Page 29 of Wraith
“Why does this keep happening?” Amelia asked.
“Our hotel host is a rat,” Wraith explained. “I shouldn’t have fallen asleep.”
He didn’t go into the fact the only reason he’d drifted off was because Amelia’s body was so soft against him. Though he kept checking the mirror to make sure they weren’t being followed, his mind was trying to do the math. What was the precise number of years he’d gone without making love?
But the time didn’t matter because Wraith had no intention of letting it happen again.
A black car zigzagged through traffic behind him and he knew they hadn’t gotten away yet. The chase carried through the streets, under and over bridges but he still couldn’t shake their tail. Their cat and mouse game caused one accident with other vehicles. The sound of crashes, one car slamming into a bus, another ramming into a light pole—all of it made Wraith sick.
“Tex, a little help?” Wraith asked.
“Some assistance, comin’ right up, my liege,” Tex said. “The stop lights ahead of them began switching to green. The moment he was through one, he glanced back to see it’d turned red again. But the car kept right on coming.
“I need you to call the ambulance for those cars,” Wraith told Tex.
“Really? The less interaction I have with the Russian world the less chance for an international incident.”
“Son of a bitch, Tex!”
“On it! Shit! Unclench!”
Wraith growled, twisted the steering to the left to avoid taking out minivan then to the right to avoid a transport truck.
Amelia screamed. He glanced at her quickly to see she was covering her eyes. He shook his head and returned his attention to the road ahead. Wraith periodically glanced back to see the same car after them.
“Persistent little asses, aren’t they?” Amelia asked.
“Yup, a trait that’s starting to piss me off.”
“Hang a left in three meters.” Tex advised. “Then keep going straight until you see the red building with the green cones, sharp right.”
“Got it.” Wraith confirmed.
He followed his friend’s instructions carefully until finally, he left the city behind and was on a long stretch of deserted road. Wraith had enough. They couldn’t keep running hoping these guys would lose interest or just back off. He had to do something. Wraith took a breath and gripped the steering wheel tightly with his left hand. “Hang on,” he said, while twisting the wheel to the left.
The tires squealed and the car turned dramatically to face their assailants. He switched hands to using one to hold the wheel then pulled his gun with his other. Then, speeding toward the other car, he fired at them. Amelia screamed but he didn’t take his eyes off the vehicle barreling toward them. Their attackers swerved right, then left before the car smashed through the guardrail and went tumbling off the side of the road. Wraith didn’t stop to check on them. No one would survive such a fall. He merely whipped the vehicle around again, and sped off in the direction he’d originally intended on going.
After a few seconds, the silence was once again interrupted by the loud boom of the other car exploding.
“I’ll keep digging,” Tex said in the head piece. “I’ll hit you back when something pops.”
“Thanks, man.”
He pulled the ear piece out and set it on the dashboard. Wraith was sure of one thing. He needed somewhere to lie low. Sure, he knew the only way to stop all of this was to find the Lala before the others and then get out of dodge. If he didn’t figure something out, they could be in big trouble.
“Listen to me,” Wraith said, glancing in his mirror to ensure they were not being tailed again. “If we get separated…”
“You’re leaving me?”
“No. I said if we get…”
“Then we’re not going to get separated.”
“Hummingbird, please. If something happens to me, I need you to take your passport and head to Moscow. There’s a Canadian embassy there and they will take you in.”
“Liam…”
“Promise me. I can’t allow you to pay for your father’s dick moves. Keeping you alive is the most important thing right now—okay.”
