Sweetest Obsessions - Anthology

by Anthony, Jane

  Motioning for Sydney to sit closer to the wall, he watched her hesitate for a fraction of a second before moving. He clenched his fists knowing her aversion to being trapped came from her recent kidnapping.

  Kingsley sat, leaving space between them but still wanting to be close enough to cover her if something happened.

  “I think you pissed the waitress off.” She cast a look at the woman in her sixties who was bearing down on them with a glare.

  Kingsley just shrugged. He would piss off the Queen herself if it meant keeping Sydney safe.

  “What can I get you?” asked the waitress, her pen poised on her pad.

  “I’ll have coffee, and a burger and fries.”

  Kingsley smiled at Sydney’s order, taking her appetite as a good sign. “I’ll have Earl Grey tea with milk if you have it and the same.” He laid his menu back down on the table.

  “Does this look like the Ritz to you? We have black coffee, regular coffee, or black tea. Which do you want?” she asked impatiently.

  “Black coffee is fine, thank you.” He rolled his lips trying not to smile at her gnarly attitude.

  “Fine, be right out.” She walked away with the tiredness of a career waitress about her.

  Sydney burst out laughing, and Kingsley looked at her sharply, the sound a beautiful surprise.

  “Wow, she’s holding a grudge. You might want to consider checking your food for cockroaches.” She wiped her eyes with her hand to clear the tears of hilarity.

  “Laugh it up, Sydney. I’ll have her eating out of my hand in no time.” Kingsley smiled enjoying this rare show of joy from her.

  “Oh yeah? You some kind of waitress whisperer?”

  He tilted his head slightly. “A what?”

  “A waitress whisperer. You know, like a dog whisperer or horse whisperer.”

  “Yeah, I know what one is. No, I wouldn’t say I am, but I bet you anything you like that I can make her smile before we leave here.” He could feel the tension ooze from Sydney and dissipate with every exchange they had.

  “You’ve got a deal, but what are we betting?”

  He watched as a clearly exhausted mother, with limp, mousy blond hair, carried a little boy who was no more than two into the diner before replying to Sydney’s question. “What do you want?”

  “How about if I win, I get to tune your car?”

  “Fine. If I win, I get another kiss.” The blush that rose on her cheeks, was the prettiest he had seen. It was a risk to ask that considering what she had been through, and what he strongly suspected she had been through, but he knew she didn’t want to be seen as a victim.

  “Deal, but you’re going to lose.”

  “We’ll see.”

  His coffee was plopped down in front of him with a thud as it splashed over the sides making a mess.

  “Thank you, Debbie.” He winked at the older woman which caused another glare that Kingsley ignored. He’d been around women like her before, their bristle was their armor, he just had to get past it.

  A few minutes their food arrived, and they dug in with gusto until they had cleared their plates.

  “I need to use the ladies before we leave,” Sydney said getting up.

  He moved in front of her. “Let me check it first.”

  “Fine, do your thing.” She waved her hand at him to lead the way.

  Poking his head through the door, he called to out to warn any unsuspecting women, then entered when all was quiet. He checked the empty stalls and left after giving Sydney the all clear.

  Kingsley heard a large vehicle pull up too close the window as he walked to the cash register and turned to see a large Ford truck arriving. His attention caught on the clearly furious man that jumped out and barreled toward the door, his face red and angry as he stared at someone inside.

  Following his gaze, Kingsley landed on the harried mother and her young child. The woman looked terrified, and a trapped look came into her eyes as the bell over the door tinkled, and the man from the truck stormed in and toward her.

  Everything in Kingsley wanted this to be a simple misunderstanding, but deep in his heart, he knew it wasn’t. This was about to get ugly, and it just wasn’t in him to watch an innocent suffer.

  “You fucking whore. You think you can take my son away from me?” The man, who was over six feet tall with a slight pot belly, and lean muscled arms, bellowed.

