Chapter One
“Knoah! Knoah! Knoah! Wake up!”
As I floated through the blackness, something pulled at my subconscious.
“Sweetheart! Wake up! Please!”
Garrick.
He sounded panicked. I needed to let him know I was okay. Though the darkness wanted to keep me a little longer, I had to go to Garrick.
I needed him.
My eyes fluttered open.
“Knoah, come back to me.”
I focused in on his magnificent green eyes. This man was the love of my life, and my heart warmed at the concern in his eyes.
He released an audible breath but remained tense. “Stay with me.”
I attempted to rise, but he gently pressed against my shoulder. I clutched his arm in confusion.
“Stay down for a second and take a few deep breaths. You passed out.”
“Wh-what happened?” My stomach felt a little unsettled. I blinked a few more times and realized we were in the office in our apartment.
Little scenes flashed across my mind. We’d been in our bedroom. Garrick had been about to make love to me. My muscles became taut as I considered the man who’d made me uncomfortable over the last week.
“Hastings. Gun. He had a gun.” I gasped. “He said I was his sister.” Looking at Garrick’s solemn face, with his mouth turning downward slightly, I realized it had actually happened. It wasn’t a dream. I should have stayed in the darkness a little longer. “Where is he? Hastings?”
Inside, I began to panic again, and I tried to sit up. But Garrick kept me down.
“There was no gun. Hastings was unarmed.”
“No gun?” These words confused me. But the more I thought about it, I realized I hadn’t actually seen a gun. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, he’s in the living room now with a few other security men.”
It was all coming together. If there had been an actual threat, we would have left. I looked toward the door by the bookshelves, and another chill ran through me as I remembered his other words.
She’s my sister.
Hastings had been a childhood friend of Garrick’s. But his family ran the Monroe mob. Before Garrick had become too entrenched, he’d cut ties. Not too long ago, Hastings secretly got on the board of Garrick’s newly acquired company, Energy Sources.
What’s going on?
I tried to think it all through to organize my thoughts, but everything seemed jumbled and the pieces of the puzzle I had didn’t fit.
Somehow, Hastings had determined Nicholas Navarro, from a rival mob family, wanted me. And all this tied into the death of my neighbor Jessica.
She’s my sister.
This revelation rocked me the most.
I cleared my throat. “Is it true? Am I his sister? How could that even be possible?”
“I don’t know.” But from his tone, I think he suspected it was true.
Remain calm. Think this through. Later, you can have a meltdown.
I sat up a little slower this time. “What happened after I passed out?”
Garrick watched me carefully. “I caught you and brought you back here after I called Joe to stay with Hastings.”
I still felt a little woozy in the head from passing out. “How’d Hastings get into the apartment?”
“You were my first concern. I don’t know what Joe has found out.”
Wait. Hastings wasn’t here to cause me any harm. Since I met him, I’d had an uneasy feeling—like he was watching me more closely than he should. “What’s going on, Garrick? I don’t understand.” I was surprised to feel a tear slide down my cheek. “What if I really am his sister?”
He pulled me to him. “We’ll find out. I needed to make sure you were okay first. How are you feeling?”
“Better.” I grabbed onto Garrick like my life depended on it. Was Hastings telling the truth? Lying? What’s his end game? A knot formed in my stomach. “Can we talk to him?”
Garrick pulled back with his brow creased. “Do you think that’s a good idea? I can talk to him.”
“I need to know. I need to speak with him. If what he says is true…”
Then where does that leave me?
“Knoah.”
A light squeeze on my shoulder brought me back.
“Yes?” As I focused back on Garrick, I knew he could see the fear in my eyes. But we needed answers.
He let out a long breath. “Do you really want to talk to Hastings?”
Nodding, I said, “I want to be there. If I’m…If I’m his sister, then I don’t even know where to begin with that information.”
The thought sent an uneasy feeling through me. Did my parents have another child? Had he been adopted? It was hard to fathom the thought of my parents keeping a second child—an older second child—from me. From what I knew, Hastings would be around Garrick’s age—near thirty.
“Let me call Joe first to see what’s going on out there. I want to make sure proper precautions are being taken when you go out there. Hastings came alone. I want to make sure this isn’t a setup.”
A setup? “Why’d we stay if you suspect a double-cross?”
“Because it’s safer here. If we leave, we’re more exposed.”
Safe.
Exposed.
Those words only added to the queasiness.
Garrick took out his phone. “Knoah and I are coming to the living room. What’s the status?” There was a longer pause. “Keep an eye out. Of course. Yes.” After standing, Garrick offered his hand to help me up. “Are you ready? Hastings is cooperating. There doesn’t seem to be a threat, but Joe is keeping a close eye on everything.”
“Yes.” Inside, my mind screamed, No.
Holding hands in solidarity, we walked into the living room. Three security guards stood ready. Joe stood just off to the side of Hastings, who sat in a chair facing the couch. The serious scowl on Joe’s face made me lean into Garrick a little more. Joe was pissed.
Garrick started the conversation by leaning forward, his body erect and emanating power. “You wanted to speak to Knoah.”
“Yes.” The one-word answer was said in a voice slightly softer than the one I remembered him using earlier in our bedroom. Or had I made it worse than it was due to the situation?
Hastings had been urgent, but maybe it had been based on concern.
Hastings turned his attention to me. For the first time, I noticed we had the same eye color—green. Our blond hair appeared to have a similar texture. There were similarities in our bone structure, but at the same time, we were different.
Garrick was insistent. “If I suspect anything, we’re leaving. Understood?”
“Yes.”
The room grew silent for a few seconds. I started off with a question that wouldn’t completely shatter my world. “How did you get up here?”
