Page 44 of Sins of Seduction
Raven made quick work on changing the music for her drive, hit her signal to change lanes, and put her foot on the brake gently when she saw someone in front of her wanted to change lanes as well. Raven’s foot hit the floor board and the Mustang kept going. She hit the brake again and nothing happened.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Raven gripped the steering wheel and hit her hazard lights. She swallowed the panic that hit her like a truck. She glanced around her, thankful that there were only a few cars on the road but had no clue how to stop the Mustang without killing herself in the process.
She grabbed her phone and hesitated for only a moment, debating if she should call Jax or not. He would know what to do, but he had no way of getting to her on his own without waiting for a cab, and she would still have to call 9-1-1 in case this wasn’t some freak accident. Her gaze shot to roses in the passenger seat, and she knew then that she should have gone back into the house and told Jax what had been left for her.
“Please don’t let me get seriously hurt or hurt anyone else,” she whispered before she hit the emergency button on her phone.
Within seconds a female voice spoke through the speaker of her phone, “Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”
“My name is Raven Wright. I am on Miller Way Road a couple of miles from exit five. I’m in a black Mustang and the brakes are not working.”
“Okay, Raven, can you tell me the make and model of the Mustang and the license plate?”
Raven scoffed. She was well versed in many things, cars not so much. “It’s black. I’m in my man’s car.” The rush she felt acknowledging out loud that Jax was hers sent a blanket of warmth and calm over her. She felt the rightness in her words—there was no hesitation or any second thoughts that entered her mind, trying to remind her that this would end the same. She didn’t know if it was her nerves over the situation that she couldn’t stop this car or if she truly believed there wouldn’t be an end for them this time.
“No, he’s not with me, and, yes, I’m alone in the car.” Raven rushed to add, knowing that was going to be her next question.
“Is the Mustang manual or automatic?” The woman questioned, and it took a minute for Raven to realize what she meant.
If I get out of this, a new hobby to pick up will be knowing everything about cars.
“It’s a stick shift. Does that make a difference?” Raven could hear the unsteadiness in her voice. She glanced at the rearview mirror seeing cars quickly coming up behind her, knowing they would eventually be in front of her, and she hoped the Mustang would be stopped by then.
“Okay, Raven, this is what I’m going to have you do. I need you to put the car in neutral and pump the brakes at the same time. I know the brakes aren’t working right now, but this will hopefully coast you to a stop. I have alerted emergency personnel, and they are on the lookout for your car to help. Are you close to the shoulder or middle lane?”
Raven did as the dispatcher explained and turned the wheel to take the car closer to shoulder. “I’m riding the shoulder now.” Raven looked in her rearview mirror, willing flashing lights to appear. She checked the speedometer, and while the numbers hadn’t changed, she could have sworn the car was picking up speed.
“Raven, are you still with me?”
Raven nodded even though she couldn’t see her. She glanced to her left, that feeling of being watched like when she was at the station made her pulse quicken. She saw a black car with tinted windows speed up beside her, and she had to resist the urge to jerk the wheel to the right to get away. Her flight-or-fight responses were screaming at her to run, but she had nowhere to go.
The car crept closer, close enough now that Raven could reach her hand out the window and touch the passenger side. She could hear the dispatcher talking to her and the sounds of sirens in the distance, but whatever calm she had moments ago had left her feeling completely cold.
This car was going to hit me hard enough to send me into or over the guardrail.
Raven clenched her jaw and the steering wheel, and her body tightened up as she braced for impact with one thought on her mind:maybe I should have stayed home with Jax.
Cruz’s annoyance with his current case had hit the level of unbearable when he received an email from Raven Wright welcoming him as a member of Lush. The email was detailed with rules and what was to be expected of him and those in attendance on the main floor and in the different rooms he had access to.
He scoffed under his breath, like he was really going to entertain himself by engaging in the sinful activities that went on in Lush. He was there to do a job, and it pissed him off that she was acting like he was some regular morally corrupt customer who was so desperate for sex that he had to seek it out in a club full of strangers.
You probably don’t even pay for your porn because it’s beneath you to pay sex workers. That site you use is probably uploading someone’s assault.
Raven’s earlier words struck a nerve with him. She hadn’t been wrong. He had fallen victim to the ease and cheapness in which he found the sites, and while he hadn’t visited them often, it did make him wonder about the favorite videos he had saved.
Cruz gripped his steering wheel, letting out a frustrated sigh. He hated how righteously she stared down at him. The way her eyes sparked with a fury that snuck under his skin or the way her lush lips were either always pressed into a thin line when she saw him or turned up into a snarl that made him want to go toe to toe with her.
The woman was a nuisance. He shouldn’t give a shit about her opinion or her words, but she knew where and how to hit him.
“Solve this case already, Cruz, and be done with her,” he grumbled under his breath. He never wanted Raven out of his hair as much as he did now that his every waking moment seemed to revolve around her because of this case.
Is that the only reason she’s on your mind?
Cruz ignored that thought as easily as he ignored the taunt she had issued at Lush:
His lips have touched my skin, and it’s his name that leaves my lips when I cum.
The sounds of sirens blowing past him had Cruz switching lanes to the follow behind the cop car, praying whatever was up ahead was enough to distract him from the thoughts in his head.
