SIX

The car roared through the streets, the tires screeching as Wesley cut through traffic like a man possessed. My stomach churned, and every nerve in my body was on edge. The men chasing us weren't just ordinary thugs—they were Marco’s men.

Marco's trained men.

And they were getting closer.

"Stay down," Wesley barked, his voice low but firm as he swerved around a corner. The rearview mirror shook violently from a near miss.

I didn’t argue. My heart thudded in my chest, louder than the pounding engine. They were relentless. No matter how fast we went, they wouldn’t give up. I knew Marco. If he wanted something, he didn’t stop until he had it. And right now, what he wanted was me.

A black SUV pulled alongside us, and Wesley didn’t even flinch. Instead, he pulled a gun from his side and fired.

The sound of the gunshot was deafening in the confined space of the car. The SUV’s tire blew out instantly, sending it skidding across the road before it crashed into a street lamp.

"Shit," Wesley muttered, his eyes still on the road. "There’s more coming."

I twisted around to look behind us. Another car sped up, its headlights flashing through the rear window. The chase wasn’t over.

Wesley fired again, hitting the front of the car behind us. The car swerved, but it didn’t stop.

"Don’t stop, Wesley," I whispered to myself. "Please."

But even as I spoke the words, I knew they were pointless. I wasn’t in control here. Wesley was. Wesley and his gun.

Suddenly, a shot rang out from the car behind us, and I saw it in slow motion—the side mirror exploded.

My heart skipped a beat. Glass rained down, and I couldn’t help but flinch. Wesley didn’t seem affected. He kept driving, his hands steady on the wheel, his jaw set. He was in control. He always was.

"We need to lose them," he muttered.

I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold on. I was trapped in a car, with no way out, no way to fight back. Marco’s men were right on our tail, and I was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, I was going to die here tonight.

Then Wesley spoke again, and this time, it was something I didn’t expect.

"Marry me."

The words didn’t make sense. My mind couldn’t process them.

"What?" I turned to him, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Marry me." He repeated it like it was the most logical thing in the world.

I stared at him for a moment, trying to comprehend. "Are you crazy? Is this a joke?" I almost laughed, but the tension in the air was too thick for it to be funny.

"Marco won’t stop coming after you. You know that." Wesley’s tone didn’t change. "If we both get married, it puts me one step closer to taking his empire, and it gives you a chance to stay safe from him."

I felt a wave of nausea wash over me. Was he serious? A marriage? Was that his solution?

"But I’m married to Marco—"

Wesley didn’t let me finish. He cut me off, his voice cold and calculated. "That’s not going to be a problem. I’ll make sure of that."

I wanted to argue. I wanted to scream at him and tell him I wasn’t some pawn to be moved around on a chessboard. But I didn’t. Instead, I was silent, watching the dark streets blur past, knowing that if I didn’t say something, we would both be dead in the next few minutes.

The sound of tires screeching pulled me out of my thoughts.

Another car.

Wesley didn’t hesitate. He spun the wheel sharply and aimed the gun out the window. A bullet flew from the barrel, hitting the engine of the car behind us. It screeched as smoke poured from under the hood, and it veered off to the side.

Still, more came.

I closed my eyes for a second, trying to steady my racing thoughts. Was this really happening? Was I really being forced into another marriage just to survive? The weight of it all felt suffocating.

Another gunshot cracked through the air. A sharp pain shot through my chest—not physical, but deep inside, where I knew I had no choice.

Wesley’s voice broke through my spiraling thoughts. "Are you going to marry me or not? We don’t have time."

I looked at him. His face was set in stone, nothing about him betraying the chaos we were both in.

I wasn’t even sure what I was doing, but I knew I had no other choice.

I had to survive.

"Yes." The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

"What?" He screamed, trying to overpower the sporadic gunshots coming behind us.

I shut my eyes, feeling a weight descend on me. "Yes. Wesley Morano. I will marry you."

I felt like I had sealed my fate with that one sentence. The weight of it crushed me. Wesley wasn’t any different from Marco. The only thing that set them apart was that I wasn’t running from Wesley right now.

I was running from Marco.

Wesley nodded once, acknowledging my answer. Then he turned the wheel sharply, swerving the car off the road and into the woods.

The trees closed in on us, the sound of the engine roaring as we sped deeper into the darkness. I didn’t know what the future held, but I knew one thing for sure.

I had just traded one nightmare for another.