Thick as Thieves

XIII

BEA

"FUCK!" I roar and hit the accelerator.

Caitlin shrieks and twists around to look behind us. "That person just hit us!"

"I know," I grumble as I switch lanes. The headlights behind me keep up with my every movement.

"Why aren't you stopping? Why are they chasing us?" she asks, terror in her voice.

"It wasn't an accident."

"W-What?"

Ignoring her question, I swerve between two cars and then haul ass when I get an opening.

The car gets caught up between those vehicles but eventually makes it over. It gives me a little bit of a head start. I'm going nearly eighty miles per hour but I can't afford to slow down.

Riri.

That motherfucker and her men are thorns in my side. I thought I'd done a good job of hiding from them. Apparently, they stop at nothing.

"Bea," Caitlin says in a firm tone. "What is happening right now? What aren't you telling me?"

I hit my hand on the steering wheel and curse. "Just let me think. Please."

She sits quietly, and fuck if I don't hear her sniffling. Guilt consumes me, but I can't comfort her right now. I need to save her. If that car catches up to us, we're screwed.

"Cait--"

I'm caught off guard when the car speeds up and pulls up in the lane beside me. The car is most definitely one of Riri's. This is confirmed when the window rolls down and someone sticks their arm out. A gun points straight for us.

"Oh my God!" Caitlin screeches.

I slam on my brakes and pull the steering wheel hard to the right. There just so happens to be an exit, and I take it. The other car misses the exit so it buys me some time. Weaving in and out of neighborhoods and backstreets, I finally make it to Caitlin's bungalow not fifteen minutes later.

"Bea," she murmurs, her voice shaky. "Talk to me."

I grit my teeth. "Not here. In the house."

Climbing out of my car, I stalk over to her side to help her out. She's still drunk as shit, so I end up scooping her up in my arms so we can get into the house faster. Once we're inside, I set her down and make sure the doors are locked.

"You promised you'd talk," she reminds me. "That was really scary. You're keeping something from me."

I palm the back of my neck and stare down at my shoes. Fuck, I can't tell her. Not in a million years. The less she knows, the better. If Riri ever got ahold of her...

Jerking my head up, I pin her with a firm stare. "I can't."

She gasps as if I've slapped her and her bottom lip wobbles. "What?"

"I fucking can't, Cait," I growl.

Tears quickly form in her eyes making me feel like a total asshole. "Tell me," she tries again, stepping closer to me. Her palms find my chest and she slides them around the back of my neck. "Please."

I close my eyes when she kisses my lips. I know what she's doing. And normally, when it comes to anything else she wanted to get out of me information wise, I'd fall into her trap and blab my fucking head off.

Not this.

"I can't."

"You can," she murmurs.