"Speed up a little," Matt said, "as if you've just noticed he's crowding you."
She pressed down on the gas, but the SUV immediately closed the gap. A second later, the car behind her hit her bumper, giving her a hard jolt. "Oh, God! He just hit me, Matt."
"I've got you, Haley. I'm coming up beside him. I'm going to slow him down. But you've got to drive faster. Give me some room."
She pushed the gas pedal to the floor, and her car jumped with the force, flying down the road. Her gaze moved to the rearview mirror. Matt's vehicle was coming up next to the SUV, crowding him, forcing him to slow down so Matt could slide in behind her.
But the other guy wasn't backing down, and she soon realized in horror that there was a car coming in the opposite direction, heading straight for Matt.
It was now or never. Matt must have realized the same thing and bumped the SUV hard, forcing him to the side of the road, but the other guy hung on, pushing Matt back into oncoming traffic.
Matt was forced to retreat, and her tail was behind her once more.
A hundred yards later, she saw a turnout on her right. It was risky to pull over, but if she took it fast, maybe the guy behind her wouldn't be expecting it. And she felt like she had to do something. She waited until the last second, then swerved into the turnout, hitting the brakes so hard her car skidded toward the rail. She braced for impact from either the rail or the car behind her, but her brakes held, and her tail was moving too fast to stop in the turnout, disappearing down the road in front of her.
Matt pulled up beside her and jumped out of his car, his gun drawn, as if he expected the car to return, but the road remained empty. Then he put his gun away and opened her door. Hands trembling, she undid her seat belt and climbed out, falling into his strong arms.
He held her tightly against his broad chest. "Are you all right?"
"I think so. I can't seem to stop shaking." She looked down the road, but there was still no car in sight in either direction. "Is he really gone? I thought he was going to knock me through the railing."
"You made a fast move. Very quick thinking, Haley."
"I wasn't sure it would work. Thank God it did." She paused. "He probably didn't want to have a witness, and he couldn't take out both of us at once." She blew out a breath of relief. "I've never been so scared in my life."
He gave her a reassuring look as he gazed into her eyes. "You're safe now, Haley."
"I can't quite believe it. I'm still shaking."
He pulled her back against his chest, and she buried her face in his shoulder, breathing in his scent, letting his steady heartbeat calm her racing pulse. She might be safe now, but what about later? What about tomorrow?
After a few minutes, she pulled away from him, looking into his eyes. "Do you think he followed me from Cipher?"
"Probably."
"AJ could be in danger. We have to warn him. We did exactly what he was worried about; we led someone straight to him."
She let go of Matt to grab her phone off the console and punched in the number for Cipher, asking the woman who answered to get her AJ, that it was urgent, a matter of life and death.
"I'm sorry," the woman said. "But AJ is gone. He left twenty minutes ago. He said if anyone called to tell them he was going on a trip, and he didn't know when he'd be back."
"Okay. Thanks." She looked at Matt. "He's gone. He left right after we did. He had a bad feeling."
"Well, that's good."
"Is it good? Is anything good? Because things appear to be getting worse."
"That just means we're getting closer. Are you going to be able to drive home?" he asked.
"I don't think I have a choice. I can't stay here."
"I can get someone to come and get your car, or we can come back tomorrow and get it."
"I can drive. Just don't let anyone get between us."
"I won't. I'll follow you all the way home, and we'll order a pizza when we get to your place."
"If he followed me to Cipher, he must know who I am, where I live. Am I going to be safe at home?"
