Kelly Meade - Black Rook

“A little?”

“A lot.” He gave his cell to Rook, then clasped his forearm briefly. Love flooded him from the touch, and Knight didn’t block the emotion. He took strength from it. “Don’t live for revenge, okay? Live for Brynn.”

Rook nodded, his wide eyes too shiny. Too scared and angry.

Knight let go of his brother, turned, and walked away.

Brynn fought to remain silent and still during the waiting period. The laser sight over her heart had added a new layer of nervousness to the proceedings, and Fiona was just too relaxed for her taste. Fiona wandered the clearing, amusing herself with pinecones, fallen branches, pebbles from the creek—any number of things that might interest a small child with a short attention span.

Had Fiona ever spent so much time in the forest? Brynn hadn’t. She wasn’t fond of mosquitos, ticks, or insects in general, and she’d never spent much time outdoors. She’d never gone camping or rafting, and she only knew which tree was an elm because she’d studied the leaf shapes from books. She also had no idea what Fiona’s upbringing had been like. Fiona had mentioned a basement laboratory and not much else.

It didn’t matter. Brynn had no intention of sympathizing with Fiona’s lack of outdoor explorations. The woman was a sociopath and a murderer, and despite their genetic connection, Brynn would not shed a tear for Fiona’s eventual death.

A branch snapped and feet scuffed the ground along the path. Knight was making certain his approach didn’t startle anyone. Fiona jerked to attention and darted over to stand next to Brynn, grinning like a girl expecting a special present. Brynn shoved away the sudden urge to do her sister violence.

Knight appeared, walking with confidence and a flat expression that flickered briefly when he first looked at Fiona. He shifted his gaze to Brynn and did a once-over, probably checking to make sure she was unharmed. In the shadows cast by the moon’s light, he seemed acutely aware that the path he was taking would eventually break him. Brynn’s resolve fractured a little bit.

You’re doing this for Rook. For Bishop and their father and the rest of the town. Knight wants to do this. Don’t chicken out now.

“Hey, handsome,” Fiona said. She curled her finger at Knight, and he stopped an arm’s reach away from her. “Did you miss me?”

“Like a fever blister,” Knight replied.

Fiona frowned and clucked her tongue. “Now that’s not nice. We’re going to be family, baby, so we might as well try to get along.” She slunk over to him and draped herself around him from behind.

Knight froze, every muscle rigid, his face ablaze with hate. He glanced down and his expression shifted. Brynn followed his gaze to the sniper’s laser sight, which was shaking around, like the gunman’s arm had jostled. The sight steadied itself.

Strange.

Fiona stroked her fingers up and down Knight’s arms, then moved to stand next to him, one arm still slung over his shoulders. “I suppose there’s just one other item of business left to attend to,” she said to Brynn.

“Which is what?” Brynn asked.

“You lied to me.”

Her mind stuttered to a halt. “I what? When?”

“Oh come on, B, don’t play stupid, it doesn’t become you. I know you lied to me. More people than just you and Knight know about this midnight rendezvous, and that wasn’t part of the plan.”

Fiona couldn’t possibly know that. They’d been so careful with the information.

“I promised you that Rook would die bloody and screaming if you betrayed me, sister.” Fiona stepped away from Knight, her fingers already tapping out something on her cell phone.

Brynn stared at her in absolute horror, unable to understand what was happening. “I didn’t,” she said, the lie unbelievable even to herself.

Knight’s chest heaved, and he seemed caught between wanting to attack Fiona and needing to go back the way he’d come to protect his brother.

“It’s a shame, really.” Fiona pointed her cell at Brynn like a pistol. “You two made a cute couple. Oh well.”

The phone in Fiona’s hand exploded. She shrieked and dropped the bits of shrapnel left in her bleeding hand. Brynn’s senses took longer to identify the rifle report still echoing through the trees. She backed away from Fiona and circled closer to Knight. The laser sight was bouncing a bit, but it was definitely focused on Fiona now.

Knight was staring into the woods from the direction of the shot. “I’ll be damned,” he said.

Jonas Geary burst into the clearing, a scoped hunting rifle braced against his shoulder, the sight still fixed on a panting, bleeding Fiona. She clutched her damaged hand to her chest and glared at Jonas.

“Does someone want to explain to me why in the blue fuck one of my father’s men was up in a tree holding this on everyone except the bad guy?” Jonas snarled.

Fiona laughed, and the mocking sound sent chills down Brynn’s spine. “Because your father told him to do what I said, you idiot.”

“Damn it!” Knight said. He lunged sideways, preparing to run, but Jonas swung the laser sight onto him. He froze, incredulous.

“No way,” Jonas said. “Not until I know what the hell’s going on.”

Rook stared into the forest, as he had for the last few minutes, waiting for any glimpse of Brynn’s return. He’d already decided if she wasn’t back by twelve-thirty, he was going into the forest after her, consequences be damned. He barely acknowledged Geary when he said he was stepping outside for a moment. All he wanted was to see Brynn’s face again. To hold her while he came to terms with the idea that he’d never see Knight again.

Maybe.

They couldn’t rescue Knight directly, but Rook had no doubts that their paths would cross with Fiona’s again in the future. The lives he and his family had would never be the same. The song was changing, but that didn’t discount what they might have down the road. Rook needed to believe in that. He needed hope.

The rifle report, distant and muffled, sent a jolt of terror straight to Rook’s heart. He reached for his phone, not entirely certain who he was going to call. Something heavy slammed into him from behind—muscular, furry, reeking of sour pine and fish. He hit the barn floor hard with the weight on top of him, effectively knocking the air from his lungs.

Before Rook could dislodge the beast holding him down, long, sharp teeth sank into his shoulder, and he screamed.

Knight’s emotions had fluctuated so rapidly in the last few minutes that all he felt now was numb. Looking at Fiona again had made his skin crawl. Her touching him had brought up memories he’d tried very hard to suppress. The call about Rook had enraged him beyond higher thought, and now Jonas was holding them all at gunpoint while God knew what was happening back in town.

One thing was crystal clear in Knight’s mind: Mitch Geary was a dirty traitor.

“I should have known better than to try to bargain with a bunch of dogs,” Fiona said. Her hand was a mess, and Knight wasn’t entirely sure she still had all of her fingers.

“Please,” Brynn said to Jonas. “Please, someone’s going to kill Rook. I need to warn him.”

Jonas hesitated, then said, “Fine, you go. Only you.”

Brynn bolted.

Fiona whined. “You were all too stupid to realize you were always being watched. Too stupid, dogs.”

“Shut up,” Jonas said. “What did you say about my father?”

She laughed. “It’s amazing what fathers will do to protect their sons. And then the fool kicked you out of town anyway. Ha!”