I ran toward Knight as he collapsed on the ground. His eyes drifted shut and he was done. I looked up at Cole, but I didn’t see my cousin there. There was a darkness to him that scared me. Standing slowly, I put my hand on his arm and spoke softly.
“Cole.” He didn’t look at me. His chest was heaving as he stared down at Garrick’s limp form. “Cole, it’s Kate. Can you hear me?”
Slowly, Cole turned to look at me and his face softened. He shook his head and took a step back, running his hand over his face.
“Fuck, what the hell was that? Who is this guy?”
“This is a..friend. He was hurt and he’s staying with me while he gets better.”
There was no way that I could tell Cole who Garrick was. First, I couldn’t betray Hunter like that, and second, Cole would go all big brother on me and haul me out of the house. I didn’t know if he knew who Garrick was, but I didn’t want to find out either.
“What kind of a friend pulls a gun on a man sitting at a table?”
“The kind of man that lives in paranoia,” I muttered.
“He could have killed me. You shouldn’t be keeping that kind of company.”
I shot him an amused look. “Somehow I really doubt he could have killed you. You didn’t even seem scared when he pulled the gun on you.”
“That’s because I knew he was there.”
“So, how exactly would he have killed you?”
“Kate, you’re missing the point. You don’t keep men around that pull guns on random people.”
“He’s injured. You saw for yourself.”
“Yeah, I saw that he has a bullet hole in his shoulder. You can’t just pick up every stray that you come across.”
“Like you?”
He had taken Alex, his now-wife in after he found her staggering out of the woods.
“Alex was different. She had been abducted by a serial killer.”
“You don’t know anything about Garrick. Why do you assume that he’s the dangerous one?”
“Because, even injured, I saw how he moved and those weren’t the moves of an amateur. He’s trained to kill, just like I was. And if he has fresh bullet holes, that means that he’s still living out that life over here. He could put you in danger,” he growled at me.
I didn’t know why I was defending Garrick. Cole was right. He was dangerous and he had a sick fascination with me that even gave me the creeps. He had snuck into my home and held a gun to my cousin’s head, yet I was trying to convince Cole that he wasn’t dangerous.
“Look, I need to get him upstairs and take a look at his shoulder. If you’re not going to help me, then you can leave.”
His face hardened, but he bent over and hauled Garrick over his shoulder, none too gently. “I can’t believe I’m doing this for you,” he muttered. I grabbed my first aid kit and the scissors and followed Cole upstairs. He tossed Garrick on the bed that I had made up for him the night before and I started cutting away his shirt. Blood had soaked through already and was dribbling down his chest. I grabbed some towels and cleaned him up the best I could and then cleaned up his wound. It was a good thing he was passed out because this part would have been very painful.
When I was all finished, I put some gauze over the wound and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind me. Cole was standing in the hall with his arms crossed over his chest. His face radiated anger.
“Who the hell is he?”
“Cole-”
“No, Kate. I’m not leaving here until I know who the fuck he is. I don’t want to find out that you were murdered in your sleep because I left you alone.”
“He would never hurt me.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Was I? Not really. I mean, I knew that he had some sort of obsession with me, but I wasn’t certain that he would never hurt me. He was an assassin. He killed people for a living. I must have waited too long to answer because Cole swore and ran a hand over his face.
“I’m calling Sean to come deal with this.”
“No!” I shouted as he pulled out his phone. “You can’t do that.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “What the fuck do you mean? This man is obviously dangerous. I’m not leaving you alone with him.”
“Cole, please don’t do this.”
“Why are you so loyal to him?”
I didn’t have a good answer for that. I wasn’t sure if it was Hunter or the fact that no matter how hard I tried to deny it, I was attracted to Garrick.
“That’s what I thought.”
He started to search his contacts and then Sean would be here. Not knowing what else to do, I blurted out, “Call Sebastian.”
That stopped him in his tracks. “Why?”
“Just call him. Tell him that Knight is here.”
He pulled up Sebastian’s number and let it ring. “Sebastian, I’m over at Kate’s house. Knight is here.”
I didn’t hear any response from Sebastian, but Cole’s eyes shot up to mine and turned deadly.
“What the fuck does that mean?..Fine. I’ll be here waiting. Get your ass over here before I put a bullet in his skull.”
He hung up and sat at the table, staring at me as we waited for Sebastian to arrive. It didn’t take long before my bell rang and Cole got up to answer it. There was no point in arguing that I could answer my own door. With the mood he was in, I would have better luck getting a tiger to dance with me.
Sebastian’s eyes found me right away and he looked me over as if he was expecting me to be covered in blood. “What’s going on?”
“That’s what I’d like to know. The man snuck into the house and held a gun to my head.”
“And you escaped?” Sebastian sounded baffled and Cole snorted.
“I’m not some pussy that can’t take care of myself.”
Sebastian cleared his throat and glanced over at me like he didn’t want to say anything in front of me. “I already know,” I said snarkily.
