Knox (Hellbound Lovers MC #8)

by Crimson Syn

  “Hey baby, why aren’t you asleep?”

  “Why aren’t you in bed?”

  He smiled and went up to her. “MC business baby. You don’t need to wait up for me tonight.”

  She reached out and lovingly touched his cheek, and we all watched as he tenderly kissed her palm. “Go to sleep, Beautiful.”

  “Shouldn’t you call Chastity or Gabriela?” Her eyes glanced over at Diesel and Gunner and then back to Wolf. “For backup,” she whispered.

  “We need to handle this ourselves, Beautiful.”

  She shook her head. “And get yourself killed.”

  “I’d rather die protecting you than wait for that fucker to destroy us.”

  She stroked his cheek and he closed his eyes. Her voice rang out to all of us. “You take care of each other. I know I have no voice here, but I don’t give a shit. You’re all my family, and goddammit I want you all back here in one piece!”

  She looked down at Wolf with tears in her eyes. “I want you back alive.”

  He nodded. “I love you.”

  She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead as he did the same with Ryder. She held onto him for a brief moment before disappearing up the stairs. Wolf stood there for a moment, his head hanging as silence filled the room. Her appearance brought us all back to reality. We realized at that moment that we weren't who we used to be. Our brotherhood had grown and we didn't only just have each other. Suddenly we weren't alone anymore. We had families, we had our women who meant the world to us, who waited for us to crawl into their bed every night. I had my woman, who was alone and in need of her man.

  “Whatever it is we’re doing, we have thirty minutes to do this.” My voice broke the silence, but I needed to get to that dock as soon as possible.

  Wolf turned around and looked at each and every one of us. “Watch your backs tonight. I don’t care if you’re an HLMC member or not. The men who are standing in this room right now are my family. So keep alert, keep your eyes open and make sure you come back home to your families.”

  Father King went up to Wolf and shook his hand. “You had our back when we needed it. I owe you my life. You have my word your men will come home safe.”

  Wolf gave him a half smile and patted his shoulder. “So will yours.”

  He looked at Poe and Ash who were standing side by side. “Is Ryan on his way?”

  Ash nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

  Wolf nodded. “You ride Hellbound tonight, understood?”

  Both Death Row Shooters and Fallen Kings cheered at that and a sense of pride swept through the brotherhood. We weren’t alone.

  “Let’s move!”

  At Wolf's order, everyone got into action. We had all been through the drill. We were a well-oiled machine at this point. We each knew how we worked, how we ticked. We knew our lives depended on our actions tonight and we had to trust the man standing next to us had our back.

  Ash approached me and helped me as I packed a few weapons into a bag. Gunner and Diesel took their cases and left ahead of us.

  “Hey.” Ash stopped me in the doorway.

  “Yeah, what’s up? We gotta’ go.”

  “You love her?”

  “What?”

  “You know what I’m askin’.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. "What if I do?"

  “Good,” he simply stated. “She deserves a good man.”

  He patted me on the back on his way out. “Ash?”

  “Yeah, man.”

  “Promise me, if something happens to me you’ll watch over her.”

  He looked down at the ground for a moment and then he looked up at me. “That’s not gonna be necessary.”

  “I know you feel something for her too. If there’s anyone I know who can protect her the way I can, it’s you. Just fucking say it.”

  “I’ll protect her. But like I said, there’s no need for that.”

  He disappeared down the hallway and I took a deep breath. Ash liked Jade, I hated how she’d laugh and joke with him. She wasn’t afraid of him, and when I placed him on her watch she didn’t mind. He’d protect her if I wasn’t around. And somehow, I was okay with that.

  17

  Knox

  The plan was that I arrive alone to make the exchange. Wolf and Grayson had headed out first with Poe. The rest of the men were all ready and in position at the docks. Gunner and Diesel were propped up on the two cranes above head where they could have the best angle. Some of the men were headed toward Seth's boathouse. If they needed to get on the water, that speedboat was their best bet. Ryan would meet me at the docks with a forged deed in hand. We didn't really ask questions with Ryan, we just trusted he knew what the fuck he was doing. It was a fake deed that would be exchanged for Jade's life. I only hoped La Cruz wouldn't see right through it.

