Chapter Sixteen
KNOX
“Who the fuck are you?” Lily's captor asked in a thick Russian accent.
“I think you know who I am. And I know who you are. The question is what do you want with Lily?”
“The boss wants to talk to her. I'm bringing her in.”
I shook my head. “I can't let that happen. Three of your guys are dead. The other two aren't going anywhere. You're not getting out of here with Lily. Drop the gun and let her go.”
“Fuck you.”
My arm hung loosely at my side, my weapon tucked behind my leg. Tsepov's guy had his arm tight around Lily's neck, the muzzle of his handgun pressed to her temple. He was too on edge. I couldn't risk bringing up my own weapon and startling him into a shot.
A seasoned professional would be deliberate about when he pulled the trigger and when he held his fire. Based on the other five guys, I doubted this one was that smart.
I wouldn't fuck around with Lily's life. Keeping my hand motionless at my side and his attention off my weapon, I said, “Why don't you tell me what Andrei wants with Lily? We'll give it to you, and you can leave.”
“Orders are to bring her in.”
“And Adam?”
The Russian raised his shoulder in a half shrug, the careless movement nudging the muzzle of the gun off Lily's temple. “No orders for the boy. He is—what's word? Collateral damage?”
Lily's eyes went black with rage. I saw her make the decision, saw the shift in her eyes, like a lock clicking into place. My gut twisted in icy terror as possibilities raced through my mind.
She could do anything. Launch herself at the Russian. Start struggling. Get herself fucking killed.
Eyes locked to mine, hard with determination and the same absolute trust I'd seen in Adam, she did the last thing I expected.
Lily's knees gave out beneath her. Her body dropped, limp as a rag doll. The Russian's grip around her neck fell loose at the unexpected weight, his gun hand swinging to the side.
The second the muzzle of the gun was pointed anywhere but Lily, my arm swung up, and I squeezed the trigger.
Once.
Twice.
The Russian's body jerked back into the wall, sliding to the side, smearing blood across the white paint until he crumpled face down on the carpet.
Lily landed on her ass. At the sound of the gunshot, she jammed the heel of her palm into her mouth, not quite able to muffle her whimpers.
I wanted to take her into my arms, to hold her and Adam, to promise them everything was all right.
Later. First, I had to secure the house. I grabbed the Russian's weapon from the carpet and flipped on the safety, shoving it into the waistband of my pants.
“I need to take care of this. Go into Adam's room and lock the door.”
She opened her mouth to protest.
“Lock busted?”
She nodded.
“Drag Adam's dresser in front of the door. Wait there. I think I got them all, but I need to be sure.”
Lily vanished into Adam's room, shutting the door. I hauled the dead Russian over my shoulder, lugging him down the stairs. I dropped him outside the front door with the other two.
At least the lock on the front door still worked. I re-secured the door and headed straight for the mudroom where the last two had entered.
Fucking hell.
They'd used an acetylene blowtorch to cut the fucking handle out of the goddamned door. The torch lay discarded on the floor in the middle of the mudroom. I shook my head.
Fewer toys, more training, and they might still be alive. My options for securing the mudroom door weren't great. I barricaded it with the hutch Lily used for hanging jackets and storing boots.
If someone was determined to get in, that hutch wouldn't stop them, but we wouldn't be here. A quick check of the garage told me the vehicles were still as I'd left them.
The laptop. If I was right and Lucas' app hadn't revealed the account Trey used for business, I couldn't leave it behind. Jogging to his office, I snagged it from the drawer and stashed it in the back of the Land Rover.
The bodies scattered all over the property were a problem. I couldn't leave them there. Lily was isolated, but not that isolated. No way in hell was I reporting them to Deputy Dave. He'd love any excuse to get rid of me.
The only option was to call Cooper and have him send in cleaners. Not ideal, but I didn't have another choice. Before I called, I jogged through the house, clearing every room.
When I was sure the house was empty of everyone but Lily, Adam, and me, I went back upstairs, rapping on Adam's door in a pattern I'd made Lily memorize.
