Read Online Fade by Kailin Gow - Free Book Online Page B

the Ferrari into a sideways skid, so that there simply isn’t room for the sedans to get out of the way, while at the same time, Jack’s arm appears at the window, a gun in his hand.
    Two of the sedans swerve, trying to get out of Jack’s way. There’s a screech of tires as they head for the side of the highway, then one somehow clips the back of the other. It sends both cars spinning, and when they hit the side of the highway, they do more than spin. They roll.
    Jack, meanwhile, is firing at the third car. It isn’t a random barrage of shots. Each one seems placed, considered, which should be impossible given the speed with which the whole thing happens. The bullets aren’t aimed at the sedan’s passengers, but at its wheels. I see the car’s front tires burst, and then it’s spinning off the same way the other two did.
    I don’t see the next part, because I have to turn back to the road long enough to get around a minivan loaded with kids, but then Jack’s new car is alongside us. I smile over at him. He doesn’t smile back. I guess I should have known he wouldn’t be happy, but even so, I’m glad to see him. If he hadn’t shown up…
    Jack points to the side of the road. I don’t get it for a moment. He does it again. Finally I understand. I pull off at the next turning, which turns out to be a back road winding through farmland. Not really the kind of thing to be driving sports cars down, but we aren’t driving for long. The Aston’s engine coughs, and I have to drift it to the side of the road as we finally run out of gas. Grayson and I sit there for a moment, just trying to get our breath back after everything that has just happened, while Jack pulls up behind us.
    When he gets out of the Ferrari, I do the same, biting my lip nervously.
    “Jack…”
    He grabs my arm, looking genuinely angry. “Get in the car, Celes.”
    It’s not a tone to argue with, and it’s not like the Aston is going anywhere, so I climb into the Ferrari’s passenger seat. Jack gets into the driver’s seat, and for a moment, I think he’s just going to drive off.
    “Jack, what about Grayson?”
    Jack’s features are taut with anger for a second. “Yes. Grayson. What were you thinking , Celes?”
    “I…” I shake my head. “I wasn’t thinking. Grayson knows.”
    “I guessed that.” Jack slams his hand into the steering wheel. “Dammit, Celes.”
    He seems to get a grip on himself then. But then, Jack’s always the one in control. Always the one watching over things. Watching over me.
    “You must have been terrified,” he says.
    I hesitate, then nod. Being chased was frightening. I certainly didn’t like being that helpless. I don’t tell him though that what really scared me was the ease with which I managed to defeat two trained men. I shouldn’t have been able to do that. The fact that I did makes me wonder exactly what I am.
    Jack reaches out to touch my cheek. It’s eerily reminiscent of the way Grayson touched me just a little while ago.
    “You’re safe now.”
    “Am I?” I ask. “They aren’t going to stop trying, are they, Jack?”
    “Safer, then.”
    “But not as safe as I would have been had I not come here, right?”
    Jack doesn’t nod. Instead, he leans into me, and for a moment, just a moment, I think that he’s going to kiss me. That’s a shock. So much of one that I almost pull back. He’s kissed me before, so many times, but always, it’s been part of the cover. It’s been part of maintaining the fiction of Celeste Channing. Yet there’s no one here to prove anything to. The only reason Jack would kiss me now would be if he wanted to. Does he want to? And if he does, what do I feel about that? Grayson is just yards away, after all.
    Perhaps Jack senses my hesitation, because he pulls back. “Why did you even do something this stupid, Celes?”
    “I had to see Grayson,” I say. I know how that must sound. “I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I had to… I had to say