Page 176 of Devious Knight

“No, don’t be. What you did enabled your father to send that distress code. Now you know your parents are alive.” Beneath her fear I see deep relief and hope.

She has no reason to feel guilty now. But the situation is reversed and it’s me who feels like hell for the fact that she’s here.

“Parker had us all fooled.” This is the first time I’ve spoken about Parker like this. The last time I mentioned him she was tiptoeing around her suspicions. There’s so much to tell her about her mother, but we need to get through this first. This disaster is on me.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to follow through with you,” Tobias says to Isabelle. “If I’d gone back to the gallery, I would have blown my cover.”

“I understand.”

“I also never had anything more to tell you about your mother other than she must have thought Parker was stealing art and selling it on the black market. That’s why he killed her.”

“That’s what I found too,” I concur.

Isabelle snaps her gaze back to me, looking surprised. “You looked her up?”

“I wanted to help. Today I found out that Parker had been under investigation by the Knights for your mother’s death. But they couldn’t pin the murder on him. I also found out that he set the whole thing up for my father to be ambushed in Greece.”

“How did you get that information?” Tobias asks, looking stunned.

“I have a clever resource.” Alek keeps surprising me with his above board tech skills. I’m even more grateful now that I enlisted his help. If I hadn’t, my father wouldn’t have been able to send that distress code.

“That’s the evidence we need.” Tobias smiles. “And we also need Parker alive to find out where your parents are.”

“Yes.”

Tobias rests a hand on my shoulder. “I should have come forward before. I couldn’t face you after the incident in Greece because I blamed myself. But I’m here now.” He gives me a sad smile. “I’ve been keeping an eye on you over the years. That’s how I knew about the attack tonight. I swear to you on my Knights honor that I will do everything to get your parents back.”

“Thank you.” It means a lot to hear him say that.

“Thank me when this is all over and we get your parents back.”

“Yes, well–”

A bullet smashes the window.

“Fuck. They found us,” Tobias shouts and grabs the shot guns. “Get down.”

We rush to the sofa and crouch behind it. I cover Isabelle, fearing for her life.

“Kade, I’m scared.” She grabs on to my arm, looking more terrified than ever.

This isn’t like weeks ago when we went to the courtyard and I liked her scared and needing me. Right now I’d give anything to get her to safety.

Bullets fly through the window and then someone tries to kick the door down.

The door flies off its hinges and three men burst in. Tobias and I jump up and start shooting, but more men come in.

Just like when we were in the city, there are too many of them and they’re armed.

Isabelle screams when they come rushing toward us. I cover her, shooting and kicking while I usher her into the kitchen and close the door.

“Stay in here and stay down,” I tell her, hiding her behind the cupboard.

“Kade please don’t go back out there.”

“I’ll come back for you. Stay down.”

She nods and I rush back out to help Tobias.