Chapter 24
Goldie
I didn’t look back.
Not because I didn’t want to, but because I couldn’t afford to. I had been driving for hours, and I still could feel them hunting me.
The road stretched out in front of me, dark and endless. The yellow lines blurred as I pushed the speed higher than I should’ve. My hands were tight on the steering wheel, but if I loosened my grip, even a little, I was afraid I’d lose it completely.
Lose control. Lose focus. Lose the only shot I had at getting out of this alive.
The envelope was gone. That part was done, but that didn’t mean I was safe. Not even close.
My chest rose and fell too fast, my breath catching in uneven pulls as I forced my eyes to stay on the road. Trees lined both sides, thick and black, swallowing up any light that wasn’t coming from my headlights.
My fingers trembled, just slightly, and I tightened them again around the wheel until the shaking stopped. I shouldn’t have gone there. The thought hit me like it had a hundred times already.
I shouldn’t have walked up to that door. Shouldn’t have handed it over. Shouldn’t have said a damn word.
But I did, and now I just had to survive long enough for it to mean something.
The engine hummed beneath me, steady, but I could hear every little sound like it was amplified. The tires on the road, the slight rattle from the dashboard, and the rush of wind against the car.
Every noise made me flinch. Every shadow made my heart slam harder. They were going to come.
I knew it.
I flicked my eyes up to the rearview mirror. Nothing.
Just darkness stretching out behind me.
Empty road.
I swallowed, but it didn’t do anything to get rid of the dryness in my throat.
“Just keep going,” I muttered to myself. “Just keep driving.” No stopping. No slowing down.
I glanced in my rearview mirror again, and that’s when I saw them.
Headlights.
My breath hitched.
Two of them.
They were far back at first, then closer. Too fast.
My grip tightened again, my foot pressing down harder on the gas without me even thinking about it. The engine whined as the car surged forward, but it didn’t matter.
They were gaining.
My pulse roared in my ears as I checked the mirror again. Closer. Way too close.
Panic clawed up my chest, sharp and suffocating, but I forced it down.
Think. Think!
There was nowhere to turn. Nowhere to hide. Just this stretch of road and the dark pressing in on all sides. The headlights flared brighter, closing the distance.
My heart slammed so hard it hurt. This was it; they found me.
A shaky breath left my lips as I stared at the mirror, watching those lights come straight for me like there was no stopping them.
There was no escaping them and no outrunning what I’d just set in motion.
“I knew it,” I whispered.
My hands tightened on the wheel, and my foot pressed harder. But deep down, I knew they got me.