Page 34 of Brutal Empire

Daybreak would come soon enough, and for once, I wasn’t as scared as I had been. I was ready to make everyone who made me suffer pay.

They wanted to fuck me over. Well, everyone could deal with the consequences of their actions.

FIFTEEN

“I want my own bike,”Cam demanded as she crossed her arms. Strands of hair billowed in the wind, and those brown eyes glared at me.

Even if a part of me was proud of her for standing up for herself, I gritted my teeth. We didn’t have time for this. It was a miracle that we had not been tracked down yet. You could run from almost everyone in the world, but the Sekt was a big fucking exception. I didn’t know Damian’s endgame. It was either shoot first and ask questions later, or the fucker was waiting to see what I would do. But by now, he had to know I was AWOL.

“We both take a bike, and we might as well wear a neon sign saying,guilty, take me.”

Her lip quivered as she looked at the bike and me. We had argued about taking a car. It would have been the more comfortable thing for her but not practical for us. The locals got around more with motorcycles. They were affordable and everywhere. It was easy enough to hijack one and leave some bills so that the person it belonged to could get another one. It wouldn’t have been as easy for a car, and reporting that would bring more trouble.

Cam still looked unsure.

“Even if I ride bitch we still have to touch, and if that’s the issue, take yourownbike back to Sweden.”

I knew I was harsh, so when she flinched, I still felt that shit deep in my gut. The thought of wanting to protect her was laughable. What had been done had passed even if she still lived in the past. That’s what her memories did—they kept her rooted in something that should have been forgotten. If I were her, I would thank my fucking lucky stars that I didn’t remember dick and just kept living.

A past filled with pain is a burden no one needs. I don’t give a shit if it builds character—your first kill does the same shit.

“So, what’s it going to be?” I asked as I threw one leg over the bike and cranked the gas. It was a shit bike, but I was glad it was going to get us from point A to point B in one piece.

Cam glared at me and then took a deep breath. I smiled and handed her the only helmet we had.

“Feel free to touch me all you want,” I teased, and her eyes widened. I could see the hesitation written all over her face as she hesitated to jump on.

I sighed, and my shoulders slumped.

“Just get on. We are wasting time. You can try to hold on to the sides, but if you fall, I’m not picking you up.”

She didn’t say more. Instead, she put on the helmet and jumped on in one fluid movement. I could feel a hint of her warmth on my back. Anyone else and I would feel the heat of their pussy as they tried to get closer. She didn’t wrap her arms around me and instead held on to the sides.

Baby steps.

I took off, and self-preservation got the better of her as soon as I did. Her arms wrapped around my midsection, causing my body to shiver. Not tight enough that I could feel her slim body pressed against mine but enough for her not to bust her shit.

Fuck, I really needed to get laid, and soon.

I steered the bike to the opposite side, where immigration checkpoints were set up. We didn’t want to get close enough to where the military was patrolling. This was good because it kept cartels away and made the people visiting their hometowns safer. But two foreigners like us in bikes was a call to get us arrested. Busting out a holding prison run by corrupt cops was easy. Getting out of the military would need strings pulled, and I didn’t have those right now.

It was all road and dust until I made it to the coordinates given to me. The path went off-road, and I stopped before continuing.

“What’s wrong?” Cam asked.

“If you pray, I suggest doing that shit now,” I half joked.

“Praying doesn’t do anything,” she told me defeatedly.

She had a point. Maybe there was only so much God could do. I believed in checks and balances, and it was what I told myself I was doing once I went down this dark path. Monster against monster was the easiest way to eliminate all the terrible things in the underworld.

“If I die with a full load, I’m going to be fucking pissed,” I said.

“What?”

“Nothing,” I bit out as I cranked the gas.

We took off again, and fifteen minutes later, we came across a barely there runway. Up ahead were three trucks and a small plane. Outside the trucks were men with AKs ready to shoot if the order was given.

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