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We drove for about ten minutes before Elena stopped at the side of the road near a gas station.
I climbed out of the trunk and she handed me my bag.
“The cab should be here any minute.”
I looked over my shoulder. “Are you sure we weren’t followed?” I couldn’t believe I’d gotten away so easily. I was almost disappointed. Which just showed how cracked in the head I was; part of me had hoped I’d be stopped.
“Positive,” Elena said. Just as she gave me a hug, a cab stopped right next to the car. “I told the driver to take the scenic route when leaving the city.”
I nodded. Unlike what Kristoff might expect, I wasn’t rushing to the airport, where he could easily find me.
My heart hurt as I looked back over my shoulder. We’d barely left the city limits and I was already feeling homesick. The taxi driver had no idea of my anxiety and kept talking about his mother-in-law, who apparently was over at his house all the time.
“I mean, does she have to be there at ten in the morning on a Sunday?” he complained.
I made a noncommittal sound. I felt hollow as I stared out of the window. The light of the moon was shut off frommebyoverarchingtrees. One side of the road was illuminated by sparse street lights.
A pair of yellow lights shone in the rearview mirror, but they weren’t all that close. I relaxed when the car didn’t seem tonear me. I leaned against the back seat, chiding myself for being paranoid. Had they been Kristoff’s men, they wouldn’t just let the taxi mosey on. I’d instructed the driver to take an off the path road, instead of the highway. I knew Damon would eventually locate the cab. I just hoped to be far away by then, in another city.
I looked at my phone. I wasn’t sure where my journey would end, so I had told the driver to go north, because it was as good a direction as any. After my escape, I had texted Onyx to give her a heads up. I didn’t have the time to wait for her perfect escape plan, but I did still need her help.
Something slammed into the back of the taxi, and the car spun as metal hit metal. My world turned upside down. I blinked my eyes open, and I was on the taxi’s floor, staring up at the ceiling in a daze.
I pushed myself up by grabbing the seat and checked the driver. His head had hit the steering wheel and he was out cold.
A prickle at the back of my neck made me look out the back window. Two men were walking up to the car. They were the only people on the otherwise abandoned road. My heart lurched when one of them took out a gun.
I grabbed my bag, which I located underneath the back seat, and jumped out of the car.
I needed to get away. I also needed to lure them away from the poor taxi driver who had ended up as part of something that had nothing to do with him.
Was it Sokolov who was coming after me? I never trusted that man. Especially not after what I had learned.
There were neon green lights about a mile up ahead. A gas station perhaps. Could I make it? Gritting my teeth, I stomped in that direction.
I dialed Onyx while running as fast as I was able.
“I’m not much of a talker,” Onyx answered. “It’s why I’m sending you text messages.” The ‘duh’ was implied.
“I don’t give a crap!” I snapped, not in the mood for sarcasm. “I need your help.”
A gunshot rang out and I yelped. I kept closer to the trees, and as far away from the street lights as possible.
Onyx swore. “Is someone shooting at you?”
“I wish it was just someone. There’s two of them.” I jumped over a thick branch and thanked the gods I didn’t fall flat on my face.
“I can’t believe Romanov is trying to kill you for leaving him. I mean, I get he’s a ruthless kingpin and all, but I heard that he had a code against hurting women and kids.”
“It’s not him.” I panted and felt drops of sweat trickling down the middle of my back. Kristoff had his issues but would never shoot me. Suddenly, homesickness bloomed inside me to epic proportions. Typical for me to realize I didn’t want to leave just as I was about to be murdered in the middle of the woods. When had my life turned into a slasher movie?
“Well, that’s a relief,” Onyx jabbed.
“Relief?” I hissed, nearly stumbling over a log. “Seriously, you think it’s time to feel relief right now?”
Another gunshot sounded, and this time the bullet hit a tree too close to my location. Cursing, I picked up my pace.
Onyx sighed. “This is bad.”
