“Get in the car, Ryth!” Nick shoved me toward the Lamborghini.
The doors were open and the engine was running. I stumbled to it, flung myself through the open door, and scurried across the back seat. Gunshots rang out. I flinched with every crack, my heart clogging the back of my throat.
Tobias’ screams cut through the night, making me shove forward to grab the door.
Crack! Crack CRACK!
I unleashed a cry as shadows swarmed the car. But I couldn’t see who they were. I whimpered, shoving backward in the seat as the driver’s door was grabbed and Nick slid behind the wheel. “Hold on, princess.”
He gunned the engine. “Come ON!” he roared at the others.
The passenger door wrenched wide, and Caleb lunged inside, closing the door in the same motion, as movement came just beyond the door.
“Go!” Tobias roared as he flung himself onto the seat, the door closing behind him with a bang! “GO!”
I was thrown against the door beside me as the tires of the sports car spun, then caught. Crack! A bullet hit the rear of the car.
‘Get down!” Tobias bellowed, and shoved me to the floor.
His body was heavy, pressing over me as the engine screamed and Nick worked the wheel like a professional.
“Are you hurt?” Tobias’ hands slid over my back. “Ryth…are you hurt?”
“No,” I whispered, my words muffled against his leg.
Still, he had to see for himself. The car spun and the engine’s howl grew deeper. The headlights were almost a blur as they speared through the trees. Behind us, the faint crack of gunfire came again.
“Show me, baby,” Tobias growled, pulling me up onto the seat.
I met his gaze, and froze. His eyes were black pools in the dim light. The hard planes of his cheeks were even more chiseled than they were before. He wore a mask of cold, seething rage. His gaze fixed on me as he ran his hands over my shoulders, my breasts, and my stomach, searching…feeling. Anyone else and I’d be screaming and fighting. But I knew them…I wanted them.
Except for Caleb.
I cut a glance at the passenger seat and that pain of betrayal cut deeper. Caleb was quiet, his hand shoved against the dashboard. “Go,” he urged Nick. “Fucking punch it!”
The car lunged forward even more, the howl from the engine like a battle cry in the night. Still Tobias had me, his hands moving slowly, sliding over my breasts before he cupped the back of my neck and pulled me close. The warmth of his body pressed against me.
“Thought I fucking lost you, little mouse,” he croaked, his tone husky and strange.
Still, I was numb.
All the way to my core.
Tobias was my anchor, holding me as the car skidded sideways and a crack sounded as we hit something.
“Just get us home, Nick!” Caleb barked.
“Thought I lost you…” Tobias moaned again as he clung to me.
His warmth, his voice, the scent of him. They invaded me, pulling me back to the person I once was. Headlights washed through the car, flashing across his face, making him look haunted and enraged.
“Nick,” Caleb growled.
“I see it.” Nick worked the gears and babied the wheel.
The oncoming headlights grew brighter, washed over us, then were gone. Bright city lights sparkled in the distance. Nick’s handling of the Lamborghini was masterful, hurtling us toward the crowded streets.
“Get rid of them.” Tobias released his hold on me and turned, lifting the gun in his hand. “Or get me close enough to take them out.”
Nick spun the wheel, tearing us around the steady stream of cars, and gunned it through a yellow traffic light as the rest of the cars braked.
“Easy.” Caleb braced as we veered around a slow car then braked hard, spinning into a side street and disappeared into the darkness.
We turned hard again, taking street after street until I lost all sense of direction. Then finally we turned again, tearing past a familiar entrance. It was the park, the one where Nick had taken me. An ache bloomed as I remembered how he’d tackled me to the ground, all lust and desperation. That felt like a lifetime ago.
“We’re in and out,” Nick growled and turned the wheel. “They’ll be coming…and fast.”
The Lamborghini shuddered as Nick braked and pulled the car into the driveway. Tobias’ Jeep was parked near the house. Fear moved through me as I searched for Creed’s car. “Where are they?”
“Dead, hopefully,” Tobias muttered as Nick pulled up to the front door and shoved open his door.
“Five minutes!” Nick barked. “Grab whatever you can, then we’re out of here.”
Tobias and Caleb raced ahead. Nick moved more slowly, watching the street, then motioned me closer. “Hurry, princess.” It was only then I saw how he pressed his hand to his side. RYTH! His screams still roared in my head as I hurried forward.
“You’re hurt.”
He met my gaze. That look of sadness made my heart ache. “Don’t worry about that now. We need to get you out of here.”
I followed him inside. Heavy steps echoed from upstairs, moving like thunder through the house. A bag sailed over the stair railing, hitting the ground with a thud.
“What do you want?” Tobias yelled.
“My laptop and charger. That’s all!” Nick shouted, and headed for the kitchen. “Princess. Give me a hand, will you?”
Whimpers came from behind the laundry room door. He opened it and stepped in, crouching in front of me. “Easy, girl.”
“Nick?” I questioned as he picked up a whimpering black and tan bundle, then handed it to me.
My heart melted at the sight of the poor little puppy. One leg was bandaged and there was another around her neck. “Oh my God, she’s beautiful. Where did you get her?”
She stretched her neck to give my hand a lick as footsteps thudded down the stairs.
“We’re out of here!” Tobias barked.
“Later, princess.” Nick grabbed my arm, urging me toward the door.
“Here!” Tobias threw a sweater through the air, leaving Nick to catch it as T glared at the sheer negligee I wore. “No one looks at you like that, little mouse. Unless it’s us.”
