What about Piper? I almost laughed as I imagined the sheer confusion and panic that would crossher face if I walked into her apartmentwith a gun pointed atSebastian’s head. No, none of my friends from that part of my life could help me. Not a single oneeven owned a gun that they could lend me.
The light turned green, and we continued down the onelaneroad, the water beginning to come into view.
Ronan? Too loyal to my father, and even if I could convince him I’d just end up getting him killed. There was no way the two of us could take down the amount of people who would come for me.
I was on my own.
And just like last night, I had no good options. I thought I’d hit rock bottom last night. I never failed to surprise myself at the terrible situations I’dgotteninto since I left my father’s protection. And just like my decision to get a loan with Ray, I couldn’t blame anyone except for myself. I’d been stupid to trust Sebastian. To believe in some small part of mind that he was different.
For all I knew, he’d been the mastermind behind the plan to lowball me. But then why did he attack Luca? I shook the thought away as we continued towards the expressway.
“Give me your phone,” I ordered. Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, he used his free hand to reach into his pocket. He tossed a black phone my way, and I caught it one handed.
After using Sebastian’s face to unlock the phone, I debated my next move. An advertisement for cheap international flights flashed on the screen. Part of me was tempted to just book a flight to Argentina, just like I dreamed of last night. But I couldn’t exactly keep a gun pressed against Sebastian’s neck as we went through LaGuardia Airport. Not to mention that even if I somehow made it on a plane, I’d be killed the second I set foot in Argentina.
“Where are we going?” he asked as if reading my mind.
I sighed as I watched Sebastian ease towards the FDR. The second it’d occurred to me I knew Argentina was a terrible plan. But a part of me wanted to hold on to that dream from last night. To start fresh in a new country with no one controlling me.
I turned the power off on the phone. With the black screen, the dreamlike particles of starting a new life flickered away. Now I could only visualize a gunshot wound to the back of my head. My mind shifted back to reality.
“Get us out of the city,” Ianswered.
I had no idea where we’d head if we actually made it out of the city. We were lucky that it was the weekend, and everyone was heading back from the Hamptons. The lanes going out of the city were practically clear, and it would allow us to speed ahead.
The five families had agreed to keep the highways of the city neutral. The Amato family technically weren’t allowed to start a gunfight on the FDR. But they’d sure as hell try to force me onto a side street where they could take care of me without repercussions.
Ineeded to convince Sebastian to outrun his own men. Althoughthat was easier said than done.God, convincing him to do anything was difficult even though I had a gun pointed against him.
The light changed, and he turned left onto the expressway. When he flicked on his blinker, I had to resist the urge to smack him over the head.
Four souped up cars stayed right behind us as we moved further uptown.
“Go faster,” I growled, as twocars flankedus on either side.
Our car’s speed remained the same.
“We both know I can’t kill you, but I’ll shoot you in the fucking leg if you don’t speed up,” I said, watching as another car zoomedahead, presumably to cut us off.
The speedometer didn’t inch up at all.
“Drive faster,” I said. It came out higher pitched than I meant to. If they managed toforce me to exit the FDR it was all over.
Keeping the gun aimed at him, I swung my leg over the center console. I pressed my foot over his, digging his foot into the gas pedal. The car shot forward, and the race harness dug into my bruises. I ignored the pain andpushedmy handgun into Sebastian’s side.
Sebastian’s muscular leg tensed under mine. He swerved around a Honda that was inches from our bumper.
“Fuck, you’re going to get us both killed,”he said, his jaw tight as he spoke.
I pressed down harder on his foot, and the car obliged.Sebastiancut left, the car effortlessly twisting past a middle aged man in a Porsche.
“Don’t even think about purposefully crashing the car. If you do, I'll make sure you regret it,” I said.
The car ahead of us tapped its breaks, but I pressed my foot down harder. Sebastian cursed as he swung intoanother lane. Six of his men’s cars matched our speed behind us. Great, two more cars to add to the group chasing us. We sped past a cop car on the side of theroad, but thankfully it didn’t turn its flashers on. The last thing I needed was a police chase on top of everything else.
My foot remained hard on the pedal as we zipped past the Bronx, and finally into Westchester County.Throughout theride all six ofthe souped upcars stayed hot on our tail.
“Get off here,” I said,noddingtowards the fast approaching exit.
