Chapter 27
Knox clapped his hands as the pass was completed. However, his eyes went to the stands. Quinn was being yanked back down into her seat by Karson.
“Knox, don’t do it. You need to focus.” Kate’s calm voice came through his helmet. “Don’t let your team down.”
Knox nodded and looked to his huddle. “Jaylen, this one is you.”
Knox headed to the line, but glanced up to check on Quinn. Karson’s hand was still on her arm, but it didn’t look as if he was hurting her. Knox looked back three rows to find Cassidy and Warrick watching with matching frowns. Knox took a deep breath. He trusted them. They’d watch out for Quinn.
“Blue Dog Twenty-Four,” Knox yelled out before Zack snapped the ball to him.
Knox faked a handoff one direction before rolling to his right and handing the ball off to Jaylen who ran for eight yards. Slowly, time was ticking off the clock, yet Karson hadn’t taken his hand from Quinn’s arm.
Quinn gripped the arms of the stadium chair and seethed with anger.
This idiot decided now was the perfect time to air his grievances about their relationship.
Anger, embarrassment, and hurt filled her, knowing her boss and former boss, along with all her new friends, were hearing these horrible things.
“You’re just so needy. It’s like you can’t do anything without me telling you exactly what to do and how to do it. And that goes for everything from working to having sex,” Karson was saying.
“Neil is still at the computer. He’s in your barcode program. Archie is looking for him now that he has his hot dog,” Kale said, ignoring Karson’s tirade.
“Speaking of sex, has that jock figured out you can’t even tell when a man has been cheating? I mean, I’d be in my girlfriend’s bed an hour before coming to ours and you’d be clueless.”
“That’s it,” she heard Helena mutter.
Quinn felt angry tears threatening to spill.
She didn’t want to cry, but the pain and embarrassment were too much to ignore.
She wasn’t sad. She was pissed. “My relationship with you was a yearlong disappointment that I should have ended before it began. You’re nothing but an insecure, egotistical jackass who thinks he knows more than he does.
If you’re so smart, you should at least know where a woman’s clit is and how to get her off.
But you’re so selfish you never bothered to learn.
Now, I’m done. You’ve wasted enough of my time.
But you know what’s funny, Karson? I felt bad for you and fixed half of the coding mistakes you made.
You are nothing without me. Enjoy trying to prove yourself now. ”
She heard Kale and several other people chuckle. “Neil’s changed the barcode and put in a routing number for a bank. He’s going to siphon off the money. The bank is in the Cayman Islands,” Kale told her. “He’d have you take the fall for it if it were real.”
Quinn stood up. She knew it wasn’t real, but she was going to confront Neil. However, Karson yanked her back down into her seat. “We are not done talking.” In a flash Quinn, felt something sharp pressed against her side. “You leave when I tell you that you can leave and not a moment before.”
“You’re going to hold me at knifepoint to tell me how much you hate me?” Quinn suddenly got it. “This isn’t about us. This is you keeping me distracted while Neil changes my program. You’re in it together and you’re framing me for it.”
Anger filled his face as if he never expected her to figure it out. The sharp point of the knife dug into her jacket, tearing the material as it increased the pressure on her side.
“We have a hostage situation,” she heard an unknown voice say. “Warrick and I are on it.”
Knox looked down the field, found his target, and threw the ball.
He knew he’d hit the mark when Jayson’s hand was still up in the air, so he let his eyes go to the stands.
Quinn was trying to stand, but Karson yanked her down.
There was a flash of steel and then it disappeared into Quinn’s side where she flinched.
“Oh, shit,” Kate cursed. “Don’t do it. Cassidy and Warrick are right there.” But Knox didn’t answer. He was already running to the sidelines.
“Knox?” Zack called out.
“Q is in danger!” Knox replied.
“Knox, don’t do this!” Kate pleaded, but knew it was no use. “Trey, call a time-out. Right now!”
“Time out!” his father yelled as the ref called the time out which would roll into a TV timeout. “What is going on?” Trey grabbed Knox’s arm, forcing him to a stop.
“He’s got a knife,” Knox said, his eyes never leaving the stands.
His father released his hold and Knox was off. The crowd went nuts as Knox pulled himself up and over the rail with Zack, Jaylen, Deon, Austin, his father, and the rest of the O-line right behind him.
Quinn heard the commotion, but she was so focused on Karson that she didn’t look. “You and Neil are working together to ruin my reputation. Why?” Quinn asked. It didn’t make sense. Why would he care about her now?
“You always thought you were better than us. This has nothing to do with you. That program you developed that runs in the lounge here and soon in lounges all over the country has a backdoor that Neil put in. We can siphon money off now. At least you showed us the one mistake we made with the barcode. It’s fixed now and the best part—if you tell anyone it’ll look as if you did it.
You’ll be the one ruined,” Karson said with a smirk.
A giant shadow appeared in the row behind Karson, but before she could see who it was, Knox was there. And not just Knox. But half his team and his father.
“Karson, drop the knife. You’re on the jumbotron, dickhead. There’s no way out,” Knox said as Quinn realized it wasn’t just a tall guy moving in but a woman with curly blonde hair too. They were now on both sides of Karson’s shoulders just one row behind him.
