I find my car exactly where I left it with the door thrown wide open, which is a fucking stupid thing to do in the middle of Lovell.
Thankfully, there aren’t many Maseratis on this deadbeat council estate, so almost everyone should know who it belongs to and stay the hell away.
Ignoring the driver’s side, I march around the hood and pull the passenger door open, gently lowering Emmie into the seat.
“It’s okay, Hellcat. I’ve got you,” I say, cupping her cheek and wiping away some of her smudged makeup.
Damn, I wished I was the one to make her look like that.
The knowledge that it was another guy who’s caused her lips to be so red and swollen makes me want to storm back into that place and burn it to the ground with every motherfucker inside.
A soft moan rumbles in her chest as I cup her cheek, and she leans into my touch as if she recognises me even while she’s out cold.
“We’re going to get that cleaned up, okay? Then I’m taking you home.”
Honestly, I want to say that my intentions are pure and that I’ll take her to her dad’s to sleep this all off, but seeing her with another guy has only fuelled my need to keep her to myself again, and I’m not sure I’m going to be able to ignore it and be selfless enough to give her what she’d want.
Dropping a kiss to her creased brow, I tug the seat belt around her and close the door, more than ready to head out of this fucking estate.
The second the engine rumbles to life, I floor the accelerator and leave everything behind in my dust.
I only make it to the end of the road when my phone rings through the speakers.
Without missing a beat, I connect the call.
“I’ve got her,” I say before he has a chance to speak.
“Bring her fucking home, Cirillo,” Dawson growls down the line, the threat in his voice making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
I can only imagine how he felt having to ring me tonight when he couldn’t get a hold of his daughter.
But fuck, am I glad he did. I was even more relieved to get my second call of the night from someone I’d rather not speak to who announced her exact location.
“Yeah, I need to make a stop first.”
“What for? You promised you’d bring her straight here.”
“Trust me, D. I’m looking after her.”
“Cirillo,” he warns.
“She needs…” I swallow hard, glancing over at her with blood staining her shirt. Most of it isn’t hers, but it still rips me to shreds that I hurt her.
“We’ll be there as fast as we can,” I say, bailing on confessing that I almost shot her until he can see with his own eyes that she’s okay.
I cut the call off before he can reply, something that I’m sure I’ll pay for later. But fuck it. Emmie is my first concern right now.
I’m sure I could take her old man should it come to that.
He’s old, after all.
The traffic is almost non-existent at this time of night and I fly through the city, heading toward the only woman I trust to ensure that Emmie is as good as new in no time.
Given the choice, I think Gianna would have moved to the other end of the country to get away from Stefanos when their marriage went south, but she couldn’t bail on Alex and Daemon. She might not have agreed with their intentions of joining the Family like their father and grandfather before them, but she understood it and ensured she was close enough for when they needed a breather from this life.
The street lights are fewer and fewer as I head into the Essex countryside and cars become few and far between as we get closer.
My fingers grip the wheel painfully as the anger that surged through me when I found her mid-orgasm with another guy continues to linger.
Hearing her call my name helped a little. Add the knowledge that she was tripping on acid and I’m halfway to understanding, but the image of his hands on her is something that’s not going to leave me anytime soon.
She shuffles beside me and I look over, hoping that she’s going to come to before we get to Gianna’s.
“Hellcat?” I ask.
I’m rewarded with another groan.
“You awake, babe?”
She stills, and I’m forced to look at where we’re going once more.
“It’s just me, Em. You’re safe.”
She scoffs, telling me that she’s awake enough to be aware of the situation.
“You’re the most dangerous of them all, Theodore.”
Looking back at her, I find that her eyes are still closed.
“Why am I with you?”
An unamused chuckle falls from my lips. “I told you, Hellcat. I’ll always find you.”
“Great,” she mutters, her head falling to the side as if it’s too heavy to even consider holding her up. “Where are we going?” she asks, but lights coming up behind us catch my eye in the mirror.
“U-uh…” I hesitate, keeping my eyes on the quickly approaching vehicle.
I’ve paid zero attention to other cars since we left the city. I have no idea if he’s been tailing me for a while or if it’s just some dickhead boy racer making the most of the nearly deserted country roads.
I tell myself it’s the latter, but that doesn’t stop my heart from racing and my palms sweating a little.
Something’s wrong.
I feel it.
“Theo,” Emmie snaps. “Where are we going?”
“W-we’re… uh…”
She must open her eyes because a quiet shriek passes her lips.
“Why am I covered in blood, Theo?” A panic that I’m not used to hearing from her fills her voice.
“It’s okay, babe. Most of it’s not yours.”
“Most of it. Is that meant to make me feel any better?”
“Uh…” I look back to the car behind, noting that it’s almost closed the space between us. “Shit.”
“What? What’s wrong?” she asks, reading me better than I’ve given her credit for.
“I’m not sure but— Shit. Hold on,” I shout a second before the car slams into the back of us, forcing us forward.
“Theo, what the hell?”
“I don’t know, babe. Just hold on, yeah?”
I have no idea if she agrees or not, because she doesn’t say anything and I’m too busy focusing on losing whoever this cunt is.
Pushing my foot down, I take the road as fast as I can, but it’s winding and it’s pitch fucking black out here, and I don’t know it well enough to go at breakneck speed to lose this arsehole.
“Fuck,” I hiss when he hits the back corner, making the car spin out.
“Fucking hell, Theo. What the fuck is going on?”
“I don’t know. Just—”
“Hold on. Yeah, I got that,” she snaps, suddenly sounding much more sober than when she first woke up.
Unable to keep up my speed with the corner coming up, I slow a little, but the stupid prick either has a deathwish or knows these roads like the back of his hand, because he pulls out and drives right beside me.
I glance over quickly, but all the windows are blacked-out, giving me no chance at seeing who’s driving the obviously modified truck, seeing as it’s keeping up with my fucking Maserati.
“Theo, he’s gonna—”