THE RUIN HE CHOSE

THE STILETTO CHASE

AURELIA

There was an actual f*****g pregnant woman wearing stilletos. Not the 4 inch but an actual flipping 6 Inches. I wondered what sort of dumb person would pretend to be pregnant and actually wear heels.

Zayn seemed to notice I wasn't focused and he followed my gaze and immediately noticed what I noticed. He dragged me away from Ms Taylor, leaving her hanging mid sentence. He walked towards another waiter and picked a glass of wine.. turning back to watch the pregnant woman, he raised the glass to his lips and spoke.

“Target in sight.”

“Copied,” jade's voice broke into my eardrums. The woman looked back and noticed us staring at her. Her lips moved and she said something before hurriedly trying to make her way out, weaving her way through the crowd of people.

Zayn's hands were still wrapped around mine, he followed her while trying not to draw attention to us, moving effortlessly through the crowd and pulling me after him. We finally got out and noticed the woman briskly running off, in stilletos and she's f*****g pregnant.

I almost laughed at the irony of the situation.

“Get into the car fast!” Zayn commanded the instant she got into a car and the car immediately started speeding off. This is what I like, situations where I can show off my driving skills.

I got into the car and before I could shut the door properly I started the car and immediately stepped on the gas. An incoming car narrowly missed crashing into us. The driver stuck out his head and yelled at me.

“Watch where you're going bitch..” I shut the car door properly paying the angry driver zero attention. People paused to watch, wondering what was going on.

“Open the roof,” he said calmly.

The wind whipped through my hair as I pressed the button, and the panoramic roof of the sleek black car slid open with a smooth mechanical hum. My heart was already hammering against my ribs, but nothing prepared me for what Zayn did next.

He bent down, reaching for a narrow, long rectangular box I hadn’t even noticed tucked beside his seat. The lid flipped open, and there it was, a sleek, deadly Barrett M82. His hands moved with terrifying efficiency, snapping pieces together in seconds, practiced and sure. No hesitation. No wasted motion. Then he rose, planting his feet on the seat and pushing his upper body through the open roof.

He balanced the massive gun on the roof edge, adjusted his stance, and opened fire.

The recoil boomed like thunder. I flinched hard, the car jerking under my hands as I swerved instinctively to avoid a motorcycle that appeared out of nowhere in the chaos.

“Drive smoothly, damnit!” Zayn hissed from above, his voice sharp over the wind and gunfire.

I grumbled under my breath, gripping the wheel tighter. “Yeah, sure, because this is totally normal Sunday driving.” But I straightened the car, forcing myself to focus on the road ahead even as my pulse roared in my ears.

Then the woman from earlier appeared.Her head and shoulders popped out of the pursuing vehicle’s window like a lollipop, dark hair flying wildly as she leveled her own weapon at us. Muzzle flashes lit up the night, bullets cracking against our rear and sparking off the pavement.

I realized in a split second that if I kept us in a straight line, one of those bullets was going to find Zayn. My stomach twisted. I didn’t think…I just reacted. The car swayed hard as I swerved again, cutting behind a slow-moving truck for cover. Zayn cursed but kept shooting.

Behind us, two more cars had joined the chase. I hadn’t even seen them join the formation until it was too late. Heads poked out from their windows, two more shooters joining the woman from her side as reinforcements.

The night exploded into a storm of gunfire.

The road fight turned into pure chaos in seconds.

A panicked driver ahead of us slammed on his brakes, and I had to yank the wheel left to avoid rear-ending him. Horns blared everywhere. One of the pursuing cars tried to overtake on the shoulder and clipped a sedan, sending it spinning wildly into the next lane. Glass shattered. I watched in the rearview as another vehicle swerved to avoid the ongoing commotion and slammed into a divider, sparks flying as it scraped along the concrete.

Zayn’s rifle barked again and again, each shot deliberate. I caught glimpses of him adjusting his aim, body moving with the car like he was born for this madness. I, on the other hand, was white-knuckling the steering wheel, weaving between cars, using them as shields while trying not to get us killed in the crossfire.

“Left! Go left!” he shouted down at me.

I obeyed without thinking. My breath came in short, sharp gasps.

The city lights blurred past us. Drivers yelled at us. Another accident erupted behind us, a pursuing car lost control after Zayn’s shot, smashing sideways into a van.

I didn’t know how much longer I could keep this up. But I kept driving, swerving, accelerating, protecting the man standing half-out of my car like my life depended on it.

Because right now, it did, I was getting paid for this type of danger.

Zayn tucked his head down to get more ammo and he was up there again in seconds. I didn't know when we pulled along a lonely untarred road. Our three cars and the car we were chasing was the only one in view.

Zayn handled the gun above, shooting. I could drive in a straight line since we had no obstacles. I heard a yell come from the car ahead of us as Zayn opened fire.

A man popped his head out, shooting back at us with a P90, rage evident in his features. I swerved again, bullets smashed into the glass of the car and I ducked while keeping my hands on the steering. Suddenly the bullet caught one of the tires which burst open. The tires screeched loudly as the car skidded to a stop.

I swerved around it and drove to the front of it, blocking it off as I pulled the car to a halt. Zayn got down from the car in seconds, his face livid with anger I've never seen before as he brought out his pistol.