  “Please don’t do this, Chuck, not in front of Sam,” the woman begged as she cuddled her son to her body.

  “What? Don’t tell him what a lying cheating whore his mama is? How she was planning on running out on me?”

  He grabbed her arm roughly and tried to pull her out of the booth she was in, with the now wailing child still in her arms. Kingsley had seen enough. With a sigh, he tucked his wallet in his back pocket and walked to the piece of shit harassing this woman. Maybe she was his wife or girlfriend, and he had no idea what had gone on or who was at fault, but right now he knew this prick was scaring her and their son and that was not acceptable.

  Hands on his hips, his posture open, Kingsley approached, his tone non-threatening even though he wanted to pummel the man. “Listen, mate, I don’t know what your beef is but you’re scaring her and the kid.”

  Chuck as the woman had called him looked at Kingsley at the same time the woman did, her frightened eyes besieging him to help her.

  “I ain’t your fucking mate, you Brit ponce, so why don’t you run along and keep your nose out.” The man dismissed him as he pulled at the woman’s arm, making her cry out in pain as the child cried louder.

  “You’re right, we ain’t mates so I don’t have to be nice. Now, get your hands off the lady before I break your face so even your mama won’t recognize you.” Kingsley moved in, drawing up to his full height as he felt Sydney come up behind him.

  The man glared but released the woman with a shove. Something in Kingsley’s demeanor must have warned him he was no ordinary threat. Kingsley moved to steady her, and she ducked at the sudden movement making him angrier as he recognized the signs of abuse.

  “This ain’t over Mary-Beth. You’re my wife, and I say what goes.”

  Chuck moved to the door. Kingsley made to go after him, and the man ran to his truck, hightailing it out of there as Kingsley tried to rein in his temper. The man was a classic bully, happy to beat on a helpless woman with a child in her arms but couldn’t hold his own against a man. It made Kingsley sick.

  “Are you okay, love?” He turned to the very shaken woman as she rocked her child, trying to settle him.

  “Yes, thank you.” She nodded as the waitress put coffee and some chocolate chip pancakes down in front of her then reached to take the child and settled him on her own knee to eat as his tears dried.

  “Is there anyone we can call for you?” Kingsley asked as the woman looked at him with tears in her eyes.

  “I don’t know if my folks would take my call, we lost touch when Chuck—” She stopped her head going down. “He wasn’t always like that you know,” she said making excuses for the man she had married.

  “They never are, my dear.” Debbie, the waitress who not long ago had glared at him, looked at the young woman with compassion.

  “You should call your family. I’m sure they would love to hear from you.” Sydney moved closer to him as she spoke.

  The frightened young woman looked at her with a flare of hope in her watery eyes. “Do you think so?”

  “Yes, I do. And there are people that can protect you.” She was looking at him with a small smile.

  “Here, use my phone and see. I think you’ll be surprised.”

  Kingsley handed her his phone. The woman took it tentatively and looked at it then her son before dialing the number. Kingsley took a step back as did Sydney to give her privacy. Debbie stood as the woman began to speak.

  “Mom,” she said then burst into tears.

  Debbie smiled as she took the little boy to the counter and found him some pencils and paper. King
sley followed, his eyes now looking out for Chuck the wife-beater as well as Raymond and his men.

  He took his wallet back out to settle the bill, and Debbie put her hand over his. “No, you did a good thing. Most men would walk past and ignore it. I got you wrong. Doesn’t happen very often but I did. This is on me as a thank you for helping out a woman in need.”

  “It was nothing, anyone would have done the same.”

  “No, they wouldn’t, and I insist.” She patted his hand a gave him a smile that transformed her face from dowdy to beautiful.

  “Fine, Debbie, on one condition.”

  “What’s that?” she asked with a tilt to her head.

  “You smile more. You’re beautiful when you smile.”

  He watched as the blush crept across her face. “You Brits are all charmers aren’t you?” she said with bluster as they walked back to the young mom who gave him back his phone.

