“I still can’t believe X left,” she said. “If the police sirens hadn’t come when they did . . .” She trailed off.
“He won’t bother us anymore,” Knox said, then explained about the phone call he’d made to Amelia just before he broke into the warehouse. He’d given her strict instructions to leak information to the rival mob if either he or Natalie were killed. Though Amelia had no ties to the mob, when she’d said she could handle it, he believed her. Amelia was one of the greatest people he knew.
“Wow,” Natalie said. “Grandma Fran is her name?”
“Yes,” Knox said. “X would never risk her. He’s the stereotypical Italian son. But honestly, it doesn’t matter. When I called Amelia I also told her to share the names of X’s cops with her second cousin who’s a detective. The shit in the city is about to hit the fan.”
She lowered her voice. “The police had a lot of questions, and I tried to answer them as honestly as I could with just a few omissions. Less tricky that way. I assured them that you didn’t kidnap me, so there are no charges against you. They’ll want to talk to you, too, though. But I told them about almost everything else that happened. Including killing the guard.” Her voice hitched on that last part.
“Come here.” Knox opened his arms, and Natalie gently climbed into bed beside him, careful not to put pressure on his ribs. She rested her head on his shoulder.
“I’m a murderer,” she whispered. He stroked her hair with his hand. Now that they were out of danger, it seemed her guilt was going into overdrive.
“It’s not your fault,” he said. “What did the police say?”
“They’re still investigating, but my lawyer is convinced he can get me cleared citing self-defense. Some witnesses have come forward saying they saw the guard pursuing me. Some of my father’s employees are also providing evidence. And he already had a record.”
“Where were those witnesses when you needed help?” He shook his head. “Wait? You already called a lawyer? How long have I been here?”
“Overnight,” she said.
Damn. He’d lost an entire night because of X.
But he’d almost lost so much more.
The feel of Natalie’s body close to his was like heaven.
“You risked your life for me. You threw yourself in front of a gun. Why didn’t you leave?” He had to ask the question even though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer. But he needed to hear her say it.
She propped herself up to look in his eyes. “I love you, Knox. My world wouldn’t be right without you in it.”
He closed his eyes, letting her words soak in. He didn’t deserve her, but he was going to work every day to make himself worthy of her.
Because he needed her in his life.
Epilogue
Eight weeks later
Natalie glanced over at Knox as he fidgeted in her Mercedes. She hadn’t told him where she was taking him, and while he tried to be a good sport, he was failing miserably.
She laughed. “This not knowing is killing you, isn’t it? We’ll be there soon.”
He smiled at her. “I trust you.”
She knew his words to be true, though. He’d trust her with his life and vice versa.
Knox watched out the window as they passed X’s gym, which had been boarded up recently. Amelia had done her job in passing along the names of X’s cops to her cousin, who in turn passed them to Detective Carmichael, who had been investigating X. A veritable shit storm was taking place in both the police department and X’s organization. People were talking and heads were rolling.
Luckily, Detective Carmichael didn’t seem too interested in the fighting ring, so the guys he’d spent years training and fighting beside were safe. In the grand scheme of things, X had done much worse things. Some of the guys had joined other fighting groups, but a lot of them had gotten out of the game altogether.
Knox was one of those. He said he didn’t miss it, but Natalie knew he did. Or at least parts of it. He’d been restless the last two months.
She hoped to change that.
She pulled into the parking lot of a building not too far from the warehouse where they’d been held captive.
Knox frowned. “What’s this?”
She smiled and opened her car door. “You’ll see.”
He followed her to the front door of the building, and she handed him a key. “Open it.”
He frowned but did as she commanded. They walked into a big open space.
“What is this?” he asked.
“The Anna Farrington Foundation is shifting its focus a little. Instead of only focusing on women and children, it’s now including at-risk teens.” She walked to the center of the room. “A ring would fit nicely here. And over there?” She pointed. “Weights and treadmills. Upstairs there’s space to make several classrooms. And we’ll hire tutors.”
She turned to look at him. His feet were rooted to the floor near the entrance, and his expression was disbelieving as he looked around the place wide-eyed, taking it all in.
