Page 56 of Protected By the Mountain Man

“Come on, you bastard, give up already,” Gabe muttered.

But the car was relentless, mirroring our every move. The driver was unhinged, pushing their vehicle to its limits, and Gabe's grip on the steering wheel tightened as he tried to maintain control.

“Jesus,” I whispered. “Can you lose them?”

“Trying,” he grunted. I saw his eyes dart toward the mirror, watching. My hands shook. I couldn’t do anything; I was just along for the ride.

Another swerve, this time more violent, and the truck skidded on the loose gravel at the edge of the roadway—the sound of it grating like nails on a chalkboard.

“Careful!” I couldn't keep the panic from my voice now.

“Doing my best, Kat!” Gabe shot back, frustration bleeding into his tone.

I could feel the tension radiating off him, the same intensity that had driven his fists earlier in the night now channeled into keeping us alive.

“Watch out!” I screamed as the other car made a sharp cut towards us, clipping the corner of the truck.

We wobbled…skidded.

The impact sent us fishtailing.

For a split second, we were pointed straight, a false promise of safety—then the world turned sideways.

“Shit!”

We veered off to the side and the truck rattled as we skidded over rough terrain. Miraculously, we didn’t flip over. The airbags didn’t deploy either, though I didn’t know if that was because the accident was minor or because Gabe’s truck was so run down it didn’t have them. My heart pounded in my throat, stomach churning.

“Kat!” I heard Gabe's voice, distant over the ringing in my ears. “Kat, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Yeah…I think I’m okay.”

But I didn’t know how much longer that would last.

Because whoever had driven us off the road was still out there…and as far as I knew, they were about to come in for the kill.

TWENTY-ONE

Gabe

We were both safe.

We were both alive.

That, at least, was something.

“Stay low,” I muttered, my eyes flicking to the rearview mirror. I could see the car’s tail lights down the road; they were turning around.

So they planned on finishing the job.

Shit.

“Think we can pull out of here?” Kat's voice was tight.

“Yeah, but…”

I didn’t have to finish my sentence. We both heard the crunch of tires on gravel as they pulled up on the shoulder behind us, blocking our exit.

“Fuck,” she hissed. “You carry a gun in here?”

---