Page 69 of Risky Passion

Onyx barked again, and she leaned into the side door as if bracing for the next jolt.

The speed was dizzying.

“Jaxson! Slow down before you kill us!”

He shot me a quick glance, one brow raised. For a tense moment, he said nothing, then finally he eased off the gas and the roaring engine softened to a low growl.

“Thank you,” I breathed, slumping back in my seat. I cradled my wounded hand in the other as the pain radiated through my swollen finger. Yet the pain from my dislocated finger was barely noticeable compared to the searing burn of the bullet wound.

“You okay?” he asked, his eyes flicking to me for a heartbeat.

The intensity in his gaze stole what little breath I had left.

What the hell is wrong with me?

I nodded, swallowing hard. “Yeah. But seriously, what else is going to happen tonight?”

“Don’t ask,” he muttered, clenching his jaw. His grip tightened on the wheel, and his knuckles bulged white like he was grinding the tension straight into the steering column.

I gave him a look. “Well, now Ihaveto ask. What else?”

“We just need to get to Angelsong,” he said. “Okay?”

“No, Jaxson. It’s not okay.” My frustration bubbled over. “What the hell is going on?”

“I told you.”

“You said your brother was in trouble. But why?” I turned toward him and winced as the seatbelt dug into my bullet wound.

“Because the person Eddie was working with will go after him.”

“How can you be so certain?”

“I just am.” He turned sharply, launching the cruiser off the dirt track and onto a narrowroad.

I gasped as my body slammed into the side door, banging my raw wound again. “Jesus. Just slow the fuck down.”

“Okay. Okay.” He eased off the gas again, and as we cruised along the bumpy road, the trees that blurred past us cast long, thin shadows in the moonlight.

“Jaxson, tell me what’s going on. I’m not a fucking idiot.”

“I know you’re not!” he snapped, though it sounded like he was angrier at himself than at me.

I shifted in my seat, wincing as pain flared in my arm. I glanced down at the bloodied sleeve, trying to ignore the sharp, pulsing burn from the bullet wound and the throbbing in my dislocated finger.

We’d already been through hell.

But the way Jaxson clenched his jaw as he strangled the steering wheel told me he was bracing for more hell to come.

And I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.

CHAPTER 19

B

I steppedthrough the orphanage’s crumbling threshold, and the air seemed so thick and heavy that it pressed down on me like a weight I couldn’t shake. The moonlight barely made it past the doorway, swallowed by the darkness that seemed to pulse and breathe in this fucking place.

My throat was raw and tight, and as I fought the storm of emotions raging inside me, I glanced at my phone. But I had no missed calls from Eddie. Figured. That idiot was probably still bumbling around in the swamp. Or maybe a croc had gotten him. That wouldn’t be the worst outcome. One less asshole on my list. I made a mental note to call him after I set this place ablaze.

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