“You’re only doing what he says to save your own ass.” He tried to scoot forward, but the seatbelt held him in place. “Turn the car around.”
Uneven ground sent vibrations through the body of the car.
“If you don’t turn the car around, I’m going to make sure everyone knows exactly what you did.” Whoever that everyone was. Johnathan had to have a commanding officer. His father? Wasn’t he in Manitoba?
Craige laughed. “Dalton wouldn’t last five minutes in that kind of fight. He’s nothing but a pencil pusher who carries a gun.”
“But you’re not,” Reese said.
Craige had Johnathan’s build and carried the same air.
“No. I’m a soldier. I do what it takes tokeep the pack strong.” The ground leveled out, and the sedan picked up speed. “When we’re in the air, I’m going to make sure that happens.”
Reese retreated until the back of the seat stopped him. “Isn’t it a death sentence to force a tie?”
Craige grinned. “I won’t have to force anything, Dr. Dante. Trust me. A little time alone, some remote spot where there’s no one else but Dalton and me to run you, you’ll be more than willing. Hell, you’ll fucking demand it. And since you’re an Urja….” He shrugged. “Can’t say no to you.”
“If you can’t say no, then stop the car.”
“That’s only for when you run. Until then, I listen to my superior. At least until he’s not around to give orders anymore.”
A shiver ran down Reese’s spine, and he found himself staring back in the direction they’d fled. Clouds of dust were the only suggestion anything out of the ordinary was happening.
How long would it be to the airport? How long would it be until they were too far for Johnathan to do anything?
That’s if he survived.
As much as Reese wanted to believe Johnathan would survive, the chances of that happening were slim to none. Then there’d be Craige, or worse, all those betas in Manitoba.
And Reese wanted to be afraid, he wanted to be angry, but there was only anticipation. A deep-seated need to poke the hornet’s nest. To see if any of them were good enough and put them in their place while he did it.
Another chill ran down Reese’s back, leaving ice in his blood and his cock threatening to harden.
Craige growled. “Definitely can’t wait to get you tosafety.”
Dalton shifted in his seat, looked out the window, then faced Reese. “It’ll be okay. No one’s going to hurt you.” He sounded like a man stating facts, not one offering comfort.
“Definitely not going to hurt him,” Craige said. “Fuck him? Yeah.” He glanced at Dalton with a wide grin. “You behave yourself and maybe I’ll let you have a go. If the stories are right, I’m gonna need a break here and there. Let’s just hope the two of us can handle you, Dr. Dante. If not, you’re going to have to suffer until I re-coup.”
No, he wouldn’t. He was getting out of there, away from Craige, away from everything.
Reese undid his seatbelt and went for the door.
The locks thumped.
Craige watched him in the rearview. “Good thing there’s child safety locks. Wouldn’t want you falling out.”
Reese yanked on the handle, even though he knew it was useless. He tried the window with the same result.
Nothing but a pointy grin reflected back at Reese from the rearview mirror. “We’re going sixty miles per hour. Do you really think jumping out is a good idea? You may be tougher than you used to be, but you’re not indestructible. And broken bones hurt like a bitch.”
Reese couldn’t argue, but the panic of what he mightwantCraige to do shoved aside all common sense. He had to get out of there, even if it meant two broken legs or a snapped neck.
Passenger windows were notoriously hard to break. The thickness of glass, how it set in the door frame, increased its impact resistance. It’s why small solid objects like a spark plug or a rock could break one, but a punch was more likely to send the person to the hospital.
The rear window would be easier, but the angle would make throwing a punch, a good punch, almost impossible.
And even with the optimal position, Reese had no illusions he had the upper body strength it took to break the glass. At the gym, he barely benched one-eighty. The leg press, however…