When Abe’s fiftieth birthday had started to creep closer and he started to long for a little more excitement and adventure, this had definitely not crossed his mind. Skydiving…that would have been safer. Maybe swimming with sharks. A crash course in wrestling alligators. Not this. But Dom was worth it.
“Sir, I’m sorry,” Noah started in a low voice.
“What’s wrong, Drew?” Trent straightened in his seat and looked around.
“The SUV that was following us has returned,” Noah said.
“Fuck!” Trent snarled. They all looked out the rearview mirror to see the SUV driven by the stalker was behind them again. But the tinted SUV carrying James’s crew was missing. Abe didn’t know if they were simply lost or if Ward’s people had intercepted them. Either way, it was one less thing to worry about for now.
“What the fuck!” James swore beside him in stunned confusion.
“Here! Go in here and see if we can lose him among the warehouses,” Trent directed, pointing off to his right.
Noah jerked the wheel and the car jumped the curb, darting through an opening in a sagging chain link fence. The parking lot was filled with fractured concrete and weeds growing up through the cracks. The warehouses had their windows darkened and partially boarded up. A For Sale sign was nailed to the side of one of the buildings. It looked like they were the only ones in the place. Perfect.
“Brace!” warned a low voice in his ear. Possibly Rowe’s.
Abe grasped the door handle and tightened his seat belt a second before Noah swore and violently jerked the wheel. There was a horrendous scraping noise as something rubbed against the undercarriage of the car. It helped to significantly slow them down, but not as much as the telephone pole. The BMW came to a painful halt as the front hit the pole and stopped. Airbags exploded around them, and Abe sat in dazed silence for a second. There was an ache in his bones from the impact, but he knew he wasn’t feeling the worst of it yet. That would come later when the adrenaline subsided.
Blinking a couple of times, Abe watched as Trent released his seat belt and reached over to Noah, who was lying against the steering wheel, the airbag deflating quickly beneath him.
“Oh God,” Trent moaned. “Drew is dead. He’s dead.”
Abe couldn’t help the skip of his heart. Was he really dead? Or was Trent still acting? The impact hadn’t felt that hard, but it was enough to spiderweb the windshield. It looked like there was blood running down along the white airbag. Was Noah…dead? Had his plan killed Rowe’s lover?
“He’s fine, Abe,” Rowe calmly said in his ear. “He gave the signal.”
A whimper of relief slipped from Abe’s lump-clogged throat, but he didn’t care. The noise could just have easily been mistaken for pain and horror. He was ready for this to be over, but he had one more part to play.
“We have to go,” James said. “The stalker is still out there.”
Abe nodded slowly, unbuckling his seat belt. He pushed open his car door and slid out. His body protested the movement, but he gritted his teeth and stood. He was going to need some great painkillers and a massage if he managed to survive this bullshit.
Running his hand along the side of the car to help keep his balance, Abe moved to the trunk with Trent and James. He glanced around and there was no one about…except for the SUV and the giant man stepping out of it.
“The warehouse!” Trent said, pointing to the closest warehouse with the open rear door. “We can hide in there and call the cops.”
James stared at it and nodded. He looked utterly dazed and confounded by the events unfolding around him. Abe almost felt pity for the bastard. He’d undoubtedly thought he’d just be kidnapping an old man right out from under Dom’s nose. Not get taken on a wild adventure.
“Trent Elrige!” the stalker shouted. He came around the side of his SUV and lifted his gun, pointing it at Trent. “You’re fucking dead, asshole!”
“Hey man,” Trent said. He lifted his empty hands, holding them out to the side. “I don’t know what I’ve done to upset you, but I’m sure we can talk about it. Figure this out calmly.” He took a couple of steps so that he was standing right next to Abe while James was behind them both.
The gun in the stalker’s hand went off three times. Trent’s body twisted and jerked as blood jumped from his chest and he collapsed to the ground. The stalker then pointed the gun at Abe, and the entire world slowed down to a crawl. He sucked in a ragged breath. Never had he thought that he’d stare down the barrel of a gun. There was no sound, but there was an explosion from the end of the weapon. And then three sharp, painful bursts thudded against his chest. He gasped and let his body go limp as he fell forward.