“Uh… guys?” Joey said, interrupting my conversation. “I hate to cut this reunion short, but we’ve got company. Several black SUVs are tailing us.”
Of course they would. I knew Carlo would find us, I just hoped we had more time.
“Nonna, we’re going to be coming in hot. Carlo’s all over us.”
“I’ll talk to Dom and see what I can do. You just worry about getting here safely. And keep that girl alive. Dom needs to hear what she has to say.”
“Yes ma’am,” I said before disconnecting.
“What do we do?” the driver asked, his voice panicky as he looked in the rearview mirror.
I leaned forward in my seat so I could see where we were. We must have turned around at Boulder City, because we were back in Henderson, heading toward Vegas. “Head to the Red Rock neighborhood,” I replied. “We’re going to see the big boss.”
The driver glanced back at Natalia for confirmation. She nodded as we felt the first bump of one of Carlos drivers. The van lurched forward, and I gathered up my weapons from where Natalia had set them at her feet.
“Hold on to something,” I said, sliding open the side door.
“What do we hit?” Natalia asked, sliding open her own side door.
“They have run-flats and safety glass, so your guess is as good as mine. We just need to hold them off until we get into traffic.” Taking aim, I fired my Glock into the hood of the SUV encroaching in our lane. The driver startled, taking his foot off the gas long enough to put a little distance between us.
Gunfire was coming from the other side of the vehicle as well. Natalia ducked, and the driver swore.
“Shit!” Joey shouted. “They got Noah.”
The van began to slow down. Joey undid his seatbelt and pulled the driver out of his seat while stomping on the gas pedal. We lurched forward again, but I couldn’t tell if we’d been hit, or if it was from Joey’s footwork. He set the driver in the passenger’s seat and took over.
Natalia kept firing out her door, I kept firing out mine, and we somehow managed to make it Highway 215 without anyone else getting shot.
“Noah, buddy stay with me,” Joey said, shaking the guy.
“Leave him alone and get us there,” I snapped. “That’s the only chance he’s got.”
Traffic was light, and Joey was doing his best to weave through cars.
“They’re going to be monitoring our progress,” I said, pointing at a traffic cam. “Carlo no doubt knows where we’re headed and he’s gonna try to cut us off. You’re gonna want to hit a surface street soon.”
“I’m not familiar with this part of town,” Joey replied.
“Switch me spots.”
We danced around each other, keeping the gas pedal to the floor as I got behind the wheel and he started firing out the side.
My cell phone rang, but I was too busy to pay it any mind as I took Highway 15, and then got off on Russel Road. There were three SUVs behind us, which meant that two had peeled off. Knowing I needed help, I grabbed my phone, wondering who I could call. I’d missed a call from Angel. I knew I should call him back, but one of the SUVs was right on my tail and I didn’t have time for that shit.
Tossing my phone aside, I stomped on the brake and made a hard right before gunning the gas.
“That bought us some time,” Natalia said, closing her sliding door.
Tires squealed as I turned down another side street and hit the gas. There were no more SUVs in my rearview mirror, but I was under no delusion that I lost them. “Hold on,” I said, breaking for another sharp turn.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Ariana
IT FELT LIKE the world was on fire, but Nonna remained the queen of cool. While I paced the space between living and dining rooms, gnawing off what was left of my fingernails, she sat calmly at the table, sipping tea as she spoke on the phone.
I had no idea who she was talking to or why. I should probably try to listen in and figure out what the hell was going on, but all my thoughts were focused on the fact that Bones was out there running for his life from Carlo while I was sitting here doing nothing.
