Page 26 of Pervade Montego Bay

The van struck us from the front, pushing us backwards towards the estuary. Our two vehicles were locked together. I strained to see who was driving the van, but the darkness hid their identity.

I pulled my Walther PPK and fired at the van’s windshield. The glass shattered as I emptied the magazine into the other vehicle. The van came to a stop. We came to a halt, just short of the edge.

Xavier was frozen in his seat, hands digging into the dashboard, trying to catch his breath.

I sat there feeling numb until the thickening smoke became blinding and the heat stirred me to action. I holstered the gun and snapped a hand to my face, checking for injuries before moving down to my chest. I shifted my arms to make sure they weren’t broken.

I heard a hissing sound from the engine and saw flames beneath the rising smoke, licking the front of the vehicle.

I tried moving my legs and couldn’t.

I had to get out.

Needed to get Xavier to safety.

Coughing to clear my lungs, I reached for Xavier. My hand fell onto an empty seat. His door was open.

Xavier was gone.

James

Ishoved my shoulder against the driver’s side door, but it wouldn’t budge.

Petrol burned my eyes and the bitter taste of fumes coated the back of my throat.

The door suddenly opened with violent force. Xavier reached in and grabbed my shoulders.

Instinctively, I wrapped my fingers around his bicep and coughed to clear my lungs.

“Legs.”

“I’ve got you.” He reached down and grabbed my calf. “Twist your foot.”

I shook my head. “Stand clear, the car’s going to—”

“I’m not leaving you!”

“Consider it an order.”

“We both know I’m crap at those.”

Pain resonated in my ankle as he twisted it free, and I was able to extricate my other leg. Xavier dragged me out of the Jeep and backward along the asphalt until we were in the clear.

A blinding flash of light lit up the night as our vehicle burst into flames. An intense wave of heat hit us and we turned away, hurrying to reach a safer distance up the road. We leaped over a barrier and jumped down to a cement walkway, sprinting shoulder to shoulder along the edge to escape the mayhem.

Relief flooded me when I saw the speedboat tethered to the dock. “Get in.”

We clambered aboard.

“Get down,” I ordered.

While Xavier lay on the floor of the boat, I got reacquainted with the controls, navigating us out of the river and into the South China Sea.

Brushing my hand through my hair, I felt glass splinters scrape my palm. I leaned over and shook them out. The humidity was suffocating. I peeled off my jacket and threw it down, then glanced over to make sure Xavier was okay.

“Are you hurt?” I called to him.

He waved that off.