Fight for Me

by Jessica Linden

  “That’s a shame,” Natalie said. “It’s a gorgeous neighborhood. Only takes one bad apple to ruin the bunch though, right?”

  The father snapped his fingers. “Exactly! I’ve been meaning to contact city hall about it to find out what can be done, but with the pregnancy and baby and all . . .”

  Natalie chuckled. “Not much time with a newborn, is there? I’ll let you two continue on. Congratulations again.”

  The couple thanked her and continued on their way. Knox turned his back as they passed, masking his face.

  “What was that?” he asked Natalie as she approached.

  “Just gathering information.”

  “They could have recognized you.”

  She shrugged. “They’re new parents. Did you see the dark circles under their eyes? And the man’s shirt was buttoned in the wrong holes. They probably don’t even know what day it is.”

  Knox narrowed his eyes at her. He hadn’t noticed that about them, but then again what did he know about babies and parenthood?

  “Let’s get out of here,” he said.

  “Okay.” She sighed. “This turned out to be a waste of time.”

  On the walk back to the car, the hair on the back of Natalie’s neck stood on end. There was no reason for it. Everything had gone smoothly, and they had one more block to go until they’d be safely on their way back to Amelia’s house. So why was she nervous all of a sudden?

  Knox extended his arm to stop her in midstep. His eyes met hers with a grim expression before he ushered her into a crouched position behind a parked car. He peered around the bumper and cursed.

  Dread filled her stomach. Damn. She knew it had been too easy.

  She peeked out to see what had raised Knox’s alarm. A man dressed in black was studying the license plate on Amelia’s car and talking into his cell phone.

  “Oh, shit. Do you recognize that guy?” she asked. He wasn’t wearing a suit, so he probably wasn’t one of her father’s.

  Knox shook his head. “He looks like he might be one of X’s, though.”

  “Shit, shit, shit! I bet they’re tracing the license plate.” Their eyes met and Natalie knew Knox was thinking the same thing she was: it would lead them straight to Amelia.

  Knox pulled out his cell phone and dialed, but hung up after a few moments. “Straight to voice mail.”

  “We’ve got to get to her. We have to warn her.” This was exactly what Natalie had been afraid of—putting Amelia in harm’s way.

  “There’s no way we can get there before they do. Not without a car.”

  “We have to try. We can’t just abandon her.”

  Knox scrubbed a hand over his face. “Okay, let’s go.”

  They backtracked and cut over a block to make their way back to Amelia’s house. Natalie would have preferred to run, but even though the streets weren’t crowded with people, sprinting down the sidewalk would definitely draw too much attention. So they set as fast a pace as they could without standing out.

  Please be okay, please be okay. If she willed it hard enough, maybe it would happen. How could she live with herself if Amelia got hurt?

  Or killed.

  Natalie’s knees went soft.

  No, that won’t happen. She had to believe they had a chance to save her. She and Knox were the ones they wanted. Amelia was only good for information, and she couldn’t provide that if they killed her.

  Natalie tried to let logic prevail in her mind, but it did nothing to stem the flow of worry that was taking over. With every minute that ticked by, Amelia was more at risk.

  “How could they have found us?” she wondered aloud.

  “Who knows?” Knox said. “Our pictures are everywhere. Someone could have seen us get out of the car.”

  “We never should have agreed to take it.”

  The muscles in Knox’s jaw tightened.

  When they got within a block of Amelia’s house, they could already see they were too late. Her front gate had been left open. Given how vigilant Amelia had been about security, it was unlikely she’d simply leave the gate open.

  “No, no, no!” Natalie took off at a run for the gate but Knox grabbed her and held her back.

  “No, Natalie. Let’s take a minute to come up with a plan.”

  Natalie strained against him, desperate to get to Amelia, before she realized he was right.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.” Natalie took a deep breath. “I’m not thinking straight. Of all the stupid things I’ve done lately, this one is the worst. I never should have gone to her.”

