Page 6 of Split You Open

“Heads up. We have company and they’re coming up fast.”

Glancing into the side mirror, I see the black SUV barreling toward us. It’s the same one we lost back in Caddawalk, I’m sure of it.

A wave of calm settles over me as the familiarity of death and years of training kick in. It would be so easy to lock in and stay like this forever. I’m pretty sure this is how Dad gets by most of the time. I can certainly see the appeal.

“Open the sunroof,” I tell Rhett, already reaching to remove my seatbelt.

“What?”

“Rhett, now!” I snap. “I’m going to get rid of them.”

The sunroof slides open slowly. By the time there’s space for me, the SUV is close enough that I can see the passengers.

And the guns they’re holding out their windows.

“Hold the wheel steady, Rhett. They’re going to⁠—”

Bullets start flying. The back windshield breaks and our passenger side mirror is taken off. Rhett swears but he keeps us straight. I brace a knee on the shoulder of his seat and the other knee on mine. With a deep breath, I rise up so my upper half is out of the car and I’m facing trouble.

My eyes lock onto my targets and my finger pulls back on the trigger of my gun.

My bullets sail through their windshield. The man in the passenger seat slumps forward, and I can see I’ve gotten someone in the backseat. The driver must be injured given how dramatic he swerves but he straightens and continues to barrel after us.

Two men lean out the back windows of the SUV, their rifles trained on me and our vehicle.

“Blair…” Rhett calls a warning.

He must see the danger, too.

Their guns go off in rapid succession. Bullets hit the roof and soar around me. My return fire is more accurate. The man on the right side of the car gets a bullet straight between the eyes. He slumps out of the window—his limp body flailing as the driver continues after us. As I turn my attention to the other gunmen, the driver sticks his gun out his window and trains it on me.

I redirect my attention to him but before I can get off another shot, he fires.

His bullet slams into me with a force I haven’t felt in a very long time. The fiery burn and the agony that follows nearly causes me to fall back into the car. It takes everything in me to ignore the pain in my left arm and fire back. The driver slumps over the steering wheel and the SUV veers sharply to the left, off the road and into a ditch.

I fire again, and again, aiming for the gas tank.

The explosion that follows is a fiery ball that’s sure to get the attention of the authorities.

“Holy shit, Blair!” Rhett exclaims with excitement. “That was fucking incredible! How the hell did you manage to do that? Fuck!” He slams his fist into the horn and it blares victoriously. “That was badass!”

My chuckle is weak as I slip back into the car and plop down into my seat. I rip the bottom of my shirt and begin to fold it. “Glad I could entertain you.”

“Do you think that's it or—Oh, shit!” He gasps in horror. “Blair, you’ve been hit!”

The car begins to slow but I snap. “Keep going! I’m fine.”

“But we need to take care of that before you bleed out!” He looks from me to the road, then back to me with wide, horror-filled eyes.

I tuck the folded fabric into my shirt sleeve and press it against the wound. There’s no stopping the grunt I let out as the pain intensifies from the pressure. Sweat starts to bead on my skin and a slight tremor rushes through me.

“I’ll be fine. Let’s just get a new car and get back on the road as soon as possible,” I grit out. Sucking in a deep breath, I admit, “I don’t know where to go from here. The cabin was the last resort safehouse. I’d always thought if I left there it would be with Dad leading me to our next location.”

“My family has a small house up in Maine, just outside of Bar Harbor,” Rhett says. He swallows hard. “There’s no way they would’ve gotten rid of it, even after the divorce. My dad loved it too much to sell it. We can bunker down there until we can come up with a better plan.”

I lean back in my seat and let out a shaky sigh. It takes everything in me to fight back the waves of nausea rushing through me.

“Alright. New clothes, new car, and then we head to Maine. Sounds like a solid plan to me.”