Knot innocent knot pmcs.., p.24
Knot Innocent (Knot PMCs Book 2), page 24
With the place mostly clear, Cooper braces his feet apart and crosses his arms. “Now, somebody tell me what the fuck happened here.”
Knot leads the discussion, encouraging Birdie to start by walking us through what happened after she woke up this morning. Talking is painful and difficult, making me wish she would have gone to the hospital.
One of Cooper’s men gives Birdie a bottle of water, but it doesn’t help. Despite the obvious strain on her voice, she’s determined to get through this. “Dolion told me he killed Amelia and several others. I don’t have any other names for you.”
Cooper cuts his eyes to me, and I know what he’s thinking. This is why he wanted Savile alive. He can’t say so because he was the one who ordered Kai to fire, not knowing if he was set for a kill shot or not. “Don’t worry. We’re running through every area of his life. If Savile is a serial as he claimed, he’ll have kept records of some kind.”
Knot speaks up to finish the report, and this is where I get worried. I don’t know how Birdie will avoid leaving here in handcuffs after killing the incapacitated Savile. I don’t think she deserves to, but these cops wouldn’t be interested in my brand of justice.
“After the shot to Savile’s shoulder, he still held onto the chain around Birdie’s neck but was weak enough that Birdie wrestled the knife away. She knocked him back and stabbed him, allowing us to free her.”
The local sheriff bends down, inspecting Savile’s neck, and sniffs. “The way I see it, you wasted the effort. The shot should have gone between his eyes.”
Tucking Birdie’s head to my chest, I nod in thanks to my boss, who maintains his stony expression. His report explains why he didn’t disclose that we had to resuscitate Birdie. Cooper’s face suggests he expected a different story, but for whatever reason, he accepts Knot’s explanation at face value. “You guys get Birdie out of here. I’d still like her to get checked out. Wounds or no wounds, this isn’t over for her.”
Birdie finally lets go of me to approach Cooper. After stretching her sore throat, she struggles through saying, “If you find proof that he killed Amelia, please let me know. Her parents never got closure.”
“I promise. Now, get out of here.”
Knot calls the chopper pilot, who lands in the grassy field by the house a few minutes later. I carry Birdie past the screaming goats and set her inside the cabin, straightening her blanket. From the moment I sit beside her, Birdie’s hand doesn’t let go of mine.
The flight back to the compound is short, with Frank waiting by the helipad to drive us to headquarters. Considering the crowd of operatives and security waiting around the building’s main entrance, Knot orders him to drive to the back.
Spatch holds open the gym door when we arrive, revealing an anxious Sadie waiting on the other side. Chelsea explains that Sadie’s team arrived a short time ago, and the senior operative has been going batshit waiting for word.
The two women embrace, and Sadie leads Birdie to the women’s dorm, with me following close behind. I stand guard outside the door, knowing Sadie is tending to Birdie’s abused skin and helping her dress. Knot and Aaron lean against the wall opposite me, but not before Aaron hands me a shirt. “Hold it,” a new voice calls out as I lift the cotton.
Our staff doctor walks up carrying his medical bag. “Doc,” Knot says in greeting.
“The hospital says that the other guy’s blood was clean,” Dr. Swells reports. His eyes go to the bandage around my middle, and he adds, “I’m told I have someone to stitch up.”
Aaron retrieves a chair for the doctor, knowing I won’t willingly leave my post. Dr. Swells cuts away the bandage, inspects the entry and exit wounds, and nods. “The medics were right. A shot of antibiotics and a few stitches are all you need.”
Swells completes the task quickly and stands. “Now, about this strangulation. I want the victim to get scanned for vascular injury no later than tomorrow. Until then, I assume she’s in capable hands.”
“She won’t be alone for a single breath,” I vow.
The doctor nods and leaves, and I finally pull the shirt over my head and study my boss. “You lied to the cops. You aren’t afraid of that coming back to bite you in the ass?”
Knot gets a gleam in his eye like he knows a secret. “No, I’m not worried at all.”
