Page 91 of Cruel Secrets

“You could just drive faster.”

“And they would only need to follow the road. According to the map I was looking at this morning, it’s nearly half an hour to the next exit.”

Groaning, I tuck the gun into the glove compartment before reaching into my purse and pulling out my tablet. “Well then, I may as well work on another sketch for a forgery. Someone needs to keep my career going if we survive this.”

Royce lets out a dark chuckle, glancing over at me. “We’re going to survive this.”

“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.”

As much as I miss Bianca, I’m glad that she’s with Skyla.

She won’t have to watch her parents die.

* * *

“You need to put that away,”Royce says, his tone low and dangerous as the car starts to speed up.

“Why? What’s happening?” I slip the tablet into the back seat.

He glances at the mirror, and I do the same, seeing the black car crossing the double yellow line in the middle of the road and speeding up.

“Are they gaining on us?” I ask, voice wavering a little as I reach for the gun and pull it out.

“Yeah. It looks like Noah is finally ready to finish this.” Royce reaches out and takes my hand, bringing it to his mouth and kissing the back of it. “I don’t know if we’re going to be able to outrun them.”

“What about the next exit?”

“We passed the first and second one. It’s an hour until the third, and even that only leads to a small town. I’m not going to be able to lose them before they catch up to us.”

I nod, taking a deep breath and leaning over to kiss his cheek. “We’re going to get through this together, even if we do die.”

He barks out a sharp laugh, eyes rolling. “I might die, but if this car stops, you’re going to get out and you’re going to run through those woods, and you’re not going to look back. Understood?”

“I’m not leaving you.” My voice breaks as I look at him, tears pricking the corners of my eyes. “You’re not going to die for me, Royce.”

“I am if I have to, because I love you, and I love our daughter, and I’m going to give you the best shot at life I can,” he says, his words wavering as he looks over at me.

For the first time since the day I met him, his eyes are glassy and he looks like he’s barely keeping it together. He kisses the back of my hand again, his smile small as he reaches out to wipe one of my tears.

“I love you too.” The words are choked, but I force them out. “And I’ll be damned if you think that I would actually leave you alone to fight.”

“You’re going to. Bianca needs one of us around and you were right to not tell her about me. You’re the best mother there is and you’ve never needed me around. You’re going to be just fine without me.”

“Stop talking like you’re going to die.” I glance in the mirror, watching as the car behind us closes the distance more, even as Royce speeds up. “We’re going to get through this together. Isn’t that what you’ve been saying since we started this wild shit?”

He puts both hands on the wheel, foot pressing the accelerator to the ground. “You have to be the one to get back to her.”

“You have to get back to Bia too. I’m not going to spend the rest of my life telling her that her father died because he was an idiot who thought he had to sacrifice himself.”

“I’ve never done anything else that’s worth anything in my life beyond loving both of you.”

“You’re not going to talk like your plan is to leave me, do you understand? I’m not going to have it.”

He puts his hand on my leg for a moment, giving it a quick squeeze. “I don’t think I’m going to have much of a choice. Noah isn’t going to leave me alive after everything that’s happened, but you have a chance. I can keep him and his men busy, and you can get away, back to our daughter.”

“You’re insane.”

The car skids hard around a sharp curve in the road, spinning once before Royce manages to straighten it out and takes off flying once again.

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