This is Effortless (Checkmate Duet 4)

Drew pulls onto the street and as we’re waiting in downtown traffic in San Francisco, he shifts his body and looks over at me. “Court,” he begins, his voice low and gentle. “Jayden was the one who helped Mia in Vegas. They’ve got video of him carrying you out of the room and down the hallway.”

My mouth falls open and my eyes begin to water. “Wait, what?” I ask with flared nostrils. “What did you just say?”

“Logan called this morning to tell me that the LVPD sent him a clear shot from the video footage of the guy, so I went to the station to see what information he had. As soon as he showed it to me, I noticed the mole on his chin and instantly realized who it was. I went into a panic. You were with him almost two hours away and within a matter of seconds all the pieces finally came together. I called and texted you to warn you to get away from him, but you weren’t answering, and then when the calls started going straight to voicemail, I knew something was wrong. I’m so fucking sorry. This is all my fault.” Drew is visibly upset, and I can see he’s holding back his rage. He blames himself because of Mia, but I won’t let him take the blame for her psycho behavior.

“Babe, I’m okay,” I say, placing my hand on top of his. “I would’ve broke that little twig in two, had he not drugged me like the bitch he is, but fortunately, you came to my rescue and did that for me,” I tell him, and he lets out a small chuckle. “Like a true prince charming.”

“I would’ve been tempted to do a lot more if a single hair on your head would’ve been out of place.” He interlocks his fingers with mine. “He’s lucky the SFPD showed up when they did.” Pressing the outside of his lips to my hand, he kisses it. “Actually, I don’t know what I would’ve done if you would’ve been hurt. It’s kind of scary to think about. The adrenaline took over and the minute I saw him, I wanted to bury him into the pavement.”

“I know. But I’m okay. I feel like shit, but I’ll live.” I know I need to convince him that everything is fine so he doesn’t blame himself for their actions. “Do you think they’ll find her?” I ask, referring to Mia.

“Well, three departments are now after her on top of her warrants, so maybe not right away, but I suspect they will eventually.”

Throwing up after I began to feel sick helped me greatly, and I’m glad my body instantly rejected it. Once we’re through the backed-up traffic and over the bridge that leads to Berkeley, I watch the smile fade from his face.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Drew shouts and makes a last minute turn on to Grizzly Peak Boulevard.

I turn around to look behind us and see a white car and a Mercedes symbol tailing us.

“It’s Mia. I memorized the license place of the car that was outside of the house. Hold on,” he says as he hurries and passes a car slowing in front of us. I was stupid to think this was over. After what happened today, I realized she’ll stop at nothing. I knew this when she placed sharp scissors to my chin and forced me to look into her eyes that were as dark as her soul.

The road has no shoulder and is only two lanes. It’s twisting and turning as we ascend a mountain at high speeds. It’s as dangerous as the back roads in Texas, and my heart is hammering in my chest. The only thing that comforts me at this moment is knowing Drew has trained for situations like this, but that does nothing for the anxiety and fear that’s surfacing.

Drew quickly pulls his phone out of his pocket and hands it to me, then puts both hands on the wheel and drives even faster. “Call nine-one-one,” he instructs in a rush.

My hand is shaking and my stomach starts to feel sick again, but I force it down. I have to focus as I dial the numbers. It rings a few times and cell reception drops. I hurry and dial it again and am connected right as she bumps the back of the car—hard. We leach forward, barely missing the car in front of us.

“Son of a bitch!” Drew yells, looking in the rearview mirror.

I’m speaking frantically into the phone, giving the dispatch all our information and where we are as the Mercedes pulls beside us and rams into the side of the car. The car slams into the railing, and I can hear metal against metal, but we’re still moving. She suddenly stops in front of us and Drew quickly jerks the steering wheel to go around her, ending up only inches from slamming into a car in the next lane.