Page 54 of Savage Warrior

“Maybe. Or threatened in some way. It’s all the same in the end.”

“But they were such a nice couple.” I can hardly believe what he’s suggesting. “And Bert helped us to get away. Surely they wouldn’t…”

?tefan just shrugs. “Wouldn’t be the first person to play for both sides.” He concentrates on the road ahead.

I’m dozing, drifting in and out of sleep as we make our way south. We’re headed for Glasgow, where ?tefan lives and has friends. He tells me I’ll be safe there while he makes arrangements for my journey home to Belarus.

I’m grateful. I do want to go home. I have no choice. But something is puzzling me.

“Why are you doing this?” I blurt.

“Doing what?”

“Helping me. Those men are dangerous, and I’m not your problem. And you’ve spent so much money on me already. I know I said I’d pay you back, and I will, but—”

“It doesn’t matter,” he slants me a quick glance. “Get more sleep if you like. Or put some music on.”

I’m not bothered about sleeping or music. “It does matter. You’ve been so generous, and, well, you’ve taken care of me. Even after what happened.”

He sends a sexy smirk my way. “It’s not been without its compensations.”

“So, you did it just for sex?” I don’t believe that for a moment.

“It helped.” He grins at me. “You can be good company, when you’re not waving guns about.”

His words sting. “I thought we’d put that behind us.”

“You mentioned it first.”

“I know, but—”

“What the fuck?” Eyes narrowed, he’s peering into the rear-view mirror.

“What is it?” I swivel in the seat to scan the road behind.

Without warning, he drags the steering wheel to the right, and we veer off the main road onto a narrow side lane.

I let out a startled scream. “What are you doing?”

He hurls the vehicle to the left. We skid through a gate in a stone wall, and he does some sort of turn with the handbrake, causing the car to spin.

“What are you playing at? You’re going to kill us both,” I screech. Luckily for me I’m clutching the dashboard when he rams the pedal to the floor and the Land Rover lurches forward again. If I hadn’t been, I’d have shot through the windscreen, seatbelt or not.

“Better than letting them do it,” he grinds out.

“What are you—? Look out!”

Another vehicle is heading towards us in the middle of the narrow lane. At the very last moment, ?tefan bounces us onto the verge at the edge of the road, and we lunge past the white van with barely an inch to spare.

He glances at the rear-view mirror. “Recognise anyone?”

“I don’t… What?”

“The roadblock men again. They’ve been following us for the last five miles.”

My heart sinks. “Oh God. Are you sure it’s them?” I twist in my seat to view the road behind. “They’re coming,” I yell. “We need to go faster.”

His jaw is set, his eyes on the road ahead. “I worked that out for myself. My phone is in my back pocket. Can you reach it?”

---