I backed away from Talon’s house and shook my head as I started to drive.
I wasn’t sure what he wanted me to do with the pickup truck.
I guess the logical plan would be to drive it to the beach house, park it somewhere and then text him. Chances were Gia would drive to get him and bring him to the beach house to get the truck.
I rolled my eyes.
“Of course she will,” I said. “She will probably do anything for him. It’s a hot guy who wants her. A hot guy who’s a bad boy too. A stupid Troc.”
Yeah, I had to get rid of the jealousy.
My hands gripped the steering wheel and I forced my brain to focus. This wasn’t about Gia. This wasn’t about Talon. This was about me. And it was about-
My eyes looked to the rearview mirror.
I swallowed hard.
A familiar vehicle was following me.
Chapter 7
Unexpected meeting
The large vehicle drove up behind me very fast.
I kept the same speed but my heart didn’t. This was literally jumping right back into reality. I barely got away from Talon’s house and something was happening.
This was terrible.
This was the same person that had been following me before. The same person who had been following Noah, Easton, and Xavier too.
I had no idea who it was.
Or why they were following me. Or them.
Or what they wanted from me.
Suddenly Talon’s house didn’t seem so Troc-ish.
I thought about Brock and Raine on the couch. Brock obviously trying to get some extra lovin’ after rescuing Raine from the inflatable pool. Or Emily walking around half naked, not caring, ready to hump the next guy she saw. Or Talon…
I pressed the gas pedal and sped up.
The pickup truck gained speed and distance from the SUV behind me.
For a second I thought maybe it was just my mind messing with me.
But I was wrong.
The SUV was right behind me again.
Not following.
It felt like they were inches from the back of the truck.
I stepped on the brakes and pulled to the side of the road.
The SUV passed by me.
I smiled.
I watched the vehicle speed up the road and disappear.
I let out a long sigh.
“Okay then,” I said. “That was… coincidence.”
Which made sense.
I wasn’t driving Tank Two. I was driving a piece of crap pickup truck.
How would anyone know it was me?
I waited a few minutes before moving again.
I cruised down the road, feeling better with each passing second.
Everything was going to be-
I saw the black SUV again.
Parked on the side of the road.
I gasped and didn’t know what to do.
If I stopped, someone might get out and come after me.
If I drove by…
I didn’t have time to think or debate.
So I just kept driving.
I picked up speed again and flew by the SUV on the side of the road.
My eyes looked to the mirror and the SUV began to follow me again.
I considered calling Talon… but what could he do? I was driving his truck. I didn’t know if he had another vehicle or not. Each time I saw him he was walking. The night we met when I was going to mess around with Noah’s car, Talon appeared from nowhere. And how many times did I have to drive him around?
In other words, I was the one who was screwed now.
My only saving grace would be to drive home and hope my mother was there.
Or maybe it was time to go home to the castle. To my father’s house. I wasn’t sure if he was going to be home or not, but the castle was big and safe. Nobody would follow me up the driveway. Not unless they wanted to be met with security and police. Real police. Not that weird detective I met who made me feel uneasy.
I could…
My eyes looked in the mirror again.
The SUV was right on me again. Closer than ever. Getting closer by the second.
I shook my head, fearing something terrible was about to happen.
My hands gripped the wheel tighter.
My mind threw flashbacks of the accident with Tank. The accident that Noah, Easton, and Xavier set up. The accident that was supposed to kill me.
If I crashed in this truck, I would die for sure. There was nowhere to hide in the vehicle. That meant…
The SUV got ever closer.
I had to make a decision. Pull over. Speed up. Hit the brakes and have the SUV hit me. My arms started to shake as I didn’t know what to do.
The SUV beeped its horn.
I let out a cry.
Then the SUV made its move, cutting to the left to pass me.
I slowed down and watched as the SUV took off. It sped up and it was… gone.
My right foot slammed down on the gas pedal. The pickup truck engine roared.
My hands gripped the wheel tighter.
My lip curled high into the air.
It was my turn to chase the SUV down.
To do what?
I had no idea.
The truck moved fast but the SUV was definitely faster.
I saw it one time, as a black speck way ahead on the road.
Then it was gone and it stayed gone.
Chances were it turned somewhere.
There was no real sense of relief either, now that the SUV was gone.
Gone didn’t mean gone for good. Gone meant gone for now.
Whoever it was, they would be back.
I settled into driving again, like normal, even though nothing was normal.
And nothing would ever be normal.
That was the cold reality I had to face.
Messing around at Talon’s place was one thing. That was me as a Bump watching the Troc life knowing I could leave at any time.
But this… driving Talon’s pickup truck… going back to the beach house…
I sucked in a deep breath and was going to exhale but couldn’t.
My right foot moved off the gas pedal.
Up ahead, the road was blocked by two vehicles facing one another.
And there were two people standing in the road.
Noah. In a nice, white shirt and nice pants. Looking sexy and deadly. And pissed.
Easton. Wearing a t-shirt and jeans, smoking a cigarette. His eyes raged with fire.
I stopped the pickup truck.
I needed to back up and get out of there.
I wasn’t ready to face…
When I looked to the mirror I saw someone had snuck up behind me.
It was Xavier.
I finally exhaled that breath.
I swallowed hard.
They found me.
I carefully stepped out of the truck.
I looked back at Xavier.
He was muscle in a hoodie.
Stone faced. Kind of like how he always was.
That always turned me on about him.
Now it scared me.
I was the target.
Their target.
Yet again.
Nobody moved.
I looked left to right. Left to right. Over and over, waiting for someone to make a move.
The closest thing to it was when Easton dropped his cigarette to the ground and stepped on it. Then he folded his arms and leaned against his car.
He and Noah had these sleek, low to the ground sports type cars, with the windows tinted all black.
Xavier drove something much bigger.
It wasn’t the SUV that had been following me. But it was the same size.
“I was being followed,” I said. “Again. I have no idea who it is. Or how they found me.”