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Chapter 33: Nowhere is Safe
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2025-03-13 04:38:14Juniper’s fingers curled tightly around her phone as she stared at the message on the screen.
Unknown Number: You think this is over? A chill prickled down her spine. Her stomach knotted. “Adrian,” she said, her voice sharper than she intended. “We have a problem.” Adrian’s focus stayed on the road, his hands gripping the wheel like a lifeline. “What now?” She turned the screen toward him. The glow of the text cast an eerie light over his face. His expression darkened instantly, jaw locking, eyes flashing with something cold. Ethan leaned forward from the back seat. “That Damien?” Juniper’s mouth felt dry. “Who else?” Adrian’s fingers flexed on the wheel. His knuckles were bone-white. “He never gives up.” Ethan scoffed. “Yeah, no shit. What does he want now?” Before Juniper could answer, her phone vibrated again. Another message. Unknown Number: See you soon. A shiver ran through her. Ethan let out a low curse. “That’s not ominous at all.” Juniper forced a breath through her nose, steadying herself. “We need a plan.” Adrian’s gaze didn’t waver from the road. “We don’t have time for a plan.” His voice was steel, cold and certain. “We need to disappear.” Without warning, he jerked the wheel, cutting across two lanes to veer onto an exit ramp. The tires squealed in protest. Juniper’s hands flew to the dashboard. “Where the hell are we going?” “A safe house,” Adrian said. Ethan let out a disbelieving laugh. “Since when do billionaires have safe houses?” Adrian didn’t answer. His jaw was tight, his shoulders rigid. Juniper narrowed her eyes. “Adrian?” A muscle ticked in his cheek. He exhaled through his nose, keeping his voice level. “Since my father tried to have me killed.” Silence filled the car, thick and heavy. Ethan swore under his breath. “This just keeps getting better.” Juniper turned in her seat to face Adrian fully. “You want to explain that?” His grip on the steering wheel tightened. His knuckles gleamed under the dim dashboard light. “Later,” he muttered. Juniper scoffed. “No, now.” Before he could answer, headlights flashed in the rearview mirror. A second later, another SUV roared onto the exit ramp behind them. Adrian’s eyes flicked up to the mirror. His jaw clenched. “They found us,” Ethan muttered. Juniper’s pulse kicked into overdrive. Adrian hit the gas. “Hold on.” The car shot forward. The engine growled as they picked up speed, weaving through the empty stretch of road. The SUV behind them did the same. Then—gunfire. A sharp crack echoed in the night. The side mirror exploded in a spray of glass. Juniper sucked in a breath and ducked, heart hammering. “They’re shooting at us!” Adrian swerved, dodging another shot. “I noticed.” Ethan cursed and reached under his seat. He yanked out a gun. “Next exit, take a hard right.” Adrian didn’t question it. They hurtled toward the next turn. The pursuing SUV accelerated, closing the gap. Then Juniper’s phone buzzed again. Her hands trembled as she glanced at the screen. Another message. Unknown Number: Turn around. Or she dies. Juniper’s stomach dropped. Ethan noticed her reaction immediately. “What now?” he demanded. She swallowed hard, turned the screen. Adrian’s expression changed in an instant. His grip on the wheel turned brutal. Ethan leaned forward. “Who’s ‘she’?” Juniper’s throat tightened. Adrian’s voice was like ice. “My sister.” A gunshot rang out. A sharp jolt rocked the car. The rear tire exploded. Adrian fought the wheel, but it was too late. The SUV spun violently, tires screeching as it fishtailed across the road. Juniper screamed as the guardrail came rushing toward them. Metal crunched. The car broke through the barrier - And then they were airborne.
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Stranded with the Billionaire Chapter 34: The Crash
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Stranded with the Billionaire Chapter 33: Nowhere is Safe
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“Adrian!”Juniper’s scream barely cut through the chaos.The SUV hurtled between two massive trucks, scraping so close that she swore she heard metal screeching against metal. The blinding headlights swallowed them whole, and for a fraction of a second, time seemed to freeze—her pulse hammering in her throat, her breath caught between terror and adrenaline.Then—BAM!The SUV shot out onto the open road. Behind them, the trucks blared their horns, slamming on their brakes to avoid crashing into Damien’s pursuing vehicles.Ethan clung to the headrest, his knuckles white. “Are you trying to get us killed?”Adrian’s grip on the wheel was a death vise. “If I stop, we’re dead anyway.”Behind them, Damien’s men weren’t letting up. Another blacked-out SUV tore through the intersection, plowing over the curb and speeding toward them like a missile.Juniper turned, her stomach twisting. “They’re gaining!”Adrian didn’t hesitate. “Hold on.”He yanked the wheel right—hard.The SUV skidded, tires
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“Go! Go! Go!”Adrian slammed the gas pedal to the floor. The SUV roared forward, weaving dangerously through the tight alleyway as bullets pinged off the metal frame.Juniper clutched the door handle, her knuckles white. “They’re still on us!”Ethan twisted in the back seat, his gun raised. “Yeah, no kidding! Hold this thing steady!”Adrian swerved hard left, nearly clipping a row of parked motorcycles. “Steady? Not an option right now.”Behind them, Damien’s black sedans were relentless, their headlights cutting through the darkness like hunting knives. More gunfire erupted, shattering the SUV’s back window.“Shit!” Juniper ducked. “That was way too close.”Ethan cursed, returning fire. A bullet struck the windshield of the nearest sedan, causing it to swerve. But the driver corrected fast. “They’re not backing off!”Adrian’s grip on the wheel tightened. “We need to lose them.”“You think?” Ethan snapped.Juniper’s heart pounded. The speed. The gunfire. The deafening roar of engines.
