“So, did you get some?” Perry asks.
“That’s not an appropriate question to ask your older sister.” I roll my eyes.
“She didn’t.” Tessa snorts. The two of them laugh.
“I feel that.” Vy sighs. “Did anyone call for an update on a mission? Because I’m kind of busy. Don’t touch that, Rome. These are valuable pack assets. Stop being a child.” It’s followed by a snort and then a smack. “Get the fuck out of here.”
“Laters, ladies.” Roman shouts in the background.
“Vincent got you on desk duty?” Perry laughs.
“Yeah, he found out the day I was supposed to pick up Pepper from the packhouse. I was with you guys setting up a counter terrorist plan for the Rogue King, and he grounded me.” We all laugh. “This is actually the first time I talk to anyone who isn’t Roman today.”
“Phoebe!”
“Who is that?” they all ask, and what makes me laugh is that they use the same possessive tone Knight does–all three of them.
“It’s Cev. Arnold asked me to bring him. I’ll be right back.”
Cev and his huge mate are standing in the middle of the living room. Luther’s angry
gaze turns to me.
“So, this is your life now? Hoping around luxury homes to find which one suits you best that week?” Cevin grins. I press my lips together, wishing that were the case. “Shit. that was insensitive.”
“It’s cool. Hi, Luther.” I wave at him. When his nostrils flare, a low growl stops him from saying what’s on his mind.
“Twink. You made it.” Mr. Knightly says from the study. “I wasn’t sure he would allow it. Come inside, boys. My son is waiting for you. Phoebe. Get your coat.”
“Are we going somewhere?”
“Yes. Nathan and Ashley will watch the twins.”
“Okay.” I agree. “I’ll see you guys later.”
“Not likely. There are things to be done. In the study,” Mr. Knightly looks over at Luther again.
“Oh. Umm. Okay. Call me.” I step toward Cevin and hug him. He lets out a heavy sigh and rubs my back gently.
“Take care, Mama,” he smiles gently.
I pull away, go to my room to get my coat, and hang up my call. To my surprise, it’s
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already ended. When I tell the twins I’ll be going out, they are already playing with Ashley. As usual, they don’t question it but don’t seem very happy about it.
“Perhaps you should have gotten some in your reconsealiation.”
“I’m not one to reward bad behavior. This way, we both learn our lesson.” I shrug.” What’s going on? Where are we going?”
“You’re a very strange person.” he smiles. “I told Knight we had to finish some last- minute changes to the contract we have with Burns.”
“Barnes, and I’m guessing we’re not doing that.”
I turn my body toward him to pay attention to what he’s about to say. He leans forward and taps the divider between us and the driver. The black divider opens about halfway. There’s a red–headed woman sitting in the passenger seat. I can see from the bridge of her nose to her brilliant green eyes when she glances back at me. I try to hide the way my skin rises in goosebumps. Where do I know her from?
She hands Mr. Knightly a file. I look down at it, unable to look up at her again. I don’t want her to know I recognized something about her. He flips through the pages and then offers it to me. I take it, set it on my lap, and get a whiff of perfume. The girl in the palace. She cuffed me. She smelled very nice. He knows.
“Have I done something to offend you?” I ask him.
“Yes,” he nods. “I’ve never met someone who can lie as well as I do, and I never would
have bet on you doing it to me.‘
I laugh and open the file.
“Now, who’s the one lying?” I see a picture of my father on the top of the file. The profiles of his family are in here as well. In the back of the file are large photographs of them in handcuffs. “So, what? You’re going to kill them?”
“Yes,” he nods.
“I guess I can thank you for sparing me the guilt of knowing that the man I’m in love with is the man who killed the people who raised me. That’s very generous of you.” I place the file between us.
I knew he was going to be mad. Knight already told me that they were under investigation anyway. I don’t want anything to happen to them, but I’ve made peace with the fact that I have no control over it. Perry made that very clear. She said she’d do it herself if there wasn’t a probability of resentment towards her.
