Page 136 of Risky Obsession

The car inched up the incline and around each hairpin bend I expected the car to die. In the rearview mirror, black smoke pouring from the exhaust shrouded the view behind me, and although I hadn’t seen anyone following us, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we didn’t get away unnoticed.

The dodgy car dealer was our only weak link. If he recognized us and called the cops, we had no hope of getting away in this bomb.

CHAPTER 28

Kane

Iforced the car around another hairpin bend, and the road abruptly ended. Around us, the bush was so dense there was nothing to see but vegetation. I pulled on the handbrake so the car didn’t roll backward.

“Oh, I guess we stop here then?” Lacey undid her seatbelt.

I turned off the engine, and the vehicle shuddered as it died.

“Can we leave our things in the car?” she asked.

I stepped out into the frigid mountain air and as I scanned the area for an obvious path, scents of pine and damp earth swirled around me.

“Do you see a path?” Lacey came to my side and her stunning eyes shimmered.

I opened the back door, yanked out my bag, and started walking.

“Oh, okay, we’re going that way.”

She shut the car door.

“Do you want to lock it?” She called to my back.

Ignoring her, I ducked under a thick branch and crunching on dead leaves and twigs, kept on walking. I figured that as long as I was climbing up the hill, I would eventually see the castle. Or at least what was left of it.

Lacey’s puffing behind me showed her determination to keep up with me. I pictured her carrying her case because there was no way the wheels would work in this terrain.

It went against my being not to help her, but she didn’t deserve anything from me.

“Shit,” she cried, and a thump told me she’d gone ass over.

Unable to help myself, I turned around. She was on the ground, nursing her injured hand to her chest.

“You okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine.” Clenching her jaw, she stood again and scooped her case into her arms.

“Lucky you travel light,” I said as I turned my back on her again.

“Well, this is only my third overseas trip in my life. So, I had no idea what to pack. If I’d done more research, I would have packed gloves and a scarf. How many times have you been abroad?”

I didn’t answer.

“I guess my trip to New Zealand doesn’t really count,” she said. “I was only there for one day to escort a felon home. And I didn’t need to pack much for my five days in Bali. Just a few casual clothes and my bikini. Have you been to Bali?”

My mind pictured her stunning curves in a bikini, and I slapped that image away before my dick got hold of it.

“Right. Good chat then,” she said.

The branches scratched against Pops’ duffle as I trudged farther up the hill. The air grew thinner, and the sounds of my boots on the ground were drowned out by the wind that howled through towering trees that loomed overhead, almost blocking out the sky.

Lacey’s breathing became more ragged, yet she kept her pace behind me. Finally, the dense bush thinned out, revealing glimpses of a castle turret over the treetops.

“Oh hey, I see it,” she said.