“Fuck.” Chase slams his hand on the dashboard. “This was supposed to be one of the easier cars on the list, and it’s turning into a complete shitshow.”
“Pull into someone’s driveway and kill the engine,” I suggest. “We can wait until the sirens die down. Eventually, they’ll give up and go back to Dunkin’ Donuts.”
Chase laughs, and then parks the car in a cul-de-sac, the car now hidden between two others, providing us with some time to relax and wait out the cops.
“It’s always the last one,” Chase groans, leaning his head back against the headrest, tugging at his short blond hair. He blows out a breath of air, irritated. “You’re making the right decision, Kade. Get out while you can. You’re too good for this shit.”
“Hey, don’t talk like that. We’re the same. Brothers.”
He shakes his head. “No, not even close. You’re too good for this life. Between school and hockey, you can get away from here, away from all of this. Rome, Nate, and me, we’ve never had a chance at anything else.”
“That’s not true.” I fold my arms over my chest and sigh. “You guys are way better at fixing cars than me. And you can drive anything with wheels.”
“So can you. It’s nothing special.”
We sit in awkward silence for another ten minutes before the sirens disappear, and Chase pulls out of the parking space. This time, I double-check our route home and tell Chase how to navigate the small town outside of Philadelphia.
“Make a right,” I tell him. “And then a quick left.”
He does as I instruct, his attention focused on the dark road ahead. As we’re headed out of the subdivision, Chase blows past a cop who’s hidden under a tree, most likely sleeping.
“Shit, that was a cop,” I say.
“I didn’t see one.” He glances in the rearview mirror. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
A few seconds later, headlights flash through the back window, and the cop’s siren is blaring behind us. Chase mutters a few curses and punches the gas.
“Get on the highway,” I yell.
“Fuck, no. We’ll get pulled over the second we get on there. Find us another way out of this fucking place.” He grips the wheel so hard his knuckles turn white. “This is why I hate the fucking suburbs.”
Ignoring the cop car behind us, Chase goes faster. I can hear everything on the police scanner, and the officer behind us isn’t the only one who will be on our tail judging by the sound of it. They’re talking about how they found the stolen Maserati and how they’re en route.
I knew this job was a bad idea. My gut feelings are never wrong. But we didn’t have a choice once we accepted an advance from the buyer. The second we took the cash, he owned all of us. We had to deliver the cars. This was supposed to be my last job. I promised Jade and myself I would stop after this one. And now, while that might be true that I’ll never do this again, it might be because I’m behind bars for the next ten years.
This time, there’s no CCTV I can hack into to save the day. We either have to pull over and surrender or find a way out of this godforsaken neighborhood without getting shot at. The cop is on our ass, his lights and siren blaring through the quiet town.
Chase whips around another turn, and then we come head-on with another cop car. He swerves to the left toward what looks like a wooden bridge. The closer we get. I realize there’s missing planks in the bridge. It’s not even suitable for people to cross let alone capable of supporting the weight of this car.
“You’re not,” I say, wishing I could stop him before he floors the gas. “Chase, we’re not gonna make it. What the fuck are you doing?”
“I got this,” he says with venom in his tone and determination on his face. “Hang on.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you have a death wish?”
He ignores me, his eyes fixed on the final destination. In this case, being good at math and science doesn’t matter because even though I know there’s no way we’re getting across that bridge in one piece, I also have no say in the matter. So, I prepare myself for the inevitable, my body tensing up at the possibility of our imminent deaths.
Now, four police cars are behind us, so close they’re trying to run us off the road. Chase has no choice but to attempt driving over the bridge. It’s either that or we’re definitely going to jail.
I think of Jade and how much I want to see her again. Her beautiful face and bright blue eyes pop in my head as I suck in what could be my last breath. I want to live, and I also don’t want her to visit me from the other side of a Plexiglas window in prison. She deserves better than me anyway, but still, I think I’m in love with her. For once, I can finally see a future for myself that involves another person other than my friends or family.