After I Stopped Loving Him novel Chapter 1200

"Shut up and drive!" the thug snarled, leaning forward menacingly. "York sent you to do a job. Didn't he tell you to follow our orders?"

The sheer violence in his eyes terrified Natalie into silence.

She swallowed her protests, forcing a subservient tone. "Can't I at least arrange a different car for you when we get closer? I can't just disappear for two days. My husband is going to ask questions."

"If I lie, he'll find out immediately. Why are you in such a rush to leave? Are you running from something?"

The ringleader glared at her. "Stop asking questions you don't want the answers to. You take us where we tell you to go, or York is going to have a serious problem with you. And you know exactly what he's capable of."

Natalie gripped the steering wheel, her mouth snapping shut.

These men had clearly committed a massive crime. They needed her to drive them out of the city to avoid security checkpoints and surveillance cameras.

York was going to get her killed.

That monster!

She cursed York with every fiber of her being.

The flawless pride she had cultivated for thirty years was currently being trampled into the dirt by his sadistic games.

After driving in tense silence for several miles, a sea of flashing red and blue lights appeared on the horizon. A massive police blockade had been set up across the highway, with uniformed officers thoroughly inspecting every passing vehicle.

Traffic cops? Here?

No, they wouldn't set up a blockade like this in the middle of nowhere.

They were looking for fugitives.

The road had been completely clear on her way out here. The sudden police presence combined with her passengers' frantic need to flee painted a horrifyingly clear picture.

"Where are you heading, ma'am? And who are the men in the back?"

The officer's eyes darted over the four massive passengers, his posture instantly stiffening, though he kept his voice casually professional.

"I'm an Uber driver," Natalie lied smoothly. "I got a call for a pickup near the highway. They're just heading into the city for business."

The four thugs offered dopey, innocent smiles. "Yeah, we got some errands to run downtown. Didn't have a car, so we called her."

"We're from the same neighborhood," another chimed in, making sure to cover their tracks on why there was no official app record. "We call her direct for rides all the time."

The officer stared at them for a long, agonizing moment. His gaze flicked from the men's hardened faces to Natalie's tense grip on the steering wheel.

"Ma'am," the officer said, his voice dropping an octave. "Step out of the vehicle."

"Why?" Natalie asked, her voice pitching up in genuine panic. "I'm just a driver. I haven't done anything wrong."