Page 68 of Risky Passion

I pressed my uninjured hand to the roof for balance as the cruiser jolted violently over the uneven dirt track, hurtling backward.

Three figures chased after us with their silhouettes backlit by the flickering flames of the wreckage.

My heart slammed against my ribs. “Hurry, Jaxson! Go!”

“I am!” he cried as the tires spat gravel into the darkness.

Sparks pinged off the cruiser’s hood.

“Shit! They’re shooting at us.” Panic surged through me as I shielded my face with my arm.

A bullet punched clean through the windscreen and out the back window, barely missing Onyx. I screamed as a spiderweb of cracks exploded across the glass, spraying shards across my lap and arms.

“Get down!” Jaxson yelled.

A deafeningclangrang out as another round struck the roof. I yanked on my seatbelt with fumbling fingers and dropped low, curling over the seat edge.

The cruiser bucked again, bouncing uncontrollably as Jaxson floored it, desperate to outrun the hail ofbullets.

Finally, the gunfire faded and I sat up.

“Hang on,” Jaxson yelled, and with a sharp jerk of the wheel, he spun the car in a brutal arc. The tires screamed, fishtailing wildly as we whipped around. My body slammed into the passenger door, and a white-hot bolt of pain tore through my injured arm.

I bit down a cry as my breath caught in my throat.

Jaxson straightened the wheel in one smooth motion, now facing forward, and slammed on the gas. The engine roared like a beast unleashed as the cruiser tore down the dirt track at breakneck speed.

Wind howled through the bullet hole in the windscreen as I clutched the door handle, swallowing back the agony burning through my arm. The world outside blurred as trees, shadows, and everything else smeared into chaos. The car skidded and fishtailed, and a blinding cloud of dust and gravel exploded around us.

“Jaxson, slow down.”

Branches clawed at the sides of the cruiser as the headlights slashed through the dark in jagged beams, illuminating the narrow, bumpy path ahead.

But Jaxson didn’t let up. He drove like a man possessed . . . focused, furious, and absolutely determined to get us out alive.

“Where the hell did you learn to drive like this?” I blurted with both awe and panic fighting for attention in my mind.

“Chasing bad guys.” Although his voice was clipped, a hint of amusement crept in.

I looked over my shoulder, trying to see through the swirling dust behind us. “I think you lost them.”

“Agreed.”

“Then you can slow down.”

“Not yet.”

My knuckles ached as I gripped my seat, fighting to stay steady.

The cruiser hit a deep rut, and my head smacked against the roof. “Shit!”

“Sorry,” Jaxson said, wrestling the wheel to keep the tires on the tracks while pressing the accelerator even harder.

From the back seat, Onyx let out a sharp bark and her claws scratched the upholstery as she tried to keep her footing. She growledlow, her ears pinned back as her intense gaze flicked between the front windshield and the rear window.

“Even Onyx thinks you’re insane!” I winced as another jolt rattled through the car.

“She’s okay,” Jaxson muttered, yet his focus remained locked on the road ahead.

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