Free One False Move by Alex Kava Page B
Authors: Alex Kava
all directions. They were out of sight from the traffic and no one had gone in or out of the bank since they had parked. But how much time had that been? Melanie tried to remember.
“Let’s go,” Jared said, and Charlie didn’t hesitate at all.
She watched them in the rearview mirror cross the short distance to the front entrance. Her fingers drummed the steering wheel. Her right foot tapped uncontrollably. Maybe Charlie had gotten that habit from her. She looked away from the bank’s entrance for five or ten seconds. Glancing into the rearview mirror, she noticed that her lower lip was red and bruised from biting down on it. She tucked a strand of hair back up into the cap. And that’s when she heard the first blast, muffled but loud enough to make her jump. She sat forward, searching the surroundings, hoping to see a car backfiring. The next shots came fast, one after another, three, maybe four. She hadn’t counted. She couldn’t breathe, how could she count? Before she could react, she saw Charlie and Jared racing out of the bank’s entrance, their figures filling the rearview mirror. She sat paralyzed, unable or unwilling to turn around and watch them out the back window. Instead, she stared at the mirror, pieces of them rushing closer.
Jared jumped in beside her. “Go. Go now. Get the fuck going.”
“What happened? I heard shots.”
“Just get the fuck out of here.”
Charlie flew into the back seat as she shifted into drive and floored it, not even noticing the back door was still open until she saw in her side mirror that Charlie was hanging out, struggling to close it. She automatically slowed the car.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Jared slid across the front seat and slammed his foot on top of hers, pushing the accelerator and sending the car fishtailing around the access road. She swung wide to miss a semitrailer as she ran a stop sign, garnering a blast of his horn. The noise startled her and she jerked the car to the other side, throwing Jared up against his door. It took his foot off the accelerator.
“Up ahead.” Jared pointed. “Back behind Sapp Brothers. I left a car for us, so we can dump this one.” But before Melanie could get to the intersection, she heard a siren. And before she saw the black and white in the rearview mirror, she knew it was coming for them.
CHAPTER 15
4:33 p.m.
Melanie wished she could wake herself up. This had to be a fucking nightmare. Things couldn’t possibly have gone so wrong, so fast. Even her vision seemed blurred, the buildings and landscape a swirl of concrete and green speeding past the car windows. Only the buildings and landscape weren’t moving. She was. Fast. She was overwhelmed by a sensation of slipping and sliding as if out of control on black ice.
Jared’s voice came to her in a muffled monotone. She could make out one or two words: “faster,” “turn.” It was difficult to hear over the whining sound that filled her head. Difficult, and yet she could hear Charlie retching in the back seat. He must still be on the floor. She couldn’t see him in the rearview mirror. All she could see were red and blue flashing lights and the cruiser’s grill so close that it looked like shark’s teeth ready to bite and swallow them whole.
But through all the chaos she could still hear Charlie, her poor Charlie, retching and gagging. The sour smell of vomit filled the car, and Melanie felt her own stomach lurch. It wasn’t the smell of vomit that nauseated her. It was something else…warm and rancid yet almost sweet.
“Get back on 50,” Jared yelled at her. “Get the hell out of this maze.”
She took a sharp left only to realize it was another parking-lot entrance and not an intersection.
“Fuck,” Jared screamed at her. “There. Turn there!”
Where he was pointing looked like another parking lot. She missed the turn, jumped the curb and heard the sickening crunch of metal as the bottom of the car scraped the concrete.
“Let’s go,” Jared said, and Charlie didn’t hesitate at all.
She watched them in the rearview mirror cross the short distance to the front entrance. Her fingers drummed the steering wheel. Her right foot tapped uncontrollably. Maybe Charlie had gotten that habit from her. She looked away from the bank’s entrance for five or ten seconds. Glancing into the rearview mirror, she noticed that her lower lip was red and bruised from biting down on it. She tucked a strand of hair back up into the cap. And that’s when she heard the first blast, muffled but loud enough to make her jump. She sat forward, searching the surroundings, hoping to see a car backfiring. The next shots came fast, one after another, three, maybe four. She hadn’t counted. She couldn’t breathe, how could she count? Before she could react, she saw Charlie and Jared racing out of the bank’s entrance, their figures filling the rearview mirror. She sat paralyzed, unable or unwilling to turn around and watch them out the back window. Instead, she stared at the mirror, pieces of them rushing closer.
Jared jumped in beside her. “Go. Go now. Get the fuck going.”
“What happened? I heard shots.”
“Just get the fuck out of here.”
Charlie flew into the back seat as she shifted into drive and floored it, not even noticing the back door was still open until she saw in her side mirror that Charlie was hanging out, struggling to close it. She automatically slowed the car.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Jared slid across the front seat and slammed his foot on top of hers, pushing the accelerator and sending the car fishtailing around the access road. She swung wide to miss a semitrailer as she ran a stop sign, garnering a blast of his horn. The noise startled her and she jerked the car to the other side, throwing Jared up against his door. It took his foot off the accelerator.
“Up ahead.” Jared pointed. “Back behind Sapp Brothers. I left a car for us, so we can dump this one.” But before Melanie could get to the intersection, she heard a siren. And before she saw the black and white in the rearview mirror, she knew it was coming for them.
CHAPTER 15
4:33 p.m.
Melanie wished she could wake herself up. This had to be a fucking nightmare. Things couldn’t possibly have gone so wrong, so fast. Even her vision seemed blurred, the buildings and landscape a swirl of concrete and green speeding past the car windows. Only the buildings and landscape weren’t moving. She was. Fast. She was overwhelmed by a sensation of slipping and sliding as if out of control on black ice.
Jared’s voice came to her in a muffled monotone. She could make out one or two words: “faster,” “turn.” It was difficult to hear over the whining sound that filled her head. Difficult, and yet she could hear Charlie retching in the back seat. He must still be on the floor. She couldn’t see him in the rearview mirror. All she could see were red and blue flashing lights and the cruiser’s grill so close that it looked like shark’s teeth ready to bite and swallow them whole.
But through all the chaos she could still hear Charlie, her poor Charlie, retching and gagging. The sour smell of vomit filled the car, and Melanie felt her own stomach lurch. It wasn’t the smell of vomit that nauseated her. It was something else…warm and rancid yet almost sweet.
“Get back on 50,” Jared yelled at her. “Get the hell out of this maze.”
She took a sharp left only to realize it was another parking-lot entrance and not an intersection.
“Fuck,” Jared screamed at her. “There. Turn there!”
Where he was pointing looked like another parking lot. She missed the turn, jumped the curb and heard the sickening crunch of metal as the bottom of the car scraped the concrete.