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Fear tried to grip her composure, but Veronica reacted to the lethal threat as she’d been trained. Adrenaline fueled her shoulder muscles as they strained through the most important pull-up of her life. Ducking her head under the glass pane, she dove out into the dark night, prepared to curl into a ball and roll when she hit the hard gravel below.

She said a silent prayer before making the last push with her arms, and braced for the harsh fall to come. The whoosh of night air rushed past her ears as she fell—

Into two hard bands. Arms. Her stomach sank. How had Rex’s guard Bulldog caught her so easily?

Chapter 15

Bright lights flashed and Dylan grunted as Veronica’s fist made contact with his left eye. A hard slap to the right side of his face stung as she fought like hell, mistaking him for the enemy. He tightened his grip and managed to turn his body to where they had to go. To run. To escape. To live.

“Stop! It’s me.” He felt her body freeze, but still wrought with the tremors brought on by adrenaline. He knew she was experiencing the same fear that coursed through his center. They were up against it, “it” being life or death.

“Dylan? What the hell?” Recognition was instantly replaced by anger. “Why are—”

He dumped her onto the ground, grabbed her hand. “You’re welcome for saving your ass. We have to go, now!”

He tugged but needn’t have. Veronica ran at pace with him across the gravel and onto the main parking lot asphalt. Behind them, the back door of the nightclub opened with a harsh bang followed by gunshots.

“You’re dead, Monique!” Rex yelled.

Dylan spared a glance over his shoulder. “Rex and Bulldog behind us.”

“Gus and Will are here. They’ll—”

“Already taken care of.” Dylan didn’t break stride. “They’re busy trying to get their vehicle going.”

“Good work!” She meant it. Two drug honchos after them was plenty. “Where to?” Veronica replied as she kept up with him.

“Big truck, farmer’s field.” He kept his voice low in between deep breaths.

“Following you.” She gave him the lead. He told her where to duck, when to get on all fours to throw off their lethal assailants. They crawled across gravel between rows of vehicles. Lucky for them and aiding their escape, several patrons were exiting the nightclub, no doubt eager to experience the effects of their recent purchases. Rex and Bulldog were still on the chase but Rex no longer shouted for Monique.

He’d parked their escape vehicle well outside of the parking lot, in the grassy field adjacent the asphalt lot. The grass was like straw from the dry October, stabbing needles of pain into his knees through his dark jeans.

“Hurry.” He reached up from the asphalt to open the passenger door of a souped-up GMC Sierra Denali 3500HD, motioned for her to climb in. The vehicle was lifted and several feet higher from the ground than a standard pickup. “Can you drive this?” He kept his voice low, barely audible.

Her reply was nonverbal as she scrambled into the cab, the soles of her high-heeled boots briefly filling his vision before she shimmied over the center console that separated the two front seats. He hoisted himself up into the passenger seat. He didn’t close his door, not yet. The slightest sound could give away their exact location. And give Rex a perfect target.

“Keys?” She peered at the dash.

“It’s keyless. They’re in my pocket.”

“Roger that. I’m going to focus on driving. You’re our lookout,” Veronica said.

“Right. Hang on before you start the engine. I don’t think they know where we are.”

Dylan saw flashlight beams streaking across the lot, getting closer, as several other cars pulled out of their spots and left. He had to stifle the deep urge to warn the patrons, to shout for them to lie low. The chances that Rex or Bulldog would mistake an innocent bystander for him or Veronica were high.

The sooner he and Veronica escaped, the safer Frisky’s patrons would be. As he looked again, he realized Bulldog and Rex were shining their powerful flashlights into each windshield as the cars left via the only paved exit.

“We’re going to have to go around them.” He didn’t want them to suspect this vehicle as it was the only one he had available for their escape and what he expected to be days in the middle of nowhere, North Dakota. Maybe even Saskatchewan.

“We’re too high up for them to light us up,” she observed.

“But they’ll know it’s us if we speed by them, or go through the field.” His gut twisted as he thought aloud.

The sound of screeching tires drew her attention and he looked through the windshield. To his amazement, a low-slung vintage Camaro roared out of the lot, speeding past Rex and Bulldog. Shots were fired but the sports car kept going.

“They missed! Phew. But wait—they think we’re in the Camaro.” Veronica leaned over the steering wheel, watching the activity. “Look, they’re running for Rex’s SUV!”