Page 48 of Just Hide

“Okay,” he said to himself in a surprisingly calm voice. “Let’s do this.”

Accelerating fast, with a scream of tires, he managed to get ahead of her and then hit the brakes, hard, causing Cami to almost bite her tongue.

This was it. She felt dread like ice down her back. Connor had misjudged it. Nadia wasn’t going to slow down in time, and in a moment, they were going to feel the impact of the collision behind them.

This crash was happening, and Cami knew there was nothing they could do to stop it.

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

At the last possible moment, just as Cami was bracing herself for the painful disaster, Connor hit the gas again, and the car surged forward, avoiding the crash by inches. It had been so finely judged to within a hair’s breadth.

Connor’s driving and his reading of the situation had managed to slow Nadia right down. She’d hit the brakes hard in an effort to avoid totaling her own car. And Cami guessed that this near miss had also scared her, just the same way it had terrified Cami.

Coming so close to crashing, Cami could now see, had made her lose her nerve. Now, Nadia didn't have the stomach for it anymore. She was driving more conservatively, and she wasn’t trying to pass or get away. One bad fright had jolted her all the way out of that reckless mindset.

Connor slowed again, more gradually this time, and Cami saw that Nadia was now complying in a jerky way. Cami guessed she must be shaking all over. Cami was shaking too. That had left her with jagged nerves.

The Mini came to a stop behind them on the shoulder of the main road. Connor climbed out, hurrying to the driver's door at a run. He grasped hold of it, wrenched it open, and Nadia got out.

Her red hair was like a flame in the gray, darkening evening. Connor grasped her arm and hustled her over to the police car. He clipped a pair of handcuffs around her wrists, cuffing her hands in front of her, and a moment later, she was in the back, and the door was closed.

Connor got in the front and activated the locks.

Nadia might have complied as far as getting out of the car went, but it looked like she'd reached her limits. Now she was looking angry and rebellious.

"What about my car? You can't just leave my car there on the shoulder!"

"Your car won’t be there for long. The police are on their way,” he told her as the radio crackled again with an update. Connor replied, speaking tersely into it, giving the location of the Mini.

“Police are a minute away. They’ll drive it to the police station," Connor said, pulling off calmly.

"No way! You can't arrest me. I've done nothing wrong! I stopped as soon as I realized you wanted me to."

"The dashcam footage will prove otherwise. Do you want a list of charges against you so far?" Connor asked.

"This is a setup! I'm not that kind of person," Nadia said, although from her behavior, she clearly was the kind of person who'd take the law into her own hands.

"You think of yourself as a law-abiding citizen?" Connor asked.

"Yes, I do."

"Then I suggest that youcooperate with us from here."

"I don't see why I need to do that when you’ve pressured me into this!"

They stopped at a light and, with surprising suddenness, Nadia tugged at the door handle. Even with her cuffed hands, she was doing her best to make a break for it. Cami felt stunned that even now, she was trying her best to burst out of the car and get away. But her attempt failed. The internal locks on the back doors prevented it.

"Law abiding?" Connor asked, seeing what she'd tried to do. "Really? Running when in handcuffs doesn't go well, by the way. You end up being very slow, and people notice them."

Viciously, Nadia swore, with an intensity in her voice that chilled Cami.

The light turned green, and Connor accelerated, still heading for the police station.

"Where are you taking me?" Nadia demanded.

"To the closest police station," Connor said. "We're going to process you, charge you for the offenses you've committed so far, and then question you in connection with other crimes."

"No, you can't!" Nadia said. She was glowering at him in the rearview mirror.

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