Some dipshit had rolled through a right turn without slowing. I saw it out of the corner of my eye seconds before he took out the passenger-side back panel. The impact was so jarring Erin’s head whipped left, then nearly smashed against the side window. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and pulled left, barely avoiding careening into another vehicle. Fucking asshole thought he was a stunt driver on Tokyo Drift. I started to roll to a stop when, in my rearview mirror, I saw the car who’d hit us, maneuver around the cars in the intersection. The dick wasn’t slowing down—he was speeding up.

“Hold tight.” I hit the gas hard and quickly swerved back onto the road. “Grab my phone. I think it landed by your feet. My code to unlock is 0-7-3-0-1-9-9-8-0-0.”

“That’s too many numbers, Colin.” It took her a minute to find the phone, which had slid off the center console in the near accident. “I can’t remember all of that.”

I repeated the numbers to her while trying to think of the best route to lose the car behind us.

“What now?”

“Hit the phone icon and dial pound one. Put the call on speaker.”

She did as I asked, and ringing filled the car before Fletch answered.

“I have a silver Ford Taurus following us southbound on Cooper Road. No front plate, but the passenger-side bumper is fucked off from where he tried to run us off the road.”

“Shit. You have an evac plan?” he asked.

“I do. Just need a few favors.”

“Anything.”

“Go by my house and do a walk through. I’m certain everything is in the safe, but I’d like for you to double check.”

“Truck and I will head over there now.”

“Also call Zane, tell him to check the traffic cameras from the area. Cooper and Freedom Highway.”

“Anything else?”

“Yeah. Tell him, it’s always best to be honest.”

“Copy that. Be safe. Call if you need anything else.”

“Will do. Out.”

Fletch disconnected, and I glanced at Erin. Her hand shook as she held the phone, staring at a now blank screen.

“Everything’s gonna be all right, sunshine.”

“Who’s following us?”

“No clue.”

“Then how do you know everything is going to be okay?”

“Because I’ll never let anyone hurt you. Can you do something for me?”

“Sure.”

“I need you to trust me. If I tell you we’re okay, we are.”

“I’m not certain—”

“I am. The person following us is in a Ford Taurus for Christ sakes. I’m waiting until I can get on the interstate before I lose him. The last thing I want is to cause an accident and get someone hurt. Or have the police involved.”

I checked the rearview mirror and the Taurus was two cars behind us. Other than the initial impact, he’d made no move on us. Something felt off about the whole situation.

“Where are we going?”

“California.”

“California?”

“I need you reach over and take my gun out of my holster.” I leaned to the left, giving her access to my right side. Her hands fumbled around the seat belt. “Just take it off.”

“No way. What if he hits us again?”

She finally got my Sig free and settled back in her seat. “What now? Want me to shoot his tires out?”

“Easy there, cowgirl, this ain’t the wild west. Just hold it. If something happens, and I’m hurt, use it. Whatever happens, do not let anyone get you in a car.”

“I thought you said everything was all right.”

“It is. Right now.”

“What does that mean?”

Just as I merged onto an almost empty Highway 195, the Taurus gunned it, closing the distance between us. I swerved around the car in front of me, and so did the Taurus. Weaving through the few cars on the highway, I made a decision I hoped wouldn’t cost us our lives. The driver of the Taurus pulled alongside us and a second car was on my bumper.

“Put your head between your legs and hold on.”

I braked, causing the car behind me to slam into the back of us. Instead of the Taurus blowing by us like I’d hoped, allowing me to get behind him, he slowed as well.

“What are you doing?” Erin asked from her lowered position.

Before I could answer, the driver of the Taurus popped off two rounds, thankfully pulling high and hitting the top of the driver’s side door. I jerked the wheel, my two right tires hitting the gravel of the shoulder. There wasn’t anywhere to go, two lanes of traffic in either direction didn’t give me a lot of options. If I were alone in the car, it would’ve been a different story, but with Erin beside me I needed to be extra cautious. If something happened to me, she’d be vulnerable.

“Fuck.”

The sound reverberated inside the car, the ringing in my ears caused me to flinch in pain. I didn’t have time to warn Erin to cover her ears as the car behind us got a shot off and took out the back window.

“Why aren’t you driving faster?” Erin yelled, not lifting her head.

“Stay down and brace, Erin.”

I jerked left, sideswiping the Taurus. Thank God for long stretches of Texas highways. The median between the northbound and southbound lanes only had a couple feet of gravel before it gave way to a grassy embankment. Not so steep you couldn’t pull off the side if need be, but a car traveling over eighty miles per hour wouldn’t fare too well. We lurched forward when the car on my ass made contact again. I just needed a few more seconds to catch up to the tractor-trailers that were in front of us, and this would be done.

“Oh my God,” Erin muttered, but thankfully hadn’t sat up.

“Almost over. You’re doing great.”

Swerving left again, I hit the Taurus, harder this time, he didn’t have time to recover before he lost traction on the paved road and went up on two wheels before spinning out of control. Pulling close to the bumper of the semi in front of me I waited until the very last second before veering back into the right lane as the two semis closed the gap, driving side-by-side, leaving no room for the car following us to pass.

“You okay?” I asked.

“My ears hurt. Are they still behind us?”

“One is stuck behind two semis at the moment.”

“The other?”

“Non-issue.”

“I thought Zane was crazy for renting you a Charger, now I’m thankful he didn’t chintz out and rent you a Pinto.”

“Years of experience. Never get behind the wheel of a slow car while on an op.”

“Can I sit up yet?”

“Not yet.”

The exit for State Road 2670 was coming up, and I merged right, taking the small off-ramp keeping my speed above eighty.

“Jesus, Mario Andretti. Warn a girl next time.”

Erin’s body rocked before she steadied in her seat.

“You can sit up.”

The first thing Erin did was look over her shoulder and out the gaping hole where the rear window used to be.

“Holy shit. They shot at us,” she said unnecessarily. “I mean, I knew they did. But, shit.”

Erin’s trembling hand was still holding my gun. Even though I knew she’d been scared, she’d held it together. I was impressed. I’d witnessed both men and women break down over less.

“You can put the gun in the glovebox.” It took her a few tries to open the compartment, she was shaking so badly. With the gun secured, I grabbed her hand and placed it on my thigh and covered it with mine. “I’m proud of you, sunshine.”

“Proud of me? I didn’t do anything but keep my head down and silently freak out.”

“You trusted me. And I don’t believe you were freaking out. Hell, you offered to go all Lara Croft on the bad guys and shoot their tires out.”

I was trying to make light of the situation, but now that Erin was out of danger the thought of her going full on badass was sexy as hell. And knowing she actually would’ve done it if I’d asked had my dick throbbing to life.

“What about all of our stuff back at the house?”

“Fletch and Truck will do a sweep and make sure there’s nothing of importance left out.”

“But we don’t have anything with us. You said we’re going to California.”

“There’s a go-bag in the trunk. I have everything we need. And what we don’t have, we’ll buy along the way.”

“Okay.”

Erin rested her head on the seat back but made no move to pull her hand away. Just like that, she trusted I’d take care of her even after I’d been mostly an asshole to her since I’d met her. I’d never had another woman have so much faith in me. It was a feeling that made my gut tighten. I wondered if this was what Leo felt when he’d saved Olivia. From the moment she’d laid eyes on him, she’d handed over her safety to him. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was feeling toward Erin, but what I did know was I liked having her next to me.