Ghostwalker 09 - Ruthless Game

and pointed out a battered sedan, tel ing her to be careful.
    You should get in the car and begin sliding across the seat on the driver’s side. The moment we’re apart, the illusion will dissolve, and if anyone is looking, they’ll know something isn’t right. Start the car. I’ll drive because I know the back roads and a place we can hole up for a short while. If we get away clean, we can use the car and then ditch it as soon as we’re in the clear. If they see us, we’ll have to ditch the car sooner, and I’m not in good enough shape to walk far.
    Kane nodded and pul ed open the driver side door, bending with her as if handing her inside, keeping contact in an effort to preserve the il usion as long as possible. He inserted the key and turned it to start the engine. For a heart-stopping moment the engine stal ed, and then it turned over. He jumped into the seat and scooted over as fast as a big man could in the smal space.

CHAPTER 3
    “Go!” Kane commanded as he settled into the passenger seat, pul ing his gun from beneath his shoulder.
    Rose slammed her foot on the gas and took off as fast as possible in the old sedan. The doors and windows rattled as the battered vehicle shuddered its way onto the street. She didn’t glance in the rearview mirror to see if they were drawing attention. She wanted to get off the streets as fast as possible and onto the trail leading into the desert. To do that, she had to outrun anyone chasing them.
    The sedan belched smoke and shuddered as she whipped around a corner and took a second one sliding. “Are they fol owing?”
    “Keep going,” he instructed, the grimness in his voice the only answer he was giving her. He crawled over the seat and smashed out the back window.
    Rose took another turn and then a fourth. She glanced in the rearview mirror. “Are you certain?”
    “They’re trying to catch up.” And they had better and faster cars. Kane kept that to himself. Their only advantage was that whoever was pursuing them was uncertain if the occupants of the sedan were racing to a hospital as had been reported, or if they’d real y seen something suspicious.
    “We’l ditch the car if I can get some space,” she said. “I planned an escape when I first moved here. Of course, I thought I’d have a better vehicle choice.”
    “If I forget to tel you later on, Rose, you’re one hel of a woman.”
    She laughed softly. “You might hold that thought until we actual y get away clean.” She jerked the wheel again. “Can you see anyone?”
    “Just glimpses. They aren’t on us.”
    “I’ve been running without lights. I don’t think they’l see us take this trail, but if they backtrack, they’l find the tire tracks.”
    Before Kane could ask what she was talking about—he didn’t see any trail—she’d spun the wheel again, throwing him across the backseat. The car slid in a wide arc, fish-tailed, and spit sand into the air. She didn’t let up on the gas but drove even faster. Kane cautiously lifted his head to peer out the back window. The woman was going to lose him if she kept it up. He’d nearly gone flying.
    “Climb back up here. We’re going to have to jump.”
    She stated it so calmly he almost didn’t comprehend. His head snapped around. “Are you out of your fucking mind, Rose? You’re pregnant. You can’t jump out of a moving car.”
    “Wel , it’s that or go with it into the ravine. I prefer the sand. Move it, soldier. You’ve got about fifteen seconds.”
    She wasn’t kidding. The woman was insane, already opening the driver’s door and bailing before he could stop her. Kane kicked open the backseat passenger door and dove. He hit hard and rol ed, his lungs burning for air. The sand clogged his mouth and he spit, staring up at the night sky, wondering what the hel had just happened.
    The sedan continued forward, shooting off the cliff to fal into the deep ravine carved from hundreds of years of flash floods. He heard the crash as it bounced off rocks and scrub trees, but strangely, the sound was somewhat muffled. He rol ed over and came up on his knees, looking frantical y around for Rose. She lay thirty feet from him in a fetal position, knees drawn up to her chest, her hands locked around them. His heart jolted hard.
    He ran to her and crouched down beside her. “Rose?”
    He swore he could hear each separate beat of his heart. She groaned softly, and he let out his breath. She slowly turned onto her back. Blood smeared her