The tape at my wrists finally gives, and I struggle to get into a position where I can reach the binding at my elbows. With my hands free, I open my arms up, tearing the tape in half. I quickly cut through the binding on my knees. All I have left is the tape at my ankles when the trunk lid is opened.
He doesn’t notice that I freed myself, so I get ready to stab him with the tool.
He shines a flashlight in my eyes, and I realize I’m out of time. I lunge at him and start stabbing blindly.
My ankles are still bound together, and he has a gun, but I’m not going down without a fight.
Knox
We’ve tracked Nick via satellite and from the pings on Karina’s phone, but the bastard is smarter than any of us gave him credit for. He’s transferred cars and then arranged for a second car to be transported by train in an enclosed container. They will be arriving in Texas the next day, at least they would be if the train was going to travel without interruption, but I don’t have any intention of letting the train cross state lines.
Hollywood and Fish, along with some of my guys, have been able to stop the train, and before it even comes to a complete stop, I’m climbing up the train and running down the length until I find the container I’m looking for.
Dylan, Bear, and Aiden haul open the heavy metal doors, ready with sniper rifles to take out Nick if need be. We’ve been under the assumption he’s worked alone this whole time, but who knows at this point. They’ve all been instructed to shoot him if they get a clear shot.
My heart plummets, and I can’t breathe as I take in the bloody scene in front of me.
Karina is sitting with her back against the wall. Her feet are duct taped together at the ankles. She’s holding a jagged piece of metal in her bloody grasp. There’s blood on her shirt and even some on her face.
“Karina!” I yell, and my voice doesn’t even sound like me. I’m terrified she’s dead; she hasn’t moved, and she’s just staring at the ground, no recollection in her eyes.
I move in closer to her. “Karina, honey?”
She blinks and looks up from the floor. “Knox! Oh Knox, I’m so sorry I lied to you.” She drops the weapon, and tears streak through the blood splatter on her face.
Nick is dead on the ground in front of her, stabbed multiple times. Blood is everywhere, and there is a stab in the heart and the blade is still there, a pocketknife.
Karina looks at the dead body but jerks her head away. “Can you get my knife for me?”
“Where’d you get that?” I ask as I pull the knife from the man’s chest. Normally I would leave it and follow protocol, but I can’t tell Karina no. I wipe it on my pant leg and close it up before handing it to her.
“That guy that bought my car gave it to me in case I needed it. I had forgotten about it, but it was in my pocket.”
Thank God, I think. What would have happened if she didn’t have it? I lift her up in my embrace, and she winces. I hold her easily to me, but I don’t let her go. “You got him, Karina. Thank God you’re all right.”
I don’t want to let her go, but I know she’s going to need help down from the train. Bear is below me, and he’s so tall I can reach her down easily. “Hold on, baby. Bear’s going to help me get you down, but I’m coming after you.”
She doesn’t respond, and I’m trying not to freak out by how quiet and withdrawn she is.
“I got her,” Bear grunts, holding his arms out to me.
I bend down and help her into Bear’s arms. As soon as he has her and moves back, I jump off the platform to the ground with them. “Here,” I say to him.
He puts her back into my arms, and I hold her against me. She’s covered in blood, and I don’t know where she’s hurt.
“I need to take you to the hospital and get you cleaned up.”
Finally, she seems to wake up. “No, I’m fine. Don’t leave me.”
I press my nose to the side of her neck and breathe her in. I can’t believe I almost lost her. “I’m not leaving you... ever.”
“Karina!” Hollywood hollers.
He and Fish are running down the track. I don’t even know how they were able to stop the train, but I’m glad they did. However, I was ready to follow it wherever I needed to go.
Hollywood stops, stunned when he sees that Karina is covered in blood. “It’s not hers,” I reassure him, and when he reaches for her, I know I have to let her go to him. He grips on to her until she moans. “Ease up, Hollywood. I’m not sure where she’s hurt.”