Tempted Trapped and Too Late to Run novel Chapter 9

Not too far away, Clara misjudged the acceleration of her electric scooter and it shot forward, crashing right into a car. She hit the ground, scraping her knee, and winced as pain shot up her leg.

The car's owner stormed out, livid and yelling, "Do you even know how to ride that thing?! Rushing to meet your maker, are you? Just my luck—this is a brand-new car, straight from the dealership! You better cough up the cash!"

Clara glanced at the logo and realized it was a Maserati. ‘Fantastic,’ she thought, her savings wouldn't even make a dent in this.

A crowd quickly formed, curious about who had the misfortune to crash into a luxury car.

The man grabbed Clara's sleeve. "Pay up right now, or I'm calling the cops!"

She shifted her weight to ease the discomfort in her leg. "How about ten thousand dollars?"

The man's face turned crimson with anger. "Are you serious?!"

Meanwhile, the light turned green for Dylan. He cast another glance over. His demeanor was icy, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Aiden was about to step on the gas when Dylan said, "Go deal with it."

Aiden's grip on the steering wheel tightened. His lips started to form a protest, but he ended up stepping out of the car.

The heat outside was intense. Sweat was already dotting Clara's forehead.

Just as she was wondering who she might call for help, a young man approached with a no-nonsense attitude. "Let's get the traffic police involved first. How much is it? I'll cover it for her."

The irate car owner was about to erupt again but hesitated when he saw Aiden stepping out of a multi-million-dollar, limited edition car. His anger quickly cooled. There wasn't another car like this in the whole city, and he knew better than to cross someone driving it.

He decided not to wait for the cops. "You can just transfer a hundred grand to me."

But if he hated her so much, why did he step in to help?

She lowered her lashes, but then a small smile appeared as a thought crossed her mind, "If you hate me, that's even more reason for me to pay you back. Please, give me your contact info. If you won't, I'll ask the person in the car. I need to know how to reach you."

There was no way Aiden would let her meet his boss, so he begrudgingly scribbled down a number with a look of disdain.

Clara accepted it, bowing gracefully. "Thank you."

Aiden was momentarily taken aback. Clara had always been rude and dismissive. Had she changed?

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he scoffed again, assuming it was just another attempt to win over Simon.

Everyone in the city knew Clara's reputation. She was universally disliked.