As soon as she laid eyes on Kaiden, and saw that he was safe and unharmed, Katie relaxed. For a second, she forgot about the six inch blade pressed against her kidney as she yelled and waved both hands at the men. "Kaiden!"

She saw Kaiden look up at her and thought she saw his tanned skin go pale.

"Shut up!" Nathan snapped. "You know these yahoos?"

Katie looked at him, refusing to give up any information that might help Nathan or put Kaiden in danger.

"Great! Flipping fabulous! I take my first hostage and she knows the cops I'm trying to blackmail." He shoved Katie forward. "Move it. Maybe your boyfriend cares about you enough to let me go without any more trouble."

"He's not my boyfriend." Hopefully that would help the situation somehow.

"Of course not. What was I thinking? No way a guy like that would want a girl like you anyway."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Katie stopped and turned on Nathan. "What is wrong with a girl like me? You used to love me!"

Nathan's cold laugh gave her chills. "Seriously, Katherine? You actually believed I loved you? You're even more naïve than I thought you were!"

"Then why…?"

Nathan jabbed her with the knife. "Keep walking. I'm not missing my flight."

The brothers were moving in closer, each one now posted up behind one of the two SUVs in the driveway.

"You okay, Katie?" Kaiden called out.

"I'm fine!"

"She'll be a lot better if the two of you would back off and let me get to my truck!" Nathan called back.

"Not happening!" Keegan shouted from his spot behind the far SUV.

"You haven't answered my question." Katie stopped walking again.

"What question?" Nathan poked her hard. This time she felt the tip of the knife graze her skin. He had cut the fabric of her shirt.

"Why you wasted all that time with me."

"It was all part of the plan, baby."

"Awfully intricate plan to steal some bacteria. You could have just screwed Mandy and skipped right over me."

"There was so much more to it than that but you wouldn't play along. So, I had to find someone that would."

They were at the edge of the driveway. Kaiden and Keegan had their guns pointed at Nathan. He grabbed her and pulled her in front of him, pressing the hunting knife to her neck. Katie felt the sting of the blade as it cut into her.

"Nathan! Stop! You're hurting me!" she cried.

"Shut up already, Katherine!"

"Drop the knife, Marks!" Kaiden stepped out from behind the van, his face hard but his eyes filled with concern. "Let the girl go and we can talk!"

"No way, man! She is going with me one way or another, so if you prefer she leave here alive and with her head attached you will get the hell out of my way and let me leave!"

He pressed the knife tight to her neck this time. Katie felt a trickle of warmth run into her shirt. "Kaiden! Let him go, please!"

Kaiden suddenly stepped back, lowering his weapon. "Kee! Let them go!"

Keegan cursed but did what Kaiden asked.

Nathan dragged her to the SUV and shoved her in through the driver's side before climbing in behind her. He turned the key that hung in the ignition and threw the truck in gear. They peeled out of the drive in a cloud of dust and dirt and rocks.

Katie caught a glance of Kaiden in the mirror. There was a fierceness in his expression she'd never seen before.

Nathan had snapped. He would never let her out of this alive. Katie had to find a way to get out of that truck, even if it meant throwing herself out of it.

"Don't get any crazy ideas. You'll kill yourself. I'm going way too fast."

Did he read her mind?

"Come on, Katherine, don't look so surprised. We were engaged, I know how your brain works."

"What difference does it make? You're going to kill me anyway." She reached up and felt the blood on her neck.

"After all our history together, you fathom me a cold blooded killer?"

"Mandy's dead."

"She was stupid. She didn't know when to shut up."

"So, you killed her."

"She had an accident."

"An accident. Right."

She glanced over at the speedometer and gasped. The truck sped along at nearly one hundred miles per hour. "Nathan, slow down! These roads can't handle this kind of speed!"

"Shut up, Katherine!"

"You keep saying that and I am sick of it! Pull this truck over now and let me out! Go catch your plane but leave me alone! You and your little scheme have already ruined my life! What else do you want from me?"

"Ruined, huh? It seemed like you and little cop man back there are pretty tight. Things can't be all that bad."

The road curved suddenly and Nathan slammed on the brakes. Katie threw herself across the seat and grabbed the steering wheel with one hand while slapping and punching at Nathan's face with the other.

"Stop it, Katherine! You're gonna kill us both!"

"Good!" She jerked the wheel to the right, the tires of the truck slipped on the gravel of the shoulder and the SUV rolled over. Once, twice, three times the truck flipped before she lost consciousness.