Page 87 of His Property

“Shhh, just wait for my go ahead.”

“I’m not doing that. You’re insane.”

I shrug like I don’t care, but I’m fighting the urge to shove my tongue down her throat. I could fuck her right now.

“Suit yourself. Once I’m gone though, they’ll check the perimeter, and if they find you…”

She takes several shaky breaths and stares at the Jeep. She looks back at me. “Fine, but I hate you.”

I chuckle. “You love me.”

My smile falls as soon as I realize what I’ve said, and a moment passes before I right myself and turn back to the Jeep pulling up to the barn. I only meant it as an expression, but to Mae, it could’ve meant more. Or maybe I want it to mean more. I don’t know, but now isn’t the time to analyze it.

The top is off the Jeep, so I can see the driver. I recognize him as Antonio, and my smile widens. A few weeks ago, when I was coming to pick up Emily for a job, he gave me a dirty look as I passed through the gate.

Perfect.

He shuts off the engine and climbs out, and I cross my fingers that he’s careless enough to leave the keys in the ignition. I bet he is. He struts up to the two guards with a shit-eating grin, and they move to the front of the barn.

“Ready?” I ask, throwing Mae a look.

She swallows and nods.

“Go.” I take off in a sprint toward the Jeep, and Mae follows closer this time, sprinting with her shoes in her hand. I run around to the driver’s side and quickly hop in the front seat. The Jeep is raised up, so Mae struggles inside, and she tosses looks at the guards over her shoulder.

“Hey!”

I was right about Antonio leaving the keys in the ignition, and the engine roars to life with a twist.

Mae flings her shoes at me before hauling herself inside, and I shove my foot down on the gas. We jolt forward just as Antonio makes it to the Jeep, his hand slapping the metal exterior. Mae grips my arm and the edge of the seat, and she slides as I turn us around and haul ass through the grass into the field.

Bullets ricochet off the rear bumper, pulling screams from Mae. I glance at her and chuckle, but she doesn’t seem to notice my amusement because she’s too busy looking behind her then ducking in the seat. They’re not aiming at us. They’re aiming at the wheels. But I don’t tell Mae this.

Two Jeeps appear in the rearview, one catching air as it runs off the driveway into the field and the other one speeding directly behind us. One has a guy standing up and pointing an AK at our Jeep, and I jerk the wheel as he fires. Mae crouches down on the floorboard, and I lean down and grab her arm to tug her up.

“Don’t crouch,” I yell over the engine. “Bullets can go through the door, and they’re aiming low.”

She stares at me with panicky eyes and climbs up and onto the center console. Her fingers dig into my side, and she tucks her head under my arm.

I speed up and pull the wheel to the right to put the Jeep with the gun directly behind us. I can see the poppy fields ahead, and I gun it toward them. There’s a small road that weaves just to the right of it, and I plan on driving down it, but I don’t want them to know that.

I point the Jeep straight at the field and let the guard’s vehicles get closer to us. At the last minute, I shove my foot on the break and jerk the wheel to the right. We barely miss the field, but one of the guards plows into it, and the other has to come to a full stop.

I turn and smile as one of the guys throws his hands into the air, screaming out curse words.

Mae peeks her head over my shoulder as well, then when we’re pulling onto the path, she lets go of me and moves back to her seat. She presses her back against the vinyl, and I look over to see her chest heaving. She looks at me like she wants me to reassure her that all went as planned, and I smirk.

“Fun, right?”

Her eyes widen like she’s dumbfounded, but after a few moments, her eyes soften, and she laughs. She flings herself against the seat and puts her hand to her forehead.

“You’re a fucking maniac,” she says with another laugh.

I flick my eyes to the rearview mirror to make sure no one is close behind while I drive up the path. After we’ve made it a good distance, I pull over and kill the engine.

“What are we doing?” Mae asks, looking around like she’s expecting to see guards pop out of the weeds.

I smile at her and take my hand off the keys, leaving them in the ignition. “Returning company property.”

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