Knox Brotherhood

by Knox, Elizabeth

  I turn to watch her come in, and immediately, I know.

  She stills, seemingly frozen to the spot. Her face lands on his, and she looks like she has seen a ghost. In theory, she has. For me, this is all I need to see to know the whole damn story. I try to keep it cool because if we don’t, she is going to fucking lose everything right here and so am I.

  I walk up to her with a genuine smile on my face, and I kiss her feverishly, trying to get her mind off it and wipe that look off her face like she’s watching a horror movie. I whisper in her ear, making sure it appears to any onlookers as if it is something romantic and sexual rather than what I have to say. "I need you to remain calm and follow my lead. I know. I understand." She doesn’t follow direction well, but if she wants to get her revenge and to keep from exposing herself right here in front of everyone, she is going to have to do it this time and trust me.

  Jenna nods into me, and I breathe a sigh of relief for now, taking her hand and leading her over to the couch where we can join in with everyone, making it look like everything is normal and happy. I pull Jenna down on top of my lap, and we look happy, laughing along with everyone as I keep my hands on her, knowing this may be the only thing that keeps her calm and grounded. I can only imagine what she is thinking, what she is feeling. She could easily just want to rip his throat out and get it over with, but there could be fear there too, a lot of fear seeing the man who did what he did to her.

  As we continue to fake it, I can see a clearer picture of Will Michaels. His two sons are good men despite him, not because if him. I am willing to bet that whoever their mother is must have been amazing with them. He talked a good game. He was good at being an MC god. He wasn't obvious to most of the men in the room as he spoke, but I could see it, the fucked-up evil that sat behind his masculine features. He is a monster. He is sick.

  He deserves to die.

  Will pops off a joke about partying, and I see our opportunity. I jump on it. "Jenna is the best drinker in the house," I say, making it seems like I am bragging about my girl. Really, I am, but it’s more than that. Drinking is her strong suit, I would say it’s mine too, and if we challenge him and get him drunk, he will be vulnerable. I can almost feel Jenna's heart jump at what I say, but it is covered up by all of those around us agreeing.

  Will chuckles and looks to her, and I begin rubbing on her back in encouragement. "Is that so? I might have to test that."

  ***

  It is almost two in the morning, and all the other brothers have stumbled to their rooms, completely drunk and passing out. They think that Jenna and I are really winning against the infamous Will Michaels at drinking, but the truth is that for the last hour and a half we have had nothing, but water disguised as vodka shots.

  Acting drunk and a little randy, I stumble over to Jenna and cup my hand haphazardly on her cheek, whispering in her ear what’s happening next. This is it; now or never, we are striking, and she is getting this horrible man off the planet, and I am going to help her.

  I go back to Will and make him an offer I don't think he can refuse, considering what a sick bastard he is. "Hey, do you want a round with Jenna?" I make it clear that I am not referring to vodka or any other drink. It kills me to do this, act like I am offering her up as a sexual sacrifice, but this is the best way to get him.

  Will is eager, already undressing her with his eyes. It takes everything in me not to kill him right here and now. I let him approach her as if he is just going to take her, right in front of me. He is stalking towards her, more drunk than I think he realizes, and that's when I take a bottle, smashing it into the back of his head. He falls to the floor with a thud as the glass shatters. No one is going to wake up through this, though, they are all so drunk.

  We pick him up, with some effort, and take him out to Jenna's car, laying him down in the backseat. We have to get him somewhere before he wakes up. "Where do you want to take him?" I ask her, climbing into the driver's seat.

  I should have expected her answer. "The park."

  CHAPTER 26

  Love says: I’ve seen the ugly parts of you and I’m staying. -Anonymous

  Jenna

  We are here. At the park. It is time.

  Dmitri lugs the still passed out Will Michaels out of the car. I don’t have to tell him where to go from here. He knows, just like he knows everything.

