He couldn’t help it; the way she’d used the word “we” made him grin. Standing there in her scrubs and swollen belly, she did not look like a car thief. “That’s the easy part.” He opened the passenger door for her. “Hop in and belt up.”
Lily settled herself into the passenger seat. Giving the parking garage a final sweep, he opened the driver’s side door and went to work on the ignition wiring beneath the steering column. “I never liked these foreign electronics.”
“Makes stealing a car so inconvenient,” she muttered.
Just then, the starter kicked and the engine turned over. “Ah, that’s my girl.” Chase slid onto the seat, strapped in and put the car in gear. “Next stop, Shane’s.”
Chase didn’t want to go there. He didn’t want to be indebted to his half brother. After what Shane had done to him eighteen years ago, Chase didn’t care if he ever saw him again. But he would have to put the old hurts of a ten-year-old boy aside. With Lily’s life at stake, neither of them had a choice.
“It’s out of the city,” he said. “You’ll be safe there. And it will give me the chance to get to the bottom of this.”
“Must be our lucky day.” Lily had reached into the console. Smiling, she pulled out a cell phone that was plugged into the cigarette lighter charging.
“Looks like I picked the right car, after all.”
The words were barely out of his mouth when he noticed the glint of headlights ahead. A car coming up the ramp at a fast clip. Too fast to be just another parking-garage patron.
“I think we’ve got trouble.”
“Is it them?”
“That would be my guess.”
The roar of an engine filled the garage. Tires screeched against the concrete floor as the car sped around the corner. It would be upon them in seconds.
“Here they come.” Chase rammed the car into gear.
Lily stared at the shifter in horror. “Why can’t we just duck?”
“If we don’t get out of here now, we never will. Hold on.” Praying he could get past the jammed streets, he floored the accelerator.
Chapter Nine
Lily was no fan of speed. She much preferred slow and steady and the assurance that she would get to her destination in one piece. Chase, on the other hand, didn’t seem to know anything but one speed when it came to any vehicle equipped with an engine: fast. For the first time since she’d known him, they were in full agreement.
The Toyota jumped out of the parking space so fast she was thrown against her seat back. Headlights came at them from the right. Chase spun the wheel left. Tires screeched as the Toyota slid sideways. The next thing she knew they were zipping along the up ramp at freeway speed.
A glance over her shoulder told her the driver behind them was no slouch when it came to speed, either. The car seemed to appear out of nowhere, gaining on them at an astounding rate.
“They’re catching us!” she cried, torn between wanting to get away and wanting to slow down.
“Not for long.”
At the top of the ramp Chase jerked the wheel hard to the right. The vehicle fishtailed, its left rear quarter panel slamming into the concrete barrier wall. The instant the tires grabbed purchase, he gunned the engine and they flew up to the next level.
“What are we going to do when we reach the top?” she asked.
“We go down and pray there’s not another car in the way.”
That left a little too much in the hands of Lady Luck for Lily’s taste, but she didn’t have time to voice her concerns. Chase took the car up another level, around another turn, tires screeching, engine revving so fast she thought it would blow.
By the time they reached the top, the car pursuing them had fallen behind, but only marginally. Chase kept his eyes on the rearview mirror and drove like a madman. An instant before they began their descent, he reached into the waistband of his jeans and pulled out a pistol.
“Take this,” he snapped.
“You’re kidding.”
“Put your hand out the window and fire off a few shots.”
Lily stared at him, incredulous. “I’ve never fired a gun before in my life.” But she took the gun.
Chase already had her window lowered. “We just want to slow them down.”
The weapon felt cold and deadly in her hand. Lily turned in her seat. Chase made a sharp right turn, throwing her against the safety belt.
“Do it,” he said. “Now.”
Lily was right-handed, but she couldn’t get a good angle, so she turned in her seat and put the weapon in her left hand. No time to aim. No time to think about repercussions. She pulled the trigger. The retort and the kick startled her so much she nearly dropped the weapon. But she didn’t. Gripping it with a hand wet with sweat, she fired off two more shots. Chase accelerated down the ramp, his eyes flicking from the rearview mirror to the garage ahead.
The vehicle behind them spun left and then right, coming to an abrupt stop crossways on the ramp.
“Got ’em,” Chase said.
Even though the men pursuing them meant them harm, the thought of shooting another human being made Lily feel sick. As if realizing the route her mind had taken, Chase glanced her way. “You shot the engine block,” he said.
“Are you sure?”