Ocean Blue (Sea Lab Book 1)

CHAPTER 45

As soon as the engine caught wind, Jake threw the gearshift into reverse and floored the gas pedal. Simultaneously, the chauffeur raised the gun and fired at Sarah's face. Lead pinged off the windshield as the wheels cut right, the front end whipping around and nearly hitting the man, the Mercedes limo arcing away. With the front end aligned toward the main gate, Jake pounded the brakes and then dropped the handle on the steering column into drive. Heart racing, he stomped the accelerator again, leaving the man with the gun behind.

In the rearview mirror, the chauffeur sprinted after them, then slowed to a jog, and finally stopped. His eyes set in defiance, he lowered the pistol and reeled off several rounds at the tires.

Jake jerked the wheel left, swerving off the long driveway, leaving ruts in the manicured lawn. A quick yank redirected the limo across the pavement onto the grass again, each move meant to throw off the chauffeur's aim.

Sarah pulled her seat belt across her body and buckled up.

"Smart idea." Jake did the same as they thundered toward the main gate.

Jake tilted his head to peer beyond the web-like marks dotting the windshield. The fortified gate would be a challenge to penetrate. Two jeeps blocked the exit with a handful of guards leaned across the hoods, automatic rifles spitting rounds. The front glass was bulletproof, but not a thousand bullets proof. The men emptied their weapons at the limo, each round weakening their only defense. At sixty miles an hour, the window started to cave in under the onslaught.

Instinctively, Sarah leaned toward Jake, lowering her head.

He edged closer to her, feeling her panicked breaths on his cheek. Visions of their escape in The Bahamas filled his mind, death coming for them again.

Before the limo reached the guards, the windshield collapsed on top of Jake. He reached forward and pushed its crinkled form away from the steering wheel.

One thing benefited them. With the car barreling toward the gate, the guards ran out of time to fire more shots. They leaped out of the way. Jake braced himself as the grill of the limo burst through the blockade, flinging the vehicles aside. The mangled jeeps twirled and landed in a heap, missing several men sprawled out on the pavement. The crushed front end of the limo blew through the iron gate with one headlight still piercing the darkness.

A moment later, bullets dinged off the back glass. Jake glanced back at the spidery circles appearing one after the other. In the side mirror, he saw the guards taking pot shots. That they could handle, but their luck changed when two bright lights emerged from the compound, a new vehicle in the chase. They'd never shake the pursuers in the big limo. It looked like a junkyard on wheels, sputtering as they rounded a bend in the road, the headlights behind them disappearing in the curve.

"Get ready," Jake said. "Time for a detour."

"A detour? What are you..." Sarah's face darkened with understanding. She tugged at her shoulder and lap belt, making sure it was secure.

This needed to be done quick before the trailing vehicle came into view again. Jake searched the forested valley beneath them for a hole in the vegetation. He hoped to find a path that wasn't too steep.

At the first sign of an opening, he cut the wheel hard toward the underbrush. The vehicle sliced through limbs and briars as it plunged down the hill, dodging tree trunks, bouncing up and down on its shock absorbers.