Chapter 13 - Drive or Die
A wet, choking gasp tore from Vance’s mouth.
Blood welled instantly around the steel blades as he collapsed backward onto the hood of his pristine Escalade, the tablet flying out of his hand and clattering across the asphalt.
"NATE, GET IN THE TRUCK!" Elena screamed, her voice tearing raw with bloodcurdling ferocity.
The two tactical guards yelled in shock, drawing their sidearms.
Nate didn't hesitate. He threw himself into the driver's seat of the F-150, slammed the door, and jammed his thumb against the ignition button.
The V8 engine roared to life.
Elena sprinted around the front, diving headfirst into the passenger seat just as a round shattered the passenger-side wing mirror with a deafening CRACK.
"GO! GO! GO!" she screamed, slamming the door shut.
Nate threw the transmission into reverse, stomping the accelerator to the floor. The heavy truck rocketed backward out of the driveway, the rear bumper slamming violently into the side of the lead Escalade with a crunch of bending sheet metal and shattering safety glass.
Tires spun, smoking on the wet asphalt. Nate threw the gear into drive, cut the wheel hard, and floored it.
Bullets peppered the tailgate—THWACK-THWACK-THWACK—as the remaining guard fired frantically into the darkness. Maya was screaming at the top of her lungs in the backseat, terrified by the gunfire and the screeching tires.
Nate blew through the suburban stop sign, taking the corner on two wheels, the truck fish-tailing before catching traction and hurtling down the empty, dark boulevard toward the interstate entrance.
In the passenger seat, Elena was covered in Vance’s blood, her chest heaving, her fingers shaking so violently she could barely hold her phone.
"Are they behind us?!" Nate shouted, checking the rearview mirror with a sweat-stung eye.
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Elena twisted around. Down the straight stretch of highway, two sets of high-intensity LED headlights flickered on, cutting through the mist at terrifying speed.
"They're coming," Elena whispered, her voice trembling. "They're not going to stop, Nate. They can't let us leave with that data."
