Fully aware he’d barked the order, Matt was more than grateful she hadn’t started bitching about him not being in charge. Thankfully, she did as he asked.
“David? Are you guys all right? We heard the—”
“We’re under attack!” the man’s loud voice boomed through the phone’s speakers. “Twin SUV’s, black, no license plates. The windows are heavily tinted, so I can’t tell how many suspects we’re dealing with.”
Casey’s eyes widened slightly before becoming laser focused. Flipping a switch to activate her lights and sirens, she asked Holloway, “Where are you? Exactly?”
“Northbound Two-forty-one. At the northern edge of Loma Ridge, coming up on the Two-sixty-one overpass. King’s doing his best to evade them, but they’re boxing us in.”
While her partner gave her their general location, Matt was already pulling up the tracker app he and every other R.I.S.C. operative had access to. It allowed them to locate each other’s phones at any given time, in case of emergencies such as this.
“I’ve got ’em,” he practically yelled. “According to this, they’re ten miles ahead of us.”
Because of the different routes they’d taken, Zade had hit the interstate a couple of minutes after leaving the cemetery, whereas Matt and Detective Casey had been stuck going through stop signs and stoplights on their way to the precinct. They’d been forced to make a U-turn and weave in and out of traffic, putting them even further behind the others.
Before Detective Casey could respond, a loud crashing sound like metal hitting metal came through her phone. It was immediately followed by a quick, high-pitched yelp.
“Katherine!” Matt yelled, terrified she’d been hurt.
“She’s okay,” Holloway hollered back. “Bastard slammed into us.”
Though it was somewhat muffled, they could hear Zade’s angry voice in the background.
“Fuck this defensive shit. I’m taking the shot!”
Matt held his breath as he heard several loud pops, tires squeal, and Zade’s triumphant, “One down, one to go!”
Come on, Zade. Keep her safe, man.
A few silent, torturous moments passed before Holloway announced,“I think the other one’s pulling back.” The man sounded relieved. “Jesus. That was close.”
“Take the next exit and get to the nearest public place.” Matt thought of the tinted windows Holloway had described. “These guys aren’t going to be seen.”
He no more got the words out when Kat screamed again. “Zade, look out!”
A second crashing sound echoed from the other end of the phone, this one sharper. Louder. And then…nothing.
“David!” Detective Casey yelled for her partner, her face falling when she looked down at the screen and up at him. “The line just went dead.”
“Call him back!” Shoving his hand into his pocket, Matt immediately tried Zade’s phone. A powerful, tight pressure began pressing down his chest, right above his heart when his teammate didn’t pick up.
“No one’s answering,” Detective Casey’s eyes began to well.
He could barely breathe. “Fuck!” Matt slammed his hand down onto the dash. He checked the app again. “We’re still seven miles out. Get us the fuck there, now!”
As she drove, the detective radioed dispatch to give them an update. Matt kept his focus on the flashing red dot on his phone. Before, it had been moving along the highway at higher-than-normal speeds. Now, it was showing Zade’s phone off the road’s shoulder, several yards away, in the grass.
For the first time in a very long time, Matt found himself praying.
Please, God. Let them be okay.
That last mile was the longest of his life.
“There!” His heart rate kicked into high gear as he pointed to a set of flashing lights. The responding patrolman had stopped near a portion of railing that had been damaged.
The metal was bent away from the road, as if it had been struck by a vehicle, and there were large ruts in the grass from where a set of tires had ripped it from its roots. Matt’s blood turned cold when he spotted the car he’d rented in the grass, several yards away.
“Shit!” Detective Casey cursed as she slid to the shoulder before bringing the car to a skidding stop behind the other emergency vehicle.
