Page 56 of King of Cruelty

I didn’t waste a moment. I slammed the accelerator, bowling over a hard, screaming object that bounced off my hood and went flying to hell.

“Stop her!”

“Kill her!”

The gunfire resumed anew.

I couldn’t lift my head to see, but a hard, jarring crash let me know I collided with car number one. Bellowing, I jammed on the pedal—forcing the car out of the way and roaring onto the street.

I jerked the car around, my head snapping up in time for me to confirm I was pointing in the opposite direction of Liam and Sunny, and heading right back toward the cabin.

I didn’t slow down.

There was no way I could follow behind the guys now. With the Brotherhood behind them and behind me, all they had to do was box me in and get it right that time. I couldn’t take the chance.

“Hurry up! After her!”

Headlights out, bumper scraping up half the road, driver window and windshield blown out, and one of the passengers unconscious in the backseat. I prayed to Loki, Hera, and all the gods in between that this bulletunproofed piece of shit had a little bit more fight left in her.

“Come on!” The car fought me, wobbling dangerously out of control when I tried to push the speed past sixty. “Come on!”

Wind rushed through the gaping hole—whipping, stinging, and watering my eyes. I couldn’t see a thing for blinking and squinting, and my destroyed headlights weren’t helping.

I couldn’t see the turn or the cabin or even if it was coming up. I couldn’t—

Bang!

A car slammed into me, trying to finish what a tree and their bullets couldn’t.

Bang! Bang!

“FGH?” Pixie shouted. “I don’t want to stress you, but if I’m going to go out with a middle-aged woman on top of me, I’d prefer it be because I choked on caviar while she was licking my pussy! Do you have a plan or not!”

“Me? A plan? I thought you didn’t need Mama’s help?”

“Really?” she screeched. “You’re giving me shit now!?”

I shrugged. “Might be my last chance.” Jerking the car to the right, I heard a shout and squeal of tires when their attempt to ram us again went wide. “But you want a plan? Fire back, aim for the tires—or the heads—but don’t you dare fucking die! I’m not going through all of this just so you guys can go and get yourselves shot!”

They didn’t need any more instructions. Twisting around, they pointed their guns out the window and fired blindly and wildly—anything to slow down our tail.

“Come on,” I hissed, squinting through the gloom to find the cabin. Who knew that only minutes after leaving the horrible place, I’d be desperate to go back. “Come on! Where are you? Where—!”

There!

In a split, waterlogged second, the headlights from one of the cars chasing us revealed a branching turnoff on the dirt road.

“Brace yourselves,” I shouted, then yanked the car to the right, swerving onto the natural, grass-covered driveway.

I was honking the horn before we came into view. “Bane! Bane!” I bellowed. “Make yourself useful and take these bitches out! Ba—!”

Edwin’s abandoned car roared up on me, bursting into my vision. I slammed the brakes and—

—nothing.

“Hold on!”

We crashed head-on—slamming into Edwin’s car at full speed. Pain exploded in my temple—its final parting gift before dropkicking me into complete and total darkness.

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