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“I couldn’t agree more,” I snapped, while my heart almost pounded out of my chest.
“If Romanov finds out you got shot or murdered and I was the one helping you escape, he’ll have my head.”
I cursed. “Oh, I’m sorry my imminent death is such an inconvenience for you.”
A bubbly laugh followed, grating on my nerves.
“I like you, Bratva Queen.”
“I’m not a damn queen, least of all of a Bratva.”
Onyx tssked me. “You could be, if you wanted to. In fact, you should really consider the position. See, if you were one, there wouldn’t be men chasing you through the woods like you were their prey. Instead, you would order your men to chase them.”
There was the sound of the rapid tapping of fingers on a keyboard.
“Tell me you’re doing something to help me,” I said, ignoring her comment. My legs threatened to give out from exhaustion.
When all the lights on the side of the road went out, I had my answer. My eyes narrowed, adjusting my sight to the sudden darkness.
“Now you have a more even playing field,” Onyx said, her voice oozing satisfaction. “You’re welcome. I also sent a message to your hubbie. The power outage will last half an hour, tops, so your guy better be there to pick you up by then. Just hide your butt somewhere for the time being. Good luck, little queen.”
“Wait!”
She already hung up on me. I dialed her number again, but a recording said the number couldn’t be reached anymore.
Dammit. I swallowed as it dawned on me how precarious my situation was. Perhaps I should have thought this through more. Perhaps I should have acted less impulsive, but dammit, Kristoff had made it impossible for me to stay with him. But at the same time, now, more than ever, I knew for certain that all I wanted was him by my side.
I took a deep breath and ran, pushing away branches, nearly slipping in a mud puddle. My location-determining skills were practically nonexistent, but I did remember seeing a sign for a gas station not too far ahead. There had been lights straight ahead of me.
The sounds behind me had stilled. It helped that I didn’t hear any more gunfire. Sweat dripped down my back and dotted my brows when I finally made it to my destination.
The place was tiny, and aside from a rusty pick-up truck out front, it seemed abandoned. However, the faint candlelight I spotted in the window assured me there were people inside.
I was almost on the verge of collapsing when I pushed open the door and dashed in.
A pimply teenager behind the counter looked up. “Hi there.” His name tag readJoe.
I bent over, resting my hands on my knees.
“Hi.” I needed to catch my breath. Also, I needed to call the cops, but then I would have to explain who had tried to kill me, and why. That could lead to a lot of questions I didn’t want to answer. Even though I had left Kristoff, it was personal business. Talking with the cops was big no-no.
Also, I couldn’t imagine them being here faster than Kristoff. Onyx had said that she’d sent him a message. There wasn’t a speck of doubt that he’d come for me.
“You okay?” the kid asked.
“I just need some water,” I wheezed, and hurried to the cooler to get some. All the while my eyes were fixated on the windows. A few minutes passed by and there was no sign of the men who had been chasing me. I almost relaxed when I saw a flicker of movement outside the window.
“Shit.”
Joe looked up from the isle where he was restocking potato chips. How he managed to do that with hardly any light was beyond me, but I had other concerns right now.
“Does this place have a back entrance?” I asked.
He frowned. “Yeah, why?”
“Could you please lock it?” I scurried to the front door and locked it.
“Um, lady, look, I don’t know what—”
