“I was confused because I hit my head. I thought the loud sound I heard was me hitting the rail, but that sound came before I hit anything. Something hit the back of my car.” I pointed at the dent in my fender as proof. “And that’s what made me lose control and hit the guardrail!”
“Grimaldi,” Kieran spat. “That motherfucker?—”
A loud crack, followed by shattering glass, splintered the air. A rough shove slammed between my shoulder blades, and I pitched forward onto the unforgiving pavement. A heavy, immovable weight dropped over me like an anvil, completely blanketing my frame. I tried to lift my head, but Kieran made a sound.
“Stay down. Don’t move.”
Another shot rang out, this one slamming into metal and another exploding the pavement just feet away.
Kieran’s body was so tense I could have sworn I was buried under stone. The only proof he was flesh and blood was the hammering of his heart against my back and the graceful way I felt him pull out a gun.
“Lay your keys on the ground,” he instructed, low.
I let them drop from my hand.
“When I say, dive into the car. Get on the floorboards and stay down. Don’t get up.
“But wha?—”
His voice was harsh, devoid of emotion. “Do it.”
I nodded.
Silence blanketed the lot, but it lasted for only one breath.
“Go!” Kieran growled and burst up, firing off rounds as I flung myself into the back seat. I was barely in when the door slammed behind me, and Kieran was in the driver’s seat, keys in the ignition.
Gunfire rang out, bullets slamming into my car.
Kieran turned the ignition, and the car made a whirring sound and then choked.
The back window exploded, and glass rained down into the interior of the car. I covered my head and face, keeping myself down just like he said.
More glass shattered, and Kieran tried the engine again. “Let’s go, you son of a bitch,” he snarled. The engine fired up, and he tore out of the spot as another bullet slammed into the side.
The sound of the horn made my heart hammer.
“Move!” Kieran roared, and then the car crashed through something, probably the gate at the lot entrance, and the back fishtailed as he sped forward.
Police sirens filled the air, and Kieran took a turn that put the Toyota on two wheels. The car slammed back onto the road, and my teeth cut into my tongue. I cried out as the car accelerated.
“Come on, you old piece of shit!” Kieran growled.
The engine groaned, and the smell of burning oil filled my nostrils. My body jostled with a few more wild turns, and the car started to rattle.
The interior got really dark, and I looked up to see us flying through some parking garage.
“Out,” Kieran said before whipping into an empty space, ripping the keys from the ignition, and bolting out. I scrambled up, and he flung open the back door and practically dragged me out.
“Where—”
“No,” Kieran barked, and my lips slapped shut.
A car nearby beeped, and I jumped so hard I nearly peed my pants.
“Easy, baby,” Kieran murmured, opening the back door to a black sedan and pushing me inside. He got into the driver’s seat, and the engine started right up. Moments later, we were turning out of the garage and into the city traffic.
“Kieran?” I called a few minutes later.