“Uh, Knight is Garrick Knight, as in the assassin,” Sebastian said.
Cole’s face turned to pure steel and he swiveled his head to meet my gaze. “You knew? Why the hell would you let him into your house?”
“Why don’t you ask him?” I pointed at Sebastian. “Better yet, why don’t you ask Hunter.”
“Christ.” Sebastian rubbed a hand over his face. “Hunter told me this morning that he needed to help him, but he didn’t say anything about you. I had no idea you were involved.”
“Wait. Hunter told me he was going out of town for a few days.”
“His trip got cancelled.”
“And he left me with him?” I asked incredulously.
“Why did he?” Sebastian asked. “How are you involved in this?”
“Garrick showed up at my clinic with a gunshot wound. Hunter showed up also and we patched him up. He said that he had to go out of town and asked me to keep an eye on him. I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t turn him away either.”
“Why not? Knight knows how to take care of himself.” Sebastian interjected.
“The bullet hit bone. It’s not bad, but he’s going to be hurting for a while. He can’t really use his arm the way it is and the recovery time is longer. Hunter just wanted me to help out until he got back, but apparently he had a change of heart, seeing as how he never left.”
“So, he left you alone with a killer?” Cole said, completely baffled by this revelation.
“I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t hurt me.”
“He held a gun to my head,” Cole argued.
“That’s because you were in my house. He probably thought that you were here to hurt me.”
“Why would someone assume that I was here to hurt you while sitting at your kitchen table?”
“Because he’s a killer and he stays alive by being paranoid.” Sebastian had hit the nail on the head with that one.
“Why does he even know who she is?” Cole asked Sebastian.
Sebastian had the decency to look sheepish at h
is question. “You know Kate works for me when we need medical help.”
“Is he working for you?”
“No, he helped us out on a job. Hunter knows him, used to serve with him. Anyway, he was shot on the job and Kate came over to take care of him.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Cole exploded. There weren’t many times that I saw Cole this upset, so it shocked me a little. “You brought my cousin to take care of a known killer?”
“We had men with her at all times. She was safe. He really came through for us. I couldn’t just let him bleed out.”
“So, drop him at a hospital and call it a day,” Cole said in frustration.
“We couldn’t. There’s a lot more that you don’t know.”
My ears perked up at that. I didn’t know either and I really wanted to.
Sebastian sighed, “He’s former military and he would end up in jail if we turned him over to the hospital.”
“What is he supposed to be in jail for?” I asked.
“Murder,” Sebastian said, his eyes never leaving Cole’s.
“Kate, pack a bag. As long as he’s here, you’re not staying here.”
The tone of his voice said not to fuck with him, but I was still hung up on the murder part. I couldn’t think. I needed to know more. Sebastian would never leave me with someone that he felt would hurt me.
“Cole, it’s not what it sounds like.” Sebastian looked exhausted from the conversation.
“Then you’d better tell me what it is like right the fuck now.”
“He killed his superiors because they were profiting from soldier’s deaths. They didn’t care that good men were dying and Knight did what he had to do.”
Understanding or something like it crossed Cole’s face. “His name isn’t Knight, is it?”
“That’s what he goes by now.”
Cole scoffed and shook his head. “McGuire, right?”
Sebastian gave a slight nod.
“He’s supposed to be in Leavenworth. And you dragged my cousin into the middle of this shit storm. How much time did he spend with her?”
“Only a day,” Sebastian said.
“Then why the hell would he trust her enough to go to her for help?”
Sebastian looked at me and then so did Cole. I felt my face heat and couldn’t look away from their penetrating gazes. “He’s been following me for months.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Sebastian asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I wasn’t afraid of him. I mean, I kind of was because he’s an assassin and all, but he never tried to hurt me in any way and he even-” I stopped before I said anything else, but Sebastian already caught on.
“He was the sniper that took out the druggie outside your clinic.”
I gave a slight nod. “He was just trying to protect me.”
“Great, so a killer has an obsession with you. That’s fucking perfect.” Cole looked like he had a very short leash on his anger, so I didn’t say anything else. “You’re coming home with me. There’s no way I’m leaving you here with him.”
“Cole, I appreciate you looking after me, but he hasn’t tried to hurt me yet and now that you opened his wound and wrenched his arm, someone has to look after him.”
“Let Hunter do it,” he snapped. “It’s his friend.”
“I already sent him out of town a few hours ago. He got back from helping Knight with something and then he left.”
“Call him back.”
“I can’t. He’s already on a job. Knight can come stay at Reed Security.”
“No,” I interrupted. “He’s not going anywhere. He’s in no position to be moved around tonight, and like I already told you, he has never tried to hurt me. I appreciate the concern, Cole, but I’ve got this.”
“You don’t know who you’re dealing with. You do one fucking thing wrong and he won’t think twice about taking you out,” Cole said, stepping into my space to try to intimidate me.
“Imagine if people said the same about you.”
“That’s not fair. I only killed when I had to.”
