Bishop's Knight

by Katie Reus

“All right. I’ll grab your stuff and my laptop. Have you talked to Luca about any of this?”

  “No, he’s out of the country. Didn’t want to bother him.”

  “Okay. I’ll be back… You need anything right now?”

  Samara shook her head, her eyes starting to drift. “Nah. Gonna get a little sleep though,” she murmured.

  “Good.” She glanced at her phone, her heart rate kicking up when she saw the message from her mom. “I’ll be a little longer,” she told her friend.

  But by then Samara had already dozed off.

  * * *

  Dylan stood waiting outside the guest room, unabashedly eavesdropping on Evie and her friend. He hadn’t heard everything, but he’d heard enough. As she stepped out of the room, she paused once in clear surprise to see him, but just as quickly her face went into that neutral mask that he hated. It pissed him off when she shut him out. When they’d been together, she’d been so smooth about it and it had grated on his nerves.

  “Did you mean it when you said my friend could stay here?” she asked, apparently ignoring his eavesdropping.

  “Yes. I mean what I say.” The dig was unnecessary and he felt like a dick the second after the words were out because of the flicker of hurt in her eyes, but he couldn’t take it back. He could stop being an asshole at least. Because he didn’t like being this guy.

  “Good. I need to go to the hospital. My mom texted me. Evan is awake.”

  Oh, hell. “I’ll drive.”

  “Dylan, you don’t need to go with me. It’s four in the morning and you’ve got an entire empire to run.” There was only a hint of dryness as she said the word empire.

  “Don’t bother arguing.” He was friends with both her brothers, regardless of what had happened between him and Evie. And he was also friends with her parents. Though he’d kept his distance from all of them in the last six months. Ever since Evie had walked out on him with a half-assed excuse about not being ready for marriage.

  She looked as if she wanted to push back, but she simply said, “Okay. Can we stop and grab something on the way? I’m sure Isla hasn’t eaten anything in ages and I want to bring her breakfast.”

  “We don’t need to stop. There’s plenty here we can pack up.” The woman who cooked for him often left plenty of baked goods and other things he never touched. But his security guys loved it so he left it all out for them.

  It only took a few minutes to gather everything before they were on the road.

  Evie was dressed in a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved black sweater, both items she’d left at his house months ago. Her inky black hair was down around her shoulders, wavy and loose, and she didn’t have on makeup again. She looked younger than her twenty-eight years like that, though stress lines bracketed her eyes and mouth. No wonder, considering what she was dealing with. She was still lean and fit, as she’d been months ago. Nothing had changed.

  Except…everything had.

  “Is there any news on the bombing of Evan’s office?” The one that had killed half a dozen people and injured a lot more, including Evan himself, only three weeks ago.

  “Not that I know of. I know the FBI agent in charge, however. I’ve talked to her a couple times and she says they’re making progress. I believe her too.” Evie’s words were matter-of-fact.

  And very telling. “You know the FBI agent personally?”

  She paused and rubbed her fingers against her temple. “Yeah,” she muttered. “I do.”

  “Did you use to be a Fed?” Because she’d been in some type of law enforcement, he just wasn’t certain which branch. He’d told Leo to hold off running any more security checks on her. He wanted her to tell him herself. He didn’t want more lies between them.

  “No.”

  “Then who did you work for? DEA? DIA? CIA?” He was simply shooting in the dark here.

  “It’s a three-letter acronym. And it’s all I’m going to tell you right now.”

  Right now? He’d take it. “Is that why you ended things with me? Because of your job?” It would make more sense than what she’d told him.

  Instead of answering, she looked out the window, her jaw tight.

  Dylan wanted to shake the answers out of her but knew that wasn’t possible. Tension spread across his shoulders, all his muscles tightening. “The way you ended things with me was shitty.”

  “I know.” She wouldn’t look at him.

