Page 86 of Vicious Temptation

“Where are you?”

I glance at the street sign as I fly past it. “Heading east on Lehigh.”

“I’m coming.”

“No, you’re not. Go to my place like we planned.”

“Remi—”

“Val, I’m fine. I’ll lose him and meet you there.”

Another set of lights appears in the distance, wiping the smile from my face. The cruiser comes straight toward me, then cuts across the intersection and pulls to a stop sideways. My stomach tightens at how perfectly it positions itself. They’re coordinating now, which means every turn I take is giving the next unit time to get ahead of me.

They know where I am. Not just the cop behind me, but all of them.

“Actually, I’m gonna call you back.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I think I pissed them off.”

“Remi, what the fuck does that⁠—”

I end the call and grit my teeth. The cruiser behind me is gaining on me, and the one ahead has blocked the route I would normally take to get back to my condo.

“Okay,” I mutter. “You wanna play?”

I turn down the next street instead. The road narrows almost immediately, with parked cars lining both sides and leaving barely enough room for two vehicles to pass. But I know this stretch. Three blocks ahead, it’ll spit me out onto an industrial road that runs parallel to the river. If I can make it there, I can lose them.

The cruiser follows me in.

“Bad choice.”

I accelerate, and the GT-R devours the narrow street while the Explorer struggles to keep up through the turns. I take the next corner and finally gain enough distance that his lights disappear behind the buildings.

My grin returns…until I reach the industrial road, where a third cruiser is already waiting for me.

“Oh, fuck you.”

It pulls away from the curb before I can reach him, blocking most of the road and leaving me nowhere to go but the narrow strip of pavement along his passenger side.

“You guys really need to stop doing that.”

Yanking the wheel, I squeeze past him, so close I hear metal scrape behind me.

Not mine.

At least I fucking hope not.

The road ahead opens, and I push harder, putting as much distance between us as I can. I know I won’t outrun their radios, but if I can get far enough ahead, I can change direction before the next unit knows where to look.

A voice booms behind me. “Pull over the vehicle!”

“Still no.”

I take the next turn, and I immediately regret it.

Traffic.