chapter420

Jonas nearly lost it. If he let her slip away, his boss would probably kill him.

Thankfully, the intersection up ahead wasn't too complicated. Straight ahead led out toward the suburbs, away from the heart of Paris. Left and right kept him in the busy city. He figured the girl hadn't switched lanes, just kept going straight through the light, while he got stuck behind.

Relief washed over him once he pieced it all together.

When the light finally turned green, Jonas floored it, shooting forward. Good thing he was a pretty slick driver. Otherwise, there was no way he'd be able to keep up.

Blake got Jonas's location and joined the chase.

Jonas tore down the road for almost ten kilometers, running red lights the whole way, before he finally caught sight of that familiar black sports car up ahead.

He let out a shaky breath. "Are you kidding me? Is she a pro racer or something? Who drives like that?"

He actually raced as a hobby, so he considered himself half a professional, but today, he'd pushed himself as hard as he could. Still, he barely managed to catch up. He couldn't help feeling a mix of awe and excitement. Whoever this girl was, her driving was unreal.

Lydia, behind the wheel and flying down the road, had already noticed the car tailing her. She could tell the driver didn't mean any harm, so she hadn't bothered with him. But he kept following, and she guessed he must be someone Blake sent. She'd left in such a hurry, Blake must have noticed something was off and sent someone to keep an eye on her.

The thought made her heart warm. Still, this wasn't a safe trip. It was better if he stayed back.

She pressed harder on the gas, pulling farther and farther away from Jonas.

Jonas had been chasing her for forty minutes, and his eyes were starting to burn from staring at the road. It was getting more and more deserted. He had no clue where Lydia was headed. What was a girl like her doing out here, driving this fast, all alone?

He barely had time to think before her car sped up again, almost vanishing from his sight.

"Come on!" he groaned. "Is she trying to kill me or what?"

He felt like crying. His boss was right behind him. After all this, he couldn't afford to lose her.

With no other choice, he pushed the car even harder, refusing to give up.

They sped on for another twenty minutes, winding into the area around Blackbird Lake, where the old mines were. The road narrowed, and there was nobody else around.

Suddenly, Jonas heard two heavy, muffled pops from behind him. The sound was chilling, hard and sharp at the same time.

His eyes went cold. Silenced gunshots.

He checked his rearview mirror and froze. A string of black, modified armored vehicles barreled toward him. The shots must have missed because of the distance and the curve in the road He'd gotten lucky

"What the hell is this?"

He grabbed his phone, voice tight. "Sir, we have a serious problem. A bunch of black armored vehicles just showed up behind us. They're definitely not here for friendly chat. I think they're after the girl

He really wanted to ask who this girl was, and why she was being chased by people like this, but he knew better than to question his boss. His was to follow orders.

job

Blake hadn't expected things to get so dangerous. His voice was firm. "Don't let

anything happen to her. I'm sending backup right now."