Chapter Seventeen #2
over there? You came home and became a thief?”
“You don’t know anything about what I did after.”
“I know you took an oath. Same as me. I know we watched people die for something that was supposed to mean something. And
you came back and decided to steal from people for a living.”
“Spare me the lecture on honor, Knox. Not everyone got to come home and land a cushy security job.”
“You son of a bitch.”
I grab him by the collar of his shirt and shove him back against the wall. The impact rattles a picture frame. Liam’s hands
come up but he doesn’t fight back, doesn’t try to break my grip. He just looks at me, and there’s anger in his face, yes,
but that’s not all. There’s heat under it. Hunger.
“Feel better?” he asks, low enough that only I can hear.
“Not yet.”
“Knox, stop!” Hailey wedges herself between us, both palms flat on my chest, pushing. “This isn’t helping. Let him go.”
I don’t want to let him go. I want to knock his teeth out. I want to make him answer for every choice that led us here—Hailey
scared and trapped, a twenty-million-dollar target on her back—all because he couldn’t leave well enough alone.
I want to know if he ever thinks about that night in the motor pool. If he remembers what almost happened. If it kept him
awake the way it kept me awake.
“Knox.” Hailey’s voice is softer now. “Please.”
I let go. Step back. My hands are shaking and I ball them into fists to hide it.
Liam straightens his collar, and the bastard is almost smiling, which makes me want to hit him all over again. “That’s the
reunion I get?”
“You’re lucky that’s all you got.”
“Am I?” He holds my gaze for a beat too long. “Felt like you were holding back.”
The words land somewhere low in my stomach. I tell myself it’s just adrenaline. Just the drugs still working through my system.
It’s not the way his voice dropped on that last sentence, or the way his eyes flicked to my mouth for half a second before
he looked away.
“We’re not doing this,” I say.
“Doing what?”
“Whatever game you’re playing. I’m here for Hailey. That’s it.”
Liam’s smile widens, just slightly. “Sure, Knox. Whatever you say.”
Hailey looks between us like she’s trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces. “Okay. Clearly there’s some history here
I don’t know about.”
“There’s no history,” I say.
“Absolutely none,” Liam agrees, and the way he says it makes it sound like the opposite.
Hailey’s eyes narrow, but she doesn’t push. “Can we focus on getting out of here? You two can beat the hell out of each other
later.”
“Looking forward to it,” Liam says.
“So am I,” I tell him, and I mean it as a threat, but it comes out sounding like something else.
“The cabin’s locked down tight,” Liam says, breaking eye contact. “Steel-reinforced door, triple-pane windows. I’ve been over
every inch, and we’re not walking out without outside help or divine intervention.”
“How long have you been here?”
“No way to tell. No clocks, no phones. We don’t even know how long we were out from whatever they drugged us with.”
I move to the window and look out at nothing but trees and snow and gray sky. “Security at the resort—I counted twelve on
the perimeter before they grabbed me. Armed, coordinated, professional. There’s serious money behind this operation.”
“They brought you up by snowmobile?” Hailey asks.
“Twenty-five minutes from when I woke up, uphill most of the way, dense forest throughout.” I turn back to them. “We’re miles
from anything.”
No phones. No way to call for help. And a collector who’s willing to hold us here indefinitely until she gets what she wants.
“Christ.” I rub my face with my hands.
“How did you even find us?” Hailey asks, her voice careful, like she’s bracing for the answer.
I hesitate. “You really want to know?”
“Knox.”
“I put a tracker in your boots.”
Nobody says anything for a long moment.
Liam lets out a low whistle. “Wow.”
“Three months ago.” Might as well get it all out. “In the sole. You never take them off, so I figured—”
“You put a tracker in my boots.” Hailey’s face is unreadable. “Three months ago.”
“Yes.”
“That’s . . .”
“I know what it is. Believe me, I’ve had plenty of time to think about what kind of person does something like that.” I hold
her gaze. “But it’s also the only reason I knew something was wrong. The only reason I’m standing here right now instead of
back in New York wondering why you won’t return my texts.”
She stares at me for a long moment. Then, incredibly, she laughs. It’s not a happy laugh—more like the sound you make when
the universe has gotten so absurd that crying seems pointless.
“I can’t decide if I should be furious or grateful.”
“Can it be both?”
“It’s definitely both.” She shakes her head. “We’re going to have a very long conversation about boundaries when we get out
of here.”
“Fair enough.”
Liam watches us, jealousy plain on his face now and directed squarely at me. “So let me get this straight. You stalked her
for months, put a tracking device in her shoes, and followed her to the Arctic. And she’s . . . okay with this?”
“She’s processing,” Hailey says.
“It’s a lot to process,” I agree.
“You two are perfect for each other.” He keeps his voice light. His jaw tells a different story. “Jesus Christ.”
“Problem?” I ask.
“No problem.” But his eyes say otherwise. His eyes say he remembers that night too, and he’s not sure anymore which one of us he wanted.
Good. Let him wonder.
The three of us stand there in thick silence.
My ex-squadmate who I never let myself want. Hailey, who turns out to be an ex– jewel thief. And me, zip tie marks still fresh
on my wrists, stuck in the middle of whatever the hell this is.
Liam catches my eye, and something passes between us—not friendship. Not anymore. Whatever this is, it’s been sitting too
long. Gone sour.
“Just like old times,” he says.
“Not even close.” But there’s gravel in my voice, and from the way his lips curl, he notices.
I turn away before he can see anything else on my face. Because sitting around waiting for a psychotic collector to decide
our fate isn’t an option. And standing here trading loaded looks with Liam Calloway isn’t getting us any closer to freedom.
“Okay,” I say. “Tell me everything. From the beginning.”
Hailey starts talking. Liam leans against the wall with his arms crossed, watching me watch her.
This is going to be a problem. He’s going to be a problem.
And the worst part is, I’m almost glad he’s here.