Page 25 of Hard Knox

Knox ran a hand through his hair, his frustration showing. “Shit. I swear to you, I didn’t do it. I didn’t kill Mark. I need you to believe me.”

The earnestness in his eyes, the raw fear of losing not just his freedom but something between us, was unsettling.

“Knox, they recently found his body, but it seems someone murdered him just a couple of nights after you two fought. After you broke his nose. I was there, and I saw your rage. And frankly, it mirrored what I used to experience at the hands of Mark. It terrified me.”

“I would never do something like that to you,” Knox promised.

“You said you would kill him,” I reminded him.

“I don’t… I don’t remember saying that, but it sounds like me. I swear, I didn’t mean it.”

“What am I supposed to think?”

“I have an alibi, Eliza. Like I told the cops, I was at the clubhouse the night they say he was killed. Someone to vouch for me being there.”

“Your brothers? They could be just following orders.”

“No, Tara,” he said, about killing me. “They’ve spoken to her.”

“You were with her?” I asked, my voice high.

“Not like that,” he said, straining.

“This is all coming down so fast, and now Emma and I are caught in the middle of this nightmare.” I rubbed my swollen eyes.

Knox stepped closer, his presence familiar and comforting despite the chaos. “I know how it looks, but I’m being set up. Someone’s trying to pin this on me because of my past, because of what I used to be. I’m not that person anymore, Eliza.” His voice broke slightly, and it pulled at my heart. He reached out, taking my hands in his. “I came here because I need you to believe in me. If you tell me to leave and never come back, I will. But I had to try. I had to tell you, face to face, that I’m innocent.”

Looking into his eyes, seeing the man I had come to know—the man who had shared his fears and dreams with me, who had held me so close—I felt a surge of protectiveness, a fierce desire to fight for the truth.

“Knox, if you are innocent, then we’ll prove it,” I said, the decision firming up within me. “But I need time to think about how to handle this. I need to be careful, for Emma’s sake.”

“Thank you, Eliza,” he whispered, relief washing over his features. “I’ll do anything you ask. Just say the word.”

“I’ll come to you when I’m ready. Okay?”

Knox agreed. As he left, the weight of our situation settled around me like a cloak. I knew that siding with Knox might alienate me from the community even further, but turning my back on him without seeking the truth would go against everything I ever thought I stood for.

After Knox left, I stood at the door for a long moment, the echo of his words declaring his innocence lingering in the air. It was a pivotal moment, a crossroads that demanded a choice, and I had made mine. Taking a deep breath, I turned back to face the quiet order of my home, my decision cementing with each step I took towards the phone.

I called Grandma first, explaining that I needed her to watch Emma for a little while. “I have something important to handle,” I told her, my voice composed despite the inner turmoil. Grandma, ever the rock in our family storm, agreed without pressing for details. Her trust gave me the strength to take the next step.

Next, I called the school. My voice was calm as I requested a week off. “A personal matter,” I said, and the administration, perhaps sensing the gravity in my tone and knowing what I was dealing with, granted the leave without question.

With my immediate responsibilities covered, I drove to the Royal Bastards MC clubhouse to meet Knox. The building loomed large and somewhat foreboding as I parked my car beside the motorcycles and stepped out. Drawing in a long breath, I steeled myself for the wave of gossip and judgment that would inevitably follow, but I was determined.

I found Knox inside at the bar, his expression tense but visibly brightening when he saw me. “Eliza, thank you for coming,” he said, leading me inside to a quieter part of the clubhouse—an office lined with books, binders, and club memorabilia.

We sat across from each other at a small desk. “We must solve this, Knox,” I started. “For Emma, for us. I believe you, but we need proof. We need to find out who really did this.”

Knox’s gaze was piercing. The noise around us seemed to fade into a distant hum as he leaned forward. “I’ve been turning this over in my mind non-stop. There are a few leads I want to follow up on—people who might have had a motive to set me up.”

My mind raced as I needed details. “Who do you think would go that far? To hurt Mark? To frame you?” I asked in a whisper.

Knox rubbed his chin, his fingers brushing against his thick beard with a raspy sound. “There’s a couple of ex-members who didn’t part on the best terms. And there’s always the chance it could be related to some old rivalries.” His eyes didn’t leave mine, searching for a reaction, for any sign of fear or doubt.

Instead of fear, what I felt was a growing resolve. “Let’s list everyone who might have a grudge against you or the club. We can start checking into their whereabouts around the time Mark was…” I trailed off, the reality of discussing a murder case involving someone I once loved feeling unreal.

As we dove deeper into the discussion, the initial tension between us morphed into a focused, collaborative energy. Our partnership deepened with each shared idea, each plan we made. I was learning way more about Knox and the club than I probably should’ve known. Knox assured me that it was okay, that he had the ultimate say over whether to divulge the information. It was in these moments, working side by side, that I truly saw the man Knox was—a man willing to fight for his innocence, a man driven by a desire for truth.

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