Page 14 of Stolen Goods
He broke their gaze and slid his arm from underneath her knees. Addy’s feet sank slowly to the pavement, her body protesting the end of what had been the most magical moment in her life. But it did end. Cool air whipped between them as the stranger stepped back and opened a car door, motioning she get inside. Her brain was still moving slow, wires disconnected, nerves on overdrive as fear and desire and adrenaline and terror all mixed into a dizzying spiral. She sank into the passenger seat, trying to blink the confusion away. Running on instinct, she pulled the seat belt around her waist, comforted by the satisfiedclickas it snapped into place. Simple. Normal. Safe. The feeling didn’t last long.
A man ran around the corner, handgun glinting in the dim streetlight.
“Gun! Gun! Gun!” Addy shouted a warning. Or at least tried to, though she wasn’t sure if the words came out as anything more than incoherent shrieks.
The handsome stranger slid across the hood of the car and dove into the driver’s seat. He slammed the door behind him just as the first bullet hit the windshield, broke through the glass, and buried into the back seat.
Okay, now I’m definitely screaming.
But she couldn’t help it. Addy wasnotaccustomed to being shot at—then again, who the heck was?
The stranger slammed his foot on the gas, shooting them backward across the empty lot. At the same moment, his hand landed over her open mouth, stifling her yell.
“I’m sorry, but you havegotto stop doing that,” he murmured, gently pleading. Addy turned to look at him, still screaming as another bulletpinged off the front hood. He stared at her, piercing the dread as they sailed back into the night. “I’ve got this. I will get us out of this. Trust me. But please, for the love of God, stop screaming.”
Addy nodded jerkily.
“Thank you.” He breathed the word and then flicked his gaze back before returning his focus to her. “Now duck and hold on for dear life.”
“Wha—”
Before she had time to finish, he slammed on the brakes and spun the wheel, whipping the car around with a deafening screech. Addy bent at the waist and folded her arms around her head, the only protection she could think of. Her rescuer slammed on the gas and her body slid back into the seat, but she stayed down. Another bullet hit the car with a loudding, there and gone before she could process where it landed. A peek to the side was all she could manage. The stranger gripped the wheel with both hands, gaze sharp with concentration, brows flat. They hit something with a loudboomfollowed by a series of softthunks and then nothing but tires on asphalt.
Oh my God, was that a body?
The slight twitch to the stranger’s lip and the flash of a dimple in his cheek was an answer in and of itself.
That was a body.
A body!
What is happening?!
Her chest heaved, pressing into her thighs as her breath came in quick, short bursts. Addy squeezed her eyes tight, burying her face between her legs, trying to hide in plain sight.I’m hyperventilating. I think I’m having a panic attack. Why don’t they talk about this in all the movies? Getting rescued is a traumatic experience!
“I think we’re in the clear,” her mystery man murmured. A hand landed softly on her arm, then squeezed tight as though trying to soothe. “You can sit up. We lost them.”
Addy glanced up at him, finding his eyes through the slit in her elbows, body too tense to ease into a seated position. “Are you sure?”
He glanced over his shoulder and shrugged, miraculously unconcerned. “Pretty sure.”
I wish that sounded more convincing…
Addy swallowed. Her muscles were already cramping, so hard as it was, she forced her heart to slow with long, calming breaths. Then she leaned back against the seat and stretched out, trying to relax her body. Her palms remained clasped in her lap, unable to quite let go. Silence stretched across the small car. Addy’s gaze darted to her lap, then to the stranger, then to the bullet hole in the windshield, one after the other after the other, in rapid succession. Because, well, after being shot at and seeing someone get stabbed and probably running someone over with a car, words just seemed sort of…blasé. Where should she start? Where could she start?
Thank you for saving my life.
I have no idea why those men were after me.
Do you want to drive to Vegas and elope?
That last one was a joke…maybe.
Addy turned toward the stranger and paused.Stranger?That was as good a place to start as any. “I’m Addison, by the way. Or just Addy if you prefer.”
The man shifted his face to the side, meeting her eyes, a dubious light shining in his irises, though she couldn’t for the life of her understand why. When he did speak, the words came out slow and cautious. “I’m…Thad.”
“Nice to meet you, Thad,” Addy replied, smiling encouragingly. “Is that short for something? Thad. It’s sort of unusual.”
