Craving The Wrong Brother (Sloane and Knox) novel Chapter 141

I’ve seen enough hostage standoffs in crime dramas to know that whatever I’ve walked into right now, it’s bad. Really bad.

I shouldn’t have gotten out of the car.

I know that now.

But what kind of girlfriend would I be if I sat there while Knox walked into danger alone? He always acts like he’s the only one who would be shattered if I died. What he doesn’t understand is that if something happens to him, if he doesn’t walk out of here alive, I won’t survive it either. Maybe not physically, but in all the ways that matter, I’d be gone too.

So yeah. If this ends in flames, then fine. We’ll burn together.

I slowly raise my hand, passing him the gun just like he asked. He takes it from me. Then his hand leaves my mouth, and before I can blink, he starts patting me down. I tense up when he brushes over my chest, down my thighs, fingers pressing into places he shouldn’t be touching. My whole body wants to flinch away, but I keep still. Something about the way he talks—thick Russian accent, no emotion behind the words—makes me think it’s smarter not to piss him off. So I swallow the disgust crawling up my throat and let him do his check.

When he’s done, he grabs my arm and starts pushing me forward.

Down the stairs.

The voices that had been echoing from below go silent as we descend.

At the bottom, we enter what I recognize as the basement from Mateo's video call. Dim lighting. Bare concrete floor. And too many guns.

I freeze.

Finn, Soraya, and Hunter are still tied up. But what I walk into isn’t the ambush I was expecting. No bullets flying. No screaming. No men bursting through doors with war cries and rifles.

Instead, it’s quiet. Too quiet. And every single person with a gun in this basement has it pointed at someone else.

Knox’s men and Mateo’s are locked in a full standoff. Everyone's weapon is aimed at someone's chest.

I glance around. It takes me a second to realize that Knox’s side is winning by just one. The extra man is currently crouched by Hunter’s chair, slicing through the ties around his arms and legs. He doesn’t stop, even though his eyes move to me the second I show up.

Everyone else sees me too.

Finn turns his head. His eyes lock on mine fast, and he straightens a little in his seat. He’s bruised and a little bloodied, which tells me that Mateo’s men must have done something to him after they disconnected the call. That bruise under his eye wasn’t there before.

“Sloane?” he says, more out of reaction than as a question.

“What the hell,” Serena adds.

Soraya rolls her eyes. “Oh, come on.”

Hunter doesn’t speak, but his jaw flexes hard. They’re all looking at me like I don’t belong here. Like I just became the variable that’ll blow everything up.