  We stay silent as we make our way over to the tree, the one where my father took his last breath, where I had to shoot him and kill him myself after I was raped in front of him. I think Dmitri is worried about me, but he doesn’t say a word about it. He doesn’t dare. It’s okay though, because I am okay. Yes, I freaked when I saw Will. All the memories came back to me at once. It hurt like a bullet to the chest, but now, I am ready for this. I have been ready for this.

  "Tie him up against the tree," I instruct Dmitri. I hope he lets me call the shots here. I know he is here to help me, to protect me, and I appreciate that. I appreciate not having to carry this asshole out here myself. But I hope he lets me have this kill if I still want it when we get there.

  Dmitri does as I say, though, and it is satisfying to watch Will come to on that tree. Everything is finally coming full circle. This is the moment.

  I stand right there, just a foot away from him. Dmitri is right there, but I think he is tied up well enough and still drunk enough that he can't get out and lash out at me anyway. As soon as I know he is conscious completely, I stare him down. "Do you recognize me yet?" I ask him harshly, hoping the surroundings will help him out even if I don’t look like that little girl he ruined. Will shakes his head, so I go another way. "You just hang tight there and listen to a little story I have to tell you, about a girl. There was this girl whose father was amazing, and he trusted and worked for a man that she thought of as family, like maybe her uncle or something. That was, until one day she was taken here, to this park, and things were forced on her that never should have happened. She was raped by this man she and her father trusted, and then, he made her shoot her own father. She should have just died right there, and a part of her did. But then she grew up and found her way back, become a new woman, and waited, waited for a man named Will Michaels to show up and fuck up, so she can give him what he gave her."

  I look at him, and I see it in his eyes. He remembers now. "Tegan?" That's all he says. He asks it, but he knows. He looks around him, and I think he finally gets it, where we have taken him. He is going to die, and he fucking knows it. Could anything be more satisfying?

  Feeling smug as fuck, I use the same words he used on that day. "No matter what you say, this is happening. I want you to remember, this is what happens to traitors.”

  I do exactly what was done to my father. I am meticulous as I take the knife I have, cutting him up everywhere where he is still alive but in horrible pain, even through all the alcohol in his system. As I do this, I start peeling the skin from his flesh. Of course, this should bother me, doing this to another human being. It would bother any normal person. In fact, I think it would bother me if it were anyone else I am doing this to.

  For me, right now, this is so sweet. I will not give Will an easy death, not after everything.

  Time does not phase me, and in fact, I have no idea how long it has been, but it is close to the end now. I can’t keep him alive for much longer, not with all the injury. And, he is laughing maniacally.

  "Why the fuck are you laughing? You are dying," I ask him, and Dmitri steps a little closer, looking like his usually brooding self. Something is not right here.

  “Never did I think my own daughter would kill me.”

  I step back from him, both shocked and confused as hell. Those words do not even computer. "I am not your daughter. You are insane. Maybe the alcohol finally put you over the edge, Will," I tell him, but he laughs again.

  "Oh, I am, Tegan. Do you remember that car accident you were in when you were a little girl?" I nod, slowly. There had been a drunk driver, and my babysitter died. I had been in the backs
eat. I know I was hurt, but I was very young. So, I don’t remember much else. "You needed a blood transfusion and to have surgery. Beau, you father, went to give blood to save you, but he found out he wasn’t a match. He wasn’t your biological father. All the members were ordered to give blood to see if they could save you, but it turned out, my blood had the genetic markers. I am your father. I sat down with Beau, and we both decided it was best if he kept being your father."

  I shake my head, not being able to handle that information. For one, Beau was my father, the end. He was the best man in the world to raise me, even if he had his problems. Second, that meant my mother had slept with Will. Lastly, it meant my own father had raped me.

  "How do you feel now, knowing your entire world, even back then, when it was all okay, was a lie?" he taunts, making me want to go and puke. But I will not show any more weakness in front of this man, no matter what.

  Luckily, Dmitri steps up, knowing I need him now. Pulling out a hunting knife, he drags it deep into Will’s skin. A deep gash appeared, gushing blood. The end is coming, and fast. "Any last words?" Dmitri asks, his accent stronger than ever right now.

