Page 27 of Murder & Mayhem (Bloody Desires #9)

DOMINIC

A bout halfway there, we realized we had a tail. It was probably one of Flame’s guys, but there was no fucking way I wanted them to know where we were going or get any more information about us than they already had.

Jamie was asleep against the window. I hated to wake him up, but things were about to get bumpy.

“Hey, Jamie?”

He groaned, arms stretching out adorably. “Hmmm?” he asked groggily.

“We’re being followed. Things might get dicey so I wanted you aware.”

Jamie was awake and alert in seconds. His hand reached out blindly until it found the switchblade in the cupholder. It was cute as fuck, even if the knife was useless in this situation.

“I don’t think we’re actually in danger,” I told him calmly. “I’m pretty sure it’s Flame’s men. They’re probably trying to get intel on me. We’ve managed to run under their notice till now, and I’m sure it pissed him off.”

Jamie twisted around on his seat to watch. “Which car? I don’t see anything.”

“That white Expedition, like five cars back.”

He frowned. “Damn, how’d you even figure that out?”

I grinned. “I got practice. Now, sit forward. Things are going to get rough.”

I pressed call on Ari’s contact.

“What’s up?” he asked, sounding distracted.

“We got a tail.”

“Shit,” he cursed. “Wraiths?”

“Likely.”

“Okay, give me thirty seconds to pull up your location.” I waited, my eyes on the white SUV.

It had closed the distance by one car but was definitely trying to hang back.

This wasn’t an offensive attack. They were trying to follow us, not hurt us.

While I still didn’t like it, it was better than the alternative.

“Got you. In a quarter of a mile, there’s a rest stop on the left. Take that exit.”

I saw the sign. “Got it.”

I waited in our lane till the last possible second.

I got really lucky when I saw the 18-wheeler barreling down the left lane.

I sped up, and then right when the lane for the rest stop exit opened up, I cut in front of the truck.

The Expedition got over a lane. The truck began turning into the “trucks only” portion of the exit.

I once again cut it off, silently apologizing to the driver and careening into the exit.

It was too late for the Expedition, and they’d be forced to drive on or draw serious attention to themselves.

“Sharp right around the building. Don’t get back on the highway. Keep following the road you’re on, pass the dog run and the picnic tables. There’s another exit that takes you into the town. Take that.”

“Understood.”

I noticed Jamie watching me with wild eyes. I couldn’t make out what that expression meant so I focused on my driving, weaving in and out of traffic. I didn’t see the SUV, and I was pretty sure we lost them, but I’d still be cautious, just in case.

“Halfway down that strip, there’s a scene view break off. You’ll find a silver Toyota Camry parked in the back. Take that.”

Jamie made a little sound of surprise, but I wasn’t shocked at all.

I never asked too many questions about where Ari had gotten his connections like this, but they sure came in handy from time to time.

Besides this and his regular full-time job doing IT, Ari did some side hacking and other cybersecurity.

It was how he’d met Luca Castellano, the mercenary who was helping us.

Some of those connections were less than legal, and Ari had wracked up a few favors.

Whenever we needed a new car, we always had one.

How he’d gotten it this quickly, I had no fucking idea, but I wasn’t going to complain.

“Jamie, I need you to be ready. We’re gonna move fast. Grab my backpack from the back?”

“O-okay.” He did what I asked.

“Good boy. I’m going to pull in. The second the car stops, get out and walk to the car. Don’t run, but don’t linger either. I think we lost them, but you can never be too careful. Don’t wait for me. Ari, are the doors open?”

“Yeah. I took care of it.”

“Thanks. This car stops, you get out with the backpack, walk, do not stop, do not hesitate, and get in the car. Got it?”

“Yeah, I got it. Are we stealing a car? ”

“Only technically,” Ari said, like Grand Theft Auto was just another Tuesday.

“Oh.” Jamie seemed a little shell-shocked, but he wasn’t freaking out.

He was ready, the backpack slid over his shoulders and his blade in his hand.

I really wished he had a gun, but since I’d had no chance to train him, it would be more of a liability than anything.

I pulled in, blocking the entrance completely with the vehicle.

“Go!” I told him sharply, jerking my head toward the door. He went. No hesitation, just blind trust as he followed my directions to a tee. I got out and popped the trunk.

I grabbed the bags and walked swiftly to the car.

After opening the door to the back seat, not bothering with the trunk, I shoved everything in.

The car was already running—the key fob must be in here somewhere.

I pulled out smoothly, no sign of being followed.

I shook my head. That was way too easy. Flame needed to train up his guys.

“I got eyes on the Expedition. It got off the next exit and is trying to turn around. But there’s no way they’ll catch up .” Ari’s voice was now coming through the new car’s speakers.

“Thanks, A.”

Jamie was back on his knees, looking behind us and making me a nervous wreck.

“What about the other one? It can’t stay there.”

