My Dark Knight (gay biker romance) (Kings of Hell MC Book 2)

by K. A. Merikan

  “Would it be rude of me if I stayed here for a while?” He looked into William’s blue eyes, amazed at just how full of life they were. “I’ve been fascinated with you for years, Mr. Fane. I never thought we’d actually… meet.”

  William stepped closer, and despite him having no physical form, Elliot could almost sense the scent of a masculine body. He shuddered, looking straight into the blue eyes that were so completely focused on him.

  “Please. It is not an easy thing to confess, but... I’ve been lonely for so long. And then you came here. It was as if something changed in the air. I followed your voice when you called. I wanted to follow your voice.”

  Elliot swallowed, and despite the chill in his bones, he couldn’t look away. “No one has ever summoned you before, have they? No one’s ever wanted you back.” The understanding of that fact made Elliot ache for William despite all the despicable things William had done to others. “It must have been so depressing in your day to want men and always face nothing but rejection. Even from the one man who had claimed to want you back.”

  Pain flashed through William’s features, and he looked away, as if the memory was too much to bear in front of another. “I’ve known nothing but rejection, Elliot. My father knew of me, and he could never forgive my mother she hadn’t given him another heir.”

  Elliot nodded eagerly and stepped away only to sit down on his bag. He could bring the mattress from his room later, or the chair from next door, at the moment occupied by the dead woman in black, but for now he didn’t want to leave William’s sight. Not when Elliot was finally learning more about him.

  “Would you tell me more about that? Knight never wanted to listen.”

  “No need to talk about that man in my presence. I confess I always found his greed for men and women quite distasteful,” William said and sat on the floor next to Elliot. Even now, after weeks since he’d first called for William in this room, the reality of his presence was difficult to fathom.

  “It’s fine to want both genders, but I can’t be one of many people. Is it too much to want to be The One for that special person?” Elliot wrapped himself in the scarf Knight had bought for him at the mall. It was the softest item Elliot had ever owned, made of some kind of expensive wool. His heart didn’t ache any less, but it was refreshing to feel free to talk to someone this way about his feelings.

  A brief touch of cold tapped against his chin, and then William was leaning closer, exposing Elliot’s face to the nonexistent touch of ghostly lips. He could feel no pressure, as if William both was there, attempting to kiss him, and yet, wasn’t.

  “Damnation,” hissed William, turning away and hugging himself with those graceful arms. “There is no day or night when I don’t wish Laurent Mercier to die a horrible death for putting me through all this sorrow!”

  Elliot’s lips parted, and for a long moment he just stared at the sharp jawline and neck.

  William Fane liked him back.

  William Fane had tried to kiss him.

  “He was hanged. Do you… excuse me for the silly question, but, do you ever meet his ghost?”

  William scowled. “I wish I could torment him for all eternity, but no. Ghosts rarely stay behind, even in this old house. There needs to be a... set of special conditions for this to happen.”

  “Is it because you never found love, even though you desperately wanted to?” Elliot’s breath caught in his throat when he thought about the pain of being trapped for so many years without any hope for finding that special man.

  William’s mouth twitched. “No, my dear boy. It is because of this place. It doesn’t belong to this world, and the creature that reigns supreme within these walls bestows gifts on those he deems worthy. I came into an arrangement with him, you see. And so I am now bound to this house forever.”

  Elliot frowned, unsure what to make of what he was hearing. The strange story was at least taking his mind off Knight and the bitter cold. “What kind of creature?”

  William looked at Elliot with apprehension. “Are you entirely certain you are ready for knowledge that is not of this world?”

  Elliot nodded and slid an inch closer. Even though the chill of William’s body melting into his signified that they weren’t in fact touching, he still liked to think that they were getting closer this way.

  William smiled. “Some might call him the devil, but he is in fact the lord of gargoyles. Not a demon of the Bible but a being whose existence escapes our knowledge. He saw my heartache and was sympathetic toward it. Because he found me worthy, he gave me the collar you saw at the museum. It put a spell on men and made them pliant to my will. He gave me a gargoyle to keep me safe in the pursuit of the most perfect man. Too bad he hadn’t made me see through Laurent Mercier’s lies.”