  “Well?”

  “My brother is coming to collect me.” Tears pricked her eyes but not with tears of terror or sadness but with relief and the first smile she had given in what was probably months.

  “Good.” He smiled. “And if you ever need anything just give me a call, my number is on the back of that card,” he said sliding the card forward.

  He turned to Sydney who was watching him. “We need to get going.”

  “Thank you again for your help,” the woman said as she watched her son draw.

  “My pleasure.”

  He walked with Sydney to the door, held it while she exited ahead of him and helped her into the car. Settling himself in the driver’s seat, he turned to her. “So when do I get to collect on my bet?

  “Whenever you want,” she answered, and Kingsley smiled looking forward to that more than he probably should be.

  12

  The road trip had been exhausting, and neither Sydney nor Kingsley wanted to stop, so they switched places several times, driving through the night and taking turns behind the wheel so they could catch some sleep. Time was of the essence. Her evil uncle would realize she wasn’t in Miami anymore, even if their decoy was as good as they said she was.

  Since last the text from Mercy telling them that she and James had been tailed and were under surveillance by her uncle’s men, Sydney was on edge, her body tense and wired. She hated the thought of anybody risking their lives for her. Kingsley kept telling her that the members of the Alliance Agency had extensive training, and it was their job to take risks, but it didn’t soothe her frayed nerves. An entire team of people were in the line of fire because of her. Was she worth it?

  That was a ridiculous thought and was only fed by her self-hatred caused by what her uncle had done to her. When she thought of her parents and her early childhood and the happy times they’d had, she knew she deserved to be happy, to find peace. Of course she was worthy of living and being happy. It was what her parents had told her over and over. She could almost hear their voices in her head. She was ready to honor their memory and fight for what she wanted, for what she deserved.

  Sydney glanced at the slumbering man beside her as she drove, and a surge of power and belief flooded her. He believed in her. Kingsley Knight had seen something in her from the start and was willing to stay by her side until the end. He’d broken all her preconceptions, challenged all her future expectations. And scariest of all, he made her hope. She needed to tell him about the rape. Hiding it from him was unfair. He was going into the situation blind, didn’t fully understand her uncle’s evil. She needed to trust someone, and this man had shown her nothing but kindness.

  As she drove, the landscape became more and more familiar. They had crossed the Indiana state line a while ago and were heading to Hobart, Lake County and would arrive by mid-morning. Her great-aunt’s farm had been in the family for as long as she could remember, but when she’d died, it had been sold to a local. It had broken Sydney’s heart, but her father had no inclination or desire for farming and their lives were in Florida. The emotion she felt was attached to fond childhood memories of family and life moved on.

  The sight of the endless forest increased her anticipation. The view, the scent, the feel was so different from Florida. Everything was lush, abundant, fertile. When she saw the sign announcing Hobart was less than a mile away, Sydney gently touched Kingsley’s knee. He came awake with a start, was fully aware in less than a second.

  “Everything all right?” His voice was so deep, his British accent thick and sexy and so full of concern, it made her heart flutter.

  “Everything is fine, we’ll be in Hobart in a few minutes. Do you want me to stop or should we go straight to the farm?”

  Rubbing his face, he looked at his watch before settling his eyes on her. “How do you feel about it? Do you want to take a break, go grab a coffee or get it over with?”

  Once more, she was deeply touched by his solicitude. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather go straight there now. I don’t want to put it off. Plus, I’d rather keep the edge over Raymond as he doesn’t know where we are right now.”

  His approval was instantaneous. “Excellent thinking. Let’s do it. You want me to drive?”

  Sydney shook her head. “No, I’d rather keep myself occupied. And we’re only fifteen minutes away.” She drove for a few more minutes wrestling with herself and what she knew she needed to do, but she struggled to get the words to form. She knew it was a chicken shit thing to do, to blindside him like she was about to with no warning, but she knew it was the only way. Similar to ripping off a band-aid. It had to be done fast. Determined not to overthink it and talk herself out of saying anything, she took a deep breath and spoke. “When I was fifteen, my uncle raped me.”

