Page 100 of Knox

“Fuck, you’re an ugly angel,” he rasped.

My chest tightened painfully, seeing my friends drenched in blood and bruises. Ten years of brotherhood, loyalty, hell-raising, wrecked in just one goddamn week because I fell for the enemy.

“Hey, Snake Eyes,” I murmured, looking him over to ensure he would stay breathing on the unforgiving planet. “No angels here. Only Devils. Don’t tell me you’re down for the count.”

“Fuck no.”

“Good. That fucker’s gotta die as much as Bates.”

Abel raised a bloody eyebrow. “We should have brought machine guns.”

I chuckled, but it was humorless. “Where’s the fun in that? I’ll help you up.”

Abel swatted me away. He still had some fight in him, which was good to see. He thrived on chaos, rode hard and lived harder. It would take more than a few scrapes and bruises to knock him down for good. “I’ll be fine. Go find Caroline.”

“What—”

“Shut up, dude. I know you’re twitching to ask. She took off that way. I’ll just slow you down.”

Abel jerked his head to the staircase leading up to a mezzanine, half lost in shadow. I knew immediately there was no way she was hiding and cowering. She had a plan. She always did.

Abel shoved my knee. “Go, dickhead.”

I didn’t have to be told a third time.

There was nothing I could do to help my fallen brothers—temporarily—right now. They were out of commission for the moment, although they wouldn’t be out for long. In the meantime, I had to find Caroline.

I took the metal stairs two at a time, the echoes ringing out through every corner of the warehouse. They mingled with the distant sound of Vane and Jackson locked in a vicious fight. Even from this vantage point, I couldn’t see them.

But I did see Caroline.

She was crouched behind a stack of boxes near the catwalk railing. She had a gun. Even with her back to me, I knew she was scanning for someone she could shoot at.

She didn’t just take off. She didn’t run. Like hell was Caroline any kind of coward.

She was waiting. Listening. Calculating. Preparing for the inevitable arrival of whatever Wolverines managed to escape the road spikes.

Caroline Bates didn’t freeze when the shit hit the fan. She weaponized it.

Her head whipped around when I whispered her name. Our eyes locked.

She didn’t acknowledge my appearance otherwise. Just turned her focus back to the floor like a sniper waiting for the target.

Fuck, that was sexy.

CHAPTER 34

CAROLINE

Vane was a one-man ambush. Against five battle-hardened Devils—men carved from violence, each carrying more scars than they could count—he didn’t just hold his own. He fucking dominated.

He didn’t even have a gun. The ridiculous amount of knives on his person… Somehow, they were more formidable than six guns.

The cherry on top? He wore a fucking bulletproof vest.

If I wanted to kill Vane, I had two options: shoot him between the eyes—or blow his fucking dick off.

And honestly? The latter would be far more satisfying—no. It would be justice.

---