Page 201 of Knox Academy Omnibus
For now, we just need to take care of our girl. Slate is already a step ahead of me and has had a valet bring a car around while we were watching the exchange.
Slate and Kalen slide into the back with Amelie in the middle, and Onyx jumps in the driver's seat. I look over at Baxter and nod, then look at Christos still slumped on the ground between Jasper’s and Frost’s feet. Baxter knows what I mean. He salutes me before I jump into the car, and Onyx pulls off, heading towards my house. I send a message to our doctor on staff to meet us there. I need to make sure that Amelie really is okay.
Done, I place my phone in my lap and flip down the sun visor. It’s dark out but the mirror lets me watch Amelie in the back when I tilt it just so. I don’t want to take my eyes off her. My hands itch; she’s been back for – what? – twenty minutes now and I’ve still not touched her. It isn’t right.
I force myself to blink and not just stare at her like some psycho stalker. I have to think business otherwise I’ll reach into the back seat, unclip her seatbelt, and drag her ass into the front and onto my lap.
Business. Next steps. Cleaning up the problem...
Baxter will take Christos to the chambers where we’ll all meet later, once we know our girl is safe. Kalen will have to stay with her while we take care of the problem. I have no doubt he’ll want to be involved, but we’ve tried to keep his hands clean for him his whole life, and I don’t intend to let him start getting dirty now. Besides, there’s no need for him to see his brothers enjoying tarnishing their hands with Christos’ blood.
Kalen may be a lot of things, but he isn’t broken.
We need one of us to be whole, ethical, someone who is good for Amelie when we can’t be. That’s Kalen through and through.
By the time we arrive at my house the doctor is already waiting, and so he should be with what The Order pays him. Amelie has fallen asleep and so Kalen lifts her from the car. I beat him to the door and unlock it, not bothering with any lights. Marshmallow barrels through the house excited to see us, but Slate grabs him and takes him to the garden to lock him away while the doctor is here. I can hear him whimpering, but ignore it and follow Kalen into my room where he has pulled down the covers and laid Amelie on my pillows.
She’s now awake and smiling at him. A rush of emotions overcomes me, the thought that she was hurt, that heart stopping moment when Jason called. I step back out of the room to fill the doctor in on what happened. Slate follows the doctor into my bedroom, and Onyx and I stay out to give them some space for now.
“After the doctor looks her over, I’m going to help Baxter,” Onyx says.
I can see he’s struggling with having all these feelings. Onyx doesn’t care about many things, just his brothers and The Order. I know he is grateful to our father for raising us, but I don’t know if he loves the man. He doesn’t let many people in.
“We all will. Except Kalen. He’ll have to stay with Amelie.”
“He won’t like that. He’ll throw a fit if he can’t help,” Slate says slipping out of the room.
“I don’t give a shit about Kalen’s hurt feelings! I outrank you all and I have never used that against any of you, but tonight I will. We need one of us to have our hands clean. What if this all goes to shit when she finds out that we are murderers? She’ll still have him. Face it, he’s what’s good about us.”
“I agree,” Onyx answers, as the doctor exits the room. We all stare at him and he makes his way towards us.
“How does she look, Doc?” Onyx asks.
“Besides some bruised ribs and superficial abrasions, she will be fine. That is one tough girl. Make her rest for a few days to heal and she should be good as new. And like your brother asked, yes she can have sexual intercourse whenshefeels ready for it.”
I leave Slate to ask the reasonable questions about her health. Trust Kalen to think with his dick at a time like this, though it further reiterates the reasons I believe Kalen should not bloody his hands. I slip into my office and take an envelope of cash from my safe.
“Thank you,” I say, handing the doctor the envelope of cash. He slides it into his jacket pocket and nods before leaving.
Slate, Onyx and I head back into the room. It’s time to get some answers from Amelie about what happened. Kalen has stripped off and jumped into my bed with her, and is scrolling through Netflix. She looks up at us and gives us a small smile.
“Kalen, mute the TV and the rest of you take a seat. I know you all want to know what happened.”
We all make our way to the bed and find a spot to sit. We must look ridiculous, rushing to her like lost puppies, but I find it hard to bring myself to care. She’s become our centre, our core. The glue holding us together where it was once The Order and bonds of family. She may not realise it yet, but she’s our family now.
“I don’t know where to start, but I’m sure you know, I was taken from my room. Whoever took me was a bit rough. I thought since it was a fake kidnapping they wouldn’t have manhandled me so much.”
A growl rips from Onyx’s lips, and I know Christos isn’t our only target tonight. He’ll be hunting down every person involved.
She goes on to explain about fighting and pride swells within me. She describes the cabin and I know straight away that it isnot an Order location. In my mind that confirms that Harold was working off script.
“When I was in that room and had to get ready, I thought, if this is a test, I may need weapons. I didn’t have a phone or even my own clothes. The only things in the room I could find were a spray perfume, a metal nail file, a paperweight and dental floss. I only thought of that because Aadi hogged tied me once when we were young.”
I’m impressed with how resourceful she was able to be under pressure. Looking at my brothers’ faces, I see that they are too.
“Anyway, when it was time to leave, a limo was waiting. I overheard the man talking in Italian, but I could only understand a little. That’s how I knew he intended to sell me.”
Rage threatens to bubble up and overspill from me every time that gets mentioned. I can’t wait to join Baxter and unleash some vengeance on this guy.
