Page 7 of Beautifully Reckless

Now, Lexi’s the one that arranged for me to be taken away from my parents and saved me from my fate of being forced to marry a monster. And Jared… Jared’s the one saving me from the monsters that destroyed me over and over, making sure they can’t do it again.

I don’t deserve my friends. But I love them.

Dee reaches up, offering me a tissue, and I take it, her kindness squeezing a sob from me.

“T-thank you.”

“I don’t think anyone’s following,” Jared mutters, easing his foot off the accelerator as he relaxes back into his seat. “Fuck, Abs. I wasn’t expecting this.”

I turn to him, noticing his gaze fixed on the swell of my stomach.

“I wasn’t expectingyouto come and save me. Who were those men?”

Jared’s blue eyes meet mine briefly before flicking back to the road as he sighs.

“Well, the guy that had hold of you is Griffin Marx. My boss.”

My eyes widen. “Your boss? Where do you work?”

Dee leans forward, catching Jared’s attention, and raises her brows at him.

In fascination, I watch them have a silent conversation with just their eyes as I sit between them before Jared speaks again.

“I’m a part of the Marx crew. Griffin’s men in the Fox Pines district.”

I raise a brow. “And what do you do for him?”

He glances at me warily from the corner of his eye as he drives.

“Whatever he needs me to do.”

I roll my eyes. “Look, I get that I probably have no right to pry, Jared, but I can’t help but worry because you have a gun.Theyhad guns.” I jerk my thumb in Dee’s direction. “She has a huge bloody knife. I can’t help but think your involvement with those men is anything but legal.”

Again, Dee’s thumb pops up in front of my face, and I glance at her.

“Is that confirming that I’m right?”

She nods.

I blanch.

Jared swerves the ute.

“Fuck!”

Gripping my seatbelt, my wide eyes lock onto the hood of a car speeding alongside us, and I realise it just merged onto the road, nearly clipping the side of Jared’s ute.

“Dee,glovebox,” Jared snaps, and I frown, watching her quickly pop it open to reveal another gun.

My eyes widen as she takes it out, and Jared curses, swerving the ute again.

“Fuck off!” he yells, and I flinch.

I’m slow to the party, because while Jared and Dee arm themselves with guns, I’m still sitting here wondering what the hell is going on. But then, the car next to us speeds up, and Daniel’s menacing glare comes into view.

“Pull over, Crowley!” Daniel yells, shouting Jared’s surname out the window of the silver car he’s driving, and Donny’s smug face pops into view from the passenger seat.

Dee answers for her boyfriend by flipping them the bird.

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