(REWRITING) The Skylar Experiment : Coveting

Chapter Forty-Eight - Pursuit Over The Bridge

RILEY

LUC SWEPT ME OFF the snow and promptly sped down the hill at a pace I couldn't see straight. I hadn't even a second to argue or breathe when we came to the gate and this guy pulled my feet off the ground—

"Hold tight," he warned as I stifled a scream that could give our presence away. 

I was hauled across his shoulders. All the trees and spears around us blurred for a wink. He leapt high over the barrier, impossibly high. I squeezed my hands around him, stomach bumping and somersaulting as one of his arms pinned me down. 

Back on two weary legs, I was speechless at the landing. His palms framed my burning cheeks, holding my gaze to his.  

"You okay?" 

I nodded through the daze. Holy cow. 

My blood was rushing to my fingertips and toes. The hair around my face was pushed back.

But there was no time now to make sense of any of it. We rushed back to the car, tires peeling off the frost from the parking lot. I lurched in my seated position, countless thoughts rioting in my mind. Lauren had known about this or at least she'd almost found out, but I bet she did.

"It's even easier for them to act when they're invisible to us. We didn't know what to look for, but they're still pulling the strings," Luc said as he engaged in the river bank boulevard.

The rippling waves shimmered in the sunlight, irritating my eyes but reminding me of the shore in San Diego. I lowered the sun visor.

Those men in black with the hunters when they chased me, they were not working together. They were one and the same, reporting to this larger entity right under our noses. NIO was enabling hunters with all their special weapons. 

Luc's knuckles tightened around the wheel. 

All the puzzle pieces snapped into place, revealing a horrifying truth. The organization had been using hunters to hide in plain sight. Lauren discovered that they were simply a newer tactic, and they got to her before she could warn the others. It must have been what happened. There was no other explanation.

Luc stopped at a red light, suspicion etched on his face. "We've got company."

Dread flooded my insides as I peered into the rear-view mirror. A series of black vans tracked our vehicle behind on the road, calmly waiting at the same red light.

❖❖❖

I pulled out my phone GPS. Luc switched directions and drove back toward the city center with my guidance, running in circles. The vans wouldn't dismiss us but they couldn't take any meaningful action around a bustling public space. For now, this was our only protection. Maybe after a while, they would abandon us, but my hope was hanging by a thread.

"What are we going to do?" I asked, frantically rubbernecking at the rear end.

"I'm going to have to lead them someplace where I can torch them properly if it doesn't end."

I shivered as he said that, but did we have a choice? It was either them or getting caught. Or worse, leading them to everyone else. The noon traffic slowed us down considerably, and Luc gave a frustrated tap of the wheel at another red light. The vans followed close. We looked at each other for a split-second, same idea running through our heads.