and I could tell from the look on his face that he was as surprised as I was.
His eyes darted to the rearview mirror as both sets of headlights appeared behind us. He pressed on the gas. We had a sizeable lead. We could outrun them. So long as he didn’t screw up the driving too badly—and I highly doubted that would happen—we had a chance.
As we passed the turn-off for the dirt road again, I felt a ripple of hope. Ten minutes to civilization. As fast as he was driving, maybe five minutes.
I glanced out the rear window. “We’re losing them,” I called to Nathan excitedly.
His gaze lifted to the rearview mirror. Instead of lighting with excitement like mine, his eyes darkened with apprehension. His foot eased off the gas.
Since I was looking at him, I didn’t see the third truck. I saw its headlights fill the Jeep’s interior, saw Nathan tense and reach for me. Then they slammed into us.
The Jeep rolled side over side at least twice before striking something big and sturdy—probably a monster tree. It swayed at an unsteady angle before flipping back and coming to a rest on its side. My side was up, with the nose of the Jeep tipped down, which left me elevated and pressed against my restraints. I fumbled with them, disoriented as I tried to force my shaky fingers to work. I had a really bad sense of déjà vu.
Nathan appeared beneath me, already out of his seatbelt and unhooking mine. His arms slipped around me to stop my plummet into the windshield below. I barely managed to get my feet under me before he started pushing me toward the rear of the Jeep.
“Go, go, go,” he ordered, shoving me up and between the seats. The Jeep teetered as our weight concentrated to the back.
“Are we on a cliff or something?” I shrieked at him.
Two sets of headlights approached, but they did nothing to illuminate the mile-high ledge I was certain we were balancing on the edge of.
“Ditch,” Nathan answered quickly. He nudged past me to release the hatch, and sent the Jeep into a stomach-hurling rock.
I wanted to know how he was so sure it wasn’t a cliff, but he pushed me out the back before I had a chance to ask. I was convinced I was falling to my death for all of the very long second it took me to drop to the ground. I hadn’t been expecting to hit land so soon, and rolled my ankle.
Sure enough, I was in a ditch. The nose of the Jeep was wedged in it sideways, causing the back end to jut up in the air. It, at least, provided us with cover from our pursuers on the other side, who I could now hear getting out of their vehicles.
I looked up, saw Nathan’s outline above me, and moved out of the way as he dropped to the ground beside me. He landed much more gracefully than I had. But then, it wasn’t a fair comparison, considering he had all but tossed me out. He had managed to gather a few guns from under the floor board, and had a pistol in each hand, a third in his holster, and a shot gun at his feet.
Our eyes met briefly as we scanned each other. His hat was gone and I saw a streak of blood on his forehead. Otherwise, he appeared uninjured. Once he was assured I was unharmed, he scooted to the edge of the Jeep and peeked around the corner. I moved aside as he crept by me to survey the situation from the other side. After seeing what he had to see, he sat with his back against the Jeep’s undercarriage, and lifted his eyes to mine slowly.
He swept a hand through his hair. I swallowed hard, wondering what he had seen to put that look on his face.
He joined me where I crouched and his eyes seared into mine. “I need you to run,” he said, nodding his head to my left.
I surveyed the steep embankment and the edge of the woods just beyond it. We could slip in there and be long gone before they realized it.
“Run fast and straight. Don’t stop for anyone but me,” he continued urgently.
I nodded my understanding, and then cowered when gun shots rang out. They were shooting blindly at the Jeep as they
His eyes darted to the rearview mirror as both sets of headlights appeared behind us. He pressed on the gas. We had a sizeable lead. We could outrun them. So long as he didn’t screw up the driving too badly—and I highly doubted that would happen—we had a chance.
As we passed the turn-off for the dirt road again, I felt a ripple of hope. Ten minutes to civilization. As fast as he was driving, maybe five minutes.
I glanced out the rear window. “We’re losing them,” I called to Nathan excitedly.
His gaze lifted to the rearview mirror. Instead of lighting with excitement like mine, his eyes darkened with apprehension. His foot eased off the gas.
Since I was looking at him, I didn’t see the third truck. I saw its headlights fill the Jeep’s interior, saw Nathan tense and reach for me. Then they slammed into us.
The Jeep rolled side over side at least twice before striking something big and sturdy—probably a monster tree. It swayed at an unsteady angle before flipping back and coming to a rest on its side. My side was up, with the nose of the Jeep tipped down, which left me elevated and pressed against my restraints. I fumbled with them, disoriented as I tried to force my shaky fingers to work. I had a really bad sense of déjà vu.
Nathan appeared beneath me, already out of his seatbelt and unhooking mine. His arms slipped around me to stop my plummet into the windshield below. I barely managed to get my feet under me before he started pushing me toward the rear of the Jeep.
“Go, go, go,” he ordered, shoving me up and between the seats. The Jeep teetered as our weight concentrated to the back.
“Are we on a cliff or something?” I shrieked at him.
Two sets of headlights approached, but they did nothing to illuminate the mile-high ledge I was certain we were balancing on the edge of.
“Ditch,” Nathan answered quickly. He nudged past me to release the hatch, and sent the Jeep into a stomach-hurling rock.
I wanted to know how he was so sure it wasn’t a cliff, but he pushed me out the back before I had a chance to ask. I was convinced I was falling to my death for all of the very long second it took me to drop to the ground. I hadn’t been expecting to hit land so soon, and rolled my ankle.
Sure enough, I was in a ditch. The nose of the Jeep was wedged in it sideways, causing the back end to jut up in the air. It, at least, provided us with cover from our pursuers on the other side, who I could now hear getting out of their vehicles.
I looked up, saw Nathan’s outline above me, and moved out of the way as he dropped to the ground beside me. He landed much more gracefully than I had. But then, it wasn’t a fair comparison, considering he had all but tossed me out. He had managed to gather a few guns from under the floor board, and had a pistol in each hand, a third in his holster, and a shot gun at his feet.
Our eyes met briefly as we scanned each other. His hat was gone and I saw a streak of blood on his forehead. Otherwise, he appeared uninjured. Once he was assured I was unharmed, he scooted to the edge of the Jeep and peeked around the corner. I moved aside as he crept by me to survey the situation from the other side. After seeing what he had to see, he sat with his back against the Jeep’s undercarriage, and lifted his eyes to mine slowly.
He swept a hand through his hair. I swallowed hard, wondering what he had seen to put that look on his face.
He joined me where I crouched and his eyes seared into mine. “I need you to run,” he said, nodding his head to my left.
I surveyed the steep embankment and the edge of the woods just beyond it. We could slip in there and be long gone before they realized it.
“Run fast and straight. Don’t stop for anyone but me,” he continued urgently.
I nodded my understanding, and then cowered when gun shots rang out. They were shooting blindly at the Jeep as they
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