Page 68 of Vain

“I’m just doing my job, Miss Carson.” The contempt in his voice has Aiden standing up and glaring at him.

“We’re done here. We’ll contact Matilda’s lawyer and let them know what’s happening. If you want to talk to either of us again, let the lawyer know, and we’ll come down to the precinct.”

“I’m not done,” Officer Reeves snaps, stepping closer. Aiden doesn’t give a fuck. As I slide out of my seat, Aiden moves closer to the cop. I see his partner tense, hand resting on the butt of his gun.

“Oh yes, you are. We’re leaving. It’s been a very long day. Matilda needs food and sleep. I trust you can see yourselves out when you’re finished.”

I slip my hand into Aiden’s. He tugs me under his arm and herds me toward the door.

“Miss Carson, you’re making things very difficult?—”

I take a leaf out of Aiden’s book and cut him off. “I’ll be lodging a complaint with your captain. It’s clear you have some kind of prejudice against me. That’s fine. I don’t care, but I deserve to have an officer here who’s interested in helping me, not blaming me.”

Aiden hauls me outside before anything else can be said. I’m so damn mad I could spit fire.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here. I promised you ice cream, and I’m a man of my word.”

The ice cream helped calm us both down on the drive home. Well, me more so than Aiden. He knew I’d had issues with the cops, but this was the first time he saw firsthand what they’ve been like.

“I wanted to rip that motherfucker’s head off,” he admits, though, with less of a growl in his voice than before.

“You and me both.” I laugh. “Honestly, I’m over it. I will ask for a new officer to liaise with from now on.”

“Good. I’d really rather not go to prison for murder. If he speaks to you like that once more, I’m not sure I could be held accountable for my actions.”

“Something tells me a judge would be lenient, especially if they’ve dealt with him before.”

He reaches for my hand, laughing. “You might be right there. Okay, fuck the cop. I want to know how you feel now that part of the movie is all wrapped up?”

“Honestly, I feel relieved, tired, happy, excited to get to the next stage. I’m feeling a lot,” I admit. “What about you? Are you feeling happy to get your AC next week?”

“You want to know how I feel? I feel fucking proud. You did it, Tilly. You fucking amaze me.”

He lifts our joined hands and kisses my fingers.

I look over at him with a grin that quickly morphs into a scream as a large truck comes out of nowhere and barrels toward us. Reacting instinctually, Aiden floors the car. When the truck hits us, it doesn’t hit the driver’s side door. Instead, it clips the rear of the car, sending us into a spin. Somehow, Aiden manages to regain control of the vehicle, but instead of stopping, he puts his foot to the pedal and speeds off.

My heart thunders in my chest as I turn in my seat and see the truck chasing us down.

“Call the cops. Tell them where we are and what’s going on,” he orders, his voice sounding cool and calm as if high-speedchases are an everyday occurrence for him. God, maybe they are. But they aren’t for me, and I can’t even begin to pretend I’m not terrified.

“Phone, Tilly. Call them now,” he orders, pulling me out of my shock.

I pull my phone from my pocket, and before I can think about it, I turn and snap a couple of shots of the truck, zooming in on the license plate before dialing the police.

When the call connects, I tell the dispatcher what’s happening and who I am. Telling them where we are is a little trickier. I give them a close enough whereabouts, where we’re coming from, and where we’re heading. With no mile markers or signs on this stretch of road, it’s all I can give them.

I hang up just as the truck bumps the back of the car, jolting it forward. The seatbelt locks tight around me as Aiden pushes the car harder.

“Okay, Tilly, I need you to dial another number for me. Are you ready?”

I nod my head as I pull up the keypad on my phone. He reels off the number, which I tap in and wait.

“Put it on speaker for me, baby.” With a shaky hand, I do as he asks and hold it closer to him so whoever he’s calling can hear him clearly.

“Who’s this?” a deep voice answers.

“Banner? It’s Aiden. We’re being pursued by a black Ford truck trying to run us off the road. Cops are en route, but if anything happens…” He lets his voice fade out, the implications clear. If we don’t make it, he wants his team to know what happened.