Page 95 of Stand: Part One

“Fuck this,” I muttered.

Slamming on the brakes, I yanked the wheel to the right, putting us behind one of the tails, allowing Darren just enough clearance to pop two more rounds into their rear tires.

Pulling away, we made it to the exit at the perfect time, giving us the opportunity to witness the one car skid and roll to a stop onto the shoulder. The other one continued down the freeway.

I breathed a sigh of relief when we exited the freeway and turned onto the private road that Darren had indicated. But my relief was short-lived when I noticed he hadn’t yet lowered his gun as he peered at the side view mirror.

“What, more?” I asked, wondering if I had missed another car behind us.

“I told you, there’s always fucking more,” he growled before quickly checking his phone.

And he was right. Another set of headlights appeared in my rearview mirror, and they were quickly becoming brighter.

Rolling down the window, Darren fired off several more shots before they returned fire with their own automatic weapons, completely destroying the back windshield. The sound of the bullets hitting the car made me flinch with way too much anxiety.

Darren groaned aloud. “You just had to pick the goddamn Ferrari, didn’t you?” he scolded as he reached back behind us for another loaded magazine.

“Oh, cry me a fucking river!” I retorted. “We’re being shot at right now.”

Darren scoffed, a chuckle lingering behind as he released the empty mag from his gun. “Welcome to my Tuesdays,” he replied with a laugh.

“Yeah, well your Tuesdays suck,” I snapped, cursing his name as I sped down the narrow pathway. “I just wanted one quiet night of driving, but nooo, you have to be you.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” He paused in his seat, actually sounding offended as more bullets pummeled into the back of the car.

“It means you attract bullshit everywhere you go. I can’t enjoy anything nice around you!”

“Oh, cry me a fucking river,” he mocked in return, his voice muffled by the sound of the bullets. “You could have stayed home where it was safe, but no, you had to be you and whine about it until you got your way.” He shook his head as he pushed the loaded magazine in and pulled the slide back. “That’s the last time I let you win at anything.”

A long, dramatic gasp escaped my throat, my jaw dropping in utter disbelief at his words. “You take that back! I won that challenge fair and square when I dodged your arm.”

Darren’s shoulders shook as he actually started to laugh. “Sure, you did, princess,” he replied dismissively, typing something on his phone as a spray of bullets took out my side view mirror.

“I did, dammit!” I insisted, refusing to diminish my win as he rolled his eyes.

“Oh, stop it. You know damn well I would have caught your ass way sooner if I hadn’t slowed down to give you the chance at your new little ‘strategy’ that you were so excited to try.”

I scowled as he continued to type away on his phone.

“It’s not my problem your poor strategy of underestimating me caused you to lose. Clearly, mine worked.”

“Shut up and listen,” he snapped, his tone gaining in ferocity. “There will be two vehicles at the end of the road. You’re going to stop behind them and get into whatever one I put you in. They will take you back to the estate. Got it?”

I frowned in confusion. “Are you not coming with me?”

“No. I want this last one alive.”

I pitied the passengers already.

Turning a corner, I could see red brake lights far off in the distance, but the sound of the off-and-on gunfire behind us was starting to steal away my confidence in getting us there. The SUV behind us was still several yards away, but it was close enough to easily catch up to a parked car.

“Slow down before you pass them!”

Downshifting, I decelerated and slowed the car before quickly putting it back in neutral and killing the engine. I barely had time to remove my seat belt before Darren hauled me out of the driver’s seat and onto his lap. He then opened the passenger car door and pulled some kind of latch that released the door from its hinges.

Pulling me from the car, Darren was just astonishing in that moment as he lifted the heavy door to let it hang behind his back, affectively shielding us from the oncoming bullets. Keeping low, he expertly maneuvered me to the first vehicle, the back seat door wide open for me.

The second I was inside, Darren shut the door behind me and turned back to the oncoming vehicle, his makeshift shield now at his front. The driver sped off instantly, leaving Darren behind in the dust to fend for himself.