“The next shot goes in your head, do nottry me, Nikolai.”
He looks to Maxim as if he’ll help him and even pale and injured as he is, Maxim gives a lopsided smile that’s almost proud.
Someone is hanging half out of the window of the SUV that holds Elise and Tenneson, shooting a gun behind them at a baby blue Prius.Nate’s.
I curse, lowering the window and taking two shots at the man trying to brain Nate, one missing, the other hitting him in between the shoulder and neck.
“Drive faster,” I yell, and Samuel does as I say, breaking away from the pack. “Lose them or I will kill you, Samuel, don’t think I won’t.”
“Wouldn’t dare, think that, Mrs. Orlov,” he says, and if I’m not mistaken, he sounds almost relieved. Behind us, we hear more screeching tires and gunshots, but Samuel pulls the wheel in a quick maneuver to the right, cutting in front of a semi onto an off ramp.
“I still can’t believe you shot me!”
“Never been shot before?” I ask. My eyes search out the back window for sign of one of Tenneson’s cars.
Samuel turns right, sending me careening into the car door again, and I think we might be clear when the third of Tenneson’s SUVs drives over the sidewalk to get past the semi.
“They’re on us.” I curse, and lower the window again, reaching the gun out and shooting three shots, only one hitting the windshield of the SUV.
Their car narrowly avoids clipping a light pole, but stays on us, speeding up and shooting shots of their own. I grab Maxim’s neck and pull him down, him groaning as he leans sideways toward me.
“Fuck this!” Nikolai screams. “Why are they shooting at us?!”
He’s in the process of pulling a phone out of his pocket and I thud the butt of the gun on the side of his head, not hard enough to knock him out.
“Ouch,” he whines, and protests when I take the phone.
“Do you want to die?” I ask, exasperated by him.
“Mary,” Maxim warns with a groan, and I follow his eyes to where the SUV is gaining on us to our left.
I curse and shoot three more rounds into the car, the first two missing the gunman, and the third landing on his hand, making him drop the gun he was just aiming at us.
Samuel swerves the car into theirs, the vehicles colliding against each other with a horrible clatter and demolishing both cars’ shiny exteriors. I slide as far away from my damaged door as possible.
We swerve apart from each other to avoid a motorcyclist, and then Samuel goes for a third collision like we are fucking bumper cars, and this one pushes the SUV into oncoming traffic. We hear the loud sound of their collision as we speed on.
It appears we’re in the clear of enemy vehicles when, of course, sirens sound off behind us. It’s Samuel’s turn to curse as we speed up, weaving through traffic.
I hastily type Leo’s number into the cell and he answers with a sharp, “Mary?”
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m good, Nate too,” Leo says, yelling. “I lost Santi though. He followed one of the cars off the road toward the bridge.” I slap Samuel’s shoulder and point in the general direction of said bridge. We’re not far from it now. “Are you hurt?”
“Max is in bad shape, but—” I cut off as our town car is hit from behind, lurching us forward with that too-loud crunch. Nikolai screams, and when I look back it’s a cop car, bright blue and red lights flashing in the window.
Samuel speeds up.
“Call Willa,” I shout. “Get her to call her cops.”
I can only assume Leo is doing as I say, because he hangs up as Samuel jerks the car again, this time down an alley. The cops lose time in missing the sharp turn and we gain distance. Barely any breathing room, but enough. I lean forward and reach intothe center console where Samuel has a handgun and an extra cartridge of bullets.
“Get to the bridge,” I command and turn to look at Maxim who is so, so pale. My strong man looks weak, his breath coming now in shallow pants, his eyes terrified. I use the hand that’s not gripping the gun and gently cradle his cheek, careful not to press the wounds on his jaw.
We reach the end of the alley and burst onto the street without stopping, narrowly missing an oncoming car that lays on its horn as we pass. The disturbance gives us more time to break away from the police, but we’ve met up again with the last of Tenneson’s cars, this one smaller than the others.
Shots immediately start pelting our car and Nikolai screams that we aren’t the enemy here.
