MY PLAN TO keep Mian and Caylen safe and far away from Chicago took a nosedive when the senator wormed his way from under my thumb and disappeared off the grid. The unsettling feeling in my gut wouldn’t ease long enough for me to predict his next move. Calling Z only confirmed what I already knew, so I ordered them back to Attica. Without eyes on the senator, Mian was more vulnerable than ever.
Bringing her back to Chicago would draw him out. Using them as bait turned my stomach even more than the senator’s disappearing act, but it was my only option. They were what he wanted.
It would be hours before they arrived, so I used the time to tighten security and figure out a plan. I had guards placed on almost every inch of the Knight estate. No one was getting in or out without my say.
I was barking orders at my men when my phone rang. The private number made me hesitant to answer, but instinct drove me to do just that.
“Knight,” I growled into the phone.
“Mr. Knight, I’m glad to know you’re doing well. I tried to stop by the hospital and wish you well, but the reception was a bit… tense.” The senator chuckled as if we were old friends sharing a joke.
“That’s disappointing to hear. Why don’t you stop by now? I promise this time the reception will be a bloody one.”
His tone was less pleasant when he spoke this time. “Your father was a business man and one I respected. He knew how to separate business from pleasure.”
“I guess this apple fell too far from the tree. What can I do for you?”
“I want to make a deal.”
“I’m not interested.”
“You should really hear me out.”
“My time is precious, Senator. You have ten seconds.”
“I only need five. You want your book back. I want the girl and her kid. I’ll call you back for your decision.” The line died a quick death unlike the senator would when I finally caught him.
I calmly pocketed my phone and lit a blunt to keep me company as I waited out the final hours until the girl who complicated life arrived.
* * *
MIAN AND THE baby were fast asleep when they arrived after night fell. I had Lucas and Z wait while I put them both to bed myself. She didn’t stir as I put her in my bed. I then laid Caylen in the crib I had brought from my father’s home. The crib was placed by her side of the bed so the moment she woke she’d know he was safe.
I memorized the peaceful set of her face because when she awoke, we’d be at war again. I lied to her, and she claimed my life for the betrayal. She would never agree to trust me without answers and possibly never trust me again when she had them. With a heavy feeling in my chest, I left them to sleep in peace, but I couldn’t walk away before locking them inside. I told myself it was to keep them safe, but I knew it was to keep her from leaving. Mian was more resourceful than I would have given her credit for three years ago. She wasn’t any easier to cage than she was to set free.
Downstairs, I found Lucas and Z raiding the bar with hard expressions. “I spoke to the senator.” They froze at the same time, giving me their full attention. “He wants to make a deal.”
“Fuck that,” Lucas spat. “The deal is his head or no deal.”
“My thoughts precisely,” Z echoed with more menace than I ever knew he possessed.
“He has the book, and he wants to trade Mian and Caylen for it.”
“How the fuck is that possible? Victor had the book, and now he’s dead.”
“There’s obviously a lot we don’t know, but my first guess is Victor tried to sell the book. He wasn’t after power. He was after money.”
“After all the shit he stirred for it, why just sell it?”
“The motherfucker was probably broke and was hiding it. I’ll hack into his accounts.”
“We’re going to take the deal.” I braced for the explosion my decision would cause.
“Why the fuck would we hand them over to him?” Lucas was the first to demand.
“He’ll never touch them, but we’ll make him think he’s won for now. It’s the only way to draw him out of hiding. I have no doubt he’s going to try to double cross me and keep the book once he has them.”
“What makes you think he isn’t telling the truth?”
“Because he offered me a large sum of money to keep his dirty deeds out of the book. He’s not going to hand that power back over.”
“What if he’s already destroyed the book?”
Duty should have meant doing anything to protect the family’s interest, but it’s become hard for me to care about legacies and power when I could have something much more potent.
I could have Mian.
She was a girl I craved.
A girl I didn’t deserve.
A girl I’d crumble mountains to keep.
“I’ll deal with that when the time comes.” The truth was my priorities were changing fast.
“But your family—”
“They’ll kill me. I know.” If ever the Bandit failed to protect the legacy, by death he would be dethroned as the Knight. Reginald would make sure he was the one to take my life so he would inherit as well as his sons after him. He has been itching to take back what he claims is rightfully his. The feud between our lines started when my great-grandfather took over as the Knight after Archibald, Reginald’s great-grandfather, tried to sell the book for profit.
