Ryan turned in his seat as well. “Yeah, that’s them,” he confirmed. “They’re hot on our tail.”
“I’m going as fast as I can,” Kodee said.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the sight of the SUV. “They’re gaining on us!”
Kodee drove fast and dangerously, weaving between other vehicles to get ahead. The traffic drew to a standstill, and instead of stopping, he veered onto the sidewalk. Pedestrians saw us coming and screamed and jumped out of the way.
If we weren’t careful, we were going to have the police chasing us, too.
I looked back again to see the SUV had followed our route. The people we’d just forced off the sidewalk had started to pick themselves and each other up again, but they didn’t get the chance to do much more. Frankie’s SUV mounted the sidewalk as well, and everyone threw themselves out of the path of the second speeding vehicle.
We’d got past the buildup of traffic and were back on the road, but so was the SUV.
“They’re still coming,” I cried.
I didn’t want to think about what would happen if they caught us. There would be no second chances this time round. Frankie would kill Kodee and Ryan without a second of hesitation, and, if he let me live, it would only be so he could make money out of what was between my legs.
Ryan glanced back, too. “Shit.”
He pulled the gun he’d threatened Frankie with back at the courthouse and hit the button on the passenger door to slide down his window. He twisted in his seat, so he was facing backward then leaned out of the window.
“Be careful!” I told him.
I couldn’t handle it if Ryan got shot now.
He aimed at the car chasing us and squeezed off a couple of shots, the bangs loud enough to make me want to cover my ears. The vehicle behind swerved, but I couldn’t tell if he’d hit it. One of Frankie’s men leaned out of the passenger window and returned fire. I let out a scream and ducked down, terrified I’d feel a bullet punching through the back of the car and hitting my torso.
Ryan fired again, and there was an explosion of glass. He let out a whoop of victory, and I dared lift my head. The SUV had veered to one side, the windshield completely shattered. I didn’t know if whoever was behind the wheel had been shot, but for the moment, it seemed we had an advantage.
Kodee put his foot down and increased the distance between us. He turned onto a different street and kept going, and the next time I dared to look behind us, there didn’t seem to be any sign of the SUV.
“I think we’ve lost them,” I dared to hope.
Ryan nodded. “For the moment, anyway.”
My heart was racing so fast I thought it might explode. I was so thankful Ryan was such a good shot from the time he’d spent in the Army. He’d needed that defense. If they’d caught up with us, he’d never have been able to run—not without his prosthetic leg.
Ryan clapped Kodee on the shoulder from behind. “Good driving!”
“Good shooting,” Kodee replied, his grin wide and white.
“Oh, my God,” I covered my face with my hands. My breathing was still too fast, my entire body shaking. An arm slipped around my shoulders, and I found myself being pulled against Ryan’s chest.
He kissed the top of my head.
“Hey, it’s all right. You’re safe now.”
“Not yet, we’re not,” Kodee warned from behind the wheel. “They still might catch up with us.”
“They’re going to look out for the car,” I said. I knew how far Frankie could get his men to search. They were as bad as the cops. “Frankie and Manuel will probably even have their bent cops involved by now, and they know our license plate number.”
I wondered where the car had even come from. It wasn’t one I recognized. I guessed it didn’t really matter.
“Don’t worry.” Ryan squeezed my hand. “We already thought of that.”
Kodee took another turning, and we found ourselves on a quieter road on the outskirts of the city. Ahead was an underpass, and hidden underneath it, pulled off to one side, was another vehicle. My heart lurched again, fearful that somehow Frankie could have predicted which way we were going and set people waiting for us, but then I saw what kind of vehicle it was, and a tiny part of me relaxed.
It was an ambulance, its rear doors standing wide open.
Kodee brought the car to a sudden halt, the wheels skidding as they locked. Even before the car had stopped properly, he’d thrown open the driver’s door and had come to the back and opened the door beside Ryan. With his arm around Ryan’s waist to offer support, he helped Ryan from the car, and I scrambled out behind him.
