She didn’t argue though she did ask, “What’s wrong?”
“I saw a suspicious car outside. It might be nothing, but I want to be safe rather than sorry. Jake is out back.” They all hurried along. I made them stand back until I could check the back alley. There was Jake and he had the doors open. I hustled them out and into the vehicle. Once they were inside, I went back through the store and out front to get my bike. The guys and I fired up our Harleys and circled the block to the back.
I didn’t see the sedan, however, I was still uptight. My gut was tense. That had never been a good sign. We surrounded the SUV and headed for the interstate. All of us had our heads on a swivel, looking for danger.
We’d made it out of downtown and onto I-24 East when the same dark sedan came weaving and speeding through traffic. It seemed like the chase was on. I hit send on my Bluetooth. Zara answered.
“Put me on speaker, babe.” I waited a moment so she could. “Jake, I need you to speed up, See the dark black sedan five cars back on your right? That’s the car. We’re going to be running interference. You get your ass to the compound as fast as you can. We’ll be right behind you. I’m calling Bull.”
Zara tried to protest. I ignored her and clicked off the phone. I’d soothe her hurt feelings later. Right now, I needed to get her and the others home safe. I rang Bull. He answered on the second ring.
“We’ve got company. A dark sedan we saw at the bridal shop is now gaining on us on I-24. We’re coming up on the 840. I’m sending Jake ahead in the Expedition with the women. The guys and I will stay between them and try to slow that car down. Can you have a couple guys come from your way to meet them?”
“On it. Be careful.” He hung up. I held up my hand and gave a few gestures. The guys and I had worked together enough, we’d established our own language using them. Something those of us who’d been in the military were used to doing. They spread out across the lanes. They understood what it was I wanted to do. It was going to be tricky due to the civilians we had to worry about. I prayed these assholes wouldn’t open fire in the middle of traffic.
My heart pounded in my chest, both from anticipation and a little fear. I wanted this threat to Zara to be over, but there was always a chance someone could get hurt or even killed.
Traffic was still heavy on this road even on a Saturday afternoon. It was a major highway leading to and from Nashville. I glanced behind us again. The sedan was slowly gaining as it weaved in between cars. Looking ahead, I could see that Jake was pulling away from us.
I felt the comfort of my gun in the back of my waistband. All of us carried. I just didn’t want to have to pull it out in the open. Bikers waving guns on the highway wasn’t something I wanted to see on the six o’clock news. We wouldn’t fare well in that situation.
A blare of a horn had me looking behind us again. The sedan had started to weave more erratically to try and get around the cars between us. I watched as they almost ran into the side of a truck beside them. That driver honked his horn, and I could see the hand gestures he was making.
My headset rang. I answered it. “Demon, I’ve got Rebel, Ajax, and Player, headed your way. It’s going to take a while to catch up. I know this probably isn’t possible but is there a way to get them off the highway and into a remote location? Somewhere there are fewer people?” I knew what he wasn’t saying—somewhere we could take them out without having cameras or witnesses.
“I don’t know. Let me think. In the meantime, the traffic is working to slow them down. Who knew I’d one day appreciate the traffic in Nashville?” I tried to joke. It was a way to relieve the tension. Bull gave a chuckle.
“Not me. Okay, try and be safe. Help is on the way. Call me if anything changes.”
“Will do.”
Seeing a small opening ahead, I shot for it. Our bikes could get through but not the bigger car. Joker, Maverick, and Slash all saw it too. As we shot through the gap, I heard more angry-sounding horns blaring. A quick look back showed they were trying to run up the berm to get around the cars. They were on a slope and mostly running in the dirt. Shit!
I needed to slow them down. That’s when I saw the large truck to my left. He was in the fast lane, and they would have to pass him. I let the others pull ahead. I waited and when I saw they were close, I swerved toward the truck.
I made sure I was visible to the driver. He reacted exactly like I expected. He jerked the wheel to the left and went off the road onto the berm. This put him directly in the path of the sedan. They had to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting the truck. I sped away to catch up to the others, including the Expedition. Time to flip this around on them.