Fight for Me

by Jessica Linden

  “They’re great companions. Man’s best friend, you know? Or in this case, woman’s best friend.” She chuckled and handed him his bag. Knox took it and strode toward the exit.

  “Sir! Sir! Your receipt!”

  “Keep it,” he said over his shoulder and pushed his way out of the store. Fuck. He missed the south side, where people kept their heads down and their mouths shut.

  Knox stole away into the alley next to the burger joint that was across the street from the hotel, where he could keep an eye on the front entrance. He had to dial from memory since all his contacts were in his abandoned phone. It took him three tries to get the number right.

  “Tony, it’s Knox.”

  The background noise faded, signaling Tony must have walked away from the other guys.

  “Knox, what the fuck, man? Where are you? X has all his men looking for you. Did you really beat the shit out of him?”

  Knox ignored the questions. “Do you have any useful information?”

  “Ah, shit. Yeah. Some of X’s guys were hanging around talking about X going uptown to meet with a guy named Kent. Something about a missing woman.”

  Fuck. Kent and X were bad enough when they were separate. He didn’t know what their meeting would mean for him and Natalie, but it couldn’t be good.

  Tony chuckled nervously. “You didn’t kidnap her, did you?”

  “Is that all?”

  “You should know there’s a price on your head.”

  “How much?”

  “Quarter mil.”

  Knox whistled softly. X must be really pissed that his heir apparent had turned on him.

  Fuck him. Knox had told him time and time again that he wanted nothing to do with X’s business dealings. Once upon a time, he would have been more than happy to take over X’s empire, back when he still looked up to X as a father figure.

  Those days were long gone.

  Damn. Now he’d really have to watch his back. Everyone on the south side would be looking to cash in on that reward.

  “Don’t tell anyone you spoke to me.” He trusted Tony, but Knox didn’t take it for granted he would keep his mouth shut. He wasn’t playing games with Natalie’s safety.

  “Of course not, man. Look, do you need money or something? I can help you out with that.”

  “I’m good on money. But I could use a car.”

  His request was greeted with silence. Not promising.

  “Do you know anyone? I can’t exactly walk into an auto dealership right now. It’s got to be unregistered.” Public transit was out of the question, but they couldn’t keep going on foot like this, either. They wouldn’t get very far. For the first time, he wished he’d gotten involved in some of X’s other dealings. Maybe then he’d know how to steal a car.

  He scrubbed a hand over his face. It was just as well. That would create its own set of problems.

  “Not offhand, but I can look into it.”

  “Do that.” Knox paused for a moment. “Please.” He hated involving Tony in this mess, but he had limited options. And if his instincts were right, Tony would be a valuable resource with the potential for insider information.

  “You got it.”

  “I owe you.”

  Natalie put her arms above her head and stretched, wincing at the pain in her ribs. It had felt better when it was numb from the ice, but the numbness had worn off while she was busy with Knox.

  Busy. She almost laughed out loud at her lame euphemism. She snuggled down in the sheets, allowing herself another moment to bask in the afterglow.

  It was crazy to think that when practically everything in her life was so wrong she could find something so right.

  Knox was an intense, complicated man, and their situation made him even more so. She looked forward to peeling back his layers and discovering the man underneath.

  Literally and figuratively.

  The next time they had an interlude, Natalie wanted to take care of Knox like he’d taken care of her.

  She got out of bed to retrieve her clothing and get dressed. As much as she wanted to lie in bed and wait for Knox to return, she knew she needed to get dressed and be ready for action.

  If only she had a computer. Then she could try to figure out the best way for them to get out of town. Public transportation was out. Taking the bus would have been fine when no one was looking for her, but now her father would surely be monitoring them.

  Perhaps they could buy a secondhand car from someone who wouldn’t ask questions. But how would they find someone they could trust? And there would be the transfer of title to deal with. Well, if they bought it through legal channels anyway. She was still thinking like a law-abiding citizen, which she certainly wasn’t anymore. Not after . . .

  Don’t think about that.

  Still though, she needed to change her way of thinking. Following polite society rules wouldn’t get her out of this mess.

  She just wished there was something she could be doing right now, but without a computer or phone, she had no way to get information. She was stuck waiting for Knox.

  She resisted the urge to peek out the window to look for him and instead turned on the television to distract herself. Bad decision. The news station was still covering her story.

  Sighing, she settled in to watch. It was better to know what was being said about her so they wouldn’t make their next move blindly. This wasn’t the first time she wished she didn’t have such a public life. If she was just an ordinary middle-class woman, her story wouldn’t receive this much coverage.

  Of course, if she were an ordinary middle-class woman, she wouldn’t have had to run away in the first place.

  Most of it was a recap of the earlier broadcast, except with new sound bites from her woebegone father. Her fingers tightened on the remote and she narrowed her eyes at the screen. It wasn’t any more pleasant to watch his act the second time around.

  She was about to turn it off when a red banner flashed across the screen. BREAKING NEWS!

  A toothy reporter took to the screen. “We have new information that Natalie Farrington Kent was abducted by this man, John Cowley, III.”

