Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22112 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22112 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
“Do me a favor and don’t lie to the both of us. Because we both know how you ended up here today wasn’t because you were on a holy mission.”
When the elevator reaches the bottom floor, I can hear sirens in the distance. Thankfully there’s a car out front with the keys in the ignition. Vince Sledge won’t be needing this anytime soon.
“Being kidnapped in the same car twice in one day is a little cliché, don’t you think?” Rue spits at me while I toss her in the passenger seat and buckle her up.
“Beggars can’t be choosers, and the sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can get the hell away from those guys.” I nod down the street to the black armored trucks, and her eyes widen.
“Shit. Okay, let’s get out of here.”
“It’s like I’ve been talking to myself,” I say as I close her door and get in the driver's seat.
I see Barbra standing in the entrance of the building smoking a cigarette as I pull away from the curb. With her telling the story, I know I don’t have to worry about loose ends.
“Where are we going?” Rue asks as I take a side street and we watch the armored trucks roll by with their sirens blaring.
“You like the beach?” I ask, and she blinks at me in surprise.
There’s something about her that I can’t seem to shake. It’s something familiar, like maybe we’ve met, but I know that’s not it. There’s no way I could’ve forgotten seeing her before. I’ve always lived a nomadic life, and maybe that’s what I see in her. She didn’t give me an outright reason to think she would try to escape, but I knew instinctively that I needed to put that ankle monitor on her.
Something tells me she’s going to run the first chance she gets. I’m not about to make it easy on her.
Chapter Three
RUE
“’Cause baby now we got bad blood. You know it used to be mad love. So take a look at what you've done. ’Cause baby now we got bad blood. Hey!” I sing at the top of my lungs, and Maxim side-eyes me. “Now we got problems. And I don't think we can solve them.”
His lips twitch, letting me know he’s fighting a smile. Well, that wasn’t the plan. This is the third Taylor Swift song I’ve sung, but he hasn’t said a word. I keep going, thinking it has to annoy him at some point. When I finish “Bad Blood,” he shakes his head but still doesn’t speak.
When I break out into the next, he taps his fingers on the steering wheel.
“I knew you were trouble when you walked in. So shame on me now. Flew me to places I'd never been. Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground. Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble.”
“Is this one your theme song?” he finally asks before glancing at me and then back at the road. This time I notice he looks at my legs, and it makes me shift in my seat.
“Pretty sure you’re the trouble around here.” I tug at the hem of my skirt when I realize it’s ridden up. It probably happened when I was dancing in my seat. I thought for sure he’d throw me out of the car when I finished the first song.
“Me?” He shakes his head. “I got your little ass out of trouble.”
Okay, so he’s right, but I glare at him anyway. Maxim saved me, and I’d be a liar if I said otherwise. “I had it all worked out. I’ve been in worse situations.” I fold my arms over my chest and stare out the window. How long have we been driving now?
“Liar.” He says it more to himself, but I bite the inside of my cheek so that I don’t make an expression.
I’m finding it hard to maintain my disinterest around Maxim. There’s something about him that throws me off balance. He’s got me trapped, and I’m not sure how I’m going to get away.
Damn it, I’m getting rusty. The one thing I’ve always been good at is getting away.
“Worse situations? Like what?” he asks, breaking the quiet. Does it bother him? I tuck that away. Normally I run my mouth, whether it’s being sweet, annoying, or hostile.
“Why would I tell you that?” I toss back at him.
“You could go back to singing.”
“Nope,” I chirp. “Are you a Taylor fan or something?” Everyone loves her, but I know all her songs, so it was an easy choice.
“You have a sweet voice.” My chest tightens for some inexplicable reason. Maybe I’ve got heartburn. I’ve never had it before, but that has to be what this is.
Once again, the quiet grows. “How about if I answer a question, you answer one,” he offers.
“Hmm.” I tap my finger against my lips, not sure this is a good idea. But as always, my curiosity gets the best of me. “Okay.” I sit up straighter and turn slightly to face him.