Chapter 139
Chapter 139:
Ashely floored the accelerator. “We can catch them p>
As they peeled out of the alley, a silver blur roared past the entrance.
Hilliard.
He caught a glimpse of Cailin’s car pulling out — and through the window, her face. Pale, fierce, and terrifying.
He threw a U-turn in the middle of the street, tires screaming, smoke billowing from the wheel wells, and came up alongside them.
“Follow me!” he called through his open window.
Cailin met his eyes and gave a single, sharp nod.
𝘘𝘶𝗮𝗹i𝘁𝗒 𝘁𝘳𝖺𝗻s𝘭𝖺𝘁i𝗼n𝘴 о𝗻
The convoy formed. The hunt was on.
Inside the trunk, it was pitch black.
The van jolted violently, throwing Elia against the metal wall. Her nose was still bleeding — a slow trickle that tasted of copper and salt. She sniffled and wiped it against her shoulder.
Her hands were zip-tied behind her back. But the bad lady had been in a hurry, and the tie wasn’t pulled tight enough.
Elia worked her left hand. The sweat and the blood made her skin slippery. It hurt — a raw, scraping burn that made her eyes water. She gritted her teeth and kept pulling.
Pop.
Her hand came free.
She gasped, clutching her wrist and rubbing the feeling back into it. Then she tapped the face of her pink smartwatch. The screen glowed like a small star in the darkness.
“SOS mode,” she whispered.
It auto-dialed Cailin.
In Ashely’s car, the phone rang. Cailin snatched it up before the first ring had finished.
“Elia?” She put it on speaker immediately. “Elia, baby p>
Static. Then a tiny, trembling voice.
“Mommy p>
Cailin pressed her hand over her mouth. Tears ran hot and fast down her face.
“I’m here. I’m coming, baby. I’m right behind you p>
“I’m in the dark box,” Elia whispered. “It smells like fish p>
“Fish?” Cailin looked sharply at Ashely.
“The Marina,” Ashely said, tightening her grip on the wheel. “The old fish market near the docks p>
“Are you hurt?” Cailin leaned closer to the phone as though she could reach through it.
“My nose,” Elia sniffled. “And I lost my shoe. I kicked it at the bad lady p>
“That’s okay. You did so good,” Cailin said, keeping her voice steady with everything she had. “Keep the watch on. Don’t let them see it p>
Elia screamed.
“No p>
The call cut off.
“No!” Cailin screamed back at the dead phone.
“They’re at the docks!” Ashely shouted.
Cailin looked up through the windshield. Ahead, the gray van was exiting the highway, taking the sharp curve that dropped toward the waterfront. Hilliard’s Aston Martin cut across three lanes of traffic in a single fluid move, tailing it without hesitation.
“Ram them, Hilliard — don’t let them reach the water!” Cailin shouted, though she knew he couldn’t hear her.
Ashely pushed the sedan to its limit. The engine whined in protest, the chassis shuddering beneath them.
Cailin gripped the dashboard, her knuckles white.
“Don’t you dare fall asleep, Elia,” she whispered. “Stay awake for me p>