Nick took the puppy from my arms, placing the sweater over my shoulder. “We’re out of here, now.”
“No.” Tobias stopped, staring at me, then shook his head.
A pang tore through my chest and flickers of betrayal rose as he lifted his hand. “Not until we get rid of that.” And he pointed to the tracking bracelet around my ankle.
Nick lowered his gaze, his brow furrowing before there was a clench of his jaw. “Those fucking bastards.” He stepped closer, the puppy in his arms. Then he knelt in front of me, lifted my leg, and placed my foot on his thigh. He lifted his gaze to mine. “They fucking tracked you like a goddamn animal?”
My pulse sped at the words as I nodded. I swallowed hard, recoiling inside when I thought of the tattoo carved into my body.
“Cut the damn thing off.” Nick jerked his gaze to Tobias. “I don’t want a fucking thing of theirs touching her.”
Tobias strode around the kitchen.
“Bolt cutters.” Caleb stepped closer, not daring to look me in the eyes. “That’s what will get it off.”
“The garage.” Nick slipped my foot back down and rose, still cradling the puppy. “Hurry.”
Tobias took off, racing through the house, his heavy steps like thunder that disappeared into the garage. Nick glanced at me while I glared at Caleb. Then C turned away and hauled the bags out to the car.
I was grateful when Tobias raced back in, carrying massive bolt cutters. “Up on the counter, little mouse.” He gripped me around the waist, lifting me easily. My white boxers rode high under the sheer negligee. Tobias looked…no, he stared. Then he set to work, slid the opened jaws under the clasp, and bore down.
Muscles strained as he cursed, then tried again.
Then with a clunk, the anklet broke and fell off. I leaned forward, my hand moving over my bare skin as my throat tightened.
“Let’s go, princess,” Nick urged, nodding to Tobias. “You’re free.”
I hurried along with them and headed out the door to the car. “Ryth, you’re with me,” Nick urged behind me as we raced outside.
I opened the passenger door as Nick came alongside me and placed the puppy in my arms. “Where is the Mustang?”
Nick raced around the front of Caleb’s car and slid back behind the wheel. “It’s a long story.”
He started the engine and shoved the sports car into reverse, making a Y-turn before peeling out of the driveway. Brake lights flared from the Jeep. But I couldn’t let the Mustang go. “Tell me,” I urged, holding on to the puppy as the Lamborghini shot forward.
He cast a careful glance my way. “It’s in the shop.”
In the shop? He kept that car perfect, gleaming and purring. There was no way it’d be in the shop, not now. I rubbed the puppy’s ears and was rewarded with a warm, wet tongue between my fingers. “I don’t believe you. Tell me. Tell me what happened to the Mustang and what they did to you…in that warehouse.”
“They stabbed me.” The words were cold, painful. “They stabbed me and I crashed the Mustang into the gate of that place, trying to get you out.”
“You did?”
He glanced my way. “Yeah, I did.”
I swallowed the ache in the back of my throat. RYTH! I flinched, my hand methodically massaging the puppy’s neck, drawing my focus. “And this little one?”
“That’s a whole different story, one I don’t think I’m ready to wrap my head around.” He glanced in the rear-view mirror when he said that, his gaze moving to the glare of the round headlights behind us.
We headed back into the city. I shivered, then balanced the puppy, dragged the sweater free, worked my hands into the sleeves, and yanked the belt down to work the sweater into place.
“Talk to me,” he said carefully. I caught the wince in the headlights of an oncoming car. “Only if you want to.”
I looked away. I couldn’t think about that place without seeing Caleb.
Now it was my turn to wince. “It’s a whole different story.” My words were stony. “One I don’t think I’m ready to wrap my head around.”
He didn’t push and for that I was thankful. We headed to an apartment building before Nick pulled the car over.
“We know someone here?” I asked as I looked up through the windshield.
“You can say that.” Nick pulled into a parking spot, leaving Tobias to slip in beside us. “Me.”
“This is your place?” I pushed the door open, holding the puppy with my other arm.
He killed the engine, climbed out, and closed the door, taking his time to walk around the car and stop outside my door. “Yeah, princess, my place.”
I climbed out, carrying the puppy, shaking my head when he moved to take her from me. I needed her. The warmth, the feel of her against me. Without her, I was lost, shaking, falling apart at the seams. I followed Nick after he grabbed his things from the back seat and headed for the building.
We took a rickety old elevator up to the top floor. From the outside, the place looked grungy and old. But the moment we stepped out and headed for the top-floor apartment, it turned sleek, industrial…and expensive.
He punched in a code for the front door, then pushed it open. “There’s clean clothes in my bedroom, some food in the cupboard.”
“Dibs, first shower,” Tobias called as he strode around us, scanned the place, and disappeared.
“You hungry?” Nick asked.
I shook my head. “No.” I doubted I’d ever be hungry again.
“Cold?”
I shook my head.
“Thirsty?”
Caleb let out a snarl, then headed for the living room and the expansive glass windows that overlooked the city. He didn’t want to look at me, didn’t want to hear me, didn’t want to listen to me speak.
“Want to tell me what went down between you two?” Nick murmured, staring after him.
Pain carved through me. I couldn’t look at C, couldn’t watch the way his body moved as he walked away. Whatever Caleb and I had had before, we’d never have again, that I knew in my heart.
“No,” I answered and turned away. “I don’t think I can.”
