Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Katarina
I can’t walk all the way to Dover. So even though it’s midnight, when I hear a vehicle coming, I turn and stick out my thumb.
I know this is a dumb idea. I’ve got a million dollars in a backpack, and I’m asking a complete stranger for a ride in the dead of night.
But walking to Dover would take until sunrise at least, and at some point, Win is going to discover I’m gone.
His bait.
The girl he’s going to use and throw away so that he can have his retribution for his lost love. Rebecca.
Christ.
The name sits bitter on my tongue. I know I’m stupid. I ran away like a petulant child, all my plans have been half baked and thoughtless enough to land me in more trouble than when I started.
Not that I’m completely without justification. And some of my reasons for running away are sensible.
But the “not planning my escape” out is just plain ridiculous. Didn’t I just make this mistake when I got on that private jet?
Win would never commit such a gross error in judgment. And I hate that he’s my shining example of how to do things right.
Fuck him.
But I pull my thumb in and turn back to face down the road. I’ll walk. And when I hear cars coming, I’ll hide…after this one.
Because hiding from this vehicle is already too late. Too bad I didn’t think this plan through before I stuck my thumb out.
As if to mock me and my bad judgment, the car starts slowing down. I hear the downshift of the engine. Closing my eyes, I draw in a deep breath.
Is it Win? Did he already figure out I’m gone?
“Hey, gorgeous,” a young male voice calls as the window slides down.
I frown, putting on my best glare as I look over at the window to tell him to keep driving. This is the kind of run-of-the-mill trouble I’ve got no patience for.
But it isn’t one guy in the car, it’s four.
And they have the kind of smiles that tell a girl they’re in the mood for trouble.
“Need a ride?” the passenger asks, reaching out the window to touch me.
I slide away. “Nope. I’m good.”
One from the back leans forward, sticking his face out the window. “There’s plenty of room. Hop in.”
“I’m all set, thanks,” I say, starting to walk down the road again. I snake a quick glance over my shoulder, the lights of Win’s manor no longer visible in the distance.
But my attention is quickly pulled back as the car starts rolling down the road next to me as the passenger tries to grab me a second time.
I slap his hand away.
“Oh, she’s a fighter,” the fourth guy in the back seat crows. They all laugh.
I really do know how to take a bad situation and make it worse. “Nope. Not a fighter,” I lie as I keep walking, moving a little closer to the shoulder of the road. “Just minding my own business. You should do the same. Have a nice night now.”
“But we could have a lot of fun together,” the driver says as he slides the car in neutral and revs the engine. “Get in and we’ll take you where you need to go, baby.”
“All the way,” another crows.
“I’ll be a great ride.” A third joins in.
My teeth snap together. With this backpack on, I’m not outrunning them, and I can’t ditch the bag.
I’m screwed. “Look,” I start but that’s when the passenger takes a third swipe and locks a hand around my bicep.
I tug, but he’s got me tight, and he pulls me toward the car. The stench of his beer breath hits me full in the face as my foot nearly slips out from under me.
I swing my other hand, catching his cheek in a smack that rings through the night, the guys in the car howling with an excitement that makes my blood run cold.
I know pain and suffering. But I don’t seek it out and on the cusp of whatever’s about to happen, I feel the dread in my stomach and the deadness of my limbs as the guy in the back pops his door open, climbing out of the car.
I yank again but now the guy’s grip is iron as he pulls me close, grabbing my chin and pulling my face an inch from his.
“Why’d you have to be like that?” he spits in my face, squeezing my chin tight enough that he’s going to leave marks.
I’ve got dark hair, but my skin is pale and easily bruised.
“We’re just trying to have a bit of fun, but you had to—”
Another set of headlights shines on us. Everyone turns and I take the opportunity to yank again, pulling away, and stumble down the shoulder landing on my ass in the ditch.
But I don’t even notice the pain. Frozen, I watch as the other car speeds toward us, faster and faster with each passing second.
“Shit!” the driver yells to the guy standing on the side of the road. “Get back in the car.”
It takes a few seconds for the guy to understand, climb into the back seat, and another for him to close the door. Finally waking up, I start crab crawling backward, moving away from the road as the driver puts the car into gear and stomps the gas.
But it’s too late.
The other car is barreling toward them.
The guys only make it thirty feet down the road when the speeding car finally jacks the brakes.
My breath seizes in my chest as the second car skids, but he doesn’t veer, and the sickening sound of metal crunching metal, and glass breaking, fills the night as the other car jumps forward and skids into the ditch.
I stare, shock holding me in place as the driver of the new car wrenches open his door and climbs out.
Even in the dark, I know it’s Win, and I stare at him in disbelief before a cry of relief falls from my lips.
I should hate him. I do hate him, but in this moment… I’m so glad he’s here. I scramble up from the dirt, another breaking sob clogging my throat as I get back up on my feet and start toward him. “Are you all right?” he asks me, sounding deadly calm. Almost like a stranger.
“Fine,” I gasp, trying to make my way up the bank.
“Can you believe those guys, no lights on in their car.”
I stop, staring. They had their lights on. But it only takes me a half second to catch up. “Crazy. Driving around like that.”
“Drinking?” he asks me.
“Definitely,” I answer, even as he strides to the top of the bank, reaching down his hand to help me up.
Once I’m tucked against his side, he pulls out his phone and places a call.
I barely listen as he reports the accident.
The other men crawl out of their vehicle, but I’m not even a little scared. No one is hurting me when I’m tucked into Win’s side.