Page 52 of Tide and Seek
“Jesus Christ,” Maxwell breathed, his voice shaking.“Are they insane?”
I didn’t have time to respond.All my focus was on the Mercedes.The black SUV had dropped back, but now it accelerated again.I could hear the whine of its engine echoing off the canyon walls as it closed the distance.In my rearview mirror, I watched it pull into the oncoming lane, preparing for another run at us.
“Can you see the driver?”I asked, my eyes darting between the road ahead and the mirror.
“Not really, the windows are tinted too dark,” Maxwell said, his voice tight with fear.“I think it’s a male, but I can’t see their face.”
The Mercedes swerved around us on the left, preparing to ram us again.Instead of waiting for the impact, I hit the brakes, and the sudden deceleration threw off his timing.The car shot past our Hummer just as another vehicle appeared around the bend.Horns blared, tires screeched, and the Mercedes was forced to jerk back into our lane ahead of us or risk a head-on collision that would have taken us all out.
Now the Mercedes was directly in front of us, and I could see the driver’s silhouette through the rear window.My hands gripped the steering wheel so tight my knuckles had gone numb.Every instinct I had as a law enforcement officer was screaming at me to do something, anything, to stop this son of a bitch who’d just tried to kill us.
“Any chance you can see the license plate number?”I asked through gritted teeth.
“It’s hard to make out from this angle.”Maxwell leaned forward, squinting at the black SUV ahead of us.“It’s...8CM— I can’t see the rest.”
The Mercedes slowed deliberately, brake lights flashing in a taunting rhythm.The driver was toying with us now, daring me to make a move.My foot hovered over the gas pedal, and I fought the urge to ram straight into his rear bumper.One good hit at this speed and in this big vehicle, and I could send that bastard spinning off the road.
“Royce?”Max sounded uneasy, as if he knew what I was thinking.
Maybe if I’d been alone I’d have given into my worst instincts, but guilt nudged me at the fear in Max’s voice and I moved my foot away from the accelerator.Keeping Max safe had to be my priority right now.“We should call the cops.They might be able to head off this asshole.”
“Good idea.”Max tugged out his phone, hands shaking so much he almost dropped it.He swore under his breath.“I don’t have a signal.Zero bars.”
“Damn.”Not that I was surprised, considering we were deep in the canyon.
I rode the Mercedes’s tail for about half a mile, trying to decide what to do.When the Mercedes suddenly swerved left, then right, weaving erratically across both lanes like a drunk driver, I slowed.The lunatic was going to kill himself and someone else if he didn’t wise up.Cars coming toward us had to brake and veer onto the almost nonexistent shoulder to avoid a collision.The driver showed no concern for the innocent lives he was endangering.
“He’s going to kill somebody,” Maxwell said, echoing my thoughts.
“Yeah, he is.”I watched in horror as an oncoming sedan nearly clipped the Mercedes’s front end, the driver laying on the horn as he swerved wildly to avoid impact.The Mercedes corrected at the last second, tires screaming against the asphalt.
“What a goddamn asshole,” Max hissed, his fingers digging into the leather armrest.“Is he actually trying to kill himself?”
“This is nuts,” I muttered, my heart hammering against my ribs.Part of me wanted to back off, let this maniac get away before he killed someone.But I had a feeling that was what the guy wanted me to do.Rattled as I was at the way he was driving, I couldn’t back off.The cop in me knew we might be the only witness to whatever this psycho did next.
The Mercedes suddenly accelerated, taking advantage of the slightly straighter road where the steep drops had given way to level ground.I pressed harder on the gas pedal, the Hummer’s engine growling as we closed the distance.The speedometer climbed past sixty, then seventy.Even without the ravine on our right side, the speed was way too fast for winding canyon roads.
“I can see the plate,” Max said excitedly.“It’s 8CME419.”As he spoke, Max typed on his phone.“I’m putting it in my notes.”
“Good thinking.”
That’ll be handy if we survive.
I sucked in a breath, watching as the Mercedes approached the next curve at a dangerous speed.Once more I had the urge to ram the bastard from behind to send him careening off the road, if only to end the madness.I was positive he was going to kill someone.But I controlled myself, staying close behind him, but not too close.
We continued on like that for a few minutes, him swerving like a fool into oncoming traffic, and me dropping back just in case he wrecked.It was exhausting having to concentrate so hard just so I didn’t rear-end the jerk.At one point, he tapped his brakes and I eased off the gas slightly, preparing for him to lurch into oncoming traffic once more.
But he didn’t swerve left.Instead, he shocked me by turning right, making a sharp, reckless turn onto a steep side road that cut up into the hills.The maneuver was so sudden and at such high speed that I flew past the turnoff before I could even think about following.Behind us, a line of cars made it impossible to stop or turn around.
“Shit,” I growled, watching in the rearview mirror as a big cloud of dust, churned up by that jerk’s tires, drifted over the traffic behind us.“Did that road have a sign?”
Max rasped, “I have no idea.We flew by so fast, I didn’t even know there was a road until he turned onto it.”
The rational part of my brain knew I should be relieved the insanely dangerous car chase had ended.We were alive, the Hummer was still drivable, and we had the guy’s license plate.But the cop in me screamed I needed to find a way to turn around and go after the guy.
“Royce?”Maxwell’s voice was carefully controlled, but I could hear the tremor underneath.“You can probably slow down now.”
I immediately lifted my foot off the gas.“Yeah, sorry.”My heart was still hammering, adrenaline making my hands shake slightly on the wheel.“You okay?”I asked hoarsely.
