The windshield imploded. Glass pelted him. Through the gaping hole, he saw the men scatter. Chase cut the wheel and went after the man with the rifle. A sniper was always the most dangerous.
The rifleman turned and ran toward the ditch on the opposite side of the road, but he was no match for the speeding car. Using every driving skill he’d amassed over the years, Chase took the car into the ditch after the gunman. The man jumped on a three-rail fence and tried to scale it to escape into a cornfield. Under any other circumstances, Chase would have tried to take him alive to glean information from him later. Tonight, all he cared about was keeping Lily safe.
He floored the accelerator and the engine roared as the car bounced over rough ground. Midway over the fence, the gunman turned and raised his hands as if to protect himself. Chase hit the brake, but the vehicle skidded the rest of the way through dirt and grass. It struck both the fence and the gunman. Wood splintered and flew high into the air. The impact sent the man twenty feet into the field. He didn’t get up.
One down and one to go, Chase thought as he rammed the car into Reverse. He hadn’t noticed that the engine had died. He turned the key and pumped the gas, but the motor only groaned. Throwing open the door, he hit the ground, running toward the downed man to confiscate the rifle.
He was almost there when a gunshot split the air. The bullet kicked up dirt inches from Chase’s right foot. When he didn’t stop, a second shot tore through the material of his slacks. Chase skidded to a halt.
“Game over,” said a voice from behind him. “Get your hands up, Vickers.”
The unmistakable sound of a pistol being cocked froze his blood in his veins. Chase couldn’t believe the man had gotten the drop on him. You’re getting sloppy, Vickers.
Chase raised his hands and slowly turned. Even with his hair wet from the falling rain, he recognized the man. The same man who’d ambushed him in the limo back at Hancock Tower.
“So we meet again,” the man said.
“Who the hell are you and what do you want?”
“You, my friend. This is all about you. And the woman, of course.” The man smiled, his eyes scanning the surrounding darkness. “She couldn’t have gotten far now, could she?” His smile chilled Chase. “I take it the baby is yours?”
Chase wanted to rip him apart with his bare hands, but he shoved the emotions aside. In this business, emotions were what got people killed.
“I have no ties to her or the kid,” he lied, desperate to buy time. If his calculations were correct, he had one bullet left in the pistol. If they were going to get out of this alive, he was going to have to make it count.
“Valiant effort, Vic. But you see, I’ve been a good boy. I did my homework. I know all about you and Ms. Garrett.”
“Then you know we’ve been through for a long time.”
The other man smiled. “Then you won’t mind too much when I put a bullet in her, will you?”
Staving off burgeoning panic, Chase stared at him, his mind scrambling. He couldn’t shake the same keen sense of familiarity he’d felt back in Boston. Where had he seen this guy before?
“Do I know you?” Chase asked, stalling.
“Let’s just say you know of me.”
“You’re familiar. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you before.”
“We’d never laid eyes on each other until last night.”
“If we’ve never met, then what’s this all about?”
Even in the darkness Chase saw hatred flash in the other man’s eyes. “I’m merely repaying a debt.”
“For who?” Willing his nerves to settle, Chase sidled closer. “Your father?”
“Don’t be a hero. Drop your weapon and kick it toward me.”
“Which son are you?”
“Get back.”
Chase inched closer. “Tell me why you’re doing this. If you’re going to kill me, anyway, I deserve to know that much.”
The man assumed a shooter’s stance. “I’ll kill you where you stand, you backstabbing bastard. And then I’ll kill the woman. I’ll put a bullet right through her belly. Right through the baby. And I’ll make sure you’re conscious so you can watch her bleed out.”
Rage mingled with cold, hard fear and spread through Chase’s body like ice water running through his veins. The first rule of military or law enforcement was that you never gave up your weapon. He didn’t intend to break that golden rule, but if it came down to Lily’s life or giving up his weapon, what could he do?
“In a few minutes,” Chase said, “this place is going to be crawling with cops.”
A chilling smile overtook the man’s face. “Then I guess I’d better hurry things along and get this show on the road.”
With lightning-fast speed, the man shifted the gun and fired. Shock stabbed Chase. White-hot pain knifed through his right hand all the way to his elbow. Instinctively, he used his left hand to grasp his injured right. When he looked down and saw blood, another layer of fear enveloped him.
“What the hell did you do that for?” Chase snarled between clenched teeth.