Page 90 of Stealth Mission

And I’m the target.

Her shoulders are locked and steel is in her spine and I can’t stop myself from taking off after her.

When I match her stride, she sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. “You’re not going to leave me alone, are you?”

“No. I can’t.”

A tiny little muscle in her jaw works. “Can’t or won’t?”

“Both,” I fire back.

As I hold the door to her truck open, she climbs inside. “Gingersnap run okay today?”

The key she was pushing toward the ignition halts in the air. “Yeah. She did. Why?”

“I took care of a few things that needed to be fixed.”

She stares at me, her mouth sliding open. Then she faces the windshield. “I need to go. I’m so confused right now, I don’t know what to say. But it’s been too much.”

“You have my number?”

After nibbling on her lip, she flicks her eyes quickly to me and away. “I do.”

“Call me. Please. I’ll explain everything.”

“Are you going to stop sneaking around the farm?”

Resting my hand on top of the Land Cruiser, I consider my answer. “Not until I know you're safe.”

“Vik has apparently decided he’s not leaving as long as I don’t want to talk to you.”

I force myself to inhale slowly. “Marianna, I’d never hurt you.”

She tugs on the door. “You’ve already done that, Evan.”

Fucking hell.

The engine fires right up. Maybe I shouldn’t have fixed the darn thing.

Clenching my hands, I stand on the curb. “Marianna…”

She gives me one last, broken glance that drives a knife into the rusty organ inside my chest.

I’m so tangled up in my head, I don’t react fast enough.

My hand flies into the air, as I leap toward the Toyota. “Mari! No!”

But it’s too late.

Chapter Thirty-One

“Oh my god!”

I’m still blinking at the tiny red car I just smashed when Evan leans into the window, reaches for the key, and turns Gingersnap’s engine off. “You okay?”

“I think. I mean, I wasn’t even going two miles an hour.”

He helps me out, which is good because my legs are shaking. Adrenaline is pumping in my veins. How many times this week has my body gotten shocked? I’m losing count.

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