“I don’t care if he’s riled,” I told Luke.

“I care if it means he’s gonna put a bullet in you,” Luke returned.

He had a point.

“He’s concentrating on driving,” I assured Luke.

“Ava, I’m not gonna say it again, get off the f**king phone,” Noah shouted.

“Glad to see I’m not the only man in your life who has to repeat himself,” Luke remarked.

“I don’t think you’re funny,” I told Luke even though I kind of did.

I heard his chuckle in my ear as Noah snapped, “I wasn’t being funny.”

“I’m not talking to you,” I told Noah.

A black Explorer pulled out from a road to our right. We shot by him and I saw Lee driving, Matt in the passenger seat. I didn’t have a chance to wrap my head around where they had come from. Instead I looked behind us and saw that Luke and Ren also shot by Lee. The Explorer angled in to cut off Ally and Olivia, aided by a couple of squad cars.

“What’s happening?” I asked Luke, turning forward again.

“You buckled in?” Luke asked me.

“Yeah. What’s happening?”

“Get him to slow down. If he doesn’t slow down, get him to buckle up,” Luke replied.

“Luke, what’s happening?” I demanded.

“Brace, babe, this ends here.”

Disconnect.

Oh shit.

Shittity, shit, shit, shit!

I flipped the phone closed. “Noah, slow down.”

“You should have told him to back off,” Noah returned.

“Noah, seriously, they have something planned, slow down.”

He turned to me, lifted the gun to point at me and said, “Ava, for the past week, you’ve been nothing but a pain in my ass.”

I’d heard that before, kind of. “Well, good,” I flashed back. “You deserve it.”

He kept glancing back and forth to the road and me, gun raised and pointed at me. What with him driving like a freak, his inattention to the road did not make my situation any better.

“Noah, pay attention to the road.”

“Call him back and tell him to stand down,” Noah ordered.

“This is Lucas Stark we’re talking about, he doesn’t stand down,” I explained.

“This is great, just great,” Noah grouched like it was all my fault.

“You could have taken off, gone to Argentina or something. You didn’t have to beat me up and tape me to a post. That was like waving a red flag at a bull. Then you kidnap me? How stupid are you?” I snapped.

“Shut up.”

“I’m just saying.”

“Shut… up.”

“Noah, slow down or buckle up,” I told him, trying to be nice.

He was still driving like a maniac, swinging his eyes to the road and to me. “Buckling up means takin’ the gun off you and how am I gonna shoot you if I put the gun down?”

I had no answer to that and I was done. If he shot me then hopefully, I’d survive. Jules got shot in the belly and chest and now she was happy and preggers. However, if Noah shot me, Luke would rip his head off, no hope for future happiness and babies in his life because he’d be dead.

So I shrugged. “Suit yourself. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“You weren’t this f**kin’ irritating when I was bangin’ you,” he informed me.

“I liked you then, I thought you were a good guy. Now I know you’re slime,” I retorted.

He didn’t reply. I crossed my arms on my chest and then up ahead, I saw another black Explorer pull out in front of us. It didn’t turn, it pulled into the intersection and stopped dead.

Ho-ly shit!

“Noah!” I screamed because he wasn’t watching, he had his eyes on me. Then I saw two squad cars pull out and angle in at the front and back of the Explorer. They stopped too, blocking the intersection entirely.

“Look!” I managed to get out. Noah looked, made a choking sound in his throat, took the gun off me and slammed on the brakes at the last minute.

But we were going way too fast.

We rammed into the back of the Explorer and the front of a squad car and the air was filled with the eerie, frightening sound of crunching steel and breaking glass.

We barreled right through.

I didn’t see much after that because I’d been thrown forward, the air bag popped out and I hit it or it hit me, whatever. We kept going, slower this time, and only stopped when we crashed into something else with a loud bang and more crunching steel.

I sat there dazed for a second then began fighting the air bag. I managed to lean away from it, I turned to look at Noah and immediately bile filled my throat.

He was out of his seat, head and shoulders through the shattered windshield, waist and h*ps resting on the steering wheel and air bag. He wasn’t moving but he was groaning, his eyes open and blood was everywhere.

My door was pulled open, the air bag went “poof”, it deflated and I turned to see Luke.

“I think he’s hurt,” I whispered.

Luke didn’t respond and he didn’t look at Noah. He unbuckled me then his hands started roaming, moving along my limbs, his indigo eyes scanning my body, his face hard.

“She’s good,” he clipped, to whom I didn’t know. He shoved his arms in, one under my knees, one at my back and lifted me clear of the car. That’s when I saw Matt.

I blinked as I looked around after Luke got me out of the car, not hesitating as he carried me away. I heard sirens, I saw Hector and Vance on Noah’s side of the car and heard Lee say from somewhere, “Do your best to stabilize him but get him loose.”

Daisy, Ally, Mom, Marilyn, Sofia, Olivia and Shirleen were all rushing forward. Riley was running up after them.

“Back to your cars. Get outta here. Go!” Luke roared and the women started walked slowly backwards then turned and hoofed it to their cars. Riley stopped, eyes on me. He must have been assured at what he saw because he turned and hoofed it too.

Suddenly I was jostled. One second I was in Luke’s arms, the next I was in Ren’s.

“Take care of her,” Luke ordered.

Without hesitation, Ren moved, taking me to his Jag.

“I think I should –” I started but Ren interrupted me.

“Quiet, honey,” he said softly. “Can you stand?”

I nodded. He put me on my feet and opened the passenger side door. I got in and he shut the door. Dom slid in the back, Ren rounded the front and angled behind the wheel. He just started the car when it happened.