Chapter 11 Knight
ELEVEN
KNIGHT
My skin prickles from the distance between us, but I manage to allow her to walk away, keeping her in my peripheral vision as Betty leads her to the massive sectional couch.
“Congrats, bro,” Huck says, slapping me on the shoulder before leaning down and scooping a child off the floor and into his arms.
“Thank you.”
“When the fuck did you two even meet?” Bay asks.
“We met here,” I inform him.
“I know you were introduced, but I don’t remember you talking. Did you exchange phone numbers and stay in touch once she left for Rapid City?” he asks curiously.
“No.”
“So how did…” He gestures from me to Octavia and back again. “It happen?”
“I recognized her as mine.”
“Ohhhh,” Penn and Teddy say in unison, a matching knowing look appearing on their faces.
“I’m happy for you both,” Beau says. “When you know, you know, and I think pure instinct makes more sense than meeting someone and hoping for the best.”
“How did things go after you carried Octy out of here over your shoulder the other day?” Cody asks.
“I won’t apologize—” I start.
“I don’t expect you to. Octy’s your woman, and Betty crossed a line. She might be a little salty with you for a while, but I’d have done the exact same thing if someone tried to take her from me,” Cody says.
Nodding, I press my lips together and stay quiet, because there isn’t anything more to say.
Bringing her here isn’t about clearing the air with Betty and Cody Barnett.
It’s about making sure that everyone knows she’s my wife, and the quickest way to broadcast our news to everyone in Rockhead Point is to start with the Barnetts.
Gossip travels faster than email here, and now that all seven Barnett brothers and their wives know, it won’t be long until mine and Doll’s marriage is common knowledge across the entire town.
And I want that. I want the entire world to know that I’m hers and she’s mine.
For the first time, I’m glad no one expects me to be chatty or make more than polite conversation, because my attention is focused on my doll and the conversation she’s having with Betty on the other side of the room.
My body keeps turning toward her, urging me to go to her, to pull her onto my lap, band my arms around her, and hold her close.
The desire to pin her to me and make sure she can’t escape is almost impossible to ignore, but I try, because no matter how much I want to go to her, I can’t.
After this morning and her reaction to me bringing her down to the gym, I know she needs this. She needs the illusion of space, even if it’s only across the room. My heart hurts, and every inch of me hates her being this far away, but I know I need to give her this—for now.
When the sound of Betty’s loud laughter cuts through the conversations happening around me, I allow my body to turn more fully toward her, just in time to catch Betty’s eye.
“Knight,” she calls, beckoning me over.
Striding across the room, I circle the couch, then pick Octavia up and take her seat, positioning her on my lap.
“Octy says you plan to come to the studio with her,” Betty says.
I nod. “Yes.”
“Perfect. How do you feel about becoming the new security guard?”
“Fuck yes,” Cody says, taking the seat beside Betty and curving his hand around her pregnant belly.
“I’m at the studio as often as I can be, and I know Oz has been going with Etta when she’s had to be on site to work, but we can’t always be there, and I don’t want Betty there at night on her own.
Having you there to make sure she and Octy are safe would be fucking perfect.
Maybe we could ask if any of the jumpers on the other team wanted to cover the time when you’re on shift. ”
“That won’t be necessary,” I tell him.
“But I can’t guarantee I can be there—” Cody starts.
“I’ve taken a six-month leave of absence from the smoke jumpers, but I have no intention of returning to the team, so I’d be happy to act as security. Do you have a system in place for the studio at the moment?”
“Yeah, we do, but it’s only a basic system because of privacy. We can’t have cameras running in the rooms when people are having piercings or being tattooed in places that need them to take off clothes,” Betty says.
“I’ll install a new system,” I tell them.
“Wait, what?” Betty says, confusion etched across her face.
“I co-own Sypher Security. I don’t know who installed your current system, but unless it was us, I’m confident we can do better,” I inform them.
“Wait…you own Sypher Security?” Cody asks, clearly confused.
“I co-own it, but yes.”
“Hang on, does anyone else know about this? Sypher is like a military level security company.”
“No one has ever asked me,” I advise him.
“You own a security company?” Doll asks quietly, looking over her shoulder at me.
“We co-own a security company. Yes.”
