“Don’t stop!” Magpie shouted.
The guy was pointing something at us.
Noemi hit the gas again, and the little car picked up speed in no time. The guy wasn’t moving, though. He kept his arm outstretched.
“A gun!” Noemi shouted and the car sounded like it was revving as it seemed to go even faster.
“What the hell, what the hell, what the hell,” I kept chanting. “He’s not lowering it!”
“Everyone duck!” Magpie shouted.
We all did, and then…a huge thump. We all screamed when we sat up straighter. The guy was on the hood, his face plastered to the windshield. His eyes were wide open, and a smear of blood was on the glass from his mouth.
Noemi made a gagging noise. “Did I kill him?”
Magpie reached over and hit something around the steering wheel. The motor made a groaning noise.
“I don’t think the windshield wipers are going to help,” Noemi said in a panic.
“He’s a big bug!” Magpie said, her voice angry. “We need to get him off the windshield.”
“Oh man,” I barely got out. “Do you think he’s one of…them?” I whispered the last word.
“One of the—oh!” Magpie squeezed my shoulder.
His eye was on me, and it was freaking me the fuck out. Evelina had told me earlier when she was showing me all the things my watch could do that if my heart rate spiked, my watch would register it. It did. It was vibrating against my wrist, and if I didn’t hit the button on the side twice, it would send help without me having to say anything. I didn’t hit the button twice.Let them come.I kept thinking about Matteo and wanted to see his face so badly, it was like I was wishing him into existence in front of me.
“On the count of three, slam on the brakes, Noemi,” Magpie ordered. “Then hit the gas again—as fast and as hard as you can.”
“I’ll run him over again!”
“That’s the idea.”
“Maggie!”
“Do it! We can’t take any chances!”
“If he’s innocent?”
“Why was he pointing a gun at us?” Magpie asked.
“Good point.” Noemi took a deep breath, then she started to count to three…
1…
2…
3…
She slammed on the brakes, but the guy didn’t move.
“Fuckity, fuck, fuck, fuck!” Noemi said, hitting the gas again, and slamming on the brakes once more.
It was like the tiny car couldn’t dislodge the burly guy. I thought maybe he was dead. He wasn’t fogging up the window with his breath, and he wasn’t moaning or trying to get off. It was hard to ignore the blood smear on the windshield. It was a haunting view.
A second later, a storm of fast cars seemed to surround us, and Noemi slowed down when she noticed it was our people. She came to a full stop when Saverio made a motion to her. Men swarmed our car. Two of them removed the guy from the hood and drug him out to the countryside. He wasn’t fighting. One guy had him by the collar, and his head bobbed while his arms and legs seemed useless.
Matteo looked me over, his eyes crazed. His pupils were dilated, all the chocolate brown melted into black. I’d never seen them that way before, and it made my heart feel like it was going to explode inside my chest. The weather suddenly felt too hot, even though my insides felt cold, and I just wanted to close my eyes and wish the last forty-five minutes away.
