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Maria set the gun down on the seat beside her and pulled a burner phone out of her pants pocket. It slipped out of her bloody hand, and she retrieved it from the dirty floor mat at her feet, cursing as she bent over. Finally, he watched her hit send, prop it between her neck and shoulder, and return her free hand to the wound on her arm.
“We need help,” she said curtly to the person on the other end of the phone. “An untraceable vehicle.”
Teag could only hear Maria’s side of the conversation. The loud rush of air from the shattered window had him straining even to hear that.
“Where? Okay. I think we’re about thirty minutes from there. Thank you.”
Maria powered down the phone, slid it into her pocket, and leaned back against the headrest.
“Get on 41 East,” she said, pointing toward the street signs.
“Got it,” Teag said.
The rush of the wind made it too noisy to hold any real conversation while they drove. With the adrenaline still coursing through his veins, Teag was hyper alert, watching for anyone who could be tailing them, and also on the lookout for police. They were in a stolen vehicle with the back window blown out, after all.
He was under no illusion that he wouldn’t have keeled over by now if he wasn’t sitting down, but more concerning to him, and what kept him glancing toward his right, was Maria.
“Pay attention to the road,” she ordered loudly. “I’m fine.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Well, if she could snipe at him and issue orders like a drill sergeant, she couldn’t be that bad off, he supposed. Still, worry sat like a stone in his gut, distracting him from his own growing discomfort.
She gave him directions any time he needed to turn, but otherwise they traveled in tense silence, both looking in the mirrors and over their shoulders until they reached the empty parking lot of a furniture factory. Teag dutifully pulled into the lot and around the back of the building, where two vehicles waited for them, a black SUV and a gray Toyota Camry.
In the few silent seconds after Teag killed the ignition, he leaned his head back against the seat and squeezed his eyes shut. His body was crashing. The burning in his chest, previously masked by adrenaline, flared with a vengeance. Beside him, he heard Maria’s quick, shallow breaths indicating she too was fighting with her pain. She pulled herself together first.
“Can you move?” she asked, turning her concerned gaze on him.
“I think so.”
The slamming of car doors echoed through the vacant lot, and two men exited the vehicles. Teag didn’t recognize them.
“Who are these guys?” he asked.
“Del Fuego’s men,” she answered.
His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to protest, but the quick shake of Maria’s head silenced him.
She tucked her gun away, opened her door, and got out. He gingerly made his way out of the driver’s side and leaned against the warm hood of the Buick, waiting for the dizziness to pass.
“Here are the keys,” one of the men said to Maria.
“Thank your boss for me,” she answered.
“He said you owe him. Don’t forget.”
Maria nodded her agreement. Teag felt a bit like he’d entered the Twilight Zone.
“You’re bleeding,” the same man said, pointing to Maria’s arm. “Chavez, get the first aid kit.”
Chavez, Teag assumed, opened the trunk of the SUV, pulled out a bag, and tossed it in the trunk of the Toyota.
“Come on, Teag,” Maria said wearily, tossing Chavez the keys to the Buick.
Teag pushed himself off the car, fighting a wave of nausea and blinking away the dark spots, and made his way to their new getaway car, this time collapsing into the passenger seat.
“Where are we going?” he asked when they’d been on the road for a few miles.
