Page 103

“What the hell!” Gage admonished, “he’s an Affiliate all right but it makes no sense. Why would they follow you? You’re both marked.”
“We had pictures online, some old ones and they wanted to buy them, so we met and now,” she said, “they’re on my butt.”
“Where are you?”
“Just left the Soo, headed out River Road.”
“Get the plate number for me.”
Donja spun in the seat, the Mercedes on their tail. “MCW 2401. They’re getting closer,” she screeched.
“Speed it up and get home. Don’t stop for any reason!” Gage replied with a commanding tone. “I’ll call Torin, he’s at the bridge which is where I was headed. We’ll be there as fast as possible.” The line went dead and Donja noticed that the two-lane road unfolding before them was empty, not a car in sight. She glanced to Makayla then the odometer which was inching past eighty and rising. Suddenly the Mercedes sped into the passing lane. “Look out!” Donja screeched with a hand to her mouth.
The Mercedes swerved recklessly and bumped sides with the Lexus. Makayla screamed, over compensated and the Lexus slipped off the road, fishtailing on the graveled shoulder. She spun the wheel and bounced back to the road into the opposite lane.
Ahead of them, the Mercedes slid to a stop in the middle of the road.
Makayla swerved onto the shoulder and managed to pass, metal to metal with an eerie scraping sound which caused them both to scream.
Donja glanced back just as the Mercedes peeled rubber with its tires smoking. It lunged forward at an incredible speed, racing toward them. “Go, go, go, hurry!” She screamed. She turned to the passenger window, the Mercedes inching up beside them. Jonas turned his head to Donja and their eyes met. He suddenly turned the wheel, gripping it with both hands and slammed them from the passenger side. Donja screamed, the impact knocking her atop the console as they left the road, bouncing and plowing through dense underbrush. They slammed into an embankment so hard that the airbags from the dash and steering wheel exploded. Donja, stunned by the bag which felt like a basketball to the face, struggled against the billowing mass. “Makayla!”
Without warning the passenger door was wrenched from the car with a horrid noise.
Donja screamed as powerful hands snapped her seat belt. She felt him grasp her tightly and she knew it was Jonas. He pulled her from the car, kicking and screaming, pitched her over his shoulder and trudged into the thick underbrush. As they neared the top of the ravine, she glanced back. “Makayla!” she cried, unsure if she was dead or alive. She struggled but his grip was painfully tight. She managed to raise her head and through the thick brush saw Rubio rip the back door from the hinges and toss it aside. “Makayla!” she hollered, her voice echoing off the river banks but all she could hear were the rapids of the St. Mary’s, and then she saw Rubio moving through the bushes with the wedding album in hand. “Makayla!” she screamed again. Hearing nothing, her terror turned to horror. “Let me go!” she squealed, her voice breaking.
Outside the Mercedes with gravel crunching beneath his black boots, Jonas opened the back door and threw Donja inside. She bounced across the seat, her heart hammering. She immediately tried to open the opposite door, frantically flipping the chrome handle. It was locked. With her mind filled with thoughts of rape and murder, she tried to climb over the seat. The front door swung wide, then Jonas slid behind the wheel just as Rubio took the passenger side and slammed the door. Jonas hit the gas, gravel rattling in the fender wells as the Mercedes fishtailed, then bounced onto the highway, picking up speed.
“Let me out this car!” Donja screamed, frantically trying to open the doors. “Let me go!” she screeched as a dark tinted glass slid up from within the front seat entombing her. She beat on the glass, screaming and begging to no avail until finally with her heartbeat threatening to rupture her chest and her fist throbbing with pain, she collapsed on the seat, hands over her face, sobbing.
~~~
Makayla, completely dazed with the breath knocked from her lungs by the airbag, gasped a breath. She felt a burning pain on her nose and then it all came flooding back. She remembered being forced from the road. She caught the coppery taste of blood and raised a hand to her lips and nose which were bleeding. “Donja!” she cried, fighting the airbag which slowly deflated the smell of gas penetrating her nostrils. “Donja!” She glanced past the passenger seat, the door was ripped away—gone. Fear gripped her like a vice and then she noticed her open purse, the contents scattered upon the floorboard. She saw her phone and stretched across the seat. She snatched it up and hit dial.
“Hello,” Gage answered.
Hearing his voice, Makayla lost it, screaming and sobbing.
“Calm down, baby, take a deep breath.”
“Help! They ran us off the road,” she blubbered, “and I think they took Donja, I can’t see her anywhere.”
“Are they gone?”
“Yes, I think so, I can’t see their car, but I’m in thick underbrush.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No, not seriously but hurry,” she sniffled, “there’s steam coming from under the hood and I can smell gas.”
“Stay calm, baby, deep breaths. Now listen to me. I need you to get out and get away from the car. Hide until I get there.”
“Hurry!” she sobbed, fighting the seat belt which was jammed.
“Where are you? I’m close but I don’t see you.”
“About a mile from our drive, left side facing the river. Hurry…oh no, the seat belt’s jammed!”
“Almost there, just hold on baby and don’t call anyone. Do you hear me? No one.”