Since I want him to be right, I don’t press.
Birdie
Sadie scans me from head to toe as I step into the gym. “Oh shit. Are you ok?”
She reaches to hug me, and I hiss with the contact to a sore spot. “Let’s go,” she demands, taking my hand.
We’re quiet as she pulls me toward the dorms. “How much do you know?” I whisper.
Sadie winces at my ruined voice and answers, “Not everything, but enough.”
The men stop at the door, and as soon as it closes behind us, I say, “Don’t yell at me.”
Sadie flexes her neck and clears her throat. “I’m not going to yell. I’m just glad that you’re all right.”
She dusts some imaginary dirt off her clothes and adds, “I’m not even going to ask how you could hide something so monumental and dangerous from your best friend. Nope. Not gonna do it.”
Somehow, this is worse, I think as I gather some panties and leggings from the locker. After using some makeup wipes to remove Bastien’s blood, I slide the clean clothes on and sit on the bed. Next, I pull Bastien’s shirt off, holding the fabric over my breasts. Sadie’s hands drop from her hips, and the fire leaves her eyes at the sight of my abused skin.
“Oh, my god.”
She retrieves the first-aid kit from the linen cabinet and sits behind me. I flinch at the first touch of the cold cream to my back, but the medication in the ointment soon numbs the sting. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really.”
Despite what I said, I spill everything, starting with fifteen years ago. Sadie doesn’t judge or comment and doesn’t treat me like a monster for my role in Amelia’s death. She finishes right as I do and reaches up to brush away a stray hair hanging over my face. “How have you carried this alone for all these years?”
She doesn’t wait for an answer, instead sifting through my locker for a T-shirt. “No bra is going to feel good on those stripes.”
Sadie helps me slide on the soft cotton shirt, and I croak, “Guess I get to jiggle for a while.”
My friend shakes her head sadly, not rising to the bait. “Let’s get you home to rest.”
“I don’t want to go home. Not yet. I kind of hoped I could go to Bastien’s for a while.”
She nods and chews on her lip before saying, “Chelsea told me Bash knew he was going to be shot.”
“What?!” I rasp.
“You were unconscious, and Savile wouldn’t let go. He also had a knife to your heart. The only shot anyone had was with Bastien lined up behind Savile. He told them to take it.”
I laugh quietly to myself. Some monster he is.
Puzzled by my strange reaction, Sadie sits beside me on the bed. “So, you two really…?”
“Yes. I love him.”
“I’m happy for you. I’m happy for you both.” She gets up and moves to open the door. “Laurent, get her out of here.”
Sadie steps aside, allowing Bastien to enter while blocking anyone else from coming in. Bastien kneels when he reaches the bed and cups my cheek. “I’ve never been so scared in my life. You were gone, and I couldn’t find you. We all—”
“I love you,” I interrupt.
Bastien leans back and stares into my eyes, speechless.
“I thought I was going to die, having never gotten the chance to tell you, so I’m telling you now.”
Taking my face in both hands, Bastien touches his forehead to mine. “I don’t deserve the chance to love, but I’ll love you till the day I die. If I am a monster, I’ll be your monster.”
“Then take me home, monster. I’m sick of this place.”
Bastien smiles, a rare, magnificent sight. He helps me put on socks and shoes and collects the rest of my stuff.
The hallway crowd has grown by a couple of people when we exit the women’s dorm. Aaron tips his chin, and Knot squeezes my hand, saying, “I’m glad you’re still with us.”
Bastien removes his keys from his pocket and tosses them to Jackson. What is he doing here? “You drive.”
Jackson tips his chin to me. “Glad you made it back.”
An hour later, we’re both freshly showered and reclined on Bastien’s sofa. I have the added comfort of lying on a large cooling pad while Bastien clears away the remnants of our take-out dinner. Jackson left after getting my stuff inside, his truck having been sitting in Bastien’s driveway.
I tug the blanket higher to combat the chill of the cooling pad, and Bastien soon returns with two beers and a dose of ibuprofen. “Here. This ought to help.”
