Chapter 17

Ashade loomed in front of the Caddy, gun pointed at me, setting up his shot. No way was I stopping now. The roar of the Caddy's powerful engine should have warned him this wasn't a modern car. He'd misjudged the timing. He didn't fade out fast enough and we hit him dead center, rolled over him, and kept going.

I slammed into the SUVs. The impact threw me forward, my chest hitting the steering wheel with force, then I rebounded, slamming back into my seat. That would leave a bruise. Thank gods for shifters' healing abilities, or I'd probably have internal bleeding. Still hurt like a bitch though.

One SUV rolled, colliding with another, while we shoved the third to the gutter. The Caddy rocked, did a minor fishtail, and cleared the intersection.

I whooped and eased up on the pedal so we wouldn't skid out. The car behind us had to navigate the wreckage and the wounded, though it was definitely attempting to follow. Damn.

"You all right?" I called over my shoulder.

Groans but muttered yeses followed.

"Stay down. We're not out of this yet."

I pulled to the next intersection, slowing when Michael burst out of the shadows. He loped to the car. I threw open the door and slid over. He effortlessly transformed and glided into the driver's seat like he'd never left. He made it look so easy.

"You okay?" Blood coated Michael's chest and face. I ran my hands over him looking for wounds.

"I'll live." His eyes were a bright green, but he smiled with fangs extended. "Hang on. Incoming."

I grabbed the ‘oh shit' bar on the door and hung on. He spun the wheel to the right, counter-steering so we wouldn't spin-out. We made the sharp turn and shot forward.

Pulling out my phone, I texted Kennedy 767, which stood for SOS. When Michael swore and narrowly avoided rear-ending a slow-moving snowplow, I fumbled and dropped the phone. No other cars around, except the one SUV trailing behind. Even with the SUV's better traction, we had a good lead.

We swung a wide left, the whole car listing sideways. Damn if Michael didn't get us through it. We rocketed down Lombard. Before long, we'd be home free, too close to Kennedy's base for them to follow.

Once again, I spoke too soon. I banged my fist on the dash.

Two other SUVs appeared ahead, barreling down the wrong side of the road to intercept. Shit, they planned to hit us head on. Michael whipped the car onto another street, heading the wrong direction on a one-way. At least there weren't many other drivers on the road in this weather. Another SUV blocked our way, a mage hanging out the sunroof, a fireball in his hand. Michael swore under his breath.

"Everyone, hold the fuck on." He spun the wheel hard, and the Caddy did a perfect 180-degree turn. He snapped out of the spin like he made this move every day.

We sped back toward the intersection. I looked back in time to see the fireball explode behind us. The car shuddered. I thought for sure the other SUVs would T-bone us—from both sides—but the Caddy had a lot of power under the hood. We skidded through the junction as gunfire shattered a backseat window and strafed the side of the trunk. The kids screamed. Michael held steady, though blood trickled down his chin. Flying glass had nicked his cheek.

Brakes screeched, and gunfire cut off. I looked over my shoulder. A giant clusterfuck as the shades swerved to keep from hitting each other. One SUV bounced to the sidewalk and spun out. It would only be a minute before they course-corrected. The others skidded to a messy halt. The mage's vehicle continued through. Dammit. So close.

The rest then broke off in different directions. Where'd they all go?

"We're moving away from Kennedy," I said, stating the obvious. "We gotta turn around."

Michael growled. "Guarantee the other SUVs are flanking us. If I turn, they'll be waiting. I need to put some distance between us first."

He counter-steered to keep from sliding out, and we picked up speed. Unfortunately, the mage closed the gap. Guy behind the wheel had to have snow experience, too. We couldn't catch a break.

We raced down the street, blowing through all the lights. The mage threw some sort of energy bolt that slammed into us. The Caddy juddered, kept going. Michael laughed.

The hell?

"If this had been a modern car, that hit would have fried all the circuits." He grinned at me, fangs glinting. I had the urge to smile back. Before I could, he jerked the wheel, and we skidded onto the fork at Key Highway. I slid across the seat, banging into him.

Another fireball. It narrowly missed. The kids screamed again as our car rocked from the near impact.

"It's okay," I said, even though it really wasn't. "Just stay down."

Michael gripped the wheel so hard it creaked, his entire focus on the road. "They're pushing us to Federal Hill. They're trying to box us in. Where the fuck is Kennedy?"

I scrambled for my phone. Where the hell was it? Must be under the seat.

A fireball struck the trunk. The kaboom shook the Caddy, and Michael fought to keep control. More screaming from the backseat. The smell of burning tires filled the car. Then the hiss of fire hitting snow.

Oh, shit.