Fight for Me by Jessica Linden Read Free Book Online Page B

share with them. Then Knox frisked him, coming up with a knife and a wad of bills in addition to the silver revolver.
    “Who’s X?” Natalie asked.
    Knox looked up at her, then strode to the second guy to strip him as well. He came up with another gun and more cash.
    “I’ll tell you later. We need to go,” he said. “Even in this part of town, someone might call the cops. And X will start to wonder what happened to his men.”
    Natalie looked back and forth between the two downed men. They knew Knox and knew him by name.
    “Come on,” he said, taking her hand. “I promise I’ll tell you everything once we’re safe.”
    She almost laughed at that word.
Safe.
Would they ever be safe again?
    A feeling of dread settled over her as she jogged alongside Knox. She had a feeling things were going to get much worse before they got better.

Chapter 4
    They ran three blocks south, deeper into X’s territory, before cutting over and making their way back to the north side.
    Natalie clutched her side, but Knox didn’t bother to ask her if she was okay. She’d more than likely bruised some ribs—a pain he knew all too well. He also knew she wouldn’t admit to the injury if it meant slowing down.
    She was a lot tougher than she looked.
    He stopped, looking up at a hotel that was a definite upgrade from the lodging they’d just come from. It wasn’t quite far enough north to be too upscale, though.
    “This will work,” he said. He’d prefer to hole up in an abandoned apartment or somewhere where they didn’t have to deal with people, but Natalie needed to rest. Plus the longer they stayed out in the open, the more susceptible they were to another attack.
    Although they hadn’t been in the open a moment ago.
    Knox clenched his jaw. That was too close of a call. He should’ve killed the guy for laying a hand on Natalie.
    It was his fault. Those were X’s men, goddammit. They were after
him,
not her.
    If he had any damn sense, he would have skipped town. He’d been so close to starting a new life, free of X. Figures the one time he stops to do the right thing, it causes him even more trouble.
    But how could he have turned a blind eye? Natalie couldn’t have fought off that guy on her own. One woman had already lost her life because he hadn’t been able to fight off her attacker. He couldn’t have another on his conscience.
    It was more than just that, though. The more time he spent with Natalie, the more bewitched he became. And the less he wanted to leave her.
    The guy’s comment about Natalie troubled him, though. How did they know who she was? And why would X care? Unease tugged at his gut.
    “Okay,” Natalie said, taking a deep breath. “I’ll get a room.”
    “No, I’ll do it. Now that we’re on the north side, I doubt anyone will recognize me. Come in, but keep your face hidden.”
    Natalie nodded and ducked her chin, letting her hair swirl around her face. When they entered the lobby, she went to the far side and picked up a magazine, leaving Knox to deal with checking in.
    “Need a room?” the desk clerk asked.
    “Yeah,” Knox said. “First floor.”
    “Fill this out.” The clerk shoved a form across the desk and returned to playing with his smartphone.
    Knox picked up a pen, pausing briefly at the first line labeled NAME. Hopefully this establishment would take cash and not require an ID.
    Natalie tugged at his sleeve. He shifted to block the clerk’s view of her and glanced down to find her eyes wide and her face pale. She nodded at the television mounted behind the desk.
    The sound was muted, but her picture flashed on the screen with the caption: REWARD: MISSING SOCIALITE.
    So that was how X’s men had recognized her. And soon X would know they were together.
    Fuck.
Just what they needed. Another complication. He cursed himself under his breath for not killing those guys.
    The big question now was whether the reward was big enough to warrant X’s attention. Of course, he might seek out