Two men came running from the back of the ambulance. One I recognized instantly, but the second—a man in his forties—I didn’t know at all.
It was the man I recognized who took most of my attention.
“Dillon!” I exclaimed, my heart bursting with happiness.
He’d cleaned up since the last time I’d seen him. He’d changed his clothes and had showered and shaved. He looked a little thinner, but I figured I probably did, too. We’d all been through a lot.
He scooped me up against him, burying his face in my hair. “Fuck, Rue. It’s so good to see you.”
I clung to him, a part of me wondering if this must be a dream. Did I really have them back? Did I dare hope?
“We can’t waste any more time, people,” Kodee shouted. “We have to keep moving.”
I unraveled myself from Dillon’s arms. “Where did the ambulance come from?”
The man in his forties, who I didn’t know, spoke up. “I called in a favor.”
“Rue, this is Gordon,” Ryan told me. “He’s my prosthetist.”
My mouth gaped, my mind trying to put the pieces together and failing. “What?”
“It’s a long story.” Ryan, still supported by Kodee, shook Gordon’s hand. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“You can, but let’s make sure you’re safe first.”
I could hardly believe Ryan’s prosthetist had gone to these lengths to help us. “Aren’t you worried the Capellos are going to come after you?”
He shrugged. “I reported the car stolen. That’s the story I’ll stick to. There’s no reason for them to think I was involved any more than that. Now, let’s get you to the next point so you can all stay safe for good.”
We piled into the back of the ambulance, and Gordon got behind the wheel. He started the engine, and Kodee pulled the doors shut behind us.
“Where are we going?” I dared to ask.
“To the airport,” Kodee replied.
My stomach flipped. “But how?” I wasn’t asking how we’d get to the airport—our mode of transportation was clear. It was what would happen when we got there that had thrown me.
“We made a second copy of the passport Frankie asked for. We can all leave together now.”
My eyes filled with tears of gratitude.
We still weren’t safe, though.
The use of the ambulance meant we were able to get through the traffic with ease. I felt a little guilty at the deception, but my fear of Frankie catching up with us was greater. He’d be furious. We’d made him look like an idiot, and Frankie hated that. I imagined him having to go back to Davide Fleming and explain to him that I was no longer available for purchase.
The atmosphere in the back of the ambulance was tense. I sat holding Ryan’s hand on one side and Dillon’s on the other. I had to pinch myself. I was really here with them. We weren’t home and dry just yet, but we were free from the Capellos, and Joe Nettie was dead.
“What happened in the courtroom for Joe Nettie to get the not-guilty verdict?” Ryan asked.
I shook my head, a wave of shame and guilt washing over me. “The defense lawyers tore me to shreds when I was on the stand. It was horrible. They made me out to be a whore and a liar, someone who only did or said something because she was being paid for it.”
Dillon balled his fists. “Those fuckers.”
I remembered ta
king the stand, my legs shaking as I stood before the lawyers, the judge, the jury, and all those in the gallery. The things Caroline Simpson had asked me had been exactly what I’d been expecting, and I’d answered as we’d practiced, calm and confident. But, as she had predicted, it had been during the defense’s turn to question me when things had fallen apart.
I’d experienced the defamation of my character with every question they’d thrown at me, and I’d seen the jurors glance away, shaking their heads, their eyes filled with shame and disgust.
“You’d seemed so sad when I saw you sitting in the gallery,” Ryan said. “I could tell it hadn’t gone well, though I wasn’t expecting the verdict to come so quickly.”
But I shook my head. “That wasn’t why I was sad. I mean, I knew it had gone badly. Being torn to shreds in front of a whole courtroom of people, including the gangsters who had threatened my life and the lives of the people I love, to make sure I did a good job was never going to put me in a good mood. But I was sad because I hadn’t seen any of you there. I knew Dillon had escaped, and even though you were being watched, I’d hoped you’d still might have been able to make it.”
