Page 98 of The Dark Stranger
His jaw tightened slightly as he adjusted her, one hand coming up to check her—steady, precise. Breathing.
Still breathing.
Good.
His gaze lingered for half a second longer than necessary—not recognition.
Assessment.
Then control snapped back into place.
“She wasn’t supposed to be there,” someone in the front said.
He didn’t respond.
His eyes stayed on her.
“Doesn’t matter,” he said finally, voice low, decisive.
And just like that—
She wasn’t part of the chaos anymore.
She was part of something else now.
The second the door slammed shut, the SUV launched forward like a bullet.
Tires screamed against pavement, the force snapping everything backward before the driver corrected and pushed harder. The engine roared deep, aggressive, tearing them away from the burning building behind them—but not fast enough.
Gunfire cracked through the night almost immediately.
Sharp. Precise. Chasing them.
Bullets slammed into the back of the vehicle, one punching straight through the rear window in an explosion of glass that sprayed across the interior like shrapnel.
“Contact rear!” the driver barked. “Two vehicles—closing!”
Silas didn’t flinch.
He moved on instinct.
Becca was already in his arms, but he shifted her higher, turning his body so she was fully shielded beneath him. One hand came up, bracing the back of her head, pressing her into his chest as another round hit the side panel with a violent clang.
“Drive,” Silas said, low and controlled.
Not loud.
Not rushed.
Deadly.
“Don’t lose them—lose us.”
The SUV swerved hard, cutting across lanes as the speed climbed. Headlights flooded the rearview—closer now, aggressive, hunting.
Another round of gunfire torethrough the air.
Closer.
