Page 60 of Black Bay Enforcer
She also hadn’t been impressed with all the rules she had to consent to and the non-disclosure agreement she had to sign before she could see Katherine, but unlike his son, General Davies couldn’t be intimidated. Once she’d signed, the general had briefly filled her in on the truth of Black Bay and the legalramifications of what would happen to her if she broke the NDA. Then, he escorted her to Katherine who was waiting with Kong in the mess hall.
Harper Knox, with her short, slightly spiky dark hair and heart-shaped face coupled with her diminutive height, reminded Kong of a sweet little sprite. Until she got her first look at her daughter, specifically her bruised cheek, then, she became all fire-breathing dragon lady. Kong thought she was going to go through the roof. Her face had turned red with rage, her body going so taught she almost vibrated as she’d announced to the entire mess hall, “Tell me right now that the man who did that to my daughter’s face has been strung up by his balls!”
Kong was the one to answer. “He’s in custody, ma’am, but I’ll be seeing to it personally that your wish is fulfilled.”
For such a tiny little thing, she had zero fear. At barely more than five feet tall, Kong towered over her, but Harper Knox didn’t even bat an eye. She just jerked her chin sharply and said, “Good.”
That’s when the hugging commenced, Katherine and her mother practically tackling each other. Both women had shed a few tears but Kong could tell they were happy ones. They were both speaking at once, talking over each other, yet neither of them seemed to have a problem understanding what the other had said. It was kind of fascinating to watch.
Once they broke apart, Katherine introduced Kong. He expected to be looked over, judged, and he’d braced himself for thepossibility of seeing derision or disgust in the older woman’s eyes. Instead, she’d hugged him. The embrace took him by surprise and he’d been hesitant at first, not quite sure what to do with his arms, but a quick look at Katherine’s smiling face and he’d carefully wrapped them around the small woman. Motherly hugs were new to him, but he had to admit, it was nice.
“I’ll be staying a few days,” Harper announced in an I’m-not-asking tone. “I’ve already told that general person.” She waved her hand between Katherine and Kong. “Oh, I know you two are living together, I won’t intrude, but I want to spend some time with my daughter. We need to catch up.”
They’d shown her to Katherine’s old room in the administration building. Harper had taken one look around and turned to Katherine to say, “Good Lord. This is where you stayed? There’s no kitchen! How am I supposed to bake?”
Kong couldn’t help but laugh. Like mother, like daughter.
He wasn’t laughing now, though. Kong had left Katherine and her mother alone to catch up so he could have a conversation with August Cleary. There was one final mystery that needed to be cleared up, and as it had to do with Katherine, he hadn’t wanted her to overhear. If it was something she needed to know, he’d share it with her, but she didn’t need to hear it if Cleary said something disparaging. Kong refused to let her be hurt by the piece of shit who fathered her.
Entering the brig, he saw Lark was already there, waiting for him. Nodding her way, his eyes went to the doorway that led tothe hole – solitary confinement – where Godwin was currently being kept. Later, he reminded himself. He’d deal with Godwin later.
Jackson, one of the unaltered human soldiers, was on guard duty tonight and he stood up to greet Kong. “Hey, man. Lark said you guys need to talk to the new prisoner?”
Kong nodded, and the guard moved forward with the key.
They entered the small windowless cell that had a bed, a sink, and a toilet. Cleary’s clothes, shoes, and any personal effects he had on him had been confiscated and replaced with a pale gray set of sweats and some white socks. He sat on the bed with his elbows braced on his knees and his head in his hands.
Wasting no time, as soon as he looked up to see who had entered, Lark mesmerized him so Kong could ask his questions.
“You wanted your daughter in the government Resurrection position and went to great lengths to ensure it was her even though she was way overqualified. Why?”
“I needed someone on the inside. Katherine’s a soft-touch, a people-pleaser. I knew if I played things right, she could get me an invitation to visit her at Black Bay. I needed that invitation.”
“Why did you want to visit? What did you think you would find here?”
“I needed to find Anne. Make sure she’s all right.”
Doctor Anne Dietrich. So, Godwin had been right. Cleary must have had a relationship with the geneticist that both of them had kept hush-hush.
They’d learned in the earlier interrogation that Cleary had begun watching Black Bay when he discovered this had been the last place Anne Dietrich had been before she’d disappeared. He’d questioned some of his government contacts and discovered they weren’t a prison, but a covert military base that housed the genetic experiments Anne Dietrich had created. He’d hired a team, including one of the best hackers in the world, to keep watch on them and feed him information – it was how he’d been able to tip off Godwin in Venezuela – a team that was even now being rounded up and taken into custody.
His question answered, Kong waved Lark off and she released Cleary. They were on their way out when Cleary begged, “Just tell me if Anne’s alive or not.”
Kong and Lark ignored him. The doctor was closer than he knew – three cells down from him, alive and well and if Cleary’s transport wasn’t already on its way to pick him up, he might have seen her when they were brought out for exercise – but they didn’t owe him any answers.
“She loved you! She mourned you when she thought you’d all been killed!”
Cleary lunged off his bed as if he might attack and Kong turned, letting out an aggressive rumble that froze the older man in his tracks. “Sit. Down. Now.”
Cowed, the man complied and they left. A moment after the door closed behind them, they heard Cleary pound on it. “You killed her, didn’t you?! You’re all a bunch of animals!”
As they left the brig, Kong grimaced. Christ, it was galling to think that if Cleary hadn’t been obsessed with finding Doctor Dietrich, he never would have met his Katherine. But he’d thank his lucky stars every day that he had.
“My father showed up at the winery for my birthday,” Katherine told Kong once they were alone in their apartment. “He’s never come to one of my parties, yet this year he decided to show up. Did that team you guys sent tell you that’s where they picked him up?”
Without waiting for an answer, she added, “My mom had a video on her phone of them arresting him.” Uncle Charlie thought it was hilarious and sent it to her. “You can’t imagine how hard it was pretending to be surprised.”
Moving into the kitchen, she began pulling out ingredients and a mixing bowl. She needed to bake. Kong wrapped his arms around her from behind and she leaned back into his wide chest.“I’m sorry,” he murmured against her hair. “But it’ll likely be national news soon enough when he’s sent to prison.”
