Knight Watch: An Alliance Agency Novel: Book 2

by Kells, India

  * * *

  At 9.02 am that morning, Sydney walked into the main branch of the Bank of America in Miami and moved to the reception desk. Mason was beside her, and she knew he was in constant communication with the team. He was highly efficient, capable, and was probably amazing at his job, but at that moment, Sydney would have given anything to feel Kingsley’s calming hand at her back, smell his scent close to her, calming her frayed nerves.

  “Hi, my name is April. How can I help you today?”

  Forcing a measure of calm she didn’t feel, and digging her nails into her palm, she took a deep breath and greeted the woman with a smile. “Hi, my name is Sydney Ann Rutherford. I’d like to access my safety deposit box, please.”

  “Certainly, do you have your ID?” April tilted her head with a genuine smile.

  “Yes.” Sydney handed over her ID, glad that Kingsley and Malco had retrieved her wallet from her apartment that first day. She held her breath while April looked it over and then typed the numbers into the system. Sydney felt like she wanted to vomit as she waited.

  April looked up and then down at the computer again. “I just need to get the manager to deal with this one. Security levels of this kind are over my clearance I’m afraid.” She offered another small, friendly smile that showed her dimples. The girl was pretty and probably only around twenty-three or four.

  As she walked away, she felt Mason move whisper close to her ear. “This is all normal, standard operating procedure for large accounts. Just relax, Sydney, you’re doing great.”

  Sydney let the breath she was holding go and pretended to look around, noting that Mercy and Nick were inside the bank acting as a couple with a stroller. Cain was waiting to pay some money into the bank in the line for the teller. She assumed the rest of the team were outside.

  April came back with a man in his fifties, who was slim, and smart-looking with glasses and a beard.

  “Miss Rutherford, I’m Clive Watkins and I’m the manager here. I understand you would like to access your safety deposit box.”

  “Yes, I would,” Sydney replied fighting the desire to explain herself to this man when she had absolutely no reason to do so.

  “Of course. If you would give me a few moments, I’ll grab your file and take you through. I see it’s the first time you’ve been back since you opened it, and it’s been a while. Don’t hesitate to ask any questions you may have,” he said with a nod before moving to the set of doors at the back and disappearing. Sydney waited patiently for a few minutes until he returned.

  “This way, Miss Rutherford.”

  He began to walk away, and she and Mason followed the manager toward the vault. They passed through two sets of doors with guards on them before getting to the vault. The manager used his thumbprint and a key before he was allowed access to the retinal scanner. That safely accomplished, he led them through to the highest security vault and toward the boxes of records. The floor felt squishy beneath her, and she wondered why. She couldn’t remember it from the only time she’d been there, so she turned to look at Mason for an answer.

  “Scales,” he said simply.

  She immediately understood and realized they weighed everyone going in and out of the room, so they knew if anyone took anything of weight, like wads of cash for instance.

  Pulling out a box, the manager handed it to her, and she stilled, panic starting to fill her belly. It was a fingerprint mechanism and she couldn’t remember which one she had used. She looked up at the manager who was watching her expectantly, then to Mason who nodded. Using her thumb, she pressed on the pad and waited, feeling sweat begin to slide down her neck when it beeped.

  “It’s been a while. I probably used a different finger.” She looked at the manager and then Mason who looked calm and assured.

  “Take your time, Sydney. What finger do you use to unlock your phone?”

  “Index.” She gave a laugh of embarrassment.

  Mason gave her an encouraging look when she unlocked the box. “There we go.” The manager stepped out of the room to give them some privacy.

  Sydney glanced at Mason with relief. “Thank you.”

  Lifting the lid and flicking through the papers she saw all she needed to. Inside was evidence of the life insurance policy, and as she searched through the papers, she saw handwritten notes from her mother and father that she had dismissed, unable to read them due to the pain.

  Her dad had written other details he had heard his brother say while he was on the phone, and thought no one was listening. It indicated possible bank accounts, bank names, partial names and numbers that would lead the team to where the money was hidden. Because of her father and his sacrifice, Raymond had literally hung himself and given her all the evidence they needed. He’d never considered that his brother had kept an account and that his niece would find it. He thought that he was safe, smart but now they had everything they needed for Raymond Rutherford to be tried for terrorism.

  “Wow, jackpot.” Mason’s grin was wide as he continued reading the bits and pieces of paper. “Now let’s get out of here and get you back to Kingsley before he has my balls.”

  They waited a few moments before the manager appeared and were halfway back to the central part of the bank when Mason suddenly went stock still and pressed his finger to his ear where he had the comms. Sydney felt her back go ramrod straight as his eyes met hers. What she saw made her heart stop because they contained shock and grief and apology. Everything stopped at that moment because she knew—she knew—that something had happened to Kingsley.

  Mason gave her no time to ask questions. She felt his hand on her back and he made sure his body blocked hers as he moved her toward the back exit at a run as shouts could be heard from the behind them.

  “Move.” Mason pushed for the exit as a man in a mask stepped out in front of them with a gun.

  “Give me the girl.”

