Chapter 41 #3
Lena cleared her throat, and all of our attention snapped to her. “The cleanup crew will be here soon. I’m sure Knox has a lot of work to catch up on. How about we have a briefing in the evening?”
Considering we’d spent the entire night dealing with the Orlov brothers, it was barely six in the morning. I looked at Knox and asked, “You want to go home and sleep for a bit before going to the precinct?”
“Can’t. My detectives have been holding the fort the whole night. We’ve got a lot of high-profile people under arrest. I’ll have a lot of processing to do and even more people to handle.”
Naomi cleared her throat. “Do you think the charges against those millionaires and billionaires your team captured will hold?”
Knox smirked. “You already know the answer to that question. Attending an auction isn’t a high enough crime for people with billions in their bank accounts.”
“Fuck,” Sami growled.
Knox turned to her and gave her a dark smile. “You should be celebrating, Samaira. The more people I have to let go, the faster you gather evidence on their depravity, the quicker you get to kill them.”
Finally, Sami’s face lit up with her deranged smile. She looked at me and gave me a thumbs-up. “I approve. You did a good job, Tara, finding this man.”
Knox wrapped his arm around my shoulder and scoffed. “I found her.”
I pressed a kiss on his chest. “And I’m so glad you did.”
“Aw, you guys are so cute.” Sloane swooned.
Knox frowned. “We’re not cute. We’re powerful. We’re sexy. We’re motherfucking monsters.”
All five of us burst out laughing.
Knox started making arguments to Sloane about the downsides of being a cute couple when Lena went to open the door, letting the cleanup crew in. Knox’s eyes lit up once again as he saw the old ladies walk in with butcher knives and cleaning supplies.
“Hello, ladies,” he greeted them with a polite smile on his face. His eyes screamed that he was loving that they were our cleanup crew.
The leader of the ladies, Mrs. Winnie, turned to Lena and asked, “New guy?”
Lena smiled and nodded. “Tara’s man.”
Mrs. Winnie turned to me. “He kill for you that day?”
“Yes, Mrs. Winnie.”
She turned to Knox and gave him a nod. “Pleased to meet you, young man.”
He looked absolutely spellbound. “Likewise, Mrs. Winnie.”
She gave him a withering scowl. “It’s ma’am for you, young man.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The other ladies behind Mrs. Winnie started chuckling, and one of them said, “Stop it, Winnie. Leave the poor boy alone.”
“He’s no poor boy. He’s as bad as they come.”
Knox turned to me with a smile and jerked his thumb at Mrs. Winnie. “She already knows me.”
Mrs. Winnie smiled and looked at Knox, pulling out her knife. “Be good to her, and we won’t have a problem.”
Knox quickly pulled me onto his lap, making everyone chuckle. His gaze was solely on Mrs. Winnie. “I promise. She’s the only one who matters.”
Mrs. Winnie gave a satisfied nod and turned away, the rest of the ladies giggling and following her.
“You’re ridiculously obsessed with them,” I said, and went to pour us some coffee from the kitchen.
“Aw, don’t be jealous of Mrs. Winnie. I’ve just never met a cooler older woman in my life.”
I chuckled and sat beside a smiling Knox, setting our mugs on the dining table.
As I sipped on my coffee, I noticed Lena sharing a look with Naomi. “What is it?” I asked.
Lena shrugged. “Nothing really. Just wondering what Knox’s role will be among the Wildcats moving forward.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, he joined us to solve the Russian case. Now that it’s been dealt with, moving forward, we’ll be back to doing our regular missions.” She looked at Knox and asked, “In what capacity do you wish to be involved with the Wildcats? You clearly have your job and all of its responsibilities.”
Knox leaned forward in his seat, resting his hands on the table. “I will be involved with the Wildcats in only one capacity. Be the Shadow to Tara’s Panther. Where she goes, I follow. Plain and simple.”
Lena smiled. “You don’t care who we decide to kill? Who we go after? Who we choose to target?”
Knox looked at me and then turned to Lena. “Never cared before. Never will. The only thing I care about is Tara's safety.”
My heart vibrated with fucking joy and delight. I pointed my thumb at him and looked at the ladies with the biggest smile on my face. “It’s like he’s obsessed with me or something.”
Sami snorted, and Naomi shook her head, smiling, while Sloane had a ridiculous grin on her face. Lena looked at me with a proud mom smile and rolled her eyes. “Or something.”
She got up from the chair and extended her hand forward to Knox. “Well, then. Welcome to the Wildcats, Knox.”
Knox immediately stood as well and shook Lena’s hand. “It’s an honor.”
Samaira, Naomi, and Sloane immediately covered their joined hands with their own, welcoming Knox into our little family. With tears in my eyes, I pressed my own hand on top of them and met the eyes of the man who owned my heart. “I love you so much.”
He pressed a kiss to my lips and then my scarred cheek. “I love you too, baby.”