“We got Neil,” Kale told her. “Do what you need to Karson since Agent Warner is on his way to you.”
Quinn balled her fist and right when she wanted to swing, the blonde woman grabbed her shoulders and flung her away from Karson. Quinn stumbled over the people behind her, falling into their laps. All she saw was the knife still in Karson’s hand and Knox’s feral look.
“Wait!” his father yelled. “If you punch him, you’ll be suspended for a game.”
“Next game is my anniversary. I could use the suspension to take my wife out,” Deon said with a dangerous smile.
A fist was flung and everyone gasped. Austin shook out his hand as blood poured from Karson’s nose. “My chance to take one for the team,” he said with a shrug.
But that was nothing compared to the fury in heels shoving past the football players.
Quinn scrambled forward on her hands and knees and grabbed the knife he’d dropped.
Helena grabbed Karson by the shoulders. She yanked him forward and slammed her knee into his balls.
“I’ve been wanting to do that since the first time I met you. ”
Karson stumbled backward, Knox held out his foot to trip him, and down Karson went.
Right onto the knife Quinn held while still on her hands and knees.
Karson screamed as the knife embedded itself in his ass.
“Well, that’s appropriate since you’re a pain in my ass,” Quinn said, pulling her hand free, but leaving the knife where it was.
Knox reached over a howling Karson and with no effort at all put his hands under her arms and lifted her up and over Karson. He slowly lowered her to the cheers of the crowd and kissed her hard. “I love you. You’re watching every game from the sidelines from now on so I can keep an eye on you.”
“For the love of this game, get your asses down to the field! The offense still has forty-three yards to go!” A pissed off looking Kate was standing on the stairs, her hand resting on her baby bump.
“The league is already blowing up Will’s phone.
They’re too scared to call Mo. He lets Veronica answer those calls. ”
“We had to get our girl,” Zack told her, earning a glare from Kate.
“Do you not see half of Keeneston here? I’m pretty sure they could have all handled it.”
“I do feel like I’m standing around waiting for Bertha who decided not to show,” Lucas said, looking like he’d just lost his puppy. Or in this case, his polar bear.
“I was totally going to castrate him,” the blonde said.
“You,” Helena said, pointing to the blonde, “I like.”
“I haven’t tortured anyone in a while,” the big man next to the blonde said, with a frown.
“I’m not gonna be the one telling the Rose sisters they don’t get to beat him up,” Talon said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Right. See torture, pain, death. They had it handled. Get your asses to the field!” Kate yelled.
“Yes, ma’am,” the team replied in unison.
“You’re coming with me,” Knox whispered as he kissed her one more time.
“Go win the game. Then I’ll be coming with you afterwards.” Quinn winked and Knox kissed her again.
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Knox turned and followed Deon, his father, and Zack. Jaylen stayed put, his attention fixed on someone behind Quinn. “Officer Elkins. You got the ticket I sent you.” Jaylen grinned as if he’d won the lottery.
Right behind Quinn now stood the officer from the home invasion. Apparently, she’d moved in when the commotion happened. “I’m not going to say no to a ticket to watch my favorite player.” Jaylen puffed up his chest. “Deon’s a hell of a receiver.”
Jaylen deflated. “I can do way more than Deon. He only catches a ball. I bust through lines like a freaking warrior.”
Officer Elkins smiled sweetly. “Really? Because you only have thirteen rushing yards today.”
“Will you go out to dinner with me if I get a hundred yards?” Jaylen asked.
Officer Elkins crossed her arms over her chest. The rest of the team was climbing back over the railing. “If you get a hundred and twenty I will.”
“And you’ll tell me your first name?”
“Don’t push it Thirty-Three.”
Jaylen reached over and gave Quinn a high five that left her laughing before sprinting down the stairs and vaulting over the railing. The team took the field just as the clock began again.
“And I really like her,” Helena said, pointing to Officer Elkins.
“Me too. And I like you both,” the blonde said, holding out her hand. “Cassidy and my husband, Warrick Hawkins.”
“Quinn Kennedy and my best friend, Helena Diakos.”
“Officer Elisha Elkins,” she said, holding out her hand.
“So, are you going to give Jaylen the time of day?” Cassidy asked, Karson now long forgotten since Agent Warner had dragged him away while he was still groaning about his balls and the knife in his ass.
“I’ve been with too many men who aren’t worth the time. He'd better work for it, if you know what I mean. I’m not looking for a hook-up. Been there, done that.” She fluffed her defined ringlets that reached just below chin level for emphasis.
“Wanna sit in on a giant bust and watch Jaylen freak out when you’re not in your seat?” Cassidy asked, earning a brilliant smile from Elisha.
Quinn looked up to the lounge and found all of Keeneston waiting for her, including Agent Warner and Detective Braxton as EMTs worked on Karson. It was time to wrap this up. Quinn glanced down at the field where Knox handed the ball off to Jaylen who broke the line and surged downfield.
“You bet the knife in that man’s ass I do,” Elisha told Cassidy as they left their seats.
“I think your man is making a statement,” Quinn told Elisha as they started up the stairs.
“He’s not my man yet.” Quinn knew by the way she smiled that it wouldn’t be long before Quinn had another friend to cheer with at the games.