  I sped through the dark empty roads leading to the shipyard. Cameras were on me the whole way there, courtesy of Riggs and all the painstaking hours he had put in to make sure surveillance was tight. I made my way toward the docks stopping near a side street where Ryan was waiting for me.

  He nodded in greeting and handed me the document. “They’re waiting for you. Looks like you’re going to have an escort.”

  “Of course, I am.”

  "Hey," he grabbed my arm. "This piece of paper is only doing half the job, you're gonna have to sell it. It should be an in and out operation unless this asshole wants to fuck with us. Just know we got your back."

  I shook his hand, tucked the piece of paper in my back pocket and took off towards the dock. How predictable, cartels and go-fast boats go hand in hand. There it was, my ride across the river Styx, now if only I knew where my boatman was. From the deck stepped off the only man I wanted dead more than La Cruz. The man who took my Jade and tried to kill me. He stood there with an M4 Carbine Rifle angled against his chest. I had packed my Glock, which I strapped to my ankle just in case shit got bad.

  “Maybe you are a rat. Hard to kill and always crawling its way out of the wreckage. Too bad I don’t get the pleasure of putting a bullet in you today.”

  “You didn’t last time either.”

  “Hands up, Hero. Lift your shirt up and spin around.”

  He came up to me and patted me down. If he only knew how easily I could snap his neck he wouldn’t be acting so cocky.

  “On the boat,” he pressed the barrel of the rifle to my side, forcing me onto the hull of the ship. I glared at him as he passed me. I’d deal with him later, I was eager to get to Jade.

  We were silent during the short ride. Slowing down, he pulled up to the stern of the yacht and roped the speedboat to the stern line, securing it. The barrel was in my face as he shoved me, forcing me up the steps. The gun digging into my back as we made our way across the stern and onto the main deck where La Cruz was standing, waiting in his crisp white suit as if this was just an everyday business transaction. I noticed two men on either side of me as I approached La Cruz, each holding fully automatic submachine guns.

  “Knox, Knox, Knox. I can see why she likes you. You are tough. They should call you Fort Knox. Come, join me.”

  He pointed at the man who'd been my cross for the last few hours. "I think you two know each other but haven't been properly introduced. This is Leo, they call him El Diablo Blanco. It means, White Devil. He's my most trusted man, ex-CIA, cold-blooded bastard, aren't you, White Devil? He's my hired gun. As a double agent, he's come in handy. He's the reason I know you're in bed not just with my Jade but also with the fucking FBI. Leo, make our guest comfortable."

  He grabbed me by the collar and shoved me into the cabin. La Cruz headed to the bar on his right while I was forced to sit down on the white leather couch that aligned the cabin to the left. Leo stood by the entrance leading down to the cabins below deck.

  La Cruz handed me a tumbler filled with whiskey and he sat himself to my left. He leaned back, making himself comfortable. Taking a long sip of his drink, he watched me. I knocked back a drink of the amber liquid, glad
for the burn it gave me as I swallowed it.

  “I assume you have it.”

  “I do.”

  “Leo,” he signals for him to come and take the document. I raised one hand up in the air and with my other I slowly reached into my back pocket, pulling out the envelope. Leo yanked it from my hand and I held my breath, staring straight ahead as he skimmed through it. If a doubt even crossed his mind, I was a dead man. But the fuck if I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

  “It looks legit.”

  I slowly let out the breath I’d been holding and relax my body. Ryan Simon was good at what he did and, in that moment, I was glad for it.

  “Looks like you came through for us after all. I suppose I should thank you.”

  “I don’t need your empty gratitude, you know what I came for.”

  “Ahhh, yes. The hero wants the girl.”

  As La Cruz spoke, my attention deviated to the bow of the yacht where suddenly I see first one man go down, and then the next. Gunner always gets his man. I look out into the ocean and quickly stand as I realize the sparks of gunfire from the shipyard. Flashes of lights ricochet back and forth from the dark empty warehouses.

