Page 8 of Knight's Journey

Jay’s parents arrived, but he spoke to them briefly before they left with Davi in tow. He was glad to see her safely in their care, so he could focus on being there for his team. He’d already drank enough bad coffee to float a passenger ship, and the caffeine was starting to make him jittery. Hours had gone by with no word on Zane’s condition, and he was close to busting into the operating room to demand answers.

A rush of activity occurred when four harried women burst through the door of the waiting room, each trying to talk over the other. They all had the same dark hair, tanned skin and blue eyes as Zane, instant indicators of their identities.

“Oh my.” Maggie Wilder drew up short, her eyes taking in the full waiting room. “I’m sorry. The nurse said we should wait here. I didn’t realize…”

Kat stepped forward with a slight smile. “Mrs. Wilder, it’s all right. We all work with Zane. My name is Kat. I’m the one who called your daughter.”

Maggie stood eye-to-eye with Kat. Her dark hair held shimmering streaks of gray and framed her face as the ends brushed against her neck. Her skin showed signs of age around her eyes and mouth. She was flanked on all sides by her daughters, who hovered protectively even as their eyes clouded over with worry.

“Please call me Maggie. Is there any word?”

“No, not yet,” Kat answered gently. “He’s still in surgery.”

Tristin, Wings, Brick, and Rock, the team leader for the Delta Team, all stood and offered their seats to the ladies, who accepted them gratefully. Tristin knelt in front of Maggie and rested a hand on her arm.

“I’m very sorry this happened, Mrs. Wilder. Please know we are here for all of you and for Zane. Whatever you need, all you have to do is ask any of us, and we’ll do it.”

“You can shoot and kill the son of a bitch who did this,” one of Zane’s sisters spat out before her voice choked on her emotion.

“Sweetheart, please,” Maggie admonished her daughter as she clung to the young woman’s hands like a lifeline. “Mr. Knight, maybe you can explain exactly what did happen.”

“The name’s Tristin, ma’am. No need to be formal with us. We consider Zane part of the family, and that extends to all of you as well.”

“Thank you. Tristin. I insist you call me Maggie. And these are my daughters. Zoe.” She pointed to the outspoken one with wild curly hair barely subdued in a high ponytail and lush curves barely hidden under her flowy top and distressed jeans. “Zaida.” The woman on the end, with thick, shiny hair falling in slick strands down to her waist and heavy makeup highlighting her eyes and pronounced cheekbones, nodded at her mother’s introductions. “And Zaylee.” The third sister had her sister’s unruly curls but her mother’s soft, round face and timid smile.

“Nice to finally meet you all. I’d introduce you to all of our crew, but it would take way too long. I trust they’ll introduce themselves to you as they get the opportunity. Now to answer your question, Mrs. — Maggie. Zane was working a highly sensitive case for our company when he was attacked. His attacker stabbed him in the abdomen. He’s in surgery, and we’re waiting for the surgeon to finish so he can update us on Zane’s condition.”

“The person who stabbed him…” Maggie’s voice trailed off expectantly.

“Got away. But we have a lead on tracking him down. We’ll get him.”

“Why was Zane working a case alone?” Zoe demanded. “He told us you guys work in pairs, like partners. Where was his partner in all of this?”

“And the stabber…is he going to come after Zane again? Is he even safe here?” Zaylee’s raised an octave as her fear for her brother seized her.

Jay tensed, hating the Wilders were feeling so afraid and helpless. They deserved to know what happened, but the nature of the job prevented any of them from sharing specific information about what they did. Though the company’s private security and investigations services were common knowledge, the activities of the covert ops teams had to remain top secret. Outside of KSI employees, spouses and, in his case, children were privy to the truth.

Though his parents had suspicions, he’d never told them about his job, and he knew Zane had never shared the information with his family either. Jay had never asked, but he wondered how he explained to them his absence while he spent the last year under deep cover.

Jay moved over to stand behind Tristin, his height and breadth drawing the women’s attention. Their eyes studied him curiously. He tapped a hand to his boss’ shoulder to let Tristin know he was there. He cleared his throat, hoping to find the right words.

“I’m Jay Colter. Zane’s, um…supervisor. I understand you have a lot of questions, and I wish I had answers for you. What I can tell you is Zane is getting the best medical care possible. Tristin has seen to that. I’m sorry we weren’t able to keep him from being hurt, but Zane is part of our family. This room is full of brothers and sisters who will do whatever it takes to watch out for him and make sure no one comes for him again.”

“And because he’s part of our family, you’re family as well,” Tristin reiterated. “So when I said all you had to do was ask if you need anything, I meant it.”

Maggie nodded before sweeping her eyes around the room, taking in all of the concerned faces watching her. Her eyes finally landed back on Tristin. She straightened her spine, blinking away her tears.

“Thank you. To all of you. I know Zane cares for all of you, and I don’t know how we would deal with this without you here.”

“How bad is Zane’s condition?” Zaida asked.

Payton nodded once at Tristin and Jay, so the men knew she would field the question. “My name is Payton. I’m Jay’s wife. Zane’s condition is serious. From what we know, he has extensive damage to his intestines requiring surgery. The doctor warned us the surgery could take some time, so the fact we haven’t heard any news yet is not unusual.”

Maggie nodded but pierced Tristin with a steady stare that she must have passed on to her son. “Please don’t sugarcoat things for my benefit. I want to know the truth. I promise you I’m stronger than I look.”

To his credit, Tristin didn’t crack a smile or appear condescending to the woman. His expression was grave, his tone serious. “I have no doubt. I promise you, everything we’ve said is the truth. You now know everything about Zane’s condition that we do. I hope you will be open to us being in the room when the doctors speak with you when they tell you about Zane. We’d like to know more about his condition as well.”

“Of course,” Maggie returned. “Thank you. All of you.”

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