Reine threw the cell phone on the passenger seat, started the engine, and pulled out of the parking lot. It would have been better if Gabe hadn't insisted on tagging along, but there was no way to stop him from trying to follow. Instead, she attempted to lose him on the way.
She carefully navigated out of the residential area and began to make her move only after she entered the highway. Once in the inside lane, she reached – and then exceeded – the speed limit faster than usual.
She thoroughly enjoyed the power of her new car. The traffic was heavy, but it was moving steadily. Easily overtaking slower vehicles, she searched the rear view mirror for Gabe's Range Rover. Unfortunately, he soon showed up and was keeping pace amazingly well.
Suddenly, her phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, she answered and put Gabe on speakerphone. He was yelling. "What are you doing?"
"Do you need directions?" She feigned innocence, seeing his car get increasingly closer in the mirror. Returning her attention to the road, she narrowly avoided making contact with a Toyota.
As she darted from one lane to another, he spoke up again. "No, but I really think you should slow down."
He pulled up next to her, and she pushed harder down on the accelerator. "Are you worried you can't keep up?"
"I'm not going to race you," he said, but in spite of the words, he wasn't slowing, either.
"All the better for me, then." Reine passed the Toyota, putting it between her and the Range Rover. Gabe followed suit, getting directly behind her again.
Taking the challenge, she crossed over two lanes to the right, barely squeezing in front of a tractor trailer.
"Oh, yeah!" she exclaimed from the rush of adrenaline, knowing he was still listening on the end of the line. Turning serious and conscious of the fact that she could lose her lead within seconds, Reine took advantage of the lack of cars directly ahead and accelerated to almost ninety.
At this speed, she quickly left behind one group of cars only to reach the back of another cohort. All the lanes were full, forcing her to slow to a more reasonable speed.
She checked her rear view mirror again.
Gabe was almost caught up. Not only that, but he had also picked a faster lane and was now gaining on her.
They were only two exits away from leaving the highway, so this was her last chance to break away. Boxed in by a truck on her right, a car in front, and Gabe's SUV on her left, Reine looked behind again and saw an opportunity.
Slamming on the brakes and shifting down to third gear, the deceleration thrust her body forward. The seatbelt cut into her collarbone as she watched the semi-truck on her right speed forward. As it got out of her way, she pulled the steering wheel sharply to the right. Instead of just moving behind the rig, she crossed all the way into the exit lane.
Flooring the gas pedal, she systematically shifted up gears to pass the truck now on her left. She barely avoided hitting the side barricade when she changed lanes to be in front of it.
"What the hell?" Gabe screamed through the phone, before Reine ended the call.
A half mile later, she exited onto the road she was on less than an hour earlier. She took the twists and turns at breakneck speed, soon losing sight of any headlights behind her.
Her victory was short-lived. A convoy of vehicles on the edge of campus allowed all others behind her – including Gabe – to make up the gained time.
Reine made one last effort to outrun him as she maneuvered the cobblestone streets of old Georgetown. Screeching to a halt near the university's wrought-iron gates, she momentarily thought she'd finally lost him.
"And that is how it's done." She grinned.
Her joy was brief because as she turned off the ignition, he pulled up behind her. While she'd enjoyed their impromptu chase, she didn't want to worry about him while dealing with a break-in. "Oh, crap. Why don't you get the hint?"
Taking a few big breaths, she composed herself before getting out of the car. She heard his voice before she could even clearly make his face out in the dark.
He did not sound happy. "You know, 'excellent' isn't exactly the first word I'd use to describe your driving. It probably wouldn't even make the top ten. Impulsive, irresponsible, maniacal—"
"Did anyone get hurt?" She interrupted with a cock of her eyebrow.
He grimaced. "Well, you're setting the bar real high, aren't you?"
Her heart was still racing from the excitement, so Reine ignored the comment. Silently walking to the iconic, stone building in the center of the campus, she led the way down the two hundred-year-old corridor to her small, basement office.