“What about her?”
“Did you have her killed?”
“Accidents happen all the time, Natalie. With and without my help.”
It was as good as a confession. Her bastard of a father had murdered her mother.
Deep down, she’d figured that was true, but hearing him talk about it made her heart feel like it was being torn to shreds. She’d been living with and obeying her mother’s murderer all these years.
But no more. This ended now.
She pulled the recorder out of her pocket and held it up, using her hand to cover most of it. “I recorded everything you just said. And with one push of a button, I’ll send it out to everyone in my contacts lists.”
Please don’t let him look too closely. Please don’t let him realize it’s not a phone.
The menacing expression fell off her father’s face and was replaced by an uncertain one. It was like he couldn’t believe his meek, mild daughter had outwitted him.
But she’d left meek and mild behind when she’d left him behind.
“I want you to call down to X and tell them to release Knox.”
“And if I don’t?”
She could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Despite his talk of being business partners with X, she knew he was remembering exactly what she’d told him earlier: X couldn’t be trusted. Even if he called X, there was no guarantee X would care enough about her father to let Knox go. Not when X wanted vengeance against Knox so badly.
“This recording goes out. You have five seconds to make a decision. Five . . . four . . . three . . .” She could tell from the way his eyes darted from her to the edge of the building behind her what he planned to do a split second before he acted.
He lunged for her, and she dove out of the way, skidding across the gravel rooftop with the recorder clutched tightly in her hand. Her father teetered on the edge of the building for a split second, his arms windmilling, and then he was gone.
His strangled scream only lasted a second before there was a terrible crunching splat sound, following by silence.
Natalie pulled herself to her knees, then stood, but she didn’t even feel the pain of where her knees and elbows had skidded on gravel and left gashes in her skin.
She crept over to the edge of the building and peered down, her vision blurred both by tears and the wind blowing her hair into her face.
She blinked, and then she saw him—her father lying facedown in a slowly widening pool of his own blood.
She put her hand over her mouth and choked back a sob.
But that was all she would allow herself.
She had to get to Knox.
Cold water was flung across his face, and Knox opened his eyes.
He was in a warehouse, surrounded by X’s men—the ones he’d fought in the hall and a handful of others. His hands were tied behind his back. Someone kicked the chair out from under him, and his knees smacked hard on the concrete floor as he fell.
He swayed, still dizzy from the earlier blow to his head. He blinked several times, and his vision cleared. Then he closed his eyes momentarily and brought up a picture of Natalie in his mind. That centered him.
Natalie was in this building somewhere, but all of X’s men were here. She was smart. Perhaps she didn’t need him to rescue her. She could use this opportunity to escape.
He clung to that knowledge. He had to, because it was all he had left.
When he opened his eyes, X was standing right in front of him.
X backhanded Knox across the face, causing Knox’s neck to snap to the side. He tasted blood. He spat the blood onto the floor and turned to look X in his one good eye. Whatever happened, he would not cower in front of this man.
God, he’d imagined being face-to-face again with X, but he’d pictured it much differently. He wanted to rip out X’s sole remaining eye. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go down.
Knox smiled because he knew it would piss X off. “The only way you can take me is with my arms tied behind my back.”
“I have people to do my dirty work for me, but I’m making an exception for you. I want to cause you pain using my own two hands.”
X held his hand out, and one of the guys placed a piece of chain in it. X swung the chain, and it struck Knox’s side, wrapping around to his back.
It hurt like a motherfucker, but Knox didn’t flinch. He wouldn’t give X the satisfaction.
“Or maybe not my actual hands, per se.” X chuckled. “After everything, you’re still proud. You were too proud to take a fall, and now that pride is going to be the end of you.”
It wasn’t pride. It was integrity. And goddammit, that was one thing X couldn’t take from him. The man didn’t know the meaning of the word.
“Where’s Natalie?” Knox asked. He kept his eyes trained on X, not acknowledging the men circling them, watching the show.
“With her father.”
Fuck. Knox didn’t trust Kent any more than he trusted X. Less, actually. At least he knew what to expect from X. Kent was more of a wild card.
“He’d better not hurt her.”
“You’re not in much of a position to be making demands. Besides, he’s her father. He can do whatever he wants to her.” X paused. “She’s pretty. I can see why you like her. Maybe once you’re dead, I’ll take pity on her and let her serve me rather than have her rot in captivity. I bet she’s a good fuck.”
Knox strained against the bindings on his wrists and tried to stand. Someone behind him pushed him back to the ground.
He bared his teeth. “Stay the fuck away from her.”
He hadn’t wanted to react—he knew it would do no good and it was giving X what he wanted—but he couldn’t stop himself when X talked about Natalie like that.
X laughed. “Now that’s the last thing I’m going to do. You brought this on her, Knox. If she’d just been a runaway heiress, I’d turn her over to Kent and be done with it. But now you’ve piqued my interest in the little rich girl. And that’s the thing—Kent tells me we need her alive. So she might as well be useful.”
Rage ran through every cell in Knox’s body. He pulled against the ties on his wrists, the muscles in his arms fully flexed in exertion.