  Natalie sucked in a breath as Knox’s picture appeared.

  “Cowley may or may not be armed, but even without a weapon, he should be considered very dangerous. If you see this man, don’t attempt to apprehend him. Instead, call our crime hotline.”

  She jumped as the door opened and Knox stepped through, carrying several bags and bringing with him the aroma of greasy french fries.

  Clicking off the TV, she stood and faced him, ignoring her growling stomach.

  “Your name is John?”

  Chapter 5

  Knox set the bags of food on the table and put the security chain on the door, taking the moment while his back was to her to collect himself. No one had called him that name in over a decade.

  “Is your name John?” Natalie asked again.

  He turned and met her stare with one of his own. “I haven’t used it in a long time, but legally, yes.”

  Her expression softened and she ran her hands through her hair. “I think it’s time for you to explain a few things.”

  He didn’t like delving into his past. No one at the gym even knew much about it—just that he’d been with X for a long time.

  Yet he found himself inexplicably wanting to confide in Natalie.

  A rich girl from the north side was the last person he’d expect to understand, but considering how much she’d just gone through to escape her own past, she just might. Despite their differences, they had that in common at least.

  “You need to eat,” he said, handing her a bag of food from the burger joint. “I didn’t know what you’d like . . .” He trailed off as she shoved a handful of fries in her mouth.

  She closed her eyes and moaned. “Fries never tasted so good.”

  He closed his eyes briefly, the sound reminding him of earlier when she was writhing on the bed. He grew hard just thinking about it.


  “Sorry,” she said when she noticed him staring at her. “I guess I was hungrier than I thought.” She unwrapped her burger and took a bite. “Who’s X?”

  “X is . . .” He stopped, trying to figure out how to explain him. Corrupt motherfucker worked, but that description didn’t provide the entire picture. Plus, that label was applicable to half the people in this town. “He runs an underground fighting ring, among other things. If there’s something shady going on, chances are X has a hand in it somewhere.”

  “Are you . . . were you his fighter?”

  Knox paused, not wanting to answer the question. He wouldn’t lie to her, but he was afraid of what she might think, of how she might look at him when she knew the truth.

  “Yeah,” he said finally, meeting her eyes. She used a napkin to wipe her mouth, her expression carefully neutral.

  “I didn’t realize exactly what I was getting into,” he said. He’d never felt the need to explain himself to anyone, but he wanted Natalie to understand. “I was fourteen when I met X. I’d just gotten kicked out of my foster home, and X took me in.”

  Knox had been covered in cuts and bruises from various fights with classmates and neighborhood kids who’d already dropped out of school. X cleaned him up and told him that when he was through with him, Knox would be the one leaving scars.

  X had been true to his word. And Knox had adored him for it. He’d felt powerless his whole life, and X had empowered him, given him purpose. A future.

  Or so he’d thought at the time.

  Natalie ran her fingertips down Knox’s chest, tracing the X pattern over his shirt. “Is the X on your chest for him?” He could feel the ink on his chest as acutely as if it were burning him.

  “I got it when I was fifteen.” He didn’t regret the mark that signified his bond to X. Once he learned the truth about him, it served as motivation to never forget. To never let his guard down again.

  “And your parents? What about them?”

  Knox hadn’t thought about his bastard of a father for years. His mother, though, he thought of her frequently. She’d still be alive if it weren’t for him.

  “They’re dead,” he said bluntly, with enough finality to signal the topic wasn’t open to further discussion.

  “I’m sorry,” she said softly, reaching out to touch his arm. “My mother passed when I was young. Car accident.”

  Compassion and understanding showed in her eyes, and he looked away, overwhelmed by feelings that were long out of use, that he thought were broken inside him.

  He cleared his throat, wanting to keep the conversation moving. “X’s stable of fighters grew, and eventually he expanded his business into other areas, but I was never involved in that. Well, mostly. By the time I realized what a cocksucker X was, I was stuck.”

  She laughed bitterly. “I know all too well about being stuck. What finally made you leave?”

  “He wanted me to throw a fight. So I . . . left.”

  “I assume it wasn’t on good terms.”

  He shrugged. “You might say that.”

  Things had looked good from where he had stood—over X’s limp body. His only regret was not kicking his ass years ago.

  “And that’s why his men are after you.”

  “I suppose,” Knox allowed. “No one’s ever left before.” At least, not against X’s wishes. Sometimes Knox thought it would be easier to be a crappy fighter. Then X would’ve cut him loose long ago.

  Then again, fighting was the only thing he’d ever been good at.

  Natalie nodded and balled up her burger wrapper, then tossed it in the trash can. “Anything else I should know?”

  “There’s a price on my head.”

  “So every thug in the city is looking for you.” Worry was threaded through her voice.

  He flexed and released his fists. “Probably. It’s definitely enough to tempt some to seek me out.”

  He was worried that someone would try to take him out and claim the money. And certain individuals would think nothing of shooting through Natalie to get to him.

  His gaze shifted to her delicate features, igniting a fiery resolve inside him.

