“Are you hurt?” he demanded to know, though he kept his eyes glued to the road.
“No,” I gasped, my heart hammering so hard I thought it might break my ribs. “You?”
“I’m good,” he said, jerking the wheel hard to the right as we took a corner. “Call Federico. My phone’s in the center console.”
I fumbled for his phone with shaking hands. In the side mirror, I saw the black car from before in pursuit, gaining on us.
“They’re behind us,” I warned, finding Federico’s name in Dante’s contacts.
Dante cursed and swerved sharply, cutting through a narrow alley. The SUV barely fit, scraping against the brick walls on either side with a sound that set my teeth on edge.
Federico answered on the second ring. “What’s up?”
“It’s Alisa,” I said, my voice trembling. “We’re being chased by the Volkov crew. They found us at the café.”
Dante took another hard turn, which threw me against the door.
“Where are you?” Federico’s voice sharpened.
“I… I don’t know,” I cried out in panic. “Some alley nearby. We’re trying to get away from them any way we can.”
“Don’t worry, Alisa. Share your live location, and I’m sending back-up,” Federico said. “Stay on the line with me, okay?”
I sent the location just as we exited the alley.
For a moment, I thought we’d lost them. Then the black car appeared again, joined now by a second vehicle.
Dante cursed. “Federico, there’s another car. They might have more… “
“Get to the highway if you can,” Federico advised.
Dante accelerated, and cars honked around us as we cut off other drivers, racing toward the highway entrance ramp.
“Almost there,” Dante murmured, looking over at me with wide eyes. I could see then, in that moment, the concern in his eyes that said he was more afraid for me than for himself.
We hit the ramp at nearly ninety miles per hour, and I gripped the door handle until my knuckles turned white. As we turned onto the highway, I chanced a look back.
“They’re still following,” I said, watching the two black cars force their way into traffic behind us.
“I see them,” Dante hissed. “Federico, where’s that backup?”
“Okay, listen up,” Federico answered through the speaker. “There’s an exit coming up in half a mile. Take it, then loop back under the overpass. We’ll intercept them there in two minutes. Our convoy is almost there.”
“You sure?” Dante checked through gritted teeth.
“Trust me, brother. Move!”
Dante shifted lanes to prepare for the exit, and when the cars behind us realized what we might be doing, they picked up speed to close the gap.
I held on tight to the seat just as Dante cut across three lanes to make the sudden turn.
I screamed as we narrowly missed clipping another car, then felt my stomach drop as we took the exit ramp far too fast. The SUV fishtailed, and for a heart-stopping moment, I thought we would flip.
Somehow, Dante controlled the skid, and we shot down the exit ramp. Behind us, one of the pursuing cars spun out and caused a block for the second one.
“Thank god.” I let out a sigh of relief, and my heart calmed just a little as we went for the underpass Federico told us to reach.
Just then, I saw one of Dante’s vehicles positioned across the road ahead.
