Knight

I had been watching over Garrick Knight since Sebastian’s team brought him to the safe house for me to remove a bullet from his side. He was stable when he arrived, which I was grateful for. I didn’t particularly want to do emergency surgery outside a hospital. Not to mention that I wasn’t a surgeon to begin with. I had done my surgical rotation when I was an intern, but it wasn’t for me. I liked to help people without all the craziness of the hospital. I wanted to help people with everyday problems. 

Despite his pale complexion, he still had a dark aura to him. Not that I believed in mystical or spiritual things, but everything about him scared me for some reason. It could have been his black hair and black eyes. Maybe it was the fact that he had scars all over his hands, like he had been in one too many fights. Something about him screamed that he was not a man to be messed with, but I had taken a vow to help anyone that I was able to and I wouldn’t back away because he seemed to be dangerous. 

By those standards, half the men in my life would be dead on the table. My cousin, Cole, though he promised to never hold a weapon again, was still just as deadly as he was during his military days. I had seen the reports of how he killed the man that strapped his wife, Alex, to a pole and tried to bash her brain in. He had snapped the man’s neck in one swift movement. I had learned to live with the fact that some people saved lives in different ways than I did.

His color was better today, but he still hadn’t woken. I checked his pulse and then removed the gauze pads to check his wound. I had the lights dimmed so I didn’t wake him up. I could only imagine how his body was suffering after having a bullet lodged him in for hours.

His steel grip latched onto my wrist, making me cry out in pain. I stumbled into the nightstand, rattling the lamp, and stared into the black eyes of the man on the bed in front of me. The light cast shadows across his face making him appear even deadlier than what I first imagined. My heart thumped wildly in my chest as his fingers bit into my skin. 

“Who are you?” he asked through the gravel in his voice.

“Kate. Kate Whittemore. I’m a doctor. I was called in to remove the bullet from your side.”

His eyes flashed before he lifted his head off the pillow, beckoning me closer. He leaned toward my ear and whispered, “Let me die. I’m not worth saving.”

I pulled back sharply, never having heard a patient want to die before. He fell back to the pillow and passed out before I could ask him what he meant. Surely everyone had a reason to live, and if he was working with Reed Security, he was one of the good guys. 

When he woke again later in the day, I made sure to keep my distance until he was fully aware of his surroundings. He glanced around the room and sank back into the bed. It was as if he was looking for a threat. 

“Do you remember what happened?” I asked.

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Last thing I remember was..” He opened his eyes and narrowed them in my direction.

“I’m a friend of Sebastian’s. He called me in because you had a bullet lodged in your side. You were very lucky to have only minor damage. You should be up and moving around in no time.”

“What’s your name?”

“Kate Whittemore.”

“Kate.” His brows furrowed and I wondered if he was remembering that we met the night before.

“Do you remember meeting me last night?”

“It’s fuzzy.”

“That’s not unusual. I’ve been giving you morphine, so you may not remember a lot of things.”

“No more drugs,” he mumbled.

“You’ll be in a lot of pain.”

His eyes snapped open and he glared at me.  “I can deal with pain. I can’t deal with not knowing what’s going on around me.”

I knew what he was thinking. When Cole came back from his deployment, he was a wreck and when he finally went out, he was always looking for the threat. I imagined that Knight felt the same way.

“Sebastian’s men are here to make sure that you have everything you need. You don’t have to watch your back right now.”

“I always have to watch my back.”

“I won’t give you another dose, but if the pain gets to be too much, let me know. I can give you acetaminophen if you’d like. It may take the edge off.”

“Nothing stronger than that.”

I grabbed my bag and took out the pill bottle, shaking a few into his hand and grabbing a water bottle. I sat down on the edge of the bed and made sure he was able to take the medication. “I’ll let you get some rest.”