  He wanted to push but they were on the way to the hospital to see her brother and family. And what else was there to say now? He’d asked her to marry him, she’d said no, telling him she didn’t want to live in Miami or get married. Then she’d cut off contact and moved back to DC—only to come back to Miami not long afterward. And he hadn’t seen her in the months since then.

  “So what’s up with your friend?” he asked. “And what can I do to help?”

  She turned to look at him as they pulled up to a stoplight, her expression a mix of emotions. Confusion was one of them. “You’re already helping by giving her a safe haven. And why the hell are you helping me?”

  “Because you need it.” Yes, she’d hurt him, but that didn’t erase the fact that he still cared for her—more than just cared. And no matter how hard he might try, he wasn’t cold enough to turn his back on Evie Bishop when she needed help.

  She let out a strangled sound and turned away from him again. “You make me insane.”

  “Me helping you makes you insane?” He snorted.

  “This would be a lot easier if you were a giant dick.”

  “I can work on that, then. I’ll be meaner if you’d prefer.” He’d thought he was doing a pretty good job of being a jerk.

  She snorted out laughter at his words, and despite the tension and unspoken things between them, he smiled as well.

  God, he’d missed her.

  * * *

  Evie resisted the strange urge to link her fingers through Dylan’s as they stepped out of the elevator. They weren’t a couple, and really, they never had been. Everything had been fake.

  As they headed down the tiled hallway, she prepared herself for the worst and hoped for the best.

  To her surprise, Dylan squeezed her shoulder once before letting his arm drop. “I’m staying here with you,” he said as they entered into the small private waiting room. Her parents had donated a ton of money to this hospital, so yeah, they’d sectioned off a waiting room for her family.

  Her mom’s gaze flicked to Dylan’s once in surprise as the two of them entered together, but she immediately pulled Evie into a tight hug. “Evan’s awake but he won’t see any of us,” she said as she stepped back. She’d given up on makeup days ago. Her eyes were puffy from crying and she looked as if she’d aged a decade.

  Evie certainly felt as if she had. “That can’t be right.”

  She looked over at Isla—the sophisticated redhead who was always so put-together—and her brother’s fiancée looked as if she hadn’t slept in a week. Evie feared she probably hadn’t. Her normally beautifully curled auburn tresses were pulled back into a sharp ponytail, and dark circles ringed underneath her eyes. “It’s true. He won’t even see me.” Isla said the words as if she couldn’t comprehend them at all.

  Evie didn’t either. “I want to see the doctor,” she snapped out.

  “Your father is with him now,” her mom said, shaking her head. “It won’t do any good.”

  Evie turned to look at Dylan, grateful and confused that he was here at all. “I’ll be back,” she murmured as he set out the bag of food he’d brought. She heard him offering to grab drinks for both women as she stepped out of the room and ran right into her father.

  “What’s going on?” she demanded.

  “Your brother won’t see any of us.” Her father, tall and strong, with salt and pepper hair, looked ready to fall over.

  “Where is he?”

  He gently grasped her shoulders as he looked down at her. “I know you want to storm in there, but it won’t do any good. He doesn’
t give permission for any of us to come see him. We can’t ignore his wishes.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Her father rubbed a hand over his face and for the first time ever looked almost breakable. Sighing, he said, “The doctor said he isn’t handling things well. He’s completely cognizant and understands what happened. But his face is burned and he’s definitely going to have scarring. He…he doesn’t want to see any of us. Not even Isla.”

  “When he’s better I’m going to kick his ass for this,” she growled even though she knew this had nothing to do with them, but her brother’s own fears. She just hated that they couldn’t be there for him.

  Her father seemed startled by her declaration and pulled her into a tight hug. “I’m so glad you’re back in Miami,” he murmured, his voice thick with unshed tears.

  She hugged him tightly. “I am too. He’ll change his mind.” Evan had to. Dashing away the wetness on her cheeks, she stepped back.

  “I certainly hope so.”

