He unlocked the door and nudged me inside. I growled at him and set Killer down. “You’re not infallible, and everyone can be bought for the right price. Even your guys.”
Gunner ignored me and instead got the bag out of his car, putting it in the back seat of our new vehicle.
“How do you know this car is any good?”
“I gave the guy enough money that he doesn’t have to sell another car for the rest of the month. He assured me this one was the best he had.”
That didn’t have to mean much since every single car in the lot looked like it belonged in the junkyard.
The one Gunner had purchased resembled a shag mobile. The inside was layered in carpet, and the shaggy seat covers smelled like patchouli. But as long as it didn’t break down, I would keep my judgment to myself.
I wasn’t good at letting someone else take the lead, and the thought of Gunner telling me what to do made my blood boil. My family had been so controlling that I wasn’t even allowed to go to college. I had to do all my courses online. And even though someone was always around, I was lonely.
“We don’t want to draw attention. Nobody will ever think the Olysses princess is going to drive anything even close to this,” Gunner said, making me grind my teeth.
People used to call me that all the time, and I hated it. But I hated it even more coming from Gunner.
He noticed the expression on my face and stopped adjusting his seat. “What now?”
“Don’t ever call me that again,” I said, my voice low.
He studied me, then nodded. That would have to be good enough for now.
“And I’m getting away from you as soon as I can. This is bullshit. You clearly can’t keep me safe.”
He ignored my bitching as he pulled out handcuffs and put one around my right hand. The other end went to the door handle.
I stared at him openmouthed.Did he really just handcuff me to the car?
I rattled the cold metal and shrieked, “Are you insane?”
“Just making sure I can concentrate on driving instead of watching you and hoping you don’t jump out of the car every time we stop at a traffic light.”
He closed the door, and rage bubbled hot inside my body. I hoped he’d develop a bad rash in hard-to-reach places.
“I hate you,” I growled. The words seemed to have become somewhat of a mantra.
He didn’t respond, just started the car and pulled out onto the road.
6
I spentmost of what turned out to be an eight-hour drive grinding my teeth. The farther we drove, the smaller and windier the roads became. Eventually we turned onto a dirt track, bumping our way through the woods.
There were trees as far as I could see. Which admittedly wasn’t very far since the road was small, barely fitting one car. Nature was slowly taking over, the foliage so dense in places it was blocking out the sun.
The trees eventually gave way to a picturesque clearing. We pulled up in front of a small cabin that was hidden from sight until you were right in front of it. There was a small creek running behind it, making it look like something out of a fairy tale. I grudgingly admitted to myself that it was the perfect hideout. Not that I would tell Gunner that.
He leaned over, and I pushed myself back into the seat. “Relax, I’m just uncuffing you.”
I stilled and tried not to breathe when he leaned over me and unlocked the cuffs, leaving them dangling off the door. He was my kryptonite in every way. Even his smell did funny things to my body, causing my insides to twist and turn every which way.
After all this time, he still had the power to destroy me. And there was nothing I could do about it. Because where I once thought I only had a silly crush, I now knew it went so much deeper than that.
He’d taken the cuffs off after a few hours on the road, but when I tried to run off at a rest stop after pretending to go to the toilet, he put them back on. Guess that was a stupid move. And I didn’t know what I was hoping to accomplish by doing it.
I had no money, no phone, and no form of transportation. I also had no plan. And he had my bunny in his back seat.
“There’s nothing around for miles except bears, snakes, and wolves. And you don’t want to run into any of them on your own. Or without a gun. So running wouldn’t be in your best interest,” he said.
