Page 16 of Going Down Smooth: Part Two

TEN

KNIGHT

“You must think we are fools,” I growl, removing my cufflinks from my shirt methodically, taking my time as the sound of grunts and flesh hitting flesh sends a thrill through me. I don’t usually get my hands dirty, but for this, I will make an exception. For my mate, I will make an exception.

Mymate. Fuck. My Mercy.

I didn’t want to claim her the way we did but we have years to make it up to her. Years to claim her repeatedly, my teeth, my tongue, my knot buried deep inside her delicious peach-scented pussy. She has us all. Fuck, my dick is hard at the mere thought of all the making up we have in store for us. It sucks that my baby is injured, the sight of the cast on her arm, the wrap binding her broken ribs, sends me spiraling, my rage is so potent, I have no choice but to leave the house under the pretense of working from M. Bar.

From the force of the blows being delivered, Lox is feeling the same pent-up rage as I am. Since the moment we brought Mercy back from the hospital, he and I have been out doing what we do best, getting answers. Christopher might have his hands in every pot in this town, but we are not without our connections. Hence, our relationship with Pack Savoy. Dez Savoy runs and operates a private security company, his arm reaches across several states and a few European countries, his specialty, finding people. But the weasel behind me wasn’t hard to find at all. Dez delivered him to our door this morning before he took Freeya to see Mercy. I guess our packs are family now considering he is mated to Mercy’s best friend. There are only a few Alphas I can tolerate, my brothers, Dez, Avion, and Vic. So, not much of a hardship there.

“Please. . .he promised—” The sound of another grunt pulls me from my thoughts as I roll up my sleeves.

“Oh, little Stefan, I don’t care what he promised you,” Lox says, his voice low, menacing, and dripping full of hatred. Punch. “I knew you were a fucking rat.” Punch. “I only tolerated you for Nate’s sake, because he has a good heart and takes pity on the weak.” Punch. “Well, you don’t have to worry about me caring at all. . .I only have one heart to give, and it already belongs to the only person that matters. You know, the woman you assisted in trying to murder.”

Another punch, followed by the satisfying sound of the crunch of a bone and a mangled scream has me finally turning around to face a bound Stefan. His head lolls to the side, saliva drips from his mouth, his dark brown skin blackened by bruises and blood all over his face. He sits in a chair in the middle of my office, hands tied behind his back and bare chest exposed with rope crisscrossing him.

Lox worked him over enough for the blood to drip down on the floor, the plastic tarp underneath him was a last-minute decision. I knew this wasn’t going to be a nice, tidy question and answer session, so we had to improvise. It’s not like I have a torture room in the basement for moments like this, but as Mercy gets more and more media attention, it might be something to look into. Okay, I am not going to call myself Don Knight just yet. Ha.

I consider us all simple business owners, Nate has his architecture, Trey his music, Lox, well, Lox is my right-hand man in all things. I’m not some mafia crime boss, I have a business degree and take routine hikes and live in a cabin in the woods. I’m a big man, but I by no means walk around beating the living shit out of people for shits and giggles. I have Lox for that. But that doesn’t mean I won’t crack a skull or two when the opportunity presents itself. We need information, and we need it now.

I hold up my hand and Lox stops before he lands another blow. Stefan is a small man. I don’t want Lox to break him too much before I get all the information I need from him. It takes me three long strides to stand before Stefan, he must be in some serious pain by now because he looks like he’s about to pass out. I watch his body sway like a pendulum in the seat before I react.

I slap his face hard, then snap my fingers in front of him as he jolts upright. “Tell me, Stefan, how long have you been working for Christopher Smooth?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest as he struggles to hold his head up. He opens his mouth, and I can almost taste the lie on his tongue. I hold up my finger to stop him. “Please, make this easy on yourself. Do. Not. Lie. To. Me. I promise you will leave this room in pieces if you do.” Okay, maybe not in pieces, but damn, the fear in his eyes at my words makes me give him the biggest toothy grin I can muster. That’s right motherfucker, I’m unhinged, like nothing you’ve ever seen. We almost lost her.I think of what could have been, and I harden myself like steel.

