Before Bear can respond, Karina wraps her arms around his stomach and hugs tight. I freeze for just a minute. Bear barely says a word to anyone, and he’s definitely not one for affection. Except with Samantha but it took a lot for her to break his barriers too. I know he’d never physically hurt Karina, but I’m worried he may unintentionally hurt her with his words. I stride toward them, ready to pull Karina off him when he holds his hand up to stop me. He pats his hand awkwardly on Karina’s back. “We’ll be fine. Thank you.”
Even Bear is affected by this slip of a woman. She has this effect on people. She’s so easy to care for... to love.
His voice is low and deep, and Karina backs away from him. I encircle her in my arms. “Keep me updated, Bear.”
He nods, and with one last look at Karina, he walks out the door. I hold on to the woman in my arms and fall a little more in love with her.
Karina
It’s intense waiting to hear how the mission goes down. It seems like hours are going by, but when I look at the clock on the wall it’s only been one hour. Knox and the other guys that stayed behind are antsy; no doubt they want to be there and in on it. I’ve tried to keep them fed and gone around the house cleaning up, doing my best to stay busy and keep my mind off things.
When my phone goes off, I think it’s Kassie wanting another update. My heart sinks all the way to my feet when I see it’s an unknown number.
I open the messaging app, and I know it’s Nick.
The first picture is a group of high school girls and it’s innocent enough.
The second picture is one of the girls crying and she is tied to a chair. The text that comes with it says, If you don’t come, she’s next. And then he sends an address.
I can feel the bile coming up my throat.
I grip the phone and stumble out into the living room.
Dylan sees me first and catches me before I fall. I hear Knox calling my name, and I shove my phone at him.
“Fuck!” he says as he’s looking at the text and images. “Get the others back here.”
Dylan picks up his phone and calls for the other guys to come back.
Everyone is talking, trying to come up with another plan. I’m sitting on the couch with my head in my hands. I can’t get the image of the girl tied up in a chair out of my head. I need this to be over. I can’t let anyone get hurt because of me. I hate to leave, and I worry that I’ll never see Knox again, but I know I won’t have any life at all if an innocent young girl gets hurt because I’m scared.
Knox puts my phone on the coffee table in front of me and sits down beside me. Instantly, his arm goes around my shoulders, and he’s hugging me. “I promise I’m going to protect you, Karina. We’re in this together.”
When I don’t respond, he holds me tighter. “Hey, look at me. You’re strong, Karina. I’m going to stop him. This is going to end today.”
He’s pissed. I can tell by the way his jaw is cracking and the lethal look in his eyes. I know he’s mad, and he’ll do anything to protect me... even let himself get hurt if need be.
My head drops to my hands. What have I done? I brought this here... to him and the other guys. The defenseless girl that’s probably scared to death right now. I can’t just sit here and do nothing. It’s me that he wants.
I take a deep breath and put my hand on Knox’s jaw. I stare at him, searching his eyes, committing his face to memory. Even mad, he’s the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. “I’m going to go wash my face. I’m feeling a little nauseous.”
He nods. “Yeah, why don’t you lie down for a little while?”
I grab my phone off the table and walk from the room. I turn because I can feel his gaze on me. He’s worriedly watching me, and I try to smile even though it doesn’t quite reach my eyes. He nods at me and turns to talk to Riggs.
As soon as I get around the corner, I grab his set of keys off the hook by the door. I keep looking down the counter and opening drawers hoping that there’s something I can use to defend myself. I grab a knife from the drawer and then remember the knife that the garage owner in Oklahoma gave me. I put my hand in my pocket and it’s there. I’ve gotten into a habit of carrying it with me. I use my codes to disarm the alarm and run outside, hoping to put some distance between us before Knox realizes I’m gone.