  Elliot’s eyes grew wider with every word that came from William’s perfectly-shaped mouth. He was gaining knowledge of secrets barely anyone in the world understood. He wished so much to entwine his fingers with William’s. And he could sense that unlike what Knight had been saying, William’s ghost wasn’t menacing at all. He was a broken soul, looking for connection.

  “A gargoyle? Like the one by the staircase? And the collar has a spell on it?”

  William nodded. “I’ve been chosen, Elliot. And the work of my life, the work of love remains unfinished.” He locked his lips, watching Elliot with so much intent it was sending shivers down Elliot’s back and stirring all kinds of feelings in his chest. “If only we’d met in more favorable circumstances...”

  “Knight always said you’d have skinned me or some other shit like that, but I don’t think you would. Because I’d have accepted your collar without question.” Elliot’s heart started pounding loudly, and he wondered if the ghost could sense it.

  William’s lips trembled, and he moved his fingers along Elliot’s cheek, as if Elliot were the most precious thing in William’s care. “Of course you would. And I would have put it on you so that you could be mine forever. I would have cherished you, not like the men who hurt you. Those brutes don’t deserve someone so precious.”

  Elliot leaned closer to the cool sensation of spectral fingers. “It always excited me to think that you took from life whatever you wanted. I not only adored you, but I wanted to be you. I never had the guts though. So many times I thought people deserved to be punished for their actions, that they deserved to die, but I could never go through with my plans. I would have loved to live in your times and become yours.”

  William shook his head. “You wouldn’t have to be like me. I would have protected you. We have... a connection. For the first time in my long life I feel like I’ve encountered the sun to my moon, but I am but a shadow of my former self now. Without a body, I can’t even hold you in my arms.”

  Elliot nodded rapidly, not even blinking when hot tears spilled down his cheeks again. “I always knew you’d feel the same way as me if we ever met. You lived with such a passionate intensity. No wonder you’ve been chosen by that… creature. You are a special man… and I wish I could touch your hand.”

  “The only thing that could restore me would be my killer’s blood, but how could we find Mercier descendants so long after he perished?”

  Elliot’s mind came to a halt. “Mercier blood would restore your body?”

  William gave a hesitant nod. “Yes. But even if you could find a Mercier for me, the blood would have to be shed in my presence. It needs to be warm to recreate a physical body for me. And I know that is too much to ask. I’m sorry to have burdened you, my boy.”

  Elliot slowly turned to William and entwined their fingers, even though William’s were like cold air melting into his skin. “Not at all, Mr. Fane. I will do anything to make this happen.”

  William smiled, almost shyly. “Please, do call me William.”

  Chapter 18

  Knight was surprised Elliot hadn’t tried contacting him over Christmas. He himself toyed with the idea of sending him season’s wishes but decided not to every time it came t
o his mind. He wasn’t to blame for Elliot imagining them to be a couple. He’d never done anything to suggest he wanted more than a clean partnership fueled by common interests. So he decided to give Elliot time.

  But as he returned to the clubhouse after two days spent with his mother and younger siblings, the familiar tall and thin form was nowhere to be seen. Granted, the clubhouse was massive, but Elliot was neither in his room nor anywhere on the premises, it seemed. He wasn’t in his trailer either, and his car stood in its place in the huge garage. So where could he have gone?

  Knight walked the long empty corridors for hours, but with the snow falling for days on end, the parts of the building that weren’t heated were uninhabitable. Unless he was to find Elliot’s ice-blue corpse—

  He didn’t want to think that way. Elliot was surely hiding out somewhere obvious and Knight was missing what was right under his nose. He’d even gone to Fane’s torture rooms to make sure Elliot wasn’t there, but the lock to Fane’s basement wasn’t broken, and Knight asked the fucking ghost through the door if Elliot had visited. He hadn’t.

