Page 11 of Knight's Last Chance

Chapter Five

Rhea

Knight brings me to Mount Bonnell, to a spot where I can see the city lights twinkling like a sea of fireflies below us; it’s magical.

Tonight, let’s run away together.

When he spoke those words earlier, I thought it was in a metaphorical way or something, but no, his words were literal. He really did intend for us to run away for the night, and for the third time in a single day, I find myself living another one of my fantasies.

I have dreamed of riding into the sunset on the back of Knight’s Harley. When he slid a helmet over my head and had me climb behind him on his bike, I had to pinch my arm to ensure it was not a dream. The night was pitch black when we tore away from the clubhouse, the sun long set, but the absence of the sunset didn’t make it less magical. It was just me and the first man I’ve ever loved.

A part of me thought we would ride all night or at the very least, fast enough to outrun my insecurities.

The man tore into the road at a neck-breaking pace, but unfortunately we can’t outrun the deep-rooted insecurities that plague me when it comes to Knight.

I have no idea what I am doing getting involved with Knight, but I can’t stop. This man has broken my heart before, and I know he is capable of doing it again if I let him. But the fire he lights in my body is unlike anything I ever thought I would experience. I am unwilling to lose that feeling just yet.

I know when he quits this dangerous game we’re playing, it’s going to wreck me.

You’re mine, Rhea.

My heart aches at the memory of the words so I close my eyes and try to block them out of my head. I need to go into this clear-headed, so it hurts less when his words prove to be empty promises.

“What do you think?”

Knight snaps me back to the present and my eyes snap open to find him watching me. My gaze quickly shifts from him to our surroundings. There are no stars in the sky tonight, but that doesn’t make the place any less magical. The moonlight bathes the landscape in a silvery hue, casting long shadows that dance beautifully across the rocky terrain.

There is a soft breeze that carries the scent of night-blooming wildflowers, adding a touch of sweetness to the crisp air. The distant sounds of the city fade into the background, taken over by the peaceful sounds of nature, and my lips can’t help but stretch into a smile.

“It feels like a dream,” I whisper in response. “I didn’t know this spot existed.”

Knight leans back against his bike as he stares into the river below us. “Most locals know about it, but there is an unspoken agreement to not show tourists this spot.”

“Why not?”

“Tourists can be pretty destructive, so it’s more a preservative measure, but also the spot can be dangerous and hard to navigate unless you’re used to the terrain. It’s to avoid accidents too.”

“I see.”

We stand in companionable silence, staring at the river and the massive city below us, and I am awed by the fact that out of millions of people, I somehow found my way to Knight. I can’t help but wonder if I would have ever met him if I hadn’t decided to escape from home that fateful day when my mother tried to pimp me out to her drug dealer.

If she and my father had been normal parents, working-class residents of the city and not drug addicts living in a trailer and surviving off government assistance, then I never would have run away in search of my long-lost half-brother. Priest is the kid my mother left behind to run off with another man—my father. I thought he would resent me for that but he never held our mother's actions against me. He took me in with open arms and introduced me to his world.

Perhaps I never would have met Knight or fallen in love with him if my history wasn’t as twisted as it is.

“Do you know the legend behind Mount Bonnell?” Knight’s deep voice breaks me out of my thoughts and I turn around to face him, shaking my head.

“I didn’t know the mountain had a legend attached to it,” I say, searching my mind for a story when I remember my high school history teacher telling us something about the mountain. “Wait, are you talking about the myth that the mountain got its name from a commissioner buried up here?”

A shudder racks my body when a cold air blows against my cheeks, and the thought of a ghost lurking in these trees sends me inching closer to Knight, just in case. Surely, Knight wouldn’t bring me to a haunted place, right?

“No, this is one is a story about a forbidden love.”

I perk up at his words, suddenly invested. “Does it have a happy ending?”

“You know these things rarely do,” he says with a chuckle, but his eyes stay on the river flowing below us. “The legend is about a wealthy heiress named Margaret who leaped to her death from a cliff on this mountain after the death of her forbidden lover when they tried to run away together.”

“Oh, that’s tragic.”

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