Page 113 of Beautiful Dangerous

He reaches for my hand, brings it to his mouth and kisses my knuckles as Lucca jumps back into the driver’s seat and starts the engine.

“Do whatever you have to do to be happy, Liv. Okay?”

I smile at Angel, mouthingthank youat him before we pull out of the gates and head in the direction of the airfield. It isn’t too far away, but as I glance at Lucca I can see the nerves on his face. It’s not written in stone that we’re going to get there alive, I know that. So does he.

I pick up a gun, my fingers tightening around it, and I inhale deeply, close my eyes, and breathe out through my mouth, I need to be ready to fight now. For Lucca. For my fucking life…

“Shit!”

My eyes spring open, and I look at Lucca. “Why are we slowing down?”

“I think we got a flat.”

He pulls over onto the side of the road, leaping out of the truck and running to the back, flinging the doors open, and I pray there’s a spare tire in there.

“Get back in the truck, Liv.”

He jacks the truck up, and quickly dispatches of the flat tire.

“Let me help.”

“Just get in the fucking truck.” He glances back over his shoulder, and we’re still good, but we both know Javier will be coming. We aren’t going to get out of this without a fight. “Jesus, Olivia!”

I back off toward the front of the truck, watching as Lucca swaps the tires in record-quick time, but as he casts another glance back over his shoulder I can hear it too. The sound of tires screeching. Of a vehicle heading toward us. And I run back to Lucca, whip the jack away from under the truck and toss it into the back, just as the pick-up, headlights blazing, turns onto the road.

“Get in the fucking truck, Olivia. Now!” Lucca yells as bullets rain from the front of the pick-up, hitting the back of the van, and I cry out in pain as one catches my shoulder, causing me to fall to my knees. But the fear and the pain just serve to drive me to my feet, and I scramble back into the truck, Lucca pulling me up and into the cab, driving away before I’ve even had time to close the door. He’s driving so fast it’s like the world outside is nothing more than a blur, and as he swerves off onto a side road, the truck bumping along unfamiliar terrain, the gun shots become more distant, and I sit back and breathe; try to ignore the pain tearing down my arm. I close my eyes and I take a moment, and then my fingers once more tighten around the gun, I’m ready. For anything.

“Was Javier there?” I ask, but I don’t think either of us had any time to check just who’s coming after us. Who Javier’s sent to end us both, if he can’t do it himself.

“I don’t know. And I don’t think it matters.” He quickly looks at me, frowning as he catches sight of the blood seeping through my shirt. “You okay?”

“I think the bullet just scratched it.”

He checks the rear-view mirror, and I can hear them, they’re still behind us, they’re just playing catch-up. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Just drive, Lucca.”

The wind whistles through the open window as we speed into the night, the sound of distant gun shots still ringing loud in my ears. Wiping the palm of my hand on my torn, mud-splattered jeans I wrap my fingers back around the gun and lean out of the window, looking behind us, but I can’t see anything. I think we might’ve lost them, for now. But the coast’s anything but clear.

“How long ’til we reach the airfield?” I sit back down, still holding tightly onto the gun.

“Almost there. Another five minutes, max.”

I close my eyes and take the deepest of breaths, but all that does is exacerbate the pain in my shoulder where the bullet grazed it.

“You need to get that seen to.”

I raise an eyebrow. “You think? You want to take a detour to the hospital?”

I’m aware that sarcasm and a smart mouth aren’t entirely helpful right now, but it’s all I’ve got.

“Shit!”

“What?” My fingers tighten their grip on the gun as I look in the rear-view mirror. “Fuck!”

Kneeling up on the seat I twist around so most of my upper half is hanging out of the window and, ignoring the pain tearing through my shoulder, I point the gun out in front of me as the headlights grow closer, flashing their deadly threat.

“Here. Take this.”

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