N9ne: The Tale of Kevin Clearwater (King, #9)(34)

She looks to her lap, and I can see her struggling with the information. “They can’t find Jared or the money, so now they’re looking for me.” Confusion lines her smooth forehead. “Why? It doesn’t make any sense. Why me?”

“They probably think you know where the money is or where Jared is.” I can’t bring myself to tell her that Jared is the one who pointed the finger at her. Knowing that he didn’t care if they killed her so he could save his own ass isn’t going to change anything besides make her hysterical, and that’s the last fucking thing I need right now.

“But, I wasn’t involved. I don’t know a damn thing. He was never even home. He went out of town all of the time. He stole from me, too. Left me with nothing.” She presses her head back into the headrest and closes her eyes. “I’m so stupid. How…why did I ever trust him? I should’ve known. Should’ve seen something to tell me he wasn’t who he led me to believe he was.” She lowers her voice and stares blankly out the windshield. “All those years…”

“Does it bother you that he was a liar and a thief?” I ask.

She thinks for a minute. “No, it bothers me that I never knew him at all. It bothers me that I’ve got mafia men after me because of him and…” She looks at me. “Shit.”

“What?” I ask, lighting a cigarette.

“I’m more stupid than I thought. Here I am wondering why a stranger would suddenly rescue me from dangerous men. Twice. Now, I know why you knew my name. You’re not trying to save me.” Her eyes go wide. “You just wanted to get to me first.”

She opens the door and leaps down, darting out into the woods.

I chuckle because Lenny is a lot of things. Quirky. Talkative. Naive. Sexy as fuck.

The one thing she’s not, is stupid.

LENNY

I don’t get far. My feet tangle in the underbrush, and I fall face first less than twenty feet from the truck.

He’s going to kill me. The man who saved my life twice is going to kill me.

In the face of death, I can’t help but feel embarrassed for trusting the wrong man once again.

I hear a chuckle and look up to see Nine standing over me with an amused look on his face. He crouches down over me. “You taking a break already?”

“Don’t! Please!” I beg as I try to disentangle my legs but only manage to make it worse. Thorns scratch my thighs and arms. My nails are caked in dirt as I try to crawl away, but I’m stuck.

Nine reaches down and pulls up the leg of his jeans. He removes a long, gleaming blade from the sheath tied around his ankle.

“No!” I scream and shut my eyes as his hand descends.

I wait for the pain, but it never comes.

I try to kick him off, but my foot only hits air.

Wait, my foot hits air. It’s free.

I open my eyes. Nine is standing with no knife in hand, his arms crossed over his wide chest, and an impatient look on his face.

“You done now?” he asks.

“That depends on what your plans are for my untimely demise.”

“If I was going to kill you, I would have done it long ago. Right now, I’m not going to do that unless you give me a reason.”

I meet his gaze and sit up. “Comforting,” I reply with the maximum amount of sarcasm I can put onto a single word.

“Come on,” he says lifting me off the ground and into his arms. He slings me over his shoulder. While upside down, I realize that one of Ray’s flip flops is gone.

“Shit, my shoe!” I cry.

“That shoe is now property of the mud. It’s a goner.” Nine opens the door and plops me into the seat.

“Yeah, I know the feeling.” I mutter.

Nine gets in and starts the truck.

“Why did you kiss me or sort of kiss me back in the RV? Was that just part of your plan?” I ask, without properly thinking it through first.

He backs the truck out from the clearing onto the road. I don’t think he’s going to answer me because several minutes pass and I forget to even ask where he’s taking me. He keeps his eyes focused on the road. His hands grip the wheel hard. He finally answers.

“Kissing you was the exact fuckin’ opposite of the plan. And that wasn’t a kiss. You won’t use the words ‘sort-of’ when I kiss you.”

When I kiss you. Not if.

“Cocky asshole.”

Headlights approach from behind. It’s the Hummer.

“It’s back!” I shout.

“Yeah, I fucking see ‘em,” Nine mutters. He turns into another field in an attempt to lose them. Tall corn stalks swipe over the truck like some sort of weird organic car wash. The sound almost the same as that of a heavy rain. Nine turns left and right then left again expertly like he knows his way around the field. We come out on another road. Nine turns so sharply that I think we might flip over. My guts are in my heart, and my back is plastered to the passenger seat. When we’ve straightened out, the Hummer appears from behind us once more.

The sound of metal colliding with metal makes my entire body jump as bullets bounce off the truck.

“Motherfuckers,” Nine spits. He reaches into his waistband and pulls out a gun.

“Drive!” Nine orders, without waiting for me to answer. He climbs out of the driver's window until all that remains of him inside are his long legs.