Chapter 10 – Luka
K azimir said we had a three-hour window. That was more than enough time to disappear, especially if we veered west and vanished into the panhandle. One of my cousin’s computer geeks already erased the footage from the dashcam and canceled the tracker on us. None of the cops would look for us. When the trooper eventually gave a description, it would be caught and scrambled in the computer.
But I was going to play highway patrolman for a little while.
It would take the edge off my temper, so I didn’t take it out on the pretty little thing in the backseat.
“Eat something, it will help,” I clipped out.
Vivian continued to stare out the window, ignoring me.
That woman! Saints, had there ever been anyone so crafty? My fingers itched to touch her. Well…not touch. Punish her. She would look damn good with a hand necklace or maybe my palm print on her ass. The thought of squeezing her throat as I pumped into her…it was too much!
My pants grew uncomfortably tight.
But my fingers reached for the back of my neck. I was turned on by this woman. Flicking a glance in the rearview, I frowned.
Huh. That’s new.
Nothing pulsed in my chest. There was no tug on my heart.
My gaze dropped to her full rack, still in that skintight black tee. Those tits were incredible. What would it be like if I sucked one into my mouth?
I deliberately let an X-rated scene play out in my mind. And when it was over, there was no surge of guilt.
“It has to be because I can’t have her,” I muttered. There was no other explanation. That was why thoughts about her didn’t bother me: It could never be.
Before my mind could fixate on that, dissect it, and argue every other possibility, I forced myself to find a different topic.
If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. The recited words of the sage helped calm my nerves.
“Care to explain how you did it?” I asked when Vivian finally began munching on those gross, spicy chips.
Vivian glared at me through the rearview mirror. “You’re speeding.”
I was. It was fun .
“Was it the old lady in the bathroom?” I mused. “She played the part well. Had me fooled. I wouldn’t have guessed she knew you were kidnapped.”
“It wasn’t her,” Vivian said quickly.
“But it was someone,” I countered.
Vivian popped another chip in her mouth. She focused on reading the ingredients.
The stop at the gas station played through my mind once more. I watched her every minute except for the bathroom incident. Vivian hadn’t had a chance to talk to anyone. Not even the clerk at the checkout.
What if she didn’t talk?
I flicked my gaze to the rearview. “How did you tell the clerk? Sign language? Morse code?”
The flash in Vivian’s eyes gave her away.
That was it.
Somehow, my pretty little fiend had given a clue to the clerk. I chewed on that as I sped down the highway. Vehicles jumped out of my way. It was fantastic. While I didn’t play Grand Theft Auto as much as my cousin Stepan, I felt the rush of adrenaline surge through me. What was the point of a video game when real life was so much more fun?
Stepan and I should steal a cop car. Well, if that wasn’t a damn fine idea….
My phone rang, a classic song playing as the ringtone. I pressed the button just as Vivian said, “I didn’t take you for a M?tley Crüe fan.”
“Didn’t take you for one either, darlin.”
Chuckling, I clipped out a greeting in Russian.
“We have a location secured for you. I’m sending the coordinates now. Stay low until we clear up this mess from our end,” Kazimir responded in the same language.
I sighed. It was time to find another vehicle. Popping the trooper’s sweat-stained hat on my head, I gave my cousin a curt assent and ended the call. We had a few days before the package was due. There was time, but the delay was grating.
“What language is that?” Vivian chirped.
There was no harm in telling her. She wouldn’t have any direct connection to my family. “Russian.”
“And are you from there?” Sugar would have melted on her sticky sweet tongue.
“Nope.” I spied a vehicle that was five years or so newer than the Civic. Better sound system, here I come!
Lights on, I wove through the handful of vehicles until I pulled up behind the Santa Fe.
The Hundi turned on its blinkers and made the correct maneuvers for a traffic stop. Vivian pressed against the partition.
“Luka!” Her palm banged against the clear plastic. “Luka, what are you doing?”
I sighed, turning in my seat to give her a huge grin that I didn’t quite feel. “Fixing your mess.”
Her mocha eyes were the size of saucers. “Are you going to kill them?”
It would be fun if she thought that, so I lied, “The bullets are because of you, darlin. You shouldn’t have tried to get help.”
Her cries of protest effectively stopped when I closed the driver’s door.
Pulling on the trooper’s uniform, which I’d snagged before leaving the Civic, I went around the vehicle in front of me. Not only was killing civilians messy, it was a damn waste. There were enough bad guys to kill that I didn’t need to go on a serial spree.
“Good afternoon, can I have everyone step out of the car, please?” I said pleasantly enough.
Their obvious confusion was mildly funny.
“No, no, use the ditch side. I can’t risk some idiot not paying attention and clipping you.” I gestured to the side of the vehicle.
“Even the baby?” the woman asked, gesturing to the backseat.
Oh, shit. My chest pinched painfully. My own niece was about that size.
“Yes. Does he have any stuff in the backseat?” I asked.
The mother’s voice shook. “His diaper bag.”
I might not be a serial killer, but I was a rotten bastard.
“Grab it.” I gestured to the trooper SUV. “I’m going to need y’all to sit in the backseat while I run your plates.”
“Officer, there’s been some mistake,” the father began to protest.
But I held up my hand. “There has. But I need you to sit in there while I straighten it out.”
Fear made them obey. I opened the backdoor to the trooper’s car and jerked my chin. “Vivian, out.”
That woman didn’t understand how deep she was in over her head. Her glare pierced me. Instead of irritation, it sent a bolt of lust zinging through my blood.
“You aren’t a state trooper.” The father held out his hand protectively to stop the mother and child.
“I’m not. But for your wellbeing, you’ll be in here with AC and snacks.” I pinned Vivian with another look. “Leave your treats.”
Anger flashed across her face and a squeak of protest came out. “Are you serious—”
“I will show you how damn serious I am, Vivian. Now get that sweet ass out of the truck so these nice people can sit and wait.” I tapped my foot.
The stubborn woman pursed her lips and huffed. Instantly, I envisioned them wrapped around my cock. A throb shot through my balls at the idea.
Vivian obeyed, climbing down from the SUV.
Oh, the sweet rush that skated through me at that! What would that obedience taste like? Oh, saints. I needed to get us out of here, get this raging need under control.
The couple climbed inside. I shut the door, grabbed my things from the front of the cop car, but then reopened the back. “Cell phones, please.”
The father narrowed his eyes, but the wife handed hers over immediately. He obeyed after she nudged him.
In exchange, I pulled out a stack of bills. “Don’t tell anyone about this. Use it for the kid’s future.”
The mother’s eyes shone. I didn’t need to see the father to know he was pissed as hell. I would be too.
I dumped their phones in the front seat, took the extra supplies from the cop car, shut off the lights, and left. Vivian stood rooted in place. But I grabbed her under the arm to haul her.
“No touching!” she seethed.
“I’m helping, not touching, sweetheart,” I spat. “This is for not putting a bullet in their heads.”
“You’re a heartless monster.” Her small fist smacked into my chest.
It would have been cute if it didn’t hurt like a mosquito. “That’s enough.”
Metal flashed, and locking mechanisms clinked. And there she stood, my little captive. Handcuffed and at my mercy. Fuck me. My cock pulsed hard in my pants, and a strangled groan caught in my throat. I was touching her without a shred of regret coursing through me. It was freeing, and I was in danger of being consumed. The sooner we arrived, the sooner I would be rid of this temptation. Just because I didn’t feel guilty in this moment, didn’t mean I wouldn’t be wrecked by it later.