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“Too far,” Bang Bang said with a shake of his head. “I can try hitting the boat, maybe go for the engine.”
“That thing is bulletproof. It won’t work.”
“Mierda,” Bang Bang said. “This is bad.”
Roman looked to his left, uttering a curse under his breath before saying, “And it’s about to get worse.”
He ran back to the captain’s chair. “I see them, Roman.”
The coast guard was heading directly for them in two all-black boats with machine guns mounted to the bow. The officer spoke through the loudspeaker. “This is the United States Coast Guard, and we’re asking you to stop immediately.”
Roman looked back to Mustang, who rolled her eyes and took a sharp turn, the momentum pushing Roman and Bang Bang toward the other side of the boat. She somehow pushed it to speed even faster, the splashes against the hull growing in size.
“We have to be careful with those guns. And we don’t want to shoot back—I don’t want us hurting people who are just doing their jobs.”
“I have Leonidas’ boat in my view, broki. Still can’t get a clear shot, though.”
They were getting closer, but not by much. If anything, the coast guard appeared to be gaining on them faster than they were gaining on Leonidas. This wasn’t good. Far, far from it. Roman bit on the inside of his cheek. He looked over his shoulder at Wyatt, who was gripping onto the side of the boat as if he were scared he’d be tossed off.
He had to keep his crew safe. If they were caught by the coast guard, they’d likely end up back in jail. All four of them. Orchestrating another breakout would be as impossible as rescuing Mimic seemed.
He could try. He could tell Mustang to keep pushing, keep going. He didn’t want to see Leonidas and Mimic disappearing out into the ocean. He wanted to make that motherfucker pay for everything he had done to them. He wanted to will Poseidon himself to rise up out of the ocean and strike Leonidas down with a blow from his golden, coral-encrusted trident.
But he also knew that what he wanted didn’t matter a flying fuck. In the grand scheme of things, he was an ant crawling around on a floating rock, his wants even smaller.
“We have to stop the chase,” he said to Mustang, almost losing his balance as he walked back to her side.
“What? Fuck no. No, Roman, I’m not leaving Mimic.”
“We have to, Mustang.” He had to shout over the whipping winds. “The coast guard is catching up to us, and we’re getting further and further from Leonidas. We have to turn up that canal. We need to lose the coast guard.”
“I’m not doing that, Roman. I’m sorry, I’m not.” A muscle in Mustang’s jaw twitched, her forehead wrinkling.
“If we get caught, then not only is Artemis fucked, but so are we. We wouldn’t be able to rescue her. But if we lose them, then we can work around the clock to make sure we get her back.”
“He’s a monster, Roman. Please.”
The canal was coming up on their right. It would take them up and around a small community, dumping them into the ocean, near the beach where they could run off and find a car to get them out of there.
From behind them, the officer spoke again, sounding even closer than before. “Stop immediately, or we will shoot. I repeat, we will shoot.”
“I understand what you’re feeling right now, and I wish there was something I could do to make it all stop, but Mustang, you have to listen to me. We can’t help Mimic from behind bars.”
“We haven’t done anything wrong. They can’t arrest us.”
“The six or seven dead men at the hideout say otherwise.” Roman didn’t blame Mustang for being blinded by the intense fear she felt for the person she most loved in this world. He reached a hand out to comfort her, but she winced away, shaking her head. Her cheeks were wet and not from the ocean spray.
The canal drew closer. If she kept going, they would lose their chance at escape and would either have to fight their way out or surrender, neither of which Roman thought were good options.
“I promise you. We’ll get her back.” Roman’s voice was steeped in urgency and honesty. He would make it his life’s mission to rescue Mimic from the hands of that psycho, but he would need Mustang to trust him first. She had a fire that burned bright hot inside of her and wasn’t afraid to butt heads with him. They’d fought before, but never over a moment that was this crucial. Their entire lives could be altered by a single choice, and Mustang was the only one able to make it.
“I’m sorry,” she said, dropping her head, curls falling across her forehead and covering her eyes. Roman felt his heart drop, seeing that her mind was made up. They would need to figure another way out of this, then.
