Almost like we were somehow born to run together.
I push that ridiculous thought out of my head and skid to a stop in front of the girls, who now look terrified.
“Sophia?”Brooks blurts out.“Sophia Wimbley?”
One of the girls looks at her, the terror on her face growing even deeper.“Yes.Why?”Her drawl is casual, her voice well-bred and highly educated.
Not from the mafia, then.This is one of the socialites.And I’m guessing that if Brooks knows her name, it means she was the mark tonight.
“Terrific,” Brooks says, and suddenly she’s a completely different person.She’s not the girl who was just shooting to kill, intent on protecting this girl with her life if she needed to.She’s the girl’s best friend.The one you see arm-in-arm with her friends at the mall, laughing and making eyes at the guys across the way.The transformation is so quick, so complete, that I do a double take, trying to figure out how she did it.
“Oh my God, thank God I found you,” Brooks is babbling.“The thing is, we have a sort of situation here, and your dad doesn’t want you to get involved.He says you’ve got something delicate coming up and need to maintain your reputation?”
“My wedding,” the girl stammers.“I’m getting married to–”
Brooks grabs her and turns her the other way.“Exactly!He sent me to make sure nothing happened to destroy that, but we’ve run into some trouble.I’m thinking it’s best if you get out of here.Can’t have you getting shot right before your wedding.”
“Oh, okay.What’s your name again?”
“Sloane,” Brooks says without skipping a beat.“Sloane Brennan.You can tell your dad I was here taking care of you.Go find a taxi and get home, hm?And take your friends with you.”
The girl doesn’t have a chance to answer before the other van skids to a halt.Brooks and I turn and start firing, and for all I know the girl and her friend disappear into thin air.I don’t know and I don’t care.I’m too busy trying to figure out how I’m going to get Brooks and myself out of this alive.
Five men jump out of the van, and now I think we’re really in trouble.But then I see the glint of metal in the shadow of the wall on the other side of the parking lot, and remember the bike.
We have a motorcycle.
We can’t get to my car—that van is between us and the black beast I brought here—but we have something better.And these guys don’t know that we have it.
I grab Brooks’ hand and sprint for the thing, counting on her to keep up, and she lays down cover as we run.She must hit at least one of the guys because I hear a body fall to the ground, but I’m too busy trying to plan our escape to pay too much attention.If we can get to the bike, I think we can make it out of here.Not through the parking lot, because those men will be able to follow us too quickly.
But through the catacombs.
We reach the bike without getting shot and I stick my hand out.“Keys!”
Brooks doesn’t argue.She reaches into her jacket, yanks them out, and throws them at me, and within seconds I’m on the bike revving the engine.Brooks growls–probably because I’m not letting her drive–but then jumps onto the bike behind me and, after a moment of hesitation, wraps herself around me.
My cock immediately goes hard at the contact.She’s hot, her breath on my neck and her hands low on my belly, and I have to fight the urge to push her against the wall and ravish her the way I want to.I want to tangle my hands in her hair and press my body against hers, tilt her head back and devour her mouth.Taste every fucking inch of her.I want her wrapped around me in a whole different way, and the lust of it is so strong it nearly knocks me flat.I haven’t felt anything like this since...
Since...
Since the last time I had her in my bed at my father’s mansion.I’d fucked her for hours, taking my time and making sure to touch every inch of her body.I’d wanted to brand her with my name, spread my scent across her like some sort of animal.I told her I loved her that night, and we went to sleep with her tangled up in my sheets and my body still half-covering her.
When I woke up, she was gone.
A gunshot brings me sharply out of the memory, and I realize Brooks is hissing in my ear.
“What are you doing, waiting for this to getmoreexciting?Get us the fuck out of here!”
I jerk back into reality.Shit, I’m about to get shot, and so is Brooks, and I’m sitting here daydreaming about her body.
I really need to start thinking about therapy.
I tuck my cane under my arm for safekeeping, pull her arms tighter around me, and take off through the parking lot toward the door into the catacombs.
This entrance has always been my favorite.Now I add another reason to the list.
***
