Chapter 71
Chapter Seventy-One
Zac
It’s taken me longer than I care to admit to reverse the truck down the tiny side road, but now we’re facing the right way, ready to pull out, block the entire road, and stop Emilia’s convoy from getting through.
That is if they haven’t already passed this point.
I swallow the lump in my throat, hands tightening around the wheel.
One last acceleration, and then I probably won’t drive another truck for as long as I live.
And to think, they wanted me to do this until I died; I nearly scoff at the thought. But then again, I may die this very day, and they’ll get their fucking wish anyway.
“You good?” Jordan asks from the passenger seat.
I slam the truck back into first gear, lift the clutch, and press my foot onto the accelerator. “Yeah,” I mutter, voice rough.
The truck jostles forward, engine grumbling as we fill the entire width of the road. The front wheels drop off the edge of the tarmac on the other side, and only then do I brake, yanking the handbrake into position before turning off the engine and tearing out the keys.
An uneasy silence settles around us. The wind whistles through Jordan’s open window, a crow cawing in the distance.
Fuck.
What the fuck are we doing? Two of us, with nothing more than a couple of guns and a large, unnecessarily bulky truck. That’s nothing compared to even the one truck full of Enforcers that’ll transport Emilia, let alone if they bring more.
My ears ring, and my head drops, a curse slipping through my lips.
But I don’t have time to spiral any further because Jordan pipes up.
“We’ve got company.”
My head shoots up, and the screech of brakes hits me a split second before my eyes catch up. To our right, a dark green truck tears around the corner, a hundred feet away, swerving at the sight of us, skid marks no doubt staining the tarmac before it finally grinds to a halt.
I don’t have time to overthink this any longer.
I unholster my weapon in one motion, shoving the door open hard enough that it slams against the frame as I jump down from the truck.
“Zac!” Jordan shouts after me, but it barely registers. My ears are ringing, the world narrowing to a single, entirely captivating but annoying blonde girl. An Enforcer bursts from the passenger side of the truck, just as two other vehicles pull up behind it.
Shit.
My arm comes up automatically, aiming the gun.
Don’t think, Zac. Just do.
I fire.
Within half a minute, just as I’m firing at the second vehicle in the convoy, Jordan appears at my side, a balaclava pulled over his face to hide his identity.
The Enforcer behind the driver’s door of the second truck raises his rifle. Jordan’s own snaps up, and he pulls the trigger before I can react, the shot cracking through the road, piercing the Enforcer’s forehead.
They drop.
Retaliation comes immediately. Bullets spray around us, a couple punching through the sides of our truck. Jordan’s hand shoots out, grabbing my arm and pulling me down until we’re both crouched in front of the massive bumper of the Enforcer’s first truck, heat from the engine at our backs.
“Any idea which one she’s in?” he shouts over the gunfire.
I shake my head. “No.”
Before he can answer, his eyes widen. His gun flies up, a shot ringing out before I even have time to look. Behind me, an Enforcer crumples sideways, gun clattering to the road.
Blood pours out of her forehead, wide, glassy eyes staring up at the sky, her body lifeless. Fuck, that was nearly me.
“We need to move,” I snap, my voice raw. “Work our way through the trucks.”
Jordan nods. Quietly counting to three, we rise from behind the grille and push around the edge, sticking close to the truck for cover. The returning shots are fewer, more scattered and frantic. The Enforcers weren’t expecting this.
Good.
At the first truck, I seize the driver’s door handle, and Jordan grips the passenger’s. Guns in hand, we wrench them open in sync.
The driver is slumped back in his seat, limp and useless, and red marks taint the skin of his neck.
I feel my face drain of colour.
“Emilia,” I call, the name ripping out of me.
No answer.
“Emilia!”
I’m moving before I can think, back on the road, my boots slamming against the ground as I round the back of the truck to the closed doors. I don’t wait for Jordan as I grab the handles and wrench them open, the metal screaming under the force.