"He'll be fine," Griff said, dragging him inside. "But his supervisor will check when he doesn't report back. We've got maybe two minutes."
They slipped out of the server room. Alarms hadn't started yet, but it was only a matter of time. Sarah led them through a different route—longer but avoiding the main guard station.
"Emergency exit," she whispered, pointing to a door marked with red. "It'll trigger alarms?—"
"No worries. We’re already on borrowed time." Griff pushed the bar.
The alarm shrieked instantly, red lights flashing. They burst into the loading dock area. Shouting erupted. Doors slammed. More alarms joined the cacophony.
"Run," Griff commanded.
15
They sprinted across the lot,Sarah's ankle screaming with every step. Behind them, the facility lit up like a Christmas tree—searchlights, emergency vehicles, guards pouring out.
They'd parked the SUV three blocks away in a 24-hour grocery store lot. Sarah's lungs burned, her ankle threatening to buckle with each step.
"There." The SUV sat exactly where they'd left it, anonymous among other vehicles.
Griff had the engine running before Sarah's door closed. He pulled out slowly, calmly, another late-night shopper heading home. Behind them, sirens wailed. Red and blue lights painted the sky.
How he found the calm to drive so normally, she had no idea.
Her hands shook so badly she had to clasp them together.
"We did it," she breathed. "We actually?—"
"We've got company," Griff said, eyes on the rearview.
Two sets of headlights appeared behind them, maintaining perfect spacing. No lights, no sirens.
"FBI?" she asked.
"My guess is Stillwater." Griff's hands tightened on the wheel. "They were expecting us."
The headlights suddenly accelerated. A third vehicle appeared from a side street ahead, trying to box them in.
"Hold on."
Griff yanked the wheel hard right, tires screaming. The SUV tilted dangerously, then slammed back down. Sarah's head cracked against the window. Behind them, engines roared.
The vehicle ahead tried to ram them. Griff somehow threaded between it and a parked car, metal shrieking against metal.
Then the rear window exploded.
"Down." Griff shoved her head below the dashboard as more bullets peppered the SUV. The engine coughed, stuttered. They were losing speed.
"Tree line." Griff shouted. "When I say run?—"
The SUV lurched sideways as another vehicle slammed into them. They spun wildly, Sarah's stomach heaving. The guardrail rushed toward them?—
Impact. Airbags exploded in her face. Everything went white, then gray, then sharp with pain.
"Move. Now." Griff was dragging her from the vehicle. Her ears rang. Blood ran into her eyes from a cut on her forehead.
Gunfire erupted behind them. The tree line was fifty yards away but might as well have been a mile. Sarah ran, her ankle forgotten in the surge of adrenaline, Griff pulling her forward.
Twenty yards. Ten. Almost there?—