“You killed those men that were after Alex, and I saw you fighting tonight. You were just as deadly. Don’t try to make it out like you’re a saint.”
“I know I’m not, but I don’t kill random people either.”
“Neither does he,” Sebastian said. “All the people he kills are very bad people. I’m not saying it’s right, but he does what needs to be done.”
Cole shook his head and took a step back, gazing out the window at the darkness. “I can see I’m getting nowhere with you. Kate, just do me a favor and call me if you need me. I’ll be here and I won’t say a fucking word. Just don’t wait until it’s too late.”
“I promise.”
“I’ll be by to check on you tomorrow.” He gave me a kiss on the cheek and walked out the door. Sebastian just stood there assessing me and it was making me very uncomfortable.
“Now that your cousin’s gone, how about you tell me about Knight following you.”
“There’s not much to tell. He’s just been around. I only saw him the night the druggie attacked me and then when he came to my clinic.”
“Then how do you know he’s following you?”
“I can feel him,” I said hesitantly. There was no other way to describe it. I wasn’t sure Sebastian believed me, but he didn’t say anything.
“You should have come to me. I put you in this position and I’m sorry. Do you want me to get him out of here?”
I shook my head. “He’s going to be in a lot of pain. You should have seen the way Cole attacked him. It’s not going to be pretty.”
“He probably deserved it.”
“I won’t argue with that.”
“Is there something more going on that I should know about?” he asked suspiciously.
“No, I’m just so conflicted. He’s a murderer by all standards, but he also watches out for me. I guess I’m just confused right now.”
“That makes two of us,” he said cryptically. “I’m going to have someone come stay with you. I don’t like the idea of you being alone here with him.”
“That’s not a good idea. If he sees someone hanging around, he’s just going to get pissed off.”
Sebastian smirked at me and headed for the door. “Good. He’s not exactly one of my favorite people.”
“Do you really think it’s a good idea to poke the bear?”
“If he doesn’t like it, he can leave. Don’t get any illusions about him, Kate. He’s not a good man. He could snap your neck before you knew it was happening.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. “I’ll remember that.”
Sebastian walked out the door and I stood in the living room wondering what I had gotten myself into. Deep down I really didn’t think he would hurt me, but Sebastian was right. I couldn’t start thinking that Garrick was something more to me. I didn’t even know how long he would be sticking around.
CHAPTER FIVE
Knight
EVERYTHING ON MY body hurt, but at least I was alive. That big fucker from last night had nearly taken me out and I laid in Kate’s guest room wondering why the hell he left me alive. I had held a gun to his head and I wasn’t dead. Which could only mean that someone had intervened. It must have been Kate, but I couldn’t figure out why she had done it. I knew she thought that I didn’t deserve to live, but she kept helping me.
“How are you feeling this morning?” I turned my head to see her sitting in the chair by the window. I hadn’t noticed that she was there. I was really losing my touch. I couldn’t fight back last night and a woman was sitting in the same room with me and I didn’t notice. I needed to get my shit together.
“Shitty,” I groaned as I tried to sit up.
“You really shouldn’t do that. Cole beat the hell out of you last night and I’m pretty sure your shoulder is even more fucked up now than it was before. You probably have some bruised ribs too.”
“Cra
cked. Heard them crack when he kneed me.” I laid back against the pillows and fought the waves of nausea that were rolling through me.
Kate walked over to the bed and handed me a bottle of water and some pills. “Here. You need to take these or you’re going to be hurting all day.”
I shook my head. “They fuck with my head and make me slower.”
“That’s the point. You shouldn’t be moving around too much to begin with.”
“Who was that guy last night?”
She smirked at me and shoved the pills back at me. I took them and swallowed them with the water.
“That was my cousin. I would say he’s not your biggest fan right now.”
“That was your cousin? The sniper?”
“You were foolish to think that you could beat him in your condition. Cole hasn’t lost any of his training just because he’s not active duty any more.”
I grunted, not really wanting to get into the topic of how he kicked my ass last night.
“Why aren’t you at work?”
“It’s Saturday. I don’t usually go into the office unless I have paperwork to do. Which, I probably should be doing instead of babysitting you.”
“I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Yeah, well, someone has to look out for you. You’re being a little reckless. Here, I made you some oatmeal. You need to eat something so the medicine doesn’t make you sick.”
I took it even though I didn’t feel like eating and swallowed down a few bites. It was surprisingly good, but my stomach just didn’t want anything there.
“I think you should know that Sebastian sent someone over here last night. He wanted to make sure that I was protected.”
I glared at her, pissed that she would think that she needed protection from me. “And why the hell would you need someone here to watch you? I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Well, Cole wasn’t exactly happy when he found out who you were. I had to have him call Sebastian so that he didn’t kill you.”
“Shit.”
“Don’t worry. Cole’s not going to hand you over to the police, although he wanted to.”
I didn’t want to give away too much, but I also had to find out what Sebastian told Cole and if Kate heard it.
Knight: A Reed Security Romance (Reed Security Series Book 4) Page 6