Craving The Wrong Brother (Sloane and Knox)

Knox, of course, doesn't respond to Mateo's question.noveldrama

His silence says more than words ever could. I think he believes he can shoot the man behind me before that gun goes off in my head. I only wish, for my sake, that he wouldn't try.

Mateo's hand moves down his left leg, like he's reaching to scratch an itch. The hand disappears beneath the cuff of his pants, and when he straightens, there's a gun in his hand. A tiny silver handgun. One of those compact ones that still manage to kill just as effectively as the big guys. He points it straight at Knox.

I suck in a breath.

"Do you think you'll be fast enough to shoot him before I kill you, Knox?" Mateo says with amusement in his voice. "I had a plan, you know. A good one. Take you down piece by piece. Everything you care about. Your money. Your club. Maybe even that sex toy company-what is it? Bliss?" He chuckles to himself. "And those other little illegal ventures you've got tucked away. Not in your name, of course, but we both know who owns them."

The more he talks, the angrier Knox becomes. I can see it in the way his jaw grinds tighter with every word, the way his fingers flex ever so slightly around the trigger like they're trying to keep themselves from doing what the rest of him is begging to.

That anger is rubbing off on me too.

I want to scream. I want to shut him up. I want to be the one who wipes that look off his face and makes him regret ever laying eyes on us.

"But then," Mateo continues, tapping a finger to his chin, "you've proven to me in the past few hours that those things don't matter to you as much as I thought they did. In fact, no one else but one person matters to you. I shot your girlfriend's sister to get you to give me what's rightfully mine, a fucking apology. You didn't break. I tried to kill your best friend. Nothing. Those two shrinks did a pretty decent job trying to mess with my head, bringing up my daughter as some sort of morality trigger and wanting me to admit it's my fault I got captured instead of yours. They think I'm the villain here, but you are, Knox. You were prepared to let them die as long as it meant keeping your pride."

The craziest part? I think Soraya might actually be agreeing with him, at least on the part about Knox being a villain. Her eyes shift toward him, and there's this strange look on her face.

Mateo's still speaking. "Soraya, darling," he says, "you don't need to worry about my relationship with my daughter. I have plans. I always do. First, I'm going to make sure my ex-wife and her husband are no longer in the picture, and then I'll take my daughter someplace secluded, maybe an island, and raise her myself. She'll love me eventually. Long-term hostages always do." He laughs. "I did."

I'm sure the disgust on everyone's face is the same as the one on mine right now. Finn spits in his direction. "You're sick."

"Haha. Says the man who's almost ruining his life pining for a girl who no longer cares about him. Tell me, how did you break your arm again?"

Finn frowns and looks away, eyes falling to Serena, who's still braced against that wall.

"All I asked for," Mateo says, "was a simple apology for all the hell I went through because you made a stupid decision and ruined my life, Knox You know, they kept me alive just for fun. Back in the camps. Beatme. Broke me. I made these weird noises whenever I cried, and they thought it was funny. So they found creative ways to make me cry every day, things you wouldn't even imagine." He pauses. "Then one day, they were ambushed. I was the only one they didn't kill because I yelled, 'Don't shoot. I'm an American.' That was a stupid thing to say, claiming I'm a citizen of a country that left me for dead. And the fact that they were Russians coming to retrieve their captured soldiers didn't help my situation. I managed to survive because I could communicate with them in their language. From one prison to another prison. Well, if I thought the Afghans were creative, I certainly hadn't met the Russians. They took out my eye before deciding that I was probably telling the truth when I said that I'm not a spy. A lot of things happened after that. Blurry memories of me acting as a translator. A bomb going off. Running. Living amongst locals. When I finally got into the country I called home, I went looking for your grave, Knox. Actually, the empty grave I thought they'd dug in memorial to you since I believed you died in that camp. I wanted to say goodbye properly. Imagine my surprise when I found out you were alive and well."

Mateo leans forward now.

"You owe me an apology. And I'm going to get it, or so help me God, your girlfriend's brain will be scattered across this floor."

Knox's eyes never leave mine. In a weird way, he looks calm.

"You're right," Knox says. "I do owe you an apology for refusing to killa child. For that, I'm greatly sorry." Knox's eyes narrow. "You really shouldn't have pointed a gun at the head of the woman I love."

Mateo grins. “Desperate times. I'm

ap you understand. But that

.n

apology is half-assed, Knox. That's not the only thing you should be sorry for. How about my life?"

Knox's lips twitch. "Right. You'll get your apology. I'll say it over your fucking grave."

And then Knox's gun goes off.