We peel out real quick. With Priest on the scope, we had a pretty good view of the other car coming, so we had a bit of time, but we need to move fast to catch up with it.
We take the little side road that led to the cabin back to the highway and head in the direction the runner’s car was driving.
I punch the gas, gunning it to catch up to the runner’s car, which is a massive SUV.
I laugh as I feel that rush that comes with the speed and with knowing we’re about to do this fucking thing. River’s eyes are intent on the windshield, looking out at the road ahead of us, searching for the SUV.
It takes a couple of minutes, but then we see it up ahead, looming all big and black and ready for the taking.
The lights are off on our car, and we drive quickly toward the SUV. I hit the gas as I get near it, wrapping my fingers tight around the steering wheel. This whole thing is my shit, the stuff I love. It’s dangerous to be speeding along like this, and I’m driving wildly, but with purpose and control. The car does what I want and only what I want, and I keep nudging it forward, my heart leaping every time the engine roars.
“Come on,” I whisper under my breath and tap the back of the SUV with our car, trying to run it off the road.
The SUV swerves a little and then course corrects, and the driver lays on the horn for a second, like he’s trying to warn me off. Like I’m some random ass driver on the road who got too close.
I grin that savage grin and gun it one more time, using our car’s smaller size to get it up right alongside the SUV and start bearing to the right.
It swerves hard, and I drop back, but then the driver corrects again. “Fuck,” I curse under my breath.
River’s leaning forward in her seat, one hand wrapped tightly around the door handle. She licks her lips and glances over at me, and I smile back at her.
We’re just getting started.
“Sit back,” I tell her. “And make sure you’re buckled in. Shit’s about to get wild.”
She just nods and checks her seatbelt before making a conscious effort to sit back further in her seat. The last thing I want is for her to get hurt in the middle of this, but she knows there’s a chance, and she’d rather see this through than try to wait somewhere where she’ll be safe. Got to admire her for that.
One more time, I hit the gas and ram the SUV to the side, sending it veering off the road. I can’t hear the driver, or even see him really, but I like to imagine he’s cursing up a storm while he tries to get his shit together.
That last hit sends the message that someone’s trying to fuck said shit up though, and the driver’s side window rolls down. There’s a split second where I see the gun before it starts firing, and I manage to slam on the brakes in time to avoid the bullets.
We stop in time, but the other car with Gage, Priest, and Ash in it almost barrels right into the back of us.
“Shit!” River curses, holding on to her seat.
“Warned you,” I tell her, glancing over quickly to make sure she’s alright. “Hold on.”
Full sentences are out the window now, and I’m focused only on the SUV ahead of us. It starts to get farther away, putting on speed to get away from us since the driver knows something’s up. But I’ve got it in my sights now. I’m like a shark with blood in the water, and I’m not letting up until this shit is done.
I slam on the gas and we shoot forward, creeping up past seventy, eighty, ninety miles an hour. The car squeals a little as I put it through its paces, but I don’t let up. Not until I’m right on the runner’s tail.
I jerk the wheel hard to the right, and we press into the side of the SUV at a hundred and something miles an hour. Even if the driver could correct in time, he doesn’t have the space to play with, and the SUV goes veering off down the side of the road.
Up here in these mountains, there’s not a lot between the road and the embankments, and the runner’s going too fast to do anything about it. The SUV crashes over the side and rolls down the embankment with a screech of metal.
It’s loud as fuck, and I hit the brakes, burning a little rubber as I bring us to a stop on the side of the road. The car Gage is driving is right behind us, and they stop too.
River and I pile out of the car, and when the other’s join us, we all head down the embankment to see if the job is done.
I can tell River wants to run along, but she takes it slowly, picking her way down the rocky slope. We make it down to where the SUV ended up, upside down and already smoking from the back.
Perfect. That means the drugs will be destroyed.
“Knox,” Gage says, and his voice seems loud in the quiet after the crash. “Make sure he’s dead.”
I nod and step closer to the vehicle. Before I even get to the door, the passenger side door is kicked open, and gunfire rings out.
“Fuck!” I hear Ash yell, and we dive for cover. Luckily, there are a shit ton of trees down here, so we have places to hide.
Dammit. This isn’t a part of the plan. The driver was supposed to die in the crash. We have to make sure he’s dead and doesn’t leave the scene, but we can’t shoot him. This whole thing has to look like an accident. Like he lost control up on these winding roads and died in the car crash, so there can’t be a fucking bullet hole in his head.
I can’t see the others or River, but I know what the new plan has to be. We have to keep this guy from escaping.
“Gage!” I call out, pitching my voice loud. “Sound off!”
“Here!” Gage calls back, sounding like he’s a little ways away. In the brush, I hear a stumble of footsteps, and then I see the driver. He’s walking through the trees with his gun out, head turning from side to side every time he hears a sound.
“Knox!” That’s Ash’s voice, from a little bit behind where I am. The driver swivels in that direction, and I hear him curse very softly. He walks in a slow circle, like he’s not sure which way to turn, and that’s exactly what I want.
He starts backing up, moving back toward the crash site. Then someone, probably Priest or River judging by the direction, snaps a heavy branch. That spooks the runner, and he whips back around, raising his gun.
He’s facing away from me now, and that’s all I need.
I run full tilt, bum rushing the guy. He hears me before I reach him and whirls around, managing to fire off a bullet before I tackle him to the ground.
“Shit,” he hisses, trying to fight me off. I’ve got size on my side though, and it’s not hard to keep him pinned down while he bucks and lashes out at me. His gun goes flying away, and he beats at me with his hands before I get mine around his head.
With a swift twist, I snap his neck, giving him an injury that could appear to have come from the crash if anyone gets nosy.
His body goes limp under me, and I let out a slow breath. Now that the job is done, my arm throbs a little, and I notice the bullet he fired off grazed me. But it’s fine. Probably won’t even need stitches.