She threw the lock and jerked it open. The truck was right there, my keys already in my hands. I just had to get it open and get her inside.
“Callie Dawn.”
That voice sent a chill down my spine, but I didn’t falter. Kept myself between Callie and danger while I slid my key in the lock, my hand steady as anything.
“Callie Dawn, you’ve been a very bad girl,” Imogen said, her voice flat. “You always were. I told you what would happen if I didn’t punish you, and now look.”
I turned the key and the lock popped up. Cash growled and I unlatched the door. Didn’t risk looking back.
“You betrayed us. That Bodine woman was going to betray us, too. She thought she was doing me a favor. Isn’t that sweet? Bringing the news that you were alive to your poor, sad mother. So she had to die, just like you do now.”
I shoved Callie inside and Cash jumped in after her. Slammed the door shut. “Get down.”
With my heart beating so hard I thought it might burst, I ran around to the driver’s side. Callie had already unlocked the door. I threw it open, jumped in, shoved the key in the ignition, and started the engine.
A shot rang out and I heard the bullet pierce metal. Callie hunkered down on the floor, covering her head. I hunched as low as I could, threw the truck into first, and hit the gas. Goddamn, I’d never been shot at before.
This was fucked up.
The tires skidded through the gravel as I whipped around in a circle. I flinched at another gunshot, glass shattering everywhere. Same fucking window Misty Lynn broke.
“Damn it. Not again.”
I pressed on the gas, and we raced down my half-mile dive toward the road. Headlights flashed behind us.
“Stay down.”
I whipped around the turn onto the road and gunned it to go faster, my foot lead on the gas pedal. Taking the corners as fast as I dared, I headed down. Up the mountain didn’t lead anywhere. We’d wind up stuck on some dead-end dirt road in the middle of nowhere with a fucking psycho killer. Not smart.
So I raced toward town, the wind whipping through the cab, but the nutjob behind us matched my speed. She pulled up on a straight stretch, close enough to nudge my bumper. I held the steering wheel in a tight grip, keeping control. My eyes darted between the dark road and my rear-view mirror. I couldn’t outrun her. My truck was sturdy and reliable, but not fast. Rocky’s truck had me on speed, and Imogen drove with the limitless aggression of an evil psychopath.
“Brace yourself.”
Cash yipped and Callie held on as best she could. Instead of leading this chase through town, I downshifted and yanked on the steering wheel, whipping us around in an almost U-turn onto the highway.
My foot slammed the gas pedal down, the force pushing me back in the seat. For a second, I thought we’d gotten away. She hadn’t made the turn.
Then headlights appeared in my rear-view, closing in on us fast. The road curved and started climbing again. Maybe I could outrun her on the corners. Put enough space between us that I could turn off the highway onto a dirt road. Get into the trees, hit the lights, and she’d drive right by.
My jaw clenched with resolve, I kept my hands tight on the wheel and raced down the highway. Took the first corner so fast that the tires squealed.
We gained a little ground on the next turn, but she caught up when the highway straightened. I adjusted my grip on the steering wheel. Another corner was coming up fast. There were two more right after, a series of hairpin turns before the highway sloped down. This was our chance. I just had to keep us on the road.
I took the first corner, tires screaming. She matched my speed, her bumper right on mine. Leaning hard, I kept my foot on the gas and flew around the second turn, coming close to the guardrail.
Jerking forward, I almost hit my face on the steering wheel. She’d hit us from behind. The tires spun, the truck circling wildly. I fought the force of the impact, wrestling the wheel for control, feeling us spin. If we went over the side, we were dead. Callie was on the floor; she wasn’t even buckled in.
I strained against the steering wheel, against the