Page 25 of Surrender to Me
“You don’t have a choice.”
That pulls me up short.
His tone is calm, but the edge is there, just beneath the surface. “I’m not negotiable, and you’ve given me the slip for the last time.”
That remains to be seen. I’ve spent my entire life evading cops, and he’s no better than they are.
“There’s no chance in hell I’m letting you go out there alone.”
My phone vibrates in my back pocket. Please, God, let that be my rideshare.
I nudge aside the blinds to glance out the window. There’s a tan-colored sedan in front of my building, and it has the name of the app on the window.
Yes.
Grateful that I can make my getaway, I brush past Stryker again, carefully avoiding his gaze.
As threatened, he immediately falls in step behind me.
Outside, the breeze is cold against my face. The afternoon light has done nothing to warm up the air.
I’m halfway to the rideshare when a flicker of motion catches my eye. A shadow moves in a neighboring window. A second later, there’s another shift—this one closer. A black blur reflected in a windshield across the street.
Then Stryker’s at my side, his fingers wrapping around my elbow in a grip I can’t shake.
“What a surprise. You’ve got company.”
A dark SUV rounds the corner—too slowly, too deliberately. It has tinted windows and no front license plate.
“Come on.” Stryker tugs me back toward the side lot.
“No. You can’t just?—”
“I can.” His interruption is terse. “I will.”
We’re running before I can argue.
I trip over a rock, but he pivots to catch me.
Then I’m airborne.
“What the hell?—?”
As if I weigh nothing, he makes good on his earlier threat by slinging me over his shoulder. My breath whooshes out in a frantic rush, and my duffel thumps against my back. “Let me go.”
Even though I kick furiously, his grip is like steel.
“I mean it!”
Without breaking stride, he smacks my ass.
Instantly I freeze. From shock, yes. But more from the sudden heat coiling through me. What the fuck? And why am I reacting in this way?
Then instinct takes over again, and I mewl my protests as I squirm. “Damn you, Stryker!”
But it’s as if I’ve said nothing at all.
Finally, while I’m still furiously wiggling, he reaches his vehicle and yanks open the passenger door. Half a second later, he unceremoniously dumps me into the seat.
