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I remained where I was, my throat closing off. He threw open my door, grabbing my hand. Within seconds, we were running. When several people noticed he had a weapon in his hand, several of them screamed.
Then all hell broke loose, people running everywhere, someone yelling ‘gun’ at the top of their lungs.
He dragged me through the crowd, pushing and shoving everyone in our way. As he headed for a crosswalk, the light turned. “We need to do this,” he growled, throwing a look over his shoulder.
I did the same, recognizing at least one of the vehicles, shocked the driver had managed to follow us given the volume of traffic.
As he jerked me across the street, a car careened in our direction. He tugged on my arm, yanking me onto the sidewalk and into his arms seconds before the car raced past.
“Fuck,” he hissed. Then he took off again, his fingers wrapped tightly around mine. When he pulled us into an alleyway, pushing me hard against the side of a building, I gasped for air.
He shoved his weapon into his jacket then planted his hands on either side of me, dropping his head. Our lips were dangerously close, too much so for comfort. But as the shimmer of lights accentuated his insanely gorgeous eyes, I was pulled into the same trance I always experienced around him.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you, Eden. Not now. Not ever.” He took several deep breaths, ragged and full of explosive passion.
“Why do you care?”
“Because I’m falling hard for you.” He pressed his lips against mine, holding them in place.
For a few precious seconds, there was no other sound but the rapid beating of our combined hearts. I pressed my hand against his chest, darting my tongue inside. The taste of him was bittersweet this time.
My world was crashing down all around me and all I wanted to do was to be curled up in his arms, ignoring the rest of the world. It was crazy, but my mangled life had brought me to this.
To him.
And I couldn’t imagine being without him. Nothing else mattered.
The sharp ring of his phone interrupted us. He reared his head, half laughing then yanked his phone into his hand. “Jameson. Yeah. We’re alive. Meet us at Sharkey’s Bar. I think I can get us there.” He slid the phone into his pocket, staring me in the eyes. “Can you trust me now?”
“I shouldn’t. I don’t have any answers.”
“All I can tell you is that things are not always as they seem. You need to stay right with me. I don’t care what happens. Okay? Just try and blend in.”
I nodded, taking his hand. He led us all the way down the alley to another street, cautiously glancing around the corner before leading me back into the crowd.
We walked a few blocks without incident.
Then another gunshot sounded from far too close and as had happened before, people started screaming, racing away from the corner, running into traffic.
The chaos was worse than before. I struggled to hold onto his hand, my fingernails digging into his palm.
He dragged me for a full block, people bumping into us right and left as he constantly scanned the street. I heard sirens, but that didn’t calm anyone.
Pop! Pop!
The sound was explosive, so close. As soon as I twisted my head, I noticed two men running in our direction. It didn’t matter there was hundreds of people on the street. They were determined to catch up to us.
“Come on. Keep going,” he barked seconds before jerking us around a corner. That’s when my hand slipped from his.
As I was shoved hard, almost tripping, I threw my arms out. That didn’t stop the momentum and I was dragged along with the terrified people backwards for several yards.
“Cruz!” Even though I screamed his name, there was no way it was heard over the yelps of people, the sirens and loud music coming from several bars. I fought my way through the crowd, jamming my elbow into several people until I made it to the side of one of the buildings. Barely able to catch my breath, I rose onto my toes, trying to find Cruz.
He was nowhere to be seen.
Oh, God. No. No. No.
I backed against the brick, gasping for air, the terror making it difficult to focus. I had to get to safety. As I headed toward the open doors to one of the bars, I prayed Cruz would be able to find me.
