Standing By: A Knight's Tale #2 (27 page)

*

We are in
Benjamin’s apartment. The firefighters fought the blaze but a couple of hours later the building was collapsing as flames consumed the structure. The inferno had been too big and fearless to stop. Thankfully, no one was harmed, only Hayley, who begged me to bring her to Ben’s to see her family. Right as we arrived, they hugged her and for the past twenty minutes, she’s been standing next to the dining table wrapped inside her Dad’s arms—away from me.

“How are you, Pumpkin?” Augustine asks Hayley.

“Better, it was devastating to see it burning.” She sighs. “It’s gone… That thing didn’t care about the years I spent working to keep it afloat or that I had orders for the weekend.” Hayley snaps her fingers. “Boom, it disappeared like that. But you know what, there are other buildings.”

“What matters is that you are okay,” Augustine assures her, ignoring the part that there are more buildings. I bet my ass they’ll be pushing the law degree now that
Pieces of Heaven
is gone.

“Is there something I can do?” Ben asks, shifting his gaze from Hayley to me.

“Not right now, Ben, thank you. Can I stay with you for the night, Daddy?” Hayley’s request surprises me and shakes my ground. What about me?

“Of course, your bedroom is as usual ready for the night,” Augustine answers. “Be aware, I have plans to leave for Seattle this weekend. Parker wants me to visit him before I decide where to retire. He says that life on that farm of his is quiet… Actually, why don’t you come with me?”

“What’s going to happen with the bakery?” My voice cracks and I ask the first stupid thing that comes to mind. She can’t leave me. Hell no. “We can start scouting buildings—”

“You heard the fire marshal,” Hayley clears her throat. “The investigation can take several days—or weeks. The alarm company said that there must have been some malfunction with the sprinkler system. It didn’t trigger the fire alarm only the burglary alarm. The insurance won’t consider issuing any payment before they find out what caused the fire.”

I choose not to tell her that Jake heard those same details, his people were already there when we had the chance to speak with the fire marshal. Malfunction, my ass; arson, definitely. On top of my list of suspects, I have Bridget, Caroline, Paige and Kevin. All of them are being investigated as I drink a beer and wonder how to fix my shit.

“Still, we can search for other locations.” Hayley stares at me, as I scratch the nape of my neck. “For now you can work at one of my restaurants.”

“It’s best if I don’t,” she dismisses me. “Once I receive the insurance money, I’ll figure out how much I have left from it after paying off the small business loan… This doesn’t mean I’m giving up, only that I’m taking a step back and reconsidering my choices. There’s always Seattle.” She smiles. “The farm cows and I will form an a capella group to bother Parker… If they don’t make the cut, there’s always the chickens. We’ll sing the ‘Old MacDonald’ song all day.”

“You can’t leave me.” I rise from my seat and walk to where she stands. “For better or for worse.”

“Sorry, Mitch, you and I both know this is it.” Hayley’s father releases her, and she curls her index finger asking me to follow her. “We’re going to be in your office, Ben.”

We walk through the narrow hallway, pass a closed door and enter the open room where there’s a mahogany desk, two chairs and the walls are bookcases filled from top to bottom. Hayley closes the door and takes a deep breath.

“This isn’t because of the fire,” she begins. “After the tattoo parlor you began to pull away and we both know why. I’m starting to act… clingy and frankly very interested in
more
. That
more
which will never be reciprocated by you. I respect your feelings, Mitch. Wanting
more
is reason number one for you to kick a girl out of your life.” Hayley touches her stomach straightens her body and continues sucker punching me. “You helped me see the world with a different set of eyes, I’ll always love you for that but I need to push away the romantic feelings. They are only going to end up hurting me if I don’t dispose of them soon. You understand, right? I want to someday give someone else a chance, and if I don’t do this now, I’ll become you. A person who is absorbed with the people from his past who can’t see past that pain and won’t give anyone a chance.”

This is my fucking fault. Yes, I already lectured myself for that, now what the hell am I supposed to do?

“Hay-Bear,” I start my groveling speech, but my phone… Jake’s ringtone to be exact interrupts.

“What?”

“You need to get Hayley the hell out of New York,” Jake’s hitched breath comes from the other side. “I’m heading your way after taking Emma to safety, dude. It was them, the trafficking cell I told you about… my people stayed behind to study the fire scene, and they found traces of explosives. Not only that, there was a charred dummy body and on top a fireproof bag with a note inside.”

“What did the note said, Jake?”

“Soon it will be one of your own, Knight.” Jake’s voice is filled with rage.

“You’re fucking kidding me?” I’m shaking with rage and fear at the same time. “They burned down my girl’s bakery, that’s personal.”

“I need the two of you out … Tuscany, London. Anywhere but New York.”

“I repeat this is personal. I’m not leaving.” I disconnect the call before he has a chance to speak again.

“What happened?” Hayley asks those minty green eyes back to that scared puppy stage, but her body remains calm. “Who burned the bakery?”

“One of Jake’s former jobs,” I sigh, her eyes widen. “You need to leave New York, Hayley.”

“What, why, no… why would I?”

I don’t wait for her to try to come up with some fucked up reason to stay, she had plans to fly to Seattle. Why not right now? She can’t stay here. Not after the fire, and the best way to do this is heading to the living room and talking it over with Augustine.

Ben and Mr. Welsh listen word by word to what I have to say. I rattle off everything I know, the details about the Malaysia job, Jake warning us three months ago and my recent conversation with him. Most importantly, they understand the importance to grab Hayley and get the hell out of New York. Benjamin heads to his office.