“This whole legacy bullshit is seriously fucked!” Z seethed. I kept silent. I didn’t agree with many of my family’s practices but going against them would mean forfeiting the throne. A rule under Reginald would guarantee the downfall of the Knights. His entire line had been fueled only by greed and cowardice.
“How much do we tell Mian?”
“We tell her the truth. The plan doesn’t work without her trust.”
Lucas and Z weren’t able to hide their surprise before schooling their expressions again. “She might run,” Z pointed out.
“She might run even if we don’t,” Lucas argued. I nodded while hiding my surprise that he agreed with my plan.
Mian’s trust in my ability to protect her was lost because of fear I helped cause. “We’re a long way from Chicago, and every inch of the grounds is guarded to keep the senator out and her in. She’s not going anywhere.”
“When do we make the deal?” Lucas questioned.
I walked to the bar and pulled out a glass before pouring a drink and tossing it back. “Staten called from a private number. He wants to do this on his terms.”
It didn’t matter. His terms or mine, Staten and his piece of shit son were going to die.
“So then we wait,” Z murmured and emptied his glass.
* * *
I RETURNED TO my bedroom and found them just as I had left them. I was partially relieved that Mian hadn’t woken up. I wanted to avoid the questions and the fight we still needed to have for just a few more hours.
For Mian, I felt rage, possessiveness, and desire. When morning would finally come, I was afraid of which emotion would take dominance. I walked over to the crib and was surprised to find the baby awake and babbling quietly to himself. When he saw me, he showed off all four of his tiny teeth before crawling to the rails and pulling himself up. He held his arms out to me, but before I could pick him up at his request, he fell on his butt. The diaper cushioned his fall, and he seemed not to even notice. I watched transfixed as he carefully pulled himself up again using the rails and held out his arms to me again. He wobbled but kept his balance this time. My throat felt clogged as I lifted him from the crib.
“It’s past your bedtime, kid. Playtime is over.”
“No.” He squealed and laughed as he smiled up at me, and I couldn’t help but return the favor. I never grasped his effect on me—or why I didn’t run away from it.
“You and your mother had quite an adventure, huh?” He babbled sounds that were strangely starting to sound like words as I sat us in the bronze love seat facing the bed. “She would have made me chase her to the end of the world to protect you.” He trained blue eyes that haunted me on his sleeping mother as if he understood.
My phone’s rhythmic vibration in my pocket alerted me to a phone call. I secured my arm around the baby as I dug it out. The screen flashed a private number as it continued to vibrate. A cold feeling rushed through my veins as I stabbed the green button.
“I don’t have time for games,” I seethed into the phone. I felt Caylen flinch in my arms at my sudden change in tone. He didn’t cry, but his attention was no longer on his sleeping mother. He watched me now with uncertainty in his father’s eyes. It should have been enough to make me hate him, but the connection he shared with his mother drew me to him.
“I trust you’ve made your decision then?”
I stared into Caylen’s eyes and didn’t hesitate. “When and where?”
“On a night of my choosing, my men will escort Ms. Ross and her child from your home to an undisclosed location. They will release your book to you once they are safely out of your gates with Ms. Ross.”
“How do you know—”
“I know everything about this state, Mr. Knight. It’s my job,” he reminded unnecessarily. “We wouldn’t want your family’s lovely estate tarnished with blood because you tried to double cross me, would we?”
His threat didn’t hit its mark, but I made sure mine would. “Make no mistake, the blood that will cover my walls won’t be my own. Sleep tight, Senator… but you better leave one eye open. You never know what’s hiding under the bed.”
I ended the call and put Caylen back in his crib. He’d started to fuss, and I knew it was me who had upset him. Before I walked away, I covered him with a blanket. “Time for bed, kid.”
It was a few minutes before he finally gave in and slept. I slid into bed and made the split decision to pull Mian close until her front was flush with mine. Her eyes opened just a crack, and her unfocused green eyes found me in the dark. There was a moment of clarity before her eyes drifted shut once more and her body relaxed against mine. I listened to her breathing before I touched my lips to her ear and whispered.