I nodded.
Knox went perfectly still. Not tense. Not coiled. Just … still. A complete absence of movement, like a predator the instant before it strikes.
When he spoke again, his voice was terrifyingly calm. “Give me his full name.”
A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “Yeah, that’s absolutely not happening.”
“I know his first name is Silas.”
Thank God he didn’t know the last name was Whitmore. That might’ve been the only thing standing between Silas and a very creative death.
“I have it handled, Knox. I called the police. I filed a report. I’m going to the station tomorrow to file for a restraining order. It’s handled.”
He scrubbed a hand over his stubbled jaw. Thinking. Planning. Running through scenarios I probably didn’t want to know about.
“If I ever see that piece of shit,” he said slowly, “I will crush his fucking windpipe and then rip it out of his body.”
I blinked. “That was … incredibly specific.”
“I’ve had time to think about it.”
“Good thing you’ll never see him,” I said.
Famous.
Last.
Words.
31
KNOX
That motherfucker laid his hands on Harper.
Every muscle in my body was coiled so tight, I could feel my pulse throbbing in my temples. The lights buzzed overhead like angry wasps, and the antiseptic smell of the infirmary burned in my nostrils. But all I could see was that bruise.
That goddamn bruise on her perfect face.
I’d killed a man with my bare hands once. Wrapped my fingers around his throat and squeezed until the light left his eyes.
And right now, I was imagining doing exactly that to whoever this Silas piece of shit was.
“Can you please stop looking like that?”
I snapped my attention back to Harper. “Like what?”
“Like …” She gestured vaguely at my face. “Murdery.”
I didn’t blink. Didn’t soften. Just stared at her.
She let out a nervous laugh. “Okay, I’m trying to lighten the mood here, but seriously, I’m fine.”
“Say that again.”
Her throat moved as she swallowed. She turned away from me, busying herself with straightening supplies on the counter that didn’t need straightening.
She wasn’t fine. She was shaking.
