Wiped Clean

38. So little time left

Caia had been glad she had managed to manipulate Michael into taking the Bugatti. She only hoped Annika would be quick enough in finding her missing and begin the search. But the further they drove, the more she began to worry. They were already travelling at well over the speed limit. Every time she took her foot off the pedal to buy herself more time, he shoved the gun in her face, urging her to speed up.

"Would you really have hurt your own daughter?" she asked, glancing sidelong at him.

Michael stretched casually, maintaining a tight grip on the gun as he did. "I guess now we'll never have to find out."

"So that's a no."

He grinned. "Good thing you came along then, huh?" He shook his head. "I couldn't wrap my head around it... what she saw in you, other than your..." His eyes raked over her body, from head to toe. "Assets... But I guess I can see it now."

"Does it hurt?" Caia asked, ignoring his comment. "Knowing that when you came back from the grave, your wife had moved on and your kid didn't even remember you?"

"Does it hurt you knowing that no matter how noble your sacrifice, your death will break her?" He scoffed at her silence. "Annika was the perfect trophy wife. But not the only perfect option. I'll mend from her rejection, while she'll have to live every day without you. Knowing it was her own fault for getting you into this mess."

It took everything within Caia to hide her panicked reaction to his words. He was right. Annika would blame herself. This would break her. "So what's the plan, Mick? Drive me somewhere remote, shoot me with that gun, and then what? Make your getaway?"

"Remote?" He shook his head, laughing. "Nah. Not if I want to leave a broken body behind for her to have to identify. If I take you too far, make it too hard to find you, they'll be looking at your dental records to ID the body." He reached out and brushed Caia's hair from her face. "No... she'll find you sooner than that. Still in that expensive ass wedding gown she bought you with my money."

"Her money," Caia corrected. "You bought that club from her fair and square."

"Smart move on her part, I have to admit." He shook his head. "Take the next right." He was silent as Caia rounded the corner. The ocean that had been on their right the whole drive was now ahead of them. "One of my guys has a boat ready for me. I'll deal with you and then be on my way. And hopefully make it far enough by the time anyone finds you."

"Not going to go easy, huh?"

"Who the fuck do you think I am?" he asked, smirking. "There might be people looking for me in almost every corner of the world, but I'm not going down without a fight."

"Why not just run then? Why risk getting caught just to take me?"

"Because it's worth it."

"Hurting her is worth getting caught?"

His lips formed a sadistic smirk. "Breaking her is worth everything."

Dread filled Caia. Michael wasn't just a bad person; he was evil. Narcissistic. Selfish. In his eyes, the world existed to serve him. It made her sick to think about Annika ever having been with him, especially during those weeks after he had returned.

With no more questions to ask, she fell silent and kept her foot on the accelerator. Her heart pounded harder and faster the closer they came to the shore. She knew they had ten minutes at the most before they would reach the dock, and the boat that would ferry Michael away to safety. Ten minutes left of her short life. A life that had only just begun.

As they crested the top of a hill, a flicker of blue and red light shone in the rear view mirror. They began their descent, and it was gone once more. Michael hadn't reacted. Hadn't noticed. But she had. Help was on the way. Close behind them. All she needed to do was keep herself alive until they reached her. Keep him distracted long enough for the police to catch up.