“I. . .I. . . Christopher. . . Two years now,” he barely gets the words out, blabbering the entire time, but I stopped listening as I hear two years come out of his mouth. I look at Lox and step back in shock, turning to control my reaction, giving him my back. This happened right under my nose.

“Excuse me.” Lox steps up and yanks Stefan’s head up to look at him. “Did you say you’ve been working for him for two years?”

“Yes,” Stefan replied.

“Why?” Both Lox and I say at the same time.

“Why would he send you to infiltrate our pack when Mercy wasn’t in the picture?” I turn back to face him while Lox forces his face to turn in my direction and holds him steady. When he doesn’t answer right away, I begin to lose my shit. “Answer me! Why?”

“He. . .he wanted me to keep an eye on you. In case she. . .she came back or contacted you.” He sniffs at the blood pouring down his nose, sucking it back in, and continues. “He wanted to make sure she was gone for good. If she returned. . .he knew. . .Benjamin would give her everything to have her back. So, he wanted me to. . .to try to become a member of your pack. She could have been mine too by now. . .if . . .if—” Crack.

Lox hits Stefan so hard he knocks him and the chair over. I only give him an impatient smirk and he rolls his eyes. “Like he would ever become pack,” Lox scoffs, then leans down to grab the back of the chair, making Stefan groan from the tightening rope about his hands and chest. “Mercy would eat you alive, you measly little worm. If she wasn’t injured, I would leave you tied up until she is ready to come here and do this herself.” Lox spits on Stefan’s shoes in disgust. With a jerk of my head, he steps back, his chest is heaving.

Blowing out a deep breath, I compose myself. “Christopher wanted you to spy on us. Make sure Mercy never contacted us. So, you befriend my brother, the only one of us nice enough to give you an in, to what end? If Mercy never returned, then what? You would have been exactly where you were a few weeks ago. A lackey. You’re a weak Beta, Stefan, why would I want to taint my pack with your deficiency?” I ask, baiting him. I want him to get angry, judging by the way his nostrils flare, it’s working.

“Benjamin! When Christopher found out he was sick, he thought he was close to getting what he wanted, but he didn’t antici—pate Benjamin calling you into his office months before he died.” He pauses, sucking in a deep breath.

I know exactly what day he’s talking about. The day Benjamin, Christopher, and Edward were having a heated discussion about Benjamin selling Smooth Bourbon. I interrupted them but not before Benjamin called him out about the sale to fund Christopher’s fucking church. Benjamin knew, he was the lead Alpha, of course, he always had his eyes and ears on his pack. It’s what a good Alpha does. “He didn’t anticipate. . .the will. . .the—the deal he made with you and your pack.” Stefan’s words begin to slur. “I wasn’t able to get the intel because. . .because—”

“Because what, Stefan?” I asked in annoyance as Lox takes a step toward him ready to go to town on him again.

“Because—”

“Because I never trusted you!” I shout, cutting his ass off. I would never have made him privy to such sensitive information, hell, I kept it from my brothers until recently. I am sick to my stomach. All of this sneaking and conniving, for what? So Christopher could create a mega church with cult worthy beliefs. Please, I’m not going to let him have it and neither will Mercy.

Stefan begins to cry. “Please. . . I didn’t know what his plans were for Mercy. He organized that with Derrick, Chasson, and Mal. He knew—knew Mercy would come for Faith. Faith didn’t have a choice. She does what—what she’s told.” He sniffles. “After I left your house before the board meeting, he told me to lay low. So, I did. I had nothing to do with the fire. . .please.”

“If he told you to lay low, then why were you still lurking around the Bar yesterday? You weren’t trying to hide, Stefan, you were caught in broad daylight snooping around here. So, tell me why?” Lox asks curiously, stepping up to Stefan once more in preparation to pound into him again. Stefan shrinks back and whimpers.

“Christopher wanted the schematics to the cabin, wanted me to access the cloud to get Nate’s drawings,” he says it so fast. Lox and I go deathly still in shock. What the actual fuck?

“Spill it, Stefan, don’t leave me hanging in suspense or so help me!” Lox growls.

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