CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
STRAY
“Are you sure you want to handle this drop? We wouldn’t want to keep you from stalking your girlfriend.” With a roll of his eyes, Auryn slugged me in the arm.
I hit him right back, chuckling when he swore in pain. “She’s not my girlfriend. And yeah, I could use the distraction. Sorry I haven’t been available as much as usual.”
“I get it. When you get in over your head with a woman you just can’t quit, everything changes.” Rebel grabbed a duffle bag filled with pharmaceutical drugs and loaded it into the back of the rental SUV.
Auryn couldn’t possibly keep his mouth shut. “You guys sound fucking pathetic. If I ever sound like either one of you, put a bullet in my brain. Please. Put me out of my misery.”
Rebel was unfazed. Leaning against the side of the vehicle, he lit up a joint, eyeing Auryn with amusement. “Your time will come. We’ll be right there to say we told you so. If anyone deserves to be love’s bitch, it’s you. Might help with that nasty attitude you have.”
“Eat me.” Auryn flipped both Rebel and me his middle finger.
Dom and I were taking a trip to a neighboring city this evening. We had a load of drugs to drop off. Not my ideal way to spend a Saturday night. After the way last night ended, I was happy for a change.
After Codie leapt out of my car and ran inside her building, I’d hung around for a while to keep an eye on her. When it became clear that she wasn’t leaving again, I headed home and drank myself into a stupor before passing out in my bed, fully dressed.
This woman was really doing my head in. Making me crazy like nothing and no one else ever had. I was starting to wish that I’d never looked twice at her. Codie Edwards was so deep in me now, I didn’t think I would ever be free of her. Rebel was right about one thing. I was definitely love’s bitch.
“Call me after you guys make the drop. Drive carefully, and don’t fucking get pulled over.” Rebel and Auryn stepped back as Dom and I climbed into the vehicle.
I’d opted to drive. He would watch our backs. The person sitting passenger had the intense job of watching for cops and making sure nobody followed us from the drop.
The text tone on my phone went off right as we hit the highway. Since I wasn’t going to risk a wreck with illegal cargo in the back, I ignored it. I doubted it was important anyway. Most likely Rebel with another warning or reminder. Like we hadn’t done this a thousand times.
“We should stop and grab a bite to eat before we head back. I could kill for a taco right now.” Dom drummed his fingertips on the dashboard. The star and crescent moon tattooed on the back of his left hand stood out boldly against his skin.
“Tacos aren’t really driving food,” I said, shoulder checking as I changed lanes. “Especially for the driver. Maybe burgers or something.”
“Who said we have to be driving? Once we do the drop, we can stop for a bit. What’s the rush?
Don’t tell me you’re in a hurry to get back and stalk Codie Edwards some more.
” Dom slumped back in his seat, fidgeting with his seatbelt like he couldn’t sit still.
“Man, I don’t get what it is with you and Rebel. So easily manipulated by some pussy.”
Dominik had a tendency to be detached. He didn’t often show much emotion other than anger and violence. I didn’t take anything he said personally. I knew better than that.
“What can I say? We’re not all stone-cold emotionless dicks. I’ll leave that to you.” I checked my side mirror, keeping an eye on the vehicle that had come up behind me. When it passed in the other lane without incident, I relaxed.
“I’m not entirely emotionless,” Dom said, scratching a hand over the side of his head where his brown hair was shaved into a fade. “I’m just not the type to act like an idiot over a woman.”
With a snicker, I said, “No. You’ll just lose your mind over anything Noah says or does instead.”
Dom stiffened. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. Even though Dom had hooked up with women on occasion, he didn’t show much interest in them overall.
I’d suspected for a while that maybe his interests lie elsewhere.
The way Noah seemed to so easily set him off made me wonder if there was an attraction there Dom wasn’t ready to admit.
“Not a damn thing. It’s none of my business. Forget I said anything.” I braced myself in case he punched me in the side of the head.
Dom’s cold stare fixed on me. He stared so hard and long I started to think I should pull over and ready myself for a fight. Finally, he relaxed. “Even if I was interested in dick, it sure as hell wouldn’t be Noah Cunningham’s.”
“Because it’s really my cock that you fantasize about when you’re jerking it in the shower. Am I right? It’s cool. This is a safe space. Tell me all about it.” I wiggled my brows playfully, shooting him a flirtatious glance.
“You would just love that, wouldn’t you?” Dom laughed. “Sorry, Stray, you’re not my type. I’m not into hard-core flirts who laugh at their own jokes.”
My hand crept across the console between us and onto his seat before sliding onto his thigh. “I can change. Anything for you, baby.”
I was ready for it when he grabbed one of my fingers and bent it backwards. Still hurt like a motherfucker though.
“Stop embarrassing yourself. Stick with Codie Edwards. She seems to like your bullshit enough to keep you around.” Grim amusement laced Dominik’s tone.
