Page 25 of Queen of Blades

Well, what the fuck did that mean?

“About an hour and a half. I’ll text you some supplies.” Lowering the phone, he turned to her. “Are you on birth control?”

Eyes wide, Harper couldn’t believe her ears. “That’s none of your business.”

“I just raw dogged you twice. It’s my business.”

“Aren’t you planning on killing me?”

“Just answer the fucking question,” Paul snapped.

“Someone’s crabby.”

“I’ve been stabbed and shot at, so you’ll have to cut me some slack.”

She snickered. “Well, I’ve got a bullet wound.”

“It’s not a competition. Can you please just tell me if you’re on the pill or patch or something?”

The way his tone went from snippy to pleading struck a chord with Harper. He was sent to kill her but had somehow managed to prevent someone else from doing just that, so she might as well answer him. That way, she wouldn’t owe him anything.

“I have an IUD.”

He let out a breath. “Thank Christ. I didn’t want to explain why I needed my brother to pick up the morning-after pill.”

“The amount of fucked up this situation is can’t be measured,” she said as she went back to staring out the window.

“You have no idea,” he retorted as he typed into his phone and merged onto I-235 south.

“Where are we going?” She doubted he’d give her a straight answer, but it was worth asking.

“A safe house.”

“Why?”

“Because all of Oklahoma wants to kill you.”

“No. I get that, but you do too. Why not just get it over with? Why are you bothering to take me anywhere? You can just shoot me and dump me on the side of the road. Not that I’m advocating for you to murder me or anything, I just don’t get what you’re doing. It doesn’t make sense.” For the life of her, she didn’t understand why she was still breathing.

Paul was a talented killer. He was the kind of guy who didn’t hesitate. She’d grown up around his kind. It didn’t matter if they knew the person. With a bounty that high on her head, she should be at the pearly gates right now. Something wasn’t right.

“I’ll get to it,” he said, curling his fingers around the steering wheel. “Things just got more complicated than I would’ve liked.”

Messy. Complicated. Those weren’t good words. Yet they accurately described their predicament.

Sitting back in the seat, Harper closed her eyes. There was nothing she could do about this but go along for the ride and be alert for when Paul got around to ending her life.

How long would that take?

14

Paul

Depew,Oklahoma,wasatiny town off Route 66 with less than a thousand residents. It was a great place to hide. There was no hustle and bustle. The residents kept to themselves. Plus, large lots meant increased privacy.

On ten acres of land, set way back after a long, winding dirt driveway, was a dull yellow single-level home with three bedrooms, one bathroom, and a storm shelter. Five cement steps led to a large covered porch sitting on cinder block footings. The roof had some slight sag to it, but nothing too serious.

Paul slowed his BMW to a stop at the foot of the stairs and shifted the car into Park.

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