Knox had no idea where Sloane had come from, but at the moment, he was hella grateful she’d appeared.The woman was clearly affiliated with the U.S.government.She had a whole set-up in her living room—comms units, computers, weapons.Was she CIA?Some other intelligence agency?He had no idea, but he knew his buddies would get any necessary information.The U.S.had officially left Afghanistan several years ago, yet here they all were, holed up in a small home in Kabul, with plenty of firepower and communications equipment.
Things weren’t always what they seemed.
His gaze swept over the spare bedroom as they walked inside, Knox still on alert.He didn’t sense that anyone else was here in the home, but you couldn’t be too careful.They were in the middle of a war-torn country.He guided Quinn toward the bed, easing her down, then quickly checked the bathroom and small closet.He could hear Boone in the other rooms, doing the same.
His buddy’s voice called out from the hallway.“Clear!”
“It’s safe,” Knox assured Quinn, striding back over.He hefted his rucksack down, then slid his rifle from his shoulder, leaning it against the wall.He stripped off his gloves next, tossing them onto his bag, and removed his helmet.Sloane was outnumbered, six to one, so if she tried something, she’d never get away with it.Knox was thankful as hell his teammates were with him, because at the moment, he wanted to focus solely on Quinn.
“Are you hurt?”he asked, kneeling down in front of her.
She shifted, nervous, and the look in her eyes nearly slayed him.Knox gently took her wrists in his hands, cursing as he examined the rope burn.She’d been tied up.Restrained like a fucking animal.Rage churned through him.He kept his touch gentle so as not to scare her, but shit.He wanted to rip the heads off those bastards, starting with Adam Qureshi.
“No, I’m not hurt,” Quinn assured him, somehow sensing his distress.“Just a few scratches.Adam didn’t attack me, if that’s what you’re wondering.He didn’t rape me—yet.He was going to.”
Her voice shook, and Knox tried to remain calm.He didn’t want to frighten her.No one questioned the fact that he’d taken her aside to the spare bedroom, tending to her on his own.Quinn was his.
“He’ll never hurt you,” Knox promised, his voice thick with emotion.He searched her gaze, unable to resist brushing back a strand of her hair.As he tucked it behind one ear, he noticed that her jewelry was gone.She seemed in relatively good shape, all things considered.Her skin was soft and smooth.Clear.She wasn’t bleeding or wounded—at least not visibly.The psychological scars might take longer to heal.
His eyes raked down her body, over the ugly gown they’d put her in.Had they stripped her?Forced her to change on her own?Not knowing was almost worse than knowing every grisly detail.
He clenched his jaw.Quinn was delicate and fucking precious.He almost couldn’t rationalize that the woman in front of him had been through a hellish ordeal.This was Quinn.He saw her every day, joked with her, and loved every moment.They were friends—more than friends.Knox swallowed, trying to rein in his anger.She didn’t deserve anything that had happened.
Quinn leaned into his touch, resting her cheek on the palm of his hand.She sucked in a breath, and the stray tear rolling down her cheek nearly gutted him.Knox thumbed it away, making sure to be so damn careful with her.“What do you need?”he murmured.
She let out a breath, and his gaze caught on her lips.They were slightly chapped, but he’d get food and water in her.He had meds, too, if she was in any pain.Quinn, however, shocked the hell out of him when she next spoke.“First, tell me how you found me.”
Knox swallowed but nodded, reluctantly taking his hand away.
Quinn reached for him anyway, and he took her smaller hands in his own.She was feminine.Soft.And he’d burn down the world if anyone tried to hurt her again.
“We saw footage of your car on the street in Seattle—of you exiting the vehicle and following someone.”
“That was stupid,” she said, suddenly looking distressed.
His thumbs ran over the soft skin of her hands, soothing.“You did what you thought was right.”
She nodded, biting her lip, and Knox hated the uncertainty in her eyes.“We tracked you to Afghanistan via flights,” he continued, his voice thick.“We were able to obtain airport surveillance footage and passenger manifests.”
“He drugged me,” Quinn said.
Knox nodded.“I figured.There’s no way you’d willingly get into a car with that asshole, let alone on a fucking plane.But here’s where it gets good—Qureshi is an idiot.Tech smart, maybe, but not very street smart.The terror cell used burner phones for communication.Logan was attempting to trace them, but then we lucked out.Qureshi may indeed have a burner, but he used his own phone after landing in Kabul.It was a rookie mistake.Fortunately, Logan was able to track Qureshi’s phone a second time when he used it again at the camp.It practically led us right to you.”
“Holy shit,” Quinn said in amazement.“But how’d you get here so fast?”
Knox’s lips quirked.“This is what we do, sweetheart.We can go wheels up within hours.Holt and Jett have connections all over the globe.We’ve already got the infrastructure in place.We geared up and rolled out.”
She squeezed his hands, and he glanced down.She was so much smaller than him, and the fact that Quinn trusted him implicitly made his chest fill with something he couldn’t explain.She didn’t want the other guys back here in the spare room to make her feel safe.She wanted him.
“I don’t know what was happening earlier this evening,” she said.“I was left alone most of the day.We quickly left the camp and—”
Tears smarted her eyes, and Knox’s voice was choked.“Don’t cry.”
“I’m not,” she said, then practically melted into him as he gently swiped her tears away.Quinn’s head landed on his shoulder, and he pulled her close, simply holding her for a few moments.She shuddered against him, and Knox tightened his embrace.While he hated the circumstances, she felt so fucking right in his arms.
“You know what I want?”she asked tearfully.
“Name it,” he said, looking intently into her eyes.
