Page 71 of Every Last Breath

Steady.

Maddox dragged in thick, short breaths condensed with humidity, like breathing through a straw.

The path cleared of pedestrians. Cole broke away at a dead sprint, pulling ahead. She pumped her arms, driving her legs harder, forcing her body to go faster still. The tall, rectangular signpost for the Gallery Place Metro station on the corner of H Street stood erect like a beacon.

If the Ghost made it into the station and on a train, they could lose him for good.

Chapter 21

F Street, Washington, DC

12:21 p.m. EDT

No thought of how far he’d have to run, how long he had to push, Cole held a singular focus: catch the Ghost.

To keep Maddox safe, he had to reach the devil first.

Extending his stride in a flat-out sprint, Cole gave it everything. His shoulder hurt like hell.

He was gaining on him. Less than thirty feet, chipping away at the distance with every hot lungful.

Just ahead was the Gallery Place Metro—one of the busiest stations in DC. A throng of passengers streamed in and out of the cavernous entrance. The Ghost wove between people, darting to the left then right, flowing like a stream of water around stones.

Don’t lose him. Stay close. Almost there.

Cole knocked a man out of the way and slipped through a narrow opening in the pedestrian herd. The entrance cleared ahead, and there was Novak.

The Ghost zipped past the station agent, Metrorail vending machines, and vaulted over the turnstile in one fluid motion. Steamrolling forward into the musty air and under the fluorescent lights of the station, Cole hopped the turnstile.

Maddox’s pounding footsteps weren’t far behind.

Cole cut to the east side of the Metro station, keeping sight of the Ghost. Escalators to the trains on the lower level were around a corner. Hopefully, passengers lining the moving staircase would slow Novak down.

What if he deployed the weapon in the station or on the Metrorail? The virus would spread fast with no way to contain it.

Novak hesitated at the escalators and snapped a glimpse over his shoulder, not looking the least bit winded. Their eyes met, and that freakish smile hitched up Novak’s mouth. In a flash, he whirled, facing the escalator.

Then he jumped onto the wide metal panel running between the escalators and slid down.

Shit!

Breathless, Cole reached the escalator and peered over the side. Down a long, steep descent running several stories below ground. Really fucking long and very steep.

Sonofabitch. Novak had no limits and kept pushing the line. Cole hated heights, but that lunatic was getting away, and Maddox was closing in. No time. No time to think.

He vaulted onto the steel divider flanked by the two escalators.

“Dude, you’re crazy,” quipped a teenage kid getting off.

It felt a hell of a lot crazier than it looked. With the constraints of the narrow panel, Cole was forced to roll onto his side as Novak had done. Maddox’s pounding footsteps drew closer. Not giving himself a chance to chicken out, he let go and gravity took him.

In a lightning rush, he zipped down cool, smooth steel feetfirst.

“Cole!” Maddox’s voice echoed overhead.

His jackhammering heart blasted into his throat, followed by his stomach. He slid down the tight divider like a slick stone. The faces of gawking onlookers were a blur. He braced, leaning back against the steep, eighty-foot decline. He almost swallowed his tongue.

To control his breathless descent, he thrust his forearms out to the sides.