Chapter 10 - Blood in the Water
The heavy rain hammered against the windshield as Julian slammed the accelerator to the floor. The Mustang surged forward, tires spinning in the thick mud before catching traction.
“They’re blocking the exit!” Victoria shrieked from the back seat.
“Julian, aim for the gap between the middle SUV and the fence!” Cole ordered, pulling a heavy, matte-black Glock from his waistband and rolling down the passenger window. The roar of the storm rushed into the cabin.
The SUVs didn't wait. Sparks flew in the darkness as automatic gunfire erupted from the lead vehicle. Bullets tore into the mud around them, pinging violently against the Mustang’s reinforced bumper.
Elena screamed, throwing her arms over her head and ducking low. Without hesitation, Victoria threw her own body over Elena, shielding her daughter with her back.
“Keep your head down!” Victoria yelled, her voice trembling but fierce.
Julian yanked the steering wheel hard to the left, narrowly avoiding a burst of bullets that shattered the passenger side mirror. He aimed the heavy muscle car right at the narrow gap between the black SUV and the rusted chain-link fence.
“We’re not gonna fit!” Julian roared over the gunfire.
“Don’t lift your foot off the gas!” Cole yelled back. He leaned out the window into the freezing rain and squeezed the trigger of his Glock three times. The windshield of the middle SUV shattered, causing its driver to flinch and jerk the wheel.
The gap widened just enough.
CRASH.
The side of the Mustang scraped violently against the armored SUV, tearing metal and sending a shower of sparks into the night air. The passenger side door crumpled inward, but the momentum carried them through. Julian smashed through the chain-link fence, the car going airborne for a terrifying second before slamming down onto the wet asphalt of the main road.
“Go, go, go!” Cole shouted, checking his magazine.
Julian shifted into third gear, the engine screaming as they sped down the deserted industrial road. Behind them, the headlights of two SUVs swung around, recovering from the impact and giving chase.
“They’re gaining on us,” Julian yelled, checking the rearview mirror. “I can’t outrun a V8 engine in a straight line!”
“Take the next right! Toward the old bridge!” Cole instructed.
In the back seat, Elena slowly sat up, her heart pounding against her ribs. She looked at Victoria, who was still leaning heavily against the door.
“We made it through,” Elena gasped, reaching out to touch Victoria’s shoulder. “Victoria, we made it—”
Elena’s hand came away wet.
Even in the dim light of the streetlamps flashing by, Elena could see the dark, crimson stain spreading rapidly across the silk of Victoria’s tailored suit jacket.
“Julian!” Elena screamed, pure panic ripping through her throat. “Julian, she’s hit! Victoria’s been shot!”
Julian’s eyes snapped to the rearview mirror in horror. Victoria was pale, her lips blue, her hand weakly pressing against her lower abdomen.
“Mom!” Julian cried out, his voice cracking. The professional CEO facade completely shattered, leaving only a terrified son.
“Keep driving,” Victoria rasped, her eyes fluttering. She looked at Elena, her bloody hand reaching out to touch the girl's face. “I got you this time, Elizabeth. I protected you… I wasn't going to lose you twice.”
“You’re not going to lose me at all, do you hear me?” Elena sobbed, tearing the sleeve off her hoodie and pressing it violently against Victoria’s wound to stem the bleeding. “You don't get to die to make yourself feel better! You owe me twenty-three years, you stubborn bitch!”
Victoria let out a wet, weak laugh. “You have… my temper.”
“Cole, we need a hospital!” Julian shouted, swerving to avoid an oncoming truck. “She’s bleeding out!”
“If we go to a hospital, Arthur’s men will slaughter everyone in the ER to get to us,” Cole said grimly. “But I know a guy. An underground mob doctor. Two miles east.”
A bullet shattered the back window, showering Elena and Victoria in safety glass. The SUVs were closing in.
Elena looked at the decryption key hanging around her neck, then at the blood on her hands. Arthur had taken her life, her childhood, and her future. Now he was trying to kill her mother and the man she loved.
The scared orphan was dead.
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“Cole,” Elena said, her voice dropping an octave, cold and absolute. “Give me your gun.”
Here are chapters 11 through 15, continuing the high-stakes, adrenaline-fueled drama of the Sterling family's darkest secrets.
