Page 23 of Knox

That stopped Caroline short. Her animosity flickered as she looked between the three of us. “Black Jack doesn’t know about this?”

I shook my head, then smirked. “We went rogue for you, princess.”

Her defensive walls went right back up. “Do not call me that, or I’ll kick you in your balls again.”

Heat flushed my neck while the other guys howled with laughter. Fuckers.

This is getting out of hand. I took a deep breath. “Listen, Caroline?—”

“Don’t call me that, either.”

I took a deeper breath. “Alright, if nothing else, you shouldn’t go anywhere until you’re not covered in blood, okay? We have extra clothes. You can shower, too, if you want?—”

Caroline looked madder than a spitting cat. “I’m not showering with three men loitering around.”

I winced. Don’t lose your cool, Knox. Deescalate her.

“It’s not like we’re trying to hose you down in the yard, you lunatic,” I said, ever the smooth talker. Well done.

“Pardon me for not expecting you Devils to have manners,” Caroline continued scathingly, though at least she hadn’t run yet. “You idiots know my father will come looking for me, right? And he’ll know you dumb pricks took me, so he’ll rain merciless hell on you even if it drowns all of Reno!”

The silence that followed her words was deafening. Crickets barely chirped. The city went on in the distance.

Caroline’s chest started heaving with labored pants, and I could tell her panic was rising fast. She was starting to really freak out as her mind caught up to all the events of the last hour. The porch light bathed her in yellow-orange light. She looked small and vulnerable for a change, and I couldn’t look away from her.

I wouldn’t. Not when she was in so much pain.

Caroline exploded. “You should have just left me there!”

The crickets went silent. My heart sank not in pity but sympathy.

She was still glaring defiantly, but now it was at the ground, not at me as if she couldn’t bear to meet my gaze.

Gabriel, who couldn’t stand awkward silences, had to break it up with humor. “Yeah, that’s what we tried to tell him. But as you’ve already pointed out tonight, Knox is kind of a dumb ass.”

“I think she said dumb prick, and she included all of us,” I clarified.

Caroline didn’t see the humor. “I definitely included all of you. You’re all stupid, egotistic, savior-complex cockroaches who think they can save every woman in mild danger and expect them to fall to their knees in worship.”

She looked up at me. There were tears in her eyes threatening to fall. Fuck, she looked like hell.

So why the fuck was I turned on?

I had no place being aroused, not when Caroline Bates was losing her shit. But she was heated, and fearless, and defiant, and I loved it. I knew she thought she could go toe-to-toe with us right now if she had to, with bare fists and no weapons. And she’d probably give at least one of us a run for our money. She certainly had before.

But I saw beyond that. That forehead bruise. Her split lip. Her raw wrists. Her sliced-up arms. Her hands were still trembling. She’d been through hell, and still, she was fighting tooth and nail to put on a tough face.

I uncrossed my arms, hoping she’d see it as letting down my guard and as an invitation for her to do the same. I wasn’t Prince motherfucking Charming but I wasn’t like all the Wolverines she’d grown up around. None of the Devils were.

“Listen,” I said to her, looking her dead in the eye. “You and me don’t have to be best friends, okay? We’re not asking you to join the crew and get matching fucking tattoos. We’re just saying you should take a moment before you run off somewhere your dad can find you.”

“He’ll find me no matter where I go,” she said, eyes narrowed at me like I was just another liar like every other guy.

“I have a place,” I said gently. “No other people. No cameras watching your every move. You’ll be safe there. Just to regroup and figure out your next moves,” I added quickly. “I won’t hold you hostage.”

Caroline stared me down, eyes now searching mine as if looking for ill intent. I felt like I was taking a lie detector test, and if I failed, she’d claw my face off.

But she must have found me innocent because her shoulders sagged in resignation. I felt like I’d won the damn lottery.

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