Chapter Nine
Taylor
Bracing myself, I catch my baby sister as she throws herself into my arms.
“You’re grounded,” I growl as I hold her tightly.
“Okay,” she sniffs.
The agents spent hours interrogating my sister before she was finally released.
“Detective,” one of the officers greets as I place Emily back on her feet.
“Not anymore,” I respond. “Since you’re done interrogating my sister, I’m going to take her home.”
“She wasn’t being interrogated, Mr. Taylor,” the detective said. “We just needed to finalize some information.”
“Sounded a hell of a lot like an interrogation to me,” I growl. “Now, if that’s all.”
“Thank you for your help, Miss Taylor,” the detective says.
Grabbing my sister’s hand, we turn and leave.
“I missed you, Tony,” she says. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you my plan.”
“Can’t say that I’m okay with everything,” I admit as I open the car door for her. “But I’m damn happy that I have you back. I’ve missed you, too.”
“You and Jacob never really liked Edward,” she says, stepping up to the car door.
There have been many times Reynolds and I thought about killing the fucker. But I thought my sister really was in love with him.
“I’m glad he’s dead,” I admit.
Looking over her shoulder, she locks her eyes on mine.
“Me, too,” she sighs. “Me, too, big brother.”
Once behind the wheel, I pull out and head towards the waiting chopper.
“I have a buddy who says you can take over his guest house for as long as you need it,” I tell her. “I would say you would get some privacy out there, but I guess his club uses his house for weekly get-togethers.”
“I wouldn’t want to intrude,” she says.
“It won’t be much of an intrusion,” I admit. “His president, Ghost, and I have been talking. We’re thinking of combining the clubs.”
“Really?” she asks shockingly.
“Yeah,” I admit. “I was never cut out to be president of a damn biker club. The original president of the Dark Sentinels was causing a lot of fear.”
“And being the bodyguard that you are, you wanted to ease that fear,” she smiles.
“After I became President and kicked out all the scum, the little town of Heath, Kentucky, seemed to relax.”
“What about Sentinel Security?” she asks. “You’re still open for business, right?”
I created Sentinel Security after I had a solid foundation within the club. We’re not anything big, but we do get hired for security at clubs and other largely populated events.
It’s actually how we started working at Obsidian Oasis and the Cage. Reynold, Hayes, and I take Oasis while Mitchel, Parker, and Sullivan work the Cage.
“We’ll still keep our business,” I tell her. “And we enjoy being part of a biker club. I think it’ll be the best bet in the end.”
“There’s something else,” she says, smirking. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nosy brat,” I chuckle.
“Yes! Now, reveal your secrets, Tony.”
“I’ve met someone,” I admit, not even trying to keep the smile from my face.
“And?”
“He’s a patched Obsidian member,” I admit.
“Knox?” Emily shouts. “I fuckin’ knew it. I’ve known about him for years because he’s big in the coding world, but never in my life would have thought I would get to meet him until this past week. I thought it was a little weird that every time I received a message from him, he told me that you were there.”
“He’s fuckin’ perfect, Em,” I smile. “He’s been through some shit but is still so damn strong.”
“Are you already in love, big brother?” she teases.
“Not sure,” I admit. “But I sure as fuck am interested in finding out.”
“I always knew you would be obsessed when you found your person. I’m surprised you haven’t already moved him in.”
I don’t say anything, and she laughs.
“You have your chest puffed out with pride, Tony,” she says when she calms down. “Like knowing your little boy is at home with all of your other possessions?”
“Shut up,” I laugh. “Brat.”
“Who is that?” she asks when we approach the landing strip.
“The man by the plan is the pilot,” I tell her. “The one leaning against the van is King.”
“Holy shit,” she sighs. “He looks…”
“Taken,” I laugh. “He looks taken. Because he is.”
“Doesn’t mean I can’t admire him.”
Shaking my head, I park the car.
“Brother,” I greet. “This is my sister, Emily. Em, this is King.”
“Tony says you’ve offered up your guest house,” Emily smiles.
Leave it to her to cut all the bullshit and get straight to the point.
“Of course,” King nods. “Unfortunately, the Wi-Fi is spotty, but Madeline says the view more than makes up for it.”
“I don’t mind,” Em says. “I’d rather stay away from all things cyber for a while, anyway. Tell me more about this Madeline. Does she like watching TV? I could use some girl time.”
