Knox

Chapter 18

––––––––

KNOX FELT QUINN TREMBLING beside him as he guided her toward Sloane’s extra room, and he wanted to rip apart the bastards that had hurt her.

Had she been assaulted? Raped? He had no idea.

Yes, she was holding on at the moment—barely.

He could tell she was exhausted, her face pale, with dark circles underneath her eyes. Had she been eating? Sleeping?

He doubted she’d had any of her basic needs met.

Glancing down at her, he noted that despite her ordeal, she was still the prettiest damn thing he’d ever seen.

Knox had been on a hell of a lot of missions during the course of his career.

They’d rescued hostages. Taken out HVTs.

Literally stopped terrorist attacks moments before they’d happened.

Despite it all, he’d never felt so relieved as when they’d spotted Quinn in the busy square.

Her face had been pale, her eyes panicked. And when she’d looked at him?

Something had swelled in his chest.

Nothing and no one would ever hurt her again.

Knox had no idea where Sloane had come from, but at the moment, he was hella grateful she’d appeared.

The woman was clearly affiliated with the U.S.

government. She had a whole set-up in her living room—comms units, computers, weapons.

Was she CIA? Some other intelligence agency?

He had no idea, but he knew his buddies would get any necessary information.

The U.S. had officially left Afghanistan several years ago, yet here they all were, holed up in a small home in Kabul, with plenty of firepower and communications equipment.

Things weren’t always what they seemed.

His gaze swept over the spare bedroom as they walked inside, Knox still on alert.

He didn’t sense that anyone else was here in the home, but you couldn’t be too careful.

They were in the middle of a war-torn country.

He guided Quinn toward the bed, easing her down, then quickly checked the bathroom and small closet.

He could hear Boone in the other rooms, doing the same.

His buddy’s voice called out from the hallway. “Clear!”

“It’s safe,” Knox assured Quinn, striding back over.

He hefted his rucksack down, then slid his rifle from his shoulder, leaning it against the wall.

He stripped off his gloves next, tossing them onto his bag, and removed his helmet.

Sloane was outnumbered, six to one, so if she tried something, she’d never get away with it.

Knox was thankful as hell his teammates were with him, because at the moment, he wanted to focus solely on Quinn.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, kneeling down in front of her.

She shifted, nervous, and the look in her eyes nearly slayed him.

Knox gently took her wrists in his hands, cursing as he examined the rope burn.

She’d been tied up. Restrained like a fucking animal.

Rage churned through him. He kept his touch gentle so as not to scare her, but shit.

He wanted to rip the heads off those bastards, starting with Adam Qureshi.

“No, I’m not hurt,” Quinn assured him, somehow sensing his distress. “Just a few scratches. Adam didn’t attack me, if that’s what you’re wondering. He didn’t rape me—yet. He was going to.”

Her voice shook, and Knox tried to remain calm. He didn’t want to frighten her. No one questioned the fact that he’d taken her aside to the spare bedroom, tending to her on his own. Quinn was his.

“He’ll never hurt you,” Knox promised, his voice thick with emotion.

He searched her gaze, unable to resist brushing back a strand of her hair.

As he tucked it behind one ear, he noticed that her jewelry was gone.

She seemed in relatively good shape, all things considered.

Her skin was soft and smooth. Clear. She wasn’t bleeding or wounded—at least not visibly.

The psychological scars might take longer to heal.

His eyes raked down her body, over the ugly gown they’d put her in. Had they stripped her? Forced her to change on her own? Not knowing was almost worse than knowing every grisly detail.

He clenched his jaw. Quinn was delicate and fucking precious.

He almost couldn’t rationalize that the woman in front of him had been through a hellish ordeal.

This was Quinn. He saw her every day, joked with her, and loved every moment.

They were friends—more than friends. Knox swallowed, trying to rein in his anger.

She didn’t deserve anything that had happened.

Quinn leaned into his touch, resting her cheek on the palm of his hand. She sucked in a breath, and the stray tear rolling down her cheek nearly gutted him. Knox thumbed it away, making sure to be so damn careful with her. “What do you need?” he murmured.

She let out a breath, and his gaze caught on her lips. They were slightly chapped, but he’d get food and water in her. He had meds, too, if she was in any pain. Quinn, however, shocked the hell out of him when she next spoke. “First, tell me how you found me.”

Knox swallowed but nodded, reluctantly taking his hand away.

Quinn reached for him anyway, and he took her smaller hands in his own. She was feminine. Soft. And he’d burn down the world if anyone tried to hurt her again.

“We saw footage of your car on the street in Seattle—of you exiting the vehicle and following someone.”

“That was stupid,” she said, suddenly looking distressed.

His thumbs ran over the soft skin of her hands, soothing. “You did what you thought was right.”

She nodded, biting her lip, and Knox hated the uncertainty in her eyes. “We tracked you to Afghanistan via flights,” he continued, his voice thick. “We were able to obtain airport surveillance footage and passenger manifests.”

“He drugged me,” Quinn said.

Knox nodded. “I figured. There’s no way you’d willingly get into a car with that asshole, let alone on a fucking plane.

But here’s where it gets good—Qureshi is an idiot.

Tech smart, maybe, but not very street smart.

The terror cell used burner phones for communication.

Logan was attempting to trace them, but then we lucked out.

Qureshi may indeed have a burner, but he used his own phone after landing in Kabul.

It was a rookie mistake. Fortunately, Logan was able to track Qureshi’s phone a second time when he used it again at the camp. It practically led us right to you.”

“Holy shit,” Quinn said in amazement. “But how’d you get here so fast?”