  There was a second of stunned silence before Sydney heard Kingsley’s swift intake of breath as her words registered, but he remained silent. Encouraged, she kept her eyes on the road as she told him the details. How Troy had held her down while her uncle raped her. She blocked all emotion from her voice, retelling it as if it had happened to someone else and not her.

  When she was finished the car was silent for another beat. She sighed inwardly and cast a glance at Kingsley to see his reaction. She expected to see disgust and pity on her face, but instead, she saw compassion and pride in his eyes as he looked at her.

  “Shit, Sydney, I’m so, so sorry that happened to you. No one should ever have to go through something like that, especially not at the hands of a family member.” His words were filled with compassion, but his jaw was tight, and his fists were clenched where they rested on his thighs, proving he wasn’t as unaffected as he wanted her to believe with his words. “I will find him and when I do, I’ll make sure he pays for what he did to you.”

  The emotion in his voice made it gruff and she gave him a small smile. “I survived,” she said, realizing she didn’t want to just survive anymore. She wanted to thrive, to live, to love, and she wanted this man to be a part of her life.

  “You did more than that, you built a life and you fought back. You should be proud of yourself.”

  Both were silent for a beat.

  “Can we keep this between us for now?”

  Kingsley nodded and stretched his tall body as much as he could in the small space before checking his phone, obviously sensing she didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

  “Nothing from Mercy or the others?”

  “Same old, same old. Mercy and James are acting as if they’re searching for something and leading Rutherford’s men all over Miami, making sure they keep them in sight at all times. The rest of the team are still digging. I think solving the next piece of the puzzle falls to us.”

  She shot a quick prayer the good lord for the missing puzzle piece to fall into her lap. The riddle her father left her had been cryptic at best. She recognized her great-aunt’s farm and the hazel tree, but what if it wasn’t what her father meant? She shook off the negative thoughts knowing they would do no good.

  When she took the turn onto a small dirt road, the sun sho
ne above the trees, and Sydney felt as if a weight had lifted from her shoulders, replaced by a certainty she couldn’t explain. She’d had to come here. It was what her father had wanted her to do.

  Swallowing hard when she turned into the entrance, her heart seized when she saw the small cottage and barn. It had never been a big farm, but it had been perfect, and as she looked around she saw it was identical to her memory.

  “Breathe, Sydney.”

  Kingsley had been looking around, but he must have noticed her becoming overwhelmed as memories and emotions flooded her brain. She took a few deep cleansing breaths that helped her spinning head. She parked near the barn, stepping out of the car slowly.

  Kingsley came to her side, took her hand in his, hiding her body with his own as he looked around. Always watching for any threats, his guard never down. A woman appeared at the door to the cottage, wiping her hands on a white dishcloth.

  “Let me do the talking,” he murmured.

  Before she could say a word, Kingsley the operative was replaced by Kingsley the British gentleman, oozing charm and culture from his pores. And if she wasn’t mistaken, his accent was even thicker, and damn him, even sexier.

  As expected, the older woman was under his spell in less than a minute. Her pretty face coloring at his attention. Kingsley explained that the previous owner was a member of Sydney’s family and as they were in the area, asked if they could take a quick look around for old time’s sake.

  The woman’s face lit. She remembered the previous owner, her own family being part of the county for generations.

  For a moment they exchanged pleasantries, and Sydney relaxed a little. Kingsley held most of the conversation and steered the woman a few times when her questions hit a nerve.

  After a moment, the woman had to go inside but told them to tour the grounds and take as long as they wished.

  Amazed, Sydney turned to Kingsley as they started to walk. “I thought you were going to kiss her hand for a minute there.”

  Giving her an innocent look, he shrugged. “Whatever works. We needed access, we got it. And any case, charm is built into my enormous repertoire of skills,” he said with a grin.