“Take the next exit,” Dani said, turning around again to face forward. “Nicely. Like we’re all fat and happy.”
“Hey!” Elaina objected, glancing critically at her waistline. Maria dug into her purse and pulled out a handgun. “Oh, that’s lovely,” Elaina said, easily distracted, a large smile on her face. “Can I touch?”
“I thought William searched you,” Dani said, looking at her mother with new respect, “back at the house.”
“Keep something in mind, my angel,” Maria said with a wink. “Most men view a lady’s purse as the source of all things icky. No man wants to rummage in a woman’s purse, that’s why they invariably choose to dump it all out and let her put it back together.” She showed a hidden zipper. “I had this specially made. The fibers around the pouch disguise the shape of the gun, and even let it pass through x-ray machines without sending off a warning.”
“My dear,” Elaina cried, pausing in a reverent stroke of gun barrel that had Dani feeling like she was interrupting something. “Please! You must tell me where you shop! I had no idea of any of this!”
Maria smiled modestly, retrieving her weapon and pausing to check the load. “Well, this was a custom order.”
“Well, can you connect me with the vendor? I would love one of my own, just for family, after all.” Elaina smiled sweetly.
Maria coughed. “I’ll see what I can do,” she said as Marcus hit the turn signal to indicate they were getting off at the next exit. The red Dodge immediately moved into the slow lane. Marcus pulled up the hill, turn signal indicating a left-hand turn, and the Dodge followed suit.
“Yep, confirmed!” Dani said, having shifted to where she could see without being blatantly obvious about it. “They’re not very good at this, are they?” She pulled her seatbelt, testing the attachment. Maria did the same. Elaina pulled hers, though it was obvious she didn’t know why she was doing it. The result was the same. It held, and she would be as safe as she could be under the circumstances.
Marcus, eyes firmly fastened on the road in front of him, quietly said, “Ready.”
“GO!” Dani called, and Marcus gunned the car. The light was red, and he ran it. Traffic careened sideways to avoid the sudden intrusion, and collided with each other as he blew through the intersection and headed for the on ramp in front of him.
The red Dodge, two cars back, suddenly rammed the vehicle in front of it, shoving it into the car ahead and pushing them both into the intersection. One climbed the median and collided with a car already stopped from Marcus’ machinations. The other car spun, and the Dodge now pressed against the passenger door, shoving it sideways across the intersection. The Dodge was straining, pushing hard against its victim, when the car being shoved blew out the driver’s side front tire and spun again, smashing into the guard cable that strung from the edge of the overpass, covering the drop-off to the freeway below. It hung there, a half ton of steel suspended by a thin cable. Dani winced, murmuring a prayer that everyone would be all right, her hand clenching the seat in front of her.
The Dodge roared a challenge through the smashed hood and tore out after Marcus, burning its tires on the asphalt as it ran.
From her view in the back seat, Dani watched the car tear through the traffic and grab the freeway. It began to gain, proving that, while the driver might not have been the best where tailing was concerned, he made up for lack of finesse in aggression.
Marcus drove on the shoulder, switching lanes, and letting the speedometer hit 80. When they came into an area where the traffic was heavy he barely slowed, switching to the shoulder in the fast lane at a speed that set Dani’s teeth on edge. Door handles screamed as they rubbed against the concrete barriers between lanes. Dani could feel the pull of friction on the car, but Marcus kept it straight, and when there was an open pocket again he jerked the wheel around and took them to the shoulder on the other side.
The Dodge’s driver wasn’t quite so skilled. They, too, drove down along the wall of concrete, but they were slowed down as the entire length of the car screamed against the barrier. The torque on the vehicle twice drove it into the wall where the already smashed front was torn off.
The fender and front bumper rolled under its own tires; the hood was damaged beyond repair and hung limply from the remaining hinge. They didn’t wait until they had cleared traffic, but insinuated themselves into an area where a small red Datsun already existed.
The Datsun spun and collided with the traffic beside it, opening a hole the Dodge exploited. Crashing steel and horns erupted behind it, but the Dodge was making up time. They had effectively opened their own unobstructed path to Marcus.
For his part, Marcus whipped around a semi and was hanging in its shadow. He cut in front of the semi, causing it to lock its airbrakes. The trailer spun, shutting off the freeway behind it, and Marcus raced to the next exit, an on-ramp that connected to another freeway.
This road was less traveled, and he was able to gun the engine.
Dani watched as they outpaced the exit where they’d left such a mess. Sirens screamed in the distance. She breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived.
“INCOMING!” she cried, and the Dodge leapt over a bump in the road, actually airborne for a moment before crashing down hard, yet somehow still locked in relentless pursuit. It looked like it was half-crazed from the damage done, or at least the driver was, and they closed the gap fast. Really fast.
The back window shattered just before the sound of the gun could be heard. A bullet hole appeared in the front seat between Marcus and Elaina.
“Well, that is not playing by the rules!” Elaina remarked as the sound of the gun indicated another shot. It sounded like they’d hit the trunk. Elaina looked in the side-view mirror. Dani looked with her, the rear window being too shattered to see through.
A man was leaning out of the passenger side, pistol in hand and taking aim.
“Excuse me, dear,” Elaina said, smiling to Maria. “May I?” She took the gun from her and flipped off the safety. “Marcus, have you ever seen The Rockford Files? Remember that move he was famous for?”
Marcus looked at her, and lifted an eyebrow. He took a deep breath and jammed the steering wheel to one side, causing the car to spin. As he did so, he jammed the gear into reverse and hit the gas. They spun around, facing the Dodge and driving backwards at 70 miles an hour.
“Thank you, dear,” Elaina said and popped her seatbelt. She pulled open her door and dropped out of the car.
“NO!” Dani and Maria called at once, but Marcus was holding the woman’s leg. Elaina leaned under the door, her head and arm inches from the tarmac, and fired. Once.