Part 2
Then he looked at Elena.
“Stay down.”
She did not ask why.
There was something in Matthew Carranza’s voice that made obedience feel less like surrender and more like survival. Elena slid lower in the seat, clutching his coat to her chest as the black car veered sharply off the main road and onto a narrow service lane half-hidden behind a line of cypress trees.
Rain battered the roof.
Mud sprayed against the windows.
Behind them, the SUV followed.
The driver’s hands were steady on the wheel, but Elena could see the tension in his shoulders. The road narrowed until branches scraped both sides of the car. The headlights behind them bounced wildly, closer now, too close.
“They’re going to catch us,” Elena whispered.
Matthew did not look back.
“No, they’re going to make a mistake.”
The driver took another hard turn.
The car shot through a gap between two old stone walls and entered what looked like private land. A rusted gate stood open just long enough for them to slip through. Then, from somewhere in the darkness, a second vehicle moved behind them and blocked the entrance.
Elena lifted her head just enough to see.
The SUV following them tried to brake.
Too late.
