Page 30 of The Midnight Knock

Who the hell is this?Ethan thought.

“I think we can clear all of this up right now,” the man said, his bright sneer widening. “Can’t we, Stanley?”

KYLA

She stumbled back from the door, reaching for her gun. “Where the fuck did you come from?”

“The road. Where else?” The new man smiled at her, revealing a cracked front tooth. He extended his hand. “Ryan Phan, nice to meet you.”

Kyla backed away from the hand. “Have you been here this entire time?”

“I got here just before sundown. The twins were kind enough to give me a room.”

Stanley was getting red again. “I knew I’d seen you skulking around. Iknewit.”

“I’m not sure how—I fell asleep just about the second I got here. I didn’t wake up until I heard all the screaming.” This Ryan fellow didn’t miss a beat. “It wore me out, chasing you and Polly back across Mexico. Where is she, by the way? I’d like to get her somewhere safe.”

“She’s—” Stanley hesitated, grew redder. “She’s not coming anywhere near you. Not now. Not ever again.”

“That would be a shame. I was all set to make you an offer of my own, Mister Holiday.”

Kyla interjected. “I’m sorry, but you’re weirding me the fuck out. How could you get here without any of us noticing?”

“Inoticed! I told all of y’all—”

“Can you ever just shut the fuck up?” Kyla hadn’t realized, after six months of dealing with him at the steakhouse, just how tired she was of Stanley Holiday. The big man, for his part, seemed so stunned by her disrespect he couldn’t speak. She’d take it.

Kyla looked at Ryan again. “I don’t get it. Why are you even here?”

“I’m here to get my stepdaughter away from this asshole. Away from the whole fucking outfit. I did it once already, and Stanley went all the way to Mexico to get her back. He gave me this in the process.” Ryan gestured to his splinted nose with a flourish.

Ethan said, “Penelope is your stepdaughter?”

“No,” Stanley said. “No, she is not. She—”

“She would have been, if I’d had the chance to marry her mother. Stanley made sure that couldn’t happen.” Ryan’s swagger faltered for just a moment, a memory flickering behind his eyes. He seemed to push it away with a physical effort. “But we don’t have time for the past. What matters is right now, Stan. You give me Penelope and I won’t tell this office why you butchered the lovely Miss Powers.”

Stanley looked briefly, genuinely, astonished. “Are you insane? I’d never met the woman in my life.”

Kyla arched an eyebrow. “Areyouan idiot? You’ve spent the last six weeks having dinner with her. I served the two of you a pair of T-bones not five days ago.”

Stanley spun on Kyla, but Ethan was the first to speak. “You served Sarah dinner?”

“Many times,” Kyla said.

“But she didn’t recognize you earlier, here in the office.”

“I’m not surprised. She was just there for Stanley and Frank. They—”

“Stanley and Sarah were an item,” Ryan Phan cut in. “Penelope told me about it while we were in Mexico—all about the woman Stanley had fallen for.”

“You think I was inlovewith Sarah Powers?” Stanley looked almost ready to laugh. “We were working with her, you idiot. She was doing a job for the outfit.”

“Five seconds ago you said you’d never met her,” Ethan said.

Ryan said to Stanley, “Exactly what kind of work was she doing for y’all?”

“You think I need to explain myself to you?” Stanley said.