I started to get up, but he grabbed my wrist and I had a flash of his deadly eyes from the night before. Shaking my head slightly, I pried my hand out of his grasp and took a step back. I could see his eyes searching mine for answers, but I had none to give. I didn’t even know what the questions were. All I knew was that this man seemed to look right inside me and I wasn’t sure I wanted to stick around to let him see.

I backed out of the room, not wanting to turn my back on him. I was equally scared and fascinated by him. Part of me wanted to see just how deadly this man was. Perhaps he was really a sweet guy that just looked like a killer, but I had a feeling that wasn’t the case. His words from the night before echoed in my head.

Let me die. I’m not worth saving.

I just didn’t understand what kind of person felt that way. And if what he was saying was true, what had happened to him or what had he done to feel he didn’t deserve to live? I went down to the kitchen to get some food for him. He had to be hungry by now and since he was refusing morphine, he wouldn’t be as out of it anymore. I didn’t see any of the guys around. Sebastian had left Chance, Gabe, and Jackson here with me. I had a feeling that he didn’t entirely trust Knight and didn’t want to leave me alone with him. Most of the time, one of the guys accompanied me upstairs and stood outside the room as I attended to Garrick.

“Taking Knight something to eat?” Chance appeared in the kitchen behind me, making me jump since I thought I was alone.

“Yeah, he doesn’t want morphine anymore, so he should be awake a little more now and getting hungry.”

“Just be careful around him. If you want, one of us can go with you.”

“Why? Do you not trust him?”

“Let’s just say I trust him a whole lot more now than I did a week ago.”

“What happened a week ago?”

“He held a knife to Maggie’s throat.”

I blinked and then shook my head, sure that I had heard him wrong. “He what?”

“Well, he was working under the assumption that someone had stolen something from his client. He was going to use Maggie to extract information from Cap.” 

I gasped and shook my head. “You’re joking, right?”

“Afraid not. It all worked out in the end. Turns out that he was able to help us out and he ended up with a bullet for his trouble.”

“But you still don’t trust him.”

“I don’t know him. I know about him and that’s enough to make me tell you that you should be careful.”

“What would he have done to Maggie if he had gotten away with her?”

“I don’t know. He’s an assassin. Use your imagination.”

I swallowed hard and tried to steady the plate that was now shaking in my hands. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“You’re in safe hands, Kate. We’d never let anything happen to you.”

I looked up sharply at him. “You weren’t always there with me. An assassin could have killed me before you even knew I was in danger. You should have told me.”

He had the good grace to at least look ashamed. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t think you were in any danger. I’ll be sure someone is with you at all times.”

“I have to bring him this food.” I headed for the stairs and was relieved when he followed behind me. Opening the door to his room, I walked in and avoided his gaze. I could feel his eyes watching me. When I set his plate down, I fumbled slightly and almost spilled the whole thing on the ground. My hands were shaking so bad that I could hardly keep the plate on the nightstand. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked. When I didn’t answer, he reached out again and this time, I saw the tattoo on his wrist with more clarity. It was a cross with a snake wrapped around it. I felt sick at seeing it. I wasn’t sure why, but it made me uneasy, like he was admitting that he was the devil. I saw his eyes flick down to where I was staring.

“It represents good and evil. We all have a little of both in us.”

My eyes met his for the first time since I entered the room and what I saw was chilling. I could see it now. He had the face of a killer. What I had assumed before was a deadly man that had been trained to be a killer for the military I could now see was an unrepenting assassin that took life as swiftly as I stepped in to save it. This was not a good man. This was a man that brought fear into the hearts of anyone in his path.

“I see someone told you who I am,” he said, glancing over my shoulder at Chance. “Probably best that you know who you’re dealing with.”

I stumbled back from the bed and grabbed my medical bag. I had been here for two days. He was out of the woods and would be fine. There was no reason for me to stay any longer. As I rushed from the room, Chance grabbed my arm and swung me back around to look at him. 

“Where are you going?”

