Chapter 5
Wind whipped around them, filling the car as the freeway cleared. The engine roared, almost resisting the pressure he was placing on the accelerator pedal. They gained speed steadily, and swung round a corner without breaking in the slightest.
“Take it,” he commanded, not taking his eyes of the road.
“What?” her head whipped around, half expecting something else.
“The wheel. Take it.” He repeated, and he leant back into the backseat. His foot still floored the accelerator pedal, and her hands flew to it immediately in an attempt to stop them from crashing. He fumbled about for a bit before pulling out a bottle of Armand de Brignac from the foot well. With one hand back on the wheel, he tore the gold from the cork and popped it effortlessly. He took a healthy swig, eyes still staring straight ahead, before handing the bottle to her. She followed suit, drinking straight from the bottle. The car didn’t slow down despite the streets that they were now racing through. More corners, more dangerous swerving. At one point, the tail end of the car nearly crashed into a lamppost, but it wasn’t like he cared. This woman sat next to him made his stomach do somersaults, and he couldn’t decide whether it was a good thing or not.
His face lit up in an evil grin as they turned the corner that lead to the casino. Red police tape prevented him from seeing the once-famous building in ruins and guided him on a different route. A police car’s sirens flashed, and he grabbed the bottle of champagne from Rose’s fist. He drank again, finishing the bottle as the car approached them. The glass went flying and landed right in front of their pursuers, shattering into a million pieces. The officer sat behind the wheel took a moment to assess the situation before shutting off the siren and returning to his posting; it wasn’t worth risking his job. The driver could get away with murder if he really wanted to.
“You do realise this isn’t the way to my house, right?” she piped up after realising they were going in circles.
“I know,” he laughed, resting an arm on the car door.
“I never told you where home was.”
“You’re a Cali girl, I can tell.” His tone was so definite, and he wasn’t wrong. She wondered what gave him the idea, but didn’t question it.
Before long, they had driven through the centre of Vegas and into the outskirts. Rows of mansions had been set up, all surprisingly with an abundance of greenery outside. He disregarded every one until they pulled up outside a set of gold gates. A camera scanned the car, and the gates swung open. The sun was only just rising as they approached the house, if it could even be called that. It was like a castle, except without the towers and turrets. He turned off the engine just outside the garage and hopped out of the car again. He swung her door open, taking her hand and pulling her out of the car. She smiled and headed off in the direction of the front door.
He didn’t know much about this woman, but he knew one thing; she was intoxicating.