“I’m sure Madeline would love to spend time with you when she isn’t at school,” King says, guiding her onto the chopper. “As well as Sophia when she isn’t at her shelter.”
“Shelter? School?” Em asks.
“Sophia runs a place called Unity,” he explains. “She takes care of the people who need it the most. And Madeline teaches children with special needs at the elementary school.”
“Wow, that’s a whole lot of intimidation to live up to,” she says.
“You’ve spent years gathering intel against a criminal Cartel who was abusing children,” King reminds her. “And years before that busting online pedophile activity. I think you’ll fit in just fine.”
“Awe, thank you. Did you hear that, Tony? I’m a keeper.”
Laughing, I nod my thanks to King as we all place the headphones on.
“So,” Em’s voice rings through the headphones. “You’ve probably heard that my brother has the hots for your coder.”
Fuckin’ brat.
“It’s a well-known fact,” King laughs.
“Fuckers,” I say with no heat.
I don’t care if they want to gossip about me and Knox. They all know I’ll take care of the boy with my very life.
Time to get back home to my baby boy.
***Knox***
“I think I’ve changed my mind,” I tell Reynolds. “This was a stupid idea.”
Taylor has been gone for three days dealing with everything that needs to be done to get his sister home. I’ve never in my life missed someone as much as I have him.
However, I’ve made a promise to myself to face my fear. I need to go outside. Even if it’s only for a few minutes.
“Come on, Knoxy,” Reynolds smiles. “I know you can do it.”
“At least one of us has faith in me,” I say. “Okay, I can do this. Out of my way, Jacob. I’m coming through.”
Laughing, he takes two steps out of the door and waits.
The sun is shining, and there isn’t a soul around. I mean, except for the audience sitting in the driveway.
“You got this, Knox,” Maddy cheers.
“I’m so proud of you,” Sophie smiles.
Ghost, Steel, Blaze, Venom, and Jax are all standing behind them, watching my every move. Then we have Mitchel, Parker, Sullivan, and Hayes somewhere behind me.
No freaking pressure.
I’m surprised that I don’t feel trapped being as surrounded as I am. But I’ve been surrounded by these twelve people for the past few days, so I’m getting used to it. Not all at once, of course. But at least three people have always been in this house with me.
King called and told Ghost that they would stop by Taylor’s house before taking Emily to King and Maddy’s place. So, that’s why everyone is here.
Then, I may have stupidly mentioned that I wanted to be outside when Taylor, King, and Emily arrived.
Now, here we are. Taylor is ten minutes away, and I need to hike up my balls and step on the damn porch.
“Keep the door open,” I say to the men behind me. “And make sure there is a clear path back inside.”
My brain is telling me to turn around, my stomach is warning me that there is danger outside, my heart is on the verge of stopping, and I think I may have peed a little.
But I ignore every bit of that and take that final step outside.
No one talks. No one cheers. No one breaths.
It’s only then that I realize my eyes are closed.
“Open your eyes, Knoxy boy,” Reynolds whispers, and I can hear the smile in his voice.
I can do this.
With a deep breath, I open my damn eyes.
“Such a brave boy,” Reynolds says next to me. “I can’t wait to tell your Papa how brave you’re being. He’s going to be so proud of you.”
We’re surrounded by a ton of land and not much else. I can see a highway off to the left of the driveway where motorcycle’s and a few cars are parked.
Then I look down at my family, who are all smiling, even Ghost, from ear to ear. It’s not that Ghost doesn’t smile. He’s just a bit harder to impress.
Then I glance behind me and see equally happy faces of the men inside the house.
“Hey, Reynolds, guess what?” I say when I look up at my new friend. “I’m outside, and I’m not freaking out.”
“That you are, buddy,” he laughs. “Want to come and sit with me on the swing?”
He points to a swing on the other side of the porch, and I nod. My heart races as I move further away from the door, so I take a look back to ensure there’s a clear path to get back inside.
“Let’s say something happens, and I can’t get back in the house,” I say, trying to slow my breathing. “How would I get to your house? I just need to know that I can get there if I need to.”
“Look to the right,” Reynolds says quietly. “Do you see that small path?”
“Yeah,” I say breathlessly. Don’t freaking panic, Knox. I can still run back inside if I want to.
“It cuts through the trees, but it’s not very dense,” Reynolds continues. “The path leads directly to my house. It would only take you five minutes to walk there. This is private property, so you wouldn’t pass a single person on your way. On my porch, you will find a hanging birdhouse. It’s made to look real, but it’s not. There is a latch under the birdhouse that will release the bottom. That is where you will find two keys. One to my house and one to my truck. Can you remember that?”
