Page 12 of Xavier

“They won’t get far,” Piston growled as he holstered his weapon.

“Come on, Tillie.” I snagged her hand and tugged her along with me. I heard Tiny giving Knuckles the rundown on the phone as I lifted Tillie into the truck and followed her. “Are you hurt, honey?” I tried to keep my voice calm to reassure her. The woman was going to be scarred for life after this.

“No. I didn’t get hurt. I promise.” Her eyes were wide, but she didn’t seem like she was on the verge of panic. “I thought I heard someone yell during the… commotion.”

“I think Chains got hit, but it looked more like the bullet grazed his arm.” Tiny said as he ended his call. “All in all, we got out unscathed.”

“What about all these people?” Now Tillie looked concerned. “Won’t they tell the police?”

“Likely. But don’t worry. Knuckles will take care of everything.” I smiled down at her. “Buckle up. Tiny’s gonna speed things up just a hair. I don’t want to take any unnecessary chances. OK?” She nodded and did as I told her.

Once we were peeled out of the parking lot, we came across the same SUV on the side of the road. “Fuck,” Tiny swore softly. “Wanted to take the state road because it’s less likely to be watched, but I ain’t takin’ chances with these fuckers still out there.”

“At this point I think speed over stealth is the better option.”

“Yep,” Tiny agreed. “I think you’re right.”

Chapter Six

Tillie

I’d always heard it didn’t matter if you were speeding down the interstate, you could only go so fast. The likelihood of you making it to your destination more than a couple minutes faster than anticipated by speeding is slim to none. Math is involved, and I could never be bothered to work it out. It was obvious Tiny had never heard of this rule.

“Who’s he talking to?” I was afraid to speak too loudly. The last thing I wanted to do was break Tiny’s concentration. I sat in the seat behind Tiny while Xavier sat next to me. I gripped his hand.

“Likely Knight. Knight will have eyes on us and can keep the police away from us. Don’t ask me how, because I have no idea. But he’ll let Tiny know which way to go if he needs to take an alternate route.” Xavier squeezed my hand and met my gaze. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

I nodded and squeezed his hand back. I wasn’t sure I had the correct words to tell him what he meant to me and how grateful I was for his help and protection. “I owe you so much, Xave.”

“Not another word, Tillie.” There was fire in his eyes. “You owe me nothing.” I could tell he was serious, but I didn’t agree with him. There was nothing he could ever say to convince me our scales were even. Then he pulled my hand to him and kissed my fingers.

That simple gesture sent a rush of warmth through me despite our dire circumstances. I could feel my cheeks flush as his lips lingered on my skin. When he lowered my hand, I didn’t pull it away. He didn’t either.

The highway stretched before us like a black ribbon, illuminated only by our headlights and the occasional passing car. Venus and Piston had fallen back slightly, keeping a protective distance behind us while the others had moved into position at various points in front of and behind us, keeping us in the middle and other traffic away from us.

“That’s twice now someone’s either threatened or tried to kill me,” I murmured, the reality of the situation finally sinking in. “And I still don’t understand why.”

Xavier’s jaw tightened. “It’s not you they’re after, exactly. It’s that property.”

“A farmhouse? Why would anyone care about my little farmhouse?”

Xavier exchanged a glance with Tiny through the rearview mirror before facing me again. “That maintenance road at the back of your property isn’t on any maps, but it’s a main smuggling route for the Menendez cartel. They’ve been using it for years.”

“A drug cartel?” My voice rose an octave. “In my backyard?”

He winced. “Yeah. And it actually is as bad as it sounds.”

“But I was leaving! Why would they have followed me all this way?” Now that we were on the road, I expected a letdown like before, but I was fucking wired.

Xavier scrubbed a hand over his face. “Because you left. We took you away from there.”

“I thought that would have been the goal.”

“Yeah, but they also told you to not leave the house. My guess is they were moving a shipment and didn’t want you to see them.”

“Why not kill me?” I winced. “Never mind. I’m grateful they didn’t, so who really cares why?”

He gave me a slight smile. “I know. They don’t kill people first. They have a loose agreement to warn people instead of killing them. They’ve been pretty good at sticking to the agreement, but they only give one chance.”

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