“This is insane,” Hayley huffs.

“Be a nice wife and listen to me.” I use the marriage card. “You’re in danger, Hayley, if something happens to you… shit, I don’t want to think about it. Please, leave with them.”

“Don’t pull the wife crap.” I close my eyes for a second; she’s using the pissed voice and she hasn’t used that one on me since we crossed paths again. “There’s no marriage here, actually, I should ask Ben or Dad to begin the annulment. There are grounds for it, intoxication—we were both drunk. We haven’t consummated the marriage, and I’m done with the absurdity of this lie.”

Each word punches my gut, takes out all the air inside me and I’m unable to breathe. Her cool mint eyes suddenly turn into hard rocks, and I know I can try to melt them. Instead, I incline my head in agreement; fighting my instincts of hugging her, kissing her and begging her not to leave me alone tonight. I turn around.

“Sir, please leave as soon as possible and keep her safe,” I plead with Augustine. “As soon as we have this under control, I’ll let you know.”

This is worse than Chloe telling me I’m boring and that she has another man with more money than God or Jordan fucking another man. My heart isn’t beating, my body feels like it’s wasting away with every step I take further away from her. For the best, if she isn’t mine, nothing will hurt her. They’re only trying to kill Knights.

Hayley

T
he plane had
been ready when we arrived at the airport; five hours later, it landed in Seattle where a helicopter waited to transport us to Eatonville. Ben didn’t want to be inside of a car for yet another two hours. Practical he said. As the helicopter lands, I jump out of it into Parker’s awaiting arms.

“How are you kiddo?”

I honestly don’t know; I want to tell him. A week ago, I had a business, a guy and today all of its gone. No, wait. There was the illusion of having a guy, an illusion that disappeared once I wanted it to be real.

“I’ll survive; it was only a building, nothing we can’t recover, right?”

“That’s the spirit,” Parker releases me and we head inside his two story colonial style home. The foyer’s tanned walls hold a mirror on one side, and the opposite one has a bunch of framed pictures—landscapes mostly. “Are any of you hungry, ready to head to bed… how can I help?”

“I’m heading to bed,” Ben says as he carries all the bags. “Are you okay, Hay?”

“Yes,” I confirm for the tenth time.

“I emailed my assistant; she received the signed papers, the annulment will be filed tomorrow, six to eight weeks and you’ll be free.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about it before?” Mitch had already asked Ben to file the annulment—a week ago. The day after the tattoo parlor. The jerk, at least he could’ve told me he wanted out back then.

“As I explained during the plane ride,” Ben sighs. “Mitchel Knight came to my office explaining every detail about your drunken wedding and that he wanted an annulment.”

That’s not an explanation that’s a brief summary and by repeating it a second time it adds nothing.

“Did you know too, Daddy?” I question because after I spilled the truth neither one of them looked surprised.

“Yes, Pumpkin, he came to visit me at my office. He apologized for deceiving us.”

“Before you ask,” Parker adds. “Yes, I knew. He called me as a friend and as your brother. Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah, of course,” I assure them, it hurts but … “Did I fall for him? Yes, he’s Mitchel Knight. All full of charm and… he’s nice—sweet. He warned me, you know, not directly but in a way. I didn’t listen, that’s life. Now it’s time I head to bed because tomorrow the quest begins.”

“Quest?” Parker’s eyebrows furrow into a dark line.

“To find the next
Farm Idol
among your animals,” I explain. “We will all be singing ‘Old MacDonald’ by the end of the month, you’ll see.”

A groan, followed by a narrowing gaze is all I get from Parker. He picks up two of the bags that Ben carried out of the helicopter, and we follow him up the staircase to the second story. The entire house is a combination of earth tones. He tells Dad and Ben to choose any room, and takes me to the last door. As he opens it and turns on the light, I realize the entire room is me. Lavender color walls, bay window with a reading bench and the furniture is a mix between green, purple and white shades.

“You have a room for me.”

“I told you that two years ago, Hay,” he enters the room and places the bag on top of a chair.

“You said
there’s a room for you
.” I clarify. “Up until I left my old apartment there was a room for you—the guest room. I thought it was the same.” Then I hug him. “You’re the best brother ever.”

“We’ll talk tomorrow about how fantastic I am. We’ll make a plan and decide where to go from here about your life,” he says, then yawns. “You have my financial and moral support, you’ll be fine.”

“I am really fine, Parks,” I smooth the creases from his forehead the way Mitch used to do it with me. “Did I cry? Yes, like a little girl. I saw the flames consuming my place. I have insurance, and I’m alive, the rest will come slowly. Now, let me go to bed I’m exhausted. Tomorrow I won’t wake up until noon—how’s that for a change?”

The corners of his lips lift.

“You sound all grown up, kiddo, just don’t forget.” He tugs on my ponytail. “You’ll always be the baby of the house.”

Don’t I know it!

“Good night, Parks,” I kiss his cheek and then I speak louder. “Good night, Daddy, night, Benny boy.” The latter grants me a loud groan from Ben.

*

Being a light
sleeper is a curse and a blessing. Blessing when you have to wake up early, no matter what time you went to bed; you always hear that stinking alarm and jump out of bed. Curse, because other noises wake you up as well, like my cell playing Mitch’s ringtone. The phone clock indicates it’s one in the morning, what is wrong with him? I let it go to voicemail, up until the fifth time when I decide to open my eyes, grab the phone and answer.