Libra Ascending: An Epic Urban Fantasy Romance (Zodiac Guardians Book 1) by Tamar Sloan (adult books to read .TXT) 📗

19

Tristan

Wishing he had more time to explain this, but knowing he doesn’t, Tristan grabs Brielle’s hand and runs. His truck is parked further up the driveway, as close as he could get without being seen.

Right now, it feels too far away.

Reminding himself not everyone runs five miles before breakfast, Tristan has to force himself to slow down. He can feel he’s pulling Brielle as they break through the bushes and onto the drive.

Maybe they got away in time. Maybe he’s overreacted.

“Brielle?” a woman’s voice calls out. “Are you coming back inside?”

Brielle’s hand jerks in his as she looks over her shoulder. “Maybe I could just—”

Except there’s the unmistakable snap of a branch somewhere behind them.

Tristan grips her hand tighter, moving away from the house. “We need to get out of here.”

He takes them across the lawn, no longer bothering to stick to the shadows. Brielle doesn’t know how to fight. That means it’s his job to keep them both alive.

And getting the hell out of here is his best bet of making sure that happens.

The truck gleams in the dull moonlight, and Tristan opens the door for Brielle. “Quick. They’re not going to want to chat if they catch us.”

Brielle clambers in and Tristan runs to the driver’s side. He’s barely shut the door when he jams it into gear. “You’d better put your seatbelt—”

The click finishes the sentence for him. “What about yours?”

Tristan presses the accelerator. Just like Zarius taught him, he parked with a quick getaway in mind. Facing the road, no obstructions. He glances at Brielle. “What?”

“Your seatbelt. You should have it on, too.”

Keeping his headlights off, Tristan drives as fast as he can through the shadowy night. “It’s fine. I’ll get it later.”

Brielle’s hand appears under his nose. “Pass it here. If I need a seatbelt, so do you.”

Throwing an exasperated look her way, Tristan has to work not to smile. Reaching over his shoulder, Tristan grabs it and zips it across his body. Before he can click it in, Brielle takes it and does it herself. A quick tug and she makes sure it’s secure.

Tristan blinks. “Ah, thanks.”

Brielle turns to face forward. “It’s a good thing you agreed. If you didn’t, I was going to take mine off.”

Tristan’s smile is out of place considering they’re trying to get away from Skins, but it flares anyway. Brielle’s sweet…but plucky.

Quickly wiping it off his face, Tristan focuses on the road. He can figure out if these feelings mean what he thinks they do once they get back to the safety of his house. Just a little bit longer driving half-blind and he’ll turn on the headlights. Then he’s going to make like a shepherd and get the flock out of here.

The outlines of barns and houses creep by Tristan’s peripheral vision. Of course, the Pierces have to live out of town. Everyone’s seen enough movies to know what happens on backroads thanks to the lack of nosy neighbors. His hands flex on the steering wheel. Not much longer—

The sound of a roaring engine splits the air a second before Tristan’s truck is rammed from behind. Brielle screams as the impact jolts them forward, the seatbelt stopping Tristan from slamming his head against the steering wheel.

“Bastards,” Tristan mutters under his breath. “Hold on.”

Flicking the headlights on, Tristan jams his foot on the gas. The engine roars and the truck leaps forward, Brielle grabbing the dashboard.

The SUV’s headlights flash on, spearing through the rear window. The light retreats, but only for a second. The Skins accelerate, too, the yellow glow feeling like it’s breathing down Tristan’s neck. The next jolt has his teeth jarring.

“Tristan!” Brielle cries in alarm.

Pushing his foot all the way down, Tristan feels the wheels spin for a second before they grip. The truck’s rear end fishtails then streaks down the dirt road. Wishing he could comfort Brielle, tell her everything’s going to be okay, he locks his arms. Focus is what’s going to keep them alive right now.

The roaring draws close again, but this time, the SUV pulls out as if it’s trying to overtake. Tristan continues to accelerate, his heart rate matching the odometer. He’s never driven this fast, and not on a backroad he doesn’t know. He tries to remember what turns are coming up. Whether there’s somewhere he could lose them.

But he was too focused on following Brielle and her adoptive parents, cringing at the lame excuses he’d given Cassandra as he’d cut their date short.

The SUV draws up beside them and a quick glance shows two sneering Skins. The driver jerks his hands down and the SUV slams into the side of Tristan’s truck.

They careen off the side of the road, the tires sliding and bumping over the rough ground. His teeth gritted, Tristan fights the wheel with straining arms, stopping it from jerking wildly.

A quick yank and they’re back on the road, only to find the SUV is still beside them.

“They’re trying to kill us!” Brielle shouts incredulously.

“They’d probably prefer us alive, but injured wouldn’t be an issue,” Tristan growls.

He accelerates again only to find the SUV right beside him, joined in some sick dance. If it was just him, he’d ram the bastards back, but he has Brielle in the car. And his job is to protect her, not turn her into a canned sardine.

It means he has no choice but to wear the next attack. This ram has him slamming on the brakes as they bump over rutted ground. Brielle cries out at the looming length of a tree they’re roaring toward. Tristan doesn’t have time to see how much space he has, he yanks the wheel down, the broad trunk whizzing so close past Brielle’s window that she jerks away from the door. There’s the screech of a branch scratching the side and they’re back on the road.

“There’s still half a mile before we’re on the main road,” Brielle whispers hoarsely.

Too far. Too much time for the Skins to send them slamming