Page 103 of Beguiled

If a police officer wanted to pull me over for speeding, fabulous.

My plan still intact, I flew off the next exit, still going over forty miles per hour. By the point I made a necessary turn, I’d hit the gas pedal again and was going sixty.

However, my nerves were completely frayed and partially because I wasn’t one hundred percent certain I was going in the right direction to Stash’s house. I kind of knew the area, mostlyfrom the party where I’d been Tawny’s plus one a couple of years before.

Long before I’d started to work at the Chertov Corporation.

Tawny.

Oh, God.

Another wave of sadness spiraled through me, hot and heavy bringing fresh tears. No one deserved to die that way.

While I was hyperventilating, a massive house on my right appeared familiar. Oh, thank God. I was close to the street where Stash lived. I floored the accelerator again, feeing somewhat victorious, an emotion that I knew instinctively I should squelch.

My instincts were spot on because the moment I turned onto his street, headlights shone into my windshield from an oncoming vehicle. The lights were bright enough I couldn’t make out anything. I kept going because there was no other choice.

As soon as it appeared the driver would pass without incident, the person flicked on their high beams.

Instantly, I was blinded, but I caught movement. He was trying to ram me. Everything fell into a slow-motion moment where I had a split second to react.

With a hard jerk to the right, I avoided being hit by the man’s huge SUV, but ramming my car hadn’t been his intention.

Cutting me off so I’d crash into a mailbox and a trashcan was. With a sharp scream, I would thank my reflexes later that I kept control of the vehicle while slamming on the brakes. When it came to a rolling stop, I was pitched forward. I didn’t need to betold the hard thud had done enough damage to my right wheel and tire that I was going nowhere by driving.

My instincts were working overtime. I snapped my head up to see the fucker’s brake lights, the driver coming to a hard stop. Every part of me was shaking and I fumbled with the seatbelt while the asshole spun around so the front of the SUV faced me.

I had about ten seconds or if I were to guess, I’d say I wouldn’t make it to tomorrow. Everything happened in lightning speed at this point.

The seatbelt was off.

The door flung open.

My feet hitting the pavement.

And I took off running.

Obviously, the assailant hadn’t anticipated my quick thinking or actions, the skidding sound made by the tires boosting my adrenaline even more.

Since I hadn’t been hurt, I was able to bolt through the front yard of a house, fighting to keep my sense of direction. There was no time to look back and see if he was chasing me. All I could think about was getting to Stash’s house.

What if he wasn’t there? What then?

My legs ached, but right now, I was thankful I walked so many places. The fear kept me on edge and I rushed through a set of bushes into another yard. If my directions were spot on, once I reached the street, Stash’s house was at the end in the cul-de-sac.

I cut through another yard, hitting the street. I’d gone maybe fifty yards when I heard footsteps.

Stash’s house was just ahead. Maybe I slowed down or maybe my instincts were challenged, but I didn’t expect to feel an electric charge in the air just a split second before a bullet slammed into a tree that was barely a foot from me.

Maybe I screamed.

Maybe I didn’t.

My mind was a horrific blur as I lunged forward, crouching over. Another bullet whizzed by and at this point, I was racing down the long driveway toward Stash’s house.

Security lights popped on and I knew I was screaming as I rushed toward the front door. I could feel the asshole behind me, as if he was right there breathing down my neck. I threw myself at the door, pounding the surface with my fist.

“Please. Stash. Stash!”