I press the brakes and mutter a curse word before turning the car around. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry! Please forgive me; I will listen. Just don’t hurt us.”
“Damn, calm down, woman. You just missed a turn. Just don’t let it happen again.”
I attempt to look at him in the rearview, but when our eyes connect, he looks away quickly.
I take the turn he points out to me and continue down another endless road. My phone vibrates with another call from Craig, and I squeeze the wheel tightly.
I hear him clear his throat before his voice fills the car. “What has you so lost in thought?”
A hystericaI chuckle bubbles out of my mouth before I can stop it. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with the man with a gun in my backseat, forcing me to drive him somewhere after I accidentally hit him with my car.”
I hear his scoff before seeing his physical reaction. “You have been driving fine this entire time, so that can’t be it.”
I let out a breath. Fuck him for already seeing right through me. “Look, I am taking you where you want to go. I’d rather not get into my personal issues with a stranger. Okay?
He leans forward, his face now between the front seats. “We have about another thirty minutes left to drive. You have plenty of time to tell me what's going on in here.” He taps his gun against my head.
Chapter 2
Hunter
She looks at me over her shoulder, and I smirk. “Oh, come on. I am just a stranger, after all. That means your secret is safe with me.”
She scoffs, “I doubt anything is safe with you.” Then she bites her lip, and I have a strong urge to pull it from her teeth.
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“You’re right. I don’t know anything at all. Let's keep it that way so my daughter and I can get through this day from hell—until I get home, that is.” Her last comment is so soft-spoken that I almost miss it.
I am not sure what drives me to ask her, but I find myself wondering what could possibly be worse than her current situation. “What awaits you at home?”
I see her body go rigid as she realizes she was not as quiet as she thought she was. She shakes her head. “Nothing.”
I decide to leave it alone for now and sit back in my seat. She has a dark secret, though, and for some reason, I want to know what it is.
Twenty minutes later, the road I need her to drop me off on comes into view. I almost regret having to get out of the car. The child sitting next to me is a cutie pie. She reminds me of my daughter, whom I lost a few years ago. I have always had a soft spot for children in my stone heart. But it hits differently when they look so much like my own.
I shake my head to clear the unsettling thoughts threatening to consume me and tap the seat before me. “This is my road right here.”
She slows down to turn, and once she is on my road, she stops the car.
I lean forward and hold my hand out. “Keys.”
She hesitates before turning the car off and handing them to me.
I exit the vehicle and open her driver's door, motioning for her to get out as well with a flick of my gun.
“I thought you were going to let us go?” she asks with a shaky voice.
Once she closes her driver's door, I inch closer to her, forcing her to step back until her butt hits the car.
She can’t tell anyone that she saw me. My fucking life depends on it. The Black Widows would lose their shit if they found out I was still nearby. I was only supposed to be here for the day to pick up the fucking cocaine I need to bring back to my club.
I move closer to her until we are chest to chest and press the barrel of my gun to her stomach. Her breathing shallows, and she takes a huge gulp.
“Are you capable of keeping a secret?” I whisper close to her cheek.
She nods her head frantically. “Yes!”
