Total pages in book: 172
Estimated words: 155984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 780(@200wpm)___ 624(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 780(@200wpm)___ 624(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
“What did you hear?” he prompted gently.
She glanced toward the front seat again, toward Ania. “I know you said it was just the two of us, but I can’t talk about this right here . . .”
“We’ve got company,” Ania announced. “Two car lengths back, one lane over. Coming up on us fast, Sevastyan. A Porsche Macan Turbo, fast, and in the right hands, great cars. Make sure you have your seat belts on.”
Sevastyan didn’t like the conversation interrupted. At some point they were going to be picking it up again, but Ania needed to concentrate on driving and he had to make certain Flambé was protected. On the floor was a bulletproof blanket. The windows of the vehicle were bulletproof and supposedly the car was made encased in a newer bulletproof armor that protected them, but he wasn’t taking chances with her safety.
“I’m sorry, Ania, I didn’t think he’d really be this stupid.” Sevastyan was going to have to answer to his cousin. Already he was texting Mitya, making certain to let him know they were possibly going into a gun battle.
Sevastyan doubted if Franco Matherson was personally in the Porsche chasing them. That wasn’t his style. He wouldn’t want to put himself in any real danger. Sevastyan had prepared three different places they could ambush anyone coming after them. They’d already passed the first two roads. He’d been fairly certain Matherson would want to keep his kidnaping of Flambé as low-key as possible. The first two roads had been long before they’d gotten onto the freeway. Now, there was only the one exit that would take them toward Evangeline’s first home before she married Fyodor.
Sevastyan liked to change up Mitya’s routes often. He never wanted to establish a pattern and this was a longer distance, but had far less traffic. The exit looped around in a wide circle that came out on a frontage road. That continued for a mile or two before they would turn off to take a short little connecting road, almost a one-lane that led toward the residential area where Evangeline had bought her home. Sevastyan was certain that short lane was where they would be ambushed if they weren’t before then.
“Did the Porsche exit with us?”
“Yes. It’s trying to keep a couple of cars between us, but only one other car exited onto this loop. I have a feeling that car might be with them as well, Sevastyan.”
There were no nerves in Ania’s voice, but then he didn’t expect there to be any. Ania had always proved to be a driver beyond compare. She had no doubt in her mind that she could outdrive anyone pursuing them.
“Matvei and Kirill have already backtracked and set up on the hill just above the turnoff to Evangeline’s street. They can cut off anyone you don’t shake.”
“That’s just insulting,” Ania said.
Sevastyan laughed. “You love this shit. Poor Mitya. He has no idea.”
“He knows. He just doesn’t like it.”
Sevastyan found himself running Flambé’s palm up and down his thigh, pressing it deep. His body felt hot. His cock ached. He couldn’t help the way his body reacted when there was danger. Adrenaline translated to sexual hunger every time for him. “We’re going to be fine,” he assured her.
She nodded, not pulling her hand away. “I’m sure we will.”
He glanced down at her face. Flambé wasn’t the hysterical type. She was used to danger. She had no problem walking right into the throat of her enemy, but she was the one doing the planning, being in control. It was an altogether different situation relying on someone else when the stakes could be life or death. He understood that. She gave herself to him in the bedroom, but this was a different matter.
He brought her hand up to his mouth. “I really didn’t expect him to hit us this soon, Flambé, or I wouldn’t have brought Ania with us. Mitya’s going to have my hide for this.”
“You deserve it too,” she said, looking up at him.
There it was again, that brief look, a shadow in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. It had slipped in sometime while she was at his cousin’s home and there was a distinct wariness in her that hadn’t been there before. It was so slight, almost hidden. She was used to hiding her nature from others so whatever she was suddenly leery of was going to be difficult to ferret out if she didn’t want to disclose it.
The car braked suddenly, the back end sliding around in a perfect U. They ended up going the opposite way they’d been driving. Sevastyan glanced out his window to see Ania threading a narrow proverbial needle between the Porsche and an SUV as those two vehicles tried to brake. She sped up and headed toward a cross street that would bring her to another road back to their original destination where Sevastyan’s men had set up an ambush.