  Fear sparked a path through her she recognized the voice and she froze for a split second.

  Mason as he threw himself in front of Sydney and fought the attacker. “Fuck you.”

  Sydney stood frozen not knowing what to do to help. Two gunshots sounded and both men slumped to the ground in front of her. “No,” she screamed as she fell to her knees beside Mason.

  “I’m okay, let’s get out of here.” He staggered to his feet and pulled her to the door.

  “But you’re bleeding.”

  “It’s just a scratch, keep going.”

  The alleyway he led her to was similar to the one where she had first met Kingsley. Shane grabbed her hand and shoved her into the back of the van before dragging a now heavily bleeding Mason in behind him and hitting the accelerator.

  Shane twisted to look at them over his shoulder as he drove at break-neck speed. “Put pressure on the wound, or he’s going to bleed out.”

  That had Sydney snapping out of the fog that had surrounded her brain. She looked down and saw that Mason was bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound to his stomach. Kneeling, she ripped off her shirt leaving her in just a bra and applied pressure to the injury.

  Mason was pale and waxy but still managed to joke. “God, if this doesn’t kill me, Kingsley will when he finds out I’ve seen you half-naked.”

  Sydney offered him a half-hearted smile as tears fell down her cheeks and Mason winced in pain as his eyes began to close. “Stay with me, Mason,” she demanded as she felt herself losing him.

  “Gonna be okay,” he reassured her, patting her hand, which was covered in his blood.

  “What happened to Kingsley?” she asked wanting to know and trying to distract him at the same time.

  His voice was sad and full of regret. “Rutherford took him.”

  Sydney felt the contents of her stomach fill her throat as she swallowed again and again.

  Mason’s voice was weak when he spoke again. “Failed you.”

  Her tone turned fierce. “Don’t you dare say that. Nobody failed anyone. You’ll be fine and we’ll get Kingsle
y back. So stop that shit.”

  “Can see why he loves you, bossy American.” He chuckled and then coughed.

  The van stopped, and the doors opened as doctors and nurses swarmed in. Sydney moved out of the way and watched as they took Mason in on a gurney with a nurse astride him giving him CPR and cried.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Hospitals were filled with smells that made her sick to her stomach, taunting bad memories to come back to the surface. Sitting in the waiting room, Sydney looked at the dried blood on her hands and arms. Mason’s blood. So much blood, she was scared to close her eyes and see it again pouring from his wound.

  Was that also Kingsley’s fate? To be shot and die as blood dripped from him? Alone?

  It was pure torture to imagine him that way.

  The rest of the team had reached the hospital at an amazing speed, and Shane had commandeered a private room so they could be together. Cleo had arrived soon after, pale as a ghost but holding on. Sydney had insisted on staying as close as she could to Mason and to be the first one told any news as soon as the surgeon was finished with him. James and Mercy had remained with her, even bringing her a clean t-shirt to cover herself after she had sacrificed her top to help Mason.

  Alex had come and taken the papers Sydney had retrieved from the security box and had disappeared. Malco sat beside her in silence, stoic as ever, but it was his utter calm that made the waiting bearable. “Kingsley is a strong man. We’ll find him.”

  Sydney turned to him, icy certainty deep in her belly. “You know my uncle won’t let him go until he gets what he wants. And he’s not a patient man.”

  Sydney looked around the room. Most of the team were back at Alliance looking for Kingsley. They’d whispered around her, but she’d heard anyway. They’d tried to track Kingsley’s cell phone but to no avail. They were looking into cameras around the bank to see if they could identify anyone or any cars but so far had found nothing.

  Raymond didn’t want Kingsley to be found. She had to act because sitting in this chair was making her insane. The images that flashed through her brain of Kingsley beaten and wounded were almost too much to endure.

  Raymond wanted to make sure that whatever she had found ended with her. It would have been an insult to her intelligence to believe she didn’t know he planned to use her husband as leverage.

  Her husband. Those two words meant so much. In an incredibly small amount of time, Sydney had crossed paths with a fantastic human being that had accepted all of her—scars, traumas, and quirks—and loved her. Till death do us part. Those were the words they’d never officially exchanged but were nonetheless real.

  She’d also overheard the team discussing the fact that her uncle hadn’t contacted them demanding to speak to her or asking for money in exchange for Kingsley. It baffled the team, but not Sydney. He believed her smart enough to connect the dots by herself and remember something important—his phone number.

  The trouble was that the team would never agree to use her as bait. They would try some elaborate plan to save them both when in reality, the chances of that happening were slim and the time they needed to gather everyone would take too long.

  “Malco, can I borrow your phone for a minute?”

  Without hesitation, he reached in his pocket and handed her his cell phone in a thick rubber casing.

  She smiled in thanks. “Do you want a coffee? I was going to get one.”

  He shook his head with a wan smile. “Go get one. We’re planning to get some food brought in soon, so avoid the cafeteria. Unless you want me to go with you?”

  That was the opposite of what she wanted. “Don’t worry, I’ll just go as far as the coffee machine and come back.”

