Read River: A Bad Boy Romance for Free Online Page B

begins to catch fire.
    “Oh hell”, River says. “I was enjoying that.”
    They are on the edge of the city. Ahead lies a highway that curves into the deserted wastelands of New Mexico, and offers the best chance of escape. In order to do that though, they need to somehow evade two police cars, four angry officers, and the bullets from their guns, in a car with a top speed of sixty seven miles per hour, that also now happens to be on fire. The worse thing, River thinks, is that he's run out of pre-rolled cigarettes.
    At the bank, Peters and Carlos are filling bin bags with bundles of cash, trying desperately to take as much of the six million, seven hundred and seventy five thousand, four hundred and six dollars as they can. In their excitement in being able to get inside the vault, they forget that nobody is left watching the hostages, who all, as soon as they see their opportunity to do so, promptly escape. Senior key holder Fergal Murphy remains the only man inside the bank, hauled along to the vault with the robbers to make sure the access code works. When it does so, he doesn't think it appropriate to try and leave, when the two men he has escorted into the vault have automatic weapons and, one of them at least, has a penchant for killing. Instead, he watches, answers when asked a question, pulls on his ginger moustache, and hopes he isn't going to die.
    Frank 'The Bulldog' Giamatti finally makes it to the bank, pulling up with a fleet of sixteen officers spread across six cars, and instead of finding the two police cars and four officers he expects to see, waiting patiently for his arrival, he watches as the last of the hostages bolts out of the door and runs as far away from the bank as possible.
    “What the fuck? Where the fuck is Edwards?” he says, getting out of the car before it's had a chance to come to a stop. “What the fuck is going on here?”
    Officer Mark Edwards, in his haste to catch up with River and capture his first real bank robber, has not radioed his decision into base. Nor has his dim-witted, gung-ho colleague Jesse Harper, who has done nothing but hold his gun outstretched, desperate to fill the robber with a dose of lead as soon as he receives the order from his colleague to do so. In the other car, police officers Red Jackson and Blake Phoenix have been just as forgetful, as entwined in the chase as a couple of kids playing computer games, which ironically both of them were, earlier that day.
    Before Frank can get either of the pair of them on the radio, a hail of bullets comes down from above, forcing him back behind his car for cover.
    Carlos and Peters have stuffed as much of the money into bags as they can manage, but they've left their escape far too late. They've also inadvertently managed to let all of their thirty seven hostages escape, every one except Fergal, and the poor off duty police officer who now has the inside of his head splashed against the back wall like a spilt bowl of hot tomato soup.
    “Fuck”, Carlos says.
    They have six bin bags full of cash, three guns, one hostage, a car parked across the street, one exit and sixteen police officers in the way, including Frank 'The Bulldog' Giamatti, someone you definitely didn't want on your back.
    Frank finally gets Edwards on the two way.
    “Where the fuck are you?” Frank barks at him.
    “Heading onto interstate five”, Edwards says. “Pursuing felon and hostage. I've got this Frank.”
    Inside the beaten up tank of an Oldsmobile, the thick grey smoke is getting thicker and greyer and Maddy's eyes are now streaming.
    “The car is on fire”, Maddy screams at River.
    “Yep”, River says.
    “Don't do anything stupid, Edwards”, Frank shouts at him. “Just hold on alongside him until we get a chopper in the air.”
    “I can stop him, Frank”, Edwards says. “We can set up a block. I can bring him in.”
    “Listen to me, Edwards”, Frank says, his blood boiling. “Don't do anything, but keep him in your sights.