Chapter 48 Fitz
FITZ
“You can’t fucking keep me here!” I thrash as my brothers manhandle me into my penthouse.
“Lock him in his sex dungeon!” Faulkner calls from a safe distance away.
Not safe enough.
I break through Crawford’s hold.
Whitman manages to grab my wrist right before I punch Faulkner in his smug, stupid face.
“You inbred little shit!” I snarl at my youngest brother.
“That’s not a bad idea,” Whitman says. “I assume it’s padded and soundproof?”
“Leakproof too.”
“Found it,” McCarthy says, coming back into the living room with a pair of handcuffs.
A handcuff pulls on my wrist. “I can’t work with this on,” I snarl at Crawford.
“You need to chill out, or I’m going to call Parker and have him send over some of those nasty tranquilizers they make at Svensson Pharmatech and knock you out for a few days.” Crawford’s eyes narrow. “How about getting work done, then?”
“Knox! That fucker—he corrupted Winnie. He’s trying to steal her from me!”
“You can’t steal another human being.”
“He stole her!” I shout.
“Crawford will go to Knox’s house and check,” Salinger assures me.
“No, he will not.” Crawford’s offended. “I’m not your errand boy.”
“Yeah, don’t feed the delusions,” Whitman agrees.
“I’m mentally ill, and I’m on drugs,” Faulkner singsongs.
There’s pounding on the front door.
My brothers all stare.
Bang! Bang! Bang! “Open this fucking door, you motherfu—”
Kathy stumbles in when Crawford throws the door open.
“How did you even get in here?” I peer at her.
She’s stomping into the penthouse, followed by her grandmother, who is wielding an ax.
“Whoa, whoa! Watch that blade. That’s a Manet.”
“Oh shit!”
“She has a knife!” My brothers curse as Kathy stomps up to me and kicks me right in the balls.
“Unghh.” I double over.
“Ouch.” Faulkner sucks in a breath.
“Now, Kathy,” her granny says, “be gentle. I’m still hoping to breed him.”
“Fuck,” Crawford swears.
“You lying, sociopathic piece of shit!” Kathy screams. “What did you do to my sister? Where is my sister? I know you kidnapped her! Carolina says you have a sex dungeon and that you’ve been stalking her, and you forced her to have sex with you in an alley!”
“Okay, that was consensual—a hundred percent,” I say, wheezing.
Crawford reaches for his gun.
“Swear on my goat farm.” I hold up my hand with the handcuff dangling off it.
Kathy brandishes the knife. “Bullshit! Winnie doesn’t like to get dirty.”
“Ehh—”
Crawford turns on me. “Where the hell is she?”
“I don’t know, because you fuckers wouldn’t let me go after her, and now she’s been snatched off the street!” I scream at him. “If you’d let me go, she’d still be here.”
“I don’t know,” Carolina says uncertainly. “I think Fitz might be telling the truth.”
Kathy looks like she’s about to cry. “But then where is Winnie?”
“Crawford, pull up all information about Knox,” I demand. “I know he’s got her.”
“You think Knox kidnapped her?” Kathy is horrified.
“For someone who claims to be an introvert, Winnie sure lives a dramatic life.” Her granny swings the ax and almost takes out a Ming vase.
“Knox is too pathetic to do that.” Carolina shakes her head.
“He’s obsessed with her,” says a small voice from the hallway to the foyer.
“Brinley?” Carolina peers over. “Why are you here?”
“She didn’t come up with you?” I demand.
Carolina and Frances shrug.
“How are all of you getting up here?” Hawthorne asks, confused.
“Pretty privilege.” Kathy tosses her hair and swings the knife.
“I think Fitz is right and Knox went after Winnie.” Brinley gulps a sob.
“Where is he?” I want to tear him apart.
“That’s the thing—I don’t know. He didn’t come home tonight,” Brinley explains. “He won’t answer his phone. He texted me earlier today, said he found someone better, that he’s done with me. I wanted to talk to him in person, so I waited at home, but he never showed up.”
She wrings her hands. “I searched his computer—not to snoop, just because I was worried.”
“No one thinks you’re a bad person because you investigated a known cheater,” Carolina assures her.
Brinley’s voice drops to a whisper. “He has all these photos and articles saved about Winnie. I didn’t know what to do.
I can’t go to the police—they’ll just think I’m a jealous bitch or something.