  Dylan stepped out of the room then and she saw the same look of surprise flicker across her father’s features. He held out a hand to Dylan and shook it once.

  “William,” Dylan said quietly, taking his hand. “I’m going to grab some coffee for Eleanor and Isla. Do you guys want anything?” he asked, all civil politeness.

  Her father started to shake his head but then said, “Yes. I’ll come with you.”

  Feeling at a loss in general, Evie stepped back into the room, letting them go off together. Her father and Dylan had always gotten along.

  She picked up a blueberry muffin and set it in front of Isla. “I know you’re not hungry, but you’ve got to eat something. You look like hell.”

  To her surprise, Isla didn’t argue with her, simply tore off part of the top and shoved it in her mouth. Gone was the graceful woman she knew. She sat there chewing for what seemed like forever, finally swallowing some of it down. Then she dropped the rest of the muffin onto the table. “I don’t understand why he doesn’t want to see me.” She broke on the last word, her tears a river on her cheeks.

  Evie wrapped her arms around Isla, holding her tight. “He’s gone through a trauma. He’s not thinking about anything other than himself right now, which is totally normal and fair.” She hoped that sounded good because she was just pulling words out of her ass. Isla had lost a hell of a lot in that bombing, including her own father. And she’d been sitting here in the waiting room, waiting for the man she loved to wake up for the last three weeks. And now Evan wouldn’t see her? God, what a world this was right now. “I’m so sorry, Isla.”

  “It’s not your fault.” Isla pulled back and reached for her muffin again, though she didn’t make an attempt to eat anything.

  As Evie leaned back, her mom swooped in and pulled her into another hug. “You’d better not be leaving Miami anytime soon. I can’t lose my kids.”

  “I swear I’m not going anywhere.” If she’d questioned her decision to move home a month ago, she certainly didn’t now.

  She needed to keep her shit together now above all times. Her parents refused to talk about Ellis at all, even though none of them thought he was guilty. She knew for a fact he wasn’t. Her brother was a freaking Boy Scout. Unlike her, who liked to work in shades of gray, Ellis didn’t. He was by the book all the way.

  She stowed that thought for now and grabbed another muffin for Isla, who’d finally finished the first one. “Eat. You’ll thank me later.”

  “You’re just as bossy as your brother,” Isla murmured.

  “It’s a Bishop quality. We’re all bossy and demanding.”

  Her mom let out a watery laugh. “True enough. So why is Dylan Blackwood with you?”

  “You can’t seriously be asking me this right now.” She grabbed a bagel from the stack of food for herself.

  “Of course I’m asking you. We’re going to be stuck here for who knows how long and I need something to take my mind off…everything.”

  “Honestly, nothing. I just stopped by to see Dylan about something and then I got your text about Evan.”

  “You must think I was born yesterday if you think I’ll believe that you stopped by his house at four in the morning. Because that’s when I texted you.” Her mom watched her with the same clear blue eyes that were a mirror of Evie’s own.

  She broke her mom’s gaze. “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”

  “You’re ridiculous,” Isla murmured, a smile tugging at her lips. Then her gaze fell on Evie’s shoes. “Almost as ridiculous as those shoes.”

  Shrugging, she took a bite of her bagel. Even though she wanted to help her mom and Isla get their minds off Evan, she wasn’t going to talk about Dylan.

  It was too painful.

  Chapter 5

  “You didn’t have to stay the whole time,” Evie said as Dylan pulled out of the hospital parking garage. The truth was he hadn’t needed to come at all, let alone stay until nearly lunch time with her and her family. She wanted to stay longer, but at the same time, there was nothing she could do for Evan or even Isla. And she needed to find out who had shot at Samara. Her parents or Isla would let her know if anything changed with her brother.

  “I wanted to. So what are you going to do about your friend?”

