Runner: A dark enemies to lovers gang romance (Sapphire Duet Book 1)

“You think she’ll show up?” I asked, looking out the window as the sun began to set.

“Hopefully. If it all works out, she won’t be a problem anymore,” Kade answered as he parked the car.

I turned on the radio, ignoring Kade’s overdramatic groan when I chose my favorite playlist.

“I can only take so much eighties music before my ears bleed,” he grumbled, not making a move to turn off my music.

“Vic and Juan won’t be happy when they find out,” I told him, ignoring his jab at my comfort music.

“I’d rather them be pissed at us than get killed because of her.”

I agreed, which was why I was sitting here with him. But I knew Vic and Juan were going to chew us out for it. I’d still rather deal with them than trust Mili. I narrowed my eyes, seeing a woman jogging alone. It wasn’t until she got closer that I recognized her.

“You owe me a hundred bucks,” Kade stated with a grin. “I knew she’d show up.”

“Lucky guess,” I grumbled.

“You ready?” he asked, turning serious.

I nodded, swinging open my door right before she ran past the car. She skidded to a halt, not looking surprised when she met my gaze.

“This park is huge,” she told me as she stretched her legs. “You could have given me a better idea of where you’d be so I didn’t need to go searching for you.”

Her baggy shirt hid the toned body I knew she had, and although I couldn’t see any, I was positive she had at least one weapon on her. She trusted us as much as we did her—which wasn’t at all. Hopefully, she didn’t put another fucking bullet in me tonight.

“Get in.” I shot her a charming smile.

She raised an eyebrow, surveying Kade’s most precious possession. The Jaguar E-type we were sitting in was a sleek black, with black leather interior. Kade had gotten it years ago, which was a record for him. Usually, he went through cars like they were snacks. He loved this fucking car.

“There’s only two seats,” she finally said.

“There’s more than enough room.” I patted my lap, and she let out a boisterous laugh.

“Fuck off. This isn’t worth it. If my email wasn’t enough for you, I’ll do the job myself.”

I waited for her to turn her back on me, but instead she backed away, making sure to watch me. She was already defensive, which was going to make this much fucking harder. Before she could guess my next move, I lunged halfway out of the car, just catching the hem of her shirt when she attempted to duck away from me. I yanked her closer, grabbing her wrist.

“You really don’t want to do this,” she snarled, her eyes bright with fury.

She clocked me in the face, making my ears ring, but I didn’t let go, pulling her into the car. She was on my lap, facing me, and she immediately put her free arm behind her back. My heart lurched, knowing exactly what she was going for. Kade leaned over the middle console, grabbing her other arm and wrestling away the gun she already had in her hand. In a quick move, he slid the chamber out, tossing the gun and bullets onto the floor near my seat.

I jerked my head to the side when she tried headbutting me. She had to lean over to keep from hitting her head on the roof of the car and her breasts were pressing into my chest as she fought to free herself. This car was tiny, and she just barely fit on my lap. I heard the click of the handcuff when he locked it around her wrist. Her struggles instantly intensified while Kade and I worked together to lock the handcuff around her other wrist.

“You fucking assholes,” she spat out, trying to slide out of the cuffs. I tightened them before shutting my door, and Kade started driving the second my door was closed. “If you’re going to kill me, you better do it before you take me out of this car.”

“And what happens to us if you die?” I asked, knowing if she really was Sapphire, killing her would have consequences.

Her smile held nothing but hatred. “Why don’t you do it and find out?”

“We’re not going to kill you,” Kade said, turning out of the park. “If we were, I wouldn’t have driven my car.”

Mili didn’t relax at all from his words. Her heart was beating wildly against my chest, and she was shifting slightly. I was worried she was trying to get out of the cuffs, and I hoped Kade was keeping an eye on them, since I couldn’t see them behind her back.

“If you’re not going to try and kill me, then what the fuck are you doing?” she asked, her glare shifting from me to Kade.

“We wanted to show you the city,” I answered, feeling her thighs squeezing my legs together. She was trying to act calm, but being trapped in here was clearly aggravating her.

“If I was going to take a tour of the city, I’d choose a better car than this piece of shit.”

She stared at Kade, as if waiting for his reaction, like she knew how much he loved this car. I gave him credit for not rising to her bait. His grip on the steering wheel tightened a fraction, but he kept his eyes on the road.

“And where’s your leather jacket, Grayson?” she purred, focusing back on me. “You’re always wearing it.”

A muscle in my jaw ticked, and I gripped her hips tighter when Kade took a curve faster than usual. She was trying to get under our skin and show that she knew about the things we loved. Her coming to our city to work with us must have been a long plan in the making.

“I didn’t want it to get stained with blood in case things got messy,” I said, giving her a grin of my own.

“Good thing you weren’t wearing it the night I shot you.”

Kade was weaving in and out of traffic, going twice the speed limit. It didn’t seem to bother Mili at all. She hadn’t looked out the window once since I’d gotten her in the car. I was usually the only person who could handle Kade’s driving, but he might have met his match with her. If she wasn’t such a pain in the ass, I would have loved to see what she did when she was behind the wheel.

“I’m guessing this means you don’t want in on my job tonight?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder at the clock on the radio. “That’s fine. You two would have only gotten in my way.”