  “This is not your fault,” Knox said. “You’ve done nothing wrong. Amelia knew the risks when she took us in.”

  “I . . .” Natalie took one last breath and squared her shoulders. This wasn’t about her. This was about helping Amelia. She could deal with all her guilty feelings later, but now, she needed to focus.

  “What should we do?”

  Knox took the gun out of his waistband. “We figure out a way in.”

  Chapter 10

  Knox took precious minutes to survey the area. As much as he wanted to charge in there and rescue Amelia, it wouldn’t be smart to go in blind, especially with only nine rounds in his gun. Just like he studied an opponent before a fight, he wanted to know who and what they were dealing with. He doubted the cops were involved, which meant if they approached and guns were drawn on them, they wouldn’t be given the chance to surrender.

  X’s men would shoot to kill.

  Well, kill him, anyway. What Natalie had learned about her trust gave him a twisted reassurance that they wouldn’t kill her. But a lot of damage could be done to a person while they still lived.

  Natalie’s nervous finger-tapping against the building turned to hand wringing, then to pacing. Knox was about to suggest they move in when a black SUV pulled into the drive.

  Fuck. X was in the passenger seat. He didn’t show up for just anything, and when he did, it was only for the main event. Whatever shit was about to happen was gonna be bad. And soon.

  And it was just him and Natalie with their one gun against a slew of X’s men, all of whom were probably heavily armed.

  “Knox, we’ve got to get in there, now.” Natalie’s fierce look told him she wasn’t taking no for an answer. “Maybe I should just turn myself in.”

  “No—”

  “They won’t hurt me. My father needs me alive. The only reason they’re after Amelia is to get to me. Once they have me, they have no reason to bother her, right?”

  Her logic made sense, except they were dealing with X, who didn’t necessarily deal in logic. X did whatever the hell he wanted, logic be damned.

  All they knew was that Kent and X knew each other in some way, since Tony had told him they’d had a meeting. But that meeting could have been a onetime thing, and they didn’t know why they’d met in the first place. There were still too many unknowns.

  Kent needed Natalie alive, but why would X care about that?

  And besides, she could be a vegetable in the hospital with machines breathing for her and still be legally alive.

  “That’s not an option,” he said firmly, dragging her to his chest and pressing his lips to hers in a kiss that was urgent and all-consuming. “Me losing you is not an option,” he repeated.

  Her eyes locked onto his. “Okay,” she whispered.

  “We’ll go in the same way we did before. Maybe we can get in undetected.” He doubted it, but it might buy them an extra minute or two. In any event, it was better than going through the front gate.

  They snuck around to the tree and easily climbed it, then scaled the wall. No one rushed forward to capture them, and no shots were fired. It was eerily silent.

  Knox didn’t like it. For the first time since they saw the man examining their license plate, he thought of the dogs. Where the fuck were they? It was silly when human life was at stake, but he hoped they were okay.

  They crept across the lawn, making it farther than they had the first time they cr
ossed the wall. Ironic considering it was just one woman with her two dogs then, and now there were probably at least half a dozen of X’s men. Not to mention X himself.

  Natalie pointed. Just ahead, one of X’s men was standing around, puffing on a cigarette. His back was to them.

  Knox handed Natalie the gun, wishing he’d taken the time to show her how to take off the safety and rack the slide. But he’d had no way of knowing they’d need the gun this soon.

  Knox quietly approached the man, and by the time he realized someone was behind him, Knox had his hand over his mouth and his neck in a choke hold. It only took seconds for the man to go limp. Knox slid his unconscious body to the ground and motioned Natalie forward. For now, he’d let her keep the gun. He could defend himself with his fists if necessary.

  They went around the back of the property, where the driveway curled around to an ancient four-car garage. Suddenly, a large car crashed through the garage door, splintering the old wood.

  Amelia was at the wheel.

  The commotion caught the attention of the men inside the house, and they came streaming out the back door with their guns drawn. Knox pushed Natalie down to the ground and covered her with his body. He took the gun from her and pointed.

