Gigi rolled her neck. She was starting to feel stir-crazy in the vehicle for a couple of reasons. One, she wanted to finally get home. Not to any physical dwelling in particular but to her city. To the rolling mountains, the expansive ocean, the salty breeze, and the familiar scent of Seattle. That was home.
And two, well, she needed some space from the hunky, grouchy jerk next to her. In the future, she’d test out boyfriend candidates by spending two days in a car with them. As it turned out, a lot of things about August annoyed her. Mostly his grouchiness. His grouchy side came in waves, and she suspected it had more to do with the tumultuous ground their relationship stood on rather than the circumstances they were in.
Yet, he still made butterflies swarm in her belly every time he looked at her, and her loins clenched whenever he touched her hand or knee, which he seemed to be doing a lot today. Not that she minded, but maybe that was a problem.
The sun was high in the sky and the temperature in the car was warm. August had suggested they stop only for bathroom breaks, so they could reach Seattle at a good time. Which meant lots of gas-station snacks and fast food that made her want to puke.
“I can’t wait to see Ivy,” she said softly.
He grunted. “I’m sure it’s mutual. We’ll be at Rami’s in half an hour.”
A little ball of anxiety spun in her gut. What would happen when they reached Rami and Ivy’s house? August might leave. She had to be prepared for that possibility, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to ask him about his plans. Nor would she ask him to stay. She’d hold on to what little dignity she had left.
But god. If he dropped her off and just left . . .
Pain pierced her heart, and she glanced down at her hands in her lap to steady her racing emotions. He’d done enough for her. She couldn’t expect him to put his life on hold. He had contracts, other clients, and a life of his own. Ivy would do everything to protect her, which meant Rami would, too.
August had told her that he’d make sure no one hurt her. That he’d face the cartel. But today was a new day, and really, he’d made those promises when he was afraid she’d run away. She didn’t take August for a liar, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t say anything he could to get her to trust him.
Shit. There could be U.S. marshals waiting at the house to whisk her away. Panic assailed her and her breath sped up, making her teeter on the edge of hyperventilating.
The music on the radio drowned out the weird noises coming from her throat. Looking out the window, she forced her mind into a calm state.
She couldn’t lose control. Not here. Not now.
The landscape whizzed by her window, and if she were the type to get carsick, the dizzying kaleidoscope of trees, trees, and more trees would’ve done it. She glanced at the side mirror and her adrenaline spiked.
A vehicle was approaching.
“Um, someone’s behind us,” she said. She was being silly. Paranoid. But after the day she’d had, paranoia was necessary for survival.
August’s chiseled jaw hardened and his eyes flicked to the rearview mirror. He looked at the road again. “Probably no one. Traffic will increase now that we’re so close to the city.”
She fiddled with her fingers and glanced again at the approaching vehicle. It wasn’t closing in quickly. Still, agitation frayed her composure.
“Hey.” He glanced her way.
She stared at the slight upturn of the corner of his mouth, at the dark-blond stubble that covered his jaw, at the dimples that appeared near the corners of his eyes. Such deep eyes. Every time she looked into them, she felt as if she were staring into the depths of the jungle.
Yeah, a jungle full of predators.
That thought should scare her, but instead, lord help her, a quiver raced up her spine and delight tingled her nerve endings. She bit her bottom lip, but that was the only reaction she allowed herself. If she wasn’t careful, she’d crawl over the seats and—
“We’re fine,” he continued. His large hand stretched over her thigh. Heat radiated through her thin pants, scorching the sensitive flesh between her legs.
She huffed through her nose. “Thanks. I guess I have some PTSD.”
“That’s understandable.”
Seconds clipped by. His palm stayed in place. She couldn’t help but admire the size of the hand on her leg. Comforting. Masculine.
Possessive.
“You’ve been doing that a lot, lately.” The words blurted from her mouth before she could stop them.
He didn’t look her way, but his eyebrows quirked. “Doing what?”
She jiggled her knee. “Touching me.”
If her words surprised him, he didn’t flinch. Nor did his hand move from its comfortable position. “If you don’t want me to, just say so.” Again, he didn’t budge.
She wet her lips and drank in his body. When it came to August, nothing was simple. There was no cut-and-dry or black-and-white. Everything was gray. Whatever the hell that meant.
Unease coated the back of her throat but she pushed away her jitters. Eventually she’d have to confront August about how things had been left between them. “I didn’t say that,” she said slowly. She immediately regretted those words even more than she regretted saying anything about his touching her in the first place. “I mean. Ugh,” she grumbled. “Never mind. I just—It seems a little intimate, don’t you think?”
