“Nobody on our end. We didn’t even know this warehouse existed until we got on the plane today, remember?”
I can see Jasper’s temper stirring like a hurricane about to make landfall. He grabs the tablet and slides it into a black bag, then spins toward a cabinet, scanning his thumb. A second later, he starts shoving items into the bag. Comms, guns, credit sticks. When he passes the desk, he pops the data stick out of the base of the holoscreen, then shoves the holo onto the floor. It crashes near my feet, the greenish glow crackling before fading into nothing.
“They’re in my sights now,” Orin reports. “Ev’s right.”
“Abort,” Gray tells the snipers. “Get in the truck and head for Bramble.”
“What about you?” demands Evlynne.
“We’ll be right behind you.”
“No, you’re with me,” Jasper commands. “We’ve got contingency plans for this. Let’s go.”
He’s gone before we can respond. After a beat, Gray nods and we tear after him, racing down the rows of contraband toward another unmarked door. Jasper pushes it open, and we burst into a dank, narrow alleyway.
“Ev, you out?” Gray asks.
“En route to Bramble.”
“We’re with Reed. We’ll check in when we get somewhere safe.”
I hear it now—the distant roar of engines. I raise my rifle, while Xavier snaps up his handgun. We move in sync, scanning the shadows for signs of danger.
“This way,” Jasper says, looking over his shoulder.
We round the side of the warehouse toward a small lot in the back, where we find a heavily armored black van. Jasper taps the device in his hand and the van’s side door slides open. Beside it is a motorcycle, which Shamus and his big bushy beard waste no time climbing on.
Jasper addresses his man. “Wait until they’re inside to light it up.” At us, he barks, “Get in the van.”
We don’t hesitate. Xavier and I dive into the back. Gray hops into the passenger side. As Jasper gets behind the wheel, he suddenly narrows his eyes on Xavier.
“Get rid of the tracker,” he tells Gray.
“It’s an encrypted signal—”
“Get rid of it,” Jasper repeats, his tone inviting no argument. “Can’t risk it where we’re going.”
Although he doesn’t look happy about it, Gray twists in his seat and presses the pad of his finger against Xavier’s wrist. The black band releases with a snap, and Xavier groans with relief as he flexes his wrist and forearm.
“Toss it to Shamus,” Jasper says, hitting a button to lower the window. “Along with all your tech. He’ll destroy it.”
Once Jasper is satisfied that we can’t be traced, the engine rumbles to life, and the van lurches forward. A second later, we’re racing down the alleyway at breakneck speed. Tires screeching, the scent of burning rubber filling my nostrils. The vehicle lifts up on two of its wheels as Jasper cuts a tight turn toward a narrow industrial road, and either I’m imagining it or we’re heading back the way we came.
“Isn’t that where the convoy will be?” I demand.
Jasper offers a glib response. “We might cross paths.”
We might cross paths?How is he so calm about that? We tear down the road and turn another corner—just in time to see the headlights of the convoy coming from the left.
“Hold on,” Jasper says. He looks like he’s enjoying himself.
There aren’t any seats in the back. All I can do is grip the side wall and a piece of metal as the van careens to the left, directly into the path of the convoy. If we weren’t being so obvious in our escape, they might have let us drive past them without notice. And for a moment, I think we’ve actually done it. Until I see one of the trucks suddenly cut away, making a tight turn. The next thing I know, they’re on our tail.
Jasper twists around to grin at us, flashing a set of perfect white teeth. “All right. Now really hold on.”
He takes a wild turn that sends our rear tires into a fishtail, then slams on the accelerator and the van shoots forward like a bullet from a gun, throwing me across the back directly into Xavier’s lap. He catches me before I slam into the doors, holding me in place.
“You okay?”
