Page 39 of Knight Watch

On a logical level, she knew Kingsley and the others were safe and mostly unharmed, but it hadn’t stopped her from worrying. The man she’d known for such a short time mattered. He mattered more to her than what she’d believed possible.

When they entered the building she could see they had managed to clean themselves up a bit, but hadn’t changed clothes. They were obviously tired, and Sydney saw her caveman immediately searching for her. The lines on his face disappeared as he opened his arms to her.

Unable to resist, she went to him and buried her face in his shirt. He smelled of gasoline, sweat, and blood, but hearing the steady beat of his heart was all that she longed for. For the longest moment in her life, when he’d stayed in the mill, she’d thought he was lost to her forever.

Tears started to choke her, but she swallowed them away, tightening her arms around him.

“Hey, Syd. Easy. I’m fine. We’re both safe now.”

She snuggled closer as he kissed the top of her head, his use of her shortened name reminding her of their time together and the closeness they had shared. Eventually she pulled back and got a look at the marks and bruises on his face. “You’re hurt.”

He shook his head. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

The more she looked, the more blood she saw on him. It was dried, but it was a clear sign of how dangerous it had been. How close he had been to death. The way Kingsley looked at her told her it wasn’t something he wanted to discuss anymore. The caveman was close to the surface it seemed.

Cleo, however, didn’t seem like she was going to be deterred as she approached the other members of the team, Mason in particular. “What in the hell happened to you!”

At the vehemence in her tone, the man took a step back. “What are you talking about?”

Cleo took his arm where blood stained his shirt. Before Mason could react, she ripped his sleeve open exposing a nasty gash that still oozed blood. “You didn’t think it was a good idea to at least bandage it?”

Mason frowned, clearly unsure how to react to the whirlwind before him.

Cain walked over to stand beside Mason, offering his most pitiful face to Cleo. “I was hurt too, gorgeous. Will you take care of me?”

Cleo sneered at him. “If you’re still talking, it means you weren’t hurt enough. Want help with that?”

Cain lifted his hands in surrender as Shane joined the circle. “We’ll take care of our wounds and sleep, but we can only have a few hours. We have another problem to take care of.” Shane turned to Sydney, and from the look in his eyes, it was more bad news. “It’s something I heard thanks to one of my contacts at the police station. Rutherford is trying to file a kidnapping charge against Alliance. He’s accusing us of keeping you hostage, and is requesting you be returned to his care.”

Sydney felt the news like a punch in the gut. “He’s crazy! He’s the one who kidnapped me. It was his hired hands who came after us in Indiana. The police aren’t taking him seriously, surely?”

Kingsley came beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. “Breath, Sydney. I’m not going to let him get his hands on you.”

Shane nodded. “I agree, but we must be clever with how we play our cards here. Don’t forget, all we have right now is circumstantial evidence against the man. I’ve called an attorney for advice, and she’s on standby until we have more details, but that won’t be till the morning. In the meantime, we’re on lockdown. Go get some rest, Sydney.”

Cleo pulled Mason to the infirmary, and the others slipped away either to rest or secure the premises.

This new slap from her uncle made Sydney so mad. The people from the Alliance Agency were the first in a long time to be on her side and thinking they would be seen as criminals only fueled her anger.

Kingsley touched her shoulder. “Let’s go rest a couple of hours, Syd.”

“How can you be so calm about it? Not only is Raymond trying to kill me, but now he’s trying to get to you. I’m putting you all in danger. I can’t…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Kingsley took her mouth in a sweet kiss that turned heated. Sydney’s head was spinning when he finally released her.

“Are you insinuating I should walk away from you because of some creep I can’t wait to put behind bars? I’m not going anywhere, so get used to it. I’ll do anything to keep you safe. I need to hear that you believe me, Syd.”

The beaten warrior before her made her heart swell like no other. “I believe you, Kingsley, but I want you safe too. Do you understand?”

When he took her in his arms for another searing kiss, Sydney knew it was a tactic to distract her. For now, she would indulge his need, as well as hers, to be in each other’s embrace, but she was aware enough to know that the war had taken a dangerous turn. Now, more than her life was on the line and she realized that she had fallen in love with Kingsley Knight and was determined to keep him safe too.