Knox’s lips quirked. “This is what we do, sweetheart. We can go wheels up within hours. Holt and Jett have connections all over the globe. We’ve already got the infrastructure in place. We geared up and rolled out.”

She squeezed his hands, and he glanced down. She was so much smaller than him, and the fact that Quinn trusted him implicitly made his chest fill with something he couldn’t explain. She didn’t want the other guys back here in the spare room to make her feel safe. She wanted him.

“I don’t know what was happening earlier this evening,” she said. “I was left alone most of the day. We quickly left the camp and—”

Tears smarted her eyes, and Knox’s voice was choked. “Don’t cry.”

“I’m not,” she said, then practically melted into him as he gently swiped her tears away.

Quinn’s head landed on his shoulder, and he pulled her close, simply holding her for a few moments.

She shuddered against him, and Knox tightened his embrace.

While he hated the circumstances, she felt so fucking right in his arms.

“You know what I want?” she asked tearfully.

“Name it,” he said, looking intently into her eyes.

“To go home.”

“Already on it,” Knox murmured, pulling her close once again and brushing his lips over her hair.

“We’re arranging a ride out, assuming the vehicles we had to abandon are long gone.

When Qureshi exited the vehicle with you, moving through the crowd, we were forced to do the same. We didn’t want to lose you.”

Quinn sucked in a breath, and Knox palmed the back of her head, trying to soothe her. It had been too fucking close for his liking. When shit went sideways, they adapted—and that was exactly what they’d had to do earlier.

“We just have to lie low until dawn,” he said. “It’s safer that way.”

“Until it settles down outside,” she agreed, a shudder running through her once more.

Knox brushed his lips over her hair again, unable to stop touching her.

Soothing her. She was clinging to him like he was the only thing holding her together, her hands fisting the front of his shirt.

Their time together in the office felt like a million years ago, in another place, another lifetime.

With surprise, Knox realized he wanted to be wherever Quinn was. It felt right. His world had been off-kilter when she went missing, and now that he had her, Knox knew he couldn’t let her go.

“You’re safe,” he reminded her. “We’ll get you settled in tonight, get you some food, meds if you’re in any pain, and then we’ll be on our way before you know it.”

She looked down at her clothing. “Do you have anything I can wear? This dress is hideous.”

“I’ve got a change of clothes,” he assured her. “They’ll be large on you, but—”

“Can I borrow them anyway?” she asked hopefully.

“Of course,” he said, noticing the immediate look of relief that crossed her face.

Something flickered inside his chest—the idea of Quinn in his clothing.

Maybe it was a caveman mentality, but shit.

He didn’t hate the idea. No, he fucking loved it.

He’d protect her in any and every way he could, and if getting her out of those rags was the first step, then so be it.

Knox had no issue with providing anything she needed.

“He made me bathe this morning,” Quinn muttered as she stood. “A bucket and a rag. That’s all I had to use. And I had to do it in front of him,” she said, her voice shaking again.

“Did he touch you?” Knox asked sharply.

Quinn shook her head. “No. He was in a hurry. He tried to attack me the other day, but some of the other men intervened. We were to be ‘married’ tonight,” she said, using air quotes, and Knox felt a fresh twist of anger deep inside him.

“I’m sure he thought once I was his wife, he could rape me all he wanted.

He’s sick,” she said, fresh tears falling.

Knox pulled her into his embrace again, feeling Quinn wrap her arms around him.

He was so much bigger than her. Stronger.

He felt guilty as hell he didn’t get to her sooner.

She buried her face in his chest, crying.

“I’m right here,” he soothed, running a hand down her soft hair.

“I’m right here. You’ll always be safe with me. ”

She sniffled, then turned, resting her cheek on his pec as she tried to regain her composure.

Male pride washed over him. It fucking sucked that she’d been through any of this, but he loved that she trusted him to keep her safe.

He’d hold her for as long as she needed. Forever, if that was what she wanted.

“I’ll grab you some clothes,” he said after a few minutes when she finally pulled back. “There’s a shower here,” he added quietly. “You can use that if you’d like. And although the guys are going to get us food, I’ve got some protein bars and MREs with me if you want that first.”

“A protein bar sounds amazing,” she admitted.

“I’ll get one,” he said, crossing the room to rummage through his rucksack. Shit. He wanted to give Quinn the world, and she was thrilled about a damn tasteless protein bar and his clean but basic clothing.

Quinn took the clothes and protein bar from him, hesitating before she went in the bathroom. “I’ll be right here,” he assured her. “No one else is coming in this room. The guys will hold down the fort out front. Take however long you need.”

“Do my parents know I was kidnapped?” she asked.

Regret washed over him at not immediately filling her in. “Yes, of course. I should’ve told you right away that Holt’s been updating them. They know you’re with us now. We can arrange a call later if you’d like or wait until we’re out of Afghanistan.”

Her lower lip wobbled as she looked at him, and Knox stilled. Knox knew in that moment he’d do whatever it took to make this woman happy.

“Let’s wait until we’re completely in the clear. And Knox? Thank you. For everything. I just—” She cut off, shaking her head and trying not to cry. “There’s a lot to say.”

“And we have plenty of time to say it. Go on,” he urged. “You’ll feel better when you get changed into some different clothes.”

“I’ll feel better if I can burn this thing,” she joked, her lips quirking.

“Tell you what, I’ll see what I can arrange,” Knox said, giving her a lopsided grin.

The smile she shot his way was like a lightning bolt to his chest. He’d do anything it took to keep that smile on her face.

Quinn finally turned away, disappearing into the attached bathroom, and Knox swore the woman took a piece of his heart right along with her.