The flash of color caught my attention on my left again, and the maroon SUV increased its speed until we were side-by-side. I looked out the window and my gaze connected with Troy. He mouthed I love you, and it was just what I needed to to hang in there. I started to mouth the same thing but Robert sped up and Troy fell behind.
“I will never let him have you,” Robert mumbled. “You belong to me.”
He was truly a psychopath. How had I not seen it before? I sensed Magnus’s gaze and glanced over to find him staring at me.
“What?” I asked.
“He’s going to do something stupid,” he said quietly under his breath. “Get us both killed.”
“What do you mean?” I whispered.
He turned his gaze back to the front of the vehicle and didn’t answer. My brows creased, and I felt helpless to do anything with my wrists and ankles bound. A chill washed through me at the thought that Magnus had most likely murdered Daniel in cold blood, and he’d attacked me as well. I hated sitting next to him. Hated breathing the same air. Even so, he seemed to know something about Robert that I didn’t. Robert had already put our lives in danger by driving like a maniac. What more would he do?
Lord, please get me through this. I don’t want to die. I still had fight left in me. Still wanted to live, to enjoy the new love I had with Troy. I wanted to experience the success of fulfilling my dreams. To host Country Star and get my big break. My parents’ faces came to mind and several tears slipped out. If I didn’t make it, they would be devastated.
The sound of a helicopter circled above us, and I imagined it was a news crew filming the chase, or maybe it belonged to the police. The sirens continued to blare, and cars moved aside to let us pass. Robert shifted uncomfortably in his seat, clearly anxious. He had to know he’d never get away.
He veered to the right and we got onto the 14 freeway, headed towards Palmdale. He’d said he had a house in the desert, so it made sense he would go this way. What didn’t make sense was his refusal to slow down. Did he think he would lose three police cars and a helicopter?
We continued on the 14 for about thirty minutes, and it felt like this chase would never end. Eventually, we would run out of gas, but the chances of getting into an accident increased the longer we drove. Robert had to be going at least ninety to one hundred miles an hour, and he continually wove back and forth through the lanes. To make things even worse, the wind had picked up, and it pulled our van into the next lane over and over again. This route was notorious for high winds, and I wasn’t sure how bad it was today, but it didn’t seem good.
There was a body of water in the distance on the righthand side, and when Robert sped up and moved over to the far-right lane, an ominous feeling swept through me.
“Don’t even think about it,” Magnus said.
My stomach twisted in knots at the sudden realization of what Robert planned to do.
“I won’t let him have her,” he said. “She’ll die before that happens.”
His threat filled me with horror. He was going to drive over the edge into the water, and if he did that, I didn’t stand a chance with my wrists and ankles bound. Drowning was one of the worst ways to go, and the thought of it made my stomach clench with fear. My breath came out choppy and shallow, and my chest tightened with a panicky sensation. “Robert, please don’t do this,” I pleaded. “If you truly love me, you won’t go through with this.”
His only response was to drive faster.
“You’ll have to answer to God for this. You will stand before Him one day.” My face was wet with tears, and my heart pounded so hard my chest physically hurt. There was a ringing in my ears from listening to the sirens for so long, and I bit down on my lower lip with so much force that I tasted blood.
I’d never been afraid of death. Not the day Daniel and I were mugged. Not the day I was attacked in the parking lot after that concert. For the Christian, death meant being in heaven with the Lord, and God promised that would be full of joy and happiness. It was the process of dying that scared me the most. The pain. The physical suffering.
Fear flickered before me now, almost as if it were a tangible thing I could hold on to.
Lord, be my guide. Help me to bear this. If today is the day you call me home, give me the courage to face what’s coming next. A sob broke loose in my throat, and I felt myself crumbling, falling into myself.
But just as tangible as that fear was the peace that swept through me in the next moment like a rushing wind. It swirled around me like loving arms holding me tight. He would not let me fall. God was with me, no matter what happened.
Isaiah 43:2 came to mind. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
As we neared the body of water, Magnus jumped out of his seat and wrestled with Robert for the wheel. The two of them struggled, and the van
