“Six vehicles. Four cop cars. There’ll be more on the way.”
“Can you get through them?” I ask, wondering if the armored jeep can manage the feat.
“Not without risking damage. It won’t do us any good to be stranded here.”
“Make a left,” I order, glancing at the surrounding area.
“Through the trees?”
“Through the fucking trees,” I say firmly. “Now. We don’t have fucking time.”
Up in front behind the wheel, Samuel makes a sharp left that has us all careening in our seats. Collin roars with pain as his leg slams up against the door.
“Sorry!” Samuel yells.
It’s hard to maneuver through the dense thicket of trees, but Samuel does an expert job of it. The patch of land is not meant for vehicles, though. Before long, the trees get too damn dense to drive between.
I can hear the sounds of sirens encroaching behind us.
“Make a U-turn,” I instruct Samuel. “Let’s get back on the main road. We’ll have detoured around those assholes by now.”
“You want me to just whip it around in here? This isn’t a bloody race track, mate!”
“Turn the fucking car around,” I growl. “Or I’ll throw you out and do it myself.”
Samuel swallows and nods. Even I hear the fresh menace in my voice.
I don’t sound like me when I talk like that.
I sound like Da.
“Hold on!” Samuel yells as he follows my instructions and turns the jeep in a sharp U.
Collin roars in pain again, but this time, Samuel’s concentrating too hard to offer up another apology. His eyes are fixed on the road, scanning for enemies, though the trees offer us a certain amount of coverage.
It takes a few minutes, but soon the road comes into view.
We have managed to detour the throng of Kinahans and cops that were gathered at The Cavern’s entrance.
But when I look back, I see there’s still one car tailing us.
This one’s not a cop car.
Kinahan, then. Definitely Kinahan.
I’m confident that, with Samuel’s driving, we’ll be able to lose them. Except that the fucker tailing us seems to be as skilled a driver as Samuel is.
“Jesus,” Samuel says, realizing the same thing. “He’s almost caught up.”
“Hit the accelerator.”
“I think I’ve punctured a tire,” Samuel growls. “They’re run-flats, but if I go any faster, I’m gonna take us right off the road.”
“Just fucking—”
The Kinahan car slams into the back of the jeep. All of us jerk forward as the vehicle screams in complaint.
“Motherfucker!” Samuel swears, checking his rearview mirror.