Page 118 of Beyond Oblivion

“Patience is a virtue, my love,” Thomas said. “Don’t worry, I’m on it.”

“What the hell is going on?” Trenton demanded. After a beat, he spoke again. “Oh. I get it. This is the secret, right? You and Liis picking up that we’re being tailed like it’s a regular Tuesday, you coming to hear what Kostas had to say at Dad’s. Kostas’s background in security. You’re all like… Avengers, I guess?”

Thomas looked at him in the rearview mirror and grinned. “Something like that.”

“Travis, too?” Trenton asked.

“Yes, but it all ends today,” Thomas said. “From here on out, we all go back to our normal lives.”

“Fuck me,” Trenton said, bewildered. “You, too?” he asked, turning to me.

I shook my head. “No. Definitely not me. I’m the nerdy cab driver in this story who stumbled into all this.”

He nodded, relaxing back into his seat. “Thank God for that.”

“This stays between us,” Thomas said, stern. “No need to give Dad a heart attack. He promised Mom.”

“Ah, okay,” he said, relieved something made sense. “Wait. So, you’re not actually in advertising?”

“No more questions,” Liis said.

“Got it,” Trenton said, seemingly satisfied.

The car behind us sped up, pulling alongside our SUV. Moments later, their window cracked, and bullets ricocheted off our hood. My heart raced as Thomas suddenly veered into the chasing vehicle, nearly knocking it off the road, the car jolting as we hit the other SUV and then uneven terrain. Thomas continued into a field of rock and sand, dodging cacti as the other vehicle followed, dust kicking up in a thick cloud around us. Trenton grabbed my hand, squeezing it as the car bounced violently.

“Tommy,” he warned, using his other hand to push against the headliner above him.

“They’re not going to back off,” Liis said, her voice clipped as she unbuckled her seatbelt. “Cami, unbuckle. We’re getting out.”

I’d barely had time to put my feet on the ground when Thomas sped away with my husband, Thomas drawing the assailants away from us with gunfire.

Liis sighed, pulling her sidearm, seemingly from out of thin air. “They took the bait.”

“Thebait? Trenton isbait?”

Thomas fired again, his aim precise, and the other car swerved slightly. But they didn’t stop, instead ramming into Thomas, the impact jolting the car hard to the side. I screamed as the sand settled just enough that the proximity of the gorge came into view.

“They’re too close!”

Liis groaned, holding her stomach as she leaned over, knees bent.

“Oh, shit. Oh, no,” I said, putting my hand on her back. I glanced over my shoulder, hearing gunfire again.

Liis stood and aimed her sidearm, taking several seconds to aim. She fired once and must’ve hit her target. The SUV wavered, but not before slamming into Thomas and Trenton one final time. The force sent the SUV skidding toward the edge in a cloud of dust and sand.

“Jump!” Liis yelled, her voice sharp and urgent over the chaos. The moment the word left her lips, a violent tremor tore through her body, her breath catching mid-command. She doubled over, one hand clutching her belly as the other gripped my shirt.

I barely had time to react before she let out a shaky exhale, her face contorted, her body locked in place as another wave of pain hit.

“Oh, God,” I breathed, dropping beside her, slipping an arm around her shoulders as she leaned forward. “Please, not now.”

Liis squeezed her eyes shut; jaw tight as she fought through it. Her fingers dug into the fabric of my sleeve, her grip like iron. “I’ve felt them sporadically for a week. They’ll go away.”

“Are you sure?”

A violent crash jolted my focus from my laboring sister-in-law, and I looked up to search beyond the dust cloud for the SUV, seeing Thomas and Trenton’s shadows. They were still inside, the wheels teetering off the edge.

I screamed as I stood. “No!”

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