  “You didn’t think it was going to be that easy, did you?” I flinch as his hand slams down on my shoulder.

  "I told you, Hellbound Lover. I have eyes everywhere. Your men are now fighting for their lives. There's nothing you can do about it. I told you to come alone and you have broken my trust." He smirked and I could feel the tension fill the air.

  "Out there. That right there is bloodshed because you didn’t listen! You are spilling your brothers’ blood because you had to be the hero.” He tsked and tilted his head side to side, his face distorting in anger. “Family always pays the price. Your brothers are going to die tonight. That, I can assure you.”

  “You have no idea what my brothers can do.”

  He smirked. "No, I see what they can do. See when family is involved, it is never good. Family blinds you from the things you need to do. Love blinds you."

  I seethed and stood very still as the firefight could be heard from where we stood. I looked over, a sense of panic surging through me. Jade, my brothers, I needed to save them all, but how? The sound of gunshots suddenly ricocheted through the cabin, sending pieces of wood splintering off the bar and walls. All three of us slammed down to the floor as the bullets riddled the cabin.

  “Hijueputas! Mal paridos!”

  I watched La Cruz crawl towards the steps leading below deck, cursing as he disappeared. I glanced to my left and saw a familiar speedboat heading straight for the yacht. La Cruz's men were unloading their bullets out into the dark waters, paying us no mind. Two of the men suddenly went down in a matter of seconds. Either Diesel had gotten a shot or Wolf was on that boat speeding towards me.

  I focused back on getting to La Cruz when I was barreled down by Leo. Taking me by surprise I landed hard up against the side of the boat, sliding down to the floor. He grabbed me by the collar and slammed a fist right into my jaw. I saw him reach back to take another punch and my instincts kicked in. Blocking him, I shoved him and with a hard kick to his shin I brought him down to my level.

  He roared as he leaped onto me, pressing his rifle to my neck. We struggled with the rifle until I was finally able to get out from under him, spinning us both around until I had him in a headlock. By his moves, I could tell the fucker was ex-military and it only fueled my anger. He kicked at the wall and flipped over getting out of my grasp.

  As I reach for him, he grabs the butt of his rifle and slams it right against my temple. A ringing resounds in my head and I stagger back against the bar. I sit there for a moment as the pain nearly knocks me out. My eyes want to close, and I struggle to get up. Blood is pouring down my face and my head is pounding, but I need to stop him.

  His back is to me as I sway back and forth, heading across the cabin towards the cockpit. He doesn't notice me as he steers the ship into the open water and pushes down on the throttle. I look back and realize the speedboat is fighting to catch up. I let the anger flow through me and the adrenaline kicks in. Reaching for the strap of his gun, I take him by surprise, yanking it back hard until it's wrapped around his neck. I pull on it as he gags. His hand presses down on the throttle and the boat starts to chop the water sending us both flying back, but I don't let go of my grip. He struggles, tries to dig his nails into my hands, but I only tighten my grip. He claws at the ground, at the rifle, anything he can and as every second passes I feel him get weaker and weaker until his body lies limp on top of me. I keep my grip, reminded of how he took what was mine.

  My hands finally let go, white-knuckled with the threads of the straps embedded in my palms. My breathing ragged, pain shooting up my temple as I shove his dead body away from me. I get up and slow the boat down and then I pick up his rifle and head down those damn stairs.

  I call out to him as I land on the bottom deck. “La Cruz you have no way out, except through me! I suggest you give yourself up! You’re not going to win here!”

  I heard Jade curse and followed the sound. "Let her go, La Cruz! She has nothing to do with this! This is our fight!"

  I swept into the far back cabin and there he was. Jade sitting in a chair, him standing behind her, a gun to her temple, his hand on her shoulder.

  The one being that had almost destroyed the Hellbound Lovers was in my grasp and all it would take was one bullet to end it all. One bullet and all our problems would die with him. But the bastard had once again managed to flip my world upside down. He held my life in his hands and he was about to use it against me.

