The Hunted (The Killing Hours Book 1)

by Christy Anderson

“There are many things you don’t know about me. I want to tell you, but I don’t want you to be afraid of me. My job makes it difficult to have or keep people in my life.”

  I continue to gaze into those eyes that trap me in their depths, and I see secrets. They’re there, and he wants to give them to me. I’m not certain what those amber pools hold, but I want to know. I want his good, bad, and ugly. The memories that make him happy. The secrets that taint his soul. I want to know this man. I want more with him, and that realization terrifies me.

  “I care for you, Raven. I haven’t allowed myself to grow close to anyone in a long time.”

  17

  Knox

  “I’m going to tell you things. Things that may turn you against me. If that’s the case and this. . . I’m too much for you, I’ll understand.”

  I stroke the back of her hand, and those green eyes stare through me. I see the concern knitted in the wrinkle of her brow.

  “I want to know. If you can trust me with your secret, I want to know.” She tilts that beautiful face in my direction, and this is the moment. This is the moment I share this story.

  “I’m not a good man. I will never be a good man. I’ve done a lot of bad things in this life. Things that put me in danger. Possibly you, just for being with me. I want you to know I will never let any harm come to you because of my actions, ever.” I take a steadying breath.

  “This is my family home. Where I grew up. I had a very happy childhood. My father was away on business often, but my mother was my constant. We spent our days riding horses around the grounds, swimming, playing games, the usual things. We were happy when my father was gone.”

  She was my best friend.

  She was my only friend.

  “My father met my mother when she was eighteen and he was twenty-nine. She fell head over-heels in love with him. She told me many times how handsome and charming she thought he was. That I reminded her of him.”

  I flash her my best toothy grin and get rewarded with a giggle. Such a beautiful sound.

  “What she didn’t know at the time was he was a devil in disguise. He was after her family fortune, her family home, this home. It became our prison.” I momentarily stop speaking as a shudder passes through me. The memories come rolling back just like it was yesterday.

  “My father was wealthy in his own right. My mother’s parents approved of him. He met their standards. His many ventures, legal and other wise, had paid off for him. What he didn’t have was power, influence. Marrying my mother brought him those things. My mother’s family was influential. Her father was old money and had many interests and ties. My mother was young enough for my father to control. Once he wed her, he slowly manipulated her to sign over all her assets into his name. Once my grandparents passed away, everything belonged to my father.”

  I try to ease the worried crease between her brows, rubbing it gently, before continuing to travel back in time to a place I tried desperately to leave there.

  “His control of us knew no limits. When I say we were prisoners here, I mean that. We lived in a beautiful gilded cage. I believe now, with some age and reflection, that my mother sheltered me from him as much as she could, did so many activities with me when I was young because she couldn’t leave the grounds with me. I wasn’t allowed to attend school. I was taught at home. My father hired tutors to come to the manor. I had no friends until I was about ten and Ace’s mother, Ruby, became my teacher.”

  I twirl a lock of her hair between my fingers, brushing the ends against her bottom lip. I smile at the memory of Ace and me as children and all the shit we got into around here. Her soft hand touches my cheek, and I lean into it. Turning my head slightly, I place a kiss on her palm. She nuzzles deeper into my embrace.

  “Ace’s mom knew I wasn’t allowed to have friends, so when she knew my father wouldn’t be here, she would bring Ace with her. Instead of having class, she would let us play. She became my mother’s best friend and Ace became mine.”

  “Knox, what kind of man doesn’t let his son or wife have friends?”

  Tears rim her eyes but don’t fall. I don’t want her to feel sad but she has to know this shit. I want her to know.

  “The fucked-up kind. He was grooming me. Of course, I didn’t know it at the time, but he wanted me to have no ties so I could be ruthless and cold like him. My father ran many ventures, Raven, but he was also the leader of an elite group of for-hire assassins. The group is called Albatross.”

