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“Look you guys, let’s not do anything dangerous, okay. I don’t want anybody getting hurt on my behalf. Hell, if we are not careful we could cause a multi-car pile-up,” I warned.
“I know I can do this,” Christine insisted.
“Let’s just take the next exit,” I suggested. “And see if he’s able to follow or not. If he does, we’ll find another way.”
Christine’s hand tightened on the steering wheel as she vigilantly moved her gaze between the side and rearview mirrors. “Don’t nobody look behind. We don’t want to warn him that we’re up to something.”
“This next one,” Mandy cried suddenly. “14B. It looks empty enough.”
I was too afraid to even speak.
“Ready?” Mandy said, her voice high with a mix of excitement and fear.
“Yeah,” Christine replied tightly.
“Then step on it,” Mandy shouted.
“If I go any faster, he will guess what we are up to,” Christine yelled back.
Mandy turned around to look at the traffic. “Okay, now!” she screamed, as we were almost on the exit.
I turned my head and saw a huge truck coming on the right of us. “There’s a Mack truck coming up. We won’t make it. Don’t do it,” I screamed.
“Yes, we fucking will make it,” Christine said through gritted teeth as she swerved suddenly to the right. The sound of tires screeching on the hot asphalt ? Mandy screaming, and the furious truck driver blaring his horn at us ? filled the air. We could have caused a fatal accident. I turned to my left and for a split-second I saw into my car, directly at the driver. Our eyes met. And it was as if the world stopped. In that crazy second, something passed between us. A knowing. An inevitability. I knew then I wasn’t going to escape him. Then the moment was over.
Our car accelerated away. We were speeding down the exit we had taken.
“Hell, yeah!” Christine shouted victoriously, whirling her head to look behind at me. She kept gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were bone white. “We fucking lost him. For a moment there, I was sure he was going to reverse on the freaking highway and chase us down the exit.”
“Oh, my God. That was fucking dangerous. I think I’m about to pass out,” Mandy gasped.
I was trembling. I brought my hands to my face and I could see the goosebumps had broken out across my skin. “Let’s hurry. I fear he’s going to somehow catch up to us."
Chapter 17
Sienna
“The airport’s only about twenty-five minutes away,” Mandy said. “Christine, why don’t we just take her there ourselves?”
“No,” Christine said. “He might still be able to find us with this car. It’s best if she just gets a taxi. Mandy, order one now. Tell them we’ll be at Citibank on Sepulveda Boulevard.”
“Uh, I don’t think so,” Mandy retorted. “It’s going to take us a while more to get there.”
“We’ll be there in about eight minutes,” Christine corrected.
“Not with this traffic we won’t.”
Mandy was right. We pulled up behind a row of cars at a red light, and as far down as we could see, the traffic light wasn’t what was causing the delay.
“Don’t worry. I know which side roads to take,” Christine said and ventured off into the east intersecting road.
From then on, I lost any inkling of where we were headed and had no choice but to completely trust her as she drove through side streets and into neighborhoods I’d never been into and never wanted to.
As we passed a group of young men, who looked like thugs, huddled by a fence, Mandy spoke up nervously, “Christine, where the hell are we? Are you lost? This is so not our route.”
“I wanted to avoid the traffic,” Christine said. “I’ve taken these routes before but it was some time ago and I might have taken a wrong turn, but don’t worry I’ll find my way out again. Maybe I’ll recognize the next road …”
“Will we even make it to the airport at this rate?” I asked worriedly.
“Hey, is that car following us?” Mandy observed suddenly.
I swung my head around and saw a nondescript blue Toyota behind us.
“I noticed it a while back,” she continued, “because the numbers on the plate are almost the same as my dad’s car.”
Christine turned into yet another deserted street and suddenly, jammed on the brakes.
It came so sudden I hit my cheek on her headrest.
Mandy was jerked forward violently. “Fuck! Christine,” Mandy cursed.
I raised my head and saw a van had stopped at a slant right in front of us. It was blocking the entire street.
“What the hell?” Christine swore.
“Christine, reverse,” Mandy said, her voice eerily quiet.
“What?”
“Go back! Right now!” Mandy yelled.
Before she could even begin to act, two men in black balaclavas jumped out of the van.
I stared in disbelief. “Go, Christine!” I called sharply, as I stared at the men in shock.
