Page 15 of Knight Watch

“Did your parents ever mention him?”

“Not really. I got the feeling it was a sore subject between them. My dad always tried to hold on to the thread of family, but my mom didn’t like it and often made herself scarce when my uncle was around. After she died, my dad tried even harder, and for a while, my uncle came around more.” She stopped unable to say the next words. She knew she needed to tell them the truth but wasn’t ready to bare her soul to people she had only just met.

“It’s okay, Sydney, we won’t let him hurt you,” Kingsley encouraged with a nod.

She took a breath, knowing she needed to warn them somehow. Panic made her voice week as she gave them what she could. “My uncle is not a good man, and neither is the man you saw with him, Troy, his head of security.

“We’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else.” Nick had a gruffness to his voice that made her lift her head. She was shocked at what she saw as she looked around the room. They felt her fear of her uncle and Troy and were willing to help even without knowing the full extent of what they had done to her.

“Thank you.”

What do you know of his business and clients?” Kingsley’s jaw was hard as he steered the subject away from her fear. She felt so grateful she almost sobbed and then swallowed it down, not wanting to seem like a baby.

“Not a lot. I think he’s into property development and finance of some sort, but that’s all I know.” Sydney rubbed her hands on the fabric at her thighs, the conversation making her frustrated that she didn’t know more.

“That’s okay. Do you have any idea why your uncle would kidnap you?”

Sydney looked at him and realized it was the moment of truth. She had to tell them what she could and trust them. “He thinks I have some of my father’s documents. I honestly don’t know what they are or what they contain. I’m guessing it’s something bad that would hurt my uncle as he wants them so badly.”

“Then I guess we start there. Let’s figure it out and find what he’s looking for before he does.”

“So, you’re really going to help me?”

Kingsley leaned forward and took her hand in his, it was barely a touch, and there was nothing sexual about it. It was a simple reassurance that they meant what they said. “Yes, Sydney. We will. We don’t like to be taken for fools, and we hate men like him that think they can hurt innocents.”

“I don’t have any money to pay you.”

“Don’t worry about that,” said a beautiful young woman with dark hair as she walked in with a tall, muscular man with a hard face but warm eyes. “This one is on us.” She strode forward, her face kind but unflinching. “I’m Emme Wallace, and this is my partner and fiancé, Shane Rhodes. We own the Alliance Agency, and it will be our pleasure to put that asshole behind bars where he belongs.”

“Thank you.” Sydney nodded, knowing she would accept all the help she could to get her dad the justice he deserved.

Another man came into the room waving a piece of paper in his hand. “Sydney, can I confirm how long your uncle held you?”

“About six days give or take. There were no windows in the room so it’s hard to tell for sure. I kept track as best I could with the meals they gave me. Why”

“You work part-time in the auto repair shop below your apartment, right?” Sydney nodded, not sure where the man was going with his question. “I’m Alex by the way. I work here as well.” The man shook her hand before continuing. “Did you know they alerted the police when you didn’t show up for work? I’ve finally been given a copy of the police report, and it seems that Rutherford was alerted to that fact, and he had to backtrack when they contacted him.

“He told them he’d already hired an agency to find you, and that the police didn’t have to be involved. Of course, that was all before he contacted us. The police backed down when they were told we were on it. They’re overworked and understaffed so having someone else with money to help was a godsend for them. He did the same trick with your boss, Sydney. That way, he could continue to hold you out of sight while keeping the police or anybody else off his back. He told us you’d been kidnapped three weeks ago. I’m not sure how he thought he could get away with that. Surely he must have known we would check.”

Kingsley shook his head. “So we acted as a shield for him. He knew the police would contact us to see if we had found anything, so he had to get us involved.” Turning to Shane and Emme, his voice was so hard it could cut glass. “I hope you were able to get all the money you could from him, that monster.”

Shane didn’t look at all pleased and cursed before looking at the people around the table. “King, what’s the plan?” Shane addressed the man at her side, and Sydney could feel the quiet, controlled air about him.

“I was going to suggest Sydney and I search her dad’s place and then get Nick and James to dig deeper into Rutherford’s business dealings. Malco, could you talk to your associates and find out if there have been any other allegations of assault or harassment other than what Caitlin mentioned?”

“On it,” they said as they stood to get started.

“I need some more clothes and a place to stay.” Sydney felt her chest tighten at the thought of going to the place her father had died. She hadn’t set foot there since the night she had gotten the call. Kingsley seemed to sense her rising panic.

“You can stay here with us, and we can sort some clothes. Right, Emme?”

“Absolutely, we can.”

“It will be all right, Sydney.” Kingsley stood and held out his hand for her to take. “I’ll even let you drive.” He chuckled as she smiled and took his proffered hand. It was time to trust someone.