  She gasps as she sits up. Her eyes search mine, as if the truth of my words lies somewhere inside me; some place where she can reach in, pluck them out, and inspect them. Turning my head, I continue because I can’t tell her this and see her face fall. It will. I know it will. My life is no fucking fairy tale even though I do live in a god damn castle.

  18

  Knox

  (Age Sixteen)

  Ace and I come around the corner and we spot them. My mother’s hand trembles as she sets down her cup.

  Stopping Ace from walking any further into the room, I hold my finger up to my lips to ensure he stays quiet. I hold my breath, and I wait for my father’s reaction. As usual, my father is unflappable in front of others. Ever the cool exterior. His bullshit façade only comes down around us.

  “Vivian, I see you have company. How are you, Ruby?”

  “I’m fine, thank you, Mr. Bane.”

  Ruby stands and extends her hand to my father. He shakes it, then releases her hand and she sits back down.

  “Are you ladies discussing Knox’s studies?”

  It’s Saturday. He knows better. Ruby isn’t supposed to be here on Saturdays.

  “Yes, Vaughn, we are.”

  My mother keeps her head down, her shoulders rolled in around her, trying to shield her slight form. She’s trying to make herself as small as possible, less of a target. In this moment, I fucking hate him. He’s always treated us shitty, like property instead of family, but seeing him break my mother down in this manner is too much.

  “It sounded like you were having fun to me. I’ll let you continue your chat.”

  He grits his teeth, the muscles in his jaw flexing before he turns and begins to walk off. Before he makes it to the door, he looks back to my mother.

  “Vivian, after Ruby and Ace leave, come to my study, please.”

  His face actually looked like it pained him to say please. The thought that Ace hadn’t been caught with me vanishes. He knew. He fucking knows I have a friend and he will put a stop to it.

  I listen as his footsteps retreat, before I enter the solarium and move to my mother. She’s still drawn in on herself as I walk up behind her and place my hands on her shoulders. She jerks slightly, startled. That confirms everything I’ve feared. He’s been putting his hands on her when they’re alone. She looks up toward me, and a shimmer of tears cloud her eyes.

  “Ruby, I think you and Ace should go now.” Mom doesn’t even bother looking at her as she speaks. She’s probably too embarrassed by the exchange between her and my father.

  Ace helps his mom up and laces her arm in his, like a good southern boy. Ruby is older than my mom. Ace’s father died when he was about ten from a heart attack. It’s just the two of them, but they are so happy. I envy them. I’d give up all this material shit for my mom and me to be happy like them.

  “Bye, Vivian. If you need me, please call me.” Ruby reaches out and pats my mom’s forearm. Mom just nods.

  After they walk out, Mom stands and faces me. She gives me the slightest smile and hugs me tighter than I think she ever has. She pulls back, keeping her hands on my biceps.

  “I love you so much, sweetie. You know that, right? You know you are my world?” A tear slides down her cheek as she waits for my answer.

  “I know, Mom. I love you, too.” I lean down and place a kiss on her cheek.

  “I’m going to go have a chat with your dad now. Get something to eat for dinner. I’m tired. I’ll probably just go lay down after.”

  I do
n’t want to upset her any more so I agree and make my way to the kitchen as she heads toward my dad’s study.

  Hours later, I’m in my room, lying on my bed flipping through a car magazine, when my door opens. My father walks in. His white dress shirt is splattered with small, pinkish stains, and his sleeves are rolled up to his elbows.

  I sit up and take him in. He looks wild. Disheveled.

  “Dad?”

  “I need you to come with me, Knox. It’s time for your first lesson of the Albatross.”

  “Albatross? What is that?” I ask as I stand and slide my feet into my tennis shoes.

  “Don’t be like your mother. Do as I say. Do not make me repeat myself.”

  I silently follow my father down the stairs and through several corridors until we walk out into the back gardens and toward the pond. I look up, taking in the thousands of stars in the night sky. Closer to the pond, there’s a faint glow, and something white moves within the light and catches my eye. It’s August in Tennessee and humid, but my flesh breaks out in goose bumps as the hair stands on my arms.

