Page 41 of Take Her from You

If he wasn’t already at the hangar, my colleague would need to get there, set a flight plan, and agree a touchdown location with me. I’d take a diversion, leading Mr Orange Truck in a different direction so he didn’t know the ultimate destination had been north.

I’d get Mia and Tobi there, see them away safely, then it would be just me and the pursuer, one-on-one. Exactly the way I liked to handle bullies.

“Can we stay with you?” Mia asked.

I peered back at her, furrowing my brow.

She continued, her gaze beseeching mine. “Would that be okay? The idea of leaving you is…” She slid a glance at her daughter. “What I mean is I feel safe here. With you. I don’t think I would if we had to get out of the car.”

That same feeling hit my chest, an arrow to a bull’s-eye, burrowing deep. It wasn’t a comfortable sensation, but somehow, I couldn’t say no. I couldn’t refuse the woman anything.

I tore my gaze away and adjusted my plan once more. “If ye want. That means losing the jerk ourselves, and possibly taking longer to get home.”

“I’m good with that. You’d have to do it anyway, right?”

“What’s a jerk?” Tobi asked.

A choked laugh flew from Mia’s lips. “Someone we don’t like, baby.”

I could’ve apologised, but fighting with the strange emotions threatened my focus. Bolstering myself against it, I put everything into finding an escape route. My car had a panel with a mapping system, so I turned it on and, with one eye on the road, paged through the map.

What I needed was an exit into a town with the right kind of streets to lead the orange truck on a dance. I’d done this before, and it was a thrill playing a cat-and-mouse game.

Luckily for us, the city of Perth wasn’t far ahead. I put my foot down until we reached it, easing off the roundabout into the outskirts, our speed coming down but my heartrate still flying.

A business park was my destination.

I killed the lights and ignored the first two car parks, spinning the car into the third—a much bigger one with trees and hedges and a good amount of vehicles already parked. A space between a van and a chunky Range Rover made our hiding place.

With the engine off, silence reigned.

I watched the road beyond the hedge, waiting for my quarry.

Lights cruised down the road.

I squinted into the dark. The sky was brightening to purple at the edges, the coming dawn making it harder to see, but it didn’t obscure the spectre of the orange truck. The driver paused at the entrance to our car park, stalling to have a good look. We’d got into our bay in time to not draw the eye—the strategy of not picking the first turning paying off—but if he entered and drove around, he’d spot us.

And the fucker wasn’t moving on.

We needed a distraction.

Tobi started to say something, but her ma hushed her with a quiet word. Abruptly, I snatched up my keys. Passed them back to Mia.

“Lock the doors after me. I’ll be right back,” I uttered.

“What are you doing?”

“Keeping ye safe,” I promised then closed them in.

Icy air curled around me. I’d boosted the heat for Tobi and Mia’s sake, so the wintery blast sharpened my senses.

I paced towards the entrance road, keeping concealed behind the rows of cars as I scanned my surroundings for something to use. An opportunity.

A second car passed the orange truck. White with a siren on the roof. The markings snagged my focus for a beat. No, not a police car. This was even better—a security patrol.

It cruised into my car park and towards me. I flagged it down, keeping on the offside to the road.

The driver drew up alongside and lowered his window. “Can I help you?”

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