“I did wonder how you could afford to buy all that land,” Cody says absently, shaking his head softly.
“So you probably don’t want a job as a security guard then?” Betty asks.
“I am happy to accept the position. As long as you understand that my main priority would be Octavia,” I tell Betty, quickly glancing at Cody to ensure he understands that while I’m more than okay making sure Betty and the studio are safe, my doll will always come first.
He nods in understanding, and I nod back.
“Her chair is next to mine in the front, so you can still be close to her. I doubt you’ll ever have to actually act as security, but you’ll be there just in case,” Betty tells me.
Nodding in agreement, I tighten my hold on my wife. “I’ll assess the security needs of the building and make sure you have the best system possible.”
“Awesome, just let me know how much it costs,” Betty says.
“Consider it a gift.”
Betty opens her mouth to speak, but Cody whispers something to her, too quietly for me to hear. Instead of arguing, Betty inhales sharply, then nods. “Okay. Thank you. That’d be great.”
“We should head down to tell my brothers,” I tell Doll, lifting her out of my lap and placing her on her feet in front of me.
“Oh, okay,” Octavia says, her eyes a little glazed.
“Congratulations,” Betty says with a wide smile, sounding genuine.
“I thought you believed Octavia was making a mistake?” I ask her bluntly.
“I never said she was making a mistake. I was just a little shocked. But I get it. You guys make sense. Actually, I think you’re perfect for each other,” she says.
Nodding in agreement, I take my wife’s hand and lead her across the house and toward the door. Once we’re outside, I lift her into the car and fasten her seat belt before climbing into the driver’s seat and starting the engine.
“You own a security company?” she asks as we pull away from the Barnetts’ home and head toward Jumpers Row on the Williams property next door.
“We co-own a security company.”
“Okay, I don’t own anything, but that’s really not the important part.
Were you planning on telling me that you co-own what sounds like a pretty badass security company?
When you said you’d quit your job, I thought that meant you were unemployed, not that you still had a business to run.
” Her voice gets increasingly louder as she twists in her seat to face me.
“I didn’t think it was relevant,” I admit, unsure why this is making her angry.
“You didn’t think it was relevant,” she repeats back to me. “I thought you said you’d never been in the military?”
“I haven’t, but my partner in the business, Saxon, was Danish special forces.”
“So what do you do for them? Is it dangerous?” she questions snappily. “Are you in danger?”
“Saxon and his men have been in dangerous situations in the past. But I only ever deal with the planning of operations, not the actual missions. I have no military training, so I have nothing of value to add to a hostile situation. Sometimes I act as a pilot, but mainly I research and handle logistics and planning.”
Tension floods from her muscles, and she slumps back into the seat.
“You were worried?” I question, trying to understand her reaction.
“Of course I was worried,” she snaps.
“Saxon would be more than willing to buy my half of the business,” I tell her.
“What? Why would you sell half of a successful business? Or at least I’m assuming it’s successful, as Cody had heard of them and seemed surprised that you were one of the owners.”
“It is successful, yes. But I don’t want you to worry. You are my wife. If you want me to sell and end my involvement with Sypher Security, then I’m happy to do that,” I tell her.
Exhaling softly, she shakes her head. “You’d do it, wouldn’t you? Just because I asked you to. Just because I said I was worried.”
“Of course. You are my wife.”
“I don’t want you to sell your business. Am I going to get to meet Saxon?” she asks.
“He’s overseas on a mission at the moment, but when he returns, I’ll arrange for you to meet him.”
“Okay. Are there any other companies you own that I should know about?”
“I will provide you with information about all of our investments and business assets,” I tell her.
“They’re not ours. They’re yours,” she says.
“Everything we have is ours now. There is no me and you any longer. There’s only us.”
“There’s only us,” she repeats in a whisper. “You’re crazy. You know that, right?”
“As you seem to be concerned with my mental capacity, I’ll also provide you with my most recent mental health assessment,” I tell her, as I pull my car into the driveway of the house that has been mine for over a year.
Killing the engine, I open my door and climb out before striding around to the passenger side to help her. Once she’s standing beside me, I take her hand and lead her across the street to the house Oz and Etta share.
Etta has the door open and is running toward Octavia before we’ve taken two steps into the street.
“Octy,” Etta yells as an irate Oz races behind her.