  The car screeched to a stop in front of them.

  “Get in!” Amelia yelled through the open passenger window.

  Knox helped Natalie up and into the passenger side. She immediately threw her leg over the seat to climb in the back so Knox could sit in the front.

  The back window shattered, sending pieces of glass all over her and the dogs who were cowering on the floorboards.

  Before Knox even had the door closed, Amelia slouched down low and stomped on the gas pedal.

  “Keep your head down!” Knox said. He was on the wrong damn side to get any shots off. Goddammit! All he could do was take cover and hope none of them were hit.

  “Close the gates!” one man yelled. “Don’t shoot the woman!”

  The black metal gate was sliding closed as they approached.

  “We’re not going to make it!” Natalie yelled, her voice full of panic.

  “Bullshit.” Amelia pushed the pedal to the floor, sending the old Cadillac careening toward the gate. There was the thud-thud-thud of bullets hitting the back of the car. More glass shattered and rained down on the backseat passengers.

  There was a loud clang as the metal of the car’s grille met the metal gate. The gate gave way to the car’s force, but not before the hood buckled.

  They skidded into traffic. Horns blared, and they narrowly missed being T-boned by a pickup truck.

  Amelia righted the car in the correct lane and weaved in and out of traffic. “Are they behind us?” she asked.

  “I don’t see anyone . . . wait!” Natalie said. “Two blocks back. There’s a black SUV, and it’s gaining on us.”

  Amelia ground her teeth and set her mouth in a determined line. She took a hard right down a side street.

  “They’re still there.”

  A trash truck was blocking the right lane of their two-lane road. Instead of slowing down, Amelia gunned the car and zoomed around it, barely making it back into the right lane as oncoming traffic laid on their horns.

  “I see you, I see you,” she muttered. She took another right and then a sharp left. “That oughta do it. Those trash trucks are the worst. They gum up traffic for hours.”

  “Oh my God, Amelia. Are you okay?” Natalie asked.

  “I’m fine. But how are the pooches?”

  Natalie was surprised when Amelia took them to the local country club, parking in the back reserved lot, which was mostly empty.

  “It’s harder than Thor’s abs to get in here unless you’re a gold member,” Amelia explained. “They won’t find us.”

  Amelia had also said that no one would get onto her property without her knowing. That hadn’t worked out so well. Plus, Natalie wouldn’t put it past their pursuers to break down the gate—similar to how they just did—to gain entry. But they needed to take a breather, and this was as good a spot as any.

  Nowhere was safe.

  Now that they were out of immediate danger, the severity of the situation came crashing down on her. They’d just been shot at in broad daylight and chased down a road with many witnesses. It seemed there were no limits to the lengths X and her father would go to catch them.

  Natalie was just glad Amelia—and her pets—were safe. She already had one death too many on her conscience.

  Knox opened the back door and the dogs leaped out to where Amelia was kneeling and licked her face. She ran her hands over their sleek black coats looking for signs of injury.

  Knox carefully helped Natalie out of the backseat and brushed the broken glass off her clothes, inspecting her exposed skin for cuts. Then he pulled her to him. “That was too close,” he said quietly.

  Natalie held onto Knox and closed her eyes, allowing herself a moment to find her center. The contact with Knox calmed her.

  “We need to end this,” Natalie said. “Now Amelia is at risk, and they were shooting near bystanders. If it keeps going like this, it’s only a matter of time before someone gets killed.”

  “Agreed,” Knox said.

  “Goddammit!”

  They turned their heads to find Amelia inspecting one of the dog’s legs, which was streaked with blood.

  “Reach in the glove box and get me some tissues,” Amelia commanded. “Bambi has a cut. Those bastards hurt my baby.”

  Natalie did as instructed, handing over a wad of napkins.

  “What happened?” Knox asked.

