Page 84 of Protected from Torment

As the car speeds down the road, it bounces violently from the two flat tires at the rear. Wind rushes through the bullet hole in the windshield. The engine screams as Tyler urges it faster.

Then Tyler releases his breath in a heavy burst. “They’re behind us. Now we just need to get close to the woods. Just a little further...”

He yanks the wheel again, and the car thunks hard as we leave the road.

I’m lifted in my seat, and when I come back down, I catch my tongue between my teeth, and coppery blood fills my mouth.

His arm clamps across my chest, holding me still.

The car skids for a few seconds before coming to a stop. Only then do I dare to look over the windshield again. We’re right at the treeline, with hundreds of pines offering safety beyond. Then I sneak a quick look in the rearview mirror, spotting the pickup truck making a Y-turn on the road behind us.

My heart lurches into my throat.

They’re still coming.

“We have to get out,” Tyler says at the same time I think it. “They’re coming after us. We need to get into the woods.” He reaches beneath his seat and pulls out a gun. Then he releases my seatbelt and touches my shoulder. Worry reflects in his gaze. “Are you okay, Mel? Do you think you can walk?”

Honestly, I feel numb. But I just bob my head and say, “I’m fine.”

He stares at me for a second, assessing. His expression clouds. Whatever he sees in my face, he’s unhappy with. “Mel⁠—”

“I’m fine,” I repeat more firmly. “We need to go.”

Tyler looks at me for a moment longer before he turns to grab the door handle. “I’ll come get you,” he says. Then he climbs out and rushes around to my side of the car. As soon as he opens the passenger side door, he reaches in and pulls me out, using his body to shield me.

Once my feet hit the ground, I sway slightly. Tyler’s arm comes around me, holding me steady. “I’ll carry you,” he says as he starts to pick me up.

“No, I’ve got it.” I straighten my legs and stiffen my back. “I’m good.”

Not far away, the angry squeal of tires approaches.

They’re coming.

Terror brings another surge of adrenaline.

“I’m good,” I insist. “Come on!”

With Tyler’s arm still wrapped around me, we race deeper into the woods, trying to put distance between us and the men coming after us. The further we go, the more obvious Tyler’s limp, and a quick glance at his face shows the pain he’s in.

From somewhere behind us, a man shouts, “They’re not in the car!”

Another man snaps back, “Find them, then!”

Tyler’s arm tightens around me. His arm is like steel. When I trip over a branch, he just hauls me along. Despite the pain he’s in, he doesn’t slow down.

Just as my lungs are beginning to burn, he makes an abrupt turn. A fallen tree rests at an angle on another one, and he hurries me towards it. Once we reach the V of trees, Tyler pushes me ahead of him and says urgently, “Hide. Get yourself tucked underneath. Quick.”

Obediently, I wedge myself beneath the rotting tree trunk, then look back up at Tyler. But he’s not following me. “Come on,” I tell him. “There’s room. We can hide⁠—”

“Stay there,” he interrupts. “Don’t come out, no matter what you hear.”

“What?” I gape at him. “We can hide. I have my tracker⁠—”

“No. I need to stop them. Just stay, Mel. I can’t do this if you’re with me. I need you safe.” His expression shifts from determined to pleading. “Please, Mel. I need to know you’re safe.”

I don’t want to agree. I want to beg Tyler to stay. But I know I’d just be wasting valuable time, and putting both of us in danger in the process. Instead, I just whisper, “Please, be careful.”

“I will.” He leans down and kisses me hard on the lips. Then he shoves his gun into my hand. “If anyone comes at you, shoot them.”