Page 108 of Play Dirty

The windshield became a blur of white, wipers slashing back and forth like they were trying to keep up with something impossible. The road disappeared in pieces. Lines vanished. Landmarks faded.

Even the sky felt too close.

“Shit,” Sebastian muttered again, from the back.

No one disagreed.

Mercer’s truck rattled beneath us, old and stubborn, the engine grinding low as Ares kept it steady. His hands were locked on the wheel, broad and sure, fingers flexing slightly every time the tires hit something uneven.

We slid. A little at first.

Then a lot.

My breath caught. Ares corrected immediately. No panic. No hesitation.

Just control.

“Relax,” he said.

It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t reassuring. It was a command.

And somehow — that helped more.

I shifted on the bench seat, immediately aware of how little room there actually was. Ares’s thigh pressed against mine, solid and warm. On my other side, Grayson’s arm brushed mine as he leaned forward, peering out the windshield.

“Visibility’s dropping,” he said.

Snow blasted us, head-on. It looked like we were jumping through Hyperspace.

“I noticed,” I muttered.

His mouth twitched. Even now. Like this.

“Seat choice is interesting,” he added quietly. “You always pick the worst possible place?”

“I didn’t see you volunteering to move,” I shot back.

“Didn’t think I needed to.”

That look. The one that lingered just a second too long.

I turned away, because I knew where that led.

The truck lurched again, this time harder. Grayson’s arm shot out — across me — bracing against the dash. His hand pressed just past my shoulder. Close enough that I felt it.

Close enough that my pulse jumped.

Ares didn’t look at either of us. His eyes were locked on what was left of the road.

“Stay still,” he said.

That was it. But something about the way he said it made my stomach go tight.

“Statistically,” Sebastian said, voice steady despite everything, “middle seat has the highest survival rate.”

Grayson and I groaned.

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” I asked.