Page 28 of Captive

Fear tumbled into me and I loosened my seatbelt, sliding to the floor, taking shallow breaths. I could feel the vibrations as the engine was pushed, the sudden swing as he rounded a curve releasing butterflies in my stomach.

“Grebanyve gridurki.”

Fucking assholes. I’d overhead him use the phrase twice before, one after a recent class. I could smell his rage, the scent reeking of testosterone.

He dropped his gaze in my direction briefly. “They’re gaining on us. Stay where you are. I’m going to attempt to lose them.”

I gripped the edge of the seat, shaking all over. The screeching sound of the tires pulsed in my ears, the hard pull of inertia adding to my nausea.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Gunfire.

My God. They were shooting at us.

Nikolai yanked his weapon into his lap, constantly scanning the rearview mirror as he swerved from side to side on the road. He continued to curse in Russian, the majority of words I didn’t understand. I could tell the bastards were closing in on us, the headlights splashing in through the back window.

Then I felt the pull as he started to slow down.

“What are you doing?” Now I was terrified.

“You’re going to have to trust me. Just hold on.”

They were getting closer. And closer.

My heart hammered against my chest, my throat tightening. I’d never felt so claustrophobic in my life. No. No. I didn’t want to die.

After several additional shots, pinging sounds erupting around us, he slammed on the brakes, able to keep control of the car.

“Hold on. Just hold on.” When the car finally jerked to a stop, I was breathless, a single whimper escaping my mouth.

As the headlights flew by the car, I had to fight to keep from crawling into my seat. The clear sound of metal hitting metal was so loud.

Then there was something else.

An explosion.

I couldn’t hold back a slight scream.

“We’re okay.” Nikolai pressed down on the pedal, roaring away.

Flames became a warm glow around the vehicle, close enough I could almost feel the heat. I folded my arms, chilled to the bone.

“It’s all right. There was only one of them. However, we’re going to need to make a slight detour.”

The rope a hindrance, I struggled back into the passenger seat. I peered into the side mirror, horrified from the sight of the fire. Within minutes, he’d pulled onto another road, one that was dark and gloomy, adding to the horrible fear.

When I turned around, I could hear my teeth chattering.

“Are you all right?” he asked. He was completely calm, his voice soft and comforting.

“Fine. How can you stand that? Was that your life?”

“Not always.”

The two words were the last ones he said for several miles.

Then a motel appeared in the distance, only a couple hundred yards ahead. I glanced out the passenger window, trying to see any signs indicating where we were. I had no idea. None. Everything was disjointed, my mind reeling. I’d tried so hard to keep up with where we were going. That way, I could provide excellent detail to the authorities when I was able to make contact.