Page 57 of Knight Watch

Chapter Twenty-Five

Hospitals were filledwith smells that made her sick to her stomach, taunting bad memories to come back to the surface. Sitting in the waiting room, Sydney looked at the dried blood on her hands and arms. Mason’s blood. So much blood, she was scared to close her eyes and see it again pouring from his wound.

Was that also Kingsley’s fate? To be shot and die as blood dripped from him? Alone?

It was pure torture to imagine him that way.

The rest of the team had reached the hospital at an amazing speed, and Shane had commandeered a private room so they could be together. Cleo had arrived soon after, pale as a ghost but holding on. Sydney had insisted on staying as close as she could to Mason and to be the first one told any news as soon as the surgeon was finished with him. James and Mercy had remained with her, even bringing her a clean t-shirt to cover herself after she had sacrificed her top to help Mason.

Alex had come and taken the papers Sydney had retrieved from the security box and had disappeared. Malco sat beside her in silence, stoic as ever, but it was his utter calm that made the waiting bearable. “Kingsley is a strong man. We’ll find him.”

Sydney turned to him, icy certainty deep in her belly. “You know my uncle won’t let him go until he gets what he wants. And he’s not a patient man.”

Sydney looked around the room. Most of the team were back at Alliance looking for Kingsley. They’d whispered around her, but she’d heard anyway. They’d tried to track Kingsley’s cell phone but to no avail. They were looking into cameras around the bank to see if they could identify anyone or any cars but so far had found nothing.

Raymond didn’t want Kingsley to be found. She had to act because sitting in this chair was making her insane. The images that flashed through her brain of Kingsley beaten and wounded were almost too much to endure.

Raymond wanted to make sure that whatever she had found ended with her. It would have been an insult to her intelligence to believe she didn’t know he planned to use her husband as leverage.

Her husband. Those two words meant so much. In an incredibly small amount of time, Sydney had crossed paths with a fantastic human being that had accepted all of her—scars, traumas, and quirks—and loved her. Till death do us part. Those were the words they’d never officially exchanged but were nonetheless real.

She’d also overheard the team discussing the fact that her uncle hadn’t contacted them demanding to speak to her or asking for money in exchange for Kingsley. It baffled the team, but not Sydney. He believed her smart enough to connect the dots by herself and remember something important—his phone number.

The trouble was that the team would never agree to use her as bait. They would try some elaborate plan to save them both when in reality, the chances of that happening were slim and the time they needed to gather everyone would take too long.

“Malco, can I borrow your phone for a minute?”

Without hesitation, he reached in his pocket and handed her his cell phone in a thick rubber casing.

She smiled in thanks. “Do you want a coffee? I was going to get one.”

He shook his head with a wan smile. “Go get one. We’re planning to get some food brought in soon, so avoid the cafeteria. Unless you want me to go with you?”

That was the opposite of what she wanted. “Don’t worry, I’ll just go as far as the coffee machine and come back.”

Hoping everyone would remain where they were, Sydney went to the coffee machine a few feet away from the waiting room and dialed a number she had always wanted to forget.

“Yes?” Her uncle’s voice made her want to hurl, but she had to keep her calm so Kingsley could live.

“Uncle.”

Immediately, she could hear the smile in his voice. “Ah, my sweet niece. I had hoped to hear from you.”

“Cut to the chase. What do you want?”

“Why in such a hurry, my darling? Is that worry for your husband I hear in your voice? Rest assured he is still alive and well. For now at least. Whether he continues to breathe depends entirely on you.”

“What do you want?”

“Sydney, you know very well what I want. You, of course. But after that little stunt you pulled at the bank earlier, maybe you’re too late.”

“What do you mean?”

He waited for a beat with his usual taste for drama. “Those papers you left with. Do you still have them?”

Panic at what he’d asked almost made her lose it, but thoughts of Kingsley kept her voice steady. “Yes. After all that’s happened, I haven’t had time to look at them. Why?”

“Not asking questions might be better for now. Troy will meet you at the main entrance of the hospital in five minutes. Bring the files and most importantly, don’t tell your friends. If you obey me, there’s still a chance your husband will survive.”