Page 52 of A Knight’s Revenge: The Complete Series
I hit the ground and rolled behind the black SUV parked nearest to me, pulling my handgun from under my suit jacket and returning fire.
“Sir, stay down!” the surviving Enforcer shouted at me from his unfortunate spot behind a metal trashcan across the way.
I’d depressed the emergency button on the device I wore on my wrist disguised as a simple Rolex, which meant I just had to avoid getting shot or grabbed until help arrived.
Half a dozen goons dressed in black scurried like ants into my field of vision, most of them firing toward the trashcan where the Enforcer engaged them in what was likely to be a losing battle.
Two began looking for me as they crept around the nearby cars. I’d slipped through the shadows and was no longer behind the black SUV where they’d probably seen me dive, and I waited, deathly silent, as they searched.
I heard my Enforcer run out of ammo in one pistol and switch to another. The sounds of the ensuing gun battle were deafening, and it allowed me to move when I needed to without being detected.
“Where the fuck is that little asshole?”
“He has to be in here somewhere, man. Keep it in your pants, though. They said two mil if we get him alive. The payout’s less than half if he’s dead.”
Contract mercs. Alastia had the money and the connections for it, and I’d bet my trust fund that George Layne had hit the panic button before I’d even shut the door to the conference room.
More gunshots sounded. My Enforcer had managed to drop two of the group, leaving two still firing bullets in his direction and the two sneaking around looking for me.
I’d made it further down the garage, out of range in this low light for the two shooting at my guy, so I just had to occupy the other two for a few more minutes.
“Hey, I think I see?—”
I fired two shots from my spot behind a silver Mercedes sedan.
“Fuck!” the guy shouted as he took one shot to his Kevlar vest and another to his shoulder. “He’s behind that one!”
They rushed the car, and I popped up from my crouch to knock away the injured man’s gun while firing at the other, causing him to duck out of the way and retreat.
Adrenaline fueling me, I advanced on the injured one, landing a solid kick to his stomach and avoiding his swinging arms as I continued to haphazardly fire at the other one, keeping him clear.
“What the fuck kind of rich kid?—”
He managed to clip me hard across my cheekbone right before I slammed my fist into his face. He flew backwards just as the loud screeching of tires announced the arrival of Zach’s Ferrari.
As it came flying around the corner, Noah leaned out of the passenger-side window and fired two expert shots into the heads of both of my assailants—an impressive feat in the dim lighting—dropping them to the dusty floor like the trash they were.
Zach threw open the driver’s side door, and I dove inside the still-moving car.
“There’s two more up ahead, firing on my Enforcer,” I said, panting and splayed out in the cramped backseat.
“They’re running this way,” Zach announced, speeding toward the elevators. “I don’t think your guy made it.”
“I got ’em,” Noah barked.
Zach whipped the Ferrari into a skid, bringing us perpendicular to the path of the two remaining mercs as they sprinted toward us. Before they could get their shots off, Noah took aim from his window again, gripping his handgun with an easy calm. He fired two shots, and the men fell.
“They’re down. Go!”
Zach drove like a demon around the winding floors of the garage and out into the brightly lit City streets. We blew past Ferrero Tower, taking a convoluted route, but eventually we’d be headed for the waterfront and the main thoroughfare that would take us back to the Academy.
I sat up in the backseat, shucking my now ruined suit jacket, tie, and dress shirt, desperately needing to get the grit of dirt and the stench of blood off my skin. My face throbbed where I’d taken a hit.
“So, I guess your meeting didn’t go well?” Zach said, tossing me a smirk in the rearview mirror.
“The board members were ready to fold, but I think the CEO decided he was going to be the next big man who stood up to the Families and ‘saved’ his company.”
“Ransom or kill order?” Noah asked.
“Both. Higher payout for capturing me alive.”
They both nodded. Every power player thought they would be the ones to bring a Family to their knees when they pulled this shit, and all they did was sign their death warrant.
“You going to update Daddy Spencer, or do you want to take this one in-house?” Zach asked.
I sighed. “I don’t want to add anything else to our plate, but I also don’t feel like listening to my father berate me over allowing the Family to be disrespected like this. It’ll be my fault, as usual.”
And deep down, I felt that kernel of shame. After all, I’d stood for Spencer in front of a room of powerful people and somehow allowed them to think we could be so vulnerable.
“We’ll deal with it, Bennett,” Noah said, resolute. “None of this is your fault.”
He was right, of course, and I tamped down the self-loathing—at least until the next fuckup inevitably landed in my lap.
When it was clear we weren’t being followed, Zach slowed the car, and we drove at a leisurely pace along the waterfront. I stared out the window, taking in the river’s black, glassy surface that now only made me think of Jolie.
As if it had the same effect on him, Zach let out a wistful sigh. “I’m going to be late to Princess’s bed tonight. This little excursion interrupted my Econ homework.”
My mood soured further.
“Are you fucking her?” I said through clenched teeth. We didn’t have secrets between us, but Zach had been a sneaky little bitch about Jolie, and after the events of tonight, I didn’t have any patience left.
Out with it, asshole .
He glared at me in the rearview mirror as Noah shifted uncomfortably in the passenger seat.
“First of all, that’s rich coming from you , Mr. Secret-Fingerbang-in-the-Shower.”
Heat rose to the back of my neck, but I wasn’t going to apologize. That moment belonged to me .
“Second,” he went on, “No, I’m not fucking her. I haven’t even kissed her. That’s not what this is about.”
Noah and I both shot him the world’s most skeptical looks.
“Fine—that’s not what this is primarily about,” he amended, growing irritated. “I just… hold her. I want her to feel safe with me. I’m keeping her nightmares away, and I’m trying to earn her trust. You two need to get on board before you lose your chance with her.”
“I’m not sure how there can be any trust between us when she keeps us in the dark, and we’re just sitting around, waiting for her to move against us,” Noah muttered.
“And then what, Zach?” I asked. “What’s your plan here? You want her to what, be our girlfriend? All three of us?”
“Uh, yeah,” he replied, rolling his eyes. “Unless you’re both going to sit here and tell me you have no feelings for her beyond just our platonic friendship of old?”
Deafening silence filled the car.
“That’s what I thought. Since we could never allow our feelings for her to come between us like that, it’s either all of us are with her, or none of us are.
And I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t intend to sit around and watch while she dates doe-eyed Southside waiters or smarmy fucks like Raiford Montgomery right in front of us. ”
That thought made me want to stab someone, but I was not about to admit it.
“I do… want her back with us,” Noah said carefully. “But I don’t know, Zach. I think you’re moving too fast.”
“And it’ll be your funeral,” I added. “When she strings you up by your balls from Ferrero Tower as a message to Andrea, I’ll be here to say I told you so.”
He shrugged, not deterred in the slightest. “I’m planning a gift for her to prove my feelings. Frankie’s helping me out.”
God, my head hurt.
“Will you just… be careful?” Noah said, sounding resigned. “I don’t think she necessarily has it out for the three of us. But if we start getting too close, we could end up painting a bigger target on her back if our parents think we’ve switched teams.”
“My father already threatened her once tonight,” I added quietly. “We should be sending her far, far away from here.”
Noah slumped in his seat while Zach gripped the steering wheel so hard, his knuckles practically glowed in the darkness. We were silent the rest of the way back to the Academy.
It was only the beginning of the second week of the semester, and I wondered what other fresh hell awaited us.