“Am I touching you intimately, Georgia?” His question came out on a low, seductive drawl.
Her brain grappled with the sexy intonation while stumbling over her full name. “You know what I mean,” she finally spat out.
“You’d rather us be at odds with each other?”
She blinked. “I’m confused. You think that if you’re not touching me, we’re at odds?”
He chuckled. “No. I mean we can hash this out in more ways than one.”
“What’s there to hash out?” She cringed at the angsty note in her voice. He was getting under her skin, pressing her buttons in the subtle way he was so good at. And not just those buttons. Because he was also very, very good at pushing one in particular.
“Do you think we have nothing to discuss?”
“Don’t answer a question with a question,” she replied flatly. She dragged her fingers hastily through her strands. Why was she letting him irritate her?
Simple answer: because she wanted him.
He laughed, this time good-naturedly. Lifting his hand from her thigh, he said, “Okay, hands off. I get it. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
She pressed her tongue to the back of her teeth and stared at the bridge ahead. A river snaked below it, the moving water glistening in the sun. The beautiful scenery would usually have been enough to tame her growing anger. Not today.
He hadn’t made her uncomfortable by touching her. In fact, she resented the level of comfort it gave her. Too much from a man she’d had a fling with. And too much from a man who got on her last nerve and enjoyed it.
He reached over and tweaked her chin. “I love it when you’re pissy.”
She jerked her face from his hold. “Well, you’re gonna love me a whole lot then, because—”
Bang!
Gigi gasped and whirled around to look out the back window. “August!”
The truck behind them collided with the back of the SUV again. Gigi choked on a scream, fear anchoring her to the seat.
August cursed. “Hang on.”
She looked out the windshield and gripped the door handle as August accelerated. Cold sweat trickled down her spine. She tensed, waiting for another impact. Her mouth sour, she watched the large black truck fall back. “He’s getting distance to gain more speed.”
August tossed her his phone. “Call Rami. Tell him we need backup.”
She fought down a whimper as she snagged the device and quickly found Rami’s number in the call history. Logic told her the effort was useless. They were too far from Seattle.
They’d be dead by the time Rami got to them.
“Hello?” Rami’s voice cut into her spiraling wave of hysteria. They approached the bridge.
“It’s Gigi,” she said, her words coming out choppy. “We’re being run off the road right now. August said to tell you we need backup.”
Behind them the truck roared, and fresh fear drowned out Rami’s questions.
Bang!
The SUV swerved off the road inches before reaching the bridge. Gigi screamed over August’s curses. They bumped over the grass and down the slope toward the river.
“Oh my god!” Gigi screamed. She clawed at the door handle while her other hand wrapped around the seatbelt across her chest. Neither promised to free her from the fast-moving vehicle.
August spun the steering wheel, his body rigid next to hers as he tried valiantly to stop the car. The SUV hit a small cliff and became airborne.
Too terrified to utter a sound, Gigi closed her eyes and shielded her face with her hands. She felt August’s arms come around her, crushing her to the seat and securing her.
The front end of the SUV slammed into the water. Her head snapped to the side despite August’s upper body over hers. In seconds, cold water rushed in through the bottom of the vehicle, covering her legs.
“Gigi!” August yelled, as if he’d been shouting at her for a while. His hand was rough on her cheek. “Are you okay?”
Her breath shuddered through her lips. She stared into his earnest green eyes, which held more desperation than she’d ever seen in them. She forced a nod.
“We’re sinking fast . . .” His words came out more quickly than she could catch them, her brain unable to process that the water was closing in on them, that she felt weightless.
Shivers overtook over her body. Her teeth chattered violently. August unsnapped his seatbelt and then his hands were back on her. “Once the SUV is submerged, we’ll swim out.”
As he freed her from the buckle, her weight shifted toward the windshield. She slammed her foot on the dash to hold herself in place, but August’s hands were firm on her waist, preventing her from losing her balance.
Water swam around her hips, soaking her to the skin. In seconds, there’d be no air. “We’re going to die,” she sobbed.
August dragged her to the driver’s side. She braced herself awkwardly in the footwell and leaned against the seat, fighting the sharp angle of the SUV.
His wet palm rested on her cheek. “Honey, I won’t let you die. I promise. We’re close to shore. Just hang on to me.” His calm tone and expression made the terror firing through her brain abate.
He moved her hand to his belt. “Hold here. Don’t let go. I’ll need two hands to get the door open in case there’s a lot of pressure.”
