Page 43 of The Rough Ride (Sanctuary, Inc. #3)

L iz tumbled off the backseat and landed with a thud on the floor. A vicious headache throbbed like a bass drum, and her throat refused to swallow. What the hell happened?

She lay there a minute. The rolling tremble of movement under her body gave way to a punch of renewed terror. Ella—where’s Ella?

She touched her wet forehead. Blood. There was a blanket on top of her, and she swiped at the moisture. So much blood. Why? Her memory clicked into gear. She moaned, struggled to her knees, grabbed the seat, and pulled up.

An icy voice pierced the dark. “You shot me, bitch. I wish I could’ve hit you harder.” The woman showed her teeth in the rear-view mirror. “You’re messy looking now, but just wait until I’m done with you.”

Liz laid her head on top of the blanket on the backseat and panted, fighting the panic swarming her body like agitated bees.

“I’m going to enjoy the hell out of killing you. Jazz was supposed to do it, but as usual, I get to clean up his half-assed messes,” the woman mused aloud.

Liz forced herself to swallow in spite of the pain. “Who are you?”

“Jazz’s twin sister. Hacker extraordinaire.” She gave Liz the one-finger-salute.

The compromised work files. The flowers, the car? “Where’s my daughter?”

A peal of ugly laughter erupted from the front seat. “She’s fine. I put her in the trunk. If you listen real hard, she’s crying.”

A fresh assault of anger surged Liz’s body. “Stop the car. Get her out of there. Let me hold her. The trunk’s not safe.”

“You think I give a shit about your baby being safe? She’s going to the same place you are.”

Horror gripped Liz’s heart. She groped frantically under the seats for Nick’s gun. But the weapon was AWOL. She must’ve dropped it in the alley. She crammed her ear against the backseat. Ella’s frightened cries grew fainter.

Liz yanked two knives from her pocket, set them on the seat, and hoisted herself into a sitting position next to them. She gripped one, ready to attack, but halted.

This crazy bitch was nuts enough to crash the car on purpose and make sure Liz couldn’t get to the steering wheel. Ella. An accident could kill her. Liz tucked the knives in the seat crease and balled her fists. She mentally scrambled. There had to be another option.

“Why do you hate me so much?” Maybe, just maybe, the woman would respond to a reasonable conversation and slow down. The vehicle hit a pothole and swerved. Liz bounced violently and hit the ceiling.

“My brother wrote all about you in his journal. He sent me updates every few days. You turned him in for suspected cyber espionage.”

What? “That’s a lie. There were a lot of people keeping an eye on him.” Yeah, she had suspicions and had requested they get him out of her unit. Several times.

The woman swerved into the left lane and accelerated, throwing Liz back against the seat. “Fucking middle lane, always full of slow assholes,” the woman shouted. “Jazz intercepted a memo you’d sent up the food chain requesting his transfer back to the states. Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying. I did request his transfer. Whatever happened after that had nothing to do with me.”

“Going home meant returning to prison, and he had no intention of doing that.” She sneered into the rear-view mirror.

“I’ll tell you a little secret. Jazz traded a classified software program for a tidy sum the night before he died.

The money’s sitting in a Bahamian bank account just waiting for me to show up.

You’re the last loose end I need to handle before I catch a ride to paradise. ”

Liz tugged at the blanket on the floor and found the vertical end. The car banked hard on a sharp curve. She slid and slammed against the door. Desperation flooded her thoughts. Ella’s car seat was sturdy but tossing like this in a trunk? Oh my God, what if she’s not in her car seat?

The driver’s manic eyes pierced Liz in the mirror. “Get your fucking seat belt on, you idiot. It’s the law.”

That’s enough, you animal. Liz yanked the largest knife from her sock, grabbed the woman by the hair, and stuck the knife to her throat. “Slow down, pull onto the shoulder, and let me get Ella out of the trunk. Now.”

The woman wheeled around and pointed a gun at her while keeping one hand on the wheel .

“I’m going to shoot you, Lieutenant. You’re a pain in my ass.”

Liz threw herself to the floor as the gun went off, shattering the back window.

One more wild shot like that and Ella—oh God, she couldn’t think about it.

Bile rose in her throat as she flattened herself tight against the back of the driver’s seat.

The next shot hit the upholstery as a puff of padding burst into view.

Liz snatched the blanket, shimmied across the floor to the other door, and let the window down a few inches. It was open just enough to feed the blanket outside to attract attention. The wind tore at the billowing fabric. Liz threw her body weight on the end she’d wrapped around her hand.

“Damn. There’s that security idiot again.” The woman opened the passenger window and fired several shots at a Jaguar that had pulled up on their right side. “And’s there’s a cop barreling toward us with lights and sirens.” She hooted a frenzied cheer. “Bring it on, assholes. I’m ready for you.”

Liz crawled into a ball and held on to the blanket. What if she didn’t pull through the night? She closed her eyes and prayed for her precious Ella to survive.

Nick would figure it out. He’d be a good father.