“I think so.”
I could bet my life he had Judas with him. I knew he couldn’t let a ride home be as simple as that. Since he’d come crashing back into my life nothing was ever less than chaotic.
“Just keep driving.”
“I planned to.”
As the SUV got closer, my thumbnail became a casualty of nerves. What could they possibly want? Audrey gripped the steering wheel of her Macan with both hands, gradually increasing her speed.
She couldn’t gain a mile.
Gavin kept up with ease. Having the hindsight of what happened when Judas tried to do something similar a few weeks ago, I knew he wasn’t going to stop.
“Never mind, Auds. You have to pull over.”
“What?”
“Pull over,” I repeated.
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
She cursed beneath her breath and jerked the wheel, screeching to a rough stop on the shoulder of the road. I rocked forward slightly, being pinned in place by my seatbelt.
Gavin pulled up right behind her.
He and Judas were out of the SUV before I could think to undo my buckle or open the door.
A tap on the passenger window had me leaning my head back and closing my eyes.
I hated to admit it, but I was craving some semblance of normalcy.
“Are you serious?” Audrey yelled.
I popped one eye open, finding Gavin on the other side of the car trying to open her door.
“Get out Rhia,” Judas’ husky voice carried through the glass.
I undid the seatbelt and grasped the doorhandle, throwing my shoulder against the door. My exaggerated movement caused it to hit Judas with a satisfying thump. I held back a smile as I slid from my seat. As soon as my feet touched the pavement, he was reaching above me to slam the door shut.
“Do you wanna make a scene?” he asked coolly.
“You’ve already done a good job of that so why don’t you tell me why you and your attack dog decided to follow us.”
From the other side of the car, I could hear Audrey arguing with Gavin. I looked over the roof to make sure she was okay.
“What if I would have crashed?”
“Dollface, the only way that would’ve happened is if you forgot how to drive.”
“Or, it would have happened because some Gooch made me think he was going to run my car off the road.”
“Gooch,” Gavin repeated back to himself. “What the fuck?”
I switched my focus from them to the beautiful boy staring down at me with a look on his face that was a mix between indifferent and studious. Feeling self-conscious, I reached up and ran a hand over my hair.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
He grabbed my wrist and gently pushed it down. “Because you’re beautiful.”
I scoffed and crossed my arms, taking a step back. His brows slightly dipped and he immediately stepped forward to erase the small amount of space I’d just created. I noticed he did that a lot, stopped me from putting any kind of distance between us.
The intimately familiar scent of his cologne found its way to my nose—wrapping my next breath in jasmine and spice. Refusing to get sucked into his ruinous orbit right now, I put a hand on his solid chest and gave a little shove.
“Can you respect my boundaries for a minute?”
“I clearly remember explaining that when it comes to you, there are no boundaries. Not where I’m concerned.”
Of course, I remembered this too. I also thought he was full of shit when he’d said that.
“What do you want, Judas?”
“Yes, do tell why you two decided to behave like a pair of creepy stalkers,” Audrey chimed in.
She rounded around the front of her Macan to stand beside me. An audible pop followed by a loud woosh of air had me looking to the right. My lips parted in shock as my brain registered what had just happened.
“Why did you do that?” Audrey nearly screeched.
“Calm down. I had to set the scene,” Gavin replied flippantly. “We can’t have people driving by wondering why we’re on the side of the road if they happen to come this way.” He pulled a long skinny blade out of her tire and folded it down, slipping it into the pocket of dress pants identical to Judas’.
“What is wrong with you two?”
“Same thing that’s wrong with you,” he retorted gleefully.
“I--.” There wasn’t an appropriate rebuttal for that. Not with Audrey standing a mere few inches away from us. I glanced back at Judas with a frown. “You didn’t come chasing after me because I’m beautiful so what is it you want?”
As those words left my mouth, I was reminded of how much they applied to this whole ordeal. Judas didn’t pursue me because of my looks. He’d anchored me to him for minacious reasons. I was dying to know what they were. He was so intentionally cryptic that there weren’t many clues to go off.