Page 14 of Knot Broken

I am safe.

For now.

Fox crouches by the two other men, both still slumped over. With a sharp slap to the cheek, he rouses the first one, and when that doesn’t work, he grabs the second by the collar of his tactical vest and gives him a rough shake.

“Rise and shine, motherfuckers.”

The groggy one coughs, his head lolling as he blinks awake. His eyes sharpen the second he takes in the room, flicking between Jex, Dare, and Fox. Then they land on me.

And something like recognition flickers in them. Not because he knows me, but because he knows them. “Well, shit,” the guy mutters, voice gravelly. He looks at Fox and snorts. “They said you defected. Didn’t think it was true.”

Fox tilts his head, unimpressed. “And yet here you are. In my mate’s house. Uninvited.”

The man doesn’t reply, his mouth pressing into a thin line, but the second guy—the one Fox slapped awake—scoffs. “Didn’t think you three would be stupid enough to turn your backs on the people who made you.”

Jex growls low in his throat, and I feel the way his grip tightens around my waist. Dare steps forward, crouching beside Fox. “We left because we saw exactly what kind of people they are. Looks like they haven’t changed.”

The first man lets out a dry, humorless chuckle, shaking his head. “You really don’t get it, do you? You think leaving was a choice? You think they’d just let you walk?”

Fox grabs his chin roughly, forcing him to look at him. “Then why send you here?”

The man sneers, but Fox doesn’t let go. Doesn’t let him dodge the question. Finally, after a long, tense pause, the guy spits out, “Because your boss put a kill order on her.”

The room goes silent. My breath stalls in my throat, a cold weight pressing into my chest. Jex goes completely still behind me, his hold tightening just enough to keep me from stepping forward. Dare’s jaw ticks, and Fox…

Fox barely reacts. He exhales slowly, then leans in close.

“See, that’s where you fucked up,” he murmurs. “Because now, we have a problem.”

The man glares at him. “You think this stops with us? You think taking us out will change anything? If you let us go, we will come back. And if we don’t? Someone else will. Over and over again until the job is done.” A sick feeling curls in my stomach.

Fox releases his grip, standing slowly. His face is unreadable, but his body is coiled with something dark, something violent. Jex shifts behind me, speaking for the first time. “We can’t let them go.” The words hang in the air like a death sentence.

I swallow, my throat tight. “You mean—”

Dare cuts in, voice steady but firm. “If we turn them in, their boss will buy them out. They’ll walk free and come right back. At least we know they can’t send the best after her. Since you know we are the best.” He throws me a wink. I almost smile.

The gravity of the situation sinks in, deep and heavy. I stare down at the three men, at their expressions—hardened, resigned. They knew what they signed up for. There is no running from this. No locking them up and hoping for the best.

It’s them.

Or me.

Fox watches me carefully, his sharp blue-gray eyes taking in every flicker of emotion across my face. “You don’t have to be involved in this part, doll,” he murmurs, softer now. “But you need to understand—this doesn’t end until they do.”

I tighten my grip on my knife. My pulse pounds. I want to be sick. I want to scream. But more than that—

I want to live.

I meet Fox’s eyes. “Then do what needs to be done.”

Chapter Four

Violet

May 20th

10:12 A.M

---