The mention of Codie left me bitter, chasing away my good humor. “I don’t know about that. I made the mistake of taking her on a date. That blew up in my face.”
I felt Dom watching me as I drove. After several moments of thoughtful silence he said, “Her loss, dude. Maybe she’s not the one. If she is, you’ll figure it out. You’ll be all blissful and disgustingly happy like Rebel.”
Knowing that it wasn’t in his nature to comfort others, I appreciated his attempt. I did my best to steer the conversation away from women or relationships of any kind. Too touchy.
We made it to Forest Heights in time to meet our buyer. We pulled up to the address we’d been given to find half a dozen bikers waiting outside a warehouse. This particular MC had been buying from us for over a year now. I didn’t expect any trouble.
They took the bags from the back of the SUV and handed me an envelope filled with cash. Done deal. I loved when shit was simple.
“Same time next month?” asked the MC president. A burly guy covered in tattoos.
“Sounds good. Let us know if anything changes.” I passed the envelope off to Dom and got the hell out of there. Counting the cash in front of the bikers wasn’t a good look and would possibly lead to bad blood.
Dom went through the money while I got us back on the highway headed for home. Hopefully he’d forget about his taco stop. I wasn’t in the mood. He looked up after a minute and said, “All good.”
“Nice.” I relaxed in my seat, eyes on the road as I prepared for an easy drive home.
My mistake.
The highway was relatively empty. We only came across the occasional car. I definitely wasn’t expecting to have a lifted truck come up on our ass out of nowhere. It seemed to have come from one of the side roads as we passed, sliding in right behind us, speeding up to ride our bumper.
“Looks like we have trouble,” I observed, eyeing the truck in the rearview mirror. Since it was dark, I couldn’t get a good look at the occupants.
Dom turned around in his seat to stare out the back window. “Who the fuck is that?”
I shrugged, hitting the gas to speed up and put some distance between us and the vehicle that followed. “Not a clue. I have a feeling they know exactly who we are.”
“No way it’s the bikers.” Dom reached down, grabbing the handgun he had tucked into the side door pocket. “Should I try to blow out their tire?”
Damn this guy was so quick to resort to violence. There was always a time and place for that kind of thing. Dom was the jump in feet first type.
“Not yet. Maybe they’ll back off. If we start shooting, they might too. Better to play it safe for now.” As I increased my speed, the truck behind me had no problem keeping up. I didn’t recognize the vehicle itself. There was no telling who was on our asses.
My gaze darted between watching the road in front of me and keeping an eye on the truck. My efforts to put distance between us were thwarted every time. The driver hit the gas, having no problem keeping up.
Adrenaline had my pulse pounding faster. We were reaching seriously dangerous speeds. Even though the open highway stretched before us, an unexpected obstacle would create a deadly situation. I sure as hell hoped a deer didn’t decide to cross.
“I think I have to fucking shoot them. They’re not leaving me much of a choice here.” Dom double-checked the bullet in the chamber. He was ready to take this to the next level.
“Wait,” I insisted.
“For what? For these assholes to run us off the road? Fuck that.”
There was no controlling Dominik when he made up his mind. Rolling down his window, he stuck his arm out and fired at the vehicle behind us. As I’d expected, they returned fire. Being behind us gave them a better shot. They immediately shot out one of our back tires.
Knowing that we were screwed, I hit the brakes, not wanting to go off the road at such a high speed. The SUV fishtailed before sliding to one side. The truck raced around us in the next lane. Whoever sat in the passenger seat took another shot at us, blowing out a front tire.
That’s when I lost total control of the vehicle. We went off the road into the ditch. The speed and momentum created a pivot point on the front end, flipping us over. The world turned upside down as we landed.
Pain slashed through my side as my face bounced off the steering wheel seconds before the airbag blew. That sucker punched me hard in the nose. I was sure it had broken my face, possibly my wrist as well.
After we came to a stop, it took several long minutes for me to process what had just happened. I was disoriented as fuck. Thankfully, the truck had continued moving. They hadn’t stopped to finish us off.
“Fuck, dude, are you okay?” I reached across for Dominik, concerned by his silence.
The interior of the SUV was dark, making it hard to see him. I gave Dom a good shake, needing him to let me know he was alive. He finally made a pained sound. Good enough for me.
Hanging upside down was seriously messing with my head. I managed to shove my door open and release my seatbelt. I fell onto the roof with my bottom half awkwardly crushing my top half. Clutching the door, I dragged myself out of the vehicle.
I had no idea how hurt I was yet. My priority was getting Dom out. Every breath hurt as I crawled on my hands and knees around the SUV to the passenger side. Dominik was barely conscious but he was breathing. I dragged him out, and we both collapsed in the grass.
Knowing I needed to call for help, I dug in my pocket for my phone, hoping it hadn’t been broken in the crash. Thankfully, it was fine. I held it up to call 911. That’s when I noticed the message notification displayed on the screen.
Watch out for Venom.