“Knox?” she asked, the sound of dragging coming through the door.
“It's me. The house is clear. You two alright?”
The door swung open, and a small body hurtled into my legs, little arms winding around my hips, holding tight. I wrapped my fingers around the back of Adam's neck in a squeeze. He gripped me harder, his body shaking with terror or relief. Probably both.
Crouching down, I hooked my hands under his arms and lifted him, settling him into my side. His arms and legs wound around me, my free hand rubbing his back in long strokes.
“Hey, it's okay, bud. I know that was scary, but you're okay. Your mom's okay. Take a deep breath for me.”
Adam buried his face into my neck, chest heaving with sobs. I expected Lily to move to take him from me, but she just stood there, eyes wide, teetering on her heels. Shit. She looked shell-shocked.
“Lily,” I barked, harsher than I wanted to be. As much as I wanted to coddle her, I needed her functional. We weren't out of this yet. Her head snapped up, eyes focusing on my face, on her son in my arms.
“I need you to listen. Can you do that?” A nod. Better than nothing. “We need to get out of here. I have to make a call. Pack for you and Adam, enough for a few days. Can you do that?”
Lily processed my words in slow motion, nodding again. “Are we coming back?”
“I don't know,” I said honestly. “I hope so, but plan to bring anything you can't leave behind. Two bags, easy to carry. Got it?”
“Got it.”
She moved to take Adam from my arms. He clung like a spider monkey, chest still heaving with sobs. I squeezed him tighter, nudging his head up with my shoulder. His tear-swollen face raised to mine.
“I need you to help your mom, bud. Can you do that for me? I'm going to keep you safe, but I need your help.”
“Are they coming back?” he asked in a thin, high voice.
“I don't think so, bud, but we don't want to find out. Your mom is going to pack some stuff. What do you need for a long sleepover?”
“George. My monkey. And my steam shovel book.”
“Okay. I'm going to put you down. You go get that stuff so your mom can pack it. Can you do that?”
“I can do it, Mr. Knox.”
This fucking kid. Five years old, and he had balls of steel. I squeezed his shoulder tight before nudging him in the direction of his bedroom door.
Lily took a step forward, her eyes glued to my side. “Knox. You're bleeding.”
I looked to see a line of red going down my arm from a thin slice on my bicep. Now that I was aware of it, the burn flared to life. Fuck. Asshole on the floor must have had a knife.
“It's nothing. I'll take care of it as soon as I—”
The shrill of the perimeter alarm cut me off.
Fuck. What now?
I yanked my phone from my pocket and pulled up the cameras. A shiny, black, Mercedes cargo van rolled down the driveway coming to a stop in front of the house. Men spilled out into the woods.
My hand went to my weapon as my gut turned to ice. Too many. Too fucking many. Two approached the front door. I braced for attack.
They made no attempt to enter. Working quickly, they picked up the bodies, jogged back to the van and tossed them inside. One more trip and the second set of bodies was cleared.
They split up, one heading for the woods where I'd dropped the first guy, the other to the dock. Three minutes after the van had come to a stop, it was pulling away. I couldn't decide whether to be relieved or terrified.
I didn't need the cleaners. That was something. Tsepov wanted a mess less than I did. Now I knew there were more of his men out there. Were they giving up or regrouping? We couldn't stick around to find out.
Lily was looking up at me with wide, frightened eyes. “They're still here?”
“They left. For now. We need to get moving.”
I cupped the side of her face in my hand, stroking my fingertip along the soft skin behind her ear and she leaned into me, the stiffness in her spine softening.
“Pack for you and Adam, okay? Be fast. Is there anything you don't want to leave in the house?”
“Trey's laptop,” she said immediately.
I shook my head once. “I already have it.”
Lily's eyes stayed on mine, considering. I knew she understood my comment, knew I'd been in Trey's laptop. Knew I'd been searching on my own.
I expected anger or protest. Her shoulders sagged, and she nodded. “Okay, then. If there's anything you think I need, get it. I'll get our stuff together.”
