25. Chapter 25 #3
“Damn it!” Ryan sped up and swerved around a couple cars. “It looks like another truck has joined in the chase.” He drove into the turning lane but continued straight through the intersection. Horns blared. “They got stopped at the intersection, but it won’t take them long to catch up.”
He sped up again. “Call Marcus,” he barked, and the phone rang through the SUV’s monitor.
Marcus answered immediately. “Problem?”
“Yeah. We’re being followed.”
“Roger that. Your trackers are working, and we’re heading in your direction. Confirm location.”
Ryan rattled off the street they were on and the cross street they just passed. “If I can find a place to stop, I’m going to have Sienna and John get out and I’ll lead them away.”
Sienna’s stomach dropped. “Ryan, no!”
“Sienna. When it comes to your safety, you agreed I’m in charge. Leave your phone in the car in case that’s what they’ve been tracking. You have John’s burner.”
“We’ll be there shortly,” Marcus announced.
Sienna dumped her phone and other extraneous things out of her purse and put the book and ring box inside. She then stuffed the box with the bowl inside as well, glad that she was carrying her larger bag today.
Her hands shook and John grasped one. “I’ve got you.”
Ryan took a sharp right turn, barely slowing down, and headed down a side road before turning again down another road and then behind a building before slamming on the brakes. “Go!”
John pushed open the door and pulled Sienna out of the SUV with him. The door barely shut before Ryan sped around the building and down the street. She didn’t get a chance to tell him to be safe.
Sienna’s heart pounded as John tucked them up against the back of the building, watching to see if anyone was coming their way. After a minute he peeked around the corner before leading her around the side until they came to a row of shops and a couple of restaurants.
Sienna jumped when John’s phone rang, and he hit the speaker button. “Marcus.”
“You safe?” he said, getting right to the point.
“So far. No cars followed us. I think they went after Ryan.”
“Good. We’re about ten minutes away from you.”
“Is someone tracking Ryan?” Sienna asked, trying to calm her breathing.
“Yep. He’s got backup on the way too. Is there somewhere public you can blend into?”
“Yes,” John answered. “We’re by a small strip mall. We can go into one of the stores.”
“I’ll call back when we get closer.”
John put the phone into his shirt pocket and held out his hand to Sienna again. “Come on. Let’s go shop.”
She put her hand in his and gripped the straps of her bag on her shoulder before stepping onto the sidewalk.
“You okay?” he asked in a low voice.
“Yes,” she answered quickly. But she wasn’t. They were in trouble, and Ryan was out there being chased by God knows who. And it was her fault.
He frowned down at her. “Take a deep breath. We need to look like a couple out having a good time.”
She sucked in a breath and then another before nodding.
They strolled down the sidewalk and checked out the stores.
There was a pottery shop, a craft store, a shop for everything baby, and the last shop on this side of the road was a drugstore.
“Let’s head to the drugstore. Less chance of having to deal with clerks wanting to help us. ”
They walked inside and headed down the candy and snack aisle.
Sienna grabbed a couple of items without really looking.
John still held her hand and stood sideways in the aisle so that he could watch both ends.
That was something Ryan would do. She swallowed.
If she hadn’t insisted that they needed to do business as usual this morning, they would have had backup.
Instead Ryan was using himself as bait while she was hiding.
“Whatever you’re thinking right now, stop,” John said.
“But—”
“He’s doing his job, and he’s good at it.”
Before she could argue, John’s phone rang and he held it to his ear this time and answered. “Hello.” He listened for a moment. “Pharmacy. We’ll head out now.”
She dropped the candy back on the shelf, and they walked toward the front. The doors swished open, and moments later an SUV pulled up with Marcus in the passenger seat.
They climbed into the back and were off. Sienna glanced behind them and saw another SUV with guards following. “Have you heard from Ryan?”
“Both cars followed him. He was able to make it to a police station and park. I’ve got another SUV on the way to back him up so that they can get back to the clan house.”
Sienna’s chest relaxed and she pulled in a breath. “Do you think they were trying to scare us or actually run us off the road?”
Marcus turned to her. “I think they were trying to stop you.” He looked at John. “Were they after you?”
John frowned. “Possibly.”
Sienna wrapped her arm tightly around her bag. “They didn’t know John was with us. And they haven’t tried to stop Ryan and me in the past. They must have wanted to know what we found in the vault.”
She looked over at John, who nodded at her. He’d been calm as could be during the whole mess. But he’d spent his whole life on the defensive. It wasn’t the way she wanted to live, and she prayed that it would soon be the same for John.
Hopefully what her mother left them would help end this curse.