Page 88 of Sacrifice the Knight (Checkmate 6)

“Alright. Leah it is. If you accidentally bump the button, hit it again, then send me a text. You can tell me all the nice things,Hey Spence, that was my bad. I think you’re sexy. Maybe we could hook up sometime. I love your massive…”he pauses and grins, “biceps.But to truly shut it down, you gotta include Leah in there somewhere.”

Mac’s frown mars his brow almost as deeply as Spence’s scars. “And if it’s a real alarm, but Zeke makes her hit the button to cancel it or whatever?”

“Jericho.” Jay stops in front of the trio on the couch. “If you ever use that word, no matter the context, no matter the situation, no matter who the fuck is around, if you say Jericho, then we’re coming in hot.”

“If Jess ever says it, don’t panic.” Kane stops beside his brother with a grin and says nothing when Katrina’s gaze comes up and focuses on Kane’s fat lip or Jay’s swollen jaw. Her eyes flicker to me, to my hands resting in my lap, then back to the guys. But she says nothing. We’re all going to ignore the elephant in the room. “It doesn’t mean what you think it means when Jess says it.”

“Motherfucker, you turned it into a sex word, didn’t you?”

“Guys?” Katrina tilts her head toward her son and lifts a telling brow. “It’s getting late. I appreciate what you’ve done for us, but are you finished?”

“Yup!” Spence closes the lid on his laptop and jumps up. “We’re done. Your home is secure; your watch is charged; your life is now on my phone. I promise we won’t watch just for shits and giggles. There’s a motion sensor for the camera on your front door, so I’ll get a message for that. I’ll know how often you order takeout. But I won’t be watching inside just for fun. You have my word.”

“Okay.” Climbing to her feet and pouring thick tension back through the room, Katrina pulls her son against her side, but extends a hand toward the guys. “I don’t want you guys to think I’m ungrateful, because I’m not, but I’ll probably spend the rest of my life paying this shit off, so fuck you very much. Please don’t spend my money again without my permission.”

“It’s taken care of.” Jay moves around the room and collects the last of their shit. “Soph’s charity is all about helping single women and whatnot. You’re practically a tax write off for her.” He shoots a fast glare in my direction. “It’s all taken care of, so you won’t receive a bill. Promise.”

“Um…”

“Don’t sweat it.” Kane takes her arm but gives me the nod we’ve given a million times in the past. It saysmove it,and move fast,so I slide off the stool and pass behind Kane while he busily points things out to Katrina. I pass within inches of her and Mac, and I swear, I hear Mac’s threats in the air, but I slide through the crowd and stop in the hall before my heart leaps from my chest and I drop to my knees to beg for her forgiveness.

Hatred is better than her death.I have to say it over and over again.Being apart is better than burying her.

I stand at the end of the hall and listen in as the guys lead her to the door. “This looks like distressed mahogany,” Kane murmurs. “It looks pretty standard, but beneath that is thick steel. Inside the door is a heavy bar that slides into place the second it closes. Literally, if you lock yourself out, you’re fucked.”

“Not really,” Jay chuckles. “This door doesn’t take keys. It’s fingerprint scanned and keyword operated. It’s gonna be a pain in your ass, because you need two hands every time. You gotta have your thumb on the sensor, and key your password in at the same time. We’ll set you and the kid up separately. Two fingerprints, two keywords. If anyone tries to get in and doesn’t have the matching print or keyword, their photo is taken and instantly sent to us and the cops. It might be kids screwing around, in which case, we leave it alone. But if it’s someone we don’t think should be here, we’ll take care of it.”

“By take care of it, you mean…”

“We’ll probably plant their nuts in the forest,” Spence jokes. “We’ll take care of it, whatever the situation is. Zeke will be kept longer this time, since he onlyjustgot out. I assume there’ll be an order for him to keep his distance from you guys. If it’s him at your door, I’ll come down personally and rip out his voice box. If it’s someone else, we’ll act accordingly once we figure out the situation.”

“You’re safe, Katrina.” Kane’s tone changes. If I didn’t know better, I might be suspicious he’s talking to me. “We’ve got eyes on you, so you don’t have to worry about anything else. You won’t be hurt on our watch.”

“Okay.” Their voices come a little louder as though moving into the hall. “Thanks for everything.”

“No problemo.” I glance around the corner and watch Spence accept Katrina’s outstretched hand. They shake, then he turns away and walks in my direction as Jay and Kane do the same.

“Eric.” Katrina’s voice is cutting. So fucking cutting. “Wait a moment, please.”

My brothers pass me by with solemn expressions and drooping shoulders. Kane claps my back as he passes, and Katrina talks to her son for a moment at the door while I make myself visible again and step into the open hall. With hushed voices, it sounds as though mother and son argue, but it takes only a moment for her to push him through the new door and pull it shut.

For the first time in weeks, we stand together, alone, and my heart still feels what it feels.

“What the fuck, Eric?” She steps forward, literally rolling her sleeves up as though ready to throw down. “Like seriously, what the actual hell is going on right now?” She lifts a hand between us. “I love you, you love me, you’re beautiful, our stars aligned.”She mocks me with a deep voice. “Let’s dance, let’s make love, everything is so fucking perfect.Are you seriouslythathard up for a woman that you’d spout that shit off to get laid? Really? When there are dozens of thirsty chicks in this town, women who wouldloveto take a Checkmate man for a spin, women who you wouldn’t have to chase and convince you’re a good person. Out ofallof them, you still chose me to fuck over?”

I stare into her beautiful eyes and remain passive. I have nothing to say that could help. Nothing to offer that would make up for what I did. So I break us both, but in doing so, I keep her safe. “I’m sorry if you misunderstood what we did, Kat. I didn’t realize how deeply invested you were until that last night, which is when I realized we were on different pages. The kindest thing for me to do was end it so you wouldn’t go on thinking we were something we were not.”

Her nostrils flare as she practically snarls.

“I wanted a little fun,” I continue. “I didn’t mean for it to go further than that.”

“Why me, when so many others would have begged for your attention?” Her eyes water because she’s an angry crier, and I know it pisses her off. “You’re pathetic,” she hisses. “You’re worse than I predicted; I thought you were a typical guy, lazy and selfish, but you’re so much worse. You’re a liar and a thief, and now it makes me sick to look at you.” Shaking her head, she backs up and slams a fist on the door. “I’m disgusted with you, Eric. But worse, I’m disgusted with me. Stay away from me, stay away from my son, and stay away from my diner.”

Her door swings open, and in the ten seconds it takes for her to slip through the gap between the wall and her son, Mac’s eyes burn into mine, his jaw ticking, his fists clenching. He already took one fully grown man down tonight, and now he’s ready for a second shot.

“Mac.” My voice cracks with pain. “Close up tight and make sure the locks are set.”

“Fuck you, asshole.” He slams the door so hard that the walls rattle. Dropping my head, I allow my shame to wash over me as I turn in the hall and head toward the stairs. The locks are loud enough that I literally hear the echo as I move into the stairwell, then my phone dings with a text.

Property is secure.

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