  Hoping everyone would remain where they were, Sydney went to the coffee machine a few feet away from the waiting room and dialed a number she had always wanted to forget.

  “Yes?” Her uncle’s voice made her want to hurl, but she had to keep her calm so Kingsley could live.

  “Uncle.”

  Immediately, she could hear the smile in his voice. “Ah, my sweet niece. I had hoped to hear from you.”

  “Cut to the chase. What do you want?”

  “Why in such a hurry, my darling? Is that worry for your husband I hear in your voice? Rest assured he is still alive and well. For now at least. Whether he continues to breathe depends entirely on you.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Sydney, you know very well what I want. You, of course. But after that little stunt you pulled at the bank earlier, maybe you’re too late.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He waited for a beat with his usual taste for drama. “Those papers you left with. Do you still have them?”

  Panic at what he’d asked almost made her lose it, but thoughts of Kingsley kept her voice steady. “Yes. After all that’s happened, I haven’t had time to look at them. Why?”

  “Not asking questions might be better for now. Troy will meet you at the main entrance of the hospital in five minutes. Bring the files and most importantly, don’t tell your friends. If you obey me, there’s still a chance your husband will survive.”

  The line went dead, and Sydney reminded herself to breathe. Looking around, she didn’t see any of the team, and decided to act.

  Putting the phone on silent, she shed the thick casing and tucked it inside her bra as she took the stairs toward the entrance. Passing by a nurse’s station and without breaking stride, she grabbed a file from the counter and offered a prayer to whoever was listening for her to be strong and keep Kingsley alive.

  As soon as she stepped outside, a gray sedan appeared and stopped in front of her. When she opened the door, she recognized Troy’s slimy smile.

  “Get in, baby. You’re in for a fun ride.”

  Ignoring his sarcasm, she got in, clutching the file on her lap.

  Troy drove away, whistling a tune, and as they reached a red light, he turned and sprayed something on her face. Sydney wanted to scream, but she couldn’t move, and her body was pulled into frightening darkness.

  * * *

  “You fucking bitch!” Pain exploded in her cheek as she fell from a chair to the floor from the force of the blow.

  Disoriented, Sydney felt cold and tried to get her bearings as she pushed herself up from the concrete floor. Where am I? Where is Kingsley?

  Her focus was blurred, but with a few blinks, she saw shoes in front of her.

  Someone grabbed her hair and pulled her with up such force, she screamed in pain. Only then did she realize Troy was holding her upright in front of her uncle. She had never seen her uncle so furious—it changed his features, making him look older and feral.

  He slapped her again, and pain shot through her body.

  He grabbed her chin, his face so close, she could smell his foul breath. “You stupid little girl, to think I loved you. You’re no better than your whore of a mother,” he said pacing in front of her.

  What’s that supposed to mean?

  “My mother was beautiful and kind and you killed her,” she spat, the ugliness and pain creeping up on her.

  Raymond stopped and turned to her, his voice taking on a sinister air. “Your mother loved me. She dated me first and I loved her. I would have given her the world but then after a few months, she met your father on a visit home.”

  Sydney tried to reconcile the information against what she knew, not wanting it to be true but knowing in her heart it was. “Was that why you raped me? To punish her?” she asked, the words almost choking her.

  “I loved her. He took her from me, so I took you both from him. I took your innocence the way your father took hers. She was mine and he took her from me.” The tone of his voice changed then and became almost wistful. “You look so much like her.” He stepped forward and stroked the bruise that was forming on her face. Sydney tried to repress the shiver of distaste and failed. He saw it and his eyes locked on her face.

  “Why did you kill her if you loved he
r?”

  “When she and your father fell on hard times, I allowed her to work for me. My housekeeper had just retired and I needed someone to replace her so I offered her the job.”

  “My mother wouldn’t have worked for you, she hated you.” Sydney spat the truth at him uncaring of her own safety.

  Raymond clenched his fists trying to control his temper. “She would if her home was about to be repossessed. Your father never knew how much I hated him, so when he needed money, I lent it to him. I bought the rest of the home loan from the bank. Your mother knew this so she worked as my cleaner.” Sydney could see the glee at his sense of power dripping from him. “She must have found some of my papers or overheard me on the phone. I was always a little distracted when she was around,” he said with a leer that made Sydney feel sick.

  “Why kill her?”

  “She became a liability. She had to go.”

  He said it like it was an inconvenience, not the life-altering event it had been for her. Her parents were both dead because of this man and Sydney was determined the man she loved would not follow. She had to be smart now.

  “Where are the papers?”

  “Do you think I would bring them to you just like that? I’m not that stupid. They are safely hidden until I know Kingsley is safe.”

  Raymond roared, his demeanor changing again like he was two different men. She could see now just how insane her uncle was as his cracks became bigger. He nodded at his right-hand man and Troy pushed her against the wall before he punched her in the gut. For the longest moment, she couldn’t draw air, causing dots to dance before her eyes.

  Falling to her knees, she slowly fought to inhale and looked up at the two men. “Free him, and you can have the papers.”

  “You’re in no position to be giving me ultimatums.”