Shiver (Unbreakable Bonds 1)

“Hold on to something,” Andrei said under his breath as he pressed on the gas.

Lucas’s heart slammed as the car sped up and they got close enough to better see the back of the car. He leaned forward, hands once again on the dash as he tried to peer inside. “Can’t make anyone out through the tinted windows. And the fucking license plate is missing.”

“Let me try to get a little closer,” Andrei murmured as the car picked up even more speed. They drew even with the other car as they hit the tunnel.

Lucas held his breath, looking for something, anything, to tell them who they were chasing. But his breath came out in a panicked whoosh when the back window came down and a gun appeared. “Shit, Andrei!”

“I see it,” he bit out as he abruptly slowed.

The other car weaved, the tail end swerving and hitting the front of Lucas’s Mercedes. The shot missed them completely. Lucas looked over his shoulder to find Banner pulling out his gun. “You shoot that in here and we all go deaf.”

“We’ll have to get closer before I can fire at them anyway. Can’t risk hitting all the civilians.”

“They don’t seem to have that worry.” Andrei released a growl as another shot went wide over the top of their car. “We have to stop them before they hit someone else.”

The lights from the city came back into play as they exited the tunnel. Downtown rose up on their right while glimpses of Great American Ballpark and Paul Brown Stadium zipped by on the left in a blur of golden light and gray concrete. “They’re grabbing the ramp to 75 north,” Lucas said with almost a relieved sigh. He definitely didn’t want to play chicken with these assholes speeding across the Ohio River along Brent Spence Bridge. “They’ve already fucked up my car.” He glanced at Andrei. “Think you can clip them? Send them into a ditch?”

“Hell yeah.” The intense focus that came over Andrei’s face sent Lucas’s already fast heart into overdrive. With his hair shoved back from their earlier scuffle, his sharp features were perfectly clear. Even with his lips tightened, that slightly pouty upper lip was sexy as hell.

Damn, the man was sexy.

Lucas shut his eyes briefly. They were in a life or death car chase with men shooting at them and he was thinking of peeling his bodyguard out of his tux. Snow would be laughing his ass off at him…after he was done being pissed about the whole car chase, whizzing bullets issue.

“Hang on to something.” Andrei floored it, clipped the back of the Charger and instead of sending them into the ditch like Lucas expected, their car swerved, then flipped. Over and over.

Andrei veered to the side, spinning the car and coming to a stop with them facing the opposite direction on the shoulder of the interstate.

All three of them sat there, breathing hard for what felt like forever before Banner whooped so loud from the back seat, Lucas flinched.

“That. Was. Fucking. Awesome! You ever think about joining the police force?” The detective leaned over the seat to thump Andrei loudly on the shoulder. “Or maybe racing? You got skills, man.”

Lucas watched for movement from the car, which had ended upside down. “Think we killed them?”

“I’ll go check.” Banner got out of the car and knocked on the passenger window. “Stay here. Call 9-1-1.” He held out his gun as he approached the car.

“Shouldn’t he be calling for back up or something?” Andrei asked, unbuckling his seatbelt. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out his own gun, checking it with a kind of practiced skill that should have set Lucas at ease, but instead left an unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Cop knows they have guns.”

Lucas frowned. If their attackers were alive and conscious, Hollis was outgunned. He might not like the guy, but he didn’t want to see him dead. “I think he’s high on adrenaline. And Nyquil. The man’s not right.”

He stared at Andrei, his gaze running over features he was starting to think were the finest he’d ever looked at. In the next instant, he grabbed Andrei by the lapels and hauled him closer. “He was right about one thing. You drive like a professional and it was hot as hell.” He slammed his mouth over the other man’s, groaning when Andrei immediately opened his mouth and sucked his tongue inside. The kiss grew hot and dirty fast, but Andrei shoved him back against the passenger door before it could blaze out of control.

“Call 9-1-1 and stay in the damned car,” Andrei ordered in a rough voice before throwing his own door open and sliding out into the cold air. Lucas started to argue but he swallowed the words as the door slammed shut in his face. His every instinct screamed to follow Andrei out to back up Hollis, but he knew he couldn’t. Without a gun, he was only a target, endangering Andrei and possibly even Hollis.