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But this one? I had something to lose.
I had never had that before.
In just a few days, I’d lost everything I’d worked toward my whole life. I had nothing.
Nothing except for Knox.
I saw Gabriel’s body jerk with the force of the bullet hitting his back. I saw him fall and half disappear under the ferns.
“NO!”
Knox’s roar jolted me out of my thoughts. Bullets were still firing from the men I’d stood by for years. That was the ultimate betrayal.
Knox stopped, whirling, raising his gun to shoot furiously at the pursuing Wolverines. He actually hit a few, as precisely as a sharpshooter. But he was as vulnerable as a fawn in a clearing.
I grasped his shirt, trying to yank him behind a tree, but he wouldn’t budge. Mason, however, threw himself at Knox with a furious shot. They both went down.
But they were up in an instant, Mason shouldering Knox toward me behind a huge pine tree. They immediately used it as cover and kept shooting.
“Knox,” I gasped, grabbing his shirt again.
I flinched when Knox shoved me away. “Get off,” he snarled.
My eyes narrowed, irritation spiking through the fear I hated to admit I was feeling. I grabbed his wrist. “You idiot?—”
Knox whirled, and in a blink, he had my back pinned against the tree, his forearm pressing into my throat. His face was in mine, scarily close. “Keep your fucking hands to yourself,” he snarled inhumanly.
“Knox,” Mason barked. “She’s right. We need to keep moving.”
Knox didn’t miss a beat barking back, “Gabriel?—”
Bullets peppered our tree cover.
I had never felt so useless.
“Knox.” My voice was soft, almost lost in the gunfire. The Wolverines didn’t seem to be pursuing anymore, just shooting. That meant nothing good. They were starving us out, waiting until we ran out of bullets. They didn’t need to chase us. They were just toying with us now that Gabriel?—
I glanced over. His body was face down. Undeniably dead.
I had heard him joking from inside the trailer. I had heard every word he said.
“I’ll be the first to admit I’m willing to give Princess a shot at not being the worst person we’ve ever met,” he’d said with a grin. “Pardon me for being the only optimistic one. Knox isn’t the only one who knows some people deserve a second chance. She could be good for the Devils once Bates is dead.”
And now he was dead, and all I could think was, I’m getting weak.
Knox and Mason were gutted. It was going to make them reckless and lash out.
Like Knox was lashing out.
I knew this rage wasn’t directed at me. He’d put his neck on the line for me several times now, and now I was willing to do the same.
“Knox,” I said again.
He wasn’t hearing my voice.
I knew if I met him with his same intensity, or the intensity I used to bring to situations like this, that I wouldn’t get anywhere. So this time, when I reached for him, it was to cup his jaw. My thumb brushed over his bruised cheekbone. He winced at the contact but still wasn’t seeing me.
“Knox,” I whispered. “Please.”