Her fingernails bit into the leather. “O-Okay.” The water rose up to her chest and instinct made her surge higher, searching for the last pocket of air.
August gripped her wrist, and she brought her other hand to his shoulder. “The river’s not deep, baby. Okay? I’ll open the door as soon as the pressure stabilizes and we’ll swim out. Easy peasy.”
She chortled as the river lapped at her neck.
“Say it,” he commanded. Water droplets coated his skin and he, too, rose in the water for one last breath. “Easy, peasy.”
“Easy, peasy,” she parroted.
The water was nearly at her chin. Panic made her thrash. Her heart thundered in her chest. The need to get out of the sinking vehicle was almost blinding. If it weren’t for August’s biting hold on her wrist, she’d have blacked out from fear alone.
The water reached her lips.
“Almost there,” August said, spitting water as he spoke.
He tilted his head back. She did the same, sucking in rushed breaths. Her eyes locked on his. If his face was the last thing she ever saw, she’d go to Heaven happy.
“Last breath,” he yelled.
Gigi sucked in a large mouthful of air just before the water closed over their heads. A new rush of cold flooded her system.
She opened her eyes, but besides shafts of light and pockets of darkness, she couldn’t see a damn thing, not even August.
He moved, and she held fast to his belt. His body jerked a few times. Panic rose inside her. Oh, god. The door was stuck.
Her heart rate accelerated and claustrophobia mounted. Her lungs screamed, ready to burst. Water threatened to rush into her nose if she dared to take a breath.
August’s words resounded in her head. I won’t let you die.
He wouldn’t.
Her ears ached under the pressure. A loud creak sounded and suddenly the water in the car flowed toward the door, mixing with the rapids outside. August seized her wrist from his buckle and yanked her though the opening.
His hands were rough and strong on her waist as he surged upwards, the current carrying them along. She broke through the surface, and air hit her lungs as she gasped greedily, her hand still on August’s belt.
He came up beside her, swiping his face and taking a big breath. His gaze swung toward the bridge. “Get down!” His hand went to the back of her head, forcing her back under the unforgiving river.
Crack, crack!
Bullets whizzed through the water. August’s hand was on her back, propelling her deeper. Her chest spasmed with the need for air, and she fought against his force.
August swept his arm around her waist, holding her back to his front. Her consciousness flickered as she kicked, desperately needing a breath. He must have sensed her urgency because they surfaced. Her lungs sucked in air.
The current spun them in a circle. Gigi looked around frantically for the shooter as they moved under the bridge. August grabbed a large rock and kept them in place. She clung to the boulder, digging her fingernails into the hard slate. August’s chest was still at her back, pinning her in place. “You okay?” he shouted.
She nodded and slapped her hair from her face. “Where is he?”
“He was up the hill. He probably went to the top to see if we came out on the other side of the bridge. Can you hang on?”
She gripped his arm and turned to meet his face before he could swim away. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to take him out. I need you to wait here. Don’t get swept away and don’t try to get to land. He won’t be able to see you if you stay on this side of the rock.” His face was close to hers, and the place on her side where his hand rested was the only partially warm spot on her body.
“Be careful.”
August’s eyes darkened. “Don’t worry. This fucker is done.” He brushed his lips over her temple. Though she knew the gesture was probably one of reassurance, the stupid butterflies in her tummy went wild.
She watched as he kicked away and swam swiftly across the water despite the pulling current. He reached the low point of the river under the bridge, pulled himself up on the rocks, and then stalked toward the bridge. In one quick and deadly motion, he pulled his gun from the small of his back. Somehow, it’d stayed in place during their escape.
His jeans were soaked through, dragging on the rocks, and the noise of his boots squelching over the crashing rapids reached her ears.
Her extremities stiffened as the cold took over her body. Part of her wanted to attempt the short swim, but she forced herself to stay put. Not only was she not keen on getting shot—she also wasn’t keen on being the reason August got shot.
As August climbed, the assassin from the diner appeared at the top of the grass. Gigi choked on a gasp, lowering herself further into the water. The urge to scream and warn August was so great she bit her tongue to stop herself.
But August must have heard the guy’s approach because he stayed low. If the assassin ducked, he’d see August was only feet away.
Gigi’s fingertips dug into the rough, wet stone. Her arms and legs tingled, weak and frozen. The water swirled around her lower body, pulling her away from the rock. She placed her arm on a small nook to brace herself. If she didn’t move soon, she’d be swept away.