Page 82 of Breakaway

“You’re positive?” Raiden asks, the sound of shuffling echoing down the line.

“A hundred percent. I’ve switched lanes seven times, and right on cue, they follow,” Briggs responds, splitting his attention between the road and the rearview mirror.

“Stay calm and drive normally. Don’t try to lose them. I’ve got a patrol car in the vicinity of your exit ramp,” Raiden instructs, his take-charge voice making me squirm. Clearly, my body can’t decipher the adrenaline from fear versus excitement.

We wait with bated breath, none of us speaking as the exit to Chaplain comes into view. Briggs veers off the highway at a normal speed, doing nothing to spook the car following us. My gaze scans our surroundings, searching for the blue lights we’re expecting, but they’re nowhere to be found. We merge with traffic, the gray sedan doing the same, keeping a careful distance between us.

“Fuck,” Raiden swears. “The unit I had on standby was tasked with another call.”

“So what’s Plan B?” Col asks impatiently, growing more frustrated by the second.

“Me,” Raiden states vehemently. “I’m the fucking plan.” We hear the sound of his keys rattling, followed by the pounding of footsteps. “Head home; I’ll meet you there. This motherfucker is in for a rude awakening if he thinks he’s getting within touching distance of our girl.” My heart swells, but there’s no time to fawn over his sweet declaration. The beep of his truck unlocking reaches our ears, and then his door slams, the truck roaring to life a moment later. My breath rushes out of me, knowing he’s on his way to us. “Andi, baby, stay close to the guys. Don’t engage; just get inside as quickly as possible.”

“Okay,” I respond robotically.

“Shit,” Briggs swears, jerking the wheel and causing my shoulder to slam against the door. “He’s trying to cut us off, Raiden.”

“That piece of fucking shit,” Raiden roars, his panic bleeding through. “Listen to me, Briggs. At all costs, you keep her safe. Her, the baby, and Hudson are your top priority.”

“I would make a joke about being chopped liver, but I agree,” Col remarks dryly.

“I don’t need you to tell me that. I’d literally use my body as Kevlar if it meant keeping them safe,” Briggs vows, his knuckles turning white from how tightly he’s gripping the steering wheel.

“No one is expendable!” I shriek, my panic mounting as Hudson begins to stir. My breaths are sawing in and out, and my vision starts to tunnel as Briggs picks up speed.

“Sunshine!” Col shouts, obviously having said my name several times prior and unable to get my attention. “Look at me, sweetheart.” His fingers slide along the side of my face, twining through my hair and gripping it firmly. “We’re not going to let anything happen to you. To any of you.”

“Us,” I stress. “You’re not going to let anything happen to us.”

“Us,” he repeats, but I know he’d put himself in harm’s way if it meant keeping me safe.

The roadway switches from two lanes to one, leaving Briggs no option but to hit the gas. I tighten Hudson’s chest straps, visions of us wrecking plaguing my mind. We’re only a couple of miles from the firehouse, but it feels like infinitely more when you know that at any moment catastrophe could strike.

“I’m a minute out,” Raiden informs us, likely speeding just as badly as we are.

“We should get there within seconds of one another,” Briggs responds. “You doin’ okay, Angel?”

“Just dandy,” I mumble, glancing back at the car that’s so close to our bumper, I can’t even see theirs.

“Dayton is home,” Col adds, his fingers moving rapidly as he types out a text. “He may or may not be waiting outside with a shotgun.”

A groan sounds over the SUV’s speakers before Raiden says, “If he fires that fucking gun without provocation, it’s going to be a shitstorm of paperwork for me.” He doesn’t sound particularly put off by the idea of him harming whoever’s following us, but more so by the extra work it’ll incur for him.

The moment the old firehouse comes into view, my throat goes tight with the effort to hold back my tears. Glancing at Hudson, I find he’s wide awake now. The last thing I want is for my emotions to affect him, so I take a steadying breath and smile at my sweet boy’s curious stare. I can feel how brittle it is, but it’s taking every ounce of strength I have to keep from falling apart. Briggs slams to a stop in the middle of the road, not caring if he’s inconveniencing other drivers, but maybe if we cause a big enough scene, the person pursuing us will continue driving rather than choosing to engage with four angry men.

My door is ripped open a second later, startling a scream out of me at the unexpected intrusion. Dayton clicks the button to release my seatbelt, gathering me in his arms and tossing a jacket over my head. Col shouts that he’s right behind us with Hudson, but the fact that Briggs hasn’t checked in isn’t lost on me. The sound of shouting reaches us, making my steps falter when I recognize the voice that’s drenched in anger and pain.

“You think it’s okay to fucking scare her?!” Briggs bellows, alerting anyone in the vicinity to the drama unfolding. “Get out and face me like a man, you piece of shit!”

Something shatters, followed by the unmistakable sound of tires squealing across the pavement. I can’t see a damn thing but my feet as I’m ushered through the courtyard. The concrete steps come into view next, and before I know it, the door to the guys’ apartment is sealing shut behind us. Hudson’s sniffles are the first thing I focus on, tossing the coat off and searching the room for Col. I find him only a few steps away, like he promised he would be, already striding towards me so I can see for myself that Hudson’s okay.

“I’m right here, baby,” I coo softly, stroking my fingers through his curls. His hands tighten in the knitted fabric of my cardigan, his tiny body trembling with fear he can’t explain. The door flies open and slams against the wall, causing me to jump. Briggs storms in, looking like vengeance personified. His coal-colored eyes find mine instantly, and then he’s moving, grabbing Hudson and me, and banding his arms around us. His entire body has a fine tremor going through it. Not knowing the specifics of what has him so shaken, I whisper reassurances, reminding him that I’m okay. That the baby and Hudson are okay. It takes him several minutes to pull himself together, and even then he only shuffles a few feet to our left and collapses on the couch, placing us on his lap.

“Tell her right now, Raiden, or I will. I promised you a few days, and what just happened effectively nixed that,” Briggs demands, his forehead leaning against my back as he continues to take slow and measured breaths. I glance at the man in question, my brows furrowing as I attempt to reconcile the absurd notion that Raiden would ever keep something from me. But the guilty look he flashes me tells me everything I need to know.

44

Andilyn