  It’d been almost four days, so Knight assumed more than enough time had passed for Elliot to get over the bullshit argument, but no. He wasn’t answering his phone, he hadn’t posted any new videos, and Knight even went as far as creating a fake account on Youtube to see if Elliot would answer a private message, but he hadn’t.

  With the holiday season in full swing there were no deals to be busy with, and he ended up spending most of his time doing research based on the findings Elliot gave him for Christmas. The truth about Raphael Mercier’s origin opened a whole new set of possibilities in Knight’s ancestral history, but he knew no one who would be equally excited as he was. Except, perhaps, Laurent.

  “We’re actually from Italy,” he said out loud.

  Laurent looked up from some catalog he was flipping through next to Beast. “As in…?” He cuddled up under Beast’s massive arm and the way he fit in there only reminded Knight of the way Elliot had a way of curling into his embrace at night. Well, not anymore.

  He cleared his throat. “Well, Raphael Mercier. This guy,” he said and pulled up his sleeve to indicate the name on the long list of his ancestors, “emigrated from Italy in sometime in the late seventeenth century. His real name was Massimino, and he changed it. Well, not legally. He just lied.”

  Beast smirked and picked up a catalog with a bride and groom on the cover. Already? They were planning the wedding? In Knight’s experience, things didn’t roll as fast unless there was a baby on the way. Then again, Laurent said himself that Beast wasn’t getting any younger.

  Unconcerned by it all, Hound peeked at Knight when Laurent slowly massaged the giant dog’s ribs with his foot, only to huff and go back into blissful sleep.

  “Do you like that, Beast? Me being of French and Italian origin?” Laurent leaned in to give Beast a quick kiss, and Knight sighed in exasperation. That wasn’t the reaction he was going for.

  Elliot would have been into this shit. He would have come up with some interesting—if crazy—theory that would not only amuse Knight but might have ultimately pushed them on the right track. But Elliot was gone.

  A loud voice cut through the pleasant silence as Knight noticed a bulky form barge into the common room. “Jesus fucking Christ. I’m done with this shit!”

  Laurent looked up with those big-ass innocent eyes that looked so much like Elliot’s. “Excuse me? There is no need for such language. What’s wrong?”

  Fox emerged from the office and tossed two folders of documents to the floor. His face burned as if he’d just ran a marathon, and Laurent’s comment was reason enough to drive Fox’s spiral of anger further.

  “I’m almost twice your age. You don’t get to chastise me!”

  Laurent clearly wanted to continue with his crusade but Beast silenced him with a squeeze on the thigh. “Something wrong, brother?”

  “I thought I could take on all this accountancy bullshit, but we need a professional. Laurent’s at least sorting out the bills into folders as they come, but King left it all in a mess. And just today I found out my son’s dropped out of high school. So fuck. There’s that.”

  Beast whistled, and his face turned into a scowl. The last thing they all needed was to bring an outsider to deal with accounts that involved fraud and money laundering. “Well shit. Sorry to hear about your boy.”

  Fox spread his arms with a hiss. “Worst thing is, he’s not even dumb, he’s just a lazy asshole who doesn’t want to pick up his goddamn books. We need to get professional help with this shit. Any chance Magpie knows someone? He hangs out with all those big fish bankers in Manhattan or whatever. I bet he could recommend a creative accountant.”

  Beast rubbed the soft hair on top of Laurent’s head, wordlessly soothing the burn of being put in his place. “Fine. I’ll see what I can do.”

  Knight put Elliot’s gift into the inner pocket of his jacket. He felt for Beast. Magpie was an ally, a partner in business, but whether he could be trusted with the inner workings of the club or not—Knight wasn’t sure. The man could talk. He was damn good at both intimidation and making people comfortable when he wanted to, but getting more entangled with him could prove detrimental to the club’s independence.

  Fox rubbed his forehead and eventually picked up the fallen folders, as if he only now realized he’d thrown a tantrum. “Yeah, well... I’ll try to sort it all as well as I can.”

  Laurent cleared his throat. “Maybe your son should learn a trade? Knight’s an electrician, and that proves very handy.”

