Page 31 of Twisted Mates

I glance through the rearview mirror and see the driver lean toward his passenger seat. They are nothing but a shadow behind the dark tint that covers all their windows, but the object in their hand sends terror ripping through me. I swear they have a gun.

My survival instincts kick in and all I want to do is flee. The gas pedal presses to the floor as I speed back toward the main road.All right, that’s it. This is definitely not okay.

Using voice command, I call Xander, and he answers on the second ring.

“Hit a curb already?” His voice is teasing, and if I weren’t so scared, I’d be laughing.

“No, I—someone is following me,” I say, glancing back in the rearview.

I hear a door open and quick steps on the other line. “Do you know who it is?”

“No. Their windows are tinted. What do I do?”

“Where are you?”

“I just left my parents’ neighborhood and headed back toward town. I figured the more traffic the better.”

“Good girl. Just stay on the main roads as much as you can and come back here. Can you do that for me?”

I grip the steering wheel tighter, hoping to stop my hands from shaking. “Yes.”

My mind is a muddled mess, but I somehow keep it together. Every chance I have, I change lanes and stop right on the ass of the car in front of me. If something goes down, I want someone else to see what happened.

“Alexia, keep talking to me. I need to know you’re all right,” Xander says, breaking through my rampant thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m here. I’m all right,” I say, my voice low and a little shaky.

“How far are you from home?” he asks, and I can hear the rain hitting the tin roof of the front porch. He must be waiting for me outside. Despite everything, that makes me feel warm all over.

“I’m about to start up the mountain,” I say. I look back in the mirror and my heart thumps harder when I see the Jeep gaining ground on me. “Damnit, Xander, he’s catching up.”

“Keep your eyes on the road and don’t worry about him. You get to me as fast and safely as possible. Do you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I’ll have the front gates open, so you pull right into the driveway. Stay in the truck until I get you out.”

This entire situation is getting out of hand. It doesn’t make any sense for someone to want to harm me. I’ve lived a simple life—weekend brunches and shopping with Carrington, researching plants and endangered animals at my job, and spending time with family. Not to mention that my interactions with people have been nonexistent for the past three months. This has to be some random weirdo following me.

I turn onto the street that leads to the house and say, “I’m almost there.”

“Just do what I told you and everything will be fine.”

“Okay,” I whisper, my fear kicking up a notch.

The Jeep doesn’t let up as we race past the acres of property that each house sits on, closing in on my bumper as we approach the driveway. I barely tap the brakes to turn in and catch a glimpse of Xander standing at the juncture of the driveway and the road. He lifts his hands in front of him and black metal flashes through the drizzle.

A gun.

“Oh, oh, fuck,” I chant, determined to listen to Xander’s instructions no matter how bad I just want to jump out of this big ass truck and run straight inside, hide under the covers, and never come out.

I don’t actually see what happens next because I pass Xander just before the loudbanghits my ears. But it’s clear enough that I slam the truck into Park and duck down in the cab of the truck, holding my breath. The squeal of tires joins the pounding of my heart, and I’m paralyzed.

“Come on. Out,” Xander orders, yanking off my seatbelt and pulling me out of the truck. His body shields mine as he rushes me toward the front door.

“Did you—did you kill him?” I ask, my words drowning on a sob.

“No. He swerved, and I blew out his rear light.”

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