He’s obsessed with her. I think she’s in danger, and then Kathy texted that she’s been kidnapped, that they found one of her slippers outside and the door was unlocked and Fidget is freaking out. ”
“Yeah, it’s so weird—when we checked the cameras,” Kathy says, frowning, “we didn’t see anything.”
Whitman looks like he wants to die.
“Why is her Ring camera not working?” Salinger hisses out.
“I, uh, well—” Whitman scratches the back of his head. “Fitz asked me to—”
“I don’t even want to hear it.” Salinger raises a hand. “Because when they haul you off to jail, I want plausible deniability.”
“Did you save the video to a different location, or did you just overwrite it on your server?” McCarthy asks.
Whitman gives him a pained grin. “Err. I meant to ask you to change the settings back.”
“Asshole!” Kathy slashes the knife at me.
“Whoa! He’s our only hope here—stop trying to take out his kidney.” Carolina hauls her back.
“I’m taking his balls if anything happened to my sister!”
“We know where she is—Knox has her. We’re going to fucking get her and kill him, and then we’ll all go for drinks, okay? Okay? Now take this handcuff off me.”
“She’s in this house somewhere,” I fume. “Search it.”
I find the photos in the desk drawer and crumple them up in my hands.
“That’s evidence,” Salinger reminds me.
“I don’t want any evidence after what I do to him.”
“Are you going to let him do this?” Hawthorne hisses to Salinger.
“Did you know,” I tell my brothers, “that I impulse-bought a crematorium once? It wasn’t even that expensive, and no one checks up on what you burn. It’s wild what they let you buy if you have cash.” I shrug.
“Oh,” Carolina says, staring at me apprehensively. “Shit. I guess you do really love Winnie.”
“I’m real close to burning down this fucking city.” I’m really trying to keep the smile on my face.
“Stop smiling,” Salinger barks. “You look crazy.”
“If anything happens to her because you wouldn’t let me do what needed to be done, you and I,” I warn Salinger, “are finished.”
“Any leads on Knox?” Crawford says into his phone before snapping orders at them.
My phone dings. “Found him.”
“How?” McCarthy is suspicious.
“I own hotels, idiot. And I know everything that goes on there. Everything.”
I don’t even bother knocking on the suite door. I just swipe the master key card and sweep into the room.
The living room is empty. So is the interior bedroom.
The master bedroom? Knox screams when I kick the door open.
He’s shirtless in bed.
“Knox, is that your mother?”
“Oh my god, she is peak boy mom.” Carolina gags.
“You have no right to be in here! Security!” Shelby hollers.
I ignore the squawking woman and haul Knox out of bed.
He thumps to the floor in nothing but his underwear. I grab him by his hair and drag him into the living area.
“Where the fuck is Winnie?” I rage down at him.
“I don’t know!” Knox blubbers.
“Where is that knife, Kathy?” Carolina demands. “Or that hatchet?”
“I don’t need a knife.” I remove my jacket.
“I swear, I swear!” Knox begs on his knees. “Sir, you know I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize my career,” he whines.
“He’s got dog-bite marks,” Kathy snaps, pointing at his leg. She kicks him in the knee.
“That’s my hockey knee!” he howls, crashing to the ground.
His mother rushes into the room, swinging her handbag.
“Off! Get off of my baby! You!” she screeches at Kathy.
“You and your horrible sister. I told my little baby neither of you were good enough for him, and now you’ve hurt his poor knee.
It’s okay, Mommy’s here, Knoxie baby. Mommy’s here.
You all need to get out! Knox has been here with his mommy. ” She kisses his head.
“Where the fuck were you when Winnie was kidnapped?” I demand.
“We went for a nice dinner and then back here. I was rubbing his back,” Shelby yells at me. “I want room service to bring up ice for his knee.”
“No. You need to get the fuck out of my hotel.”
“You can’t kick us out.”
“I’m paying the bill, so yes I can. That’s how it works.”
“He’s your star hockey player.” Shelby is offended.
Frances hefts the hatchet.
“Not anymore. I’m moving you to Saskatoon. If you don’t leave right now, I’ll let the crazy old broad chop your balls off.”
“Well, that’s not good.” Carolina chews on her lip as we’re all standing out in the private elevator lobby to the suite level. “If Knox doesn’t have Winnie and you don’t have Winnie, then who does?”