AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The doors opened into the lobby. I didn’t want any of the hotel staff to see me with Knox. Shifting my gaze left and right, I scanned the lobby. I maneuvered around the large fireplace and toward a recessed area leading to public restrooms.
Mila: Where are you? I’m in the lobby.
I stared at my phone, waiting for a message.
“Walk with me.”
I jerked my head up. I pressed a hand to my chest. “You scared me.”
Knox placed his hand on my elbow and directed me to a set of double glass doors. “There’s an outside patio. It’s getting dark. It’ll give us some privacy.”
I still had a limp as I struggled to keep up with his wide stride. “What’s going on?”
“Are you hurt?” His forehead furrowed as he scrutinized my body. “Did he fucking hurt you?”
“Of course not. I fell on a run.”
He slowed his steps. As soon as we were outside the doors, we followed the lighted pathway through the gardens to the outdoor bar and patio. People sat at tables near patio heaters. A gas fire blazed in a large square firepit. More people sat on the edges sipping drinks.
A pathway circled the perimeter of the garden. We walked deeper into the shadows. I stuffed my hands into the pocket of my hoodie. We stopped at a metal slatted bench.
Knox kept his attention on the pathway, the bar in the distance, and the entrances into the gardens.
“Byrne and Jessie, they know little potato is Dee.”
I leaned back on the seat. “Is she still in the chatroom?”
“Yeah, but they’re moving slow with her. They don’t want to spook her.” Knox leaned back next to me, our shoulders touching. Skin peeked through the worn thread at the knees of his faded jeans. He wore a faded concert T-shirt under his leather jacket. He rubbed his inked hands against his thighs.
“Oh god.”
“Listen, she’s doing what you told her to do. She’s saying no to meet ups. She hasn’t volunteered any information.”
“Then how do they know it’s her?”
He patted his jacket for his cigarettes. “She agreed to a video feed.”
“Are you fucking serious?” I scrubbed my hands over my face. “I have Tim watching her.” Was he even really looking? Tim promised I could trust him.
“Ally, they aren’t asking her to show her titties to the camera. They’re talking high school girl shit. She did the video chat with one of Jessie’s girls. She looks sixteen. They want Jilani’s princess. The Irish aren’t the only ones concerned with the Bruno’s moving into their territory.”
My hands trembled as I took the cigarette from him and inhaled a drag. “I don’t know what to do.” I was sick to my stomach.
“You stay on her like fucking glue, Ally.” He slipped his cigarette from my fingers. “The situation has changed. They have me running security at a huge fucking house in the Hills.”
The Hills was an upper-middle class neighborhood. Lawyers, bankers, and doctors with three-story houses and French bulldogs. People that worked for people like my father and Marco.
“Why?”
“For the girls.” He dropped the cigarette and crushed it under the heel of his combat boot. “I’m not there to protect them. My job is to keep them from leaving.” He growled and clasped his hands on top of his head. “Ally, I’m in too deep.”
“What about an anonymous tip to the cops?”
He grunted an exhale. “Fuck. You know how this works. Byrne has his hands in too many pockets. By the time a judge signs a warrant to enter the property, the girls will be gone and a family of five will be sitting down to dinner at the table.”
I covered his hand with mine. “I’m scared.”
“Byrne has a hard-on for Dee. She’s a target. They already have bidders on her.” He flipped his palm and laced our fingers. “You have to tell her. You can’t worry about me. All that matters is keeping her safe.”
