Page 20 of Merciless Wager
“Life is full of illusions, and love is the biggest one of them all. Everything can be bought and sold in this world, so expecting someone to give or receive less based on some silly emotion is idiocy.”
“Spoken like a true cynic, Zarren. I’d just like to know who it was that hurt you so terribly?” she asked as she slowly turned back in my direction.
I chuckled. “In order to love, one would need a heart which I do not have.”
“You play the heartless bastard well, but your acting skills could use a little work.”
“Acting skills, eh?”
“You could’ve locked me away in a room, but you haven’t. That alone tells me that you like me at least a little.”
“I like not being ripped apart limb to limb by my uncles and tossed into the fucking harbor. If I allow a single hair on your head to be hurt, you become damaged goods.”
“Then do it so this Mikhail guy won’t want me anymore.”
I reached over and fisted a handful of her golden silk around my wrist, then pulled her face close to mine. “If I touch you, there’ll be nothing left for him to find and label as damaged. Besides, it’s better to be handed off as his betrothed versus the alternative.”
“W-what is the alternative?” she stammered in question.
“You’ll become a whore for the Bratva to use and abuse. Trust me, it’s better to just be one for your husband.”
“I really dislike you,” she whispered.
“The feeling is completely mutual, Bellezza. Now, why don’t you get a nap in. We’ve not even left Massachusetts yet, so there’s still a while to go.”
She huffed in irritation, and in haste to turn away from me, she yelped when my hand tugged on her hair. I released it from my grasp and savored the feel of those silken locks slipping through my fingers.
Once free of me, she did turn to her side. It wasn’t long before I heard a few soft, feminine snores come from her. Each time I looked over at her, she was still outside of the occasional shaking. I reached for her hand and realized her fingers did feel like a block of ice. Removing my jacket, I arranged it over her, then tucked her hands in so they could warm up.
I usually wore a hoodie, but I hadn’t today. It didn’t matter because she needed my jacket more than I did. To be honest, being this close to her had already made my body temperature rise. In the penthouse, I’d have the luxury of space between us, but not here in the backseat of this SUV. Raising my arms above my head, I stretched fully, then tried to close my own eyes. I had barely shut them when I felt a slight nudge.
“What is it?” I asked Conor when he touched me to get my attention.
“We need to stop for gas. There’s an all-night place a mile off the exit.”
“Alright,” I responded before waking myself back up. The last thing I needed was for Aurora to wake up when the car stopped and find me asleep. She’d run, and with the darkness and our unfamiliarity with this area, she might actually escape.
“There’s a vehicle that keeps gaining on us,” Liam said as he stared out the rearview mirror. “I’ve tried to dodge it multiple times and have even tried to slow down so it could pass, but each time it slows down with me. You think it’s anything to be overly concerned with, Boss?”
“It’s likely some asshole or juvenile delinquents trying to fuck with us for fun. I’ll keep my eyes on them. You just focus on the road.”
“Sure thing,” he said, and I slowly turned to watch the van accelerate then decelerate. Convinced it was nothing more than some teenage punks, I couldn’t be sure. In this world, you always had to stay strapped and ready. I never left home without my Glock 19, and as Liam veered off the state road and the van followed, I pulled the gun from the area between the seat and the door.
I did not even have time to take off the safety when the van came around and passed us, then turned to its side right in front of us, causing Liam to slam on the brakes. When he did. Both Aurora and I both flew forward, although I had anticipated it and had been able to brace myself.
“Fuck! Go around it!”
Iwas jolted awake by not just my body colliding with the seat in front of me, but the undeniable bump from another vehicle. At first, I wondered if I had been dreaming until I heard raised voices around me. I tried to quickly wake from my slumber, but my eyes felt heavy and I could barely hold them open.
“W-what’s going on?” I asked Zarren, who had his hand on my leg as he barked out orders to his men, but my head was so foggy I couldn’t quite make them out.
His hand tightened down on my knee in what I assumed he meant to be a comforting gesture, but it only made me worry more. Pulling away from him, I forced my lids to fully open, and I kept them that way as the pitch-black around us came into sight.
Another hard jolt was felt, and I looked behind me out the back window to see a vehicle gaining speed on us again. Each time it got close to us, our vehicle would shoot forward, but I knew it would just be a matter of time before...
Who is it? And why are they messing with us?
“We’re almost out of gas, Boss. What do we do?” I heard Liam say from the driver’s seat.
