Page 45 of H E R

His nostrils flare, and I think a growl escapes him. He looks beat, and I almost feel sorry for him. The empty hell he’s going to encounter once my girl learns the truth is almost enough fuel to laugh in his face, but my patience is exhausted. I have better things to do than bail his ass out, but it’s the only assurance I have to make him talk.

“I see, so you just jumped at the opportunity to ruin me.”

I snap my fingers at the guard with the keys so he can let the dumbass out, and then I lean against the wall. “You did that yourself.”

Noah laughs and then nods. “You gonna tell her?”

I shake my head and point toward the exit so he knows where to go. “You’regoing to do that.”

“She’s going to hate me.”

I focus on the road instead of Noah’s stupid face. Max sits in the back, his eyes focused on my passenger. He lets out a snarl each time he speaks. This time Max just chews the air, as if agreeing with him.

I, however, disagree. “She’ll be disappointed, but she can never hate you.”

Noah looks out the window. “Yea, but she can never love me, either,” he says this quietly, more to himself.

It looks like he’s smarter than I give him credit for. “You’re going to tell her the truth and fix this, and then you’re going to leave her alone.”

“I’ll tell her the truth, but Justice can decide if she wants me to back off.She’lltell me.”

“Right, so that the criminals you work for can come and collect her once they realize your fuck up?”

In an attempt to screw his boss over, Noah set fire to one of their smaller storage spaces. A rental spot where they kept their merchandise right before it was shipped. He was trying to get out, hoping that the discovery of their whereabouts would set him free. He was wrong. They knew exactly what he’d planned and waited to confirm.

“They’renotgoing to find out.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re a fucking idiot. They’re the ones that gave the green light for your arrest. Those cops beat your ass because your boss gave them strict instructions to.”

“They won’t hurt her. My Justice is–”

A snarl rips through me; Niki ismine. “It’s about damn time you stop playing yourself into thinking sheeverbelonged to you.”

Noah laughs, and I almost give Max the word to chew his fucking head off. “Please, let’s be real. Justice doesn’tbelongto anyone.”

And then I’m the one that’s laughing. “At least not you.”

Niki can’t belong to anyone because her very soul is spliced, and I’m the other half. From my peripheral, I see him give me a look that says he thinks I’m insane. I stop the car and climb out, and Max snarls at him to do the same. Once out, he gawks at me, and then at my trailer. He’s about to retort something stupid, I’m sure, but Jasmin’s frantic voice halts my next breath and catapults me to another life, one of pure torture and violence.

I want to shake her. “What the fuck did you just say?”

“They took her.” She runs to Noah, and he believes she’s going to embrace him, but she claws at his face instead. Jule suddenly appears and rushes to her, then gathers her in a tight hug.

Jasmin points at Noah accusingly. “You son of a bitch. What the fuck were you thinking?”

Noah looks at me, his mouth hangs open, but nothing comes out.

I don’t have time for this shit. They can figure out their family drama. Jasmin can tear his eyes out for all I care. I whistle and Max jumps into the car through the open window. I take my phone out and roar away from them. The gravel wafts up and spits back angrily. I glance in the rearview mirror in time to catch Jule land a punch to Noah’s face before I turn the corner.

Jason picks up before the first ring can finish. “Get me Niki’s location. You have thirty seconds.”

“Fuck, who do you think I am? God himself needs a bit of—”

“I’m not fucking around, Jason. I swear to—”

“I got her. She’s being held in a warehouse thirty minutes from your location. I’ve sent you the coordinates.”

I hang up and tap on the link, then follow the green line on the map. I roar the engine past its usual mode and the wheel trembles in my hand as I switch gears with the other.

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