Page 65 of Love At Close Range

I started the truck and pulled away from the warehouse with one thing clear in my head. I needed to clean up whatever Cyrus was connecting before it came back on me, and I needed to fix whatever was happening with Reiana before Lennox got too comfortable in a place I had no intention of giving up.

One problem could cost me my life….the other could cost me her, and I wasn’t planning to lose either one.

22

Reiana

earlier the same day…

By the time I pulled into the line outside Rhyse’s camp, he came walking out with two other boys. He spotted my truck and jogged over before opening the passenger door and climbing inside.

“Hey, Ma,” Rhyse said as he tossed his backpack onto the floor and pulled the door closed.

“Hey, Boosie,” I replied as I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “How was camp?”

“Good. We did that obstacle thing outside, but Jayden cheated because he skipped one of the cones,” Rhyse explained as he buckled his seat belt. “Then we had pizza, but it was nasty.”

“You say that about every pizza that doesn’t come from Rocco’s,” I laughed as I pulled from the school.

“Because it is,” Rhyse replied before looking toward the backseat. “Where’s Dad?”

“He had something to handle today,” I said as I glanced toward him. “So you’re stuck with me.” I smirked.

“I like when Dad picks me up because he lets me pick the music.” He smirked.

“That’s because your daddy doesn’t have good sense,” I said as I turned onto the main road. “You’re not about to have me listening to the same three songs all the way home.”

“They sound better than that old music you listen too,” Rhyse laughed and reached toward the radio, but I slapped his hand away before he could change anything. He started complaining about my music being old, and I was halfway through telling him he was lucky I let him ride in my truck at all when I noticed the black SUV behind us.

At first, I didn’t think anything of it, but it had been behind me since I left the camp.

“Ma, you listening?” Rhyse asked as he looked over at me.

“Yeah, baby,” I said as I kept my voice even. “What did you say?”

“I said can we get pizza since the one they gave us was nasty?” He repeated but my focus was on the SUV following me.

“Sure,” I replied as I made the next turn earlier than I normally would.

The SUV followed, making my stomach tightened. Maybe it was nothing, but I still made another turn just to see if it would do the same and it did. I reached for my phone and glanced toward Rhyse. “Boosie, unbuckle your seat belt and climb into the back.”

“Why?” Rhyse frowned.

“Just do what I said,” I said sternly.

“But—”

“Rhyse.” I looked at him long enough for him to hear the seriousness in my voice. “Get in the backseat… now.”

That made him move as he unbuckled his seat belt and started climbing over the center console while I kept driving.

“What’s wrong, Ma?” He asked.

“Nothing. Just get in the back and buckle up,” I said as I checked the mirror again. The black SUV was closer now and my heart was about to beat out my chest.

Rhyse dropped into the backseat and grabbed the seat belt. “Ma, why are you driving like that?”

Instead of responding, I sped up and made another turn, and that was when a second black SUV pulled out from a side street ahead of me.