Shane said as he crossed his arms over his chest with a grin.
Webb lost some of his arrogance, but Kingsley saw a determined light go on in the man’s eyes. That competitive spirit that lived in each of them, the same one that would give him the edge when he needed it most.
“Again?” Wolf asked.
“Again,” Webb agreed as the two men walked back to the start to rerun the course.
Wolf Murdock was a thirty-seven-year-old former Texas Ranger. His specialty was infiltration and undercover work. The man looked like he belonged on a cattle ranch, and was often seen in cowboy boots and hat. He gave off a relaxed air that fooled most people into thinking he was safe, and they never realized he was the one hunting and stalking them until it was too late. It was how he’d got his name in the service.
A woman’s scent filtered across Kingsley’s senses, even as he felt her come to stand beside him silently. It was easy to recognize Emme’s signature perfume.
“What was their time?” Her British accent was a reminder he wasn’t home anymore and he felt homesick for just a minute.
“Three minutes, twenty-seven seconds.”
He watched her nod and then twisted around as they heard Cleo approach. Now, that woman had been a surprise. Tall, slim with pale purple hair, perfect skin and a sweet smile that made him think of candy and flowers. It was all a ruse though because their office manager was a shark in clownfish clothing underneath all that sweetness.
She had already whipped the office into shape, sorting out payroll, taxes, invoicing, and setting up email accounts for everyone. She had even had a little training from Dee, one of their consultant hackers, on how to keep the website and emails secure above what an average person would know.
Now, as she bounced across the field in a short, flowery dress that was sexy but demure, he wondered at the excited look on her face.
“Cleo?” Emme asked the question.
“We just had a case come in!” She was barely hiding her excitement.
It was their first case, and Kingsley felt a twinge of excitement hit his belly.
Cleo handed Emme a note with the necessary details as the others started to crowd around. Cain and Caitlin also joined them.
“It’s a missing person case. Raymond Rutherford the third, no less, wants us to find his niece, Sydney Rutherford,” Emme read.
“Do we have any more details?” Shane asked.
“No,” Cleo shook her head, “but I have him coming in at eleven to meet with you.”
“I know a bit about this guy,” Caitlin said as they walked off the field when Shane called time on the morning’s training.
“How?” Shane asked as he watched her control the colossal dog at her side with a few barely perceptible hand movements.
“He came to the attention of the LAPD when a woman who worked with him accused him of assault. All the charges were dropped, and he was exonerated.”
“But?” Emme asked as they moved into the office space past the rear entrance leading directly to the conference room.
“I don’t know, but he was off. I can’t say how. I couldn’t take to him at all.”
“Okay. Let’s bear that in mind when we meet with him.”
Kingsley followed the rest of the team and hit the locker rooms that housed separate showers and changing facilities for the men and women. The compound also had a breakroom that had a TV, pool table, and Xbox as well as three large couches. A small kitchen was next to the breakroom containing cooking facilities; there were also two large bedrooms—one for Shane and Emme, and a spare for clients if required—along with two additional rooms that contained a couple of bunk beds each for the times the team needed to sleep there.
He had to give it to Shane and Emme, they’d planned everything for the comfort of the team, and he appreciated it. Kingsley knew too well that with the kind of work they did, safety and comfort weren’t a given. He didn’t want to think about his past; he wanted to focus on the future. That was the reason he’d accepted Emme’s offer and joined this team.
He had a good feeling about his bosses, the Alliance Agency, and the other members of the team. The winds were shifting, he could sense it, and he was ready for whatever storm the next mission would bring.
Chapter Two
Kingsley caught Shane’s signal as he came out of the locker room and headed toward him. The other team members were already discussing the next phase of their training as well as comparing notes on the advanced combat techniques used in their respective fields of work, with definite bragging laced in between. From the corner of his eye, he saw Caitlin laughing at something Mercy said, Killian close on his mistress’ heel.
It would take some time for everybody to work cohesively—their personalities, backgrounds, and experiences had to be taken into account as they found their rhythm, their natural place inside the group.
Kingsley entered the conference room behind Shane, about to ask a question when he saw Emme sitting at the head of the table deep in conversation with a man. Immediately, he slid his poker face on, it seemed business was in order.
The man looked well into his fifties, with a haughty air and suit that screamed money and power. Not a strand of graying hair out of place, perfectly shaven, he was the image of control, although, at that moment, anxiety was the primary emotion Kingsley could see on his face.
Emme turned. “Mr. Rutherford, this is Shane Rhodes, co-founder of the Alliance Agency, and Kingsley Knight, a member of our team.”
Before him was the client Cleo had referred to earlier. Rutherford shook Shane’s hand before shaking his. The grip was forceful, more than it should be and most probably a result of the strain he could see on the man’s face.
Kingsley sat, letting Shane and Emme take the lead as he wasn’t sure of his bosses’ intentions or why he’d been included in the meeting.
“I came to you, to your agency, on the referral of a few very close friends who know your ties with Purgatory here in the US and Fortis in the UK. Their impeccable reputations, as well as the fact you are located here in Miami, helped to confirm my choice. I’ve found it best to have people who know the ins and outs of this city. I need someone found quickly. My niece, Sydney Rutherford.”
Shane frowned. “Sir, the first step is to contact the police. I know someone—”
�
��No!” After the initial outburst, he lowered his voice. “No. It’s impossible. The kidnappers told me I couldn’t contact anyone.” He swallowed hard. “I have never been close to Sydney, so it was a shock when I received pictures of her, bound to a chair, gagged and helpless. That was when they sent me messages asking for money. I transferred it, regularly, through various accounts, but it wasn’t enough. It was never enough. They promised to free her each time, but it was a lie. And lately, they wouldn’t let me speak to her at all. They would put her on the phone…” And for the first time, his voice hitched a little. “But not the last few times they called… I don’t know what happened.”
Emme looked at Shane and him before turning to Rutherford. “Please tell us everything from the beginning. Details are important.”
At her words, Rutherford seemed to bring himself back under control. “It started three weeks ago when I received a sealed envelope with pictures of Sydney bound to a chair. There was a note telling me to memorize a bank account number and send the first payment of one hundred thousand dollars, so my niece continued to breathe. I paid.”
Kingsley leaned forward. “Do you still have the pictures?”
Rutherford shook his head. “The note said to destroy everything. I did. I destroyed them, along with the message, as they said if I contacted the authorities, they would cut her into pieces.”
