"GIVE ME MY FUCKING MAN BACK!!!"
Lila's screech tore through the air with primal ferocity. My entire body went stiff.
I jerked my eyes to the side mirror just in time to see her leaning half her body out of the humvee's window, dirty blonde hair whipping like wildfire.
An Uzi rattled violently in her hands as she unloaded a rain of hot bullets in our direction.
"WHAT THE FUCK—!?!"
I ducked instinctively as glass spider-webbed beside my head.
Had she forgotten I was in here too?????
"IF YOU SLOW DOWN I'LL KILL YOU!! YOU HEAR ME?!?"
The woman's voice cracked through the air like thunder. A bullet zipped past my ear.
Too fucking close. I felt the heat of it.
"I—WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?!"
I choked out under overwhelming pressure, my voice strained as I swerved around a rotting sedan.
I barely had time to notice as she shoved the back door open with her boot.
Backpacks and duffels tumbled out of the Rover, bouncing across the asphalt. Lila swerved her humvee hard, tires screeching as she dodged most of them… and absolutely crushed the rest under the humvee's large frame.
My stomach dropped. This had to be a fucking nightmare.
Then—
"Make a sharp turn here."
The woman's tone was way too calm— like she was asking me to pass the salt.
"Wha—NOW??"
Her fingers curled around the headrest beside me, knuckles white.
"Now, or I'll fucking shoot you."
My heart launched into my throat.
I yanked the wheel, tires screaming as the Rover fishtailed.
The world blurred sideways.
I felt my shoulder slam into the door, felt the woman steady herself behind me with one hand— and felt the humvee skid wide in my rearview, missing the turn by inches.
I only got to a few more meters before the rover lurched to a stop. My foot slipped uselessly off the pedal.
I was breathless, drained. My hands were trembling so bad I almost couldn't unclench them from the wheel. The world outside blurred in and out, gunfire, screams, scorched trees, infected lunging at shadows. I couldn't fucking process any of it.
The blonde snapped her head at me, confused and angry.
Those red-tinged eyes practically burned into my soul.
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
"L–look…" I stammered, breath hitching, "I can't fucking do this anymore. I don't even have my license—! I've only ever taken the goddamn metro my entire—"
Her expression twisted, and I braced for the inevitable blow—
But she didn't get the chance.
Through the rear view, the humvee was already skidding through the turn, fishtailing back into pursuit like a rabid animal ready to rip the Rover apart.
Lila's headlights carved across the street.
I was hoping to stall as long as I could so she was able to get to me.
But i never got that luxury.
The blonde didn't waste time yelling at me.
In one breathless blur she climbed into my lap.
I froze, completely paralyzed— as her thigh slammed against mine, her shoulder brushing my jaw. Her breath hit my neck. Her hair grazed my cheek. Her scent was intoxicating.
"What the f—"
She ignored the panic strangling my voice and planted her boots firm against the floorboards. Her back arched as she reached for the pedals, her weight pressing down on me in a way that made my nerves short-circuit.
Her fingers wrapped the wheel over mine as she stomped the gas pedal.
The Rover screamed, tires spinning through dust and shattered asphalt before launching forward again. The seatbelt dug into my ribs as the acceleration yanked us both back.
Every pothole we hit slammed through my spine.
through hers.
through every point where our bodies connected.
I breathed in, closing my eyes as I tried to think about something else. I'd kill myself if I got too aroused from this.
Behind us, Lila's humvee thundered after us, engine roaring like an animal finally let off its chain.
She was accelerating way too fast.
Dust exploded behind us as the Rover shuddered violently.
The blonde leaned in closer, jaw tight, one hand gripping the wheel, the other bracing against my shoulder without even thinking about it.
"Trying not to get hard, aren't you?"
I shut my eyes tighter.
Her laugh was low and dark, as if she already knew the answer.
The Rover jolted violently as we tore down the ruined street.
Yet somehow, impossibly, the humvee still managed to roll up beside us despite our acceleration, matching our speed, engine snarling.
the glare of headlights washed over my side window.
I reluctantly turned in a slow motion, and there was Lila.
Her face was a storm— shock, betrayal, fury—twisted into something primal. Her eyes locked on me, wide and wild, the faintest red haze bleeding into her irises.
Oh, fuck me.
I tried to tame my expression— tried to look horrified or scared or something normal—…
but the blonde shifted her weight slightly, pressing closer, and for a split second I definitely made a face I shouldn't have.
Lila definitely fucking saw.
The grip on her steering wheel grew so tight the leather probably tore.
The blonde noticed.
And…of course, she decided it was a great time to taunt her.
She leaned across me, her chest brushing my arm, and gave Lila a little wave.
The exact same fucking wave she did earlier when she was mocking her in this very car.
Her back arched, just slightly.
"Are you fucking insane!?"
I rasped, but she just smirked like this was a game.
The humvee swerved closer, tires screeching. Lila stuck half her torso out the window again, hair whipping like a crazed halo around her head.
Her eyes were glowing a faint, furious red. My stomach twisted.
She lifted the Uzi.
My entire world froze. In that moment, it was clear to me that she had the intention to kill me as well.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I shut them tightly. This was the end of the road.
Yet, I felt the metal click through the air.
Once.
Twice.
A dead trigger.
I slowly opened my eyes back up.
Lila stared at the gun in disbelief— then at me. The relief that hit my chest was so strong it made me dizzy.
I exhaled a breath I didn't even know I'd been holding.
But I was a fool for thinking a jammed gun would stop someone like Lila.
The blonde barely had time to give a delighted laugh before the humvee slammed into us with full force.
The Rover lurched sideways so violently my vision snapped white. My skull cracked off the window, stars burst in my eyes, and the seatbelt nearly cut me in half.
The blonde's body crashed into mine— elbow to ribs, knee slamming between my legs, a sharp grunt leaving her as the whole world twisted.
"WHAT THE FUCK—!!?!"
Glass exploded somewhere behind us before another impact struck us.
The rover hopped off the curve.
My whole world flipped. I closed my eyes.