While they’re distracted, Ronan slips out of my car and into his own, pulling out onto the road first.
The plan is to sandwich them between us and run them off the road. If we catch them off guard, we should be able to get Chloe out and neutralize the bodyguard before he can get a shot off, but despite being able to find very little about him during my research, he must be highly trained to have been hired by Camilla and the Syndicate.
Everything hinges on them heading back to the city, because if she’s somehow convinced him to drive toward the border, we’re going to have to rethink how we play this.
I’m quickly reassured when Ryker turns toward the highway, and I wait twenty seconds before doing the same.
If he’s as good as I think he is, he’s going to clock us pretty quickly, but it won’t matter once we have them where we want them.
The highway is quiet at this time of the day, most people setting off toward the city early in the morning or late in the afternoon, which works perfectly for us.
For long miles we each keep our distance. Ronan is at least half a mile ahead of them, while I keep a little closer.
By now they almost certainly know we’re here, but you wouldn’t know it by the way he’s driving.
I check the navigation and force my shoulders to relax against the seat.
It’s almost go time.
And the sooner we get our hands on the woman that almost tore our family apart, the sooner we can get back to Miami and out of this ice-cold shithole.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
RYKER
NOW
Iclocked them the second we stepped into the parking lot, as well as the trap they think they’ve set for us.
Idiots.
It’s comforting to know they haven’t worked out who I am yet, because they certainly wouldn’t have thought this was going to work if they had.
Chloe is completely oblivious in the passenger seat, her eyes locked on the scenery that speeds past us with each mile we come closer to the city.
This isn’t what she wants. She wants to run. She wants the safety she thinks a fresh start will give her. But she doesn’t realize the safest place in the world is right here beside me.
There’s nothing I won’t do to protect her, no one I won’t kill to keep her safe, and I hope she comes to see that sooner rather than later.
As much as I love the chase, I crave her submission in a way I never have before.
She shifts in her seat, her brow dipping in discomfort. I doubt she needs the restroom seeing as she went before we left the room, but I don’t know what else it could be.
I’m about to ask her when I notice Ronan has slowed down, putting him just ahead of us while Damon has closed the distance, effectively boxing me in.
If they had had a chance to call someone else in for help, I might believe they could pull this off, but I can take just the two of them with ease.
I glance over at Chloe and find her still distracted, which is exactly what I want. I check the navigation and see what they’re planning to do immediately, but lucky for me, there’s a turnoff before the one they intend to force me down.
Not bothering with the blinker, I wait until the last second to veer to the left, across the oncoming traffic, and down a side road that leads to another highway.
“Ryker?” Chloe looks around at the change of direction, panic sliding into place on her features.
“You’re safe,” I reassure her, flicking my attention to the rearview mirror to see Damon made the turn with me.
Losing one out of two isn't so bad.
“Is it them?” she whispers, fear etched into every word.
