My heart drops into my stomach.
Wait.
No.
That’s not what I wanted.
“Dammit!” Sam shouts, banging his fist against the steering wheel. “I swear to fuck, if he gets himself killed…”
“West! Get your ass back here!” If I could alpha bark, I would do it at this very moment, violating boundaries be damned. “Nowbothof you are in danger!”
“What did you expect, Fireball?” Hayden asks, his hold relaxing slightly as I stop fighting him. A little bit of relief fills me as I watch my beta catch up with Turnip and scoop her up. He shrugs off his zip-up hoodie that was over his kevlar as he runs back, wrapping her up in it so the sound of the gunfire is muffled. “We would do anything for you.”
“Includin’ restrain me,” I say bitterly, angry that West put himself in harm’s way for me.
“Jo, what have I told you?” Hayden sighs, rubbing my arms. “There's only one time I won't submit to you, and that's when it'll put you in imminent danger. Besides, at least he has a bulletproof vest on still.Youhave nothing.”
Right. I suppose running directly into a hailstorm of bullets unprotectedwouldclassify as “putting myself in imminent danger”.
West finally gets back, climbing into the backseat and shutting the door. Kole slips into the passenger seat. “Let’s get the fuck out of here!”
He didn’t need to say it though, because as soon as his butt was on the passenger seat, Sam was stepping on the gas.
“Turnip!” I cry out in relief, taking the bundle of West’s hoodie from him.
“Buckle up! They’re following us!” Sam shouts, pulling onto the two-lane road that leads out of the parking lot and through the forest.
I press a kiss to Turnip’s little head before letting her climb into the back row of seats, and put on my buckle. “Thank you,” I say quietly to West, deciding that I can yell at him later.
He nods tightly, pulling on his own seatbelt.
I’m wedged between Hayden and West, the van jostling as we go way over the speed limit. I turn around to see a blacked out SUV behind us, two guys leaning out of the windows as they try to shoot out our tires.
“Shit, they’re shootin’ at us still!”
“Fuck, I know,” Sam snaps, jerking the wheel back and forth slightly.
“This is bad,” West mutters, his expression full of worry.
“How are we going to lose them?” Kole asks, unnervingly calm. “Do we have a rocket launcher?”
“I don’t know!” Sam shouts, and curses as a bullet hits his side view mirror. “Do Ilooklike I have a rocket launcher hanging out of my ass right now?”
“There is no need to get testy.” Kole clicks his tongue, seemingly unbothered by this whole scenario. “I was just thinking that a rocket launcher would take care of the problem.”
I turn in my seat again, checking the back row—just in case. Declan has been known to get…creative in how he stocks his vehicles. Six duffel bags, West’s jacket, and Turnip’s head poking out of the fabric. “No rocket launcher, Sugar Bear—” My eyes catch on our tail through the rear window. Right behind them is Declan, and based on the way they’re swerving, they’re being chased too. “Even if we did, it’s a no-go. Dec and Mabel are behind our pursuers, and they’ve got their own shadow. Even if we lose ours, we’ll still have to worry about Dec.”
Sam curses under his breath.
“I’m gonna throw up,” Hayden mutters, his hand tightening on my knee. Hedoeslook a little green.
There’s nothing but trees surrounding us, and based on the map Declan had me study, in about three miles we should hit a fork in the road. We have three cars following us, on a two-lane road, but only care about losing the one directly behind ours, and the one at the very back.
Why does this feel like the kind of word problem I always got wrong in math class?
Lucky for all of us, I’ve studied a hell of a lot since then. “Speed up, Sammy,” I lean forward, pointing at the GPS screen. “Kole, zoom out on that map for me.”
Another bullet hits us as Kole presses the screen.