  What the fuck?

  My mother is dressed in a white full-length gown with blood spatters down the bodice from her bleeding nose and mouth. She hangs suspended, upright over the pond, tied by each outstretched arm to stakes on opposite shores. Her lower body waist deep in the water. Sobs wrack her body as she sees me approaching.

  No! Mom!

  I run toward her, but men step out of the darkness and grab me. I fight with all I have but they take me down to the ground, punching and kicking me. I cry out when my ribs crack. Amidst our struggle, I hear my mother scream my name.

  “Knox, no! Don’t fight them. Don’t!”

  I listen, although everything in me wants to kill them. They grab me by my arms and pull me to my feet facing my mother. She cries as she continues to beg for me not to fight. My father walks up to stand in front of me, pausing for a moment before he back-hands me across the face. My ears ring from the force of the blow.

  “Your mother disobeyed me by allowing you to be in the company of Ruby’s son as well as becoming friends with Ruby. I will not tolerate blatant disrespect for my rules in my house. We have these rules for a reason, Knox. On top of this, I discovered your mother had plans to take you and try to run away. As if there was somewhere for her to hide from me. Stupid bitch.”

  I look from my mother to my father. I’ve never heard him speak to her that way, much less act like this. He’s always been distant, cold, but this is a whole new level.

  “It’s time for you to know who I am. Who you will become. What is expected of you. I am Vaughn Bane, leader of Albatross. We’re a highly skilled group of assassins, Knox. It’s your birthright, your duty to join us. You will join us. In what capacity depends on you and the choices you are about to make.”

  Assassins? What the fuck is going on?

  My head spins as I try to absorb this new information. I knew my father dealt in shady ventures such as real estate and hostile take overs. Ruining companies, intentionally sabotaging shipments, products, and supply lines so he could sweep in and purchase them for mere pennies on the dollar of their actual value, but this? This is far beyond anything I could have imagined.

  Suddenly, the years of his extended absences make sense. The ever-present security detail here at the estate, have been here to keep an eye on his empire in his absence and to keep my mother and me prisoners instead of keeping us safe from his business enemies.

  Blood trickles down from my mouth. Sweat soaks my skin. Cicadas sound off in the distance, their song deafening me.

  “You can pledge your allegiance now and I will let you go back inside while I kill your mother for her transgressions against me and Albatross, or you can deny me. If you deny me, you will watch her die, only you will suffer with her.”

  My mother screams for me to go inside. I squeeze my eyes closed, tears rushing out around the edges. I can’t bear to see her this way. Her terrified voice crushes my heart within my chest.

  I hate this man in front of me. I’ve never wanted to torture another living thing in my life until him.

  “Knox, your mother knew who I was, what I do. There is no room in Albatross for friends. Not even family. We have children to feed the army that is Albatross. Do you understand? You were born for one purpose, just as I was, to be a killer. To join Albatross. This is your only purpose in life. If you deny this, I will kill you, too.”

  My mother’s sobbing pleas fill my ears. My heart breaks for her. I have no way to save her. I can’t leave her. Fuck! I can’t leave her.

  “I will not leave my mom.”

  I stare the fucker who helped to create me right in the eyes as I grit my teeth. Fuck him. I’ll die here before I leave her.

  “Tie him to the tree.”

  The goons drag me to a tree that faces the pond, and two men hold me against the rough trunk while two more work ropes around me to secure me in place. The ropes are drawn so tight, they cut into my flesh and press in on my broken ribs. Every breath feels like a battle. After they secure the ropes, they move off to the side as my father approaches.

  My dad steps up to face me, and I try with everything I have to break the bindings.

  “You will watch that bitch die,” he says as he grips my chin harshly between his fingers.

  “You will be tied to this tree until I decide to release you.”

  I turn my head, yanking free of his grip. I can’t stand the sight of this man. He never loved us. We were just pawns to him. Any feelings I’ve ever held for him fucking vanished the second I saw Mom.