“It won’t,” Ari interceded. “It’ll be picked up soon. Focus on driving. You’ll need to find somewhere to stop and change the license plates.

“I may not have done this much, but I do know how to do change plates,” We couldn’t risk our vehicles being tracked back to a crime scene if a camera was missed somewhere, “There’s a reason the cops haven’t connected any of our murders.”

“Okay, okay.” Ari laughed. “Don’t be snarky. Gideon is making a straight shot to the shore house. At this moment, we still don’t have Bailey’s location. I got a potential match on O’Malley, but Bailey wasn’t with him. It was at a gas station. In the meantime, take the long route there.”

“Thanks, Ari.”

“Be safe.”

“You too.”

Ari hung up, and I finally felt safe enough to turn my attention completely to Jamie.

“Are you okay?”

He heaved out a breath, half laughing, half hysterical. “Yeah. I think so. That was— All this shit I’ve seen, and I’ve never been in a car chase before.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t go so far as calling that a car chase.”

He waved a hand dismissively at me. “Whatever, close enough. I can’t believe we stole a car.”

“We didn’t. We’re borrowing it.”

“Yeah, okay. If you say so. Shouldn’t I be freaking out?”

My lips twitched. “Hate to break it to you, beautiful, but you kind of sound like you’re freaking out.”

“Yeah, but it’s like adrenaline and horniness. I’m not scared.”

Did he even realize what he’d said? “Horniness?”

Jamie groaned, mortified. “Oh my god. I can’t believe I said that out loud. But, yeah, okay? Seeing you all calm and collected like that, weaving in and out of traffic, making plans, it was fucking hot. I’m not hard, so don’t get any ideas. But it was sexy.”

How come everything that came out of this boy’s mouth was packed with layers of potential trauma bombs?

“First off, thank you, baby boy. I’ll be happy to steal more cars for you if you find it hot.” He smacked my arm lightly, making me grin like a fool. “But also, I have no ideas. Just because we fooled around before, doesn’t mean I expect anything from you. You’re still in control here.”

Jamie hummed, thinking. “Well, what if I want you to be in control?”

Fuck. “You can’t say shit like that, baby boy. It’s killing me.”

“I’m not bullshitting though. Like, it’s weird because it pisses me off when you make decisions, like selling your soul to the Wraiths without consulting me, and I worked my ass off to be independent and able to make all my own choices.

But, like, what we did in the bathroom, or when you washed me and I could just be?

It was . . . nice. My mind could shut off and I knew you’d handle everything.

Is that pathetic?” His voice caught at the end.

“Of fucking course not. I happen to like taking control like that, but even if I didn’t? There’s nothing wrong with wanting it. You’ve been in survival mode most of your life. It makes sense that sometimes it feels good to shut it all off.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“It doesn’t mean you don’t have all the power, though. If we decide to play like that, even more so than what we did in the bathroom, then you’d have a way to shut it all down or even slow down if you needed to. I won’t go further than you allow.”

I could see Jamie picking at his skin again, at the scratches I’d cleaned up only yesterday.

“That sounds really nice. It’s hard to believe it’s real.”

My hands tightened on the steering wheel as I tried to control my anger. “It’s real. I’m assuming you don’t have much experience with consensual kink or consensual sex in general. But for those that play right, who play safely, that power to stop everything is essential.”

I wished we weren’t driving for this conversation, but I also didn’t want to discourage Jamie from talking about it by asking him to hold off.

If things proceeded the way I hoped they did the next few days, I’d make sure to have a more detailed conversation where we could actually see each other and my concentration wasn’t divided.

For now, I’d answer any questions he had and be as honest as possible.

“And your normal relationships, they have that? The kink stuff?”

For someone who’d gone through the hell Jamie had, he really was innocent in a lot of ways.

“Well, I wouldn’t really consider any of them relationships, but yeah. I’m what the BDSM world calls a Daddy. It’s more of a caretaker Dom. It’s a broad spectrum, like everything else. Nothing is one size fits all.”

“Why wouldn’t you consider them relationships?” The question surprised me. I’d thought he’d ask about the Daddy thing.

“Because most of them were only for one night. And the ones that weren’t were strictly contractual playtime dynamics, almost always in the club. My life isn’t exactly conducive to a long-term relationship.”

Jamie laughed. “Yeah, I guess not. I can’t even imagine being in a relationship. I’m such a hot fucking mess.”

I wanted to dispute it, but he wasn’t really wrong either, even if I hated him talking negatively about himself. He continued anyway. “I wouldn’t mind learning more about the kink stuff though.”

My jaw ticked as I worked to stay focused on the road. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, maybe. I don’t know. After we find Bailey maybe? And we’re safe?”

I tried not to be disappointed. I mean, how could I expect him to want to play even casually after all this? Just because he’d had one moment of weakness with me, didn’t mean he wanted to pursue more.

“Sounds good, beautiful.”

Jamie fell quiet after that, lost in his thoughts. I let him be, and eventually, I looked over and he was asleep.