Free KNOX: Volume 4 by Cassia Leo

1

    Knox

    The gunshot feels like a sledgehammer to the chest. Her aim is impeccable.
    “ FREEZE! Drop your weapon!” she shouts at me from the top of the basement stairwell.
    Both demands are unnecessary. My gun is wedged somewhere underneath my lower back and the wood floor where I’m lying. My shoulders and head are propped up against the wall behind me. I couldn’t move if I tried. I feel as if an elephant has stomped on my torso and made bone soup inside my chest cavity.
    I can feel the broken ribs piercing my muscle tissue. But that’s better than being dead.
    The bulletproof vest did its job. And now, injured or not, it’s time for me to finish doing mine.
    She barrels down the stairs toward me, gun drawn, a steely glare in her eyes, daring me to reach for my gun. She’s got a huge set of balls to rush into this basement, but I’d expect nothing less. The first shot out of Tony’s gun whizzes past her and lands in the mirror hanging from the wall on my left. I close my eyes and turn my face away from the explosion of glass.
    She returns the gunfire, but her aim is much better than his. The gunshot hits Tony’s right shoulder, knocking the gun out of his hand. Agent Verduta rushes into the basement, kicking Tony’s gun away from him with her thick-soled boot. She proceeds to cuff him as he spits vile insults at her.
    Agent Armstrong bounds down the steps toward me, eyes still watery, massive hands clutched around the gun pointed at my head.
    I smile at him then turn my attention to Tony. “I’m not done with him,” I mutter through the pain as I sit up.
    Once I’m standing, Armstrong glances at my gun on the floor, then back at me. He says something about bagging the gun as evidence, but I can’t hear over the roaring rush of blood whooshing through my ears. The pain in my chest disappears as my body floods with adrenaline once again.
    “ WHERE IS SHE?” I roar at Tony.
    Verduta gently lays him on his back as his blood begins to pool on the dusty wooden floor. I rush further into the basement, but chubby Verduta surprises me with the reflexes of a cat. She draws her gun from her holster and points it at my head when I’m just a few feet away.
    “Stay back!” she growls, not an ounce of fear in her eyes. “I don’t give a fuck if you’re assisting in this investigation. I will blow your fucking head off!”
    We stare each other down for a moment. The air is completely still, charged with electricity. My muscles are wound so taut I can hardly breathe. I can sense Armstrong’s huge presence somewhere behind me. No doubt his gun is pointed at the back of my skull.
    I grit my teeth, trying to temper the desperation. I need to find Rebecca. That was the whole fucking deal! If I gave them Tony, they’d let me question him. But I’m sure Verduta knew the moment Tony dropped the bomb that he’s my biological father, she couldn’t leave me alone with him in this basement.
    She was right. If she hadn’t shot me, I was going to kill him. Even despite the deal I made with Geneva.
    I offered to let Tony live if Geneva promised to keep what happened in that warehouse, and my true identity, a secret. Pregnant women are not easy to negotiate with; especially when you’ve just murdered the father of their child. But her silence in exchange for her father’s life was a small compromise to make.
    And now that I know the truth about Tony Angelo’s identity, I’m sickened by another realization. By killing Nico, I killed my unborn nephew’s father. This thought only makes me want to kill Tony even more. If I don’t do something soon, I’ll explode with hatred.
    “ WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?” I demand.
    Tony coughs then lets out a weak cackle. “She’s dead.”
    He continues to laugh. Verduta keeps her gun trained on my forehead as my fists clench at my sides.
    “He’s full of shit, Savage,” Verduta tries to reassure me. “You know it and I know it. Don’t fall for this. Don’t do something you’ll