“How far out are you?”
“Ten miles east.”
“See you in five.”
As quickly as he answered the phone, he hung up, the line dying, my phone lighting up the side of my face. Dropping the damn thing into the cup holder, I look over at Nadia and see she’s caught on.
“You called in a distraction?”
Smart girl.
“Yes ma’am. You ready for this?”
“Fuck…I hope so.”
The pedal is on the floor, the officer no longer flashing his lights, and barely keeps up for miles, then I see it. Those stupid fucking running lights Fuentes has on Bitch Maker and…
“Kaleb…” Nadia’s voice tightens when she sees what I do.
“Fuck!”
The asshole is running up the wrong side of the damn highway! Heading straight for us at breakneck speeds, whipping by what few cars there are on the road.
“KALEB!”
Chapter eleven
Nadia’s cry for me has my heart stuttering—something’s wrong, the tone and slight shake in the pitiful sound is all wrong.She’s terrified. Glancing over, I see her struggling with her harness and son of a bitch! It’s not on, one shoulder strap’s hanging loose and twisted in the metal clasp as she desperately tries to get the other buckled in time. It’s unsafe, dangerous even, and not the type that either of us prefers. If we go off the road, it will kill her.
Shit!
Steadying the wheel as much as possible, I reach over and swat her fighting hands away. I don’t give a fuck if the straps are twisted in the buckles, it needs to be tightened; right now. Especially with Fuentes’s crazy ass leading us into the possibility of a head-to-head collision. Not only that but we’re in the fucking country and though I haven’t concerned myself with it until now, there’s no telling if something will jump out in front of us before the maniac makes it here.
This is going to hell real fucking fast, true fear is taking root and I don’t know what to do to ease it. Outside of thetrooper and Fuentes, if more first responders appear we’re done for. What the fuck happens if we crash and she’s ejected? Zap and I planned for it but it’s not enough when you’re staring the possibility in the face. That’s why we installed these damn harnesses but hers, it’s failing her. I can’t, no, I absolutely will not lose control right now. It’s not an option when I have invaluable cargo.
With her hands out of the way, I grab the strap's tongue and yank with all of my strength. Stupid thing refuses to budge at first, then I yank again. My muscles burn from my shoulder down to my mechanic’s grip the longer I hold on and force the strap through the tight metal binding. The car swerves when it gives way, cinching down across her hips, and my body jerks to the side.
Both hands back on the steering wheel, they white knuckled the hard circle as Fuentes quickly approaches. This part of the highway is two-lane but moving at these speeds, and banked with trees on both sides, it’s going to be a breath holding-tight fit.
Two miles away.
One mile away.
His lights die out, killing half of the brightness between our cars, taking the brunt of the blindness as Nadia and I hold our breaths. The seconds tick by in painfully slow increments; inches disappear in still shots rather than motion. It’s said you relive the greatest moments of your life in the last seven minutes of brain activity—this is not that. This is a train wreck happening in real time and I can’t look away; absolutely zero self-preservation.
In a flash, time fast forwards—I see Fuentes’s stupid fucking face as our cars squeeze by one another with a cartoonish like stretch, followed by the blur of his running lights streaking through the left side of my vision.
Snapping my eyes to the rearview, I see the officer drastically slow down, distance and the night’s darkness devouring what’s left of his headlights. I can’t look for long, the road is moving too damn fast for me to be distracted for too long—she keeps watching the encounter behind us though, taking note of the ballsy move Fuentes made.
She lets out a sigh, turning back in her seat once the red and blues finally race after Fuentes instead–asshole will be on me for that favor before I know it. Actually, I give him twenty-four hours before he’s hitting my phone and needing me for some sort of ride along.
Between him and Emmett, I’m going to end up in jail–something I’m sure Uncle impatiently waiting for. He’ll use the time to make an example out of me. What not to do in our family, how not to embarrass my Ma, etcetera. If anyone is going to show up in the headlines as a disgrace, it will be him. How? I don’t know, but I know it’s coming and believe me, I look forward to the day.
Focused, my hands hold the wheel at ten and two, we’re both doing our best to come down without an adrenaline crash. Surprisingly, a giddy laugh at my right startles me. Nadia’s head is leaned back against the headrest, and she’s fucking losing it. Heavy breaths expand and deflate from her chest when she gasps only to keep laughing. That’s it, she’s gone completely insane.
I mean, I know we have been on multiple adrenaline highs tonight but she’s at her crashing point, frankly, so am I. The moment she gets home, and crawls into her too-small bed, she’s going to pass out. For how long, who knows, but I won’t be shocked if it’s for a good ten to twelve hours like she’s just come off of a forty-eight-hour acid trip. She deserves it though. Of everything I’ve put her through tonight, her falling asleep in the safety of her bed is the least of my concerns.
“What’s so funny, sweetheart?”
