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As I made sure to save the registration number, the car behind neared us with full speed, closing in. A hundred feet, thirty, twenty, ten, three—all in a matter of seconds.
“Oh my god, Jett. Watch out!” I screamed a moment before the car bumped ours, giving us enough of a nudge to send me forward in my seat. The engine roared as our pursuers pushed to overtake us. For a second, they were almost driving next to us, the side windows so dark I couldn’t see inside.
“Shit!” Jett hit the gas pedal and sped past them. My fingers buried in the armrest, I stifled a scream as the car behind us bumped us again, trying to steer us off the road.
“They’re going to kill us. ” My breath came in labored heaps. It wasn’t fear talking; it was knowledge. I just knew we were about to die.
“Not happening!” Jett floored the gas pedal, putting some distance between our pursuers and us.
We reached the narrow roads winding up the mountains. Jett slowed down a little as we entered the first bend.
“Go, go, go!” I screeched as the other car picked up in speed again, trying to close in on us. Any hope that we might not be a target dissipated into thin air.
“What are you going to do?” My breath came shallow.
“Are you wearing your seatbelt?” Jett’s eyes narrowed on the road as we drove higher up the mountain. The car behind us didn’t seem deterred by the poor road conditions, nor the steep stony wall on the driver’s side and the edge followed by a plummeting abyss on my side.
“Yes. ” I held my breath.
“Then hold on tighter. ”
The road ahead seemed to narrow and merge into one lane. At our speed, the bends appeared to twist like menacing snakes. I completely forgot about those. But what worried me more was the one-way road that barely provided enough space for one car, let alone two. I grit my teeth and pressed my hand to my heart, praying no oncoming car would head our way, in which case we couldn’t possibly halt on time. We’d collide, we’d crash, and we’d die.
Please dear Lord, keep us safe.
A scream formed in the back of my throat, but the sound never made its way out. Fear grabbed me, strangled me, until I could do nothing but hold on for dear life.
“Oh god, oh god,” I chanted to myself as Jett maneuvered the bends, each time jerking the wheel to the max, each time sending my body through hell as we neared the edge on my side of the road. I couldn’t even look behind, because each time I glanced in the mirror, all I could focus on was the abyss below. If the other car collided with ours, we’d plummet hundreds of feet into whatever was down there. Or we’d crash against the mountain cliff.
“You okay, baby?” Jett’s voice was surprisingly calm in the midst of the storm. “We’ll make it out of this. ”
How? They’re still behind us, I wanted to scream, but all that came out of my throat was a whimper. Fear held me paralyzed and it was nothing like in the movies. I was sweating, the car was roaring excessively, and were those holes beneath our tires? I could feel each bump; I could feel the gravity of the car; and there was no way one could stay composed, relaxed, and cool.
The car was driving at a high speed—fast enough to send us over the edge if Jett lost control of the wheel even for a nanosecond or didn’t slow down enough at the right time. Yet he maneuvered expertly through each nightmare turn. There was no way on earth somebody with normal driving skills could ever do that.
Already I could see two officers knocking on my mother’s door, relaying the news that I was dead, the headline reading ‘speeding couple crashing on picturesque Italian vacation’ followed by the words ‘tragic accident. ’ Poor Sylvie would blame herself. Knowing her, she’d probably blame Jett, too, thinking he tried to kill me on purpose. Life was so unfair I wanted to scream.
“Hold on,” Jett said. I opened my eyes, only now noticing I must have closed them at some point. We were nearing another bend on the wicked road to hell, after which the road seemed to decline.
We had reached the top of the mountain and now we were heading back down.
This is it. My life ends here—but not before he knows my feelings.
“Jett, I need to tell you something. ” I tried to remain calm, which was impossible with the shaking in my voice and the freezing sensation in my limbs.
“Not now, baby. ” His voice oozed confidence and composure. We took the turn, after which he hit the brake—hard. My head jerked forward and a sharp pain shot through my neck.
“What are you doing?” I screamed when he unbuckled his seatbelt. The other car was out of view, but I was sure it was still behind us. Everything happened so fast, I doubted more than a few seconds passed. He placed his right arm around my seat and turned to get a better view as he went into reverse in full speed, swerving like a madman. Before I knew it, we were on a narrow byroad I didn’t see before. It wasn’t asphalted, and barely more than a running track with bushes scratching the sides of the car. Probably private property—but who cared?
Jett stopped the car and switched off the lights, then signaled me to stay quiet. I held my breath as I listened for any sounds. Eventually, I heard an engine and then a car passed us by, oblivious to our hiding place.
We were alive!
But it didn’t feel like success.
I spun to Jett, my hands shaking so bad, I felt like crying. He leaned over and brushed my cheek, composed. Except for the tense muscles and set jaw, there was no indicator of any sort of nervousness, as though no one had trailed us mere seconds ago. Searching for us. Trying to kill us.
