Page 11 of Knight Watch

Chapter Six

As soon asthey pulled away from the curb, Kingsley grabbed his phone and dialed Malco’s number. “We’re clear. And you?”

“Staying to keep an eye on them. I’m outside, but I saw that moron running around the building with Rutherford. He seemed pissed as hell so I would keep going if I were you. Is Sydney okay?”

A quick glimpse at the passenger seat told him she was for now, but he knew the adrenaline rush would crash and she could go into shock. “Yeah. Call Cleo and tell her to put Alliance on lockdown. I doubt Rutherford knows we’re involved, but better to be safe than sorry. And if he’s still in the dark, I want to make sure we use it to our advantage and get some information.”

“You’re taking her to Alliance?”

Kingsley’s first instinct was to take her to his place, but it was clear while she trusted him for now, Sydney wouldn’t continue to without reassurance and serious explanations. He could only rely on her survival mode for so long before her cautious side kicked in. “Yeah, we’re heading there.”

“Good. I’ll take a couple of the guys to help me, but we’ll keep out of sight for now. Also, I’ll send someone to where she was being held to make sure he’s not holding anyone else. I think she’s the only victim, but you never know. If I get more information, you’ll be the first one I call.”

Ending the call, Kingsley pocketed his phone and saw she hadn’t missed a single word he’d said or looked away from him the entire time. Serious but ready to bolt, it was clear her trust was wearing thin and a quick look at her grip on the door confirmed she was prepared to run.

“That was Malco, the man you saw dealing with one of your kidnappers. He’s keeping an eye on them and will forward me information. I’m taking you to the Alliance Agency. You’ll be safe there.”

“Who are you?” Her voice was tinged with suspicion, and he couldn’t blame her.

“As I said, my name is Kingsley Knight. I work for the Alliance Agency. We’re a new company specializing in missing person cases. Your uncle came to us saying you had been kidnapped. When we started digging, some of the information he’d given us didn’t make sense. My team found inconsistencies, and we decided to follow him. That led us directly to you. We saw you being dragged into the car and then inside the bank and had to act quickly.”

Kingsley watched as Sydney swallowed hard. It was apparent she was struggling to hang onto her control and courage. “Why should I believe you aren’t working for him? You’ve just admitted my uncle hired you.”

Kingsley nodded. “I understand your concern. You can tell me to stop the car right now, and I’ll let you out. I can also drop you at a police station if you prefer. But I would rather take you to our headquarters. We have a state-of-the-art security system and everyone that works there has a police or military background. I suspect even Cleo has one.”

It was subtle, but she relaxed a little. “Cleo?”

“Yeah, our badass office manager. I haven’t known her for long, but she can strike fear into the hearts of the most hardened agents.” He chuckled. “Or maybe it’s because she takes care of payroll and no one wants to get on her bad side.”

As he expected, the little joke helped lower her guard and relaxed her, if only for a few moments. He found himself wanting to see the smile that threatened the edges of her lips. He had to convince her to come with him to Alliance. Kingsley didn’t know if he had it in him to leave her alone on the street corner, even if it was what she wanted. He sensed in his bones danger still lurked. And most of all, he wanted the fear that colored her gaze to be gone, and for that, he knew the mission wasn’t yet finished.

“It’s your company? The one Raymond hired?”

Keeping a warm smile, he shook his head. “No. I don’t want that sort of responsibility. I like doing my job, not being buried in paperwork day in, day out. I met the owners on a mission and offered my services. They are good people. Emme and Shane started Alliance Agency and relocated here to Miami.”

“You’re not American.”

“No, I’m not, although I work with many of them. I’m from the UK and was in the service there. Then, I relocated here. Florida is quite a change from England’s rainy weather. A perk of the job I guess, although Americans can’t make anything close to a decent cup of tea,” he said with a grin.

Her laughter was tentative, but the sound squeezed something in his chest. “You’re just saying that because it’s such a cliché for someone from England to drink tea all the time.”

“No, ma’am. Do you think a bearded badass like me doesn’t drink tea? It’s in my genes and a cure-all for anything. I’m lucky Emme gets a steady supply from back home. Otherwise, a few of us wouldn’t be able to function properly.”

“Why Emme?”

“She’s English as well. She’s the one who convinced me to join her team.”

It may have been wishful thinking, but Kingsley could see her body lean a little more into the seat.

Stopping at a light, he turned to her, determined to make his case. “Sydney, I realize you don’t fully trust me. It’s understandable, sensible even. Your kin kidnapped you. We were hired to get you back, and we did, but there’s no way this is finished, and you know it. You’re still in danger until we make sure your uncle is taken care of.”

The fire was back in her eyes. “You’re right; I don’t trust you. But I’m thankful you helped me get out of there. You don’t know what my uncle is capable of. He has resources and enough money to turn anyone into his personal puppet.”

Something dark swirled inside him. “Not everyone is corruptible, Sydney.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. All I know is I’m alone, and I can’t risk being with someone who would turn on me the first chance they get.”

An emotion close to despair and anger threatened to make its way inside him when he touched her hand. “If he has connections, the ability to hire people to get you back and possibly kill you, you need an army of your own.”