  Fox shut him up with a dark glare but didn’t have any counterarguments either. Personally, Knight thought Fox’s oldest offspring was more suited to boxing than actually learning how to deal with wiring, but he kept that to himself.

  When Fox walked off, Laurent looked at Knight with a wide smile. “We’re planning to go on a trip to La Rochelle. Isn’t that amazing?”

  Knight’s heart skipped a beat, lifting him from the gloom of worry. “To our family seat? Have you contacted the Merciers there about us coming over? I’ve always wanted to stay in one of those old country houses.”

  Beast raised his eyebrows and pulled Laurent so close he ended up putting his legs across Beast’s lap. “You’re not going. We are. For our honeymoon. I’ll need you to keep things under control here when we’re away.”

  Knight stalled and slumped against the backrest. “Ah. I mean... yeah, that sounds reasonable. Have you seen Elliot recently?” he asked, quickly changing the topic to not let his embarrassing enthusiasm linger on anyone’s mind.

  Laurent’s attention was instantly sharper. “No. Hasn’t he left for good? I haven’t seen him throughout Christmas.”

  Knight sighed and looked at Beast, who once again studied him with that infuriatingly curious gaze.

  “Why are you looking for him?”

  Heat rushed to Knight’s cheeks, and he tapped the armrest of his chair. “His car is still here. He couldn’t have just walked to Brecon on foot.”

  A heavy weight slumped against the back of Knight’s armchair. “Haven’t seen him either,” Jake said with his mouth full and loudly chewing right next to Knight’s ear.

  Knight looked back, watching the crumbs stuck to Jake’s face. He must have just squashed his food into his mouth in order to join the discussion. “He hasn’t been online either,” he said, facing the silence of his friends.

  Jake’s face got serious. “You’re worried he’s offed himself?”

  Something inside Knight’s chest tightened so hard he spun around to look at him. “What? Why would you say that?”

  Jake shrugged. “You’re saying he’s been gone for ages, his car is here, and I’ve seen his arms. He’s got a whole ladder of scars down there. I mean… Maybe he hasn’t. Sorry. It’s just that the grounds here are vast, and it’s been snowing, and all that.”

  Knight squeezed his hand on the armrest, and out of the blue felt like puking. He was fall
ing off a cliff and spiraling in the air so fast his body was shutting down. “I—we should look for him.”

  Beast leaned back with a sigh. “You sure he’s not staying with a friend?”

  “He doesn’t have any friends,” hissed Knight.

  Laurent sneered and looked away. “I wonder why.”

  “This is so fucking uncalled for. When you were in trouble, everyone had your back. Or have you forgotten?” Knight asked, bolting up from his chair.

  Laurent mumbled a half-assed apology, begrudgingly staring down at Hound, as if he were the offending party.

  Beast watched him with his eyes narrowed. “You tried calling him?

  “Yes.” Knight spread his arms and picked up his phone. “I keep hitting voicemail.”

  “Are you two like… a thing or something?” Jake asked and stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth.

  Knight gritted his teeth. “No. But he’s a friend. He’s helped me work out Raphael Mercier, and that amounts to something. I need to know where he is.”

  Laurent wouldn’t look into Knight’s eyes but still spoke. “If he’s so into Fane, have you been to the cellar?”

  “I could look for him there,” Jake proposed.

  “No,” Knight said right away, meeting Jake’s eyes. Always so eager to please, to be useful. Sweet and pliant in his own right. Almost too sweet and too pliant. Unlike Elliot, he provided no intellectual challenge, and that might have been why Knight stopped fucking him when Elliot came to live at the clubhouse.

  Knight rubbed his face. “I’ve been there, obviously. I can’t think of any other places. Maybe we really should search the grounds?”

  Jake nodded, ready for action as he always was. “We’ve got this quad with big tires, it should handle the snow. I’ll go get it.”

  Beast stood up, though he was clearly unhappy to leave Laurent’s arms. “I’ll get dressed and walk through the west wing.”

  Knight’s gaze rested on Laurent, and the tension in his head was growing more painful by the minute. Elliot couldn’t have been dumb enough to hurt himself over Knight’s rejection, could he?