“You really don’t care? What if I told you that I will be selling them to a coven of vampires as blood bags?”
“I don’t know what reaction you want from me, Mr. Knightly. This is one of those things
that is going to make me feel a little shitty about myself when I think about it, but I’m
not exactly going to lose sleep over it. I have bigger problems to deal with.”
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“You don’t understand the situation, Phoebe. You lied to me.”
“You lied to me first. You’ve been using me to get information on your son. It’s not my fault that you were asking the wrong questions. I haven’t actually lied to you–not once. I simply omitted the truth from you.
“I genuinely respect the fuck out of you. You’re the person who has been teaching me about what I am. You have no fucking idea what it means to me for you to have been beside me since all this shit started. I understand that you’re upset. Oh, and by the way. I know the woman in the front seat works for the alpha king. She was the guard that cuffed me. That’s so fucking low, Arnold.”
“What?” he looks toward the divider.
“What do you mean what? Isn’t that why you called me here? To fuck with me and Knight by turning me over or some shit?” I scoff. He stares at me with a blank expression for longer than acceptable. Did I misread the situation?
“Is that really what you think of me?” he asks.
“Not until now that there’s a fucking-” I pause and glance over at the divider because that is legit confusion. “Fuck. Now what? Can they hear us? What happens now?”
“You are an infuriating little girl,” he growls. “We’re going to have to fight our way through some shit when the car stops.”
“Fight some shit? I wore my good Jimmy Choos for you. I can’t believe this. How did it. even happen? You’re like he fucking Terminator of war.” I growl back at him.
My heart is beating rapidly in my chest, and I can feel Midnight swirming around, preparing to do exactly as he asks. Oh. My. God. I am being kidnapped.
“I-” he sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.
“What did you do?” I ask because that’s real. He’s stressed out about something, and it‘ s definitely not this. If I don’t keep my mind occupied I am going to freak the fuck out. He reaches for the mini fridge, takes out a sparkling water, and hands it to me.
“It’s time for me to step down, and Nathan wants nothing to do with the pack. I’ve been dividing up the territories and assigning my children their positions in each of my bases. Sixteen mainhouses. Sixteen alphas. This way, none of them feels jilted. I’ve been busy.”
“We were just kidnapped.” I sigh and take his hand. “This is a first for me. And I am scared, but I’d like you to know that I am very proud of you right now.”
He stares at me for a long time, and I don’t know what to feel at the moment. I’m just trying really hard not to cry. I look down at my phone to see that there’s no service. He gives my hand a squeeze.
“No one has ever said that to me before,” he says quietly.
“No one wants to give you the satisfaction. You should always be proud of
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accomplishing what you set out to do. Even if you are fucking batshit crazy. Where were you actually taking me?”
“I was going to set your building on fire, then have it rebuilt with very many prolonged delays.”
“You’re an asshole.” I shake my head and then laugh. “I would have cried.”
“And I would have loved to be the reason why. My son would have finally swung at me. No one’s ever hit me as hard as that little shit. I want to see if he’s still got it.”
“He is cut. Like a lot more than he was when I first met him. Exercising is his outlet for all that rage. I love watching him through the security camera. I have it synced up to my phone.” I hold it up.
“I’m sorry,” he sighs. “But I’m still going to fuck him up. I don’t know another way.”
“Do you. Just, you know, don’t be the reason why I have to explain to my kids why they have a grandpa shark and not a pop–pop.”
“That’s a low blow.” he grins.
“Peas in a fucking pod, man. You were going to burn my new building down.”
“Get ready.” he shakes his jacket off. “And Phoebe?”
“Yeah?”
“They are nice shoes. But I’ve seen better.”
“I know. I probably designed them.” I flip him off. “I hope Midnight doesn’t come out and accidentally eat you. If she does. Run. I read what she is, and I’m a little freaked out. The words ‘ Feeding Rampage‘ do not sound great to me.”