  “You okay, baby?” Her eyes met mine and relief followed by a deep sorrow filled them.

  “I didn’t say you could talk to her.”

  I had a steady hand as I kept the rifle trained to his head.

  “Let her go.”

  His cynical smirk made my blood boil. “Go ahead. Shoot me. A bullet will be through her head before yours reaches mine. Then we will truly be together forever. Put the gun down and slide it over, or get to watch her die.”

  I stared at her for a long moment, gripping the rifle tightly in my hands. She had to know I’d do anything for her. I’d even die for her.

  18

  Jade

  Knox looked tired, he looked beat up, afraid. Not for his life but for mine. I never had someone love me so much, and now I was forced to sit here and watch him die.

  Don’t do it, baby.

  Don’t put that gun down.

  Don’t give him what he wants. He always gets what he wants.

  But I’m not his, I’m yours.

  The thoughts filled my head as I watched him lift the strap of the rifle over his head and drop it at his feet. La Cruz trained the gun on Knox as he lifted the rifle off the floor. He tucked his pistol in the front of his waistband and aimed the rifle at Knox.

  “On your knees, soldier.” Knox slowly fell to his knees and I watched as La Cruz charged at him, the rifle in hand.

  I died inside as I watched La Cruz tear my love apart with hit after hit of the butt of that rifle. Knox took the blows as if serving a penance for my mistakes. His head swayed back and forth, blood spurting from his mouth, his eyes swelling and bruises forming on his cheeks.

  I whimpered quietly as my man was beaten down before me. I knew I had to do something and quickly before he managed to kill him.

  “I thought you were tougher than that Knox! Get up and fight him!” I screamed, trying to make him snap out of it.

  Through his stupor, Knox stared up at me. Anger still shown in his eyes and I cried out to him with mine. I shook my head, begging him to get up, to fight.

  He spit out blood at La Cruz’s feet. “You hurt her, and I’ll fucking end you.”

  “Look around you, Hellbound Lover. There’s no escape, and no one’s coming for you. Even your woman has lost faith in you.”

  He made his way to him and I cringed as he grabbed Knox's head, pulling it back so he wa
s staring up at me.

  “I want you to look at her one more time. Look at all you’ve lost. I’ll make sure to fuck her tonight while your body lies dead in this cabin.”

  He shoved his head forward coming around and backing up toward me while raising the rifle up taking aim at his head. I reacted quickly, reaching out and running my hand up his arm to distract him. "Juan, please. Let's go. He's not worth it."

  La Cruz looked over at me, tilting his head. "Do you think I'm stupid? You must if you think I actually believe you."

  I shook my head, glancing down at Knox who was kneeling on the floor completely broken down. “I’m willing to come with you. You’re more powerful than he ever will be,” I nodded over at Knox as if he were some insignificant thing.

  “I see that now. I want to go with you, Juan.”

  He turned to me, and I managed to keep from flinching as he caressed my cheek. His proximity alone had me terrified, but I pushed that feeling far down in order to make this plan work.

  “Don’t play games with me, Hermosa. This won’t end well for you or your lover.”

  I leaned up and cupped his cheek. “I swear, I want to be with you. Not him.”

  I had to seem convincing enough that he'd believe me. If he truly felt what he did for me, he'd give in easily. If not, we were both dead. My fingertips grazed the handle of the pistol as I glanced down at Knox. He stared back at me, a questioning look in his eyes. I reassured him with my gaze and then turned to La Cruz. Closing my eyes, I swept a hand up along his shoulder and brought my mouth to his.

  I kissed him carefully, afraid that he would push me away. He stood very still, probably in shock of my actions but after a few seconds, his hand gripped my hair and he took my mouth hard. Bile rose in my throat from disgust, but I let him kiss me until I was sure he had let his guard down. That’s when I saw the opening. Moving swiftly, I took a grip on the handle of the pistol. The movement made La Cruz jerk, but I gripped his neck, holding him to me. Knox’s hand reached out, stopping La Cruz from lifting the rifle.