Page 105 of Coast

Ihadto do this.

“Only—no!” I shrieked as the car rammed mine again, making it jolt hard to the side, and taking Lainey’s constant cry to a full-on wail.

“Zo?”

“He hit me again.”

“Okay. Alright. You’re almost there. Focus on that. Brake before. Ease off. Steady. Don’t overcorrect.”

That was helping.

He was tunneling my vision.

The street was coming up.

There was no traffic. Thank God.

“I’m going to turn,” I told Coast. Then said a silent prayer.

“You’ve got this, Zo.”

Three.

Two.

One.

I slammed on the brake.

Then eased off as I turned the wheel.

My stomach plummeted and my heart wedged itself up in my throat, feeling like I was on some out-of-control carnival ride.

But no, dammit.

I was in control.

Like Coast said, the momentum pushed us through the turn.

I carefully turned the wheel.

But at the last second, the backend fishtailed hard, making me cry out as my phone flew off my lap and clattered down into the footwell somewhere.

A whimper escaped me as I did what I wasn’t supposed to—overcorrected.

The rear wheel slammed into the curb.

Sparks flew upward.

Then I felt it.

A hard vibration.

The car pulling hard to one side.

I’d experienced that once before.

A tire blowing out.

---