“Bullshit.” She sounds delighted with her revelation. “I like your sweet side, Maverick.”
I frown. “Don’t get used to it. I’m not a guy you can trust, Hannah.”
“Oh, really? What kind of a guy are you?”
Someone who puts his family first and football a close second. And the two are intertwined—I need to play football to support my family. I’ve got no room in that equation for a woman.
* * *
As we drive down the Strip, I still can’t shake the feeling that we’re being followed. I glance in my rearview mirror.
A black car, the same one from earlier, is directly behind us.
As I merge left, the black car inches in behind us. I press on the gas and merge back to the right lane.
Two seconds later, the car does the same.
What the hell’s going on?
I jerk the wheel to the right and make a hard turn into a hotel parking lot.
The car follows.
I accelerate through the parking lot with the car on my tail.
“What’s wrong?” Hannah looks behind her. “Is that car following us?”
“Looks that way.” I clench my jaw tight and peel back onto the street.
The car does the same.
“Don’t worry,” I say to Hannah. “I grew up on the wrong side of Los Angeles. I know how to outrace some idiot who’s chasing us.”
It was a joke—sort of—but when I flick my gaze to Hannah, her face has gone white.
“That’s Craig’s car,” she says in a bare whisper.
“What?” I keep weaving in and out of traffic as I try to keep a few vehicles between us and the asshole tailing us. “Who’s Craig?”
“My ex.”
Shit.
Chapter Fifteen
Hannah lets out a string of curse words, some of which even I’ve never heard.
I’m too shocked to respond before she points ahead. “Pull in here. Craig’s not worth getting into an accident for. Believe me.”
“You sure you want to deal with him?” I ask her. “I can lose him.” I rev the engine to show her what I mean.
Out of my periphery, I see her shake her head emphatically. “I’m going to put an end to this here. I don’t want him chasing me across the country. It’s not fair to you.”
It’s not fair toyou, I want to say.
I do what she asks and pull into the nearest parking lot. Sure enough, the black car pulls in right next to us.
I cut the engine and jump out first. Hannah follows, and by the time I make it around to her side, the driver’s side of the black car opens.
