Page 76 of Relentless Knight

“I’m giving you one chance,” he growls. “Leave. Now.”

“What is yourproblemwith me?” I snarl, bringing my arms up once.

And suddenly, I find my back up against the wall as Killian drives his fist into my ribs—and the freshly healed stitches Quinn put there. Grunting with the effort to block him, I ignore the intense burn that spreads across my midsection, warning me that the skin’s not strong enough to hold much longer.

Then a terrified scream splits the air, and my heart stops at the sound of Quinn’s familiar voice. “What are you doing? Stop!”

38

QUINN

I’ve never seen Killian come at Lance so mercilessly, and as pain flashes across Lance’s face, I’m struck by the terrifying thought that my brother might truly try to kill his best friend. And all the while, Lance seems to be doing little more than protecting himself. Fending off Killian’s brutal blows and only throwing out weak jabs to make Killian back off.

“Killian, what is wrong with you!” I shriek. “Get off of him!”

I want to intervene, but I don’t know how to help. And if I put myself in harm’s way, I have no doubt Lance will take a hit in order to protect me. So instead, all I can do is scream. But nothing seems to be getting through to my hot-tempered idiot of a brother. I don’t understand why he’s being so ridiculous about this thing between me and Lance.

But unfortunately, Lance could not have picked a worse time to show up. I finally got Killian to calm down after hearing about the baby. We’d talked, and he’d decided to let me out of my room so I could eat with him and Natasha like a normal human being. I was hoping I could find a way to get in touch with Lance later today since Killian took my phone away.

And now here he is, my Knight in shining armor—in the flesh—getting his butt kicked by my hotheaded brother once again. I could throw something at Killian, I’m so mad. But I’m worried I might accidentally hit Lance.

“Killian, damn it, stop!” I shout, stomping my foot like a tantruming toddler.

“That’s enough,” Natasha says, her voice sharp as she enters the room and stops by my side. “Killian, can’t you see you’re hurting her?”

And to my intense surprise, Killian stops. Heaving for breaths, he slowly backs down as he glowers at his best friend. I don’t know what hold Natasha has on my brother, but I’ve never been more grateful to her in my life as he slowly turns to look at me. And his shoulders sink in defeat.

“I haven’t laid a finger on her,” he growls, casting Lance a murderous look.

“You’re hurting your sister all the same,” Natasha says gently. “Don’t you see how much she loves you both? And now you’re using her love for Lance to drive a wedge between you. Stop. I know you want to protect your little sister. But she’s not a child anymore. And Lance is the last person she needs protecting from.”

“He used her. He…” Killian’s eyes flash down to my stomach, and my heart flutters.

“I would never use Quinn,” Lance says, his expression pained as he looks toward me as if to plead his case.

And it breaks my heart if he thinks for a second that I doubted him.

“I fell in love with her,” he rasps, continuing his speech when Killian looks at him but remains silent. “And I tried to stay away, to stop it from the beginning, because I knew you would never forgive me.”

He looks at Killian, the pain in his eyes swelling with a visible sense of loss. “You’re my best friend. My brother. And I never wanted to do anything to disrupt that. So I never even considered looking at Quinn like that. But then, once I did, once Itrulysaw her, I couldn’t unsee how beautiful she is. I couldn’t go back to the way it was, because in my eyes, the sun and stars rise and set with Quinn. She’s the reason I wake up in the morning and my only desire to continue breathing. And when I’m not with her, I would rather not exist. So, that’s why I’m here. Because I would rather you kill me than to tell me I can’t be with her.”

It’s the most beautiful speech I think I’ve ever heard. And it’s the longest speech Lance has ever given—especially to anyone but me when we’re alone. It fills my heart with such joy to hear Lance say it. Because I was terrified that every day I didn’t call, he might decide to move on, to put me behind him in the hopes of mending things with Killian.

Killian seems stunned to hear Lance talk like that—particularly because he hardly talks at all. And never in more than short, limited sentences.

For a long moment, he doesn’t say anything at all. He just looks between me and Lance, as if he’s trying to decide how it’s even possible. His best friend and his sister. I agree, it’s not ideal, and I hate that it bothers Killian. But for me, it’s always been Lance. And I don’t know that I could ever find happiness with someone else.So why can’t Killian find a way to be happy for me?

“And you’re ready to take care of Quinn?” he asks. “You’re ready to take care of the baby?”

My stomach somersaults as Killian just drops a bomb on Lance. And I’m suddenly scared that while he said he wanted forever with me, he might not actually have been ready. BecauseLance looks stunned, his blue eyes growing wide as the color drains from his face.

Oh God, what if he changes his mind?

I’m going to die of humiliation if Killian was right all along. But more than that, I’m not sure my heart can take losing Lance a second time.

“The…baby…?” Lance echoes, his strong brow buckling into a frown, and he finally meets my eyes again. “You’re pregnant?” he asks.

Fighting back tears, I nod.

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