“I came up with the flower delivery and remained hidden until you arrived.”
The words seemed honest enough, and Hastings never took his eyes off me as he spoke. I shifted some, though. And Joe’s jaw was locked tight. Later, Garrick would most likely share his displeasure about the mess-up with him.
For now, it was time to move on to the more disturbing part of the evening. I ran my palms along my legs, nerves racing inside. “You said I was your sister. I wasn’t aware my parents had any other children.”
“I’m not their child.” He stared at me, unblinking. “Neither are you. You’re Evelyn and Ricardo Monroe’s child.”
Those were words I hadn’t imagined. My head became fuzzier as the words bounced around my brain. I closed my eyes as pain ripped through my heart. “I can’t be theirs. No way.” I fervently shook my head, not wanting to accept what he was saying. “That’s impossible.”
“Knoah, it’s not impossible.”
Abruptly, I stood. Hastings’ eyes widened. Is he as lost as I feel? For the past two weeks, his actions had creeped me out. But now I wondered if it had been because of how he watched me. Is he watching me as a brother watches a sister?
It was all too much. My eyes darted to the hallway.
“I’ll explain if you’ll listen. Give me five minutes. Then you can leave if you want.”
Should I stay or should I go? Are these lies?
“Please, Knoah. Just let me explain. It’s important. You’re in danger, or I wouldn’t have shown my hand the way I did.”
Slowly, I sat. “Go on.”
“When you were an infant, you were taken. I was almost five.” He took a deep breath.
I’d been right about his age. Silently, I stared ahead, analyzing Hastings. Why didn’t I see the similarities?
In a low, sad tone, Hastings said, “We never knew who took you. Mom never lost hope. But Dad and I believed we’d never find you.”
Mom.
Dad.
If what he was saying was true, his parents were mine, too. Not Barb and Wyatt. The idea seemed out of place. I needed more information before I could process this. “How do you know I’m your sister?”
“The broken-heart-shaped birthmark on your neck.” I touched the slightly raised skin as he spoke. “Mom has the same one. It’s a trademark of the Lovell women.”
My brows scrunched in confusion as I’d never heard the name. “Lovell?”
“Lovell is Mom’s maiden name.”
Garrick narrowed his eyes. “That’s not a foolproof answer, Hastings.”
“The DNA test has been done, as well. When Knoah was still living at her apartment, I snuck in after she went to work one day to get the necessary samples. The DNA test is a match with ninety-nine percent certainty.”
I held my stomach, feeling sick.
Garrick swore under his breath. “We’ll do a DNA test of our own. Joe, get on that. I want this done tonight.”
“Yes, sir.” Joe brought his phone to his ear.
Hastings nodded. “Of course. Get a saliva and hair follicle test. They’ll both come back the same and then there won’t be any doubt.”
At that moment, I believed he was telling the truth. No, not believed. I knew he was telling the truth.
Sadness seeped into my heart. How did this happen? I’d been kidnapped. But my parents were good people. They wouldn’t have done that. I felt as if I were being yanked in opposite directions.
“How did you find me?” Beside me, I sensed that Garrick was having a hard time not taking control of the conversation. I needed to do this at my own pace, and he understood.
Hastings scrubbed his hand down his face. “Navarro contacted me. Said he’d found the missing Monroe baby. Of course, I thought it was a trick. I received a picture of Knoah and a close-up of her birthmark. I recognized the location, and my team hacked the camera feeds outside La Chef. We identified and found you. Ever since, we’ve been watching from a distance, making sure you’re safe.”
I swallowed. “What did he want in return?”
Hastings shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Since he’d revealed himself as my sibling, I was seeing him through new eyes. All those times I’d felt uncomfortable, it was because he was concerned about me…perhaps more so than he should have been. It was odd. Before tonight, our encounters had been awkward—uncomfortable, even—with impenetrable expressions.
“Territory.”
Of course. What better way to get it than by delivering the missing daughter?
Garrick had apparently reached the end of his patience. “Did this have anything to do with the Energy Source PR crisis?”
“Yes.”
GS Industries had purchased Energy Source but had not fully absorbed it yet.
“Navarro had Knoah in his sights before you met her, Garrick. I’d been following Knoah for a week before the concert. Allowing the Energy Source problem to escalate was initially part of the price to keep her safe when territory talks between us had stalled. Navarro had said each week I delayed agreement, there would be some sort of penalty. Then he saw me at the concert. He knew I’d found her.”
Garrick was strung tight beside me but remained silent, letting me continue to lead the conversation. “What happened next with Navarro?”
“Navarro sent a warning when he killed Jessica Knight.” He winced. “I don’t know if he meant to kill Knoah and made a mistake or wanted to send a warning. I think it was the first. Navarro isn’t known to give warnings.” His words caused a shiver to run through me. “By that time, Garrick was already in the picture, which complicated things and kept me from getting to her.”
Jessica had died…because of me. She was an innocent victim. A knife twisted in my gut.
“Complicated things?”
“I couldn’t extract you. He moved you into this apartment. And now Kurt Hendrix is living here, and paparazzi are watching this place. I had to use my connections with Shaw International to keep tabs and make sure Navarro wasn’t close. The morning you left for your parents’, I nearly had you picked up and brought to us.”
I’d had no clue how deep this went. At times, I’d felt someone watching me, but not multiple people. I’d only had contact with Navarro once. “At the gala, why was Navarro watching me intently? Especially if he wants me…dead.” I whispered the last word.
Garrick stiffened, apparently not liking it any more than I did.
“He doesn’t want you dead anymore. He now wants you as his. That’s why I came tonight to take you somewhere he can’t find you.”