Chapter 30

Knox

I've been sitting in my car for the last forty minutes, staring at the safety deposit box in the passenger seat like it's going to grow a head and attack me. I should open it and find out what the fuck is inside of it but I… can't. I have the key in the palm of my hand, all I need to do is open the lock and that is it, but why can't I fucking move? When the back doors of my car open, I draw my gun and aim it only to sigh and shove it back in my waistband at the sight of Taylan and Xander climbing in.

"What are you two doing here?" I say dejectedly.

"We knew you would come here and we also knew you wouldn't be able to open it, so we came to tell you that you can and you should because I want to get the fuck out of this town and go kill some fuckers." Taylan's right, I need to stop being a pussy and man the fuck up.

"No matter how angry we get, no matter what happens, swear on our lives right now that we will always talk shit out. We will never abandon each other or leave anyone behind." Taylan and I both stare at Xander, he looks worried and slightly pained.

"What the fuck?"

"You good?" Tay and I say at the same time. Xander sighs and nods.

"Just promise me you will always be there, no matter what. No matter how bad we fuck up we will always have each other's back." The pained expression on his face has me on edge.

"I swear."

"Always brother." Tay and I say, Xan releases a whoosh of air and nods, looking slightly relaxed. I reach for the box and insert the key. The moment the lock clicks open I get anxious. Flipping the lid back I find a letter, so I flick the interior light on and begin to read the fucking thing out loud.

Knoxville,

I had planned to leave all the proof you needed inside here but then your little traitor of a hacker managed to alert Gio that there was a safety deposit box under your name. I had no choice, I'm in town but so are Gio and Percy. Karl will not intervene but he will ally himself with them, he has offered his men at a price so that the families may never come after him. You need help. Make a call to your friends in Miami so they can stow his hand and pull his men back.

You hate me and I understand that but I also cannot let you die at the hands of my brother. Xander knows I'm innocent, ask your friend, he knows the truth about that night.

I drop the letter and turn back to Xander, my face is pinched in confusion. One look at me and my best friend"s face morphs into one of guilt. "What the fuck happened that night?" I say in a tone deathly calm but filled with venom. Taylan looks between the both of us. I can read Xander and Taylan like the back of my hand, I know without a doubt that Xander is fucking hiding something from me and it's something fucking big! He darts his gaze between me and Taylan, looking pained. My heart begins to beat faster, knowing that whatever he is hiding is something so fucking huge it could destroy us, ruin us even.

The passenger door opens and Mase pops his head inside looking frantic. "Boss, we got two situations," he rasps out, the worry of what Xander is hiding falls to the back of my mind as I go into battle mode.

"What is it?" I bark.

"Your mom took a car and is heading to the bridge." Fuck, I pound my fist against the steering wheel honking the horn and scaring the woman crossing the street.

"Get in, we'll go get her," I snap but Mase hesitates. "What?" I shout at him.

"Lakeland is gone, Knox." My blood turns to ice, my heart slows inside my chest. "We've been searching for her for hours?—"

"Hours?" I snarl.

Mase frowns and looks at my boys in the back in confusion. "Yeah?" He voices it like a question.

"I haven't been gone that fucking long," I snarl.

"Knox, you've been gone for nearly four hours," Tay says from the back. I look at each of them to find them all nodding. I pull my phone from the center and balk at the fucking time!

"Where the fuck is she?" I roar.

"Calm down. Mase get in, we go get Mom first, then we go after Lakeland," Xander orders. I shoot him a dark look over my shoulder, he doesn't cower, just meets my stare head on.

"This shit isn't over, as soon as we get them back you're telling me everything." I start the car not waiting for his reply. I'll deal with him later and he will tell me every single thing he knows . The fact Roberto mentioned him in his letter has me conjuring all sorts of things in my head. If Xander is a rat and has been helping my father, I have no choice.

I will kill my best friend for betraying me.

I drive like a fucking lunatic as I race to get to my mom, the back roads around here aren't lit by street lamps. Growing up around here gives me an advantage, making it easier for me to navigate these roads.

"How the fuck did Lake get away?" Tay asks, breaking the tension filled silence. I grind my teeth, trying to tamper down my anger. My grip on the wheel tightens so I don't reach across and strangle the fuck out of Mase for allowing this shit to happen.

"I don't know, Stu called it in," Mase answers.

"Where the fuck were you?" I snarl, the anger in my tone can be heard but I don't give a fuck. It's his fucking job to make sure everything goes smoothly but it seems I put too much fucking faith in the idiot.

"Watching your back." I cut a glance to him and glare.

"What?"

Mase throws his hands in the air, clearly exasperated but if he doesn't watch himself, he will wind up under the fucking tires of this car if he doesn't rein that attitude in real fucking fast.

"When we saw you take off, half the guys split and some followed you while the others stayed behind. I called Taylan and Xander to come get you because you pulled a gun on me when I knocked on the window." I frown not recalling that shit but I also didn't realize I was gone for hours!

"Jesus, Knox. You need to get your head fucking right before we find Gio and Percy," Xander snaps. I ignore him because right now I want nothing more than to smash his fucking face in until he tells me what he's been hiding.

"Gio and Percy are already here, be fucking vigilant," I say before scrolling through my contact list and calling in a favor I never thought I would have to. I may hate that cunt but if what he says is true, I won't risk the lives of my family or my men, we've lost too many already.

"Yeah?" Chaos' annoyed voice fills the car stereo system.

"Chaos, it's Knox," I say.

I'm met with silence for a few seconds before he finally speaks again. "When I gave you my number I didn't think you would actually fucking call." I snort.

"I never thought I would either but here I am," I answer honestly.

"So you are, what do you need?" That's one thing I respect about him, he is a straight shooter and doesn't mince words.

"Karl, the head of the Irish, is offering his men for hire in a war I have with my family. I need the Memento Mori and the Murdoch's to back me if it results in a war." Again, there is silence before I hear voices in the background.

"Knox, you're on speaker."

"Okay…" I let my sentence trail off.

"Knox, it's Royal, I'm here with Chaos and Sin and few of our men, what do you need?" I explain to Royal the situation and that I need their help to either back me if I go to war against the Irish or help me stop Karl from sending his men to aid my enemy.

"We can't back you, without Blackwood academy open we are still on a trial basis," Royal says.

"But, we can put a stop to Karl aiding you. If he helps in any way in a family matter, he breaks the treaty which means he would have the entirety of the families coming after him," Chanel adds, the woman is a fucking savage and already has my respect without even really knowing her.

"I need him out of the way so I can handle this situation and then find out why he is helping," I add.

"I'll make a call to my father and Andreas. Costa won't help, the Greeks never involve themselves unless they have to. Ian won't be a problem, he owes my dad a debt." I know there is going to be a cost for their help.

"What's this gonna cost me, Royal?" I say in a firm tone.

"Nothing," Chaos answers. "You were the first to agree to the school and from what Ian and Andreas told my dad, you were the one to demand that no family was to come after mine for what my mom and dad did." Gratefulness surges inside me.

"I hope you know I didn't do that shit for ulterior motives."

"It's because of that reason why we are helping. Get the vengeance you seek for your sister, Knox. I understand it and know what you are dealing with. If you need our help, then call." Chaos ends the call and suddenly I feel like I may have found a friend in him without meaning to. With Karl pushed out of the equation we have this shit in the bag. Gio may have turned Tristan against us and surprised me by being here in Winnipeg, but he won't win this fucking war. I'll kill him, Percy and then finally put my fucking deadbeat cunt of a father in the ground… but this time, I'll make sure he is really dead.