Page 34 of Seductive Sadist

I crane my neck, keeping the taillights of the truck in sight. “Drive faster. You’re gonna lose them.”

The Challenger lurches forward like Nik just hit a button for light speed mode. I slam backward against my seat. We don’t have much time before escaping this maze of dark roads. My only shot to stop that truck before we lose it is to blow out its tires.

I lower my window, point my gun at the rear right tire, and fire.

The truck swerves just before the bullet hits the air.

“Who the hell are you even shooting at?”

“I don’t know, but they’ve got Skyla.” My lips press tight together and I line up my next shot. Again, the fucker jerks the wheel.

I feel Nik’s eyes on me so I keep my focus on the truck. “Is this really about revenge, Z? Or is it something else? Because you’re trying real hard right now not to look desperate to get that girl back, and I can see right through it.”

Jesus. That’s the second time someone called me out on my twisted obsession. Looks like I need to work on my poker face.

I grit my teeth. The entrance to the main road is too damn close. If I can’t stop the truck before they make it out of here, there’s no way I can fire off shot after shot trying to take out a tire in Florida traffic.

We’ll lose them.

I’ll lose her.

“She’s our leverage. Without her, we’re fucked. Van Dyne and St. James will cripple our businesses if her wedding to Tyson happens.”

“And there’s no other reason why you suddenly decided to marry her yourself? Without running it past any of us, the ones who make the fucking rules and set the direction for this family?”

I twist toward him. “It’s not like any of you could do it. I’m the only one without a fucking ankle shackle right now, yeah?”

“I’m sure the girls would love to hear you call them ankle shackles.”

“I made the sacrifice because I could. That’s all.” This time, I avoid the accusation in his eyes.

“Just like you sacrificed your life running into a flood of bullets to save her from that guy in the truck? Come on, Zak. Don’t bullshit me. You didn’t do that to save our family. And lemme tell you, when you put your dick before your responsibilities, shit gets very complicated. And dangerous. Keep the head on your neck clear, or else you’re the one who’s gonna go down in flames.”

I let out a frustrated sigh.

Nobody other than Val knows about what happened between me and Skyla the night before the championship football game that ended me; otherwise, this would be a very different conversation. Nobody knows that I’ve been haunted by this infatuation with Skyla for years, and that it all bubbled to the surface after seeing her at The Surf Club last night. And then hearing that she was marrying that shit for brains prick made my obsession flare up like a raging case of herpes.

I had to stop it from happening, no matter what.

Who the hell ever thought I’d have gotten my dick in such a twist over my ex-best friend’s geeky little sister? For years, I knew she had a thing for me, but never gave it a second thought until I had to use her feelings against her to get something I needed.

After that night, I tried to bury my feelings, pretending that what happened between us didn’t affect me. But it did. More than I’d ever admit to anyone, especially her.

Seeing her at that club a few years ago brought it all back. And for as much as I’d wanted to fuck her senseless against a wall, to feel her body plastered against mine, to hear her scream my name over and over, I wanted to hurt her. The overwhelming urge to punish her for her part in crushing my future grabbed hold, and I knew if I didn’t send her away, I’d deliver on every sadistic thing I’d ever wanted to do to her.

But ever since I saw her last night, that need for revenge has become tangled with lust and longing, and I can’t separate them, no matter how hard I try.

A dark car jumps out of the trees, speeding toward the truck. Blinding blue and red lights flash in the distance before the sound of the sirens pierce the air.

“Shit.” Nik spins the wheel, making a hard right into the bushes next to us. “Fucking branches are gonna ruin my paint job.”

“You got a tracker in here?”

Nik pulls open the glove compartment and hands me a small magnetic GPS tracker. The truck skids to a stop when a car pulls out in front of it, blocking its path. I stay low to the ground, moving as fast as I can toward the back of the truck and staying out of sight at the same time. I stick the tracker behind the rear right wheel, ready to disappear into the bushes when two gunshots fire.

Something… or someone… hits the ground. Hard.

I dive to the ground, hoping like hell I blend in with the darkness so I don’t end up shot, too. The truck driver slams his foot on the gas and plows the car to the edge of the road before disappearing around the corner.