Page 147 of The Unlikely Spare

Forty seconds.

“When I tell you, brace yourself,” I say quietly, shifting into reverse. “And make sure your seatbelt is on properly.”

“Eoin—”

“Trust me.”

Twenty seconds.

The officer approaches the Toyota ahead, and I see our chance. I throw the car into reverse, tires screaming against asphalt as we rocket backward. The officer’s head snaps up, his hand moving to his radio.

“Brace now!” I spin the wheel hard, using the handbrake to swing us into a perfect J-turn that would make my driving instructor proud. We’re facing the wrong way now, engine roaring as I floor it back the way we came.

“Well, that wasn’t particularly subtle.” Nicholas’s voice is admirably steady as he grips the dashboard.

In the mirror, I see officers running for their cars, lights already flashing.

Our tires scream in protest as we careen onto a narrow side road.

Nicholas has his phone out, fingers flying across the screen.

“There’s a forestry track that cuts through to another road. Left in one hundred meters.”

I follow his directions without question, the car bouncing left onto the gravel road. Behind us, sirens wail like banshees.

It sounds like they’re gaining. If they’re local cops, they’ll know these roads like the back of their hands.

“Turn right, now!” Nicholas shouts, and I wrench the wheel, branches scraping against our windows as we plunge into what barely qualifies as a track.

The suspension screams in protest, but Nicholas keeps navigating, his posh accent increasingly clipped.

“There’s a river crossing ahead—shit, I can’t tell if there’s a bridge or?—”

We burst through the tree line to find a concrete ford, water streaming across it. No time to consider options. I hit it at speed, water exploding around us like we’re in some budget action film. For a heart-stopping moment, I think we’re going to stall, but the engine coughs and keeps going.

“That was brilliant!” Nicholas actually laughs, wild and free. “Absolutely mental, but brilliant!”

The joy in his voice makes me glance over, and he’s looking at me like…like he used to. Like I’m someone wonderful instead of someone who hurt him.

The car hits a bump, and I realize staring at him while driving on foreign back roads isn’t perhaps the best survival strategy.

The sirens are fading now, indicating the cops don’t know where we turned off.

But I’m aware that we won’t be able to evade them for long. Soon our description will be out to every unit in the region.

“We need to disappear, fast.”

“What about the lake?” Nicholas asks suddenly as we crest a hill and see Lake Taupo stretched out like an inland sea. “Theycan set up roadblocks on every route out of here, but they can’t blockade the entire lake.”

He’s right. Lake Taupo likely has dozens of boat ramps and private jetties scattered along its shores.

“I’ve never stolen a boat before,” I say.

“First time for everything, Detective. Though between cars and boats, we’re becoming quite the international crime syndicate.”

When I glance at Nicholas, there’s color high on his cheeks and his eyes are bright. Christ, he’s gorgeous. Even more so than normal right now. And that wild, reckless look on his face makes me want to either kiss him or lock him up for his own safety.

Twenty minutes later, we’re prowling a marina by the lake like predators, our destroyed station wagon abandoned behind a fishing supply shop. The place is busy with summer boaters, which works in our favor.