“Two-point-one miles. We’re never gonna make it.” It looked like one of the drivers was afraid to speed up while the other took the lead and gained on them.
“We don’t have a choice,” Gina said. Their truck rocked as a blast of sand-filled wind threatened to shove them off the road. The same blast hit the SUV behind them, making both SUVs swerve. The slower SUV lost control and spun out before landing in the ditch. Lach’s heart leapt for a moment when it looked like the second SUV might go off the road too, but the driver quickly corrected—he obviously had experience driving in sandstorms and was crazy enough to keep up the chase.
Gina was keeping an eye on their pursuers too. “Dammit. Can’t exactly shake him on a straight highway.” There was nowhere to turn off, and to attempt to four-wheel it across the sandy ground between them and the highway returning to the city would amount to a suicide attempt. “We have to hope that by the time we get to our new ride, it’s too dark for them to see us pull off.”
“If it’s too dark, then we’re dead. No way we can leave this one and attempt to get to it.”
The cloudbank was close enough now to make out individual churning clouds. It looked like an explosion to Lach. And they were heading right into it.
Gina sped up.
“We’re almost there. Point-one miles. Shit.”
Darkness descended. One second, they could see a quarter mile ahead, then only a few yards, then their visibility reduced to a few feet. The SUV disappeared behind them as the storm swallowed them up.
“Brace yourself, I’m pulling over,” Gina shouted over the sand whipping around the SUV. “Otherwise, he’ll be right on top of us.” The truck swerved as she took them off road. They bumped and jolted over invisible rocks, their headlights completely useless. She’d angled the SUV about forty-five degrees from the road and the wind buffeted them, threatening to push the truck onto its side. But the dots that represented their SUV and the escape vehicle drew closer together. Lach flipped on the overhead light.
“Son of a bitch, we might make it after all.” He looked at the triumphant expression on Gina’s face. “Slow it down. Don’t want to crash into the boulders around it.”
“Got it, Soup.” Damn, she looked fierce and wild. Alive in the way Lachlan felt when under fire. She eased up on the gas. The storm tried its best to flip them and Lach felt his side of the SUV rise. The sand was thick and heavy now, slowing them down without Gina needing to use the brake. If they could just coast a little closer, they might still have a chance.
Bam! The SUV hit something big and hard. The airbags deployed and Lachlan heard Gina shout. Their truck died along with the cab’s light, plunging them into complete darkness, surrounded by the unholy howling of the sandstorm.
TEN
Lachlan, age 33
Anotherbam! along with the sound of cracking glass. Lachlan shook his head, not sure if he’d passed out or for how long, if he did. His first thought was of the brave and crazy woman beside him.
“Gina!” He reached out to find her and touched her arm.
“I’m all right,” she said. Her voice was strong, if shaken. “You?”
“Yeah,” Lach answered. “Can’t say the same for our ride.”
“Sorry about that. Must have cut it too close to those boulders.” She coughed and he felt her entire body shake. He instinctively pulled her in closer.
“No, lass, we’re still a ways out. You just hit a big rock. Miracle we didn’t hit one sooner. How’s your breathing?” Lachlan carefully felt her torso, hoping she hadn’t punctured a lung in the collision.
Gina cleared her throat. “Just the powder…”cough“…from the airbag.” Her hand covered his and he stopped moving. “Not injured.”
“Sorry, I was checking for injuries… I wasn’t?—”
Gina interrupted him with a laugh. “You weren’t getting fresh on the first date? I’m offended, Soup.”
It was Lachlan’s turn to laugh. “Wouldn’t this be our second, at least?”
“Oh yeah. If you’re going off the times we’ve been alone, I guess you could count the courtyard.”
“Yeah, but we weren’t entirely alone. Heath was there in the shadows, chaperoning.”
“I thought you were the chaperone, Soup.”
“I suppose I was, up until I lost track of you and you came climbing out that window, escaping your other date.”
“Worst chaperone ever,” she laughed through her coughing. Lachlan heard her seatbelt click and suddenly Gina was right next to him, close enough that her breath tickled his cheek. “Especially considering I ended up in your arms.”
“You did, didn’t you, lass?” His hand found her cheek under the hijab. His thumb brushed away the dust there.
