The rain started to fall in heavy, thick sheets as the SUV roared away from the docks. The windshield wipers were swiping back and forth so fast they made a squeaking sound against the glass. Isabella looked at the side mirror. Her heart dropped into her stomach.
"Jaxson," she whispered, her voice trembling. "There are headlights behind us."
Jaxson looked at the rearview mirror. His jaw tightened so hard Isabella thought his teeth might break. The green in his eyes looked like cold fire. "I see them. It's Vanessa's crew. They don't give up. They want that gold, and they want us."
Suddenly, the car behind them sped up. It was a dark sedan with tinted windows. It rammed into the back of Jaxson's SUV with a loud BANG. Isabella screamed and grabbed the handle above the door. The whole car jolted forward.
"Hold on!" Jaxson yelled.
He shifted gears and pressed his foot all the way to the floor. The engine made a high-pitched screaming sound as the needle on the speedometer climbed past 110 miles per hour. They were heading toward the mountain pass, a road that was full of sharp turns and steep cliffs.
The sedan rammed them again, harder this time. The back window of the SUV cracked. Isabella looked back and saw a man leaning out of the sedan's window. He was holding a gun.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
"They're shooting at us!" Isabella shrieked. She ducked down, her head touching her knees. She felt the car swerve as a bullet hit the metal body of the SUV.
"It's armored, remember?" Jaxson said, his voice strangely calm now that the fight was on. "They can't get through the glass. But they can hit the tires if I'm not careful."
He spun the steering wheel to the left, taking a sharp corner so fast that the tires shrieked. Isabella felt her body slide across the leather seat. She smelled burning rubber. The smell was very strong and acrid.
Jaxson reached into the center console and pulled out a small black remote. "I didn't want to use this yet, but they asked for it."
He pressed a red button. Suddenly, a cloud of thick, black smoke erupted from the back of the SUV. It was a smoke screen. In the mirror, Isabella saw the sedan disappear into the black cloud. There was a loud sound of screeching brakes and then a dull thud as the sedan hit a guardrail.
"Did we get them?" she asked, sitting up slowly.
"For now," Jaxson said. He didn't slow down. He kept driving up the winding mountain road. The trees were tall and dark, looking like giants standing on either side of the pavement. "But they have more cars. Vanessa doesn't do anything halfway."
They drove for another hour in silence. The only sound was the rain and the humming of the engine. Isabella felt exhausted. Her expensive red dress was wrinkled, and her feet hurt from the high heels she was still wearing. She looked at Jaxson. He was focused on the road, his hands steady on the wheel.
"Why did you do it, Jaxson?" she asked softly. "Why did you become a thief?"
Jaxson didn't look at her. "When my parents died, the lawyers and the banks took almost everything. I was eighteen and I had nothing. I started small. Stealing watches, electronics. Then I realized I was good at it. Better than anyone else. I liked the rush. I liked having things that didn't belong to me because the world had taken everything that was mine."
"But you have so much now," Isabella said. "The penthouse, the cars, the gold..."
"It's never enough," Jaxson said. He turned onto a dirt path that was hidden behind some thick bushes. "Until I met you. Now, all that stuff feels like lead. It's just weighing me down."
He stopped the car in front of a small wooden cabin. It was very dark, and the woods were silent. The rain had turned into a light mist.
"We're here," he said. He turned off the engine.
Isabella looked at the cabin. It looked lonely, but safe. "Is this where we stay?"
"This is where we hide," Jaxson said. He turned to look at her. He reached out and touched her cheek. His hand was a little bit dirty from the fight, but his touch was very gentle. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this, Isabella. I really am."
"I'm not," Isabella said. She surprised herself. "I've never felt more alive than I have in the last twenty-four hours."
Jaxson leaned in and kissed her. It was a long, slow kiss that tasted like the salt from her tears and the adrenaline from the chase. He pulled back and looked at her.
"Let's go inside," he whispered. "Before I change my mind about being a gentleman."