“You’ll be okay, baby. ” Jett’s lips pressed against mine in a tender kiss, and then he pulled back and started the engine. “I know what I’m doing. ”
Before I could ask him not to drive again, to just stay hidden—because I couldn’t bear another rollercoaster ride—he reversed and we returned to the main road, speeding off in the direction from which we’d come.
“We’re staying at a hotel,” Jett said. “Better we stay together tonight. ”
“Okay,” I whispered, the sound barely making its way out of my throat.
I didn’t argue with him. I doubted I could even if I’d wanted. My body was frozen from shock. Not even the bumpy road and Jett’s speeding managed to wake me from my daze.
During the drive to the next city, my eyes remained glued to the rearview mirror, always checking, always praying no one was following us. Even when Jett parked in a hotel’s guest parking lot, I couldn’t stop looking behind my shoulder. Jett had to lead me, his gentle words not quite reaching my mind. Only after checking in, away from the road and the twilight chasing scene, did I realize he’d saved my life.
***
Resting on the hotel bed, it seemed to take me forever to wake up from my comatose stage, but eventually my heart and mind jolted back to life and reality. Maybe it was because of Jett’s strong arms around me, soothing me, breathing his strength into me as he gently kissed my forehead. He had booked us a room for the night, and as usual, he chose to go for the most expensive option available, claiming the security was better. I wasn’t convinced.
“There’s nothing to worry about. It’s over now. You’re safe, baby,” Jett whispered and pushed a glass of water into my still trembling hands, silently urging me to drink up. I forced myself to take tiny sips and swallow them down, even though my throat still felt choked.
He took the half-full glass out of my hand and placed it on the bedside table. “I need to find another parking spot for the car. Will you be okay if I leave you alone for a few minutes?”
I nodded.
“Don’t leave the room and don’t answer if anyone knocks. I won’t be long. ” He stood but hesitated.
I shot him a fake reassuring smile. “Just go. ” Truth was, I didn’t want to be alone but Jett’s car wasn’t exactly standard. Our pursuers would be able to spy it from a mile away.
He left reluctantly. I leaned back against the pillows but did
n’t dare close my eyes. My ears strained to listen for any strange sounds. Apart from the ice vending machine in the hallway whirring once, everything remained as quiet as a tomb. After what seemed like ages, Jett returned.
“We should call the police,” I said.
“No. We can’t. It’s too dangerous. ” Lying down next to me, he pushed a stray strand of hair back from my face and pulled me into his arms. Inhaling his scent, I settled against his warm body.
I remembered that he thought the police were involved in the club, consequently I agreed it might not be a good idea.
“Do you know who those people were?” I asked.
“I’ll try to find out tomorrow. ”
He made it sound like there were many options, when the lead was pretty obvious: I inherited a property that used to be a gathering place for weirdoes. I just didn’t realize their way to handle problems was killing the heir. Why couldn’t people just get together to resolve problems through talking, preferably over coffee and cake—and not behave like war seeking apes attempting to silence us by sending us into an early grave?
I propped on one elbow and regarded Jett’s beautiful face. “It’s the club, isn’t it?”
“Mmh. ” He avoided my gaze.
“I have to call Sylvie. ”
“Not happening. ” His arm wrapped around my waist, holding me in place. “In fact, switch off your phone. ”
“I need to warn her. ”
He shook his head. “People can track down a GPS. Keep it switched off. ”
My chin shot up defiantly. Sylvie was my best friend. I had dragged her into this mess. If something happened to her, I’d never forgive myself.
“Brooke, listen to me. They’re after you and if you reach out to her, they might harm her to get to you. ” His tone was grave, reinforcing the warning in his words.
They.
I swallowed down the lump in my throat. Jett sat up and squatted in front of me. His hands squeezed mine and our gazes interlocked.
“I know you’re scared, Brooke,” he said calmly. ”But you have to trust me. Sylvie will be okay. I’ll text her in your name so she knows you’re not coming home. And I’m sending someone over to watch the house. We stay here just this one night. Pretend nothing happened. And tomorrow I’ll take care of things. ”
How, I wanted to ask. He didn’t know who those people were. We had no idea where to begin.
And pretend nothing happened? I snorted. Not likely. I could maybe forget the car chasing us and be grateful that we were still alive. But as sure as the sky’s blue, I couldn’t push the images of our various close encounters with death out of my mind, nor the endless possibilities of what could happen to us—or Sylvie.
Just because we escaped didn’t mean the nightmare was over.
“Nothing happened. No one was killed. ” Jett’s fingers began to massage the tense muscles in my shoulders. Somehow his touch calmed me a little until I felt the waves of fear slowly dissipating.
“You’re safe and that’s all that matters,” he whispered. God, I loved that voice.