Chapter 23 – COSIMA
COSIMA
The moment the words leave my mouth, I realize Knight is losing it.
His growl starts low, rumbling through the train car like distant thunder before erupting into a full-throated snarl that makes the metal walls vibrate. His burning blue eyes zero in on Plague with the single-minded focus of a predator who's just spotted prey.
"Oh, fuck," I breathe, just as Knight lunges.
There's no time to think, only react. I throw myself between them, my body slamming into Knight's chest just as Plague's eyes snap open.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Plague mutters, his voice rough with the drugs I slipped him.
He jerks against the restraints, metal cuffs rattling as he tries in vain to break free.
His usual composure cracks when he gets a good look at Knight looming over us both, murder written in every line of his massive frame.
Knight's clawed hand swipes past my shoulder, close enough that I feel the wind from it. Close enough that if I hadn't moved, Plague would be missing his head right about now. But he's frozen solid, as if he's terrified to even breathe at the risk of me getting hurt in the crossfire.
"Knight, stop!" I press both palms against his chest, but it's like trying to hold back a freight train with my bare hands. He's not even looking at me. His focus is completely locked on Plague.
Geo's there in an instant, wrapping his thick arms around Knight's metal one. "Shit, he's strong. Nikolai, get your ass over here!"
Nikolai doesn't need to be told twice. He grabs Knight's other arm while Raven circles behind, trying to find an opening.
"You better find some magic words to calm your boyfriend down," Geo grunts to me, straining against Knight's strength. "We're short on antique, irreplaceable haunted pianos."
"Are you ever going to let that go?" I groan, returning my attention to Knight. "Knight, look at me," I command, putting every ounce of authority I can muster into my voice. "It's okay. I don't want you to kill him."
Knight's growl stutters, his gaze finally dropping to mine. There's confusion there, mixed with that protective rage. His next growl is a plea for understanding. Like he really, really wants permission to tear this alpha limb from limb.
I pause, then add with a shrug, "Well, okay, so I do want to kill him. But we can't always act on our feelings."
Behind me, Plague's struggles against the restraints intensify, the metal cuffs clanking loudly against the back of the built-in chair.
"Although," I muse, tilting my head thoughtfully as I glance back at him, "that's clearly never stopped an alpha before."
"Can we focus, please?" Geo snaps, his face red from the effort of holding Knight back. A vein throbs in his forehead like it might burst any second.
Not that it would matter if Knight was actively trying to get past me. All three of them combined couldn't hold him back.
"Right, right. No killing." I reach up, cupping Knight's mask between my palms, forcing him to focus on me. "You're kind of a wrecking ball in alpha form, and the last thing we need is this train going off the rails. We're trying to interrogate him, not redecorate the interior with his intestines."
Knight's growl softens and his huge shoulders slump slightly, the tension bleeding out of him by degrees. The others exchange wary glances but slowly, reluctantly, release their hold on him.
I reach out and squeeze his giant hand, his fingers engulfing mine completely. "Thank you," I murmur, feeling him practically melt at my touch.
Geo and the others visibly relax and step back from Knight the second they realize he's not going on the attack again.
"I can't believe it." Plague's voice cuts through the moment, dripping with disbelief. "You actually managed to tame the Knight."
I spin around to face him, eyes narrowing to slits. The fucker's sitting there with his hands cuffed behind his back, blood trickling from where Knight's claw grazed his cheek, and he still manages to look arrogant. Typical alpha bullshit.
"Good, you're awake," I say sweetly, drawing Nikolai's gun in one smooth motion and pointing it directly at Plague's forehead. "Now we can get to the fun part. And for the record, it's just Knight."
Geo groans like someone just told him his favorite brothel burned down. "Remind me whose idea it was to give her a gun? I thought we discussed the 'no killing' thing."
"Shut up," I snap without taking my eyes off Plague. I'm not planning on killing Plague. But he doesn't need to know that.
Plague actually laughs. A dry, humorless sound that makes me want to put a bullet through his knee just to see if he'd find that half as amusing.
"It is impressive you've kidnapped a prince of Surhiira," he admits, voice dripping with that particular brand of condescension only royalty can truly master. "Brilliant job. Not half bad for a gang of misfit criminal lowlifes."