He settles on the sofa beside me, and I swallow the pills with a sip of beer. “What about you?” I ask as I carefully touch his side.
“I’m fine. Come here.”
Bastien pulls me against him, straightening the blanket and stroking my hair. I soak in his warmth, basking in the safety of being watched over so fiercely. When the pain medicine dulls the stinging, I clear my throat painfully and whisper, “How is it that you found me? No offense, but I figured if I couldn’t find this guy, no one could.”
“You were right. Knot brought in Cle’s team, but they kept coming up with dead ends. I was no help, so I decided to check out your house. Frank went with me, and Cooper met us there. While they looked around, I checked your system and found some recent, disturbing messages from a potential target you dismissed. Cooper went to look for the guy and found that he’d disappeared. That made him our prime suspect, but something about him didn’t feel right.”
He lifts my arm to inspect one of the marks left by Dolion’s belt. “Then, this morning, Jackson came over and gave voice to my doubts. That’s how we came to check the doctor’s car wreck yesterday. Turns out, the florist’s van is what hit him. That led us ultimately to Savile.”
“What came of the other guy?”
“He was found dead in his blue sedan with your clothes. Savile set him up to be the fall guy for your abduction.”
“He didn’t plan on leaving my body to find then.”
Bastien hesitates, not looking forward to sharing his suspicions. “Given his obsession, my fear was that he didn’t plan to kill you at all.”
I believe Bastien’s right, and the thought makes me shiver. It also makes me glad the former SEAL showed up the night he had to scare Predator Tom away. “So, you’re the one who figured it out.”
Bastien shakes his head. “I only trusted your system and asked the right questions.”
“Questions no one else thought of.” I place my hand over Bastien’s heart. “Thank you.”
Lifting slightly, I touch my lips to his cheek and then skim my fingers over his middle to rest over the bulge in his sweats. I shift to reach his lips and wince as the skin on my shoulder pulls. Bastien gently pulls me onto his lap, and I expect to get scolded for my efforts. Neither one of us is in any condition for sex.
Bastien doesn’t lecture me as I expect. He stands, wrapping my legs around his waist, and walks toward his bedroom. “Let me help you.”
I’m genuinely surprised, and my face shows it, but Bastien only shrugs. He holds my gaze and gently places me on his bed. “I need your touch as much as you need mine, but you need to rest.”
“What about you? You took a bullet for me.”
“And I’d do it again,” he breathes.
We’re in our own little world. No abusive fathers or demons can touch us here, and the only monsters allowed are the two of us.
Light pours in through Bastien’s bedroom windows, but I no longer crave the dark unless it’s Bastien himself. My monster stands over me, beautiful and dangerous. He pulls his shirt over his head, revealing the same chest that I’ve fantasized about many times over the last six weeks.
He slowly and deliberately peels back the blanket and slides off my leggings and panties. Bastien’s gaze darkens after spotting my bare mons, and I look away in shame. “He made me.”
I don’t feel him move until he touches my cheek and directs me to look at him again. “It’ll come back, and he’ll still be just as dead.”
He helps me remove my shirt and stands over me again, drinking in my body, welts and all. I beg him with my eyes to return the favor, and Bastien shoves his sweats to the floor. God, he’s sexy. I shiver in anticipation, and my monster gives me a secret smile, acknowledging the hunger between us.
“Please touch me,” I whisper.
Bastien drops a knee to the bed and crawls to hover above me. Gentle fingers explore, mapping all the contours and curves of my skin. Each touch to my sensitive areas elicits a gasp and sigh, heightening my desire.
My lover drops his head, tracing his lips over my collarbone, between my breasts, and down to my hip. At times, his touch is as light as butterfly wings, but the lower he goes, the more passionate his kisses.
Skirting past the place I need him most, Bastien picks up my leg, dragging his lips across the sensitive skin of my inner thighs. He swipes out with his tongue, and a rush of chill bumps erupts all over my body when he blows over the area with his hot breath. I whimper, a broken sound, as my body reacts, aching and burning to be filled. Bastien treats my other thigh to the same torture before finally dipping his head to my center.
