Chapter 8
The engine of the family SUV hummed at a high, strained pitch as Maya navigated the winding blacktop of the county road. Behind them, the dark interceptor vehicle remained a persistent pair of glaring headlights cutting through the rearview mirror, refusing to drop back.
"They're gaining on us," Elena said, her voice tight with panic as she glanced back over her shoulder. "Maya, the curve is coming up—slow down!"
"If I slow down, they box us in," Maya shouted over the roar of the wind rushing through a slightly cracked window. Her eyes darted between the road ahead and the glowing navigation screen on the dashboard. The highway on-ramp was less than a mile away, but the stretch of road was flanked by dense pine forest and lacked streetlights.
Leo whimpered softly from the backseat, clutching his stuffed bear so hard his small fingers were cramped. "I want to go home, Maya. Make the bad car go away."
"We're almost to the highway, sweetie. Hang on," Maya promised, though her own heart was hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
She took the sharp curve at sixty, the tires losing traction for a fraction of a second before the all-wheel-drive system kicked in, biting hard into the asphalt. The sudden centrifugal force threw Elena against the passenger door, but Maya kept her foot firmly on the gas.
In the mirror, the pursuing vehicle drifted dangerously wide on the corner, its headlights flashing blindingly as the driver tried to match her speed. They were reckless, proving David’s contacts weren't just corporate bureaucrats; they were operatives willing to run a family off the road in the middle of the night.
Up ahead, the green overhead highway sign illuminated against the dark sky: Interstate 5 North – Seattle / Portland.
Maya signaled hard and swept across the merging lane, pushing the SUV up to eighty miles per hour as they merged into the steady flow of late-night semi-trucks and commuters. The sheer volume of traffic provided a sudden, temporary shield. A massive eighteen-wheeler rumbled between their vehicle and the pursuer, forcing the dark SUV to brake sharply or risk a high-speed collision.
Maya didn't look back. She wove skillfully between two sedans, keeping the heavy truck as a buffer until the dark vehicle disappeared entirely behind a wall of semi-trailers.
May you like
"We lost them," Elena breathed, slumped back against the passenger seat with her eyes closed, pressing a hand to her chest. "Maya... we actually lost them."
"Not for long," Maya said grimly, keeping her eyes fixed on the illuminated road ahead. "They have our license plate. We need to ditch this car as soon as we can."
