CHAPTER 17
1329 Words
A black car. Sedan. Tinted windows, engine running parked at an odd angle. Not in a proper space, just... waiting.
My hand instinctively moved to the gun holstered under my jacket.
"Stay close to me," I said quietly.
"What" she asked.
"Just stay close."
She moved closer. Her shoulder brushed mine.
Good girl.
We kept walking, faster now.
The black car's doors opened. Two men stepped out. Dressed in black, faces covered.
“s**t”
“Killian “ Daisy's voice cracked with something raw and scared. Her hand trembled in mine.
My grip tightened around her hand, my knuckles pale.“Run! Daisy” I murmured pointing toward the car. “
But it was too late. The third man appeared out of nowhere. fast and silent.
He grabbed Daisy from behind, his arm around her waist, and in a swift motion, he swung her over his shoulder.
She was punched and slapped on his back screaming “Let go of me now”.
A violent jolt ran through my body like an electric shock. I threw a heavy punch at one of the guys' faces and before he could stabilize himself, I headbutted him causing blood to come out of his nose.
Before he got to the floor screaming in pain, I saw his colleague with my split vision in the air preparing to kick my head. I lowered myself and grabbed him by the leg instead. Within seconds, I was on him, boxing and making sure he never forgot this particular encounter in a hurry.
Once I was certain he was too weak to stand I ran toward the other man carrying Daisy but before I got to him, I saw him hold his ear in pain.
“Ahhh, f**k you b***h “ he was screaming, blood dripping from his left hand. The hand he used to hold his ear. Daisy must have surely bitten his ear.
Daisy was inches away from me when I noticed the first man, the guy I had headbutted standing up again.
We needed a way out.
And thatwhen I saw him.
A man in his mid-thirties getting off a motorcycle. It was a black Yamaha. Keys still in his hand.
Perfect.
I ran toward him at full speed. He looked up and his eyes widened. I shoved him hard and he fell backwards.
"Hey! What the hell.." he yelled.
I grabbed the keys from his hand and swung my leg over the bike."I'm sorry!" I shouted back, "I'll bring it back!" I lied.
"You son of a…" he trailed off.
Daisy was already running toward me
"Get on!" I yelled.
She didn't hesitate, she climbed behind me, her arms wrapping around my waist tightly. I could feel her heart pounding against my back. Once she was seated I jammed the key into the ignition and twisted.
The engine roared.
The men in black were coming closer, they were running toward us just ten feet away. One reached out for his jacket and pulled out his gun
Immediately I kicked the bike into gear.
The man's hand came up, pointing the gun at us.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Gunshots. Daisy screamed behind me, her arms tightened around me like they could tear down my flesh.
I swerved harder as the bike tilted. My knee almost touched the ground.
Another shot. Closer this time.
"Hold on!" I shouted and twisted the throttle. The bike surged forward, faster and the parking lot blurred around us and behind us, then I heard the car doors slamming, engines revving.
They were following, of course, they would.
I glanced in the side mirror and the black sedan was right behind us, gaining.
I leaned forward and Daisy pressed against my back, her face buried in my shoulder
"It's okay," I said. Not sure if she could even hear me over the engine. "I've got you."
We hit the main road. I swerved between cars, horns blaring, people shouting. The sedan was still behind us and even closer now, the window rolled down.
I saw the gun before I heard it.
Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.
Bullets sparked off the asphalt next to us.
"Killian!" Daisy's scream was right in my ear.
I reached back with one hand and grabbed my gun. pulling it free.
"Hold on tight!" I yelled, As the good girl that she is, she squeezed harder despite her entire body shaking against mine. My guts twisted. I hate to see her scared.
I twisted, looked back, and aimed.
Bang.
The sedan's windshield cracked. Spider-web pattern blooming. The car swerved and slowed. And just when I thought I had finally defeated them, another car appeared. Same mark, same model.
“Wow, I see they got company,” I murmured.
I turned back and focused on the road ahead. A side street narrowed, with trees on both sides. Without hesitation, I took a hard turn. The bike tilted and Daisy gasped.
Trees blurred past, branches reaching out like skeletal fingers.
The roar of engines behind us was closer and louder.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
More gunfire.
A bullet hit a tree trunk next to us and the bark exploded. I swerved again the bike weaved between trees.
"They're st…still coming!" Daisy said, her voice high and shaking.
I knew. I could hear them, I could see them in the mirror. But the street was getting narrower and the trees were getting thicker.
Good. Cars could suffer to pass through but we won't.
I pushed the bike harder, faster and the engine screamed. Branches whipped at us. One even caught my arm and drew blood but it didn't matter.
We kept going, kept riding.
Behind us, I heard screeching, a car crashing. I glanced back and one of the cars had clipped a tree, spun out, and stopped. But the other one was still coming slower now and struggling through the narrow path.
Then I saw a break in the trees, a dirt path leading deeper into the woods and I took it. The bike bounced in rough terrain and Daisy screamed.
"I know! Just hold on!"
We plunged into the forest, with trees everywhere. Thick trunks, low branches.
And we noticed the car behind us had stopped.
As we tried to steady our breath, we heard doors opening, they were coming on foot so we kept riding. Weaving between trees and jumping over roots.
Daisy's grip was so tight I could barely breathe.
"Please!" she shouted. "Please slow down!"
"Not yet!"
Pop. Pop.
Gunfire. closer now. They were on foot running and shooting. I glanced back and saw three men running through the trees with their guns raised.
One stopped and aimed at us but the bullet hit a tree next to us. It was very close.
I kept going deeper and farther until the only sound we could hear was the bike's engine and our heavy breathing. Then I
I slowed and stopped the bike.
The only sound around was the ticking of the cooling engine and the rustling of leaves.
Daisy climbed off, stumbled, and fell to her knees.
"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God." she was murmuring her entire body was trembling.
I got off and kneeled next to her "You're okay. We're okay."
"They tried to take me. They tried to…" Her voice broke.
I pulled her into my arms and held her tight "I know. But you're safe now."
She sobbed into my chest and her fists clenching my jacket.
I held her and just let her cry.
My mind was racing. “Who were those men? How did they know we'd be at that hospital? Was it connected to Samuel?” I mentally asked myself.
Too many questions. Not enough answers
I pulled out my phone and texted Viktor.
Me: I need another car now. I am turning on my location so you can track me.
Speaking of track, “Could this stalker be tracking us from Daisy's phone?”
- Writer
