Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
K nox accelerated, dodging around several cars.
Behind him, Nola was pressed up against him tightly, her hands resting on his gut.
Only a few more blocks and they’d reach Sentinel Security.
“Get my phone,” he yelled back at her. “Call Sentinel.”
She slid a hand into his pocket. A second later, he heard her yelling.
He slowed and took the next turn. Ahead, the traffic was gridlocked. Shit . He couldn’t afford to stop.
Zolotov wouldn’t give up.
He turned the motorcycle and jumped the curb. He rode down the sidewalk, startled people leaping out of their way. Nola gasped, her fingers digging into his skin.
“Hex said they’re tracking us,” Nola yelled. “Killian and the others can come and meet us.”
“No.” Knox stared at the packed street. “There are too many people. The last thing we need is a shoot-out with Zolotov’s men.”
More people scattered ahead, and then Knox turned back onto the street. He dodged around a sedan, and picked up speed.
“Besides, we’re almost there.”
“Okay.” He heard her talking again, then he felt her swivel. “Knox! There are two men on bikes following us.”
He slowed, and glanced back. Fuck .
She was right. Two motorcycles were roaring down the street, weaving through the cars, and gaining on them.
Knox faced forward and leaned over the handlebars.
He zipped around a cab, then heard the revving of an engine. One of the motorcycles roared up, and pulled in beside them.
The rider pulled a handgun out from under his jacket and aimed in their direction.
Shit . “Hold on!”
Knox braked. Bullets sprayed the parked cars at the curb. He yanked the handlebars and turned into a side street. He accelerated.
“They’re still coming,” Nola shouted.
He turned the bike again, and realized the second bike had circled around. It sped closer, until it was right behind them.
Nola yanked off her ball cap and tossed it at the man. It hit him in the face and his bike swiveled.
Knox glanced back and watched as the bike hit the back of a car. The rider flew into the air, then crashed to the sidewalk.
“Yes!” Nola cried.
Knox faced forward again. Come on. They were almost at the office.
But a moment later, the other motorcycle sped in from another street. It almost collided with them.
Yanking the handlebars, Knox narrowly avoided a collision. He revved the engine and turned another corner.
Not far now.
“Don’t let go,” he yelled at Nola.
Her grip tightened.
He turned, and raced up onto the sidewalk again, then quickly turned into an alley. They zipped through it, the dumpsters on either side almost close enough to touch.
They screeched back out onto the street.
“He’s still coming,” she said.
Knox straightened up the bike and picked up speed. “Get my gun.”
She leaned closer, her mouth close to his ear. “What?”
“Get my gun. Take a shot at him.”
“What?”
He sensed her nerves, but Knox had no doubt that Nick had made sure his sister could shoot. “You can do it, Nola.”
She reached for Knox’s holster and pulled his gun out. “Channel your inner badass, Nola.”
She half turned, holding onto Knox with one hand, and aiming the handgun with the other.
Knox looked in the motorcycle’s side mirror. Behind them, the biker swerved.
A second later, Nola fired.
Zolotov’s man swerved again.
“Bugger,” Nola bit out.
“You’ve got this, Sprite.”
The biker sped up and Nola pulled the trigger.
The man jerked and lost control of his motorcycle.
Knox watched long enough to see him fly off and hit the road. His bike slid the other way and crashed into a delivery truck.
“Yes!” Nola whipped back around and hugged Knox’s back. “I am a badass.”
“You sure are.”
Suddenly, a large, black SUV sped out from the street to the left, right in front of them.
Nola screamed.
Fuck .
Knox yanked the handlebars.
The back wheel of the motorcycle swung out behind them, and the bike skidded. He lost control.
The bike started to tip, and Nola screamed again.
Knox swiveled, grabbed Nola, and leaped off the bike.
Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.
One second, they were speeding down the street, and the next, they were sailing through the air.
Nola pressed her face to Knox’s chest.
They hit the ground with a jarring thud. Knox landed first, and she landed on top of him. He grunted.
Her eyes popped open, and she saw the motorcycle skid on its side. A car whizzed right past them, tires screeching.
“Knox, are you all right?” she asked breathlessly.
“Fine,” he gritted out. “You?”
She was dazed and couldn’t breathe. She glanced down, expecting to see blood, but everything looked fine. Everything felt fine. “I think I’m all right.”
Knox got up and yanked her to her feet. He patted down her arms.
“I’m okay.” She threw herself at his chest and hugged him. He’d saved her again.
He hugged her back. Then she realized he was looking over her head, his jaw tight.
She turned.
A man was getting out of the SUV.
He straightened his jacket, then looked right at them.
Zolotov . Her blood turned to ice.
“We have to run,” Knox said. “It’s only one block to Sentinel Security.”
She nodded.
He grabbed her hand, and they broke into a sprint.
They raced down the street and onto the sidewalk. Nola ran as fast as she could. Her chest heaved.
“Faster, Nola,” he said.
“My legs aren’t as long as yours.” They raced across the street, and a car screeched to a halt to avoid them. “And I am so not a runner.”
“Almost there.”
She spotted the huge, old warehouse ahead. At the sight of the brick fa?ade, her heart jumped.
God, it still looked so far away.
She pumped her arms.
A second later, gunfire made her scream. Bullets pinged around them.
“Knox!”
He dived on top of her, tackling her to the ground. More bullets hit.
God, she didn’t want to get shot. She didn’t want Knox to get shot. He was shielding her, and she gripped him.
Then the bullets stopped.
He leaped up and pulled her to her feet. He had his gun in hand. He aimed back down the street and fired back.
“Run,” he ordered. “Don’t stop until you reach the office.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
He fired again. “ Nola ,” he growled.
“We go together, Knox.”
He shook his head and took another shot. Then he grabbed her arm. He pulled her forward and they sprinted down the street.
The warehouse got closer.
Nearly there.
But Zolotov and his men were in hot pursuit.
She heard them coming—feet pounding on the pavement, shouts.
Don’t stop, Nola.
Everything was hurting, but she knew if she stopped, Knox would stop to protect her. She locked her gaze on the large glass window at the front of the Sentinel Security office.
Crack .
The gunshot echoed through the street.
Nola ducked and looked back.
And saw one of Zolotov’s men fall.
Crack .
Another man jerked and fell.
Zolotov’s men all scattered.
Knox grinned. “Someone at Sentinel is a good sniper.”
They kept running.
“Get across the street,” he ordered.
She darted across, so focused on reaching the window that she wasn’t paying attention to the traffic.
A car braked and almost hit her. It rocked to a stop, and Knox put one hand on the hood and the other on her lower back.
“Keep going.”
They hit the pavement in front of Sentinel Security.
There was a screech of tires and a black SUV sped down the street. It roared toward them.
“Faster, Nola.”
It jerked to a stop, and men in suits poured out of it.
Crack . The sniper at Sentinel Security fired. Crack .
Knox lifted his handgun and fired too.
Zolotov’s men ducked down behind their SUV.
Nola looked back at the Sentinel Security office.
So close.
There was more gunfire, and Knox knocked her out of the way.
Ahead, the plate-glass window of Sentinel Security shattered into a million tiny pieces.
She bit back a scream.
Suddenly, Knox’s hands slid under Nola’s armpits. He hauled her up, carried her the last few steps, then leaped through the broken window.