Page 40 of Burning Bridges

I put it in the cup holder and sit in the driver’s seat. My body is shaking with a strange adrenaline. The more I sense the control slipping from my life, the more I itch to do something drastic about it. Anything to get rid of this uncomfortable feeling that’s been creeping in since I started following orders from my brother again. I should have known it would only lead to more trouble for me. I’m not his priority, Axel told me that time and time again, but I didn’t listen. I was too busy trying to help him to somehow make up for our fucked-up childhood. But now I see I can’t, it’s too late.

I slam the car door and start her up. I think I might take a drive tonight, get this erratic energy out of me and see just how far Leo’s stalking habit will take him. I tear out of my driveway and head for Palm Canyon Drive, the main road out of town, the one that leads to the desert. Far enough away that I will know for sure he is following me, and I can call him out on it.

Once on the highway, I slide into a more leisurely pace, rolling down the windows and letting the cool night air blow my hair around. This feels good, it tastes like freedom. Me escaping the confines of the town I grew up in and all its residents who have a hold over me. Being out here also makes me think about where Tony could be hiding. Why can’t he come back? Why won’t he tell me what’s going on? If he really wants my help, I need more to go off.

I watch other cars swoosh past me at top speed and wonder if my little plan will work or not. It better, because I need someone to take my shitty mood out on tonight, and since I can’t face Tony, what better person than the other one who thinks he has some sort of control over me.

I always knew Leo was a little infatuated with me. He made that obvious from when we were quite young. And again, when he came to work with Tony, I saw the way he looked at me, the subtle glances in my direction, the heat that he still held in his gaze. He thinks he can hide his feelings from everyone, but not me. I see past his stone-cold exterior and feel the fire he has burning just for me. It’s one of the reasons I kept my distance from him for so long. The kind of desire he has is explosive, and when our two families have been at war for so long, that is dangerous for everyone—especially me. But just like when I was a naive fifteen-year-old, I don’t shy away from danger like I should. I face it head-on, and this year, it was time to ignite that fire and watch what happens when it burns.

As I leave Palm Springs behind, the houses are switched for the dusty desert and the twinkling starlit sky. It’s calm out here, peaceful. It’s so rare I leave my hometown for anything. It’s nice to get away from it, even if I have only gone twenty minutes up the road so far. It almost feels like I’m running away, and for a second, I fantasize what it would be like to do exactly that. Pack up my stuff and take off somewhere so far away no one knows who I am or the name Acevedo. My entire body physically relaxes at the thought. If I didn’t grow up with that name, I could have been anyone, done anything. I wouldn’t be trapped in a destiny that makes me feel like I have no control over my own life at all. Maybe I would have been an artist like I dreamed, the type that moves around a lot, never really setting roots down anywhere. Meeting new people and using my new surroundings to create beauty. That is a dream I could hold on to.

The high-beam headlights of a car behind me break me from my fantasy as they nearly blind me, causing me to swerve into the lane next to me. I correct myself, thankful the road isn’t very busy tonight and there is plenty of space. The car behind me, a black SUV of some sort, has backed off a bit, but just as my heart starts to beat normally again, they speed up, flicking their blinker on and pulling up beside me. I glance sidewise, looking for him. The windows are heavily tinted, but he rolls it down.

I’m not surprised in the least to see Leo’s annoyed face as he glares daggers at me from the passenger seat.

“Pull over, Piper,” Leo demands, his tone icy. He’s mega pissed.

I smile to myself. They might be trying to control me, but tonight, I got him to stop whatever he was doing and follow me out of town just because I decided I wanted him to. Maybe I should feel more empowered than I do. At least when it comes to Leo. Tony is a different story altogether.

Up ahead, I spot a sign to a truck stop. I signal to pull into it not because he told me to but because this was my plan all along. Make him follow me out of town so I can call him out on his bullshit stalking. I am, however, a little scared at how quickly he was able to follow me. I knew he was able to track me with the little device sitting in my cup holder, but where was he that he was so damn quick? Right outside my house? A shiver runs through me, and I’m not sure if it’s because I like the idea or because it’s actually really fucked up. Maybe it’s a little of both. Either way, I'm pretty sure there is something wrong with me that I’m even playing this kind of a game with a man like Leo, knowing he's shot others for less.

