Page 125 of Revenge Saints

A tear slides down my cheek before I can stop it.

“Fuck, Knox.That’s a first, ever,” Ryker mutters behind me, and I hear the awe under his teasing.

I don’t even think. I spin and run straight for him.

Knox takes two steps forward and catches me like he knew I’d do it.

His arms lock around me, and he lifts me off the ground, holding me like he’ll never let go.

I bury my face in his neck. He smells like cedar and somethingwild.My arms wrap around his shoulders like instinct, like home.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say it that night,” he whispers against my skin. “I needed to bring Dante back first. I needed us all here. Safe.”

A soft cry slips out of me. I can’t hold it in.

“Knox…” Dante comes from behind him.

But Knox doesn’t move. He holds me tighter.

And maybe for once… Knox Archer isn’t the coldest man in the room.

His hand slides under my ass, lifting me up. I wrap my legs around his waist, clinging to him, my face tilted up to meet those icy blue eyes. It’s like staring into the sky right before a storm. He leans in, lips brushing mine, and I grab the back of his neck, pulling him deeper. Our tongues tangle, and I feel him getting hard beneath me.

One hand keeps me up, the other tangles in my hair, and I moan into him, heat shooting down my spine.

“Not now, Knox!” Dante calls out with a dry laugh. “Wegot shit to do.”

“Fuck,” Knox groans against my mouth.

“That was the idea,” I murmur as he sets me down.

He smiles and brushes a strand of hair from my face. “Definitely later.”

I drop onto the couch, heart pounding, cheeks burning. I must look like a damn tomato.

Knox clears his throat and sits, all that heat folding into cool, calculated focus. The others gather.

“So, this is the plan.” He spreads the map out.

“I thought you didn’t have a plan,” Max says, surprised.

Knox glances sideways, right at me, and winks. “Got inspired.”

God. I missed him. This version of him. The sharp, dangerous one. Feral and focused. The one who makes a chill crawl down my spine in the best way.

“Roman’s got too many men,” he says, dragging the pen across the map. “We need to bring that number down.”

I get up and move beside Ryker, who wraps his arm around my waist without a word. And for a second, I realize how natural it feels, standing here with them, like I belong to all of them.

“Okay, how?” Ryker asks.

Knox pushes the map forward, tracing the base’s perimeter. “We fish them out. One by one. Traps near the river, explosives from the hunters’ grenades. Every time Roman sends someone out, we kill them.”

“Fuck, that’s good,” Max says with a grin.

“We hit three times,” Knox continues. “Three traps, threeexplosions. Each time a group steps out after the explosions? We hit with another. No time for Roman to realize we’re hunting them.”

“We’ll use radios to stay in contact,” Dante adds. “Quick comms. No voices.”