Filed To Story: Craving The Wrong Brother Book PDF Free by Elysian Sparrow
“Stop the car,” Jade says.
Knox glances back. “Why?”
“I’m going to my wife.”
Knox drives until he finds a spot and pulls over. Jade’s already moving. He places the gun he was using for my lessons gently beside me, then opens the door.
He’s gone without another word. Just… running.
Knox undoes his seatbelt and starts getting out too.
“Where are you-” I start to say, but he’s already at the back door, sliding in beside me and slamming it shut.
“Drive, Mud,” he says to the guy up front.
The man-Mud, apparently-turns around, surprised. “You sure, boss?”
Knox doesn’t answer. His attention is fully on me now. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mud get out and walk around to the driver’s side. A second later, he’s in the seat, rubbing his palms together like he’s just been promoted.
Knox leans down and shoves my gun to the floor. Then he draws closer, locking eyes with me. The look in those eyes is so serious it actually makes my stomach twist. I don’t know why, but it scares me a little.
“How well do you know biology?” he asks. “Anatomy, to be specific.”
“I-uh, why?”
He slides his arm around my waist and pulls me into him, close enough that I can feel the heat off his skin. My breath stumbles.
“Where’s the heart?” he asks, mouth close to mine.
“The…heart?”
“The human heart. Show me where it is.”
“How do I do that when you’re in my space?”
He takes one of my hands and places it on the center of his chest.
“Show me,” he says again.
I slide my fingers toward the left side of Knox’s chest and stop where I think the heart is.
“Wrong,” he says.
Then one of his hands slips under my shirt. I suck in a breath, surprised, and try not to react as his fingers slide up until his palm settles just under my left breast. Not quite where I’d pointed.
“Right here,” he says. “That’s where the heart is.”
“Don’t you think there are other ways to show me that don’t involve your hand under my shirt?” I mutter, shooting a glance at Mud, who’s suspiciously very interested in the road.
His hand slips out from under my shirt and finds my neck, tugging me closer.
I can barely breathe.
I shouldn’t be thinking about how close we are or how warm his mouth will be if I bridge the gap. I should be thinking about the fact that we’re minutes away from a hostage scene. A psychopath. A warehouse where someone I care about is being held.
Mateo’s location hasn’t changed since we tracked him back at the club. It’s either he left the device behind or he’s actually dumb enough to still be sitting there. We’ll know soon enough.
The city’s long behind us now. The buildings are getting wider, emptier, more spaced out. The streetlights here go dim and flash off more than they stay on. Warehouses line the road, some tagged with graffiti, some with windows punched in. The ground is uneven, and the air is thick with dust and engine smoke.
“When we get there,” Knox says, hand still around my neck, “you’re staying in the car.”
“What?”
“I went against all my instincts bringing you here. But you don’t even know basic anatomy.” His fingers touch my knee briefly. “The front of the warehouse is as far as you go.”
“Knox-“
“You are one hundred percent the only thing that matters to me right now,” he says. “Your body. Your brain. Your heart. You. There will be no rest for you in the afterlife if you dare catch a bullet today. I will haunt you. Your entire generation is going to pay if something happens to you today. None of them will find love in this life, I assure you. They are all going to pass away single. Your father. Your mother. Your sister. I might even look for cousins too.”
“Jesus,” I mutter, narrowing my eyes at him. “Are you related to Mateo by any chance?”
“I’m serious. No more of this ‘trying to impress me with hardcore skills’ shit. I like you just the way you are.”
“Knox,” I say, laying my palm flat against his chest. “I love you too, but I’m not trying to impress you. I totally trust you to keep me safe. If I have you with me, why would catch a bullet?” I look him in the eye. Mateo’s mine. Like you promised.”
The car slows as we pull into the lot. I glance up just in time to see the two Escalades that left earlier already parked. The men are out, weapons up, forming a wide perimeter and silently closing in on the building. Their movements are coordinated. Like they’ve done this too many times.
Mud kills the headlights but leaves the engine running. Then he slips out of the car without a word.
Knox moves like lightning. Before I can think to react, he dives for the floor and grabs my gun, the one Jade left me. He slams out the door and is gone.
“Wait-1” I shout, lunging for the handle.
It doesn’t budge.
What the hell?
I scoot across the seat and try the other side.
Nothing.
I slap the glass in frustration. “Are you kidding me right now?”
I can barely make out his shape through the dark tint, but I know Knox can’t see me. Still, I flip him off hard enough to strain my middle finger. He turns around and actually blows me a kiss. Then he uses his finger to draw a little heart shape on the glass.
The nerve of this man.
He child-locked me.
He really child-locked me.
I slap the glass again. “Knoxxxxx!”
My voice echoes back at me like I’m yelling into a void. I press my forehead to the window and watch helplessly as he disappears into the building, the rest of the men following close behind.
They’re all in now.
The door stands wide open, like a gaping mouth. And I’m stuck in here, seething. I stay still for a moment, breathing hard, my body shaking with fury and helplessness. My eyes stay fixed on that entrance, willing Knox to come back out. Or for someone to give me a reason not to break this glass.
Then I see it.
Movement.
Out of the shadows near the edge of the lot, something shifts. I lean closer to the window, squinting.
It’s a man. Masked. Dressed in black, just like the ones from the video call. He’s crouching low, holding a gun, and creeping toward the warehouse door.
And he’s not alone.
More of them start peeling out of the bushes. Three. Four. Five. All armed. All moving in near silence.
Oh my God.
They faked it. They took the cars, probably parked them far off to make it look like they’d cleared out. But they’ve been here the whole time, blended into the darkness.
It’s a setup.
An ambush.
I duck instinctively, though the tint should still be shielding me. My heart slams against my ribs. Do they know I’m here? No one’s looking this way. Every eye is on the door. Every step they take is toward the warehouse.
I grab my phone.
No signal.
“Come on,” I whisper, swiping again. “Come on, come on, come-damn it!”