  “You will join Albatross, Knox.”

  Vaughn and his goons walk off, and my mother never stops begging him to spare me.

  Her voice is strained from screaming, pleading for my life. Tears rain down my face as I struggle against the ropes to get free. I have to save her.

  “Knox. Knox, are you listening to me, sweetheart?”

  I stop my frantic struggle and focus on my mother.

  Tears spill down her face, washing trails through the bloodied mess my father made of her.

  “I love you, Knox. More than anything on this Earth, I love you. I am so sorry I couldn’t save you from that monster. I failed you, and I’m sorry.”

  “I’ll get us out of this, Mom. I will.” I thrash against the ropes, ignoring the blood that begins to trickle down my arms from the effort.

  “No, baby. You won’t. There isn’t a way out for me. There is for you. Agree with him. Whatever he says, agree. He will ask things of you Knox, terrible things. You do them. Then one day, you can be free of him. I need you to survive. For me, Knox. Please survive.”

  Mom struggles, and the stakes holding the ropes she’s tied to slant inward, causing her to lower deeper into the water. As the earth gives around them, it’s dropping her down to a watery abyss. I watch as the fear creeps up into her eyes. She can’t swim.

  “Mom, stop moving! I will get you out!”

  “Knox, there’s an anchor tied around my ankles. It’s pulling me down.”

  I let loose a scream of fear and frustration. The birds roosting in the nearby forest take flight as I work tirelessly trying to free my hands.

  I have to get to her.

  My chest aches from the adrenaline pumping through my heart. Tears pour from my eyes and make it difficult to see.

  “Knox!”

  The sound of my mother’s garbled voice stops me in my tracks.

  The water is up to her chin now. She holds her face up toward the night sky.

  “Baby, I’m out of time. You know I love you, yes?”

  How can she ask that? Of course, I know. She’s my mom. My best friend. The one person in this world who loves me without condition. She is my everything.

  “Yes, Mom. I know, and I love you, too, but please, just hang on! I can get out of this! Please hold on!”

  My words are so garbled by sobs, I’m not even sure she can understand me.

  “Reme
mber what I’ve said, baby. Remember. Survive. Promise me.”

  “I promise, Momma, I promise,” I manage to choke out. “Hang on, Mom! Hang on! Please don’t leave me!”

  “I will never leave you, Knox. Never. I am a part of you, just as you are a part of me. I love...”

  The dark water swallows my mother.

  I thrash in the binds that hold me witness to her horrific death.

  Two days pass and I‘m still tied to this fucking tree, staring at this goddamned pond when my father’s goons finally come back and untie me. Vomit and piss cover me. My throat is raw from screaming, my arms cut and torn all over from struggling against the ropes. My eyes swollen and sore from crying.

  I have been forced to witness the murder of my mother.

  They drag me back to the manor, my legs useless and numb, and down to a cold, dank room in part of the old cellar that hasn’t been touched in decades. They throw me inside, and I fall to the ground, unable to stand. I have no strength left in my body.

  I lie on the cold cement floor in a state of shock. I’m not sure how long I’m there before I hear the door crack open.

  My bastard of a father comes in.

  “Get up. There’s a shower and bathroom behind that door,” he says as he points toward the wall behind me, “and a change of clothes waiting on you. You will bathe and change. Then come up stairs to the solarium. We will discuss your future.”

  I can’t even stand to hear his voice.

  I launch myself from the floor toward him, and he punches me in the nose before I can even get close enough to touch him. I fall to the ground, and he kicks me in the stomach.

  “Do as I say, Knox. Now.”

  I hear my mother’s voice in my ear.

  Survive.

  I do as I’m told and shuffle off to shower.

  When I make my way to the solarium, my father sits at the table with breakfast in front of him, reading the paper. Like the last couple of days never happened. As if he didn’t just murder my mom, his wife. The woman he vowed to love and protect until death. I think of a thousand ways to kill him as I walk to the chair across from him and sit down.