Page 25 of Mafia Captor

My foot smashes the clutch, shifting up a gear, then I floor it. I gain speed to get ahead but the SUV hits it too. He’s right on my tail.

She snaps out questions like bullets. “Why’s he following us? Who is that? What’s going on?”

“Baby, I need you to take a deep breath. Don’t panic. We’re gonna bang a U-ey in five.” I gain some ground.

“Bang a what?” she squeaks.

“We’re gonna make a hard U-turn.”

“Okay. Good plan.”

“Grumps? You good back there?” He gives me an all-ready bark from his position on the floorboard.

She turns forward to face the windshield. Sucking in a breath, setting her jaw, steeling her nerves. “You got this. Whatever it is. I trust you.”

This girl’s got balls. She’s ride or die material. I’m here for it.

“Ready? Hold on.”

“Ready.” She grips the edges of her seat.

I’ve got just enough of a lead to pull it off. Tires screeching, I bang out a hard U-ey, flipping the script. She’s strong and stoic, hanging in there as I hit the gas, sending us in the other direction.

The Land Rover’s not the fastest, but it’s a tank. I stare daggers at the SUV as I pass it. A younger guy with dark hair and a death wish behind the wheel. No one I recognize. When the SUV catches on, it flips around to tail us again.

I’ve got to make a new plan. I don’t know that I can out-race this fuckin’ guy. I got a feeling the guy that owes us money must be thinking he can get to me before I get to him.

Not gonna happen.

If it was just me in this car, the glovebox would be flying open, and I’d be poppin’ shots out my window. Ashely’s brave and strong, but I feel crazy protective over her. I don’t want her in more danger.

She turns over her shoulder, checking how far behind us the other car is. “Looks like you’ve got a lead. What do we do now?”

“We?” I shift gears, plowing down the road.

“I can do something to help.” She flips around, opening the glovebox.

Fuck. My piece, locked and loaded, is sitting right here.

“Is that a gun?” She slams the glovebox closed. “Never mind. Don’t even want to know why you have that. Okay, there has to be something here.”

I’m focused on the road. He’s gaining ground. She pops open the armrest between us, her little hands flying as she digs around. “Okay, okay. Huh… Yes. This will work.”

I can’t tear my eyes from the rearview mirror. “What are you doing?”

“You’ll see.” I hear the motor of the window rolling down.

I catch a look at her. She’s hanging out the window, something in her hands. She gives a grunt of exertion as she tosses it out the window. I watch in the rearview as an opened bottle of blue power drink explodes over the dude’s windshield.

It’s not a gunshot, but it’s enough to make him swerve.

“Good job, girl! What else you got in there?”

She’s throwing one thing after the other out the window. Socks. Hats. Candy wrappers. Booker was the last one to drive the Rover. Those youngest kids being the babies of the family, they’re messy AF. Always having their mama picking up after them their whole lives.

This is the first time in Booker’s life that I’m not going to be riding his ass about the mess he left behind.

She tosses a Men’s Fitness magazine out the window. It flies through the air, splaying out over the driver’s side of the windshield. It’s enough to block the driver’s view, causing him to swerve just as we reach the intersection that leads home.

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