Free the Second Horseman (2006) by Kyle Mills

he was free.
    Traffic around him had completely stopped, and a few people had gotten out of their cars to watch. A little more scrutiny than a guy in his position really needed, but his audience was unintentionally doing its part to slow the guy who was bearing down on him from a few cars back.
    Brandon struggled to his feet and slid across the hood of the truck that had almost run him over, landing on a sidewalk full of staring tourists.
    "Look out!" he shouted, shoving his way through them. The man chasing him was already halfway across the same hood Brandon had come over.
    The crowd on the sidewalk thinned a bit as he ran, stumbling gracelessly every time he looked over his shoulder. The guy was only ten feet back now and closing fast. Brandon faced full forward and ran hard, skirting along the railing that bordered Treasure Island's huge lagoon for a few seconds and then throwing himself over it.
    He was five feet into what was about a ten-foot fall when it occurred to him that the performers never came to this part of the lagoon. For all he knew, it was six inches deep.
    He heard the splash when his feet hit, and tensed for an impact, but instead felt th e w ater slide over his body and cover his head. He opened his eyes and looked up at the railing, seeing the wavy form of the man who had been chasing him, along with countless other people pointing and shouting soundlessly.
    He kicked his feet and started swimming underwater toward one of the large ships, surfacing only when the burning in his lungs became too much for him to stand. A glance back confirmed that the man pursuing him was moving along the railing toward the hotel, but not diving in after him.
    Brandon went under again, making it to the back wall and skirting along it, starting to feel dizzy from lack of air. Despite his increasing disorientation, though, he found what he was looking for: an underwater passage that was used by the stunt people to get back into the hotel. He ducked through it and broke the surface, feeling his head clear as he gulped in air and looked around him at the locker-lined room stacked with dry towels.

    Chapter TEN
    "Slow down and tell me exactly what happened," Scanlon said, closing the door to his office and giving it an extra shove to make sure it was fully latched.
    "I lost him, that's what happened! I was stupid. I thought ... I let you convince me that I could han--"
    Scanlon held his hands up, but she ignored him for one of the first times in her life. "I let him roll down the window and jump right out of the car. How could I have been such an idiot? I didn't think he'd run."
    "Catherine . . ."
    "You've never met him, Richard! You can read reports about him all day long, but when you're actually sitting there with him . . . Even with everything I knew about him, even knowing he was playing me ... I let my guard down."
    "But you got along?"
    "What?"
    "You liked him. And he liked you, yes?"
    "What the hell are you talking about? He isn't capable of liking anybody -- of anything resembling a normal relationship. He just uses people." The words came out a little angrier than she intended.
    "I'm not sure that's entirely true, Catherine."
    "With all due respect, Richard. Trust me. It's true."
    She finally fell silent, moving behind a chair, as though she could hide there, unable to meet Scanlon's eye.
    "You weren't there as an enforcer, Catherine. I'm sure you did more than anyone else could have to win him over. I'm not holding you responsible for this."
    She stared down at her hands. Whether he held her responsible or not, she was responsible. She'd been put in charge. He'd been in her car. And now he was gone. There was too much at stake for these kinds of stupid mistakes.
    "What happened to the chase car?"
    "It wasn't their fault. There was a lot of traffic and I wasn't careful enough to make sure they were behind us. Daniel's feet hit the ground probably before Brandon's did. But he was too far back."
    "Does Brandon still have