“Knox!” Kennedy was there, kicking aside the corpse to get to him.
To Knox’s surprise, Marcus helped her uncover him even as he barked into his comm, “Got the last one. Fuck. That was close.”
Knox went limp. It had beenfar too fucking close. He’d thought he’d hit rock bottom before, but now he realized that if he’d caused Kennedy harm, he would have been worse than dead.
“Oh God. Marcus. Someone bring me my kit. Now! Knox is hit. Who else is hurt and how bad? Give me a rundown so I can prioritize.” Kennedy went into some sort of medic mode that Knox had never witnessed before. She was calm, efficient, and oh so capable. She was so glorious it took him a minute to register what she’d said.
Him? He stared down at his torso, and sure enough, there was a long streak of black and blood stretching from his ribs to his nipple on the opposite side. Oh, fuck. And there went the pain to go with it. Huh.
“It’s just a graze. I’m fine.” But damn, did it burn. “See if anyone else needs you first.”
Kennedy bit her lip as she scanned him from head to toe, then gave a curt nod. But before she turned away entirely he lifted his bound hands and snagged one of hers. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”
“I’m not the one that tried to stop a bullet with my fucking body.” She glared at him, which was enough to reassure him she was perfectly fine.
He chuckled. “Don’t lie, baby. I saw you charge that guy. You would have done the same for me. I love you too.”
He’d meant it as a joke, but they both knew it wasn’t. He’d always adored her and she him. Could there be even a tiny sliver of that devotion left alive after all the time and damage he’d done to them both?
Kennedy jerked as if another round had gone off mere feet from them. Kind of telling since she didn’t so much as flinch when surrounded by a dead man and parts that used to be inside his skull strewn about.
She shook her head, then snapped, “Ace is hurt worse. He needs me. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
With that, she dashed out the door and into the yard, dotted with unmoving bodies, dressed in black. Her teammates were already picking up the garbage, loading bodies into the back of a pickup truck and covering them with a tarp for disposal who knew where.
Knox swiped gore from his face. He levered himself first to his knees and then to his feet. If he swayed a little, he was glad Marcus didn’t mention it. The other man stood frozen, his boots planted as he stared at the spot Kennedy had been standing. “She really did what you said? She charged that guy with no weapon?”
“Yup.” Knox shook his head, knowing he’d never get the image out of his mind as long as he lived. “Took ten years off my life.”
Marcus swung his gaze to Knox then, and the impact of it nearly sent him sprawling on his ass again. He sank onto the edge of the bed, unwilling to embarrass himself in front of the man who obviously deserved Kennedy even if Knox had fucked her up too much to see it for herself.
“I owe you.” Marcus came forward then and knelt, surprising the fuck out of Knox when he began to pick at the knot on the leather cord. He unwound it gently and looked up, his eyes a curious mixture of brown and gold that fascinated Knox. “I couldn’t stop that asshole. I tried. He slipped by as I was taking care of his buddy. She could have died if it wasn’t for you.”
“She wouldn’t have even been here if it wasn’t for me.” Knox was no hero. No one knew it better than him. He certainly hadn’t earned the profound gratitude radiating from Marcus.
“If something had happened to her, I never would have survived it,” Marcus murmured, his hand on his comm, probably muting it. “So you saved me too today. I won’t forget this.”
“I, uh...” Knox swallowed, moved by the kindness and grace of a near stranger.
But the moment was fleeting. The brunette who’d shot daggers at him earlier, Sola he thought Kennedy had called her, joined them in the cabin. She wasn’t nearly as quick to forgive how he’d taken advantage of the situation, and Kennedy, earlier. It made him feel oddly comforted to know Kennedy had so many tight friends. “Looks like I’m your ride, asshole. It was obvious from your friend here that they’d made you, so we’re your only option. Jordan says you can have a place with us so long as you’re willing to cooperate.”
Marcus looked to Knox then, his face slack but his eyes urging Knox not to make the wrong decision. For once in his life, he wanted to do the right thing. He wanted to belong among people like this, who fought for goodness and light, even if they had to do some very dark things.
“Like you said, it’s not like I have a choice.” Knox shrugged, the motion making it feel like he ripped his chest in half. He sucked in a ragged breath.
Then Kennedy was back, her platinum-blond hair streaming behind her if now with a few crimson streaks. Her bubblegum-pink tank top and short skirt, both splashed with blood, making them seem tie-dyed, clashed with the neat, professional black case she carried as she marched to the bed. She flipped it open and withdrew sterile sealed instruments and a shit-ton of bandages before putting on a fresh pair of gloves.
“Lie back,” she commanded.
“I’d like to finish what we started too.” Knox couldn’t help his protective instincts, which insisted he make light of the situation when the air was so heavy he could hardly breathe.
Marcus shook his head and Sola looked like she might make good on her promise to deck him next. But the corner of Kennedy’s lips quirked up and he figured she still appreciated his sick sense of humor like she always had. She’d been the only woman who ever got him.
Only with Riggs had he found a companionship that came close. And look how that had ended. He’d gotten the guy killed.
Knox did flop onto the bed then, exhausted. Pain began to radiate from his wound despite the care Kennedy took to be gentle as she wiped away the blood oozing from it.
“I think you could use a few stiches here, and here.” She pressed the edges of the graze together in a couple of spots, as if picturing how best to close it. “Just to keep your chest looking pretty.”