"Are they gone?" she asked.
He finally turned to her. "Yes. Are you OK?"
All she could do was nod. He searched her face for about two seconds, then he enveloped her in his arms and held her tight against his chest.
She felt the tension seep out of his muscles. She wasn't sure her heart rate was going down yet, but she knew for the first time that day she felt completely safe, and she didn't want to leave the safety of his arms any time soon.
But a sudden thought caused her to push back. "You're sure that was Nash flying the helicopter?"
"Yes, absolutely. We've met before. That was him. He'll handle this. He's good."
She almost didn't want to ask her next question. "And Rowan? How's Rowan?"
Knox held up his hands in a don't-worry gesture. "Just a flesh wound in his arm. Jason wanted it to sound more serious than it was so that Kendall would be convinced he was leaving with Rowan, needing to save his life. Jason initially planned to circle around and try to get a shot at Kendall, but then he had an idea. He decided to work with Drakos to produce a convincing-looking yet fabricated contract."
Allie felt her mouth drop open. All this time she thought they'd given up, and that Drakos had signed over The Mandeville. "The contract wasn't real?"
The corner of his mouth quirked up. "Nope. The first page is the same, but Jason said he changed some things in the middle. Drakos signed it, but it doesn't give Byron any legal right to any of Drakos's properties. That doesn't solve everything if the FBI doesn't take Kendall and Fernando into custody today. But I trust Nash. He'll get the job done." His eyebrows rose with an air of amusement. "And guess what I learned."
"What?"
He grinned. "Fernando is Kendall's boss's brother."
"Fernando's brother is the head of Byron?"
"Yep. And the FBI is gonna love that."
Her brain tried to process the whirlwind of information while her extended adrenaline spike waned. Her arms and legs trembled. She felt her mind spinning and her body weakening from the adrenaline crash. She still had so many questions, but right now she just needed to be grateful Knox was alive. She was alive.
"Allie," he cupped her face in his hands and pulled his thumbs across her cheeks. "I love you."
Oh. Wow.She didn't expect that. Not right there in the stairwell anyway. Happy tears stung her eyes. "I—"
He shook his head, still cradling her face. "You don't have to say anything. Not until you're ready. But I had to say it. I've never been so sure of something in my life. Nearly losing you today . . ." he swallowed. "Nearly losing you crystallized what I already knew. I prayed I'd have the chance to tell you. So I had to tell you."
A beautiful, exciting peace—ifexciting peacewere a thing—filled her heart until it felt like it would burst. This wasn't the flutter-in-her-chest feeling she had when he kissed her earlier. This was a bone-deep love for a man she would trust and cherish as long as she lived. She pushed the words through the emotion in her throat. "I love you too, Knox. No doubts. No doubts at all."
Chapter 21
Drakos had sent a tropical feast fit for royalty to Room 336.
Jason and Knox rejoined Allie and Rowan to enjoy the well-earned late dinner after they freed the guards from Jason's bathroom and from the storage shed. None of the guards could be much help, and they didn't have a way to hand them over to the FBI anyway—small fish that just had to be thrown back.
"One thing I'd still like to know," Knox said as he shoveled a dozen shrimp onto his plate.
"What's that?" asked Jason.
"How in the world did Kendall get his leg injured? We really lucked out on that one."
"I have no idea," said Allie. "His leg was already bleeding when he grabbed me. I didn't do it."
Jason grinned and pointed to Rowan. "You need to ask our IT expert."
Knox popped another shrimp in his mouth and whipped his head toward Rowan. "What's he talking about? Do you know how Kendall injured his leg?"
Rowan lifted one shoulder. "I stabbed him."
Knox nearly choked on his shrimp. "You what?" he said after he cleared his throat and took a sip of water.
