The sedan surged forward, gaining on me. I took the corner at the intersection full tilt, missing the curb by a foot. A yellow hatchback sat parked across the street. The SUV went wide. I wrenched the steering wheel.
The bumper grazed the driver’s side of the small vehicle, ripping along the fender and door. I pulled away and darted across the street to the correct side of the road.
The sedan remained close—unyielding. It mimicked my every move. The headlights shone through the back window. An idea gelled—a last-ditch effort to gain some distance on them.
I eased off the gas some. They closed in. I slammed the brakes. The sedan rammed the back of the SUV. A loud crunching noise sounded. The SUV lunged forward from the impact. I swerved from side to side.
My head snapped back against the headrest, hands working the steering wheel to straighten out the vehicle. I went wide, crossing onto the other side of the road. Headlights flashed ahead of me. A truck closed in. Its horn honked.
I wrenched the steering wheel clockwise and out of the incoming vehicle’s way. The truck swerved to miss me, heading toward the curb.
Its brake lights flash red.
Tires locked up.
The truck crashed into a light pole head on.
I checked the side-view mirror, hoping the driver and any passengers inside were okay.
The sedan slowed and drifted back. The driver side headlight failed. The bumper scraped along the road.
The distance between the two vehicles grew wider, giving me a chance to leave them behind. I cut through the intersection without slowing much, turned down the street, and punched the gas.
I checked the rearview mirror, but didn’t spot the black sedan. I kept the pedal mashed to the floorboard, tearing through the falling ash as I headed back to the motel as fast as I could.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
SCARFACE
The young girl looked at me with her arms folded across her chest. My hand remained stuffed in the pocket of my coat, gripping the dagger. I glanced down to her, then the nearby buildings, scanning for any movement.
She shifted her weight, then pulled the scarf farther up the bridge of her nose.
I remained on guard.
Ash gathered on the top of her head. I struggled to gauge her age from the thick coat she wore and the scarf covering the bottom portion of her face. Her height suggested maybe ten years old or so, but I couldn’t be sure.
The wind whipped the ends of the long strands of blonde hair that ran from under the light-blue beanie she wore. I took a step closer, curious as to what she wanted.
The grumbling of an engine sounded from down the street. She looked for the source of the vehicle, then backed away. I glanced to the vacant road, scanning either way.
She ran down the sidewalk in a dead sprint, leaving me where I stood. She slowed, then waved her arm at me. The noise from the inbound vehicle grew louder. She pointed down the street past me. Headlights cut through the falling ash, heading our way.
I took off down the sidewalk after her. My hand left the pocket of the coat. I peered over my shoulder and spotted the inbound vehicle rolling toward us.
I faced forward. The girl had vanished without a trace. I searched for a place to lay low. The buildings I ran past sat dark and void of any movement beyond the windows that didn’t have plywood covering the glass.
A door swung open about five paces ahead of me. The young girl stepped out, then waved me inside. An arm reached out from the depths of the store, grabbed a handful of her coat, then jerked her back.
The door closed.
I ran harder and reached for the silver handle. The tips of my fingers grabbed the outer edge, holding the door open. A masked man dressed in a green-camo jacket with the hood pulled over his head jerked the silver-steel bar toward him.
The tip of my shoe wedged between the door and jamb, keeping it from closing all the way. He looked at me through the thick, plastic eyepieces of the single-filter gas mask he wore. He jerked the door again, fighting to crush my foot.
My fingers moved to the edge of the door. I pulled toward me, widening the gap. My leg slipped inside.
The grumbling engine drew closer to the store. The young girl stood back from the entryway, watching the both of us fight over the door. She looked at me, then the man who had pulled her inside.
He removed one of his hands from the steel bar, then reached behind his back. I tugged harder, yanking the door from his grasp.
It swung open. I darted inside, closed the door, then secured the deadbolt.
He pulled the young girl behind him, shielding her from me. She peered around his shoulder, then pointed in my direction.
A car drove by the front of the store and continued on down the street without braking. I turned around, facing Green Camo and the girl.
He lunged at me with a buck knife in his hand. His arm lifted in the air, then came down at an angle.
I caught his arm in midair, turned, then threw him against the door. His face smashed against the glass, rattling the door. I twisted his arm, holding the knife behind his back, then hammered his wrist.
The buck knife fell from his fingers and clanged off the tile floor. I kicked it away. I retrieved the push dagger from my pocket, then drew my arm back.
The young girl tugged on my arm before I could strike. I glanced
