Chapter 66

Layla

Early afternoon sun heated the streets as I pulled the car to the curb outside a small grocery store. Eli squirmed with excitement in the backseat, and his cheerful chatter filled the car.

I couldn’t blame him; this outing was a rare moment of normalcy in two lives that had suddenly become fraught with danger and darkness.

“Can I pick the cereal this time?” he asked, blue eyes wide with earnesty.

I chuckled, shaking my head at him in the rearview mirror. “Only if it’s not one of those sugar bombs, mister. Deal?”

Eli gave an exaggerated sigh but nodded. “Deal.”

We slid out of the car and onto the sidewalk. Instinctively, our hands folded together, his little digits curling into mine. Mother and son. How few of these moments we’ve been able to enjoy in the recent months.

How many more did we have left?

Regardless, I’d learned to cherish these times, these precious few minutes of us. Despite the shadows looming over our lives, I was determined to give Eli as much of a childhood as I could.

Still, as we entered the store, my gaze roved over the other patrons, darted between shelves, tracked hiding places around corners. Just like carrying a weapon in my waistband had become second nature, so had keeping a watchful eye on my surroundings.

The cost of being part of Aldo’s world.

But no one came for us at the store. I gathered vegetables and meats, debated with Eli over whether his cereal choices met my sugar requirements. We climbed back into the car, unmolested.

Eli sat in the backseat, humming to himself. Clutching his chosen box of cereal, though I hadn’t allowed him to open it. And I couldn’t help the smile that had stolen over my face.

For just one moment, I relaxed. I let his innocent joy soothe my constant wariness.

The moment didn’t last.

That black SUV had been following us for quite some time, hadn’t it? I wasn’t entirely sure, but its dark, looming presence felt … like something.

I turned left, and it followed. Turned left again, and once again, it stayed right behind me.

One last left—

Shit. It had made the turn, too. My pulse ratcheted to doubletime in an instant.

“Eli, do you have your seatbelt on?” I asked, even though I knew he did. Even though I’d been the one to buckle him in.

Eli frowned at me in the rearview, sending my sudden shift in mood. “What’s wrong, Mommy?”

“Nothing, sweetheart,” I replied, forcing a smile. “Just stay buckled, okay?”

Those were the last words I managed to grunt out before the SUV suddenly surged forward, then whipped around in front of my car to cut us off.

My food slammed the brake, tires squealing over the pavement as we skidded over the concrete. “Shit!”

While I struggled to gain control of my vehicle, all four doors of the SUV whipped open, and four men stepped out.

Their weapons gleamed silver in the afternoon sunlight.

My hands curved the wheel in a dramatic turn while my foot stomped back onto the gas. The tires squealed again, the rear of the car fishtailing as it struggled to gain traction.

“Eli, get down!” I roared, right before the first bullet cracked. “Get down!”

The bullet smashed the front passenger side of the car, metal screeching and shuddering. I slammed my foot down harder on that gas.

“Mommy, what’s happening?” Eli cried, but a quick glance in the rearview told me he’d hunkered down.

“It’s okay, baby.” I kept my voice steady, even as my foot pressed harder. Houses whipped past the windows. “Just stay down.”

More shots rang out, and the SUV had turned back around to barrel after us. But I wasn’t about to give them the chance to get close.

Not this time.

Not again.

I whipped the wheel, turning the car onto a side street, then turned again. Again. Zig-zagging through otherwise quiet residential streets. Pedestrians gaped as I barrelled past, and my heart hammered against my ribs like it was trying to break them from the inside out.

I didn’t stop.

Sweat slicked my hands, making the wheel sticky and cumbersome. I couldn’t see the SUV, but I knew it would be close behind. Knew that if it got me in its sights again, it’d aim for the tires.

My adrenaline spiked as we turned onto a long straight street. At the end, traffic scooted past—safety. If I could get onto that road before the SUV found us, we’d be safe.

The engine growled as I pressed harder on that pedal. In my rearview, I tracked a massive black vehicle turning onto the road behind us. But we were so close, so close …

The vehicle caught sight of us, and the engine gunned. The road ahead stretched out, reachable. So very reachable. We could make it.

Another sharp crack echoed through the air, and the rear windshield shattered. Eli screamed, threw himself to the floor between the seats.

“Stay down, stay down!” I yelled, my fingers bone-white on the wheel. I didn’t bother with the stop sign at the end of the street. Just barreled right through and into traffic.

Horns blared as I swerved into the lane, narrowly avoiding a collision with a white truck. Someone shouted from the street, but I didn’t care.

Breath ripped my lungs to shreds.

Aldo, naturally, chose that moment to call.

“Layla!” his voice roared through the car’s speakers. “What the hell’s going on?”

My hands shook. Heart raced so badly I almost couldn’t get the words out. “Someone came after us. Chased us down in an SUV.”

My eyes leapt back to the rearview, but the SUV was several cars back now. If I could stay in traffic, but not get bogged down in a log jam, I might be okay.

Except that the manor was on quiet, residential roads.

“I’ve lost them for now,” I told him, trying to keep the tremor out of my voice. “But I don’t know if I can make it home.”

“I’m sending backup,” Aldo said, his tone deadly calm. “Just keep moving, and stay around people. I won’t let anything happen to you or Eli.”

The road ahead forked, and caught in the right lane, I had no choice but to turn.

“Shit.” The word clawed its way out of my mouth as the car veered onto a wide, empty stretch of road. “Shit!”

I slammed my foot down on the gas. If I could get to the next turn before—

The SUV veered into the road behind me.

Another gunshot cracked the stillness.

The car swerved wildly over the pavement—they’d hit a tire! I fought for control as the car spun, but the final shot ended my dreams of escape.

Smoke billowed from beneath the car’s hood, and the engine spluttered.

Time for a new plan.

“Eli, get out of the car. Now!”

“But—”

“Now, Eli!” I slammed the brake just as the car slid past an abandoned warehouse, and both Eli and I tumbled from the vehicle. In an instant, I was beside him, my hand wrapped around his. Half carrying half-dragging him as I sprinted towards the building.

Damp, stale air hit me in the face as we thundered into the building. I pulled Eli into the shadows behind me, searching for some place I could hide.

I had my gun.

If I could find cover, I could aim. Shoot. Finish this before it turned deadly.