  "Don’t believe me? Go test Reed and Kyle and see they are your brothers. I may be a lot of things, but I am not lying, not in my last moment."

  I shake my head, knowing this can’t ever be talked about. We burn his body as he dies and dispose of him. This is over. It’s done. My heart feels fulfilled, as fulfilled and vindicated as I can feel with this additional information.

  We drive back as the sun rises, and I turn to Dmitri. "This secret, all of it, it has to be safe with us. No one can ever know," I warn him. I am sure of this.

  "No one ever will."

  EPILOGUE

  A month later…

  "Do you think Reed is ever going to calm down and let the women get a moment alone again?" I ask, turning to Dmitri. We have been in the car for a couple of hours now, headed back from the outer banks on a road trip, just the two of us. We have been through so much. We have told each other hard secrets, discovered siblings right under our noses, and killed together. It's been a roller coaster, and we needed to get away, even if it was just by a few hours for a couple of days.

  "I think he is starting to let go a little bit, but let's face it, we're talking about Reed, here."

  I laugh at that, knowing what he means. Reed has gotten as protective of Elena as Seamus is of Daisy. MC men must just all come like this, paranoid and controlling even though it can be really endearing sometimes. At least now Dmitri knows everything about me, and I don’t have anything to hide if he decides to tag along everywhere I go. It's us against the world, and I hope it stays that way.

  I look at the road signs and know that we are getting kind of close. It makes me sad. I mean, I love my family, including the two men that may be my literal family, but this time with Dmitri has been nice. It gave me a small glance into what life would be for normal people; living together and not having to worry about MC business and stuff like that. I turn back to him with a gleam in my eye. "Pull over," I order him. He looks at me funny until I say it again, louder.

  He does, looking at me in a panic, but I reach over and unbuckle his seatbelt before doing that to mine as well. He thinks something is wrong, but really what I had him pull over for is one last moment alone. I don't give him a chance to protest. Instead, I climb on top of him, reaching down towards his side to lay his seat down. "What the hell, Jenna?" he asks as I smile down at him, rubbing his chest through his shirt.

  "I want another moment like this, alone, and what better time or place than here? I mean, we've never had sex in a car before," I tell him, placing my lips over his, finally happy, on a high, to be in control of him for once. I can feel him hard against me already, and I lift my shirt and move my panties to the side as he reaches for the zipper on his jeans. I know I have him.

  His hands go up my shirt, massaging my breasts as I move myself right over him, my center sliding right onto him. Even after all the times we’d been together, this still feels perfect. It feels like we fit like puzzle pieces.

  I sigh as I begin to pop my hips into his, letting him pull my bottom lip into his mouth and nibble while his fingers tweak at my nipples in just the right way. I moan, knowing I am going to come quick. I just can’t hold back, though. We make the hot car even hotter as we call out, and my hand hangs onto the door handle as I shake over him.

  My heartbeat is still going so fast as I get my clothes back together and get back in my seat. "Okay, now we can go home," I breathe, causing him to chuckle at me before pulling the car back out onto the road.

  ***

  The moment we walk back in, I spot Elena, who looks as if she’s just coming back from being at the bar. Something is off. I can see it instantly in her face. She has been crying. I think back to her and Reed trying to have a baby, and I hope that this has nothing to do with that. "What’s going on?" I ask her, going to her side, fearful that she’s had a miscarriage.

  "Bellamy Mason just told me she is my sister." My mouth went open in an ‘O’. "The musician?"

  Elena nods. Wow, things just got crazier and crazier around here all the time.

  The End

  Relentless

  A Skulls Renegade Novel

  Book #4

  DEDICATED TO LAURA

  I knew exactly who I was going to be dedicating this bad boy to, the second I decided to change up my release dates this year. It took me less than a nanosecond to think of the most relentless woman in my life, and this is you, my dear! You have been my hype-girl since day one, and I cannot thank the stars above enough for bringing you into my life.

  When I was a nobody, you always found a way to make me feel like somebody.

