Page 2 of The Meaning Of You

I froze.

Justin.

Holy fuck.

Justin.

He was dead. He had to be.

Half his face was splattered in chunks on the lawn not ten metres from where I sat.

The man who’d clicked his fingers was still looking at me and I could swear he was smiling. The second man sprinted from the conservatory and my heart thundered in my chest.

Go. Go. Go.I couldn’t help Justin. Not anymore.

I needed to get the hell out of there and call the police.

I slammed my door shut, my hands shaking like crazy. It took two attempts to start the engine. I threw the BMW into drive and floored it. Tyres spun in the carpet of damp leaves and the rear of the BMW drifted dangerously toward the liquidambar. I eased off the pedal, got the vehicle back under control, and the rubber finally bit deep into the grass.

I flew onto the gravel drive and out toward the gate, but images of Justin’s terrified face filled my head and I misjudged the curve, careering back onto the lawn.

“Fuck!” I spun the wheel first one way, then the other until I found traction, cursing my stupidity.Pay attention, idiot.

I’d almost reached the bush when the crack of the front door slamming back on its hinges like a rifle blast damn near stopped my heart. My gaze shot to the rear-view mirror, and the larger of the men was diving into the driver’s seat of the Holden.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I white-knuckled the wheel and floored the accelerator. But before I’d even reached the letterbox, the Holden’s grille was all up in my mirror.

My mouth ran dry, panic raging through my chest. I passed the letterbox and spun the wheel. The car’s rear end drifted, flinging me sideways into the door, and pain rocketed through my shoulder. But the car kept moving.

In the rear-view mirror I watched the Holden spin out as well, but its driver was better than me. He quickly corrected the slide and began racing to catch up.

I flew far too fast down the unsealed narrow road, barely in control, but somehow, I kept in front. One kilometre passed. Then two. A few more and I’d hit the feeder road to the motorway and a lot more traffic. I made a grab for my phone on the passenger seat, cursing my stupidity at not turning it back on after leaving Justin’s. It was one of his rules. Phones off. He checked every time.

I fumbled to turn it on, then threw it back on the seat as it powered up, only half watching the winding road as the BMW barrelled down at breakneck speed. A car passed on my right, the driver sitting on his horn when he saw me coming. I slewed the BMW hard to the left, missing him by centimetres. I hoped he’d be pissed enough to call the cops.

The Holden was gone from the rear-view mirror and my heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t have gotten that far ahead. Then he appeared again, almost alongside, trying to overtake. A horse trailer coming up the other side forced him back.

Four kilometres from Justin’s house, I swung a hard right onto a second gravel road—a shortcut I’d used once before and that I hoped the other driver was unfamiliar with. The road rose sharply for a bit, sandwiched between near vertical bluffs on one side and a yawning ravine on the other. At the top, it descended abruptly toward the main road, which I hoped meant relative safety.

I was almost at the crest when the Holden roared up behind and the BMW lurched forward.Jesus Christ!I scrambled for control, missed ploughing through a boundary fence by a whisker, and for the first time wondered if I was actually going to make it out in one piece.

I prayed for decent reception and shouted, “Hey, Siri.”

Nothing.

“Fucking stupid bloody thing,” I shouted as I careered around the next corner. Without looking, I leaned over and snagged the phone, a slew of messages and missed calls filling the screen.

Nick.

Shit.

Bile surged up my throat.

Another corner, and when the BMW threatened to spin a one-eighty, I dropped the phone in my lap and clutched the wheel with both hands. Then, as if he’d heard me, Nick’s ringtone filled the car and I screamed at Siri to answer.

“Davis, where the hell are—” The call cut off and I cursed the arsehole reception in this godforsaken hole.

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