“We’re doing the job,” Kade said, his stare lingering on her instead of the road. “But I think you’ll be too busy to join us.”

If his words scared her, she didn’t show it. She leaned back, pushing her legs off the seat a bit. It was barely noticeable, but having her on my lap had her every move going straight to my dick, so it was easy to pick up on it. Her calmness made me pause for a moment before I realized I should have fucking searched her the second I got her in the car.

“I think your mayor friend was right about you two,” she said with a pout. “You’re nothing but criminals who kidnapped an innocent girl who was out jogging.”

“Why do I have a feeling your body count is larger than both of ours?” Kade mumbled, turning down the main street in the city.

She opened her mouth to answer but went rigid when I ran my hands down her thighs. She bucked against me, her move useless because she was already stuck between me and the dashboard.

“You better move your hands,” she growled, her voice deadlier than ever. “Or I’ll fucking rip that cute little lip ring out with my teeth.”

“Calm down. I am moving my hands,” I taunted, moving farther down her leg until I touched her ankles. “I’m just looking for—here it is.”

I pulled out the knife she’d been hiding in her sock. It was already halfway out, which meant she’d almost gotten a hold of it. Her amber eyes were promising my death as I tossed the knife on the floor next to her gun. I quickly patted her down, satisfied she didn’t have anything else on her.

“I don’t know if I believe you’re really Sapphire,” Kade said. “For someone who is supposed to be feared, we got you in this car pretty easy.”

“You really think I came here not knowing you two were up to something?” she asked with a roll of her eyes.

“And if we had killed you?” I asked, trying to figure her out.

She shrugged. “Then I had a good run.”

Kade laughed sarcastically. “You’re exactly the type of person we want to do jobs with. Someone who has a death wish.”

“If I had a death wish, I would have let myself succumb to it years ago,” she snapped. “I just know that if I die, so do you. And it will be much less pleasant for you. I’ve been Sapphire for years and have many who work for me without ever having seen my face. If I was easy to kill, someone would have done it already.”

“Why is this Panther job so important?” I asked, wanting to know why this one was so different.

“It’s a rare car.”

Before I could question her further, blue lights lit up behind us. They reflected her eyes when she looked out the back window. Instead of panic or fear, true excitement filled her gaze. She glanced at Kade expectantly.

“Let’s see how fast this car goes,” she demanded with a grin. “It’s not as good as mine, but even this should outrun a cop car.”

“You think I’m going to run?” Kade asked.

“Please.” She scoffed. “You two aren’t the type to pull over.”

“True,” I mused. “But I think this time we’re making an exception.”

Her guard came back up when Kade slowed the car, pulling onto the shoulder. Two police cruisers came up behind us and stopped.

“What the fuck are you doing?” she hissed, twisting her body to try and open the door even with her hands behind her back. She tried to slam her head into mine again, and I wrapped my hand around her throat, keeping her back.

“I can’t believe you tried to steal my car,” Kade murmured, taking the keys out of the ignition. “I wonder how long of a sentence car theft carries. And with a loaded gun and knife? We won’t be seeing you for a while.”

Her shock wore off, and her mask slipped back on as she laughed. “You think this will ever hold up in a court?”

I kept my hold on her throat. “We don’t need it to hold up in court. Did you forget whose city you’re in? We own half the police force. They’ll keep you in jail for as long as we line their pockets.”

“I have to say, I didn’t see this coming.” Her eyes went back to the window. “Using cops to do your dirty work. How boring.”

She was calmer than I expected, not even flinching when the passenger door was ripped open. Two cops stood there, and after giving us a respectful nod, they looked at Mili. One of the men’s stares went straight to her chest, and anger ripped through me. I wanted nothing to do with her—she’d probably kill me in my sleep. But thinking of others touching her pissed me off in ways I didn’t understand. Which pissed me off even more.

“She’s not to be touched,” Kade ordered before I could. His eyes were clouded with warning as he stared at the cops. “If I find out someone did, there’ll be problems. Got it?”

They both nodded quickly, fear blatant on their faces. I released Mili’s neck, lifting her off me so they could get her out of the car. They only grabbed her arms, being careful not to even brush another part of her body.

“I want daily reports,” I said, catching her eye. She stared back at me blankly, not showing an inch of emotion.

“She doesn’t get a phone call. Put her in a cell by herself.” Kade started the car back up. “Enjoy your vacation, Mili.”

She suddenly grinned, her eyes burning with vengeance. “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll see both of you soon.”

My heart thudded unevenly, and I stared at her while they dragged her to the closest police car. She didn’t try to get away or fight when they pushed her into the back seat. I glanced at Kade to see him watching through the rearview mirror.

“I really hope that was the right thing to do,” I muttered. “She seemed too calm.”

“They’ll put her in a cell and leave her there. Even if she is Sapphire, I doubt she’s an escape artist. It’ll work for now.” He didn’t sound as sure as he usually did, but he started driving anyway.

“If she gets out, we better watch our backs.” I had no doubts that she wouldn’t blink at killing us.

“I think she needs us alive more. She risked a lot coming here.”

“Let’s fucking hope so.”

“We’ll worry about it later,” Kade said with a small grin. “Let’s go do this job.”