My finger tightens on the trigger. Just a little. Just enough to make him sweat.
"I hope whatever you think you're going to extort from me is worth it," he continues, apparently deciding today's a good day to die. "Because by now, you're already being hunted to the ends of the earth."
Raven pipes up from his position by the door, examining his nails with affected boredom. "Yes, yes, your little army gave us quite a rousing farewell already. Lovely bunch."
Plague's gaze darkens, and for the first time since he woke up, I see genuine menace there. "I wasn't talking about the Surhiiran military."
"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Geo starts pacing the length of the car like a caged animal, each heavy stomping footstep making the floor vibrate. "I knew this was a bad idea. I fucking knew it."
Plague's attention shifts to Nikolai, and his expression turns to something almost like disappointment. "I can't say I'm surprised by the others, but you... Have you lost your fucking mind? You were supposed to be keeping an eye on her."
Nikolai's lip curls in that way that usually precedes violence as he gestures to me. "She's right here, isn't she?"
I snicker.
"You do realize you won't be able to come back from this, don't you?" Plague's voice drops, deadly serious now. "Even your mercenaries can't save you from what's coming if you don't stop this fucking train right now. Before it's too late and my pack finds me."
The threat hangs in the air like a fucking guillotine's blade, and I can see Nikolai's jaw working as he processes it. For a moment, I wonder if he's about to sell me out, throw me under the proverbial train to save his own skin. It's what I've been waiting for this whole time, scent match or no.
But I'm not giving him the chance.
I snap my fingers in front of Plague's face like he's a misbehaving dog. "Hey, birdbrain, this is my interrogation. Eyes on me."
Plague turns that intense gaze on me, and there's genuine bewilderment there now. Like he can't quite figure out what species I am.
"Did your father put you up to this?" he asks slowly. "I knew Arthur Maybrecht was a snake, but I'm surprised he's willing to stoop to using his own daughter for extortion."
I laugh. "Right, because using an omega you don't know for extortion was so noble. Don't kid yourself, your majesty. You two have plenty in common."
"Is that what this is about?" he asks, his voice dry as bone. "Getting back at daddy dearest?"
My hand moves before I can consciously decide to react. The crack the butt of the gun makes against his face is satisfying in a way that probably doesn't say anything flattering about my mental state. His head snaps to the side, blood immediately welling from his split lip.
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Geo groans behind me, throwing his hands up. "We're all gonna hang."
I ignore him, pressing the barrel of the gun underneath Plague's chin and forcing his head up so he has no choice but to look me in the eyes.
"This isn't about my father," I say through gritted teeth.
"It's about your brother. Azarel? Assuming that's even his fucking name. Actually, let's start there."
Plague gives another of those dry laughs. "I was surprised to learn Azarel had time for anything other than the 'mission' he thinks he was born for. But after meeting you, it makes perfect sense."
I tilt my head, studying him closely. "Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?"
He smirks, but it doesn't touch the ice in his gaze. "Guess."
We stare each other down for a long moment. The train rocks beneath us, wheels clacking against the tracks in a rhythm that matches my pumping heartbeat. Holy shit, this kind of adrenaline feels good.
"By the gods, you're sexy when you're holding a man at gunpoint," Raven mutters wistfully, gazing at me like a lovesick puppy.
Geo fires him a death glare. "Don't fucking encourage her."
Finally, I remove the gun and step back, switching tactics.
Time for nice cop.
I paste on my sweetest smile, the one that used to make Monty's business associates nervous. "So his name really is Azarel, then. Good to know there's at least one thing he didn't lie about."
Plague watches me with those sharp eyes, and I can see him recalculating, trying to figure out my angle. "That's why you've done this? You're angry at my brother for lying to you, so you enlisted a band of underworld thugs to kidnap a prince?"
"Imagine what she'd do if the bastard had cheated on her," Raven quips from his spot by the door.
I smirk, not taking my eyes off Plague. "What can I say?
We have a complicated relationship. But we're about to uncomplicate it significantly.
" I lean forward, making sure he can see exactly how serious I am.
"You're going to tell me the truth. Who the fuck is Azarel, and why is he in Reinmich, working for my father? "