Page 162 of Making Choices

An eerie feeling, reminiscent of the afternoon that Alex came back for me, runs the length of my spine. “Siri, connect Bluetooth,” I state loudly. My twin wouldn’t normally be my first choice in an emergency, however, the two men I would usually ask for help are no longer accessible to me. “Call Sander.”

Nadia frowns at me, then she lifts her eyebrows. As my car echoes with a ringing sound, I jerk my chin toward the rear vision mirror. She looks over her shoulder and dread has invaded her expression by the time she peers back at me.

“Cherub.” My brother sounds sheepish when the call connects. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t’ve stormed off like that.”

“I think we’re being followed.”

“Fuck me.” He inhales noisily. “I’ve already got Isaiah heading your way to take over from me. I’ll call Slash so he can send enforcers to back them up. Just stay calm—you’ve got your gun, haven’t you?”

“Ye-ah. Two of them.”

“Make sure they’re in easy reach.”

With efficient movements, I pop open my glovebox to remove the Glock 9mm I keep stowed in there. Balancing that weapon on my thigh, I accept my handbag from Nadia when she passes it to me to retrieve the custom Sig Sauer Toker gave me for my eighteenth birthday. As ever, the sight of the sapphire-blue handgun is bittersweet.

I took Alex’s life with that weapon.

It saved me.

It also ended my life as I knew it.

“I’ve got both of them on my lap.”

“Good. Now act normally... this could be a coincidence, but if it isn’t, we don’t want them to know that you’re onto them.”

As if on cue, the SUV roars right up to my taillights.

“Holy shit.”

On instinct, I ease onto the accelerator to pull away. The SUV turns into a black box shape as I change lanes and weave in and out of the traffic whenever I can find a gap.

Of course, the moment I begin to relax, I spot the vehicle drawing closer again.

“Sander, no matter what I do, it’s sticking with me.”

“Breathe deep, lil sis, it’ll be fine. I’ve got ya.”

Peering in my mirror again, I take in the SUV. It’s almost caught all the way up to us once again. When it pushes into the gap between me and the taxi behind me, I gasp. They’re close enough for me to tell that the driver is a male with light brown hair. I’m trying to scrutinise his face for identifiable features when the sun hits the windscreen just right and a flash of red in the front passenger seat catches my eye.

Bebe?

It can’t be.

She has no reason to be chasing me.

If she wanted my attention all she’d have to do is call. Even though,I’ve only heard from her once since she ditched Slash at the concert, my number remains the same. Our friendship came to an abrupt and unexplained end when she broke up with Slash. I tried to reach out, but she never responded to my text messages, and she actively declined my phone calls. Except for a solitary text reminder not to forget to start the prescription I was given by Doctor Squire after my D&C, all contact between us ceased, and I’ve come to accept that our fledgling friendship was never going to exist outside her connection to Slash.

Which helped dull the guilt I felt at my one-time thing with her ex-boyfriend.

“Do you recognise them?” my twin asks when I don’t respond to his assurances. “Have you seen the vehicle before today?”

“I’ve never seen the driver or the SUV before.” I weigh up whether I should mention that the passenger seems familiar. “The female passenger has red hair—” Offering an awkward laugh, I add. “—Honestly thought it was Bebe for a second.”

“Shit.” Sander mumbles something to someone. “Just keep drivin’, Cherub. Head for home. Safely.”

When the SUV starts to ride my bumper even harder, Nadia squeals. My pulse speeds up and my palms turn sweaty as I try to drive to the intense conditions.

“How will Isaiah find us? What if they drive us off the road and we have to ditch my car?” As panic takes hold of me, I start to babble. “How am I supposed to handle this... what if we have to hide? What will the enforcers do then?”

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