AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"I should have just been done with it after the wedding," he continues, a hint of disgust creeping into his tone. He glances at me and rolls his eyes. "Don't be so fucking dramatic," he says, as if in response to a question I haven't asked. "I wouldn't have iced you. I mean, Ithoughtabout it, but I decided to be nice, you know? I decided to give you a chance, see where this whole ball-and-chain thing took me. And look how that turned out.” He gestures across the dashboard, towards the front of the car. Even slumped in my seat like this, I can see how messed up it is, complete with shattered glass and steam hissing out from busted pipes. "I mean, just look at this shit. The things I do to keep you safe.”
I wipe my mouth with my sleeve, realize I'm bleeding, and wince, but I don't flinch as I force myself to turn to him through my pain. "This isn't about your damned car," I spit. "You've got enough money for a million of these things. This is about your obsession with becoming your dad's precious little golden boy.”
"That'snotwhat it's about," Lucas snaps, slamming his hand against the dashboard hard enough to make me jump. He rounds on me, the wheel jerking dangerously in his hands, and my stomach lurches as the car swerves over the double yellow and back again. Lucas glares at me, a look burning on his face that's almost deranged, and points at me for emphasis. "It's about theprinciple,Vivian." He snorts. "You just don't understand anything, do you? You have no idea what it's like to have power.”
"Power?" I echo incredulously. "You think this is aboutpower? Not your own fragile little ego?”
"Of course it's about power," he snaps. "Do you think I'm crazy?”
"Yes," I reply without hesitation. "You're fucking insane, Lucas, and I should've seen it the day I married you.”
He chuckles to himself, shaking his head like he's trying to explain something to a small child. "I tried to get you to behave. I put a roof over your head, I gave you protection from the other gangs, I sent my own fucking brother to look out for you. I gave you a chance to do things my way, and you couldn't do it. You're too stupid to see what's good for you, Vivian. You're too stupid to see that my way is the only way things ever work. And so is Theo. And the son of a bitch went and messed around with mywife." His eyes dart over to me again, burning in the darkness. "Soyes,Vivian, it's about theprinciple—something I'm sure you don't understand.”
"No, Lucas, you're right," I tell him, swallowing hard as the car jerks again. The discomfort of my injuries is fading in the face of my rising panic, and I begin to feel sick. "I don't know what the principle is. I don't get what your damn obsession with your dad has to do with you trying to kill your own brother, or with you leaving me to fend for myself. I just know that I, and everyone else around me, is expendable according to you. So wherever it is you're taking me, let's not pretend any of this is about keeping me ‘safe.’"
"You've got a smart mouth, Vivian," Lucas says, "but we can do this your way. I think we're past bullshitting each other, don't you?" He smiles at me, a broad, sinister grin that shows all his teeth. "Wearemarried, after all.” He reaches across the console to pat my thigh, and I flinch away instinctively. The pain that shoots through my neck and head is enough to make me want to be sick, but not as much as the thought of Lucas Emmerico touching me. Swallowing, adrenaline making my heart race, I pry my eyes away from my maniac husband and look around at the road ahead. The highway is empty save for a few other vehicles, mostly older trucks and cars, but a passing sign tells me we're on the M3. He's taking me back to London.
Closing my eyes, my mind still clouded from the crash, I fight to imagine what Theo, the charismatic shot-caller, Liam, the combat specialist, or Tristan, the savvy businessman, would do... but I've got nothing. I'm running on next to no sleep, I probably have a concussion, and I have no weapon or way to call for help.
But if he's taking me to London…
I consider the idea, battling the brain fog. All it would take is one passing motorist to see the blood on me and get me away from him. And when the speed limits go down in the metropolitan area… Licking my lips, I allow my hand to creep towards the door handle. The door locks are engaged, but if I can pull mine free, get out quickly enough while the car is still moving…
A sound from the seat next to me shatters my train of thought, sending a surge of terror through me. It's the distinct click of the safety being taken off a gun. I look back at Lucas, half-bracing myself for the deafening bang of the gunshot, knowing that I won't be so lucky this time. Lucas doesn't shoot—hell, he's not even looking at me. His pistol is in his lap, though, and it’s trained on me.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he says. "You're going to get hurt, and I can't promise I'll come to your rescue this time.”
"Lucas..." I croak, fumbling for an argument.
Whatever I was going to say, though, he cuts me off with a jerk of the gun. "Don't, Vivian," he says. "Just don’t."
Slowly, I lower my hand, and as I do, I feel my chances of escape melt away. My throat thickens, but I don't dare let him see me cry, so instead I drop my eyes to my lap and ask the question that scares me the most.
"Where are you taking me?”
"Home, Vivian," Lucas replies. "You and I are going home."
ChapterThirty-Five
The guys
Somewhere not far from the coast, a car that was, just hours ago, being used to get Vivian Emmerico away from Bath now speeds westward. Behind the wheel, his face drawn and his eyes bloodshot from too little sleep, driving faster than anyone would consider safe, Liam Walker sits with his foot on the accelerator. In the passenger's seat, his brown hair tousled from running his hands through it, is Theo Emmerico, older son of Victor Emmerico and recent exile from London. Neither man speaks, but the growing tension in the car is almost palpable. They don't need to say anything; their worry for Vivian is all the communication they need.
It's late into the night by now--soon the sun will be coming up--and they haven't heard a peep from Tristan Archer since he switched cars with them before they parted ways. He was supposed to check in periodically, but his first report to Liam after leaving Bath was the last that they've heard from him.
Theo thumbs through his phone for the hundredth time without seeing a response. He puts it aside, crosses his arms, and although his expression is unreadable, Liam can tell from his friend's body language that he's agitated. "You think something's happened," he says.
"It's been radio silence since we left Bath," Theo replies. "I don't like it.”
"Tristan knows better than to keep us waiting," Liam points out, not mentioning the fact that he doesn't like it either—or that Tristan has always been the most punctual person he knows. His grip on the steering wheel tightens a little.
"So why hasn't he contacted us?" Theo asks. His tone is short, and he knows it, but he can't help it; the woman he loves—the woman theyalllove—has dropped off the radar, and he's worried out of his mind.He can't sit still; if the car weren’t hurtling down the highway, he would get out and start pacing. He glances once more at the clock on the dashboard. "It's almost morning.”
"Maybe..." Liam hesitates, hardly daring to say what's on his mind, like just speaking the words will make it real. "Maybe they ran into trouble.”
Theo's expression darkens, but he doesn't disagree. "Maybe," he says noncommittally.
Liam sets his jaw. "If that son of a bitch managed to get the drop on them—”
