Page 73 of Breaking Matt
Horror and fear gripped me like a vise. Unable to breathe, I held on to my seatbelt for dear life. Even though Mark had put security measures in place to use a diversion, it hadn't worked. Had there been more than one person watching me just in case? Was Nick so determined to get his revenge that he would do anything he could to ensure I couldn't escape him?
I checked the speedometer, but Mark wasn't going any faster. Why wasn't he putting his foot down and getting me out of here as fast as possible? If I had been in the driver's seat I would have sped up and tried to lose them. I wanted to shout at him to go faster, but I bit my lip. Yelling at him wasn't going to help. He had to keep calm and allow his training to guide him on the best way out of the situation we were in.
Unable to stop myself, I looked back. The black SUV behind us was fighting to stay on the road as another SUV tried to push it off. My mouth dropped open at such a brazen action in the middle of the day.
I closed my eyes as I faced the front again. Seeing that only made me feel more frightened. They were going to do anything they could to take me out. If they ran us off the road and caused an accident, bulletproof windows weren't going to help. And my bulletproof vest would also be useless.
Breathe in, I commanded myself.Breathe out.Allowing myself to spiral into a sobbing mess wasn't going to help anything.Keep your control. You can do this.
"Hold on," Mark instructed.
With one hand I gripped the seat and the other I held my seatbelt. Fear sped up my heart and I could feel it thump in my chest with every beat.
There was a sound of metal scraping against metal behind us. It had to be the other SUV. Had they run them off the road? I was too scared to look back again. Like if I didn't see what was happening, I could lie to myself and tell myself I would be okay.
A loud bang made my heart slam into my chest—they were shooting at us.
"Get down!" Mark commanded with one hand pushing my head down and my sunglasses dropped to the ground.
The sound of wheels squealing and then a louder sound of metal crunching made me close my eyes and start to pray.
Please, let us be okay. Please let me get home safe,I thought desperately, one prayer after the other, hoping someone would answer them.
Mark had taken a back route to my parents' house, which added an extra ten minutes onto our journey. The road was a single lane through the residential area. Now I wished he'd taken the shorter route.
I felt the car jerk slightly and realized it was caused by a car pushing us from behind. The only sound was the deafening squeal of the tires as Mark tried to shake them. Metal and against metal, the car tried again and again.
Another shot rang out, hitting the car.Thump, thump. I put my hands over my head.
We were going to die. They would push us off the road like they had done to the other SUV. And even if by some miracle we survived the impact they would be there to finish off the job.
I could swear I saw my life flash before my eyes. And the depressing thing was that it hadn't taken that long. I was so young—I hadn't even had a proper chance to live. All those meaningless hookups that were supposed to make me feel independent and in control had only made me feel empty inside.
How many people would care if I died? My parents would. An image of Courtney appeared in my mind. She would be devastated. And Matthew? He would mourn the loss of his friend and partner, Mark—but would he mourn for me? He was probably still upset I had turned my back on him when he'd been in the hospital recovering from the injury that had saved my life. Or had he realized my motives behind the action?
The car jolted forward and brought me back to the present situation with a thud. I held on desperately, trying to hold on as the car swerved and Mark tried to keep them from pulling up beside us.
"Call Matthew," Mark said, with the first signs of strain evident in his voice. He had both hands on the steering wheel, keeping a close eye on the car still trying to run us off the road.
With shaking hands I got my phone out of my bag, still hunched over, and tried to call Matthew. It took me a few tries before I put my phone against my ear and heard it ringing.
"Matthew," he answered after a couple of rings. His voice was distant but I felt it wash over me like a protective blanket.
"Matthew," I breathed, struggling to keep the hysteria at bay.
"What's wrong?" he asked, immediately picking up on the stress in my voice.
"Tell him Charles and Ben were pushed off the road," Mark said, pulling sharply to the left to cut off the car. Another shot rang out.
My mind was muddled trying to answer Matthew while taking instructions from Mark.
"Sarah, what's going on?" Matthew commanded.
"Matthew...we're in trouble," I managed to get out.
Another sharp swerve made me drop the phone. I had to regain my balance before I leaned over and picked it up off the floor in front of me.
"Sarah!" Matthew yelled so loud I could hear him before I put the phone back against my ear, still keeping my head down.
