The Devil You Know by Kit Rocha

Author:Kit Rocha
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

KNOX

Knox couldn’t sleep.

It wasn’t the fact that he’d been stabbed. The wound in his shoulder was inconsequential, all things considered. Instinct and experience had helped him there—Knox knew all the least harmful places to take a blade or a bullet, and Mace hadn’t exactly been aiming for maximum damage.

Regeneration tech had already taken care of the issue. His shoulder itched, but Knox had long ago learned how to block out the singular discomfort of artificially healed wounds.

Nina wasn’t keeping him awake, either. She was a warmth at his side, her chin pillowed on his uninjured arm, one of her long legs tossed absently over his. He liked the reassuring weight of her, the tickle of her hair over his skin when she shifted, her slow, even breaths.

He’d never imagined that sharing a bed with someone could be peaceful, not after a lifetime of light sleep and combat awareness. But it was hard not to feel safe snuggled up next to a woman who could fight anyone into the ground. Including him.

No, it wasn’t the stab wound, and it wasn’t Nina. Knox couldn’t sleep because Tobias Richter was winning.

Mace was a perfectly honed weapon aimed at Knox’s most vulnerable spots. He didn’t even have to stab Knox to make him bleed. All he had to do was hurt, and he was doing plenty of that.

Knox flexed his fingers. Most days, he forgot they were flesh over alloy and polymer. But he’d shattered his own bones trying to claw his way to Mace’s side as the medic lay dying. Knox’s dedication to his team was well-known, but after that performance, he’d given Richter a road map to his heart.

Mace was in pain again. There wasn’t even a wall between them this time, but Knox still couldn’t fix it.

And he couldn’t end it. Richter had known that, too. Mace could stick a dozen knives in him, and Knox would still hesitate to act.

He’d already watched Mace die once. He’d die himself before killing him.

Nina stirred, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Knox lifted a hand to stroke her hair. “Am I keeping you awake?”

“No.” She propped herself up on her elbow and leaned over him. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

She wasn’t asking about his shoulder. Nina knew him too well. “This is what Richter counted on. Whether Mace escaped or was released doesn’t matter. This was the whole point—to turn him into a threat I can’t bring myself to neutralize.”

“Well, then.” Nina hummed softly and placed her hand on his cheek. “It’s a good thing we have experience with those.”

He turned his face into her palm and closed his eyes. “Am I doing the right thing?” he asked softly. “Mace is our family. We can take the risk. But you, and Dani, and Maya. If he hurt Maya—”

“We’re practicing risk mitigation, Garrett. So far, he’s stayed far away from Luna, Ivonne, and Rainbow. Maya is never alone with him, and the rest of us are on our guard.

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