Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Knox
After spillin’ my guts about the darkest corners of my past to Eliza, I felt a tangle of relief, but I knew there was much more to tell. Secrets I couldn’t divulge yet, not until Eliza was firmly in my world.
Nevertheless, a fire lit under me. Her takin’ it all in stride gave me a shot of strength, but the shadows nippin’ at our heels over this whole mess with Mark’s death had me knowin’ I had to hustle. It was damn clear things had gotten too dicey, even if my brothers had found out it was none other than Tara who spray painted the hood of Eliza’s car. Tara swore she had nothin’ to do with the gunshots.
Regardless, I couldn’t drag Eliza deeper into this mess. I had to see this through on my own for the next few nights, at least.
Knowing the police promised to patrol her neighborhood. I sent Eliza home where she said Grandma would come over with Emma and spend the night. I spent a hell of a restless night with my club brothers, diggin’ through every damn lead we could think of that might tie back to Mark’s murder.
That was until we had no choice but to hit the streets, under the full moon, chasin’ shadows and whispers. But by the time dawn was breakin’, we still didn’t have jack. My frustration was mountin’, each dead end heavin’ more weight on my shoulders.
I slept a whole day away, as I often did after a night on the prowl with my brothers. I resolved to check in on Eliza and Emma before divin’ back into the hunt. I swung by a local café as the sun was comin’ up. Grabbed a coffee for Eliza and a box of them sprinkled donuts—Emma’s favorite. Was hopin’ maybe that small bit of normal would cut through the chaos that swallowed up our lives.
But pullin’ up to Eliza’s place, somethin’ was off. The street was dead quiet, and a nasty feelin’ started twistin’ up my gut as I walked up to the door, coffee and donuts in hand. Instead of Eliza’s warm smile, it was Grandma who answered, lookin’ all kinds of shaken and pale.
“Where’s Eliza? And Emma?” I attempted to keep my composure, my hands heavy with the offerings.
“They’re gone,” Grandma’s voice shook as she dropped the bomb, her face ashen. “Took Emma and left early this mornin’.”
My heart damn near stopped. Confusion spinnin’ into high gear. “Gone? Why the hell would she leave? What happened?”
Grandma was dodgin’ my eyes, her voice shaky. “She said… she said she couldn’t stay here, not after knowin’ what you did… what you’re capable of. She’s scared, Knox.”
A cold dread slithered down my spine, mixin’ with disbelief. This didn’t sound like Eliza at all. She wouldn’t just run off—not without at least talkin’ to me. I looked around, tryin’ to piece it together, and that’s when I saw it—the broken window off to the side.
“Hold up, what the hell happened there?” I pointed at the shattered glass, my mind racin’.
Grandma’s eyes followed my finger, and her face said it all—something bad had gone down here, and now I was more in the dark than ever.
Grandma flinched, her eyes flicking to the window and back like she was dodgin’ bullets. “It was an accident,” she muttered, but her voice was about as strong as a wet paper sack.
My biker instincts, honed from years of dodgin’ real bullets, snapped to attention. “Grandma, you’re not Eliza’s mom? Not her Grandma?” I blurted out, driven by a gut punch of intuition.
She shook her head slowly, her eyes startin’ to spill over. “No. I’m Mark’s mother.”
It felt like the earth just dropped away under my boots. Shit. I should’ve known. Eliza told me her family was still in Florida. “What in the hell is going on? Where’s Eliza for real? Where’s Emma?” I demanded, my voice ramping up, desperate for the goddamn truth.
She fell apart right there, her face crumblin’ like a cliff-side in a storm. “Mark took them,” she choked out between sobs. “He… he faked his own death. Said it was the only way out of the mess he’d made. They’re probably halfway ‘cross the country by now.”
That hit me like a two-ton hammer to the chest. Betrayal and shock boiled up, mixing with a searing anger that lit a fire under my ass. Mark was alive, and he had my Eliza and Emma. Every tick of the clock was against us now.
“I’m gonna find ‘em,” I growled, my voice like gravel being ground under tires. The coffee and donuts I’d brought dropped to the ground, forgotten in the dirt.
Without wasting another heartbeat, I stormed back to my Harley. Time was burnin’ away, and I had to move fast. I was gonna find Eliza and Emma, no matter what the hell it took. The road ahead was hard and clear, and every fiber in me was dialed in on one thing only. Gettin’ them back safe and sound. The hunt was on, and I wasn’t gonna stop till they were home.