“I’m not staying here with a killer. I did my job. He’s recovering and he’ll be fine. He’s refusing morphine, so all he needs is some Tylenol. He should be up and moving around by tomorrow. Just make sure that he takes it easy.”

I started to pull away, but Chance stopped me. “Just wait. I have to have one of the guys bring you home.”

“Fine, but hurry up. I don’t need to stay around here taking care of a man that’s probably killed more men than a Greek warrior.”

Chance nodded and headed for the stairs. I took one final look back into the room at Garrick. He was staring at me and my heart started to beat out of control again. It was strange because as much as I didn’t want to be around him, something about him drew me to him also. I wanted to know more, but I also knew that a man like him was not someone you kept in your life. I turned and walked away, knowing this wouldn’t be the last I saw of him.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Kate, your last patient canceled. Do you want me to stick around?”

My receptionist, Kathy, was a woman my age that I had met in college. She had been going to nursing school, but had to drop out when she lost her scholarship and couldn’t get enough money together for her tuition payments. Her parents weren’t able to help her out and she didn’t want large student loans hanging over her head. She decided to work for a few years and save up as much money as she could, but that hadn’t worked out too well for her. When I was setting up my practice, she applied for the receptionists position and we worked out a deal for her to work during the day and take classes at night. When she finished, she would have a job working in my clinic.

“No. I’ll be heading out soon. Just make sure everything is filed and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Thanks. Wish me luck. I have a big test tonight.”

“Break a leg.”

“That’s for the theater. With my luck, I’ll break a leg on the way to class tonight.”

“Sorry, hope I didn’t jinx you.”

She sighed dramatically and placed the back of her hand to her forehead. “Lord, what ever will I do?” she said in a southern twang.

“Alright, Scarlet. Enough of the dramatics. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The office was quiet as I cleaned up the rooms, preparing them for the next day. I had two rooms in my small clinic and they were usually both filled. I had been doing this for close to six years now and I had built up quite the clientele list. I had one nurse, but she usually left when she brought in my last patient. She only worked a half day today because her son had gotten sick, so I was a little behind where I normally was at the end of the day.

I ended up working late and it was past eight when I finally locked up my clinic. I was pulling my keys out of my purse when I felt someone behind me. 

“You got anything good in there?” the voice slurred behind me. I turned to see a man that was obviously coming down off something strong. His whole body was shaking and he was sweating like crazy. 

“I don’t give out drugs. You need a hospital before you collapse.”

He gripped my arm with more strength than I had imagined and pushed me up against the brick building. “Lady, I ain’t messin’ around. I need something now and you’re going to get it for me.”

“No, I’m not.” I tried to go for strong and unbending, but the shake of my body gave me away. He could probably see the fear in my eyes also. But if I gave in and gave him drugs, he would probably come back for more every night. I couldn’t let druggies think that they could come to me for their next high.

He slammed me back against the wall, causing my head to bounce painfully off the brick. I saw spots as he shook me harder and harder. I had to get away from this maniac and chances were, if I could get away, I could probably outrun him. I brought up my knee and nailed him right in the groin. He doubled over and coughed as he held his hand over his pants. I ran toward my car, but spun around when I heard something sharp and then a thump on the ground. I turned back to see the man lying on the ground with blood oozing around his head in a wide circle that was growing by the second. 

I eased toward him and didn’t see anything that caused that much blood. Bending over, I turned his body so that I could see his face, which he had landed on. I shrieked and jumped back when I saw that half his face was missing. He had been shot. Stepping back, my head swiveled wildly as I searched for who shot the man. There was nothing but silence. I pulled my phone out and quickly dialed 9-1-1. It took me several attempts because my hands shook so hard. I gave my location and was told to wait inside for the police. I quickly unlocked the clinic and slammed the door behind me, hiding in the shadows until I heard the sirens approaching outside. 

When the police banged on the door, I slowly got up and opened the door for the police officer. 

