Page 26 of Secret Love

I do as he says, racing down so quickly I can barely stay upright. My heart pounds in my chest, fear blinding my vision. I’ve filmed a dozen sequences like this before, but it’s done nothing to prepare me for the real thing. I flinch as my bare toes slam against the floor and I lean into the railing to support myself until I reach the bottom.

As I step outside, a black car swerves to the curb and stops a few feet away from me. Pedestrians do a quick double-take, many of them likely recognizing my face.

“Get in!”

Fox. He throws the passenger side door open and I don’t hesitate to lower myself into it. “What the hell is going on?!” I ask him again as we speed off into traffic.

“Keep your head down.”

“Why?”

He forces my head down between my knees as a blaze of bullets pierces my window. I scream and cover my head with my arms.

“That’s why.” He turns back in his seat and grabs a pistol from the duffel bag on the floor.

I glance out my window, hearing the roar of a motorbike flooring toward us. A third man in black points a gun at me and I gasp. “Fox—!”

Fox pulls the trigger, clipping the third man on the cheek with a single bullet. The bike lurches to the side, sending him across the pavement in a red, bloody heap. My jaw drops, but I can’t make myself look away.

“Dani, you okay?”

I turn to him, taking slow, deep breaths that do nothing to calm me. He looks straight ahead, weaving in and out of traffic with extreme focus. My skin feels cold and the slightest wind gives me chills. I realize I’m still wearing my robe… and nothing else.

“I’m naked,” I murmur.

His eyes wander down my legs but retreat forward again just as quickly. “We’ll find you some clothes. Just relax and keep your head down.”

I grip my robe tighter around me and slide down in the seat.

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