Page 102 of A Knight’s Revenge: The Complete Series
“Emily Hubert,” she replied. “Twenty-nine years old, worked at MSM for about a year. She was an administrative assistant at a Spencer wealth advisory firm prior to that.”
“She’s Elise Proctor’s half sister,” Bennett said from behind me.
I whirled to gape at him. “Seriously?”
He stood between Zach and Noah, the three of them looming in the shadows with violence in their eyes, like dark princes ready to mete out justice in the name of their kingdom.
“Yes,” Bennett replied. “I’d never met her, so I didn’t recognize her when she did your makeup. But I know that name, and now I can see the family resemblance.”
“Hmm,” I said, turning back to Emily. I leaned down to look her right in her flawlessly lined eyes.
“That’s bad news for you, Emily. Not only are you in trouble for letting Spencer’s dogs disrupt my interview with Lucinda and endangering the lives of my boyfriends and my brother, but it turns out the same blood runs through your veins as the despicable cunt who played a vital role in getting my parents killed.
It makes me want to bleed you out all over this floor just so I can light it on fire. ”
“Hot damn, that even gave me the chills,” Frankie murmured.
Emily’s face contorted in anger, no longer the placid, dutiful makeup lady I’d met before. “Fuck you, Knight bitch. You’re just a stupid little girl trying to play games with the grownups.”
I tutted. “I think you’re the one who’s stumbled into the real grown-up games, Emily. Now I have to make an example of you and make sure your bitch sister and James Spencer get the message. What did they offer you? Money? Power? I hope it was worth it.”
She spat at me, and I shifted just in time for the nasty wad to miss my face and land on my shirt instead.
A scandalized gasp sounded behind me, and before I could blink, Mari had darted forward and slapped Emily hard across the face.
“How dare you,” she hissed. “You vile bitch. Look at where you are. You got hung out to dry by your own sister, who clearly doesn’t give a shit about you. I’d find some manners if I were you, and fast.”
I froze, stunned and more than a little bit proud of Mari, and the silence around me said I wasn’t the only one .
“Damn, babe,” Max said, whistling.
Not to be outdone, Frankie added, “Miss Mari, that was excellent form.”
I cleared my throat, squeezing Mari’s hand before I looked over at Frankie. “I think it’s girls’ night tonight. Kara, Julie, and I can take care of this one.”
He grinned, giving me an approving nod that filled me with an odd sense of pride.
“I’m staying,” Mari announced, her tone daring me to argue with her.
I blew out a breath, remembering Bennett’s words about Mari being a big girl who could make her own choices. “Okay. But if it gets to be too much, Max will come back down to get you.”
“Fine,” she said. “But I think I can handle it. This woman put you and Max in danger. I’d like to see her hurting.”
Zach stepped to my side, pulling me in for a quick kiss. “We’re sad to miss the fun, but I think this one is definitely more appropriate for you ladies. And Mari will be fine—she’s tough.”
“Okay,” I replied. “Love you. Take care of Max and keep him and Frankie separated, please.”
He snickered, while Max moaned, “Jojo, honestly.”
After Bennett and Noah had both pecked me on the lips and Frankie had given me a two-fingered salute, the boys filed out of the basement. I could just make out the irreverent tones of Max’s hassling the guys as the heavy metal door slammed behind them.
I turned my attention back to Emily, who was still seething in her chair, her nerves now visible—but not nearly enough.
She still hadn’t quite grasped how bad this was about to get for her. Maybe she thought she’d dodged a bullet when I dismissed Frankie Fingers.
She was wrong.
“How far are we taking it?” Kara asked, all business.
“She’ll still be breathing when we deliver her to her sister,” I replied with ice in my voice. “But only barely.” Then I nodded to Julie. “Cut her loose.”
Her eyebrows rose, but then she grinned. “How fair of you, boss.”
With a flick of her knife, she cut the zip ties binding Emily’s legs and arms to the chair. Emily flew from her seat with a scream, running straight at me—the one who was unarmed, dressed in athleisure wear, and looking like an easy target.
“I’ll fucking kill you myself, then, bitch,” she spat at me.
I launched an uppercut right into her jaw, and she was knocked off her fancy boots in an instant. I followed her to the ground, then I made what Bennett did to Chad look like a fun walk in the park.
Mari, bless her, stood stoically through it all, only growing a little pale at the end.
Kara called it before I went too far—before I’d exorcised every ounce of pent-up rage I had about Emily’s role in endangering my boys’ lives, about her loyalty to Spencer and the woman who got my parents killed, about every-fucking-thing wrong with the entire goddamn City.
Kara and Julie cleaned up my mess and would later deliver the package to the steps of Spencer Tower.
Frankie reappeared to escort Mari and me back to the penthouse, where Zach helped me wash the blood from my hands and my body in my beautiful new shower.
Then he kissed every inch of my skin with reverence before he helped me ride out the last of my adrenaline rush by fucking me into the tile wall while he pulled my hair and I screamed his name until I was hoarse.
That night, Bennett ignored twelve calls from James Spencer.