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If the urgency in his tone didn’t alarm me, I would have blushed. Now, I tried to keep the panic from sweeping over me.
Marc struggled to sit, forcing me to climb off him. “What’s happening?”
“Get dressed, we have no go, now.”
Marc’s curses matched my feelings, but unlike him, who got out of the bed with no shame of being seen naked, I covered under the blanket, hoping Johnny would take the freaking hint.
“A little privacy?” I hissed, and he muttered an excuse while turning his back. I stared at him, then bolted out of bed and across the floor to the bathroom. Inside, I stood gaping in shock a few moments before getting myself together, then I snatched the dry clothes from the floor. Not bothering with underwear. Dressed in jeans shorts and a light pink top I was back with the guys in less than minutes.
Marc zipped up a pair of black trousers, and I tried not to stare at the bulge he couldn’t hide. Johnny threw a white shirt around his shoulders. It hung loose over the injured arm, reminding me of the missing sling, but now was not the time to bring it up.
“Johnny!” Marc called out as he rushed toward the door. “You got it?”
“Got it.”
I grabbed my purse and ran after them to the awaiting car. Marc and I barely had time to settle into the back seat before Johnny hit reverse. The car spun so fast I nearly puked from the sudden motion, and Marc winced.
“For God’s sake,” he snapped. “Can’t you—” His eyes darted to something outside the car, and it wasn’t until he screamed at Johnny todrive, that I noticed a group of men in black suits leaving a car that came to a sliding halt and ran straight toward us.
“Shit!” I shrieked. Johnny got the car around, and during the brief shift from reverse to drive, the men closed in on us. Then he hit the gas, and I flew back. Glued to the seat, I tried not to scream as the sound of gunfire blasted outside the window.
I never thought I’d appreciate Johnny’s reckless driving. But it turned out being chased down by a group of people trying to kill us required skills—and courage. He had both. Plus, anot-giving-a-shit-about-the-lawattitude that gave us an advantage as he blew past several red lights and dodged between slow cars.
If I didn’t die before, I was sure I’d do it in this car, and I didn’t fucking care. What mattered was Kaylie. Her terrified eyes darted between me and the road behind us, and my hand tightened around the gun. I swore to keep her safe. I meant it. At any price.
The small-town industries thinned out until we swished by fields and randomly placed barns. Woods replaced the cropped fields, thickening until the weak rays of morning sun barely seeped through.
“I think we lost them,” Kaylie breathed. “No one’s behind us.”
Johnny didn’t slow down.
After getting ourselves lost in the forest somewhere far off the main road, I was pretty sure she was right.
Johnny slowed down, finally pulling the car over, and twisted in his seat to wink at me. “That was fun.” He blew out a breath, and the slight tremor to it betrayed him. It was far from fuckingfun.
“And you’renotdoing that again,” I muttered, letting him get away with the nonchalance.
“What? Saving your ass?”
“Driving.”
He laughed at the empty threat, knowing damn well he was our only chance of getting out of here alive. And that said a lot.
“We can’t stay here.” I scanned the area. Lush greenery surrounded us. Trees and shrubs and mossy grounds stretched as far as I saw. It was fucking beautiful. The eerie calm that hit me as I flung the car door open for some well needed fresh air made me loosen the grip of the weapon. Johnny was right, we were truly alone here. Not even a bird chirped, which was odd when I thought about it. We were in the middle of a goddamn forest. Wasn’t it supposed to crawl with wildlife activity?
“It’s so silent,” Kaylie whispered my exact thought. She opened the door, and my first instinct was to grab her and stop her. My mind caught up before I had a chance to move the arm. “Wait,” I hissed, hating to have to rely on my voice alone.
“It’s fine, Marc.” She smiled. “Just want to stretch my legs.”
She was outside before I could demand she listened to me. Tightening the grip of the gun again, I cursed the unnatural need to keep her close. We were alone for miles, yet knowing she was out there made my stomach clench with worry. I scoffed at my reaction. Since when was I so damn paranoid?
Since you were taken by a psychopath and nearly killed,something inside reminded me, and the scowl deepened. I was fucking stronger than that. What happened sucked. It was traumatizing. But PTSD wasn’t my thing. I didn’t have time for bullshit. I needed to stay focused and in the present. For Kaylie. For all of us.
My eyes were on her as she strolled around, running her fingers over smooth tree trunks, and gazing at the dark clouds swirling above the treetops.
“Kaylie, come back to the car,” I hissed, unable to stop myself.
“Give her a break,” Johnny said. “The fuck’s wrong with you?”
