“Not in this thing. Whatever they’ve got is souped up.”
She glanced over, saw sweat slick and shiny on his forehead. “What do we do?”
The SUV gave him no time to answer. The big vehicle slammed into them again. This time Chase was ready. He jerked the wheel hard, used the weight of the Toyota to hold his ground. The SUV backed off, falling in place behind them. But Lily knew it wouldn’t last.
Turning in her seat, she saw the truck’s bumper loom as the vehicle sped up and rammed them from behind. Lily tried to shout a warning, but she was too late. The Toyota fishtailed. Rubber barked against asphalt. Chase cut the wheel, but the vehicle went into a skid.
“Hang on!” he shouted.
The car spun sickeningly. Lily saw trees and a white fence flash by. Gravel and tufts of grass spewed high into the air as the car slid sideways over the highway shoulder into a ditch. A cry tore from her lips when the seat belt jerked painfully against her belly. Leaning forward, she put her hands over her belly in an effort to protect her child.
Finally the vehicle came to a stop. The next thing Lily knew, Chase was outside the car, yanking the door open.
“Are you all right?” he asked, unfastening her seat belt.
“I think so.” She tried to get out, but a cramp shot through her belly like a hot dagger. Choking back a groan, Lily closed her eyes and fell back against the seat. “Oh, God.”
“Is it the baby?”
“I’m hoping it’s just a Braxton Hicks.”
He looked blankly at her, but she knew there was no time to explain. He scanned the surrounding area for the SUV, but it was nowhere in sight.
“We’re sitting ducks here.” He yanked the pistol from his waistband. Somewhere in the distance, Lily heard an engine rev. And she knew the men in the SUV were not yet finished with them.
Chase knelt, his hand going to hers. “I need you to get out, honey. Right now, because they’re coming back. Can you do that?”
The cramp had passed for the most part, but Lily felt another one waiting at the gate. Still, she nodded her head in acquiescence. Pain edged from her back to her abdomen as she slid from the car and straightened.
“Good girl.” He guided her to the other side of the drainage ditch toward a copse of trees. “This way.”
She ground her teeth and put one foot in front of the other. “Where are we going?”
He stopped and motioned. “See that big red barn over there? I want you to run to it as fast as you can. Don’t look back. Just run. Can you do that?’
Lily nodded, but she didn’t know how fast she could run when the cramping in her abdomen came with increasing ferocity. Worse, she didn’t want to leave Chase. “What about you?”
“I’m going to put a stop to this once and for all.” Giving her a final look, he set his hands on her shoulders and pointed her toward the barn. “Run,” he whispered, and then turned in the direction from which they’d come.
Chapter Twelve
Chase didn’t want to leave Lily unprotected. Damn it, he didn’t want her out of his sight. But he knew both of them would stand a better chance if he went on the offensive. He couldn’t do that with her in tow. Running was her best chance of surviving, so he let her go—and prayed to God he could stop the men with guns before they got to her.
He sprinted back to the Toyota, yanked open the door and jammed his body behind the wheel. Twisting the key, he pumped the gas. The engine turned over on the first try. Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted the SUV twenty yards away. At some point, it had begun to rain again, but Chase barely noticed. Standing next to the SUV, two men—one with a rifle, the other with a pistol—started toward him.
Knowing he had only a few seconds before they started blasting, he rammed the shift into gear and floored the accelerator. The tires spun, spewing dirt and gravel high into the air. The car fishtailed. Then the tires grabbed asphalt and shot forward.
The men simultaneously dropped into a shooter’s stance. Weapons up, they swung toward the speeding car—and Chase. The first shot blew a hole the size of his fist in the windshield. Cracks in the safety glass spread like spidery veins. Something thwacked against the passenger headrest so close to his head Chase felt the concussion.
But he didn’t stop. He knew the odds were high that he would get shot before he mowed them down. But Chase was nearly out of ammo. His most powerful weapon at the moment was the car, and he intended to put it to good use.