“I can see that. And our delivery drivers?” Vex asked.
“Sacrifices for the cause.” Knox shrugged one shoulder.
“What the fuck is this?” James hissed from the command center.
Jordan shushed him. “Wait and watch. Give him a chance to do the right thing.”
“You knew? You knew he was a plant or a double-cross or whatever the fuck this is?” This time it was Ace, and it sounded like he’d jumped up from his chair, allowing it to crash onto the floor. After all, Liam was out there, exposed and vulnerable like Marcus. Kennedy could relate, except she’d fallen for Knox’s act. “You’re gambling their lives on a man who can’t say no to that shit? This is madness!”
Inside the factory, Marcus jerked, reminding Kennedy that the entire team, Knox included, could hear every word they were saying.
Jordan cleared his throat. “I know about the deal you cut, Knox, and how it will get you closer to the heart of this operation than we could have ever managed. You can do something none of the rest of us can. I believe in you.”
Kennedy bit her fist to keep from screaming and giving away their location in the jungle. She’d done this. Brought Knox into Shields and put Marcus and the rest of her friends’ lives at risk because she vouched for—and slept with—the one man who’d always been able to deceive her. And now he’d even gotten to Jordan, inspiring faith he didn’t warrant.
No wonder Jordan had sent Knox with them into the field. She should have known.
“How could you?” she wailed. If she only had a few more seconds to speak to Knox she hoped he could hear her soul ripping apart. “I fucked you. Hell, Ilovedyou. How could you be so disloyal not only to me, but to Marcus too? You piece of shit. When your friends kill us all know that I will haunt you for the rest of your days—”
There was no use in saying anything beyond that because Knox ripped the communication device from his ear and smashed it beneath his boot heel on the concrete. For some reason, he left his own camera engaged. Maybe he’d forgotten about it or only cared about shutting her up so he didn’t have to feel guilty about screwing them all.
The rest of the Shields in the factory were out of range of Marcus’s body camera, but Kennedy was sure none of them were at ease as they had been among friends in the Shields dining hall.
Because of her and her poor judgment—and Knox’s uncanny ability to inspire confidence he hadn’t earned—they were all going to die.
Without a backward glance, Knox leaned into Vex’s one-armed slap on the back, that was as close to a bro-hug as he probably ever got. They turned and walked side-by-side back up the staircase and toward an office at the top.
The metal vats and boilers sitting on the concrete slab of the corrugated warehouse burped out fumes that must be hazardous. Not that the Shields were going to have to worry about the long term effects of that shit.
“What should we do with our company?” one of the drug runners shouted up to Vex.
“Try to keep them from killing you while I have a chat with our boy here and figure out the best way to get rid of them.” Vex and Knox laughed as they disappeared into the office.
“Ruby, enlarge Knox’s camera feed,” Jordan snapped. “Everyone hold. Stay calm. It may not be what it appears.”
“It is,” Kennedy gasped. “I’m so sorry, everyone. I’m sorry. Marcus—”
She cut off, unable to even speak, the weight of his name and her guilt choking her.
Aarav surprised her by rocking toward her, scooping her up in his muscled arm and sheltering her against his side while still remaining in reach of his rifle. “You couldn’t have known, Kennedy. He seemed genuine. And regardless of how this shit warps his judgment, his feelings for you—and Marcus—were obvious.”
“It’s not enough, is it?” Kennedy sobbed. “It wasn’t then and it’s not now. This time Marcus is going to pay for it.”
She stared in horror at Aarav, and though she didn’t say it, she knew Sola would too. Both of them might endure a nightmare yet tonight.
“Breathe, Kennedy. We’ll take things one second at a time. I’m not giving up yet.” Aarav squeezed her, shaking her a bit to break her from her shock.
As her disbelief receded, anger took its place. “Maybe I should go in there. I’ll wring his neck with my bare hands.”
“Sit on her if you have to, Aarav,” Jordan commanded. “No one else is going inside that place.”
Aarav rolled, pinning her when she would have rushed down the hillside.
“Switch channels, Kennedy. Anyone who can. Watch Knox’s feed.” Jordan barely breathed the order as if he could hardly stand to speak.
Kennedy did as instructed, though why she cared what that traitor did with the man he’d forsaken them for, she couldn’t say. There was a lot of backslapping and a drink poured, though she noticed Knox was too busy talking to take a sip of his.
And when Vex turned and took a sheet of folded paper from a vase in the corner of his office, Knox burst into motion. He used the tumbler in his hand to smash Vex in the base of the skull. The man crumpled. Knox drew his gun and shot the drug lord point-blank in the head.