Chapter 9
541 Words
CHAPTER 9
THE BOUNTY
The Ferrari tore through the Swiss border before dawn.
Elara sat silently beside Lucian, staring through the window at the mountains.
Neither had spoken for nearly an hour.
Finally, she broke the silence.
“How much?”
Lucian glanced at her.
“How much what?”
“The bounty.”
His expression changed.
“You heard?”
“Your phone has been vibrating for twenty minutes.”
He looked at the screen.
“Three hundred million.”
Elara blinked.
“For me?”
“Yes.”
“That seems excessive.”
“You've never had a bounty before.”
“No.”
“Most people don't.”
She turned toward him.
“Who wants me?”
“Governments. Private intelligence groups. Corporations.”
“And Victor?”
“Victor wants something else.”
“What?”
“You.”
She frowned.
“That doesn't explain anything.”
“It will.”
The Ferrari entered a narrow mountain road.
Lucian suddenly slowed.
Elara noticed.
“What?”
“Someone is following us.”
She looked into the mirror.
A black SUV appeared around the bend.
Then another.
Lucian sighed.
“Three.”
Elara smiled.
“You know, this is becoming repetitive.”
Lucian looked at her.
“You're enjoying this again.”
“I enjoy difficult problems.”
“People shooting at you aren't problems.”
“They are if they miss.”
He laughed.
Actually laughed.
Elara stared at him.
“What?”
“I've never heard you laugh.”
“You've known me less than a day.”
“It feels longer.”
The words lingered.
Elara's smile faded slightly.
Something warm moved through her chest.
She looked away.
Lucian's phone rang.
He answered.
A voice spoke rapidly.
“Sir, the bounty has been increased.”
“To how much?”
“One billion dollars.”
Lucian's grip tightened around the phone.
Elara heard him.
“One billion?”
“Yes.”
She looked at him.
“Apparently I'm valuable.”
“You have no idea.”
The SUV behind them accelerated.
Lucian pressed a button.
The Ferrari's engine roared.
“Hold on.”
Elara smiled.
“Finally.”
The mountain road became a blur.
Cars raced toward them.
Gunfire erupted.
Lucian reached for his weapon.
Elara took the next corner at impossible speed.
“Left!”
“I see it.”
“Right!”
“I know.”
“Brake!”
“I know!”
The Ferrari flew between two cliffs with barely enough room to pass.
Behind them, one SUV crashed through the barrier.
Elara laughed.
Lucian looked at her.
“You really are insane.”
She glanced at him.
“And yet you're still sitting beside me.”
His eyes remained on hers.
“That's the problem.”
For one suspended second, the danger disappeared.
Then Elara's phone illuminated.
A message appeared.
ONE BILLION DOLLARS FOR ELARA VEYNE — DEAD OR ALIVE.
Below it was a second message.
LUCIAN VALE IS NOT EXEMPT.
Elara slowly looked at him.
“They're coming for you too.”
Lucian smiled coldly.
“Good.”
“Why?”
He looked toward the mountains ahead.
“Because now they have given me a reason to stop running.”
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