  That would not happen. He’d put this target on himself, and he would not let her take the fall for it.

  “I hate to be the bearer of more bad news, but . . .” Natalie grimaced, then filled him in on what she’d learned from the recent broadcast. Her shoulders slumped as she spoke, and Knox wrapped his arm around her, pressing his cheek to her hair and inhaling her scent.

  “That was quick, but I’m not all that surprised. I spoke to one of my contacts,” Knox said. “X had a meeting with your father.”

  She frowned, turning to look at him. “My father never mentioned him, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t know each other. I don’t know what to believe about my father anymore. I used to think there was a line he wouldn’t cross, but after he sent those men after me . . . I just don’t know.”

  Knox pressed his lips to her forehead. “Well, they certainly know each other now.”

  “What are we going to do?” She looked up at him with her trusting big blue eyes.

  Knox stared at her grimly. It pained him that he didn’t have an answer to her question. When he’d been beating the shit out of X, he’d been living in the moment. He hadn’t thought ahead, and there was no way he could have anticipated his current predicament.

  Never in a million years had he pictured someone like Natalie walking into his life.

  “Look at us—two fugitives on the run.” She attempted a feeble smile. “So I guess we might as well stick together, huh?”

  “That was never in question.” His eyes locked on hers. “I’ll keep you safe.” He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. His fingers lingered on her chin and he ran his thumb over her lips.

  Her eyes widened and her breath hitched.

  Damn, she set him on fire, and she had no fucking clue how sexy she was.

  “I don’t want you going anywhere without me,” Knox said fiercely. “You’re mine to protect. I will defend you with everything I have.”

  He pulled her to him, feeling the rise and fall of her breasts against his chest. He touched his lips to hers, tasting her, letting his tongue explore her mouth.

  A purring sound emanated in her throat, and his dick hardened.

  I will protect her.

  Until he was sure she was safe, he wouldn’t be separated from her unless it was over his dead body. And even after she was safe . . . he’d deal with that part later. Natalie deserved more than a fuck-up like him.

  A sharp knock at the door had Knox pulling away and putting his body in front of Natalie’s.

  “It’s probably just housekeeping,” Natalie whispered hopefully.

  Another knock at the door sounded, this one more insistent. “Police! Open up!”

  Natalie clutched Knox’s arms. “Shit. That’s the only door.”

  “Window,” he said. He quickly ripped the lamp’s plug out of the wall and wrapped a towel around its base. Then he used it to smash the glass pane.

  “Police! We’re coming in!”

  The knocking at the door turned into banging as they worked at breaking the door down.

  Natalie already had her backpack on and held Knox’s bag. He grabbed it from her and tossed it out the window. He laced his fingers together to boost her up.

  “Go.”

  She stepped into his hands and shimmied through the window, inhaling sharply as a shard of glass caught her arm.

  The banging at the door rattled the hinges on the door frame. The police were almost through.

  As soon as Natalie’s feet were through the window, Knox pulled himself up just as two uniformed police officers burst into the room. They pointed their guns at him.

  “Freeze!”

  With one final glance at the black metal of the guns, Knox slid out the window to the alley below. He took his bag from Natalie and grabbed her hand, cursing at the wet blood on her palm. “R
un!”

  They took off at a sprint down the back alley, and Knox tipped over a few trash cans along the way to make it harder for the cops to follow them. The first one had made it through the window.

  “Stop or I’ll shoot!” The officer’s voice was shaky and a glance back at him told Knox he was a rookie. Luck was finally on their side. Despite the officer’s warning, he wasn’t likely to deploy his weapon.

  They turned the corner, and Knox took them down another alley to a side street, stopping at a boarded-up basement-level storefront. They quickly descended the half-flight of cracked concrete stairs. There was just enough room for him to fit his fingers under the board and pull it up. He kicked at the rusty lock several times, and when it broke free, Natalie yanked it off the hasp and pulled the door open. Knox followed her in and replaced the board from the inside as best he could. A close inspection would reveal it had been tampered with, but they’d have to take their chances.

  Just seconds after the door was closed behind them, the thud-thud-thud of the officers’ boots slapped on the sidewalk just outside the window at their shoulder level.

  Natalie breathed heavily, holding her arm that was streaked with blood. Knox took a second to catch his breath, then unzipped his bag to retrieve his first-aid kit. The sight of the officers’ boots outside the window made him pause.

  There was static and a muffled voice from a radio.

  “Yes, sir,” the officer responded. “We’ll canvass the area. Someone had to have seen them.”

  The officers took off on foot and Knox breathed a little easier.

  Until he inspected Natalie’s arm.

  Goddammit. The gash there was about three inches long and looked deep. He turned her hand and found a shard of glass in her palm. He pulled it out and she winced, tears filling her eyes. He wrapped his arm around her neck and put his lips to her forehead, hating himself for causing her pain.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I should have been more careful.”

  “It’s not your fault.” He wanted to say it was his fault, that he should have made a cleaner break of the window, but that was impossible. They were in an impossibly fucked-up situation, barely staying one step ahead of their assailants.