When I surface, I gasp a breath of air in, and I kick hard towards the other side of the river. I hear Axel’s crackled voice sound out behind me. “Stop moving!”
I kick harder, using everything inside me to get to the other side. I reach the bank and launch myself up, gripping the sides with my hands. I’m about to pull my body up, when those arms go around me again, and yank me back down. With a scream, I go crashing back into the water. Axel has me, and he spins my body around so I’m facing him. Up close I can see his eyes, and right now his beauty only makes me hate him more.
“Quit this fuckin’ bullshit, and just give in.”
“No,” I growl, shoving at his chest.
“I won’t play this game with you any longer, Cricket. If I have to, I will hurt you.”
I lean in close, almost nose-to-nose, and sneer, “Does it look like I care?”
He growls, and pins me tighter against his body. When I’m this close to him, and my body is pressing against his, I can feel every part of him. His powerful form is twice the size of mine, and a good solid foot taller. His arms tighten around me, and I know I have to think quickly. I stare up at him, meeting those shattering eyes.
“I’m a bad man, Meadow. You’re pushing a wild animal, and eventually that animal will lose it.”
“You don’t scare me,” I rasp.
His eyes lower, and meet mine. The intensity in them scares me, and I can see something dark behind them. Whatever happened to Axel, it was bad. “Well I should.”
I turn my eyes away from his, and I have to think quickly. I do the only thing that comes to mind. I drop my mouth onto his shoulder, and I bite so hard I feel his skin pop. A metallic tang fills my mouth, and I resist the urge to gag.
Axel roars and stumbles backwards, his hands slipping from my body. I take the opportunity to spin around and launch myself up onto the bank. I graze my knees as I scurry forward. I get to my feet, and I run...fast.
“I’ll find you, Meadow,” Axel roars. “Mark my fuckin’ words.”
I have no doubt he will.
But like always, I’ll find a way to escape him.
CHAPTER 3
AXEL
Let your demons beat you, so I can defeat you.
“Motherfucker,” I bellow, driving my fist into a nearby tree over and over until my knuckles bleed. She got away again.
I spin to Cobra, my Vice President, and I can feel water running down my back. She made me fuckin’ jump in after her. I’m getting desperate; time is running out. I need that information, and I need it fucking now. I managed to slip a tracker into her pack, but the water might have stopped it from working. I need to find out.
“Get me the program for that tracker. I need to find her.”
“Got it in the van, boss.”
With a growl, I storm back towards the roadhouse and over to where our bikes are parked. My entire body is swelling with rage, and I’m beginning to lose my control. I wanted to lay my hands on her, to hurt her. I wanted to put my fingers around her throat, and strangle her until she gives me what I desire. I want her to suffer the same way she’s made me suffer this year.
I’m all kinds of fucked up.
I stalk towards the van, and slide the door open. Cobra is tapping in some information on a tiny laptop. He narrows his eyes, and bites the rings in his lower lip. Then a smile appears on his face, and he turns to me, giving me a look full of victory.
“It’s working. She’s heading on the highway, south.”
“We’ll wait until she stops. If she hears us coming, she’ll run. Get the boys ready. I want them all. I don’t want her escaping again. Give me drugs, whatever I have to use to stop her. I’m done playing nice.”
“On it. You want injected drugs?”
“Yeah,” I grunt.
He nods. “I’ll let you know when she stops.”
I stare out the window of the van.
This ends tonight.
“Yes ma’am, that will be eighty for the night,” the too-friendly receptionist says as I check into a motel four hours later.
I’m still damp, and shivering. I didn’t get a chance to dry; it’s not warm enough out. I ran until I couldn’t possibly run anymore.
I didn’t get as far as I would have liked, and I didn’t really want to stop, but I had no choice. I’m exhausted.
I dig through my purse and I give the lady the amount she needs. The only reason I’ve been able to keep myself going is because of cash jobs. There’s a lot in this area.
“Thank you.” She smiles, and hands me a key. “You’re in room 303, out this door, to the left, and up the long corridor.”
“Thank you.” I force a smile.
“There’s room service if you’re hungry.”
I nod, keeping that fake smile. “I appreciate it.”
I take the key and turn, leaving the reception. I let my eyes scan the street before slowly following the directions she gave me.
When I find my room, I unlock it and step inside quickly. My entire body is aching, and my mind is spinning. Axel isn’t the man I remember, and the idea of being caught by him is beginning to scare me.
I flick the light on, and peer around the room. It’s small, but very clean and tidy. It’s one-bedroom, with a bathroom and toilet off to the side. A small two-seater sofa sits in front of a tiny box-television diagonal from the double bed. It’s nice, and it’ll do just fine. I turn and lock the door, before dropping my backpack down and shrugging out of my hoodie.
I head straight for the shower. I don’t hurry it, I just enjoy the feeling of warmth that slides through my body as I stand under the misty spray. I finish up by washing my hair and shaving my legs with the complimentary items, and then I dig through my backpack and find some clean clothes. I am thankful in that moment that I purchased a good, waterproof backpack. It took me a good two months to save for, but it was more than worth it.
I find my brush and drag it through my hair before dropping down onto the sofa and sighing loudly. I need to find a way out of this mess. I believe Raide is still located in Los Angeles, and it’s not cheap to get there. He’s been next to impossible to track down, but the only leads I have are in L.A., so that’s where I need to get to.
I lift my fingers and rub my temples, massaging them to try and ease the throbbing behind my eyes. God, this can’t possibly go on forever. What could be on that USB that Axel wants so badly he’d kill my father for it? I don’t understand. I peer down at the bag, and I lean down, taking hold of it. I zip it open, and find the tiny device. I need to hide this. If I don’t, my life remains in danger. If someone catches me and I don’t have it, they’re likely to keep me alive.
I stare around the room. Maybe I could hide it here? In the roof, perhaps? I look up to the ceiling and glimpse a large hole that leads up into the roof. One they use for repairs. No, it’s too risky. What if someone went up there? I groan loudly, and drop back into the sofa.
That’s when I see it. From this angle, I can see a tiny device in my pack. I sit up quickly and lunge towards it, pulling the tiny silver circle out. It’s no bigger than a twenty-cent piece, in fact, it look remarkably similar.
I know what this is.
My blood runs cold.
It’s a tracker.
I leap to my feet, letting my eyes dart around frantically. All along, Axel was baiting me. That’s why he didn’t just throw himself on me and tackle me to the ground; he wanted to track me. He’s smarter than I thought, and the hunt is getting a whole lot more interesting now.
I need to hide this USB. Having it on me is getting more dangerous. I stare around the room. Maybe I can leave it here? I can’t see any hiding places, until I look up at the hole in the roof again. It looks like it’s going to be my only choice. No one would look there, and it would be safe until I could make a decision about my next step.