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Like what if he wants to kiss me as badly as I want to kiss him?
Mmm.Releasing a little sigh, I unlock the door and step out, fully prepared to offer an apology to whoever I’ve kept waiting. But there’s nobody there and I stop short, confused. Maybe they got tired of hanging around because I was in there dilly-dallying too long. Thinking about a man who’s probably barely given me a second thought today.
As I turn to head back to my seat, a tall man steps around the corner, right into my path, and I bump into him. He’s huge and I bounce off his rocky slab of chest.
“Sorry,” I murmur, looking up into a pair of unfriendly, black eyes. When he doesn’t move out of the way, I try to step around him and mumble, “Excuse me.”
His hand snakes out and wraps around my upper arm. “Come with me, Ms. Sullivan.”
When I don’t respond, only blink in surprise, his fingers tighten and he spins me around, turning me in the opposite direction from my seat—and Dash—and in a heavy Russian accent, he growls a menacing, “Seychas.”
I try to dig my heels in, but he tugs me forward and I’m on the verge of crying out for help when he slides his jacket aside, allowing me a clear view of his gun.
Oh, God.As he escorts me down the aisle, I try sending desperate looks to other passengers, but no one is paying us any attention. He must be one of the men who is looking for the Tantium Force and now he wants to know where it is. I can’t tell him Dash has it, but I have a feeling if I don’t cooperate, there’s going to be a big problem.
And I’m going to be on the receiving end of it.
Think, Lake!Even though I wish Dash were here, he isn’t. I need to stop thinking of myself as a helpless preschool teacher. An image of Fallon fills my head.WWFD?If she were in my position, she’d figure a way out of this. She’d kick this big brute’s ass.
Inspired by the beautiful, tough brunette, I abruptly turn, lift my boot and slam the sharp corner of the heel down on his insole. With a surprised and very pained grunt, he releases my arm and I spin around and run.
With no idea where I’m going, curls bouncing madly, I keep running straight up the aisle, through a door and into the next section of the train. This car is less crowded and a quick glance over my shoulder tells me that Goliath is chasing me down.
Shit.Heart in my throat, I take off like an Olympic sprinter. Without a plan other than to put as much distance as I can between me and my pursuer, I hurry forward, racking my brain. I’m not sure how many cars this train has, but I’m running through a lot of them, getting further and further away from Dash.
And that isn’t good.
As I approach the rear section of the train, I fly through a restaurant and bar area where dishes and glasses rattle on tables, then through a kitchen where a chef is preparing food. Searching for a place to hide, my heart sinks because nowhere looks safe.
A knife sits on the stainless steel counter and I swipe it up and keep running. I can’t imagine using it or ever killing anyone, but Goliath is not putting his hands on me again.No way.
I need to get back up the train to Dash. But, all of a sudden, I reach the last car and stumble to a halt. I walk to the final door that leads to nowhere and slap my palms against the window, the knife clattering against the glass.Now what?I’m trapped in the last train car, watching the track rapidly falling away behind us. Before I let the fear overtake me, I hit the control panel beside the door and it slides open. A cold wind whips inside and I grab a hold of the door frame to steady myself and, at the same time, telling myself this is a really stupid idea.
Maybe not, though. I can feel the train slowing down which means we’re approaching a stop. If I can hop off, I can lose this idiot in the station and then call Dash and let him know where I am.
At this point, it seems like my best option. My only option. Fallon might choose to stab Goliath, but I’m not quite ready to do that. Instead, I step out onto the shaking rear platform, praying that we slow down more. I have no idea how far we are from the approaching station and I don’t think I have enough time left to wait a moment longer. The sound of someone stepping into the final car makes me look over my shoulder. It’s Goliath.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he demands, face screwed up in a scowl. He sees the knife in my hand and grins as he reaches inside his jacket for his gun. Panic spears through me.
Shit.The moment he steps forward, I lift the knife and let it fly. He easily dodges it and I grab the metal ladder beside me and do the only thing I can. I climb up. Probably not the best idea I’ve ever had, but it’s either go up to the roof or throw myself off a train which is still moving far too fast. Because I’m certainly not about to attempt option number three—go back into that car and fight David. I left my slingshot at home.
When I reach the top, I haul myself over the edge and up onto the roof. Staying on my hands and knees, terror slices through me as it belatedly occurs to me that I’m on the roof of a train car barreling down a track at a crazy high speed.
God, I hope there aren’t any tunnels ahead.
The circus train scene fromIndiana Jones and the Last Crusadeflashes through my mind and I’m grateful that there aren’t any lions or snakes below me. Of course, I could use Indy and a whip right about now, but that’s not going to happen.
Crawling forward, my curls whipping around my face, I feel the vibrations through my hands and knees as I stay as low as possible. God, I hope he doesn’t take a shot at me. But I don’t think he wants me dead. Not yet, anyway. He wants to know where the Tantium Force is and he probably thinks I have it hidden somewhere. Which, of course, I do. It’s hidden in Dash’s cargo pants pocket.
“Stop!” he yells above the roar of the wind.
It’s hard to hear above the train’s racket and surrounding noises, so I pretend I don’t hear him at all and keep pressing forward. The end of the car is in sight and I have a clear view now of the station ahead. We’re getting closer, definitely slowing down, but I’m not going to reach the end of this car before we come to a full stop.Figures.
Pausing, I brush a curl off my forehead, glance over my shoulder and see Goliath heading straight for me. But he’s not crawling. He’s upright and walking, stride determined and much faster than I would’ve thought possible.
He’s going to catch me if I don’t move my ass.
Popping up onto my feet, I try not to look down, stretch my arms out to steady myself, and then start to run. My reckless plan is to jump onto the car in front of me and, if I have to, run all the way back up to the front of the train and find Dash, screaming at the top of my lungs once this thing comes to a stop.
