Page 117 of Rise of the King (Checkmate 5)

“No.” Signaling, despite the fact no one is around to see me do it, I turn left and let our SUV crawl forward. The closer I get to that man, the slower I move. He makes me sick. “Taking him out is murder. Let’s send him away and let the big guys show him what it feels like to be fucked against your will.”

“Sophia…”

“I got it, Jay. Relax.”

“He sees you, Soph.” Jay’s tone changes. In my mind, I imagine him lying on his stomach in a suit of dark greens and browns. His face will be mostly covered, his eyes shielded by glasses, and his finger resting beside the trigger. He’ll have factored in that gentle breeze, which is why he mentioned it, and he’ll have his scope pointed directly at his own father’s forehead. “Everyone, check in.”

“Scope one, checking in,” Spence’s voice rumbles in my ear.

Then Eric’s, “Scope two, checking in.”

“We’re here,” Alex Turner – the chief of police – rumbles. “Oz and I are twenty-seconds out. Keep this clean, guys. I’m not above arresting you if you fuck this up.”

“Car three, checking in,” Riley adds. “We’re all over this valley, and he has no fucking clue.”

“Alright.” With shaking hands and a rolling belly, I come around the final bend and swallow when I catch sight of the man who looks disturbingly similar to the man I’m in love with. To the man in my backseat, whom I’ve come to respect.

It’s been three days since the brothers reunited, and barely a moment has passed that they weren’t together. They need time to reconnect, to make sure the other is safe. So Jess and I have been shuffled to the side to eat ice cream while the guys sit together and reminisce about fishing trips from hell and a beach vacation Jay is pissed he missed out on.

Kane’s mind has been spinning when Jay tells him of all the times he’s been watching: the trash cans, the car rebuild, the road trip, and everything between. Then they discussed the firebombed apartment building, the fact I sort of danced for a club full of men, and Kane’s disbelief that Jay didn’t take them all out.

“Focus, Sophia. Don’t fuck this up.”

“Yeah.” Signaling again, I pull to the left and hear Kane’s audible swallow. “You ready, Bishop?”

“Yeah.” Two brothers, two voices.

“I was talking to Kane.” I check my face in the mirror and concentrate on stilling my shaking hands. “We’re going out there together. And we’re both gonna face our demons. Everyone’s gotta keep a lid on this shit. Be cool.”

“We’re cool,” Spence rumbles. “We’re always cool. Move your pretty ass. My shooting finger is starting to tingle.”

“No shooting!” Alex snaps. “You will be arrested if you take that man out.”

“Who invited the po-po anyway?”

“Jess did,” Kane answers. “She thinks we can do this without hurting our souls or some shit.”

“Women,” Eric scoffs. “Always trying to be romantic and shit.”

Pushing the car door open, I ignore Colum Bishop’s gasp when he realizes a woman has arrived. Moving to the back door, I open it up and help Kane slide out. His hands are bound behind his back to give Colum a sense of safety, but it will take two seconds and a single tug to free his hands and remove the gun from the back of his jeans…

We didn’t alert the police to Kane’s gun.

“I’ve got you, Soph.” Kane’s gentle voice is barely inches from my ear as he climbs out of the car. Unfolding his body and standing tall, he turns to his father and meets an identical pair of eyes. “Don’t do anything dumb,” he murmurs. “Don’t freak out or spook him. If you can be cool, I’ll take care of you.”

“I’m always cool,” I parrot Spence. “I captured the elusive Kane Bishop, didn’t I?” I don’t bother keeping my voice down as I shut the door and nudge my prisoner forward.

Colum pushes away from his Chrysler with a deeply etched scowl and hands that rub together in anticipation. Not a single person in this valley is fooled into thinking Colum won’t take both of us out today.

His eyes flicker from me to his son. Back and forth. Back and forth. “Where’s Ace?”

“I’m Ace.”

“But you’re a woman.”

Eric chuckles in my ear.

“Does my vagina stop the receptors in my brain from receiving information? God gave us vaginas, but skimped on the brains? Do you hire females, Bishop? Do you pay them seventeen percent less than their male counterparts?”

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