“I figure we can take kids as young as twelve,” she continued. “That’s when they start middle school. You were fourteen when X took you in, right? I did some research. In the south side of town, the dropout rate is twenty percent for females and twenty-eight percent for males. The city isn’t doing anything about it, but someone has to.” She nodded in his direction.
“Me?” He shook his head. “I didn’t even graduate high school.”
“That’s what makes you perfect. You understand where these teens are coming from. Think about how different your life might have been if this center had been open when you were a teenager. Teens will have somewhere to go to learn martial arts, to get their frustrations out in a physical way that isn’t harmful. And while they’re at it, they can get help with school.”
“I don’t know . . .” He walked around the perimeter of the room, his eyes calculating, sizing up the area.
Natalie wanted to give him a few minutes to himself in the space to let him warm up to the idea. “I’m going to look upstairs.”
She climbed the stairs, taking note of the holes in the drywall on the way up. This building needed more than a little TLC, but it was within walking distance of both the local high school and middle school, which made it ideal. Kids wouldn’t have to depend on deadbeat parents for rides.
She’d barely gotten upstairs when Knox came up behind her and quickly turned her around, pressing her back to the wall. He smoothed back her now-blond hair and looked into her eyes in that intense way he had. The way that made her knees go weak and made her forget who and where she was.
He crushed his mouth to hers in unrelenting need. But the kiss was a give and take, and she gave as much as she got. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body to his.
His touch still sent powerful zings through her body every time. She didn’t see that ever changing.
He pulled her blouse out of her skirt and ran his hands along her torso, feeling her skin. As his mouth trailed to her neck, she closed her eyes and smiled. He was always doing that—rumpling her clothing—but she didn’t mind. He just didn’t want anything—even swatches of fabric—separating them.
And she agreed.
“Hello?” a strong, loud voice called from downstairs.
Knox tensed immediately and shifted so that his body blocked hers from the stairwell.
“It’s Amelia,” Natalie said, catching her breath.
His body relaxed. “What’s she doing here?”
“She agreed to run the tutoring part of the center, at least temporarily.”
At the sound of footsteps on the stairs, he groaned. “What bad fucking timing.” Then there was the tap-tap-tap of dog paws on the floor, and his face brightened, though he immediately tried to hide it with a scowl.
They’d become frequent visitors at Amelia’s since she’d come back to town, and Knox loved her and those dogs, and he didn’t even mind admitting it anymore.
&nb
sp; Knox pulled Natalie against him again. “What I was saying before we were interrupted was I love you. And thank you. This is a great idea. It’s about damn time someone gave a shit. The center can do some good in this part of town.”
“I love you, too.” Natalie brought her mouth to his, taking advantage of the few seconds they had left before Amelia joined them.
Their lives were crazy and hectic and still filled with legal complications stemming from their ordeal, but everything that had happened was what had brought her to Knox, and they were slowly picking up the pieces and building a life together.
And Natalie wouldn’t have it any other way.
Acknowledgments
First I’d like to thank my fabulous agent, Sarah Younger, for believing in me and helping me stretch my writer’s wings with this project. I’m so thankful to have you in my corner.
To my editor, Alex Sehulster, thank you for trusting me with this story. I only hope I’ve done it justice.
And last, but certainly not least, I can’t say enough about my biggest supporter and cheerleader: my husband, Chris. Thanks for lending your expertise for the fight scenes. But most of all, thanks for being you. I couldn’t do any of this without you. You and our boys will always be my happily-ever-after.
About the Author
Author photograph © JC Penney Portrait Studio
Jessica lives in Virginia with her college-sweetheart husband, two rambunctious sons, and two rowdy but lovable rescue dogs. Since her house is overflowing with testosterone, it’s a good thing she has a healthy appreciation for Marvel movies, Nerf guns, and football.
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright Page
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
FIGHT FOR ME. Copyright © 2016 by Jessica Linden. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover photographs © Shutterstock
ISBN 978-1-250-11915-5 (e-book)
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
First Edition: August 2016
Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, ext. 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
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