Getaway Car [HS]

Chapter Forty-Four

Her legs burn from the strain of sprinting down each flight of stairs, dizzying herself from going 'round and 'round and 'round in an all-out run to beat him to the parking garage. Somehow, this is harder than it was for her to climb the stairs to her apartment after Leo had her beaten. At least she had Harry to help her back then, but, this time, he's gone. His mother was the sole thing holding him back from going on a suicide mission to murder Leo, and now that Elise was killed in revenge for their betrayal, there is nothing that can stop him.

For years, Leo created this monster and kept it leashed, inches away from snapping its jaws at his ankles, but he'll spend the rest of his time in hell wishing he'd never met Harry after this. That caged monster he created has broken free, and he's coming for blood one last time.

Tears stream down her face and blur her vision as she rushes out through the front lobby in pursuit of where Harry has already gotten a lead at getting to the garage a building over. The sun this morning is unforgiving when shining directly overhead, and her lungs are already pleading with her to give up by the time she watches him turn into the open entrance to the first level.

"Harry!" she screams his name loud enough for it to sear her throat.

He doesn't even look over his shoulder.

The fury he feels for Leo has blinded him to everything else that exists, her included. But there's so much he doesn't know yet, and if he knew about the baby, would he listen to her rather than throw everything away to kill him when they could have a true shot at escaping? If she didn't find out last night, she'd happily go along with him and greet death like an old friend, but what she knows changes things. Bad timing aside, she can't go down without fighting for him and their child. What kind of mother would that make her?

He's in her sights the entire time. Up and up, she follows him and pushes her body to the brink of its physical ability to catch up to him, but it's never enough. In a contest of strength and endurance between them, he beats her by a landslide, and she sobs harder with every level they rise without her gaining any more than a few feet of ground on him. The sweat coating her palms almost causes her to drop the keys and passports, so she hugs them to her chest with one arm while pumping the other with every stride that pushes her onward.

"Stop!" she shouts as he reaches the open air of the top level where all of his vehicles are parked. "Stop running from me!"

Harry pretends not to hear her at all and keeps rushing toward the fastest modern cars he owns all lined up in a row against the farthest wall. In a split second, she makes the decision to change direction, stop following him, and run back to the Cobra parked a few yards back from where she stands. The key he gifted her for Christmas last night may be sitting in its box in their bedroom, but, luckily for her, she knows cars inside and out, especially this one, and she won't need a key.

The doors are locked, so she hurtles herself over the side of the car into the backseat, careful not to injure herself in any way, and scrambles to crawl into the front seat as quickly as possible.

Hot-wiring cars is easier than breathing for her. Growing up around a dad who raced the world's best vehicles and going on to make a living fixing them, she had to gain vast knowledge to avoid being left in the dust. Still, the next minute and a half are the longest of her short life. It's the fastest she has ever done this, though, she thinks, adrenaline may be playing a part in that, and right when Harry's Jaguar shoots past her into the lower level of the garage, the engine roars to life.

If he wants a race, then let him have one.

She already knows where he's headed without having to be inside that car with him—his destination is Leo's house. And she knows he isn't stupid. He must know that all of this was an attempt to lure him out there for the sake of killing him, but he doesn't care. Her body operates the Cobra on muscle memory alone from street to street due to the ocean of tears that prevent her from seeing straight.