But the fucking things would not budge.
“You know, I had planned to just kill you first, but now that I see how invested you are in the woman, I think I’ll keep you alive for a while, just long enough for you to see her one more time after I’ve fucked her.”
With his hands bound and someone holding him down on his knees, all Knox could do was roar in anger.
X swung the chain, hitting Knox’s other side this time. He slashed it across Knox three more times, and Knox felt it slice his skin.
The chain came away bloody.
“Natalie has nothing to do with this,” Knox said. “This is between you and me.”
“I made you. I own you. You were my son and I gave you everything. Everything!” X yelled, pacing in front of him. “And now I’ve taken it away. She’s the only thing you have left.”
“I’ll kill you.”
X clocked Knox in the jaw, and his teeth rattled. The hit was harder than Knox would have thought X was capable of. Then again, it was powered by rage and revenge.
Then X kicked Knox’s ribs, and Knox felt the cracks as several of them broke. With every inhale, they screamed at him until he was reduced to shallow pants.
“How’s Grandma Fran doing these days?” Knox asked.
X backhanded him, striking his left eye. Knox turned his head to look at X again, but there was now blood running through his eye, making it hard to see.
And God, it fucking hurt to talk. But Knox pressed on. He couldn’t wait any longer or he wouldn’t be able to see this through. He could only hope that wherever Natalie was, she’d taken advantage of the lack of guards and escaped. Surely she could get past her father.
“Do you still visit her every other Sunday?”
X laughed. “You’re
stupider than I thought. You don’t have it in you to hurt an old woman.”
Knox struggled to suck in air and stay conscious. “No, I don’t. But your enemies would love to know exactly where you are twice a month unarmed and without protection.”
X’s complexion paled ever so slightly, much to Knox’s satisfaction. Knox was the only one X had ever trusted with his mother, and now that trust was being used as a weapon against him.
X would never move his mother out of the home. He’d tried it once, and the woman had almost had a mental breakdown. Knox hated to use the sweet old woman as leverage, but Knox knew X would never put her in jeopardy.
So X would buy Knox’s bluff. He’d be a fool to risk it.
X kicked Knox, breaking a few more ribs. Knox slumped over, unable to stay on his knees. He fought against the unconsciousness that threatened to take over.
“You’re lying,” X said.
“Then kill me.” Knox panted, every breath a battle. “And see what happens. As long as I’m alive, your secret stays safe.”
X paced, rubbing his chin with his hand. He didn’t respond for a few seconds, which was long enough for his men to start shifting nervously.
“X, what’s he talking about?” one of the men asked, stepping forward from the circle.
“Nothing,” X barked. “He doesn’t have shit.”
Knox watched a bevy of emotions cross over X’s normally controlled expression. He was battling with himself, but this was one fight he wouldn’t win.
A low murmuring spread through X’s men as they watched their leader relent to Knox, the man X had just claimed he owned. The sound made Knox’s lips curve in a smile. X’s empire was unraveling around him.
“If he doesn’t have shit, then why is he still alive?” the man demanded.
“Are you questioning me?” X got in the man’s face, and for a few seconds it looked like he would stand his ground, but he backed down. “That’s what I thought,” X muttered.
Then he kicked Knox again. Knox grunted, no longer caring about showing weakness. He was past that point.
X pulled his gun out of his holster. “I should kill you now. You’re nothing.” He pointed the gun at Knox’s head.
“No!” Natalie’s voice came through loud and clear, and for a moment Knox thought he was hallucinating. Then she broke through the crowd of men and crouched in front of Knox, putting herself between him and the gun.
She put a hand on Knox’s shoulder, then faced X. “You’ll have to kill me first.”
Chapter 27
God, what had they done to Knox? He was covered in blood, and his eye was almost swollen shut. She wanted to inspect his injuries to see how badly hurt he was, but she kept her gaze trained on X.
Knox struggled to get to his knees, but she held her hand firmly on his shoulder to keep him in place.
“Natalie, no,” he said hoarsely. “Get out. Leave me.”
“You should listen to him,” X sneered, still holding the gun, only now it was pointed directly at her. This was the first time she’d been close enough to the man to get a good look at him. This was the man who had raised Knox from late childhood, then proceeded to make his life hell through coercion and manipulation.
She wanted to claw his eye out. But for now, she’d settle for safe passage out of here for both her and Knox.
“I’m not going without him.”
“Knox belongs to me,” X said. “I own him. I made him. He owes me. But you? I’ll let you leave, although Kent won’t be happy about that. Consider it a favor from me to you.”
“My father is dead,” Natalie said bluntly, trying hard to keep her voice even.
X cocked his head. “Now that’s a shame. Poor Gerald finally got in over his head. Dumb prick.”
“And I’ve called the police. They’ll be here any moment.”
It was a bluff, and she hoped it was a convincing one. She’d paused only momentarily to check some of the open rooms for phones but came up empty.
“You don’t have a phone.”
“My father did.”
Too bad she’d thought of that too late. The phone had taken the fall with him.
The men shifted uneasily, and a few of them started retreating toward the exit.
