Page 27 of Shattered Reign

My gaze shifted from Easton to Raven, a silent “thank you” passing between us for intervening when I couldn’t find the words to defend myself.

“How this should have started was by Nash asking the both of you if you wanted anything to drink. Would you like something?”

Both Easton and I shook our heads and Nash walked away from the glasses. I guessed he’d lost his desire for a drink as well.

“Do you have any information on the person who is stalking Bianca?” Easton said as he walked behind Nash. Once again, I was glad to have him here to keep us all on task.

“Not much. I contacted Parker Townsend and the weirdest thing happened,” said Nash.

I glanced at Raven, who was still in the kitchen with me, and she shrugged. It seemed as if she didn’t know what the hell was going on either.

“I don’t understand.” I’d heard the name in passing, but I didn’t know exactly who he was.

Nash glanced at me before sitting down on the couch. Raven followed suit, but Easton and I remained standing. Nash cleared his throat before speaking. “He’s the leader of the main Chevalier chapter in New York City. He isn’t responding to any of my inquiries about the stalker. So, either he’s underground and isn’t reachable or...”

“He knows more than he’s willing to tell about the stalker situation,” Easton said, completing Nash’s sentence.

“Are you serious?” I asked, shaking my head as if I didn’t hear him correctly. “If this is true, why would the Chevaliers want to have someone following me?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Nash replied. “But we need to consider all our options here, and the fact that headquarters has suddenly gone radio silent is suspicious as hell.”

“So, what do we do now?” I asked, rubbing my temple. The beginnings of a headache were starting to form and wouldn’t do me any good in this situation.

“We keep investigating in any way we can,” Nash said firmly. “And we watch our backs. I know I shouldn’t, given everything that has happened, but for them to be nonresponsive on this doesn’t sit well with me.”

“How convenient that they’ve been silent about Iris as well.”

I turned to look at Easton and nodded. He was right. It was too convenient to be a coincidence. From what I knew, every move they made was calculated and deliberate and you wouldn’t know they were involved in something until they wanted you to know. The silence and having Iris kidnapped by Soren Grant made me wonder if this was their sign. If this was letting us know that it was their power play of sorts.

What the hell was this all about?

“We need a plan,” I said as I met my brother’s gaze. “This might sound foolish, but is there a way we can take them on? Force their hand or something?”

The grave look on Nash’s face told me all I needed to know. Easton walked up to me and threw an arm around my waist and tucked me into his body.

Nash briefly glared at Easton and his arm placement before speaking. “Even with me as leader of the Brentson University Chapter of this organization, it doesn’t mean I know how powerful they are. I couldn’t even tell you every member of the Chevaliers, and I know that is done by design.”

“You mean they don’t want one person to have too much power?” I didn’t know how much Nash was willing to spill, but given the fact they might be targeting me, I didn’t know how deep his loyalty ran at the moment.

Nash nodded. “We have to tread very carefully. Because it could become a matter of life or death. Actually, there is no doubt in my mind that it will lead to that if we aren’t careful.”

My eyes widened in shock before it sank in. Nash shared a look with Easton, and it was then I realized he wasn’t talking about my death. He was referring to his and Easton’s if they were caught going against the Chevaliers.

Fuck.This was so scary. “And Parker now knows you know about what is going on with me.”

Nash nodded, but this time Raven spoke. “But we’re assuming that this is the Chevaliers. What if it isn’t? I’m not leaning one way or the other, but we seem transfixed on only one option.”

She’d made an excellent point.

“Then, at some point soon, the Chevaliers will be ready to move on whoever is stalking Bianca. But if it isn’t one of our own, they’d continue to be radio silent, and then it will more than likely be the best man or people win.”

That forced me to do a double take. “Do you think it could be more than one person?”

“I don’t know, but I also wouldn’t be quick to assume that this is the workings of just one person if they are, indeed, a Chevalier.”

My heart felt as if it were pounding against my ribs as I replayed Nash’s ominous words in my head. Life or death. More than one person. The threat did nothing but increase the fear I’d already had. But it wasn’t just my own and Iris’s lives that I feared for now. It was also Nash’s and Easton’s. I could see it in their eyes when they met across the room. There was a shared understanding of what they were potentially getting into, but there was also determination. The reality of what would happen if they defended me against my stalker or stalkers if they were indeed Chevaliers, had set in. These two men were ready to risk everything to protect me. It was both heartwarming and terrifying at the same time.

The silence that followed between us was deafening. We were stuck in our own thoughts as the sun began to set. While we weren’t any closer to finding out who my stalker was, at least it seemed that we were all in this together, and we wouldn’t be going down without a fight.

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