Page 64 of Shaken Knot Stirred

My roar of purefrustration echoed in the stairwell. I jumped down the last full flight and pushed the door into the lobby.

They were moving a whole fucking piano in the service elevator and it was stuck between floors. Win could bill me for the broken latches on the fire doors.

I smoothed my tie down and caught my breath as I navigated the lobby. One scan was all I needed to know Moxie wasn’t here. Her pale hair was my beacon.

A frazzled-looking doorman jumped to open an exit for the agitated alpha. The other doormen were gawking at something across the lawn.

“I’m looking for…” my request died in my throat.

She was dwarfed by the giant truck. Shoes swung from one arm, the other was being pinched by a bald man, the parking lot lights glinted off his dome.

He lifted her up and shoved her in the truck. He climbed in and a second later tore up the grass, screeching to the service road that led right to the bridge.

I blinked in shock, unable to breathe. I tore my suit jacket, ripping the phone out of my pocket. The tech guy had recovered all of Houston’s texts earlier but I hadn’t bothered to download the videos.

I replayed the one from the gas station. It was grainy, but that didn’t fucking matter.

Same truck.

Same guy.

My whole body vibrated with the realization.

My brother had taken Moxie from the Delta Lounge.

I hit the call button with barely a glance, tracing their path down the ruined garden. Pack and city. It was a Knightbridge rule, everything else was fair game. Taking down Beg would tear the family apart. It might do the same to the city. Balance only existed because the Knightbridges did not go to war.

Beg got a fucking pass for all the shit he’d done, because he provided a service no one wanted to admit we needed. Without the Mired District, without a relatively safe place for alphas to vent their dark side, they would bring that to the Floating District. And all our pretty things would be ruined. So, everyone, our fathers, Pay, Win, the police, city council, all turned a blind eye. They wouldn’t be handing Beg the keys to the city, but they would tie my hands. They already had.

The call connected.

“Houston.” The greeting came through with a lot of background noise.

“It’s Star Knightbridge. I found her. I’m about to make a giant mess.”

Chapter 36

Lana

I didn’t bother towait for the hot water as I scrubbed my hands. I didn’t know how he accomplished it, but Montgomery Hollis was sticky. It was his spray tanner or something, but every inch of him had this tacky residue.

I shook off the water droplets and checked my phone. It seemed unusually quiet. It was 2:00 AM, far too early for Nico to make his way back. Where was Moxie? She had left for the Paramour with Beg following. They had to be back by now?

There was a damp towel on the floor by the shower.

“Moxie?” I called out her name softly. Panic started creeping in to settle in my shoulders. She wasn’t in the living room, or in my bedroom. I slipped my heels off and tiptoed down the hall to Nico’s room. Putting my ear against the door, there were no signs of life behind it.

Beg’s doorway loomed like a portal to hell at the end of the hall. He never slept here. I didn’t know where he spent his time, and I was pretty sure he only kept that room furnished as a threat that he could come and go anytime he wanted.

A small muffled sound made me jump. There were three other unused and empty rooms in this hall. I opened the first door, and the room was dark and smelled musty. When I opened the second, a slice of light from the hallway spotlighted Moxie sitting on the floor. She had her knees up, and her head resting on her arm.

“Moxie?” My legs felt weak seeing her looking broken.

“I’m… scared,” she said without looking at me. “I think I might have pushed Beg too far. There’s no lock on the door. I can’t sleep knowing he could just… I’m so tired.”

My heart ached because I knew that feeling.

These had been bare office rooms when Beg moved me in here. Everything had been dusty and gross. I’d spent the first few nights barricaded in a closet with my hand cupped around the horrific bite mark. About a week later, one night after a long shift, I found Nico mopping the floor of what would become my room. There was a mattress propped up against the wall, and a few shopping bags. He didn’t say anything, just kept working silently. He finished by laying down the mattress and making the bed with fresh sheets. And then he left, closing the door behind him.

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