Take It On The Run

Chapter 56

POV: Deacon

Without warning, chaos erupted inside the cab of the limousine. It took several long seconds to fully ascertain that the source of the deafening bangs was sitting directly across from me, Reed's gun aimed at the driver.

It legitimately made no sense to me.

In the message he'd typed out, Reed had instructed us to shoot the driver if we slowed down or if it was safe to crash, and Avery and I had agreed to the plan.

But it was Reed who went completely off script now, splattering our driver's brains and internal organs all over the front windshield and dashboard. Wet bloody sinew covered everything, crimson streaking my vision. I looked on in horrified shock as he squeezed the trigger over and over again like a man possessed.

Avery shouted, "What the fuck are you doing? Not here!"

There couldn't have been a worse spot for this to happen—deep ditches, ponds, and massive trees just off the road. I also knew there were no airbags in the back of the vehicle, so if the engine wrapped around a tree trunk at full speed, we were dead. End of story.

"Reed!" I roared, even though it was already too late to prevent the inevitable. I didn't know what the fuck had gotten into him, but he'd clearly lost his entire goddamn mind. "Stop!"

He didn't hear me, didn't stop what he was doing either. It was as if someone else were in control of his limbs now as he released the magazine, reloaded, and started firing on the dead man again.

I leaned forward and carefully avoided the barrel of the gun as I repeatedly shook his shoulders. The action did nothing.

"Fuck! We're about to crash into a lake," Avery informed me.

I took his word for it, still focused on Reed. "The windows. We need to get them down before we hit the water. Once we sink, the pressure will prevent us from rolling them down."

Avery repeatedly hit the button on his side to no avail before reaching across the car and trying mine. "Driver locked them so we couldn't escape," he observed grimly.

Shit. This was bad.

The front half of the limo and our driver looked like Swiss fucking cheese now as I slapped the surgeon hard across the cheek, giving him whiplash.

"Reed! Snap out of it!" I bellowed.

Intelligence abruptly returned to those warm, brown eyes as he registered the fact that we were careening straight toward a massive body of water with no way to stop it.

"Brace for impact!" Reed shouted, the surgeon finally taking over.

Thank fucking god.

I had no idea how to brace for impact in a limo, though, especially not while sitting at this awkward sideways angle. There was nothing before me to hold on to, and my seatbelt was already secured across my waist.

The windows were my chief concern at the moment anyway. I'd be damned if I survived a crash with hopefully minor injuries only to drown to death moments later.

I raised my gun and ordered, "Move!"

Reed ducked, and I shot out the window behind him. Then I pointed the barrel over my shoulder and squeezed the trigger, shattering the glass at my back. Cool air rushed through my hair and over my exposed neck as I lowered the gun and mentally prepared for impact.

There were no lights in the countryside save for the headlights of the car that held us hostage. I stared past Avery and Reed into the black night as we were jostled, the ride turning rougher and rougher and rattling our bones as the car cut through unkempt fields. The deep holes and scattered debris slowed us down slightly, but we were still moving at close to forty-five miles per hour as we approached the shore.