Page 106 of Stolen By the Billionaire
“Yeah, ’kay.”
Finally, when it felt like they’d driven halfway to Iowa, they rounded a bend, and Romain muttered in Blaze’s ear that he had determined they had made a clean getaway, so it was time to begin driving eastward in earnest.
At least they’d gotten out of Chicago before rush hour.
The sun was behind them when they took the ramp onto I-90. The beams glared through Blaze’s mirrors and burned his eyes, making him blink as he micromanaged the steering wheel through the undulations of the road.
They’d dallied too long over lunch and Rogue Security’s accommodations and pursuit avoidance tactics. The time ticking away in the corner of the dash’s wide, curving computer screen was nearly five o’clock. The eleven-hour drive would put them into New York City around four in the morning, assuming absolutely no traffic or stops, which was impossible.
If Blaze’d had access to military-grade performance pharmaceuticals or another driver he could trust, they could’ve made the drive in one shot.
With Sarah and not even so much as a goddamn Adderall, there was no way he could make it all the way to the East Coast that night. Yes, he’d given her an orgasm with his tongue, but he wouldn’t trust her with a gun to his head or piloting a vehicle while he slept, not while she harbored suspicions about his motives or Stockholm Syndrome.
He’d have to improvise while on the road.
A Navy SEAL was at his finest when improvising.
Blaze would draw on his resilience and adaptability to complete the mission.
As he drove, the city gave way to suburbs, which receded behind the car as the highway cut through rural fields and wide-open spaces where the highway veered into the lower peninsula of Michigan.
Romain’s voice on the com in Blaze’s ear said, “Rogue Security is beginning our final maneuvers. We will expand the perimeter and then reduce coverage by one vehicle per highway exit until we have determined you are clear.”
Blaze touched his earpiece and replied, “Affirmative.”
Beside him, Sarah shot him a look. “What’s going on?”
He glanced at her and then back at the road. “Our escort is leaving us. They believe we have eluded any pursuers and should be safe to continue without escort.”
She twisted to peer out the rear window. “Yeah, those black SUVs are the only vehicles around us for miles.”
Rogue Security’s vehicles fanned out on the highway, one exiting at each offramp as planned over the next hour until Blaze and Sarah drove alone on the darkening road.
The asphalt line stretched eastward as the sun neared the horizon in the rearview mirror.
Only ten hours to go.
Blaze was already fatigued because he’d slept less than two hours the previous night due to the intruders.
You’d think his chronic insomnia would help him out in this case, but like a lazy cat in a mouse situation, it had rolled over and deserted him.
He asked Sarah, “You had something you wanted to discuss?”
Sarah studied her hands resting on her blue jeans. “If you’re tired, I can drive.”
He didn’t trust her enough to give her phone back. “I appreciate the offer.”
“That means no, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah.” And he regretted that. Switching drivers for continuous driving would be more efficient and put them in New York City hours quicker.
But Blaze didn’t have a death wish that he acknowledged.
No, he didn’t have a death wish, and that was final.
“I promise that I’ll just drive,” she said. “I won’t try anything.”
“Thank you for the offer.”
