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Levi pointed to the van. “Now, Lauren—don’t make me say it again!”
I hustled into the van, where I proceeded to interrogate the driver as he immediately threw the vehicle into Drive. “Have you heard from Ash? Does he have Hannah? Can we follow them?”
The driver sped out onto the freeway, shooting a quick look at the guard riding in the passenger seat. “Can you get her to stop asking questions? I gotta drive.”
The other guard turned to me. “We don’t know anything else, Ms. Taylor. We’re under strict instructions to bring you home. No more questions, please. Let us do our job.”
He didn’t look my way again. Dismissed, I turned from them and scanned the freeway. There was light traffic, no signs of anything amiss, no sirens.
We were abruptly back in the real world. And I had no idea where Hannah was, again.
The guard in the passenger seat must have gotten a text, because he looked at his phone and cursed. “Pull over,” he told the driver.
“What? We’re under direct orders to get back to the Betts property ASAP.”
The guard held up his phone. “Gabriel Betts just texted me. He said to pull over or he’s going to run us off the road.”
The driver swore under his breath as he maneuvered the van to the side of the highway. A moment later, Gabe’s Spyder skidded to a stop in front of us. Gabe jumped out and stalked around the van. He threw open the door and grabbed my wrist. “Let’s go.” He turned to the guards. “We’ll see you back at my place. Stay close. I think I lost my security team back there because I was speeding so goddamned fast to catch up with you.”
Gabe marshaled me to the car, opening the winglike door and practically stuffing me inside. He didn’t say a word until we were back on the freeway, flooring it toward home. From his demeanor, I felt certain that Levi had already caught him up on the details of the botched exchange.
His knuckles were white as he changed lanes, flying above the speed limit. “What the fuck was that back there, Lauren?”
“Hannah wouldn’t come to me. She didn’t want to…trade herself for me.” My voice was hoarse.
The Spyder was going well over a hundred. Gabe passed three cars in a row, weaving in and out of the lanes so quickly that I felt dizzy. “So you volunteered to go too?”
I closed my eyes. “If you’re so interested in keeping me safe, do you think you could slow down a little?”
I felt the car slow, coming closer to the speed limit. I opened my eyes and stole a glimpse at him, but he looked the same—pale, jaw taut, hands clutching the steering wheel.
“Hannah wouldn’t exchange herself for me. Then she offered the guards money to let us both go, but they refused.” I paused for a beat, trying to calm down so I could tell him the rest without bursting into tears. “Then she asked the guard to shoot her. She said she didn’t want to be…a liability anymore.”
“Hannah ha
s a flair for the dramatic,” Gabe said tightly.
“She’s so stubborn. It almost got her killed back there. I don’t know what they’re going to do to her now.” My eyes filled with tears, but I willed them away. I had to stay strong, and I had to get her back before she did something else crazy. “Levi said he couldn’t get a clean shot at the guards without harming her, so that’s why he let them drive out of there. He killed the men who had me, but Hannah’s car got away. Ash is chasing them.”
“I know. Ash’ll find her.” Gabe sounded certain. “I told Levi that you were the number-one priority. He wasn’t allowed to leave you alone.”
I bristled. “My sister is the number-one priority. You don’t have the right—”
“Yes, I absofuckinglutely do.” Gabe cut me off. “You’re my number-one priority, and Levi works for me. I love Hannah too, but I only let you go today because you promised me you’d follow Levi’s instructions.”
“It wasn’t my fault—”
“I don’t want to hear it, Lauren.” His tone was final, unyielding. “You’re not going to be put in a situation like that again. Levi fucked up because he let you get in that car in the first place. He’s going to have hell to pay when I get my hands on him.”
Panic tightened my chest, and not because of what Gabe had planned for Levi. “He didn’t want to shoot Hannah in the goddamned head. Please stop! I have no idea what Li Na’s going to do to her now that this got so messed up.”
He surprised me by immediately putting his hand over mine. “She’s not going to hurt her. That’s her play. Hannah’s the only thing you’d be willing to bargain for. She’s worth nothing to Li Na if she’s dead.”
I squeezed his hand, relishing his touch even though we were both angry. “I know—the problem is, Hannah knows it too.”
“She won’t do anything to herself.” The furious tone drained from his voice. “She loves you too much.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
