Babe? Shit. Christos has never in his life called me that.
Deidre clears his throat, his gruff voice grating on my nerves, stopping me from replying. “We don’t have all day. Traffic is bad, and we have to do some rerouting to ensure no one’s following you. That’s the last thing we fucking need. More paparazzi. More bullshit.”
I square my shoulders, my anger taking over me. “You can only blame your fucking king. None of this is my fault. Stop treating it that way.”
Esteban shoves his hand against Deidre, keeping him from entering the apartment to confront me. Deidre steps back, raising his hands in surrender. I realize that Esteban reached for a weapon, threatening him.
I stroll forward and wrap my arms around Esteban from behind, getting him to calm down before he murders someone on the front porch. We have enough to deal with, and right now, the only thing I worry about is seeing my dad again. Fuck, I can’t get that out of my head. He raised me, but he also ruined me. He wants to kill me. He killed my mom.
I shove the thought away, blinking my eyes to clear the tears. I still can’t believe it. I try my best to pretend that she’s still in rehab somewhere, and not in the morgue. They won’t release her body until the investigation is complete. Because they also want to tie that to my dad. He hired someone to break into Leandro’s house. Luckily, Leandro had quite a bit of proof, considering they were trying to burn the whole place down. His surveillance was enough to prove he was innocent.
“Whatever. Let’s just get this over with. I don’t want to be late. I want to watch the Executioner fall.” Deidre smirks with his words, knowing that he’s trying to get under my skin. Talon told me that they all know we have started something together, and I’m sure it’s going to be a problem if my dad—Kenneth—doesn’t end up behind bars for the rest of his life.
Esteban blocks me from trying to slap Deidre, and he spins on his heels and strides away, heading toward the apartment complex parking lot. Esteban pushes me against the door, cupping my face with his hand.
He kisses me without a word, caressing his lips to mine, slowly and sensually until my racing heart subsides. “They’re going to do whatever they can to get to you, and you can’t let them. They thrive on reactions. They hope we’ll fuck up, so we need to be careful.”
“I think they have Christos’s phone,” I murmur, whispering the words. “This is a trap.”
“I know it is, but they don’t know we expect it. Just keep pretending. Punishment is best served as a surprise in situations like this.” Esteban presses harder into me. “Be brave, mamacita.”
I groan and kiss him harder, hooking my arms around him, wishing that a simple kiss could truly stop time. But Deidre honks his horn, and we have no choice but to follow him. At least Esteban’s driving. I wouldn’t trust the ride if he wasn’t. I’m already nervous enough as it is.
Before we reach the car, Esteban hands me a knife, a money clip full of cash with a baggie of drugs, and a set of keys with a tracking chip on them. I hide the money clip my bra because I don’t have a purse and put the knife and keys in my pocket.
“If anything goes down, I want you to run. Those are keys to a spare vehicle and an apartment in Palm Springs. Run and don’t stop. This is part of a challenge. I just know,” Esteban says, glowering at Deidre as he blares the horn again, standing outside the car and leaning in through the window.
“I want the same for you. Don’t be a hero. You’re already still healing.” I gently caress my fingers along his shirt without touching his injury. “I want you alive. Promise me.”
“No. If it comes between me and you, you’re the one who’s getting out of here.” Esteban kisses me again and turns me toward the car. “Now sit in the back. If the Joker even looks like he’s going to fuck with me, I want you to stab him in the jugular. And then grab the seatbelt and choke him.”
I shiver at the thought of taking a man’s life. I know I have it in me. Self-preservation really pushes me to my limits. I had no idea that I was so ruthless until it was me against the world.
“I have your back.” I ease away from him and climb into the backseat of the car, glowering at Deidre. I slam the door, not letting him get into the back with me, and he rolls his eyes and heads around to the passenger side.
Silence hangs heavy in the air as Esteban pulls out of the spot and drives. I count each second passing, staring out the window as Deidre gives Esteban directions. Two miles turn to three, and we navigate through the city until we reach the 101.
My phone buzzes from my pocket, and I pull it out and answer the call from Talon.
“Stacia, get out. This is part of the challenge. Kenneth has been given the opportunity to keep his position if he takes care of you first—” Talon hollers in pain, and something crashes. He grunts in the phone. “Hurry and get here. I have to surrender, or they’ll kill me.”
Goosebumps prickle over my skin as the line drops. They have Talon. William turned this into another challenge I can’t fucking fail.
My heart hammers and I reach forward and grab the seatbelt stretching it quickly to wrap around Deidre’s neck. I hold the knife against his throat, keeping him in place.
“Stop the car.” I leverage my strength with my knees, choking Deidre. “They’ve changed the rules.”
“What?” Esteban asks.
“You heard me. We have to run. Daddy’s been tasked to kill me before the meeting. If he does, the challenge is off.” I grip tighter to the seatbelt.
Esteban slams the brakes, stopping the vehicle before we turn onto the on-ramp of the freeway. He grabs my wrist and forces the knife into Deidre’s neck, stabbing him. I screech as warm blood coats my fingers, but I don’t have time to even think about what’s going on. Esteban throws open the driver’s side door and quickly snatches me from the back, leaving Deidre bleeding out in the front seat.
“I’m going to kill that fucker,” Esteban growls, squeezing my hand as he practically drags me to the tree-lined landscape and away from the road. We make it up the steep hill leading back to the busy street, only to see a black SUV with tinted windows crawl by our car.
“Fuck. What are we going to do?” I ask, keeping my voice a whisper, even though I know the men in the car can’t hear me. They pull over and get out, sending ice through my veins.
Esteban doesn’t wait to see what happens, forcing me to run with him away from the scene. My shoes slap on the pavement, and I search our surroundings, afraid that some monster will come popping out at any second. I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe Kenneth was given the option and Talon now relies on me. The fucking bastard.