Page 166 of Knox Academy Omnibus
The second I break free of the wires I rip the stupid wet shirt from my head and blink in the cold bright February light. There’s only one more obstacle to go. I can do this.
Bastian is long gone as I approach the final obstacle, which is more scaffolding. I feel like I need to cry, but I don’t. No way would I fall apart now, or in front of an audience. But I may just have to lick my wounds a little later.
It feels like there’s still so much electricity coursing through my body that my piss will be steaming for a week. I want to kill the Knox brothers – even Sawyer – for not warning or better preparing me. They didn’t know I’d put in extra training withJasper and Frost. There’s no doubt in my mind that without them, I wouldn’t have even made it halfway around the course.
It’s like the Knox family set me up to fail.
Rage explodes in my stomach. Fuck them. Fuck them all. And fuck Bastian. The fucking cheating bastard.
At the top of the 80 foot scaffolding is another set of monkey bars with a sheer drop below. Fuck. This time, there are hanging chains with a ring at the bottom of each one. I grab the one closest to me, my feet balancing precariously on the ledge. This is a one-shot thing. My hands are wet and slippery.
I notice a small box hidden in the corner and I go take a look. Inside is loose chalk. I rub a heap on my hands, thinking here goes nothing. I make the first two rings and on the third my hand slips. Shit. I swing my body to gain enough momentum to re-grab the ring I slipped from, trying to ignore the drop below me.
I start to hear cheering. Bloody Baxter is shouting out that I can do it and more people join in. I recognise the Knox voices and I swing myself enough to make it across the final ring. I hit the mat at the end with a thud and as I lay on my side panting, I see that three guys have already started coming across, so I hastily scale myself down to the ground and run, imagining all the times that Onyx has chased me in order to ignite that final burst of speed.
The finish line is in sight, and I see Bastian laughing with someone as they high five and slap each other on the back. Anger fuels me across the line and I tackle him to the ground and swing wildly at him, only hurting my hand more as all my training flies out the window.
Large arms grab me roughly from behind and pull me off the bastard who at least looks shocked to have been tackled and socked, by a girl no less.
“Let me go, Onyx!” I shout, but he just carries me away and to a tent set up not far away. The entire Knox family follows andcrowd around me as a team of medics begin to check me over. A warm blanket is thrown over my shoulders and a hot drink is pressed into my hands. Kalen steps forward with a bottle of bourbon and lifts it to my lips. I allow him to pour the burning liquid into my mouth, drinking greedily as I pant hard and try to unwind.
“Well done, Amelie, you came in second,” Monty praises me. He looks far too excited.
“That asshole tried to break my fingers!” I yell at Onyx. “Why the hell did you stop me from breaking his face?”
I don’t give a shit where I finished right now, the red mist has come down now that I’m not focused on the course, and I want that rich prick’s blood.
“You did break his face, sis,” Kalen tells me with a wicked grin. “You smashed his nose. No amount of money or rhinoplasty will ever make that the same again.”
Onyx lets me go and all four of my guys surround me and take a look at my fingers. They don’t look pretty, but I can’t feel the pain. The cold, exhaustion and alcohol has numbed me.
“This is why we don’t let girls get involved,” Grandpa Knox announces in a scathing tone. For a second I think he means because I got hurt, but then he sneers “Girls and their emotions…”
“Fuck you old man! I smashed that damn course,” I snap. “Despite being woefully under prepared by my ‘family’ and apparently the only person in the dark about what today really means. If that asshat hadn’t stepped on my fingers, I would have smoked his ass.”
“Sure you would have, sweetie,” he snorts derisively, leaving the tent. I growl at his retreating form as Monty also follows behind him. I want to fight. I want blood. And I want it to be his.
I start to rant about him being an old wrinkly asshole and raging that I was the only girl which suddenly stops me in mytracks and I look up at the four men covered in mud standing before me.
“You all have some explaining to do,” I chastise them, eyes wide as the realisation actually hits me: I was the only damn girl. Why? “All these guys, all the tattoos and whatever the fuck is going on...”
The guys all exchange apprehensive looks, but they know I’ve got them on the ropes. I’ve more than proved I’m a force to be reckoned with, so they’re going to have to start spilling secrets. And soon.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Slate
I bombed on my time for the obstacle course. Usually Onyx, Kalen, Sawyer and I obliterate everyone. Onyx always takes the winner’s spot because losing is never an option for him. He will push his body to limits a person really shouldn’t. I think Sawyer lets him win, though. The guy’s crazy strong and fast, but also has a heart of gold. He wouldn’t have a problem finishing lower down, so long as he’s only beaten by his brothers.
This year I came sixth. I would have been happy with fourth, but fuckingsixth! My head wasn’t in it. I woke up this morning after a late night being run ragged on stupid errands for Grandfather and less than three hour’s sleep. Onyx had left his computer on with the live stream to Amelie’s room. I couldn’t help it. I watched her push her ass into him, the way she moaned as he flipped her over. I didn’t want to watch any more, but I couldn’t look away either.
I know it’s stupid, but I’m jealous. It should have been me with her, instead of running frivolous errands for Grandfather. He had called early into the party because he needed me to drivehim to see an old friend. We have drivers, but he laid on the guilt, and I had to go help him. I can’t believe that after I finally started getting through to Amelie, I just up and left. What the fuck is wrong with me?
Breaking down her walls isn’t easy, since we fucked up. We would never have hurt her, yet when someone fucks with what's ours, Onyx and I become one. We zero in on our enemy and attack. We thought she was going after our mum. It’s not an excuse for what we did, but it’s a reason. The worst thing is that we were wrong; our mother was after her in such a petty way, we should have known better.
“Stop playing with your cock, we have a party to attend,” Kalen announces, pushing his way into my room at the hotel we’re all staying in for the event tonight.
After the race, we brought Amelie back here. She was dangerously dehydrated and desperately needed to soak her muscles. We all crowded her, fussing over her and surprisingly, she let us. Even Onyx drew her a bath, making sure it had just the right amount of Epsom salts to help ease her aching muscles.
