Page 49 of Captured Pawn
His tone told me he wouldn’t entertain the idea of changing his mind, so I bit back my complaint, although I had to wonder how often this kind of thing happened if they needed a surgeon on call less than five minutes away.
Fresh anger bubbled up, as I realized how dangerous the Knight family business really was. Matty had allowed himself to get sucked into that danger and had paid the ultimate price. Worse, if I was honest with myself, I knew I’d come a hair’s breadth away from meeting the same fate as my brother tonight.
The next emotion to hit like a tidal wave was despair. I wanted to blame it on the adrenaline that had been coursing through my body finally petering out, but it was so much more than that.
Not only had I lost my brother, but even if the doctor and nurse miraculously saved Nick’s life tonight, I somehow knew deep down this life was too dangerous for me. As drawn as I was to Nick, I couldn’t live my life watching over my shoulder, waiting for a new enemy of the family to come after me and those I loved.
“You should go lie down in the living room. I’ll come in with updates later,” Nathan offered.
“I’m not leaving.”
His chuckle sounded out of place in the otherwise serious room. “I told Nick you were never going to take orders.”
I turned, ready to argue back, but his smile stopped me as he added, “It’s a compliment. Believe me, I admire how fearless you are, Sophie.”
I didn’t know what to say to his compliment, so I stayed silent. Instead of trying to convince me to leave, Nathan waved at one of the security guys near the door and asked them to bring in a few chairs from the dining room.
As I took my seat next to Nathan—feet away from the open armoire of sex toys Nick and I had been enjoying a short while ago—I didn’t take my eyes off the medical team, working to save Nick’s life.
Please… don’t let me lose Nick too.
CHAPTER20
Nick
Even before I opened my eyes, the pounding migraine made me feel like throwing up. Did I get drunk last night? Why did I feel like a truck ran over me?
It hurt to move, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. The bright sunlight pouring in only made my headache worse, but as I tried to sit up so I could close the drapes, a sharp pain pierced my shoulder and down my arm.
“Whoa… Don’t try to sit up yet.”
The woman’s voice was unfamiliar. Had I gone home with some random chick?
I rejected the thought immediately. A few seconds ticked by before it hit me.
“Sophie!” I cried out as I forced my eyes open, ignoring the shooting pain.
An unknown woman stood over me, gently forcing me to lie back down.
“Please… Mr. Knight… you’re going to pull out your IV.”
It hurt to take a deep breath, but I didn’t give a fuck about myself. “Where’s Sophie? She okay?” I finally got out a few words.
“Ms. Locke is fine. In fact, she’s going to be upset that she missed you waking up. She’s been keeping a close eye on you all night.”
“Where?” I asked, collapsing back to my pillow.
“Your brother insisted that she leave long enough to shower and change. She’ll be back soon,” the nurse answered as she checked my vitals.
My mind raced. So many questions. My memory was spotty, but the vision of Angela pointing the gun in Sophie’s direction was a clear nightmare.
“Angela?” I asked.
It was Nathan who answered from the doorway. “She’s dead.”
Relief warred with resentment in my mind. Relief that Sophie was safe from the bitch’s revenge, but resentment that I didn’t get the pleasure of killing the traitor myself.
My brother’s face came into focus standing next to my bed. “Did she shoot you too? You look like shit, brother.” I couldn’t resist razzing Nathan since he so rarely looked as disheveled as he currently did.
