29. Knox

"Take it down."

"Are you crazy? It's gone viral."

"Thirty-five thousand likes," Jubilee added.

Knox took a calming breath. Don't kill the client. "If you remove it right away, there's a chance Judge Morgan might not see it."

"Chill out, okay? I kind of like it here, so I figured I wouldn't mind doing an extra day of work if the judge makes me."

"That's not the problem. The problem is you have a stalker, and we don't want to be here a day longer than we need to be."

"But that's why you guys are here, right? To keep me safe."

For fuck's sake.

"I get that you want to promote the sanctuary, and that's commendable, but this isn't the way to do it."

"Really? What do you know about social media?"

"Nothing, but I know a hell of a lot about predators. There's no way you're walking down the fuckin' Strip in a bikini. You'll get eaten alive."

Knox had found the girls in the dining room, drinking coffee and eating pineapple slices while they giggled and checked their phones. How long had they spent planning this shit?

"Fine, then I'll hire extra security, but you can't tell me what to do."

Ryder tried to make her see sense. "Moon, this isn't a good?—"

But his words were cut off by Caro's shriek from the doorway. Ah, fuck.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?"

Luna dismissed her freakout with a wave of the hand. Red rag to a damn bull. "Getting more likes for the sanctuary, duh."

"You put a picture of me in that stupid video."

"Yes, well, I was trying to be a nice person and not take all the credit."

"No, you were acting selfish and doing whatever you wanted, the same way you always do."

"How was I acting selfish? I picked a good picture. Jubilee even made your teeth whiter and fixed your hair."

"My ex is a freaking psycho, and if he finds out where I am, he's going to kill me. How many people have seen that video?"

Luna opened her mouth, then thought the better of trying to justify her actions and closed it again.

"Uh, four hundred thousand people on Insta and another quarter million on TikTok."

They'd put the damn clip on TikTok as well? Hell.

Ryder put a hand on Luna's arm. "Moon, get rid of the videos."

"But—"

"Do it right now."

"I was only trying to help," she whispered.

"I get that, but you're putting Caro's safety in jeopardy. Jubilee, can you delete those videos?"

Jubilee nodded, and a moment later, she confirmed they were gone, but rather than saying thank you or strangling Luna, Caro ran from the room.

"Baby, wait," Knox called.

"I have to get out of here."

Now the damage control started.

* * *

Knox found Caro back in the bunkhouse, stuffing clothing, toiletries, and everything else she owned into a backpack. When she said she needed to get out of there, Knox had assumed she meant the dining room, but it seemed she'd been referring to the whole sanctuary.

"Where are you going?"

"Who the hell knows? Anywhere that isn't here."

"Don't you think you're overreacting a bit?"

"No! You don't know Aiden the way I do."

"The video was up for less than an hour, and nobody was watching it to see the staff at a turtle sanctuary. They all wanted to perv over Luna Maara in a bikini."

Walking down the Strip? What the hell was she thinking? Ryder said she wasn't the fame-hungry brat everyone thought she was, but he'd sure been wrong on that one.

"That might have been their intention, but I was still on there, Knox. What if someone saved a copy?"

"You look different now. You used to have blonde hair, right?"

She huffed out an angry sigh. "I need to fix my roots again."

"I'll speak with the cyber team, see if they can work their takedown magic. They might be able to stop the video from spreading any farther than it already has."

"A viral Luna Maara video? That's like trying to fix a burst artery with a Band-Aid."

"Aiden's not going to get here in a day, so let's make a plan. There's no point in bolting with no money, no backup, and no place to go. Does he have any connections to San Gallicano?"

"I'm not sure. We took a trip here once, but we took trips to a whole bunch of places. He likes to travel."

"Tell me more about him. What's his full name? Where does he live?"

"Oh, please. You want me to tell you my secrets so Ryder can spill them to his girlfriend? If he's gay, then I'm the Queen of Spain, but you don't hear me gossiping about other people's personal business."

"Let me speak with my boss, see if Slater can take over my role with Luna rather than providing additional manpower. Then I could get you settled someplace safe instead of you starting over alone." Caro's well-being took precedence over turtle poaching. Knox grasped both of her hands in his, relieved beyond measure when she didn't pull away. "If you let Aiden maintain this hold on you, he wins all over again."

"You'd really help me?"

Knox had come to terms with flying to the Caribbean to fuck her, convinced himself that one weekend a month wasn't a relationship and he wouldn't let himself get too close. But now they were talking about real commitment. Going from dipping a toe in the water to jumping in feet first.

He saw the pulse fluttering against Caro's throat and realised his own heart was beating just as fast. No, he wasn't ready for this, he knew he wasn't ready, but the alternative was losing her.

He wasn't prepared for that either.

And what was the SEALs' motto? The only easy day was yesterday.

"I hear Canada's nice this time of year."

"My budget won't run to Canada. I don't even own a coat."

"Don't worry about the money. Let me look after you."

His words had the opposite effect to the one Knox intended. Caro tugged her hands free and took three rapid steps back. She'd have taken more if the wall hadn't gotten in the way.

Fuck.

"Baby, what's wrong? What did I say?"

"You said exactly what he used to say. I met him after my mom died, and he was all, ‘Caro, don't worry about that. Caro, leave everything to me.' And then he took over my entire life and left me with nothing."

Two weeks. Two weeks since Knox, Ryder, Luna, and Jubilee had arrived at the sanctuary, and that was all the time it had taken to break Caro completely. Guilt was a heavy burden to bear, and Knox would carry it forever if she had to start again from scratch.

"Tell me what you want. Tell me what I can do to help."

"I-I don't know." A tear rolled down her cheek. "What do I want? I used to dream of the whole fairy tale—Prince Charming, a castle, a world of pretty things. But then I realised that Prince Charming was actually the Big Bad Wolf and all the trinkets in the world couldn't make me happy. So now I just want to feel safe." She sucked in a ragged breath. "What about the turtles? And Franklin? He's been so good to me, and if I leave…"

A few tears became a torrent, and Knox gathered her into his arms. He hadn't been looking for commitment, but he'd fucking found it.