I park my car in a more secluded part of the lot so we are out of the way of other vehicles. I turn off the engine and wait. He pulls up in front and is out of the car before the driver even has the time to turn the car off. He storms toward my car like a raging bull, high on testosterone and adrenaline. He reefs the door open so aggressively I’m surprised he doesn’t pull it off its hinges. And I smile to myself. I know him so damn well.

Bring it on, baby. I’m so ready for this fight.

Chapter 23

LEO

AsIpullopenthe door of her car, I shake with the out-of-control rage bubbling up inside of me. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” I growl, surprising even myself at how furious I am with her. What does she think she’s playing at? Being found on this particular stretch of road on a week when all hell has broken loose in our town, and this is the road that separates us and the motherfuckers that want to wreak havoc on our town. She might as well have worn a sign through town saying she was guilty, because it’s not just my brothers questioning her motives now; it’s me.

She steps out of the car calmly and stands in front of me, my mood having no effect on her whatsoever. Folding one arm over the other, she tilts her head with an annoying confidence for someone who has been caught driving into Kings territory. “I'm going wherever the hell I want,” she spits out defiantly.

My irritation bubbles dangerously close to the surface. Does she even realize what she does to me? My pulse swooshes through me like the roar of the ocean it’s so loud in my skull. It’s been like this since I worked out where she was driving to at this time of night. The thought that she is working for the absolute scum of the earth makes my blood boil. Yesterday, I didn’t want to believe it, but I can’t see any other explanation for this.

“Are you working for them?” I seethe, needing answers to know how I should deal with her.

“For whom?” she asks with a little too much attitude.

“The Kings.” The name rolls of my tongue with such disgust that it leaves a sour taste in my mouth. “I’ll give you one chance, Piper, and if you fucking lie to me, that’s it. Whatever this is” —I motion between us— “is done.” I threaten her with the only thing I think might actually work right now. I know she is just as invested in this relationship as I am, and it’s not an empty threat. If she really is in with them, no matter what she means to me, we’re done for good. I will walk away from her.

Her eyes narrow in on me like she is trying to work me out. “Are you fucking kidding me? I hate them. Why would I be working for them?” she says flippantly, like this is all some joke. She legitimately seems to have no idea what I’m talking about.

“What’s your explanation for being on this road heading toward their territory?”

“How about you answer me something, Leo. And I want the truth or you're right, whatever this is” —she motions between us just like I did— “is done.” Her eyes fix on mine, and I feel her icy chill go right through me. She’s mad with me? “How did you know where I was driving tonight?”

“Bro, I’m not sticking around for whatever fucked-up foreplay this is.” Kobe hangs his head out the car window. We were in the middle of a meeting when I realized, she was heading out of town, and he offered to drive me, seeing how "irrationally furious" I was. Those were Kobe’s words for the temper tantrum I threw when I worked it out.

I wave him off. He can finish our meeting without me. Right now, I need to get this under control once and for all. Kobe drives off, leaving me there in the parking lot.

“What’s it going to be, Leo?” She taps her heeled boot on the dirt like I’m wasting her time instead of the other way around.

“Tell me where you were going.” I scowl back at her, the two of us playing a game, seeing who will give in first. As I stare back at her, I already know it’s going to be me. I can’t be this close to her and not itch to touch her. I also can’t risk her walking away from me over something like this. Not when we’re so close to enemy territory. She knows I watch her; this isn’t that much worse, is it? I’m not even sure anymore. Somewhere between keeping an eye on her to make sure she wasn’t about to interfere with our business and lusting after her, I feel like I lost track of reality and instead became so focused on everything about her. I don’t even know when I’m overstepping the mark anymore. I have to know where she is at all times and what she is doing and with whom. It’s an obsession that is taking over my life.

She narrows her eyes in on me then turns as if she’s about to get back in her car. “I’m tracking your car,” I admit, the words coming out in a desperate rush to stop her from leaving before I have figured this out.

“I know. I found your fucking tracking device, asshole. Next time get your goons to hide it better.” She throws it at me then turns to get in her car.

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