A six-five wall of muscle rises between us as Knox shoves me all the way behind him. Broad shoulders tense, biceps flexing with restrained power.
He’s standing up for me.
The heat in my stomach flares, hotter than Bronwyn’s betrayal, and it sickens me.
“You protecting her?” Papa barks. “The woman you’re going to kill?”
“That’s just it.I’llkill her.” The veins in Knox’s arms pump. “When I decide it’s time. She’s mine. I break her. I hurt her. Me.”
At that, the Colbert house goes deadly quiet.
And me…I’m just trying to breathe.
This day has been nothing but whiplash on top of whiplash.
Stalked. Kidnapped.
Finding out my sister’s plotting my death.
Now Knox is claiming me? While vowing to murder me?
My knees threaten to buckle, my stomach tightening with emotion so intense it chokes me.
Instead of wallowing in self-pity, instead of letting my body and these assholes here win, I straighten my spine.
Then, I use my brain, my most valuable organ, andthink.
Forget Knox. Forget about Bronwyn’s wounds and how Easton will faint if they don’t help him lie down soon.
They all betrayed me.
I have to save myself.
Have to get to the door. It’s right there. Ten steps at most.
I’ll run out of here, and then I won’t stop running.
Twenty miles, fifty miles, a million miles.
When I get somewhere safe, I’ll send the FBI back here for Bronwyn’s corpse.
She’s made it clear she wants me gone, and now that I’ve let it sink in, maybe I’m fine with her death too.
Our parents, however, love her. They always told her the same thing—if they hadn’t cared, they wouldn’t have bothered with lecturing her.
They’ll need closure.
I’ll tell them where they can find her body. That’s the most I can do for them. I won’t sacrifice myself so she can live.
For that to happen, I need to get out of here. But I can’t run with Knox holding me tight.
Since I can’t overpower him, I trick him like he did me. Use my body against him.
Bringing my lips to his arm, I kiss him gently.
It works, and it works fast. Stunned, Knox flexes his hand, releasing me from his grip.
I bolt toward the door, my pulse roaring in my ears. No tiptoeing across creaking boards. No looking back.
