Page 46 of Stars and Scars

“Another one,” I murmur. “There was another car following us.”

Jax was right. I should have waited.

And while I wasted time nabbing a worthless paparazzi, someone actually dangerous might have given me the slip.

I look back to the Jeep, where Charlotte’s eyes peer over the dashboard, filled with fear.

What am I going to tell her now?

11

CHARLOTTE

Grayson’s shoulders slump as he walks back to the jeep. He has trouble looking me in the eye. I don’t know why he’s acting ashamed. He was brilliant during the pursuit.

He leans on the door, his gaze meeting mine at last.

“He’s just a paparazzi. Not part of the cult.”

I stare at the groaning man on the ground. He rolls over onto his hands and knees, and then rises to his feet. He looks at the ruin of his truck and shakes his head.

“He was really determined to keep up with us.”

“Yeah, but I’m afraid that he was never the threat to begin with.”

Grayson sighs, and squeezes his eyes shut as he rubs the bridge of his nose.

“There was a second vehicle following us. One that I couldn't see because I was so focused on the Pap.”

“It could have just been another photographer.”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

He doesn’t convince himself, let alone me.

“Well…at least we got away from them. They’re not following us anymore.”

“I didn’t want to get away from them. I wanted to put hands on them and put this whole affair to bed.”

That’s not what I want him to put to bed, but I’m too worked up to concentrate on that right now. I am keeping a huge secret from Grayson.

I recorded the entire car chase with my GoPro. Not only that, but I sent the resulting video to my team in order for them to edit it and post it on my accounts.

I know Grayson will probably be pissed if he finds out. I don’t want to make him angry at me, for a lot of reasons.

But I feel justified in what I did. With the Order forcing me into hiding, I haven’t been able to produce as much content. The car chase is their fault, so why shouldn’t I translate it into clicks and views?

I haven't even seen the footage. I don’t know if it will be usable or not, or just a shaky-cam nightmare. But I had to try.

“What are we going to do now?” I ask.

“Now, we head to the safehouse.”

He climbs into the Jeep and turns the key. The engine roars to life and we pull away. I can feel that the ride is rougher than it was before. The jeep must have sustained some damage to its suspension system during the wild chase, or maybe just the final jump.

It still runs, though, and when we get out onto the smooth pavement of an actual highway, the ride is more comfortable. After all of the excitement of the car chase, we both lapse into a kind of relaxed silence.

In a lot of ways, the mood feels like a post-sex afterglow. I suppose that makes sense. We shared an exciting, physical event that brought us closer together.

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