  “Get to the bottom of things.” At this point she wasn’t sure how much she was going to tell him, even if he was being helpful. The more he knew, the more danger he could be in. “I need to get my laptop from my brother’s house.” She also needed a few other things, including some burner phones just in case. She’d take some from her stash at the same time she picked up Samara’s stash. That would be later—and she’d do it alone. The less time Dylan spent with her in public, the better for him.

  He was silent for a long moment then surprised her when he said, “When are you going to start looking for your own place?”

  “Ah…soon.” Of course, she hadn’t really looked because she’d been taking her time figuring out her next move. She’d already gotten a few job offers for security consulting, but…she wasn’t ready to pull the trigger on anything yet. “I could always move in with my parents,” she said dryly.

  He snorted softly at that. Her parents were wonderful but they could definitely be a bit much, and she liked her space and her privacy.

  “So what’s going on with Ellis?” he asked.

  She was surprised he was asking about her other brother again.

  Even though she didn’t want to talk about her family, she figured Dylan deserved pretty much any truth she could give him at this point, considering the secrets she was keeping from him. “I’m not sure. I mean, like I told you before, I know he’s innocent. And I’ve tried digging into what happened, but I got stonewalled by the damn Feds. Mostly. The agent in charge gave me some information. Just not enough.” She left out the part that she’d asked a friend to hack into some files for her. “I have no doubt that he was set up.” She’d gotten that much from the files alone. Her brother was too damn smart to get caught killing someone, so he’d definitely been set up. Not that the Boy Scout would have killed someone in cold blood anyway.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  She glanced at him in surprise. “Are you sure you haven’t had enough of my drama?”

  “I’m pretty sure I’ll never get enough of your drama.” His eyes sparked with heat as he spoke.

  Oh, hell. She wasn’t sure how to take that so she turned away, glancing in the side view mirror again. A four-door gray sedan changed lanes and zipped in front of another car before shifting in behind the vehicle behind them.

  “We’ve got a tail,” Dylan said before she could say the same, his tone clipped.

  “Yeah, three cars back. Gray Nissan.”

  “That’s the one.”

  It was a neutral, boring car that wouldn’t stand out anywhere. But she was trained to see stuff like that. And so was he. He’d been in the Marines and in war zones. He knew when someone was following him. �
�They could just be heading in the same direction as us.” Of course if they were, they’d been behind them since they’d pulled out of the hospital parking lot.

  “They could.” Dylan took a sharp left turn onto a residential street.

  A few seconds later, the gray car followed, revving its engine as it sped after them, giving up any pretense of not following them.

  Her heart rate increased as she turned around. This could be whoever had shot Samara. And if they thought they could hurt her—or Dylan—she was about to show them the error of their ways. “Are you armed?” Evie asked even as a shot of adrenaline punched through her.

  Jaw tense, a short nod.

  Why was she not surprised? “Where?”

  “One in the center console and one under my seat.”

  She paused. “Two weapons?”

  “I take my security seriously.” His gaze flicked to the rearview mirror again.

  All right, then. She’d never seen him in action, not in real life anyway. But she’d seen an old satellite video of the man taking enemy fire and holding his own—and saving four men’s lives. He could more than take care of himself. She opened his center console. Sure enough, a pistol was tucked inside. Normally she was armed but her weapon was back at his place. Without asking for permission, she plucked his pistol out of its holster.

  He frowned at her but didn’t tell her to stop. “I’m not getting in a high-speed chase with this guy.”

  Evie didn’t like the idea of that either. Not surrounded by all these residential streets. Too big of a chance of a civilian getting hurt. “You could drive straight to the police station.” She hated the idea of losing this guy, but she also wasn’t going to let any civilians get hurt. Hell no.

  “I have a better idea.” He revved the engine, speeding up as he took another sharp turn onto another residential street. Cars lined both sides of the street, some parked in driveways, some on the road.

  “What are you doing?” She clutched the grab handle as he tore into an empty driveway and quickly reversed. “Oh shit!”

  He gunned the engine, arrowing straight at the gray car.