Page 37 of Jacking Jill

“Shit.” Jack flicked his gaze up at the rearview mirror, cursing again when he saw one of the black Range Rovers spring into motion like a panther in pursuit. “Seatbelt, Jill. Now, please.”

Jack glanced over at Jill beside him, his gaze doing a lightning-quick scan of her body to check for any visible signs of damage. He could already tell nothing was broken or dislocated. But there was a big bruise forming on her bare upper arm, and there could easily be more bruises beneath her clothes that might indicate more serious injuries, perhaps even internal bleeding.

“You all right?” he said when Jill managed to snap her seatbelt into place. “Jill, look at me. Are you all right?” Jack’s voice was urgent but gentle even as the wintry wind screamed through the shattered window and the Honda’s little engine roared like a tiger-cub pretending to be big and fierce as it ran from the beastly Range Rover that was already eating up the road between them, closing in fast. “We’ll get you to a hospital, but I need to get rid of these guys first.”

“What . . . what happened?” Jill stammered out the words, her lips trembling. She absentmindedly wiped the side of her blood-spattered face. The snow had mixed with Bobby’s blood to create a dark-red sludge. “Ohmygod, this is so gross. I need to get this off me.”

“Hey, stay in your seat, damn it!” Jack shouted as Jill tried to turn towards the backseat, where there was a box of tissues somewhere. “Jill, do what I say. We’ll get you safe first and clean you up later.” He cast another look at the rearview mirror. The Range Rover was right on their ass, almost kissing their bumper, headlamps flashing urgently like it was ordering them to stop. “Keep your head down, Jill. As low as you can go while keeping your seatbelt on. Like the airplane-crash position, leaning forward as far as you can go. That’s it. Perfect.”

Perfect was right, because the back window shattered an instant later, a bullet slamming into the dashboard right between the front seats. Jack swerved left, then moved right, zigzagging his way across the empty two-lane road to make it hard to get a clear shot.

But it was a bad sign that Romeo’s guys were shooting, Jack thought. It meant Romeo had given Diego the order to take Jack out, and now he’d asked his guys to finish the job. Jack was a masterful driver, but there was no getting around the mismatch between the two vehicles. Swerving left and right to prevent the Range Rover from pulling up alongside would buy Jack some time, but he was a long way from a highway or any major road with enough traffic that Romeo’s thugs would have to back off or else risk some passing car calling the cops.

“Should I call 911?” Jill asked, her voice muffled because her head was down near her knees. “Oh, shit, I can’t! Kay Steffen stole my bag and my phone.”

“Wait, what?” Jack frowned, keeping his eyes flicking between the road—which he could barely see through the splintered windshield—and the rearview mirror. “Why were you even talking to Kay Steffen, Jill?”

Jill didn’t answer and Jack didn’t bother to ask again. He slid his hand into his jacket pocket, felt for his phone, then reconsidered when he realized that calling 911 would create more problems than it might solve. Benson would already be pissed at Jack for disobeying the order to go after Diego. Bringing in local law enforcement would drive the old CIA veteran completely livid. Besides, Jack didn’t want to risk a cop getting killed in the crossfire. Finally, there was always the outside chance that the local police were in Romeo Carmine’s pocket.

Now Jack heard Benson’s voice come from his pocket, and suddenly he realized that shit, Benson would have been listening all along, would have some idea of what was going on. And with Paige tracking Jack’s Darkwater phone via GPS, they would know exactly where he was right now, would even know how fast he was moving.

Through the howling wind that was going in and out as Jack swerved all over the road, both hands tight on the wheel to make sure the outmatched Honda didn’t spin off the snowy asphalt, Jack couldn’t make out what the hell Benson was saying and didn’t dare break his concentration to pull out his phone so he could hear better. But his mind was already spinning through the possibilities of what Benson and the Darkwater team might be planning, and it didn’t take long to guess what was about to happen.

Hogan.

Hogan had just dropped off that package of surveillance equipment at the Winchester Hotel, hadn’t he?

Which meant Hogan would still be in the area.

Now Jack grinned when he saw a dark intersection coming up ahead. Two isolated suburban county roads were about to cross, and Jack’s sharp eyes could already make out Hogan’s Darkwater-outfitted black Jeep Liberty racing along the adjacent road that crossed up ahead. Hogan’s black Jeep was moving fast, almost invisible with its headlights off, the former Recon Marine pacing the powerful vehicle to time it just right.

“Hold on, Jill,” Jack barked, glancing at the Range Rover behind him, then tightening his jaw and tightening his grip on the wheel and pressing the gas pedal all the way to the metal floor. “Here it comes.”

“I am holding on!” Jill gasped breathlessly from where she was holding her knees and keeping her head out of the line of fire. “And here what comes?”

“Here Hogan comes.” Jack grinned again as their Honda sped past the dark intersection and he caught a flashing glimpse of Hogan’s Jeep Liberty looking like a dark ghost with its lights off, the custom-fitted battering-ram-cage protecting the front grill stretching like the wicked grin of an approaching dragon.

Hogan’s timing was perfect, and just after Jack’s Honda zipped past the intersection, Hogan’s Darkwater Jeep got there and rammed the Carmine Range Rover squarely in the side, smashing its battering-ram grill right above the Range Rover’s rear wheel, exactly where you’re supposed to ram a car for maximum damage.

The tremendous force of impact briefly lifted all four wheels of the heavy Range Rover off the road, the car seeming to float for an instant before violently rolling over sideways onto its roof and doing two more flips and a cartwheel before coming to a stop upside down.

“Ohmygod!” Jill shrieked, sitting up straight and looking around with bewilderment. Behind them Hogan had regained control of his Jeep and was following them, and now he turned on his headlamps, keeping them dipped so it wouldn’t blind Jack. “Now someone else is following us?”

“Relax,” said Jack, slowing the Honda down and then pulling over onto the snow-blown shoulder. “It’s Hogan. You’re safe now, Jill.”

Jill stared at him like he was speaking Swahili. Hogan had pulled to a stop behind them, his engine still running, headlamps still on. The beams of light lit up Jill’s face, and Jack saw immediately that the adrenaline was wearing off and the shock was going to set in soon.

“We need to get you warm,” Jack said urgently, pushing open his door and getting out. Hogan was already on the road, facing away from Jack, scanning the scene behind them, his weapon drawn to provide cover just in case Romeo’s goons were still conscious after being rammed with the force of a thousand charging bulls. “Is your backseat clear, Hogan?”

Hogan had his back to them, was watching the road for any signs of more trouble. It was quiet, and Hogan glanced over his shoulder towards Jack and nodded. The tall, broad former Marine swept his gaze once more towards the upturned Range Rover, which was far enough away that even if one of those thugs had some fight left in him, you’d see him coming well before he got into handgun-range.

But there was nobody coming. The Range Rover was a heavy-enough car with state-of-the-art airbags and a crash-resistant frame, so Romeo’s goons were probably alive. Still, Hogan’s hit had been vicious enough that they were going to need a month of physical therapy before they could walk anywhere fast again.

“Clear.” Hogan lowered his weapon, turned just as Jack pulled open Jill’s door and was leaning in to unbuckle her seatbelt. “You need help with her, Jack?”

“I’ve got her,” Jack called back, smiling warmly at Jill as she trembled in the seat, the shock setting in, the cold air now making her shiver uncontrollably. “Hey, I’ve got you, Jill. Just relax. I’ve got you, baby.”

“Jack?” she slurred, her trembling lips unable to form the word correctly. “Jack, what’s happening?”

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