Her Name Is Knight(Nena Knight #1)(102)

“Take special care of the body,” she said. “Put it on ice. I’ll take care of it later.” She ignored the dubious look he gave her.

He looked for confirmation at Alpha, who nodded. “Do as she says. Wrap him.”

She was glad neither of them followed up with more questions. Right now, she needed a ride to the hospital to see Cort and Georgia.

From there, however it turned out with Cort, Keigel would take her home. And then she wouldn’t have to be strong for anyone, if only for a little while.



In the late hour, the streets were thankfully deserted, so she and Alpha barreled toward Mercy Hospital, where Elin assured Nena that Cort was stable and resting in his room.

Elin was waiting for her in the hallway outside Cort’s hospital room. Nena was anxious to see him, not because she worried over his health but because he now knew the truth about her. What would he do about it?

“He’ll be okay. The bullet went in and out, and he has a pretty serious concussion from the blow to the head.”

Nena processed the information. Elin was giving her fervent looks as if she wanted to say more. She wanted to ask after Oliver. How did Nena tell her what had happened to him? And more so, would Elin be able to forgive Nena for killing him?

She met Elin’s questioning gaze. Delivering the news was the hardest thing she’d ever have to do. If she lost Elin, she couldn’t fathom how she’d cope. Elin had been her rock. Would she believe Nena had no choice?

Elin took a breath. “He’s dead, isn’t he?” Her tone was dull. Her eyes held trepidation, but she’d clearly resolved to be the Tribe leader she was supposed to be.

“He is.” Nena waited for a beat. “By my hands.” She didn’t usually explain her actions, but she owed Elin this.

“I learned . . . Oliver . . .” The expectant look, mixed with curiousness, on Elin made Nena falter. She hadn’t even had the chance to reconcile who Oliver had been; how would Elin? Or anyone? She hoped Elin’s questions would come later, not now, because she had no answers to give beyond her next words.

“Oliver was Ofori. My brother who I thought died with the rest of my family back in N’nkakuwe.” The words rushed from her so fast Nena could barely understand them herself. But she pushed forth while Elin backed away from her, hand at her mouth, eyes wide and not understanding.

“How?” Elin managed to ask.

“I tried, very hard, for it to end differently. But Ofori—Oliver—Paul’s brainwash was too great. I couldn’t stop him,” Nena tried to explain. “I am sorry.”

She was with every fiber of her being. Elin hadn’t deserved any of this.

“He loved you,” Nena added. “You were one of the last things he spoke of. Before . . .” She ducked her head.

Elin’s face was a mask of false stoicism. “Yeah, well, it was all a part of his plan? His and Paul’s?” She didn’t need a real answer, so Nena remained silent. “All of it was a ploy, and I’m quite over being a pawn.” She rolled her eyes, laughing dryly. “The next man better watch the hell out.”

Nena watched as her sister subconsciously twirled her new wedding ring on her finger.

Elin sniffled, shaking herself back to the present. “Anyway, you should get in there and sort things out.”

Nena gestured toward the police milling around the hall. “What’s the story?”

“They’re going with an attempted abduction. Apparently, the detective Oliver killed was a friend of Cort’s?”

Nena nodded. Mack.

“The police suspect retaliation for a case they were working on that Cort was going to try. They think the plan was to kidnap Georgia and blackmail Cort to not prosecute or something of that sort. It’s the story Cort came up with.”

Nena nodded again.

“They found Georgia’s cell phone in someone’s backyard, and she told them she ran from the assailant, was picked up by your neighbor who brought her here.” Elin slipped her hands into her pockets, yawning.

“Did she tell you what happened to her?”

“Said she ran and Oliver chased her through the neighborhood. She thought she lost him by hiding in a doghouse.”

“But he found her.”

Elin’s eyes were red rimmed. “He found her and brought her to Paul.”

Nena inclined her head toward Cort’s closed door. “How much does he know?”

“Everything. I know you said to explain things to him, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. So the kid did.”

Nena waited a beat, unsure if she wanted the answer to the question she was afraid of asking.

Elin gave her a sympathetic look. “He’s just angry right now. And in shock.”

Nena mustered up a wry expression. It seemed her brother was not the only family she’d lost that night.

Her sister yawned again, and Nena suggested she head home and call their parents to let them know everything was fine. Nena was exhausted, too; the adrenaline was long gone. The pain from her injuries came at her like a truck. If they’d let her, she could lie on the hospital floor for a week. However, there was one more thing she had to do.

Nena limped to Cort’s room, gingerly holding her stab wound. She waved away offers of assistance from the hospital staff who saw her. She would be fine, and she didn’t want to answer questions. She stood in the doorway, waiting until Cort and Georgia noticed her, ignoring the officer assigned to protect them as he tried to tell her she couldn’t be there.