The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress
[Book 2] Chapter 25

Knox POV

"You're not fooling anyone you know. You haven't stopped staring at her" lan drawls as we munch on sandwiches and sip at soft drinks.

I glare at him. He chuckles "still going to deny it then? What a surprise" he shakes his head softly "she is beautiful" he murmurs as I stiffen "maybe I'll ask her out" he adds and I throw a sandwich at his head, lan just dodging to the side in time for it to sail safely

past him. "Don't even think about it" I snarl.

Great, now I was acting like a caveman when it came to Lorelai. f*****g great. No wonder lan was smirking at me. I was acting like an i***t. No other woman had ever made me act this way. I bit into my sandwich, imagining it was lan's head, and grinned silently to myself. What was taking Lorelai so long? I glanced uneasily towards the doorway. lan noticed.

"Relax" he admonished leaning back in his chair "she's probably just reapplying her makeup or something stupid like that." I frowned at him. He made it seem like all women were vain and shallow creatures. I happened to know that Lorelai was selfless, caring, and compassionate. I opened my mouth to retort something back to him when there was a large knock at the door. Why was Lorelai knocking when she knew that it was just us in the conference room? I opened my mouth to say something when she uttered two words that had lan and I scrambling to our feet and glancing at each other uneasily.

"Mr Roscoe."

I knew instantly what she was trying to convey as did lan. She must have read about the protocol in one of the files she was updating. She made it seem as though she was giving a security word and I gestured to lan to remain in the centre of the room while I got behind the door. How this person, whoever they were, had gotten beyond security was beyond us but right now our priority was saving Lorelai along with our own asses.

"Great job remembering the security word Lorelai. Come on in."

I keep my voice calm. I nod to lan who is just as cool and composed. The door swings open. I keep my body plastered against the wall as the gunman walks in with their weapon held against Lorelai's back. She's shaking as she faces lan and I can see the paleness of her pallor.

"I take it that you blame us for your daughter's misdeeds?" lan's voice is matter-of-fact as he faces off against the last person I would have suspected capable of doing such a thing. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Jo bn ib.com. Visit J obn I b.com to read the complete chapters for free. Charlotte's mother Karen had disappeared when her daughter died, grief-stricken and unable to look anybody in the eye. She was back now and clearly, she was out for vengeance against those she blamed for her daughter's death. Would she blame Grayson and Flair as well?

Lorelai winces. "You and Knox are the reason she was caught in the first place" Karen's voice is almost a screech as she brandishes the weapon in the air and lan merely looks at her as though she is something to be pitied.

"What she did was what got her put behind bars or in the psychiatric hospital in the first place, not us," lan said evenly, causing Karen's anger to rise.

I close my eyes. Thanks, lan. You couldn't just keep your mouth shut and go along with her, for the sake of appeasing her? I moved forward slightly. If I didn't time this right, there was every chance that Karen would shoot Lorelai or lan by accident. I clenched my jaw. "You just had to get involved" Karen's voice was filled with bitterness "You gave all the evidence they needed. She had a chance, to get away and you put the nail in the coffin."

I could see the confusion on Lorelai's face. This was our fault. We had gotten her into this situation. How the f**k did Karen manage to get past security? They were going to have to answer to me and lan when this was all said and done. I tensed. "Let Lorelai go. She's innocent. She has nothing to do with this" lan growls.

Karen puts the barrel of the gun against Lorelai's head. "No, in fact, I think I might shoot her in the head. See the look on your face when you see her head explode right in front of you" she mocks as I inhale sharply "See the devastation on your face when you realize you're responsible for an innocent woman's death."

Lorelai is quivering now but keeping her composure. I marvel at her inner strength. I would have thought she'd be sobbing and pleading for her life by now but instead, she remains quiet.

"Karen, you pull that trigger and you're a dead woman" lan growls, his face turning mutinous.

I knew that innocent woman remark would unhinge him. f**k. Now he looks like he's about to tackle Karen, damn the consequences. s**t. I give him a sharp glance, but he doesn't even glance towards me.

"Did that strike home lan?" Karen's voice is mocking "She's a beautiful girl" She turns and motions towards a silent Lorelai "Tell me are you or Knox f*****g her?"

