Page 100 of One Wild Ride

THIRTY-NINE

Aria

“She saw us,” Alexa said in a hushed tone.

We were huddled behind some large crates after we heard some noise a few moments after leaving the storage room.

I held my arm out to stop them from moving and peered over the corner of the crate. Something moved but I held still. Then it jetted toward me like a missile.

I quickly moved back, pressing my back against the crate. It flew by missing us completely.

“It’s a bird, not Emma Hawthorne. Let’s keep going. There should be a way out in the back. By law, every building has to have at least two exits,” I said.

Alex grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips, kissing my dirt-covered fingers. “I love that you are filled with random knowledge. It’s cute and lifesaving at the same time.”

“Less kissing and more getting the hell out of here,” Alexa said as she made a move past us.

We followed her advice even if my heart was still racing from relief that my plan worked. It was hard not to run and jump into Alex’s arms when he said I didn’t want him anymore. I wanted to give him a thousand kisses and tell him it wasn’t true.

The pain in his eyes almost broke me, but I knew if I gave anything away we would never have a chance to escape.

I wanted to take him right there when I saw the love and relief in his eyes after his mother left and I admitted the truth. But it’s not always the right time to have sex. Like when we are escaping a crazy woman who had us kidnapped and is hell-bent on taking over the country by murder, bribery, and lies.

It felt like we were making our way through a maze as we moved farther toward the back of the building. Just as we saw the door with a red, glowing exit sign overhead, we heard loud voices.

“They’re gone! Quick, search everywhere,” A male voice came from the middle of the building.

“We have to run. There’s no other way. If we hide, they’ll find us,” I whispered.

“I’ll stay and distract them. You two run,” Alex said as he placed his hands on our backs.

“Absolutely not! I didn’t just tell the devil herself a pack of hateful lies and risk myself, just so you could get caught again. We all go,” I said as I glared at Alex.

“Aria, no. You two need time to flee. Who knows what’s out there. We could be in the middle of the desert. Where will you hide? At least if I distract them, then you two can assess the area and find some place to go. It gives you time.”

I could feel the tears burning my eyes as I shook my head. I refused to leave behind someone I loved, again.

“No, I’ll stay. You two get help. At least, Alex, you can protect Alexa. You might need to climb over a fence, you can use those big arms of yours to help her out.”

“They’re coming. Why don’t we all just make a dash for it? If we stay and argue, we all will be caught,” Alexa said, her eyes wide in frustration.

“I don’t like any of this. Why are you being so stubborn?” Alex said and gritted his teeth.

“Because I love you, that’s why. I will fight them for you. Now, both of you, go,” I said pointing to the door.

Alexa started to make a move but Alex grabbed her and kept his eyes on me. “Oh, and I don’t love you enough to fight them? I will fight them until the ends of the Earth and into the stars. So, you go with Alexa.”

“How about all of you come with me?” A deep voice came from behind us.

We turned and looked up from our crouched positions to find the douche, Jagger, standing there.

As we stood, Alexa turned to us, pointing her finger in our direction. “I’m never speaking to either of you again. Who has a fight about who loves whom more as they try to escape a kidnapping? Idiots, that’s who.”

She was right. I glanced at Alex and his pitiful expression matched how I felt.

“This was all my fault,” both Alex and I said at the same time.

“Damn straight it is,” Alexa said as Jagger pushed us forward.

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