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“I think we have a tail.”
Maia leaned to the center console to look out the back.
“Rust-colored Saturn,” Derek informed her.
“Hmm,” was all Maia said.
“Did Viktor say why this meeting was so important this morning?” Derek asked. Though it wasn’t unheard of, Saturdays morning meetings were rarely scheduled.
“He sounded concerned.” Maia frowned as if something was dawning on her. “Shit, I wonder if…” she looked back at the rear. “The Saturn is pulling up beside us. Three men.”
Derek surveyed the traffic before him. It was early Saturday morning and the roads were fairly clear, which meant everyone was speeding. His hand tensed on the steering wheel as they approached a very sharp turn on the Beltway—he had an idea of what was about to happen and he eased up on the gas pedal. He glanced at the car beside them; it accelerated while the passenger in the backseat lowered his window.
“Shooter!” Maia yelled suddenly.
All hell broke loose. There was a loud pop and the Escalade swerved. They had shot out their left front tire.
“Brace!” Derek shouted as he tried to prevent the SUV from flipping, but the laws of physics could not be denied. Their vehicle tilted on its roof. Bone-rattling pain shot through his body as he heard the crunching of metal, the breaking of glass and the distant squealing of tires and honking of cars. He impotently watched the barrier coming in fast, and they slammed against it. Hard.
* * *
Derek foughthard to stay conscious. He glanced worriedly at Maia, who was groaning in pain. The airbag had knocked the wind out of him and his chest was on fire. They were both hanging upside down, blood trickling from their lacerations caused by the caved-in windshield or rogue pieces of metal. There was also a strong odor of petroleum and other chemicals. They had to get out of the SUV before it blew.
Sirens were wailing, people were yelling, doors were slamming.
“Stay back!” an authoritative voice bellowed.
A uniformed police officer bent over and peered over from Maia’s side. “Are you guys OK?” The grim look on the officer’s face reflected the severity of the situation. Something told Derek that the Escalade was unsalvageable, but thank fuck they were alive.
“Do we look OK?” Maia croaked as she popped her seatbelt buckle. She fell to the ceiling of the car, howling in pain. “Damn it, I think I broke a rib!”
“Ma’am, sir, I suggest you not move until the fire department gets here!”
Derek clicked his seatbelt buckle and cursed when he landed. The officer sighed when he realized both occupants of the vehicle had no intention of listening to him.
Holy hell,Derek thought as pain radiated everywhere. It felt like he had gone a couple of rounds in a wrestling cage and he’d been body slammed repeatedly. Every joint in his body felt like it had been wrenched out of its socket but nothing appeared to be broken, and hopefully he wasn’t bleeding internally either.
The firemen arrived in time to help them clear the Escalade when they managed to pull themselves out of their respective windows.
“You guys are fucking insane!” a fireman yelled at Maia as he helped her to her feet.
“Well, we’d hate to wait for you guys and find ourselves blown up with the vehicle,” Maia quipped, limping to an ambulance.
Derek immediately thought of Sophie. What if this was related to her? He grabbed his phone—which thankfully was in one piece—from his pocket and punched her number. It went immediately to voicemail. She was avoiding his call.
He dialed Beth’s number.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve calling.”
“Where are you guys?” Derek asked abruptly.
“None of your business. You fucked up big time.”
“Listen to me!” Derek roared. “Someone tried to kill me. They shot out our tire on the damn Beltway. Where are you guys?”
Silence for a beat and then, “Holy cow, Lockwood, are you OK?
“Beth, for the fucking last time—”