Bastien slowly licks up my slit and circles my clit. Hoarse moans spill from my lips, sounding like glass shards grinding together. I arch off the bed as the pleasure intensifies, racing toward climax.
I’m glad to still be alive, relieved to experience this without fear, and thankful that Bastien showed up before—stop it, Birdie. Do not go there. To keep from returning to that barn, I force my eyes open and lift my head, watching Bastien plunder my body.
Bastien lifts his eyes, meeting mine, charging the air with electricity. His stare lingers as he spears me with his tongue and then drags it lazily back up my slit. Lightning strikes when Bastien latches onto my throbbing nub and sucks hard.
An orgasm slams into me with such force that it steals my breath. My mouth opens in a silent scream, and my body twitches with the lightning coursing through my veins.
Though I barely have the strength, I reach out and graze my fingernails over Bastien’s scalp. He places one last sensual kiss on my sensitive clit and rolls his head against my rasping nails.
The fire within me hasn’t been quenched. Not even close. I should be sated by the powerful release, but I’m not. I want more. I need more. With my body still convulsing, I claw at Bastien to bring him closer. He comes willingly, rolling onto his back at my request and giving me free rein to explore.
Bastien groans and throws his head back at the first touch of my fingers to his rock-hard dick. Right then, I feel powerful and vulnerable in equal measures. Bastien surrenders to me, and soon, my soft touches settle into an instinctual rhythm.
Driven by my lover’s ragged moans, I give in to curiosity and lower my head to taste him. A few shy licks have Bastien’s whole body shuddering, and the next thing I know, I’m on my back again.
He powers inside me in one forceful thrust and then holds himself still as death. Though I had gasped at the sudden, violent intrusion, I now sigh and drop my head back.
This experience is more than physical. I’ve never felt more connected to another human being. Only Bastien knows the real me. And he accepts me anyway. “I love you, Bastien,” I whisper.
Bastien lowers his head to murmur against my lips, “It’s you and me now, Birdie.”
“You and me,” I agree. “Now, take me to heaven… or hell. I don’t care.”
Thanks for reading Knot Innocent. Coming up next is Knot Yours, featuring former Ranger trainer, Austin “Spatch” Madden. Spatch falls for a lovely Latina with ties to the Puerto Rican mob. Though she’s done her best to escape that life, there’s one man determined to pull her back in.
If you enjoyed Birdie and Bash’s story, consider leaving a review.
To see a complete list of books by Jo, check out her website www.jochambliss.com
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Jo Chambliss Books
Ranger Mine series (read in order)
Remember Me - Omen & Sam
Forget Me - Squid & Erin
Lose Me - Shark & Ava
Find Me - Hyper & Cle
Waterproof Navy SEALs
(can be read in any order)
Shatterproof - Fish & Willa
Flameproof - Devil & Rory
Crashproof - Bandaid & Charli
Blastproof - Wrench & Everly
Soundproof - Hawk & Cailyn
Fadeproof - Ink & Dallas
Escapeproof - Judge & Iyla
Foolproof - Skin & Mira
Bulletproof - O’Reilly & Cass
Knot PMCs
(can be read in any order)
Knot Guilty
Knot Innocent
Knot Yours
Acknowledgements
To my editor, Rose. You are one of the best teachers I’ve ever had the privilege of working with.
About the author
Jo is a multi-time Amazon bestselling author of romantic suspense featuring badass heroines and simp-worthy alphas.
She earned her degree in interior design, and after a successful career, finally found what she wanted to be when she grew up. So, at age 37, she took up writing in her favorite genre, romantic suspense.
Her crazy life in Alabama revolves around her husband, two kids, and two cats.
Jo’s first series, Ranger Mine, is set near her childhood hometown in St. Clair County, Alabama. The series is a journey of eight people that begins with Sam and Chase, young and in love but separated by a dangerous enemy. As they find their way, they bring others along for the ride who then live their own harrowing adventures.
