AllFreeNovel
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She wore lipstick. Plenty of women did, as had many that Tripp had dated. But the shade that Alexia Oaks wore wasn’t pink, red or a shade of brown. It was somewhere between all three hues and suited the woman’s creamy, freckled skin to perfection.
Okay, it might have been a while since he slept with a woman if he was noticing small details like freckles and lipstick.
He was so focused on the screen that he didn’t notice the snowplow until heavy, wet snow struck him square in the chest. Ice hit his already bruised jaw.
He sputtered and redirected his attention to the phone in his hand…just in time to hear snow and ice hitting a car.
The light coming through the detective’s window went gray as the plow passed her.
Fuck!She was here. In the parking lot.
This was supposed to be a video call. Tripp wasn’t up for talking face-to-face, andof courseit wasn’t because he was afraid he couldn’t keep himself together.
“I gotta go.” He ended the call and took off across the parking lot to the MT Ops SUV.
Wagging his head right and left, Tripp searched for a car that stuck out to him. The people of this small town drove older model SUVs and trucks that were able to cut through heavy snow and stay on ice-slicked roads. A few smaller cars were parked in the lot too.
He yanked open the passenger door and tossed the bag and toilet paper on the seat. He slammed it and circled to the driver’s side just as an engine revved.
“Dammit!” Meeting with a person about Kelsey was a bad idea. The video call he was willing to do. Meeting in person, however, was not happening.
A black Humvee circled the parking lot at a higher speed than the townsfolk ever drove. He stopped to watch the SUV that could only be government-issue careen around the corner, coming straight at him.
Crap—she’d spotted him. He started to reach for his door—his only thought to bug the hell out—but locked eyes with her through her windshield.
Even from yards and yards apart, he read that challenge in her gaze. The one that said she was gunning for him.
“You wanna play?” He walked out into the center of the driving lane.
She continued driving straight at him.
Bracing his hands on his hips, he glared her down.
She never let off the gas.
This bitch was crazy. Who purposely drove at a person in a grocery store parking lot?
She never slowed down for a speed bump either and continued racing toward Tripp.
He jumped out of the way and took off at a brisk pace around the parked cars.
Behind him came the purr of an engine. When he glanced over his shoulder, she wasrightbehind him.
Goddamn, this woman reallywascrazy. He darted between cars and threw a wave at the kid who asked if he was a superhero.
He continued in a wide loop toward the MT Ops vehicle with his keys at the ready. He planned to whip open the door, leap in and gun it out of the parking lot, out of town and away from this crazy woman chasing him in her SUV.
He stepped out into a lane.
She gunned it at him.
Tripp looked around in time to see the black, salt-covered metal rolling his direction. Through the windshield, their gazes locked again. Only when he saw the whites of her eyes did she step on the brakes.
The car wasn’t stopping. Why wasn’t it stopping?
Alexia let out a small scream as the tires hit a patch of ice—probably the only patch in the entire parking lot.
Annnnd now she was skidding out of control.
