Page 24 of Queen of Blades

She scoffed.

Shuffling the contents in his arms, he produced a key, and the lights of the car blinked in time with thechirps. Opening the passenger door, he waved a hand. “Get in.”

Both of their heads jerked at the sound of sirens. Her breath hitched as he shoved her again, and she fell into the car.

Slamming the door behind her, he just barely missed catching her feet. “Asshole,” she muttered under her breath.

Once inside, Paul tossed the bundle of items he’d grabbed into the back of the car before the engine purred to life. The dash lit up, and to her surprise, Three Days Grace’s song “Mayday” came through the speakers.

“Huh.” She smirked as she put on her seat belt. “I never pictured you as a rock music kind of guy.”

He reached for the knob and lowered the music before throwing the car into Reverse and pulling out of the spot.

“I like it,” she said and turned it back up.

“Stop,” he ordered as he turned the wheel, tapping the buttons there to lower the radio. “I need to concentrate.”

Bopping her head, she shouted the lyrics along with them.

“Are you serious?” he snapped as he jammed on the accelerator. “I have to make calls.”

Rolling her eyes, she turned and glared out the window.

As he tapped at his phone and they sped out of the parking lot, Harper had an idea. She rubbed her bleeding arm on the seat and the door.

Furrowing his brow, he placed the phone to his ear. “What are you doing?”

“Leaving evidence.”

“What?”

“If you’re going to murder me, I’m going to make sure there are clues left for even the most imbecilic cop to find.”

Blowing out a heavy breath, he shook his head. “Yeah. Need a crew,” he said to whomever was on the phone. “The Hilton. Room 422.”

He paused.

She thrummed her fingers on the armrest.

“One.”

The call ended, and he swiped at the screen again.

“Such a busy guy,” she groaned.

Ignoring her, he put the phone back to his ear. “Eddie? I need you to meet me.”

Doing her best to appear as though she were focused on the road, she listened intently. Maybe he’d say where they would go.

“Yeah.”

Why wasn’t he using Bluetooth? This fancy car was decked out with all the bells and whistles. Of course it had Bluetooth.

“On their way.”

She hated the way criminals spoke on the phone. Everything was ambiguous and in code.

“Just one. Irish,” he said and winced as someone on the other end either laughed or screamed. It was muffled. Harper couldn’t truly make it out. “I know. Listen. I’ll do it. I just… Things are a bit messier than I anticipated.”

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