Dillon lifted a hand. “Hang on. Back up. You knew I’d escaped? How?”
“Some of the other women I was being held with overheard some of Frankie’s men talking about it. They didn’t mention any names, but I could tell they were talking about you.”
His frown furrowed. “How?”
I pulled a face, feeling awkward about saying the words directly to him. “They called you an Irish prick.”
He smirked. “Sounds about right.”
“We’re nearly there, folks,” Gordon called from the front.
“Make sure you stop far enough away to avoid any cameras,” Kodee told him.
I sucked in a nervous breath. This was going to be the next step—getting through the airport and onto a plane without being caught or questioned.
We couldn’t drive the ambulance right up to the front of departures. Security was too tight now. The other thing we wouldn’t be able to take was the gun. The thought of us being unarmed again made me nervous, but we didn’t have a choice. Trying to take a gun onto an airplane was asking for trouble.
The ambulance drew to a halt, and Dillon jumped to his feet to open the rear doors. Everyone moved quickly, a sense of urgency pushing us on. There was a set of crutches in the back of the ambulance, which Ryan picked up to use.
We all climbed out, and Ryan left the gun on one of the benches in the back of the ambulance.
“Thank you, Gordon,” Ryan said. “For everything.”
“Don’t mention it. Just get the hell out of here.”
The two men embraced, then Gordon lifted his hand in a wave to the rest of us and slammed the rear doors of the ambulance again and climbed back behind the wheel. He tooted the horn as he pulled away.
The airport parking lot was surprisingly quiet. Rows and rows of cars were parked, one behind the other, waiting for their owners to return.
“We need terminal two,” Kodee said, pointing in the direction of the huge glass and metal structure.
We set off for the terminal, but we could only move so fast. We might not be hauling giant suitcases around with us, like other travelers, but we had Ryan on crutches.
The ambulance had already vanished from view. I felt bad that I hadn’t even looked back to give Gordon a wave after he’d done so much for us.
We kept going, crossing lane after lane of the parking lot, closing the distance between us and the terminal. From one of the runways came the deep roar of an airplane taking off.
I suddenly became aware the roar wasn’t only that of the plane.
An SUV—not the one with the windshield shot out, but a different one—pulled up in front of us, and Frankie Capello jumped out. With the vehicle blocking the way, we had no choice but to draw to a sudden halt.
I let out a cry of fear.
Kodee stepped forward, placing his body between me and Frankie. We’d left the gun back in the ambulance, and none of us was armed. He was protecting me with the last thing he had—himself.
“How did you know we would be here?” Kodee demanded, perhaps hoping that by keeping Frankie talking, it would give us a chance to get away.
Frankie’s lip curled in a cold smile. In his hand was a gun. “Of course I knew you’d be coming here. Don’t treat me like an idiot.”
From the other side of the SUV, someone else climbed out. Otis. My heart sank further.
“So, you’re just going to shoot us, out here in the open?” Dillon asked, stepping forward as well.
Ryan joined his side. “You’re going to need three bullets, then.”
I moved to stand beside Ryan. “No, you’ll need four.” I reached down and slipped my fingers through Ryan’s.
Another noise caught my attention, and I frowned, glancing in the direction it was coming from.
A second vehicle hurtled toward us.
It was the ambulance.
I caught sight of Gordon’s ruddy face behind the wheel, and he leaned out of the driver’s window as he drove right at us. Like Frankie, he held something in his hand. Gunfire cracked through the air, and I screamed instinctively and ducked down, my arms shielding my head.
Gordon must have picked up the gun before he’d shut the rear doors of the ambulance.
Frankie returned fire, but Gordon kept shooting, even as he got closer, increasing the likelihood of being shot himself.
Frankie jerked backward, hitting the side of his vehicle. One of Gordon’s bullets had found its mark and hit Frankie in the throat. Frankie clutched at his neck and slid to the ground. The ambulance kept going, speeding past us, and Otis chased after it, firing more shots. But Gordon had a good start on him and quickly increased the distance between them.
