Page 55 of Bound to the Bodyguard

“Watch it!” the second man barked as the vehicle narrowly missed a dumpster.

“Doing my best!” the driver snapped back, the tension between the two men palpable in the cramped space.

I felt the car accelerate, the engine’s growl rising to a fever pitch. They were running out of time, out of options, and I knew it. But so did they. That shared desperation crackled in the air, electrifying and dangerous.

Next time he turns, I’m going to make a break for it. It was a long shot—a suicidal one—but it was all I had.

“Can’t shake him!” the driver cursed, his voice strained. “He’s not giving up!”

The vehicle veered sharply, throwing me against the cold metal of its interior again. The aggressive driving tactics were desperate and dangerous, telling me without words that the kidnappers were feeling the pressure. Tires squealed as the driver executed another erratic turn, the sound a sharp cry in the night that mirrored the terror in my chest.

“Left, left, LEFT!” He shouted from the passenger seat, their usually controlled tone now edged with panic. The car lurched to obey.

“Damn it, he’s still on us!” the driver growled, his knuckles white as they gripped the steering wheel.

“Keep it together. If we lose him, we’re clear.”

“Easy for you to say,” the driver spat back. “I’m the one playing tag with the Grim Reaper out here!”

I seized on the momentary discord among my captors. I had to remember that fear affected them too; it was a chink in their armor, a weakness I might yet exploit.

Then, without warning, the world outside the car exploded in light and sound. Sirens wailed, joining the cacophony, the noise vibrating through the very air.

“Police checkpoint!” the driver cursed, slamming on the brakes.

“Go through it!”

“Are you crazy? We’ll—”

“Do it!”

The vehicle surged forward, the engine roaring in protest. I braced myself, closing my eyes tight, expecting impact, expecting pain.

But instead of a crash, there was a sudden silence as the car seemed to hang in midair for a timeless second. Then the world turned upside down, the screech of metal on asphalt filling my ears as they collided with something solid, the force tossing me like a rag doll.

As darkness clawed at the edges of my consciousness, my last coherent thought was a name, a whisper on my lips. “Jerome...”

The car came to a rest, the sirens fading into a dull echo. I lay still, disoriented, trying to piece together what had happened. All around me was quiet—a quiet that was far too heavy, far too still.

“Raven...” a voice called out, faint and distorted as if underwater. “Raven, can you hear me?”

“Jerome?” I tried to call back, but my voice was a mere thread of sound.

“Stay with me, Raven.”

I fought to open my eyes, to see who was speaking, but before the darkness claimed me entirely, I heard the unmistakable click of a gun being cocked.

“End of the line, sweetheart.”

Chapter 34

Jerome

My hand clasped the handle, and I thrust the vehicle’s door wide open, heart hammering against my ribcage in a reckless rhythm. The dim glow of the streetlight barely pierced the shadows inside, but it was enough to make out Raven’s silhouette huddled in the backseat. With police sirens wailing in the distance, a crescendo that marked their impending arrival, I knew there wasn’t a second to waste.

“Raven!” My voice was both a command and a plea as I vaulted into the cramped space beside her.

“Jerome?” Her whisper was a thread of sound in the chaos, yet it roared above everything else in my ears.

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