“Kate? Is that you?” I recognized the voice, but couldn’t see his face. I hadn’t turned on the lights yet, so we were still standing in the dark. He reached over and flipped the switch, filling the room with bright light. 

“Sean. Oh, thank God it’s you. I was so scared.” I flung myself into Sean Donnelly’s arms, thankful that someone I knew was here. He ran a hand up and down my back in a soothing gesture. He was my cousin’s friend and helped to bring him out of his funk when he returned from war. 

“You want to tell me what happened?”

“I was leaving the clinic and that man approached me. He wanted drugs. I told him no and he attacked me. He slammed me up against the wall. I kneed him and then ran, but before I could get far, I heard something and turned back to see him lying on the ground. I went to check on him and saw half his face missing.”

“Did you see anyone? Or hear anything else?”

I shook my head. “No. I looked around after I saw him on the ground, but there was no one. I locked myself inside and waited for you to come.”

“That’s a pretty good shot. It looks like someone was looking out for you. Do you have any idea of who would be watching you?”

I shook my head, but I knew that was a lie as soon as I did it. I had no idea why he would kill someone for me. Maybe it was payback for me saving his life. But he was out there. I didn’t need any evidence to tell me that Knight had been here and had been looking out for me. I was just grateful that he was. I had no idea if I would have gotten away otherwise.

Sean looked at me assessingly, as if he could sense that I wasn’t telling him everything, but I couldn’t. Anything I did for Sebastian was strictly between us. I would never do anything to get Sebastian in trouble. I would just have to talk to him and let him know what had happened.

“We’ll have someone escort you home and check out your house, unless you want to go stay with Cole.”

“No. I’m sure I’ll be fine. It was probably a good samaritan that was worried about getting in trouble.”

“I’m sure you’re right.” He didn’t believe me, but he didn’t say anything else. He led me over to a squad car and helped me inside. “I’ll let you know when we find out something more. Why don’t you come down to the station tomorrow to give your statement.”

“I will, Sean. Thank you.”

He shut the door and then an officer drove me home. When we got there, the officer walked through my house, making sure that everything was secure. Once he left, I locked the door and went to my bedroom and sat on my bed. I couldn’t get the image of the man’s half blown off face out of my mind. I had seen some terrible things when I was an intern, but it was never related to me. This was a man that had attacked me and then paid the ultimate price because someone was watching.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I stiffened. He was here. I stood and looked around the room, but I didn’t see anything. Walking over to the window, I looked out into the dark, hoping that I could see something. I would rather know exactly where he was than wonder the whole night if he was going to come for me. 

Hot air trickled across the back of my neck. My breath hitched as I felt a hand brush against the nape of my neck as my hair was shifted over my shoulder.

“You should be more careful when you’re leaving work.”

His voice washed over me in that rough, deep tone that sent shivers down my spine.

“Why did you do that?” I asked, my heart beating out of control.

“He was hurting you.”

“I was running away. I would have gotten away.”

His hand brushed down my arm and then back up to rest on my shoulder. “He might have come back another night. A man like that, someone who would attack a woman just to get a fix, he doesn’t deserve to live.”

“That’s not your decision to make,” I said shakily.

“I made it my decision the moment he put his hands on you, and I’d do it again.”

I spun around and faced the man that I had last seen just a week ago. “I don’t need anyone killing to protect me. I heal people and that man could have been helped.”

“That man was scum and if he went after you, he would go after someone else. He didn’t deserve to live.”

“Like you?”

He took a step back and his jaw tightened. “I repaid my debt. You won’t see me again.”

“I didn’t want to see you again to begin with.”

He backed out of my room and was gone. I had no idea how he got in or how he left. He moved so silently that I didn’t hear even my noisy stairs creak. Even though the man had just killed someone in front of me, I couldn’t help but still want to see him again, no matter what I said. He intrigued me and terrified me all at the same time. I turned back to the window and stared out into the night, wondering if I would see him again.