Gordon had saved us.
Dillon looked down at Frankie Capello’s body, slumped against the vehicle. Frankie’s chest and shoulder were covered in an apron of blood, and he made a strange gurgling as the light died from his eyes.
“He’s dead,” Dillon announced. “We need to go before the cops get here.”
We ran, Ryan keeping up, moving surprisingly fast for someone who was on crutches. Otis didn’t come after us. Knowing the police would be called, he probably didn’t want to get caught up in this mess, either. I kept my eyes peeled for any security cameras, but in this no-man’s land between the parking entrance, I didn’t see any.
That changed the moment we got closer to the airport, however, and we all instinctively ducked our heads, trying to shield our faces.
We entered the terminal and hurried up to the Delta desk. The terminal was busy, and we were quickly swallowed by the mass of people, all either queuing, or lingering, or rushing around with stressed-out expressions. I guessed it wasn’t unusual to see people running here. Plenty of people must end up racing to try to catch their flight. I kept checking over my shoulder for any sign that Frankie’s men might pursue us but so far, nobody was coming. I assumed they had their hands full with their dead boss, and most likely the police arriving.
We reached the front of the line, and Kodee slammed down four passports and his credit card. “Four tickets for whichever flight we can get on next.”
I had the feeling both the passports and the credit card wouldn’t be in any name I recognized.
The woman behind the desk frowned, her gaze flicking between us. We probably looked suspicious as hell, but even if we were pulled over, there was nothing on us they could do us for—with the exception of the fake passports, of course.
She checked her computer.
“I have four seats on a flight leaving for Madrid in the next hour,” she suggested.
Madrid. Spain. Sunshine and sangria.
“Perfect,” Kodee said. “We’ll take them.”
Chapter Twenty-four: Three Months Later
Rue
A MASSIVE SPLASH CAME from the middle of the pool. It sent waves rocking
the inflatable lounger I was stretched out across, and cool water rained down on me. I squealed and leaned away from the splash, but whoever had caused it didn’t resurface.
A stab of alarm went through me, and I half sat, trying to get a better view into the clear blue water.
A dark shape moved, silent and serene, beneath me.
The shape suddenly changed direction, pushing up from the bottom of the pool and driving toward the underside of my inflatable. I knew what was coming, and I screamed and clung to the edges, though I knew it wouldn’t do me any good.
He hit me from below, tipping the entire inflatable to one side and plunging me into the water. My skin had been hot from the sun but was now plummeted into the cold. I fought the urge to gasp in shock, my head sinking below the surface. My toes met with rough tiles, and I bent my knees to push myself back up.
A pair of strong, suntanned arms wrapped around me, and together our heads broke the surface.
“Dillon! You asshole!”
I lifted my hand and slapped his naked, wet shoulder.
He laughed. “I couldn’t help myself. You looked far too relaxed lying there.”
“I was relaxed!” I protested, though I had to admit that swapping the plastic of the inflatable for Dillon’s rock-hard body wasn’t so bad. Water clung to his eyelashes and plastered down his dark hair.
I dipped my hand into the water and splashed him in return, deliberately getting him in the face, but he only wrapped his arm tighter around my waist and dragged me to him. He was grinning, flashing me straight white teeth, which only made me splash him harder.
“Hey, hey,” he protested. “We’re quits now.”
“No way. I was lovely and warm, and now I’m cold and wet.”
He yanked me closer. “I like you wet.”
His hardness pressed against my belly, and his words sent a ripple of desire through me, softening my need for revenge.
“Is that right?”
“Absolutely.” He leaned in and spoke low and sexy against my ear. “Dripping wet.”
I couldn’t help myself. I wound my arms around his neck, and he pressed his lips to mine. His tongue sneaked out and traced the seam of my lips, and I opened my mouth to him, allowing him entry. Our tongues tangled, and I squirmed against him, enjoying the feel of his body sliding against mine.
Captivated with Them (Dirty Twisted Love, #3) Page 14