18. Hold On To Me

JASON

 

“Kat! Katherine!”

I hear several pairs of boots running behind me as I dodge tree branch after tree branch to try and get closer to where David’s body now lays lifeless,

As soon as I figured out what happened when I heard Kat’s scream and then the line go silent, I tracked down her cell signal and had the guys meet me at the store. When I found out that the store had surveillance cameras facing the parking lot due to a series of car break-ins, I was enormously thankful. Then when I saw David take her it was like I lost all control. It took me almost all night to track down his whereabouts.

I had warned him to stay away from her. Hell, I threatened the guy and did a pretty good number on his face and limbs. But I should’ve just killed him when I had the chance back at the warehouse. Would it have cost me my career in the RCMP and the military? Yeah, it fucking would have. But Kat would be safe. And right now, that’s all I care about.

But moments ago, as I came up and saw him pointing that gun down I didn’t bat an eye when I pulled the trigger. The son-of-a-bitch kidnapped my girl and was about to kill her. Saving her and making sure that he would never hurt her again was my number one priority.

As I get closer, muffled screams and sobs sound from the shallow grave right in front of where he was standing.

“Call an ambulance!” I yell over my shoulder, not caring who’s behind me as her tied up body comes into view and I drop to my knees to untie her hands as Mike drops down as well to help me untie her ankles.

As soon as we get her untied, her fingers claw their way up my arms until she can wrap her arms around my neck while I help her out of the grave. She collapses in a heap in my arms while she buries her face in my neck and cries.

“Shh, it’s over. I have you,” I soothe, wrapping her tighter in my arms.

“Ambulance and coroner are on their way,” Parker says, making his way back over to us from the trail.

At his voice, she looks up at me and over to him before her eyes roam over to David’s body.

“Kat. I gently place my hand on her cheek and move her face over to me again. “You don’t need to see that.”

“You killed him.” It isn’t so much a question as it is a statement.

I nod slightly. “I did. I should’ve done it sooner,” I add, dropping my head.

“Thank you,” she whispers, linking her arms back around my neck and pressing her soft lips to mine.

“You don’t need to thank me, Kat. As long as I’m alive I will always protect you.” Taking her hand, I stand and help her up before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Come on. Let’s get you checked out.”

 

***

 

Once I get Kat settled back at my house and make sure she’s okay. I head back out and meet up with the guys at the warehouse.

“Knight,” I tip my chin in greeting at the newest member of the group.

“Miller. I heard what happened to Kat tonight. Shit man, I’m sorry.” He grips my hand and we shake before moving back to our respective corners.

“We took care of it.”

Eric nods. “David was getting to be a nuisance, but my dad’s going to start asking questions when he doesn’t turn up.”

“Will that be an issue?” Parker inquires.

Eric eyes up Parker before shaking his head. “It shouldn’t. I’ll handle it.”

“Are you sure you want to go through with this, Knight? Taking down your dad’s MC could be dangerous for all of us,” Parker reiterates what we’ve discussed previously.

“Fuck yeah, I’m sure. Those sick bastards need to go down. I haven’t been able to do that on my own so when Cole approached me asking about more information on the club, I knew this was the way to do it.”

“What branch of government are you?” Mark asks.

“You mean before they abandoned me? CSIS.”

Curses sound all around. CSIS is the Canadian equivalent to the CIA. And if they were involved, then this case is bigger than we all originally thought.

“How’s Kat doing?” Parker slaps a hand on my back.

“Not sure, man. She’s had a fucked up couple months. But Dani and Alice should be there with her now.”

“Alice Johnson?” Eric questions.

I nod, narrowing my eyes at him and feel Parker and Mark straighten next to me. After all this shit with Kat, we’ll all be more protective over those girls.

“Cole mentioned her name in passing. Alice and I grew up together.”

Eric spends the next few minutes explaining to us how he was forced to leave and move in with his father when he was still in high school, and hadn’t known that his father ran a motorcycle club. He also explains his reasoning for not contacting Alice in the last fourteen years.

Before going our separate ways until the next meeting, we all agree that it would be in her best interest if Eric kept a low profile while he was back in town and didn’t make any contact with her.