“Sierra Hayes Quinn?”
My throat closes.
“Yes,” I manage.
He nods once, sharp and decisive, like that confirms something inside him.
“I’m Knox Sutton,” he says. “I’m here to get you out.”
And the way he says it, calm and absolute, makes heat flicker in my belly at the worst possible time.
Because fear isn’t the only thing rushing through me.
It’s something else too.
Somethingdangerous.
Something that feels like recognition.
Like my whole body knows him even though I’ve never seen him before.
Mrs. Daisy hums, low and pleased.
“Well, aren’t you a sight,” she says, absolutely unbothered. “If you’re half as capable as you are handsome, this girl’s going to be just fine.”
Knox’s gaze doesn’t leave mine as he reaches up and unhooks the chain himself, like he’s done this a thousand times. Like locks are suggestions and safety is something he carries in his hands.
He steps inside, and the apartment suddenly feels too small for him.
Too small for the storm he brings with him.
“From now on, you do exactly what I tell you, darlin’,” he says, voice low. “No arguing.”
I should get angry. Offended.
I should tell him I’m not a child, not a possession, not something to be ordered.
Instead, my body does something traitorous.
It relaxes.
Just a fraction.
Because standing in front of me is a man who looks like he was built to end threats.
Chapter 2
Knox
Gray’svoiceisstillin my ear when I see her.
Not in a soft way. In athis-is-the-asset, stay sharp, get her outkind of way.
But my body doesn’t give a damn about boundaries.
Because Sierra Hayes Quinn is standing just inside the doorway, half-hidden behind her neighbor’s shoulder, pale and shaking like she’s holding herself together by sheer stubbornness. Her hand is locked on the strap of her bag, knuckles white, like letting go would make her fall apart.
Curvy. Blonde. Dark blue eyes so deep they don’t look real.
