Page 57 of The Hunted

They stare at one another, some standoff of wills, then Lazz swats the gun out of his face completely, and Knox lowers it, tucking it into the back of his waistband.

“Lazz, I need to know if something happens to me, you’ll save Raven and take Vaughn out, but saving Raven, getting her out of here, has to come first.”

Knox turns to me and hugs me. I’m so grateful to have him by my side again. My face presses into his chest, and I inhale his comforting scent.

“I hear ya, brother. I was trying to get her outta here now. After Ace called me, I called in my brother and him and our MC are on their way. I thought we could use some back-up. I need to get her to the tunnels to get her out. They’ll be waiting to take her.”

“I’m not leaving Knox here!”

I push away from Knox, pissed and about to protest, but Knox turns and takes my face in his hands. His forehead comes down to rest against mine. I’m swallowed alive by this man. Everything about him sings to me.

“Baby, I can’t do what I need to do with you here. I’ll worry too much. You will be my priority. You are my priority. You alive, out there, is my priority,” he says crooking his head to the world outside these walls.

He lays the softest kiss on my lips, his breath fanning across them as he whispers, “I care about you. I need you to go with Lazz. Okay, baby? Please, do this for my peace of mind. He will not hurt you. He’s not that fucking dumb, to touch what is mine, again.” The last part he says a little louder, getting his point across.

“Yeah, yeah. Say your goodbyes, we gotta roll. We’re fucking targets standing here.”

“Knox, I can’t leave you. Just come with us.” My tears roll over his fingers. “Please!”

“Shhh. It’s okay. I’ll handle this, and I will come get you. I have to end this. I have to. We’ll never be safe if I don’t.”

He presses a kiss to my lips as I dig my fingers into the fabric of his shirt, trying to hold him to me, unwilling to leave him behind.

“Go.”

He nudges me toward Lazz, and with one last lingering look, he takes off into the night.

“We gotta move, Raven.” Lazz grabs my arm and begins pulling me toward the manor again.

I stumble in his grip, unable to stop staring at Knox’s retreating form. My heart sinks when he stops at the top of the hill. He turns, and I can see him in the silhouette of the moon, looking at me. My heart thunders in my chest. Why does this feel like a goodbye? I dig my heels into the ground as Lazz tries to pull me forward again.

I wait.

Will this be my last memory of him? Watching him as heads off to sacrifice himself for everyone he cares about?

In the blink of an eye, Knox is gone, swallowed by the night.

“Let’s move, Raven. Sooner I get you out, the sooner I can come back and help Knox.”

“You’re going to help him?” I never expected Lazz would help him. Their relationship seems to be one of convenience rather than an actual friendship.

“Yes, but we have gotta’ go, now!”

His words send my feet moving. Lazz may be many things, but I have no doubt he’s every bit as lethal as I have believed him to be. I wipe the tears from my face as we head toward the tunnels.

We enter the manor through a side door, and we make our descent down several sets of stairs.

“We go down a couple more flights and then we should get to the door that leads to the tunnels,” Lazz states as he turns, glancing back at me.

“How do you know about the tunnels?”

“I know almost every nook and cranny of this massive stone monstrosity. I’ve studied the blue prints.”

“Why would you study the blue prints?”

“Because I have been planning to kill Vaughn Bane for several years. Only his surprise disappearance pissed on my fucking parade.”

I stop in my tracks. The way this man so callously speaks about taking another human being’s life, even if it is that sadistic bastard, sets my hackles on edge.

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