Page 83 of Twisted Prince
No more stops until New York. That’s for sure. If Gabby needs to go, she’ll just have to use one of the spare diapers I saw in Mel’s bag.
“You think they saw us?” Mel asks after several moments of silence.
“I know they did. Hopefully, they believe I took the interstate,” I say flatly, keeping my eyes on the rearview mirror as much as I dare.
My stomach drops as a gun barrel gray Hummer rounds the corner behind us.
“Blyat.”
That plan blown; I need to see if I can shake him. The city would offer better options in that regard, but at least on the narrow road, he’ll be less capable of getting past me in order to corral me onto the shoulder.
Like he’s reading my mind, Miko moves into the oncoming lane as he gets closer. Swerving over the centerline, I block him from passing, and he has to check his brakes, the Hummer releasing a squeal of rubber on the pavement. Moving back over to my lane as we round the bend, I narrowly miss meeting a car head-on.
He tries again, forcing me into the center to block him. And this time, I swerve all the way left to slip around the car in front of me that’s driving the speed limit. Miko follows a moment later.
My exit’s coming up quickly, and I slow just enough to take the curve without throwing the Escalade into a roll. But Miko’s not having it. He slams into the back of me, propelling the vehicle forward as the girls scream.
And when he tries to move around me in the moment it takes to recover, I barely manage to block him. Teeth locked, I keep my eyes shifting back and forth between the road ahead and the Hummer behind.
A horn blares in front of me as an oncoming car alerts me to the driver’s disapproval. The snap that follows a second later signals the driver’s side-view mirror being ripped from their vehicle as it connects with the Hummer’s. But Miko seems unfazed as he continues to hound my tail.
I go for another exit, and again, he forces me right past it.
This is going nowhere fast, and I don’t like the whiplash Mel and Gabby are enduring every time the Hummer makes contact.
Flooring it, I leave Miko in the dust as I push the Escalade as hard as I dare around the twisting turns. Trees fly by in a deep green blur, and I manage to frog-hop three cars between curves to put some space between us.
Then, on my fourth attempt, I’m nearly halfway past a car when a truck rounds the corner, coming straight at us. Tires screech as his horn blasts, and I slam on the brakes, just making it back onto my side of the road in time. Suddenly, the lead I managed to eke out is gone. And this time when Miko hits us, his right fender meets the left side of the Escalade’s bumper.
The steering wheel wrenches in my grasp as we skid, hitting the shoulder of the road at an angle. And the speed combined with the Hummer connecting with the side of the Escalade launches us into a roll.
Screams from the back seat, wrench my gut as the world spins around me. And I instinctually bring my arms up to cover my face. The impact whips me sideways into a cloud of white as the airbags erupt.
Glass shatters, the sound deafening as cool shards cascade around me, stinging my face.
Our roll comes to an abrupt stop as the passenger side meets a tree, and I pant as I hang upside down, suspended by my seat belt. Groaning, I brace against the roof of the car as I assess just how bad our situation is.
“You girls okay?” I ask, the sound of Gabby’s wails, ripping at my heart.
And when Mel doesn’t answer, my stomach wrenches. Turning my head and torso as best I can, I find Mel hanging limply in her seat belt, her dark hair a waterfall cascading around her head. A trickle of blood at her temple tells me she hit her head. And it must have been hard.
“Mama!” Gabby sobs, her tiny hands reaching for Mel’s dangling arm.
Turning my head the other way, I look out the shattered window to see the Hummer’s stopped—as is the car that I tried to pass. An older man climbs out of the driver’s seat, his movements arthritic. But a look of deep concern mars his wrinkled face as he approaches our Escalade.
“Get out of here, old man,” I warn him, digging into my pocket for a knife.
I have a very small window of opportunity to get myself and the girls free and run, so I keep only half an eye on the situation unfolding outside as I saw at my seat belt. I hit the ceiling with a thump as the nylon releases me. I crawl into the back seat to help Gabby out of her car seat.
From the corner of my eye, I watch as Miko intercepts the old man, and though I can’t hear what they’re saying, I know he’s ordering the guy to get back in his car and drive on.
Setting Gabby down gently, I murmur, “Stay right here while I get your mom.”
She nods, her nose runny and her round cheeks covered in tears.
With my knife, it only takes a few seconds before Mel’s free of her seat belt, and I grunt as I lower her awkwardly to the roof-turned-floor.
A shot rings out, making Gabby scream, and I pull her close against my chest as the old man crumples to the ground in front of Miko. Miko and his partner start to argue as the partner points to the old man, then the Escalade. Clearly, he’s not happy that they have another body to clean up while trying to hunt us down.