  “They came when I was out with the dogs. They must have disabled the power grid to the house, because everything was dark inside and the damn alarm was out. Since I was outside I had no idea. Broke into the damn house and made a mess of everything.”

  Knox and Natalie exchanged a look. Their bags were there and tucked inside hers were her mother’s jewels. Plus, the books she’d found just that morning were still sitting on the kitchen table when she’d left. She closed her eyes to stanch the flow of tears.

  They’re just material things.

  True, but they were some of the few material connections she had to her mother.

  She sucked in a breath, her hand going to her neck. Thank God. She’d remembered to put on her moon necklace today before leaving the house. That was one small miracle.

  Natalie opened her eyes and watched Amelia making soothing tones in Bambi’s ear as she cleaned the wound. This was the miracle. Things could have ended up a lot worse today, and she was getting upset over some metal and rocks and paper?

  Her priorities realigned immediately.

  “How did you manage to get away?” Natalie asked, kneeling to rub Lula behind the ears.

  “Luckily, I saw them before I approached the house, so I was able to send the dogs to their kennels. I knew I wouldn’t be able to just walk out of there, so I went in to face the music.”

  “You should have run,” Knox said, shaking his head. “Called for help.”

  “I would have, but my damn phone was in the house. Anyway,” Amelia said, tenderly blotting at Bambi’s leg, “I was prepared. Given your situation, I armed myself before I went out. If only I’d remembered my damn phone. They questioned me about you two—don’t worry, I played little-old-lady-stupid—and eventually they gave up and left me in the mudroom with one guard. Didn’t even bother to tie me up or anything. I guess I don’t look threatening. And that’s when I shot him.”

  “Shot who? The guard?” Natalie’s jaw dropped. “You shot the guard?”

  “Not with a real gun. A tranquilizer gun. I keep one for when I go on hikes in the mountains. They’re for bears. He’ll recover. Probably. To be honest, I don’t really care. So anyway, when he dropped, I got the dogs and went around to the garage. I waited there for about ten minutes and then you two showed up. You’re lucky you showed up when you did. I couldn’t stay much longer or they’d notice I wasn’t where
they put me.”

  “What are you going to do?” Knox asked.

  “Not go home. That’s for sure.”

  Natalie hadn’t even thought of that. Amelia couldn’t go home, not until all of this was over. And even then, who knew when she would truly be safe? This knowledge fueled the rage inside her.

  “I have some cousins I’ve been meaning to visit,” Amelia said. “Now’s as good a time as any, I suppose.” She looked at the wrecked state of her car and sighed. “I’ll have to get a different car.”

  “When all this is over, I’ll pay for all the damage,” Natalie said.

  Amelia waved her hand. “I’ve got more money than I know what to do with. I did overhear them talking about something that might interest you. Apparently a detective named Carmichael down at the third precinct is reopening some cold case files. Got X’s panties all in a twist.”

  Natalie looked at Knox. “Do you know what that’s about?”

  “Not exactly,” he replied. “But X has a few cops in his pocket. It wouldn’t surprise me if they’d fixed some evidence for him.”

  “Hot damn,” Amelia said. “I knew you couldn’t trust the cops in this town.”

  “Not all of them,” Natalie said, thinking back to Chief Follett, who she’d met just days ago at the charity event. Had it only been a matter of days? It seemed like a lifetime ago.

  “I suppose you’re right,” Amelia said. “My second cousin is a cop. He may be a prick, but at least he’s honest. Well, listen, when you finally catch up with that scumbag father of yours, make sure to give him an extra one-fingered salute and tell him it’s from me.”

  Natalie laughed and hugged her. “Count on it.”

  Chapter 11

  “What is it you want again?” Knox asked. If their situation wasn’t so dire, Natalie would have laughed. The big bad Knox who could choke someone out in seconds with his bare hands was breaking a sweat over purchasing a box of hair dye.

  “Any kind will do. You won’t have much to choose from.”

  “What color?”

  “Anything but blond. Don’t forget scissors.”