"Someone get behind me. I’ve got the stash!"
What?!
Two bikes immediately pull up on either side of us. Another two circle back behind us, like guards.
Gio is at the center. "Head down!" he yells at me.
I duck into his back. All of them take off at once. And Gio? He fucking flies. The bike shoots forward so hard I nearly fall off.
"GIO, WE ARE GOING TO DIE!"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND ENJOY THE RIDE." We cut between two cars, missing a mirror by maybe a centimeter.
This man is fucking insane.
I hear the sirens behind us, getting closer.
"They are right behind us!"
He doesn’t even look back. He just leans in and presses harder. I look back, and thankfully I see his fucking plate.
Wide open. Fully fucking visible.
It’s like saying ARREST US PLEASE.
Oh my God. Oh my actual God. We’re dead. We’re actually dead. This is it.
Jesus, Fontana. Why is he like this?!
Why is he allergic to survival?! I grab him with my left arm, squeezing his waist as hard as I can.
Then I twist my body back, stretch my right arm out, and slap my palm over the plate. The sirens get louder. My palm covers the numbers.
The plate wasn’t like this earlier. It was tucked up.
Hidden. Someone here lowered it.
Someone wants him caught. "Someone hates you!" I shout over the wind. "They set you up!"
He doesn’t hear me.
He’s too busy outrunning the entire police force.
Fine. If the universe wants him in jail tonight, it’s gonna have to go through me. Because I don’t want to go.
He looks back at me.
"Drive, Fontana!" I yell. "I’ve got you." And I start laughing. I swear to God, I lose it.
Not because it’s funny. Because I’m freaking scared out of my mind. Because this is insane. And I’m gonna puke.
He slides past a cop car like a shadow, ducks between two trucks, and explodes forward. There are like ten bikes behind us, all his guys.
Holy shit. One of them veers off, making the police go after him. Another guy does a U-turn, dramatic as hell, just to lead another car away from us.
Damn, they’re really protecting him. "You’re like the Italian Pablo Escobar!" I scream, laughing.
He’s enjoying this.
