Page 45 of Scarlett Thief (Criminal Underground 2)

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Scarlett

Adrenaline flooded my system. My heart thrummed a steady, fast beat in my ears as Wolf and I sprinted across and down the street to the plain, off-white van waiting for us. The back doors were thrown open as we hit the street and Hadrian stood there, shocked and angry.

“What—” Hadrian’s voice drifted across the road but was quickly cut off.

“Start the fucking van!” Wolf yelled.

My ankle rolled as we leapt off of the sidewalk and onto the pavement and I nearly went down. I would have had it not been for Wolf’s firm hand on my arm lifting me back onto my feet.Damn fucking heels, I thought. My ankle smarted, but it wasn’t bad. I could still run and I tried. The sound of Italian curses and demands being shouted behind us made me ignore the pain and keep going.

Hadrian disappeared to the front of the van and just as we hit the back doors, Wolf leaping in first before turning back to help me inside, a gunshot went off. My whole body locked up as something pinged the side of the van. Tires shrieked against the pavement and more shouts followed. I threw myself toward Wolf’s arms as the van rolled forward, sliding into oncoming traffic.

The doors banged on either side of the van, one swinging back around and slamming shut—locking into place. My head pounded. My ears were ringing as I dangled, half in the van and half out, relying solely on Wolf’s arm around my back as he tried to pull me farther inside. Instead, I was slammed into the wall of the van when as the vehicle jerked to the side.

The wind whipped around us, the sound of honking mixed with more gunshots. I screamed when the van jerked again and Wolf’s arm loosened its grip. My feet scrambled against the bottom of the van as I dropped to the floor and he was flung backwards. The still open back door clanged wildly behind me as I slid backwards, heading straight back for the street.

My nails scraped the bottom of the van as I tried to find purchase somewhere to stop myself from slipping.I’m not going to fucking die off the back of some stupid van in the middle of Italy.

I could feel myself slowly sliding back toward that opening and no matter what I tried to do, nothing I grabbed onto helped to stop my descent. I screamed when I felt the wind whipping against my ankles and got onto my knees. Without thinking, I latched onto the side of the van, my fingers aching as I tried to bite my nails into the hard metal—to no avail. I slipped and suddenly realized my hands were no longer on the wall, but on the door.

Close it. I have to fucking close it!I grabbed onto it and yanked, but as Hadrian took the next turn far harder than I expected and the whole vehicle jerked up and over the sidewalk, I was jolted forward and ripped from my relative safety.

“Wolf!” I screamed, panic taking hold when I saw the pavement rushing by under my body as I clung to the swinging door. “Wolf, help me!”

Two Italian cop cars raced behind us, the little vehicles maneuvering expertly down the narrow streets of the city. Everything felt like it was closing in. It was too close. Too loud. Too much. I could’ve cried when two masculine hands grabbed onto my side and yanked me back into the van. The relief choked me.

Blue lights flashed against the sides of the buildings as we sped down the street. “Shit, hold on!” Hadrian yelled and suddenly the whole van was sliding, damn near tipping up on two wheels as we cut into an alley and the sound of the sirens grew muffled for several seconds.

My body collided with Wolf’s before we slammed into the opposite wall. I groaned as he locked onto my wrist and began dragging back. Wolf scowled as he yanked me toward the front, right behind Hadrian’s seat.

Before I could say anything, the sound of ricocheting gunfire hit my ears as the sirens came back in full force. With a grunt, Wolf whipped out his gun and turned, shooting several rounds out of the still open back door.

“Stay down,” he ordered.

Eyes wide. Lungs screaming. Heart pounding. I didn’t respond. The van rocketed down the alley and cut out onto another street. The noise was too much. “We have to shut that fucking door!” I yelled. “And get out of the city!”

“Working on it,” Hadrian shot back before cursing as he swerved, narrowly missing a car.

I shook my head as Wolf popped off several more rounds.

My hands sank into the shelving screwed into the side of the van—the equipment Hadrian had set up there, what hadn’t been bolted down, had been thrown about the interior and was smashed all over the place. I worked to get my legs under me once more, crawling up the side of the van toward Wolf.

“What are you doing?” he growled. “I told you to stay put—fuck!”

I jumped as a gunshot whizzed by, nearly taking off Hadrian’s head as it hit the front windshield—shattering it.

“Brace yourselves!” Hadrian shouted. The jarring movement sent me flying into Wolf’s chest. His arms wrapped around me protectively as Hadrian swerved and cursed, attempting to regain control. “This might get a little rough!”

“It’s already fucking rough.” I was pretty sure Hadrian couldn’t hear Wolf’s irritated grunt, but I certainly could and I had to agree. With the back door clanging and banging around, it was almost a relief when Hadrian yanked the wheel and sent us careening across what had to be an open lane highway—I couldn’t be sure since I didn’t have a good view of the road, but it was the only explanation for how long it took for us to even out again.

The sound of ripping metal shrieked in my ears as something skidding down the opposite side of the van and the door that had still been hanging open until that moment was hit. It swung inward again and clamped shut, cutting off the worst of the noise. We weren’t safe, however, not by a long shot. Now we just had to get out of the city.

Wolf’s arms closed around me and his back pressed against the wall between the bolted shelves. I closed my eyes, feeling bile race up my esophagus. I’d never had a problem with fast cars before, but all of this being thrown around was beginning to have a horrible side effect. I was afraid if we didn’t get out of this situation soon, I was going to puke all over him.

“Hold on!” Hadrian shouted once more, the van listing to the side. “I’ve got an idea.”

Thank god, I thought.

I turned my face into Wolf’s chest and inhaled the spice of his scent, letting it fill my nostrils and calm me. Deep breath in and deep breath out. Inhale. Exhale. After several more, heart stopping moments, the sound of the sirens fell further and further away and there was no more gunfire.

No matter how calming Wolf’s scent was, however, as Hadrian raced the three of us out of the city and into the night, I knew one thing for sure—my past had finally come back to bite me in the ass.

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