“How fast can you pack?”
“Fast,” she answered, turning on her heel and jogging to her room. I needed to get to the cottage, pack my own things, bandage my arm and wash off this blood. I wouldn't leave Lily and Adam alone in the house.
Adam came out of his room carrying his stuffed monkey and an arm full of books. I pointed him in the direction of his mother's bedroom. “Bring that to your mom, okay?”
He nodded and trotted down the hall. Functioning, but I didn't know for how long. I needed to get us out of here.
I thought about calling Cooper before we left and decided we didn't need the delay. My brother would want answers I didn't have. Getting us somewhere safe came first.
Lilly dropped a duffel bag in front of my feet. In her hand, she held a matching bag, only partly full. “We need to bandage your side.”
“I'll get it. Don't worry about me. You need to finish packing.”
Lily disappeared into Adam's bedroom, Adam following behind. A few minutes later she was out, the stuffed duffel in one hand, Adam's fingers gripped tightly in the other. “Now what?”
“Follow me.” I led them to the garage and into Lily's white Land Rover. Tossing her bags into the back, I helped Adam into his car seat, buckling him in. I shut the door and opened the driver side for Lily.
“Get in.” She did. I held up one of my Glocks. “Do you know how to use this?” A nod. “If anyone but me comes into the garage, shoot them and then get out of here. Do you understand?”
“I can't shoot someone.”
“Yeah, you can, if you're the only thing between Adam and one of Tsepov's men.”
I hit her number on my phone. She jerked in surprise as her own buzzed in her back pocket. She pulled it out with her free hand, looking from the screen to me in confusion.
“I want an open line so I know you two are okay in here. I'll be in the cottage less than five minutes. Keep that gun in your hand. Use it if you have to.”
“You'll be right back?”
“I'll be right back, Lily. I wouldn't leave you here if I wasn't almost positive it was safe. Keep that gun in your hand, just in case. If you have to use it, drive out of here as fast as you can. Don't worry about me, just go. Got it?”
“Got it.”
Lily didn't sound convinced, but I didn't have time to talk her into leaving me behind. I shut the driver’s side door with a firm thunk and sprinted to the cottage.
My mind scanned through lists, everything I had to do in the next five minutes. The first thing to worry about was the cut on my arm. I couldn't walk around out there with a bloody shirt. I stripped off my clothes as soon as I hit the cottage, ducking into the shower, wincing at the sting.
Fucking bastard sliced me with a knife, and I didn't even feel it. The cut wasn't deep. It had already started to clot, though not enough that the water didn't hurt like a bitch. I rinsed off the blood and left my clothes on the floor of the shower where my bloody T-shirt wouldn't leave a stain.
Grabbing a clean T-shirt from my bag, I tore it into strips and bandaged the cut. As soon as that was taken care of, I pulled on fresh clothes and shoved boots on my feet.
It only took another two minutes to pack up the rest of my stuff. I was used to living out of my duffel. I zipped it closed, made sure my laptop and surveillance equipment were stored in their cases, and I was ready.
Lily's end of the line had been quiet, mostly soft murmurs from her to Adam. “Lily, you good?”
“We're okay. How much longer?”
“I'm headed to you now. Don't shoot when I come through the door.”
I was only partly kidding. I needed Lily armed. I did not need her to panic and shoot me.
I squeezed through the side door, calling out, “It's me, Lily. Putting my stuff in the back. Get out and sit beside Adam in the backseat.”
She did, coming to me first and handing me the weapon I'd left with her, turning it carefully so the barrel wasn't pointed at either of us. I took it and flicked on the safety. “Get into the car, Lily.”
She scrambled in beside Adam and fastened her seatbelt. I was grateful for the boy's quiet, but I didn't like it. It wasn't like Adam to be silent. He sat there, clutching his stuffed monkey, his face bone white, eyes wide and pupils dilated.
Lily took his hand in hers. “Everything's okay, baby. Everything's okay.”