Kelly Meade - Black Rook

“Right.” He turned to look at Rook for the first time in the conversation. Even tempered by sorrow, the confidence in his eyes was unmistakable. “It’s getting late. We should go back down. I need to find Brynn.”

Rook started to leave. Knight grabbed his arm, and Rook stopped. Looked back. “Thank you,” Knight said.

“For what?”

“Not asking me to reconsider. Not making this harder.”

Rook’s throat tightened. A few months ago, the angry, petulant side of him would have done just that—would have been selfish enough to stop Knight from doing what he thought was right. But Rook had slowly shaved away that side of himself since returning home and going under his father’s wing as a candidate for Alpha. Maybe that position was no longer his to take, but the experience remained. He understood Knight better than he ever had before. His father, too.

He didn’t answer Knight. He just hugged him. Felt his heartbeat. Inhaled his brother’s unique scent for maybe the last time. And then he let Knight go.

Brynn found her destination easily. Rook had given her good directions to the head-shaped boulder that hid the footpath she needed. The path wound upward toward the slope of the mountains west of town. Her flashlight and the light of the moon guided her, until the gentle rush of the creek announced her arrival. Water flowed directly ahead, pouring out from between two rock crevices into a deep pool wide enough for swimming. At the far left end of the pool, the water poured out again into the branch of the creek that angled south.

She stepped into a small clearing covered in last year’s leaves and dropped pine needles. She imagined it was a lovely place during the day for a picnic; she also knew she would never be able to come here and share this place with Rook. There would be too many ghosts after tonight.

She checked the screen of her phone—the same cell phone Fiona had stolen that morning. Two minutes until midnight.

They’d agreed that Brynn would go ahead and ensure Fiona showed up, reconfirm the deal, and then call Knight. He and Rook were waiting in an old barn at the edge of town. McQueen and Bishop had to sacrifice their participation in order to keep up appearances with Jillian and the other enforcers. Jillian still believed an attack could happen at any time, so they were checking up on patrols on the other side of town while under the assumption that Rook was doing the same here.

She turned in a circle, scanning the woods for any sign of Fiona. The forest around her was oddly silent, almost unnaturally so. A branch snapped behind her. She spun to face north, opposite the creek. Shadows danced below the trees. Something red flashed in her eyes. She blinked hard, startled by the light. She looked down. A small red dot hovered over her breast.

She’s got a laser sight on me. Avesta, protect your daughter .

Brynn remained still, even as her insides began shaking.

“You’re alone.”

Fiona’s voice, directly behind her, startled a short scream from Brynn. She spun around to face Fiona, her face now as familiar as it was repulsive.

“You’re not,” Brynn replied.

“I never promised I would be.”

Brynn replayed their conversations and Fiona’s original deal. Fiona was right. During their negotiations, Brynn never insisted Fiona come to the meeting alone.

Foolish girl.

“Don’t fret, sister,” Fiona said. “It’s only insurance, in case anyone who isn’t you or Knight decides to show up. I hate party crashers, don’t you?”

“Knight agreed to your terms. He’ll go with you.”

“Then why isn’t he here?”

“We decided I would come ahead to make sure the terms are still in place. Knight goes with you willingly, without a fight, and you swear on your life that you and your sisters will leave the loup garou alone from now on.”

“Ah, ah, sister. The agreement was the dogs who live here in Cornerstone. This town is off limits.”

Worth a try. “All right, the Cornerstone run is left alone.”

“What about your part?”

“Not telling anyone except Knight?”

“Correct.”

Brynn looked her directly in the eyes, wary of the suspicion she saw there. “I was careful, and Knight knew the consequences of telling anyone else. His family is busy checking patrols on the other side of town.”

“Indeed.” Fiona circled Brynn widely, until they’d turned so the sniper’s red dot was back on her breast. “Your scent has changed, B. You get up to a little hanky-panky with one of the dogs?”

“My private life is not up for discussion.” She had no intention of telling Fiona about her relationship with Rook, or letting Fiona make her feel like a lesser person for it. She cared about Rook and was not ashamed of making love to him. She’d found a home in Cornerstone and would fight for it.

“Come on, sis. Rook is pretty adorable, and I’ve seen Knight’s equipment. We should compare notes.”

Brynn bristled, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. “I’d rather finish our business here and leave. You disgust me.”

Instead of getting angry, Fiona laughed. “Good news. You kind of disgust me, too, so we’re even. Yes, let’s finish our business. How do you get Knight here? Dog whistle?”

She held up the stolen phone. “I planned to use this. Would you like to see it first?”

“You know better than to cross me. Make your call, while I let my friend in the trees know we’re getting another guest.”

Brynn didn’t call. She typed out a text to Knight’s cell: We’re set.Her finger hovered over Send for just a moment, then she pressed it.

Knight’s cell chimed with a text alert. The phone was already in his hand, where it had remained clenched for the last twenty minutes or so. He and Rook had paced a circle in the dirt floor of the old Chesterfield barn. The Chesterfield property bordered the edge of the woods near the creek footpath, and the barn hadn’t been used in decades to house anything except dust, spiders, and the occasional raccoon. Large sections of the exterior walls had fallen away, giving them a good view of the mountains outside.

The main house was several hundred yards past the aged, rotting barn, and they’d prewarned the family that they would have night patrols near the property. The few other homes in sight were too far to overhear anything, or blocked by too many trees to see properly.

Ten minutes into their silent wait, Mitch Geary had shown up, his expression as solemn as theirs. He’d thanked Knight, promised to honor his sacrifice, and then asked for permission to stay. Knight wasn’t in the habit of denying any Alpha’s request, so he said yes. Geary was in a unique position to sympathize with their father, since Geary’s own son was out of his reach, having effectively kicked him out of town for being an asshole. Losing a child was a horrible thing for any parent.

Geary was sitting with his back to one of the old stalls, and he sat up a bit straighter when Knight got the message that it was time to go.

The text changed Knight’s tight stomach into a sloshing pit of acid, and he fought the intense need to bend over and vomit. He peeled his fingers away from the keys and typed back a reply: On my way.

He and Rook had already said their good-byes on the rooftop of Smythe’s, but he was glad to have his brother there now. Glad he didn’t have to walk into the woods with no one at his back. Knowing Rook was watching would give him the courage to walk without hesitation or fear.

“This isn’t over,” Rook said.

“Nothing is ever really over,” Knight replied. “The game is just changing a little.”