Page 188 of Remy

“What?” Ollie squeals.

“Hard right.”

“Fuck,” Valenti mutters.

Ollie slams on the brakes, clenching the wheel as our tires screech.

The sedan closes in, hitting its brakes a second later, skidding uncontrollably toward us.

“Brace,” I shout, thrusting a protective arm across her chest.

But she plants her foot against the accelerator, taking off down the gravel lane as our enemies overshoot the turn, Russo and Valenti following them.

“Jesus Christ, Pyro.” I lower my arm. “You missed your calling as a stunt driver.”

“Less praise. More direction.” She inches closer to the steering wheel, peering into the stretching canopy created by the overbearing trees as tiny stones clink against the car undercarriage.

“They overshot the lane,” Russo shouts. “But they’re turning back to follow you.”

“Good. We’ve bought ourselves some time.” I point at the bend up ahead. “Keep going, Ollie. This road meets up with the one we were just on.”

She squeezes the wheel tighter, seeming more determined now than nervous. She eases off the gas as she approaches a sharp curve, then speeds through it.

I keep eying the back window, dust and dirt kicking up behind us. “We’re clear for now.”

She accelerates hard, the Escalade’s engine revving.

“The intersection is right up ahead.”

She nods. “I see it.”

We remain on our own as she slows, hard turns, then accelerates back onto the road.

“What’s happening, Valenti?” I demand.

“We’re still on their ass. We can’t be too far behind you.”

Ollie pushes the needle to the limit down a long straight. The world is empty out here. No cars. No visible houses. But if one forest animal bounds across the road, we’re going to be mixing DNA with a tree trunk.

“Goddamnit.” She glances to the rear view. “How can they drive so fast?” She hogs the road, speeding through bends.

“Don’t worry about them. Just concentrate. The turn is up ahead.”

Her gaze darts from the asphalt to the speedometer. Back and forth. “They’re gaining on us again.”

I check my side mirror. “Good. We still need them to know where we’re going. You’ve got time.”

She slows on the approach to Spring Brook Drive, the light behind us growing. “It’s more gravel.” She takes the corner and zooms onto the uneven road, passing long, stretching driveways that lead to darkness. “I’m going to get us killed, Remy.”

“No, you’re not. This is almost over.” I recheck the map. “There are a few bends up ahead. Then an intersection leading onto a lane. We want to have these guys handled before that intersection. It’s the farthest we’re going to get from nearby houses.”

“There’s an ammunitions store hidden down one of these side lanes,” Valenti adds. “Hopefully any loud noise will be attributed to their business and not ours.”

That’s what I’d been hoping for.

“We’re going to pass five tiny off-roads. That’s the first.” I point to one on our right. “Once we reach the fifth I want you to slow down.” I lower my window and double-check my gun’s magazine. “It’s going to get loud, Pyro. But you’ve got this.”

She nods, sucking in a strengthening breath.

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