Her voice is deliberately crude. Ian tightens his lips. She glances around "Tell Knox to step out or I shoot her."

I hesitate but she points the gun right at Lorelai and c***s the safety trigger. I quickly walk out and stand next to lan. She eyes me with a smug expression on her face. "There you are, how like you to be a sly little snake and try to hide behind me" she spits out. Lorelai's eyes are filled with terror but there's something else there too. Another expression I can't read. There's a hint of anger and defiance on her face. Karen seems oblivious to her hostage's rising anger as she faces the two of us. Her eyes are glinting with triumph. She has us right where she wants us. She must have been planning this for quite some time. I knew I should have kept tabs on her instead of leaving her be.

"Your anger is with me and lan," I say, fixing my gaze on Lorelai whose body is tense "Not Lorelai, let her go."

She laughs. "Let go of my only bargaining chip? You know I'm not that stupid" she sneers.

"Karen, your actions have already labeled you a dead woman. Do you really want to take an innocent girl with you?" lan's voice is steady and filled with contempt. "You killed my daughter" Karen breathes, her hand shaking as she puts her finger on the trigger.

"She killed herself" lan corrects as Lorelai's eyes widen.

"She would never have done that if you hadn't given the prosecution everything they needed" Karen screamed, the gun shaking wildly in her hand. Lorelai eyes me. She's trying to silently communicate with me. She mouths some words and I struggle to comprehend what she's trying to say. 'Shoot the hostage."

Is she nuts? How did she think that was going to work? I just shoot her so that Karen doesn't have any leverage. I wasn't going to hurt Lorelai, there had to be some other way of getting the upper hand in all this. I just needed to wait for the perfect opening. Ian was doing the same, his eyes narrowed as he patiently waited.

Lorelai's mouth twists into a grin. Karen's hand begins to move but Lorelai moves quicker. She grabs the arm with the gun and shoots herself, in the shoulder, dropping to the ground as Karen lets out a scream, completely unprepared for her hostage to do such a thing. Ian tackles her to the ground while I yank the gun from her hand and kick it across the floor. I grab my cell phone and notify security instantly, before crawling over to Lorelai who is hardly breathing. "Lorelai," I said, pressing my hand against her wound.

I heard a sickening thunk and looked over to see that Karen was unconscious. I suspected that lan had hit her head against the floor as he joined me beside Lorelai. "How is she?" he asked.

Lorelai's eyes were closed. I put a finger on her pulse. It was racing. "Still alive," I said exhaling "but there's a lot of blood" I added, watching as it drenched my hand.

He frowned "What on earth was she thinking?" he said, shaking his head as he sat back and watched security swarm the room, quickly taking Karen into custody and cuffing her while medics were rushing over to us. "She told me to shoot the hostage" I mumbled as lan frowned at me "I guess as a diversion it worked.

"Yeah" lan agreed, as she began to get put on a stretcher and I was forced by paramedics to let go of her, "as a diversion it worked well. I would have preferred a different way" he added with a low growl and hooded eyes. "I'm going with her," I told him, as he watched silently "See if you can contact her family."

He nods. "Take good care of her" he advises me as I begin to walk behind the stretcher, following it towards the lift "She just saved both our asses" he added in a low tone.

She had, I thought grabbing her hand as the lift closed. Not only had she saved our lives but she had sacrificed her own life in order to do it. My head was in a spin. That wasn't just loyalty. It wasn't just going above and beyond a job. My heart felt like it was being torn in two. Lorelai had risked everything on my and lan's behalf to keep us from being shot. We owed her more than just gratitude, I thought reaching over and stroking her face as the life began to descend, we owed her our lives and then some. We climbed into the ambulance. The paramedic gave a low whistle. "Your girlfriend is extremely brave" he tells me as we begin to take off and I can't answer past the lump in my throat.

She's not my girlfriend, but suddenly I wished she was. This girl more than anyone had touched me in ways that nobody ever had or could. I took her hand and held it, while the paramedics continued to work on her, cursing Karen Deluca in my mind. I thought that Karen would be gone from our lives for good. Never could I have anticipated the actions she had chosen to take today. It just goes to show what anybody is capable of when they feel like they have been wronged.