  Even to this day, when I am feeling at my lowest, you bring me back up and make me feel bomb. I called you my hype girl in the beginning as a cute joke, but it’s so freaking true! You are my hype-girl! You get everyone pumped for whatever is coming and I cannot thank you enough for that.

  You are one relentless chick and one pretty amazing friend.

  PLAYLIST

  IDGAF | Dua Lipa

  I Did Something Bad | Taylor Swift

  Back to You | Bebe Rexha. Ft. Florida Georgia Line

  Say it to my Face | Madison Bear

  Sorry Not Sorry | Demi Lovato

  Good Girl, Bad Boy | Florida Georgia Line

  You are the Reason | Calum Scott

  What You Love | Olivia Holt

  Written in the Sand | Old Dominion

  Dear Hate | Maren Morris ft. Vince Gill

  Hate Me | Jillian Jacqueline

  Queen of Hearts | Lauren Alania

  Out Loud | Gabbie Hana

  PROLOGUE

  She has been through hell. So, believe me when I say, fear her when she looks into the fire and smiles. - e. corona

  Bellamy

  “Are you ready for this?” I look over to Zac, my boyfriend, and nod my head, even though I know I’m lying. I am not ready for this. The last thing I am is ready for this.

  We’ve been sitting in Erik’s office for the last twenty minutes. His secretary has come in twice and apologized for his lateness, telling us that he had an appointment run over and then he hit a traffic jam. I couldn’t give two craps if Erik is stuck in traffic, or if he isn’t. He’s known me long enough to know that I hate these meetings with him. I understand that they are a necessity and I can’t go by without them, but fudge, I loathe them more than anything else because I have to relive everything.

  I feel like I am reliving my parents’ deaths, every emotion, every tear, everything just comes rushing back in a flood of emotion.

  Every single time I see Erik, I don’t see my dad’s best friend. I see his estate lawyer. Maybe that’s wrong of me, but I just can’t move past it. Losing my parents has taken over my life, in a sense…my grief has taken over.

  Over the years I have come to realize that this is a usual thing. With every therapy session, I went to
, I learned more and more about how to cope with my daily life. The things the therapists don’t tell you is that in the end, there is no “coping” – there is just acceptance.

  Today is my 25th birthday, a milestone age of sorts. I am officially one quarter of a century old. I should be neck deep in a fishbowl margarita right now, but instead, I’m at my lawyer’s office, waiting to hear the last stipulations of my final inheritance.

  In a way, I was very blessed. Scratch that – I am very blessed to have the parents that I did. They were the type that prepared for everything, even something as horrific as passing too soon. My dad was amazing with stock trading, and my Mom saved every penny for my future that she could. I was really freaking blessed. Even with them both being gone, they are still taking care of me beyond the grave.

  I take the gold cross hanging around my neck. It was a necklace that my mom gave me when I was five, with a small piece of garnet in the middle. Garnet was her birthstone, and she always told me that wearing this necklace meant that she was always close to my heart. I truly believe that. In a lot of ways, this piece of jewelry is the only real tie I have left to her. So often there are times when I will hold it or bring it to my lips and just breathe. It centers me, almost as if this necklace is my mom. Wearing it gives me peace, and I need that so much these days.

  Erik comes plummeting through the doorway as Zac slides his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him on the couch.

  “How’s my favorite niece?” he asks, giving me that million-dollar smile. He always did have a lovely smile. My father always insisted that I called Erik my uncle. He wasn’t blood, but that didn’t matter, he was still family. I can hear my father’s voice in my head right now, “Blood does not define who we call family. Our hearts do.”

  “I’m fine,” I tell him, hoping that he’ll realize I’m extremely uncomfortable and cut to the chase.

  I watch him closely as he pulls out a key from his pocket and walks towards his desk, inserting the key into a drawer. I can hear the screech of the old wooden thing as he pulls it towards him. His eyes maintain their focus, on whatever it is that he’s searching for, and I see him pull up a manila envelope, setting it on his desk and pulling a few pieces of paper, plus a smaller envelope. “You know the drill, this is pretty standard stuff, and I think we’ve got it down pat by now, don’t you, Kiddo?”