Page 34 of Breakdown
As they crested a hill, Jordan watched the headlights of the car behind him disappear briefly. He was pretty sure it was following them. It was a non-descript Honda in grey, with tinted windows which was the giveaway. He was used to it at this point. The Russians had been keeping tabs on Liv pretty relentlessly for the last six months. He’d gotten good at spotting them, although he didn’t recognize this car, specifically. Liv thought it was mildly amusing. She didn’t need to be this obvious to know what her enemies were up to. She often leaned out the window to give them a jaunty wave when she recognized them. Jordan thought that was a bit reckless, but in any job the boss was the boss.
Liv didn’t seem to notice the car. She had her phone in her lap and was staring daggers into it. He wasn’t sure if she was willing a message to appear or trying to rally her strength to make a call. She gave a long rattling sigh. Then she raised her eyes and caught him staring at her in the rear-view.
“Looks like we have company again,” Jordan said awkwardly. He figured that this line of conversation would be the shortest of all available options.
Liv glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes narrowed. “Last fucking thing I needed this evening. I’m pretty sure Volkov and associates already know where I live. Why the fuck are they still on our ass?”
“I could do a couple of loops, try and lose them,” Jordan offered.
“Fuck it. I just want to—”
Liv froze. The headlights had gotten suddenly larger. On this empty stretch of road, the Honda was rapidly accelerating and pulling in behind them. Closing the distance with a speed that almost caused Jordan to panic. They were about to be rammed.
He jerked the wheel hard into the oncoming lane. They only caught the edge of his bumper, but even that was enough to cause the car to fishtail and he almost lost control.
“Shit,” he muttered. The car was alongside him now. They slammed him again, smashing the side mirror and forcing his driver’s side tires onto the narrow shoulder. Gravel sprayed noisily against his door as Jordan pushed the engine as hard as he dared on the twisting coastal road. The Russians kept pace.
Liv’s head was down as she yanked at the seatbelt, scrambling to free the Ruger she had holstered against her hip. Out of the corner of his eye, Jordan was the only one who saw the hand stretch out from the Honda’s dark interior. He was the only one who saw the gun pointed right at her. Wheels spinning for purchase, Jordan jammed the accelerator down just as their back window exploded in a shower of glass.
He shot out in front of the Honda, barely missing the car coming around a blind curve in the opposite direction, horn blaring.
“Motherfuckers,” Liv cursed.
Given the chance, Liv’s Audi was faster than the Honda, and Jordan began to increase the distance between the cars incrementally. They could outrun the Russians, at least for tonight. There was a calculated coldness then in the way Liv twisted in her seat, aiming the Ruger back through the broken window at their pursuers. The sound of gunfire made him flinch. All three bullets punched through the Honda’s windshield.
Jordan couldn’t be certain, but he thought he saw the body in the passenger seat slump over. The Honda dropped back, disappearing into the darkness.
Jordan just drove, pedal down. He realized that he was breathing heavily. He could feel his heart going like a rabbit’s.
In the back of the car, Liv screamed.
It was not a scream of pain or fear. It was pure anger and adrenaline.
“Wrong move. Wrong move, fuckheads,” she said largely to herself.
“When we get home, Jordan, I need you to get everyone on high alert. If Volkov was ready to hit me, he could be hitting our operations, too. In fact, I’m going to make a couple of calls myself.”
Her first call was to her boyfriend, Dave.
Jordan tried not to eavesdrop, but he couldn’t help but pick up the odd bits of conversation.
“I’m fine. It’ll be fine... more worried about you... come at me anyway they can... might even hit Erik if they... I’m fine. I have this under control. After tomorrow... Dave, I’ll be fine.”
It ended with a whispered, “I love you, too.”
Within ten minutes, they were sitting in Liv’s driveway.
“Thank you, Jordan. You were great tonight,” Liv said, when they had wrapped their calls. They hadn’t been hit anywhere else tonight, but that didn’t mean more wouldn’t come tomorrow. The war had reached a new stage. No holds barred.
“I think you better stay here overnight. Roads might not be safe. I’ve got a team on the way to secure the place, so you should be able to get some rest. Tomorrow, we hit back. We destroy them. I don’t even have to change plans.”
“You mean the car?” Jordan said before he could stop himself. He sounded more skeptical than he would have liked. He didn’t understand her play. It seemed barely above the level of mild inconvenience to a man like Volkov.
“Sure, the car,” Liv said. “It’s not actually about the car, Jordan. You should know that by now. You’ve known me long enough to be pretty sure I’m not a moron, yes?”
Jordan nodded, unnerved by the desperate intensity in her eyes.
“It’s better for you, if you don’t know everything, but I’ve been given some pretty valuable info on exactly how we can make them bleed and bad. If I do this right, it ends tomorrow. They get a big fucking taste of exactly what we’re feeling now.”