“Yeah. Good. Okay. Path. House. Bird. Key. Okay. Thanks. Swing.”
I take a few seconds to slow my breathing before taking those last two steps to the swing. I flop down, and Reynolds sits much smoother beside me.
The rest of the men exit the house and join everyone else in the driveway. I want to tell them all to come on the porch, but I honestly don’t think it would be a good idea.
“Good boy, Knox,” Steel smiles.
Blaze’s eyes shine with pride as he nods his agreement.
“Watch it, boys,” I tease. “In no time at all, I’ll be making my way to Oasis.”
Guilt flashes on their faces before they quickly hide it. It doesn’t matter how often I’ve told them that I forgive them and don’t blame them for what happened to me. They still feel guilty.
“We can’t wait for you to come and play, little one,” Blaze says. “We make sure it’s always filled with things you love.”
“And the other Little’s,” I remind them. I lean back on the swing and let long-legs Reynolds rock us back and forth.
“They’re always on our mind when we stock the room,” Steel says. “But, just as a whole. We make sure your favorites are always there.”
“Legos?” I ask excitedly.
“And video games,” Blaze smiles.
“Chocolate milk,” Steel adds.
“And comic books.”
The new voice startles me, and I look at our newcomers. I can’t believe I didn’t even see or hear them approach.
“Papa,” I screech, jumping to my feet.
My body burns with embarrassment, and I freeze. For one, Taylor didn’t even agree to be my papa. Secondly, everyone heard me. And last, there is a bombshell of a woman standing next to Taylor, smiling up at me.
All this talking about Oasis had my mind in a place it hasn’t been for a year. It’s no wonder I reacted the way I did.
“I mean, Taylor,” I say. “You’re home. I mean, you’re back.”
Smiling, Taylor rushes up the steps and stops right in front of me.
“And you’re outside,” he smiles, cupping my face in his warm hands. “What an incredibly brave thing for you to do, baby boy.”
Not caring that everyone is watching us, Taylor leans in and captures my lips in a sweet kiss.
“What a wonderful surprise to come home to,” he says against my mouth. “Papa is so proud of you, Pup.”
“I never thought I’d see the day when my brother met someone who he would look at the way he is you.”
Chuckling, Taylor steps aside and holds his hand out to the woman.
“Baby, this Emily. Emily, I’d like you to meet Knox.”
“My brother has been captured by the Watcher. How fuckin’ awesome it that.”
Em laughs as she yanks me forward into a hug.
“The Watcher, huh?”
“Ignore her,” I laugh.
Logically, I know I’m a smart man. I know that not many people can do what I can. But I don’t like to boast or brag. It just feels wrong.
“Didn’t you know?” Emily raises her brow. “Knox here is very popular in my line of work. He hides behind shadows and watches the world without a single soul knowing he’s there. He once helped the good old United States Secret Service find and capture a group of cyber dicks who targeted the President. He had to go into hiding when they hacked into the White House’s security network and would have had to remain there if your man here hadn’t stepped in.”
“I never heard anything about that,” Reynolds says.
“You wouldn’t have,” Emily says, hugging the man.
“I’m surprised you do,” I admit quietly.
“Are you kidding?” she laughs. “We knew instantly that it was The Watcher because no one else I know of could have pulled off that level of stealth. Knox, you’re a legend in our cyber circle.”
Emily winks at me, and I can’t help but smile at the compliment, even though I’m not one to seek recognition for my skills. Reynolds looks at me with newfound respect, realizing there’s much more to me than meets the eye, I guess.
“It’s not something I talk about,” I reply humbly, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the attention.
“Well, you should,” Emily insists. “People need to know there are heroes out there, even if they operate in the shadows. I think you and I are going to be best friends.”
“I think not, woman,” Reynolds says, wrapping his arm over my shoulder. “I’m afraid the title of the best friend has already been taken, right, Knoxy? You can be his regular friend.”
A breeze passes by, making me shiver. But I know it’s not from the cold.
“I think I’m ready to go back inside,” I say, looking at the cars flying by on the highway nearby.
“Come on, Watcher,” Taylor says, pulling me from his friend’s arms. “Your President and I have something we want to talk with you all about, so get your asses inside.”
The group grumbles as they all make their way back into the house.