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The man nods and I follow Tori to her car. I slide into the passenger seat of her black Mercedes G-Wagon as she pulls her gun from her bag and checks to see if it’s loaded.
Seconds later, she tears out of the circular driveway and down the street. I grip the leather seat as the car shuttles toward the gated entrance to Indian Creek Island. With a quick wave, she drives through the gate, speeding up as we approach a nearby bridge.
“If something happens to her,” Tori mumbles to herself, gripping the steering wheel. “My God, no. Not her, too.”
“We’re going to find her,” I say in a soft voice. “You have to think positive.”
Tori scoffs. “Do we live in the same world, princess? My baby sister is being hunted right now. Dmitri will kill her if he or any of his goons find her. Do you get that no amount of positivity can save her right now? We’re her only hope right now.”
“Where is she?”
Tori speeds down Bay Drive, headed toward Bal Harbour. “She’s at the Bal Harbour Shops so that’s good. Lots of people around.”
“How’d she manage to get there?”
Tori slams her hand on the steering wheel. “Oh, I guess I forgot to ask her that. Along with what she had for breakfast this morning.”
“You don’t have to be such a raving bitch. I’m on your side, remember?”
She rolls her eyes. “Fabulous. I feel so privileged.”
I’ve never had the urge to punch a woman in the face, but here we are. And Tori’s face looks primed for my fist. A few deep breaths do nothing to calm me, so I turn my attention to the window.
Palm trees zip past, thick fronds billowing in the sea breeze. The tall grasses surrounding them are lush and thick, but I can still catch glimpses of Biscayne Bay through them. My heart finally settles into a normal pattern of beating.
Everything will be fine. Luka will figure out the mystery of that list. My father will be innocent in all of this. We will find and save Val.
Positivity. Fuck Tori. It definitely works. I feel calmer alrea–
“Natasha!”
Crash!
Our collective screams pierce the air in the cabin, the truck spinning in a full circle before careening off the road and into the trunk of a nearby palm tree.
A rush of breath expels from my lungs on impact. I clutch a hand to my chest. My body trembles violently as panic floods my insides.
I turn to see Tori slumped over the steering wheel. I give her a shake. “Tori, wake up!”
I slowly push her against the seat. No blood, which is good. She must have slammed her head against the wheel or the window.
“Please, please, wake up,” I say, my voice quivering. Tears sting my eyes, blurring my vision. Bright morning sunlight blazes through the cracked windshield, and I bring a hand to my eyes to shield them.
“Mnphnd,” Tori mutters, her eyes fluttering open. She raises a hand to her head. “Ow,” she moans.
“Somebody hit us and then we hit a tree…” My voice trails off just as my eyes catch a shadow moving toward the car. I blink fast, my pulse slamming harder as the form becomes more defined.
It’s a man dressed in black. No…
My brain is still foggy from the collision, and my eyes struggle to make sense of the scene unfolding in front of us.
It’s more than one man. There are three men, each bigger than the other.
“They were waiting for us. Oh my God, Tori, we need to get out of here. They’re coming.”
She holds her head and looks at me, her eyes glazed over. “Who’s coming?”
“Whoever hit us. They must have followed us from Indian Creek. They knew we were leaving to get to Val! Come on, I can pull you out on my side.” I almost choke on the knot of tears in my throat. “Now.”
