“Yes.”
“Fine.” She yanked open the passenger door. “Far be it from me to dent your masculine pride, since it is one of your more attractive qualities.”
Zane straightened his back, puffed out his chest and fought back the urge to fist pump. His woman appreciated his protective nature, the essence of his maleness. And she was letting him drive.
After Evie and Ty were securely buckled in, Zane slid into the vehicle and hit reverse. The tires squealed as he kicked the vehicle into drive and accelerated down the road.
“Slow down,” Evie protested. “This is a school zone and no one is behind us. There’s no need for excessive speed when there’s a child in the vehicle.”
“This isn’t excessive speed. I’m just wanting to drive faster than that kid on his tricycle.” He gestured out the window. “Maybe we should stop and ask him for a tow.”
Evie’s cheeks reddened. “Sarcasm doesn’t become you.”
“Neither does your bullshit. You always loved speed.”
She’d also loved drag races, occasionally cutting class, and dating guys who set Zane’s teeth on edge—the fringe elements of high school who had their own bands, spent time in juvenile detention, or rode motorcycles to school. Jagger had figured it was a case of opposites attract, but Zane had a different view. Evie was one of them. She just couldn’t admit it.
“This is like the movies.” Ty bounced in his seat. “I can’t even read the street signs we’re going so fast.”
Zane glanced up in the rearview mirror and spotted four bikes at the end of the road. Black Jacks. “Son of a bitch. How the fuck did they get here so fast? And where are the goddamned Sinners?”
“Language,” Evie warned.
“I’ll swear all I want when we got fucking Black Jacks on our tail,” he growled. “And I already squared it away with Ty. I put fifty bucks in his swear jar as advance payment.”
“Zane says we’ll be able to afford to take the fucking space shuttle to the fucking moon now that he’s around.” Ty rattled his swear jaw and Evie turned and glared.
“Ty. You are now down two quarters, and if I ever hear that kind of language again—”
“I’m just saying what Zane said.” Ty caught Zane’s glance in the rearview mirror and smiled. Well, damn. His son was no fool. But he’d have to be more careful or he’d get them both in trouble.
Pulling his gaze away, Ty peered out the back window. “Why are those bikers chasing us?”
“’Cause they want something they can’t have.” Zane cranked the wheel to the left and the vehicle dipped as they took a sharp corner. Evie sucked in a breath and Ty gave an excited shout.
“Mom, you should drive like this. Zane is awesome.”
“He’s dangerous, darling. Make sure you have your seat belt on.” Evie gripped the door handle and muttered under her breath. “No point saving us if you’re planning to kill us en route.”
Although he didn’t have to do it, Zane took another sharp left and then a right. Evie and Ty jerked from side to side in the vehicle, and he bit back a laugh when her muttering turned to soft curses only he could hear. But his good humor faded when he glanced up in the rearview mirror and saw the Jacks gaining on them. Where the hell were Shooter and Tank? Or his brothers? It shouldn’t have taken them this long to find the Jacks.
“We can’t outrun them in this damn cage. We need a place to hide so I can call the boys and get them off our back.”
“How about that car wash?” Ty pointed to the gas station ahead. “The doors close when you go inside. Mom doesn’t like it, but I think it’s cool.”
“Good idea.” The boy was smart. Musta got that from his mom. There were no good genes in the Colton family.
Zane turned into the car wash and jammed his credit card into the payment slot, praying they had enough time before the Jacks caught them. The heavy metal door lifted with a groan and he drove inside, counting off the seconds until the door closed again.
“How long we got? I paid for the Special. Never been in a car wash before. We detail our bikes by hand.”
“Probably about five minutes.” Evie loosened her seat belt as water sprayed over the vehicle. “Do you think it will be enough?”
“Should be. They’ll go past and assume we’re ahead. We can double back and then head out to Sparky’s place.” He pulled out his phone and typed a text. “I’ll tell Tank what’s going on. See if he can head them off so we have a clear run to the safe house.”
When Ty removed his seat belt and turned to watch the sprayers, Evie leaned over to Zane. “You don’t have to stay with us when we get there. I know you want to go looking for T-Rex. If you leave me a weapon, we’ll be fine. And tomorrow I’ll call Connie. She was going to take us to her grandmother’s place.”