“She’s lying! You can’t believe anything that comes out of this rich bitch’s mouth.” X fired his gun into the air. “This isn’t over until I say!”
His men continued to murmur amongst themselves and gape at their leader, who was coming more unglued every minute.
X was distracted. For a split second, Natalie considering charging him to try to get control of the gun, but that would leave Knox exposed. And though the men were fleeing, that didn’t mean they weren’t still loyal to X. They might come to his rescue if he was attacked.
“It’s over,” Natalie said quietly to X. “Just let him go.”
In the distance, sirens wailed softly, slowly getting louder. Natalie tried hard not to seem unnerved by the sound. She hadn’t called the police, and X would call her bluff when the cop cars passed them by.
The gun in X’s hand shook slightly, the result of his trembling hand. Was he nervous or angry? His expression wasn’t giving anything away.
Then he tucked the gun back in its holster and spat on the ground in front of Natalie. He ran his hands over his hair to slick it back, like he was composing himself.
“You’re not worth it,” he sneered. “You’re dead to me.”
He walked swiftly to the exit and motioned with his hand for his men to follow. “Let’s move,” he ordered.
As soon as they were gone, Natalie turned to Knox. “Are you okay?”
What a stupid question. He was unconscious, which was probably a good thing given the extent of his injuries. Blood was everywhere—seeping out from gashes in his back and sides, his temple, and his nose. And he couldn’t answer her, anyway. Except what if he had a concussion? Were you supposed to stay awake with those?
“Oh, God.” She didn’t know what to do. Her first-aid training was limited. She put her fingers up to his throat, and let out a breath when his pulse was steady.
The sirens grew louder, until they sounded like they were right outside the building, and then they ceased.
She looked around for something to cut the bindings on his hands, but there was nothing in the huge warehouse except a handful of folding metal chairs.
The door X had just exited burst open, and uniformed police officers flooded the warehouse. They had been evading the police for weeks, but now they were a welcome sight.
“We need an ambulance!” Natalie called out. “Hurry!”
One officer ran over to her while the others spread out, some inspecting the warehouse and others moving upstairs.
“Are you hurt?” the officer asked.
“No, it’s not me. It’s him.”
The officer took one look at Knox and spoke into his shoulder mic. “Dispatch, send medics immediately.”
“Can you unbind his hands?” Natalie asked.
He pulled out a pocket knife and sliced through the ties. When he looked back up at her, he narrowed his eyes, then widened them in disbelief. “Hey, are you Natalie Kent?”
She nodded, and the officer looked down at Knox, putting the pieces together. His lips spread into a grim line. “We’ve been looking for you.”
Knox’s body was jostled, and he groaned. He opened his eyes just a sliver and was greeted with bright light. He closed them immediately.
Then he felt Natalie’s hand in his. He didn’t need to see her to know she was there. He’d know her touch anywhere.
“Your eye,” he croaked.
She put a hand on his chest. “Shh . . . don’t try to talk. You’re in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.”
He tried lifting his hand, and she gently lowered it back to the gurney.
“Don’t move. We don’t know what’s broken. And you don’t want to disturb the IV.”
“But your eye,” he said again
. She’d been hurt. He couldn’t open his eyes to look at her now, but before when she’d thrown herself between him and X, her eye was purple and swollen.
Someone had hurt her. He hoped she’d hurt them back.
His thoughts were all jumbled. What happened to X?
She chuckled softly, music to his ears. “You’ve been beaten within an inch of your life, and you’re worried about my stupid little black eye?”
“I love you.” The words tumbled out of his mouth, and once they were out, he couldn’t stop. Why had it taken him so long to tell her? He’d almost lost his chance. Never again. “Natalie, I love you. You’re everything.”
She pulled his other hand up to her mouth to kiss it.
His lips curved into a small smile as his world went black, with the feel of her lips on his skin.
When Knox awoke, it was to the sound of softly beeping machines and the sterile smell of antiseptic.
Oh fuck.
He was in the hospital. And that meant authorities. Not good.
What the hell had happened?
Pieces of it came back to him, including a vision of Natalie’s face.
He opened his eyes and struggled to sit up. She was hurt. Where was she?
“Knox.”
He turned toward the sound of her voice. There she was. There. Coming toward him. She’d just been out in the hall.
“Don’t try to sit up too fast,” she said. “You have five broken ribs.”
“Is that all?” But he settled back as she’d asked. There was very little pain. Whatever was dripping down the IV line was some good shit.
“Probably a concussion as well.”
He nodded. It wouldn’t be his first time. “What happened?”
“X and his men left. Then the police arrived.” She frowned. “I didn’t call them, though. How did they know?”
“Tony,” Knox said. “I told him to call in an hour.”
“Tony? How did he end up involved in this?”
“He picked me up after I was drugged. What happened with your father?”
She looked away, a stricken expression on her face. “He’s dead. He . . . he fell off the roof.”
For a moment, he wondered if she’d pushed him. But he didn’t think so. And for her sake, he hoped not. Despite Kent being a worthless bastard, he was still her father. She shouldn’t have to live with his blood on her hands, even if he deserved it.
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