Page 206 of Vicious Temptation

I recognize Remi immediately and the woman as her mother.

Jerking the wheel, I skid to a stop in front of the Hellcat, positioning my truck between them and the incoming fire, bullets tearing into the body panels. I duck, grab my go bag from the back seat, throw open the door, and dive behind the front end for cover. The second I appear, Amalia swings her weapon toward me.

“Mamá, no!”

At the last possible second, Remi knocks the barrel aside, and the round strikes the dirt instead of my skull.

“Thiago, what the hell are you doing here?” She ejects the empty magazine and slams in another. “How did you even find me?”

Before I can answer, Amalia curses and checks her rifle.

“I’m out.”

I tear open my bag, pull out my spare magazines, and slide them to her.

“There should be enough in there to keep them pinned down until we can make a break for it.”

Then I finally get a good look at Remi. She’s alive, on her feet, and right now, that’s enough.

“We’ll talk later.”

She nods once, pivots back toward the road, and opens fire. I join her, my focus on getting her home. The pressure in my chest lightens, and I drag in my first full breath since I got here.

“When they stop to reload, you and your mom get in the car and make a run for it,” I say, firing several rounds. “I’ll hold them off.”

“No.” She doesn’t even look at me. “I’m not leaving you behind.”

“Remi, it’s not up for discussion. You need to go.”

She leans out from cover and fires, dropping one of the bastards with a bullet to the neck, then turns to me.

“I’m sorry,” she says as she reloads. “You must have me confused with someone who takes orders.”

“He has a point, Remi,” Amalia says, slamming another magazine into her rifle. “Let’s go. You’ll catch up with him later.”

“No,” Remi says. “You go. We’ll be right behind you.”

“If you think I’m leaving you here with…” Amalia’s jaw tightens as she looks at me. “I don’t know him, and I can’t trust him with your life.”

“I trust him.”

Those three words cut through everything happening around us. My next exhale comes out rough, but there’s no time to let myself feel what they do to me. Remi places a hand on her mom’s arm, and Amalia squeezes it.

“We’ll be right behind you. I have a plan. Just trust me. Please.”

Amalia looks at me, and I see the hesitation written all over her face.

“I’ll keep her safe,” I tell her. “I promise.”

Her eyes hold mine for a long second before she gives me a single nod. “You better.”

I turn my attention back to the road and keep firing as they exchange a few more words behind me. The moment the shooting pauses, Amalia jumps into her Hellcat and tears down the road. Bullets follow her, but she’s already moving too fast.

“Remi, I’m on my last mag. We gotta move.”

“They’re not dead yet.”

Another car comes barreling toward us before I can argue. If we don’t get the fuck out of here now, we’re going to run out of ammo and then we’re dead.